Thursday, August 5, 2010

eKos: The Case of the Texas Dead Zone & the Lost Oil

by FishOutofWater

We will never know if this year's Gulf dead zone was the largest ever. The cruise sampling the Gulf was terminated in, apparently, the middle of a large dead zone, before it was fully sampled. PDF

"This is the largest such area off the upper Texas coast that we have found since we began this work in 1985." She commented that "The total area probably would have been the largest if we had had enough time to completely map the western part."

Oxygen concentration in bottom-water across the Louisiana-Texas shelf from July 25-31, 2010. The black line outlines values less than 2 mg/L, or hypoxia. Letters indicate transects. Black dots are sampled stations.



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Greenland Glacier Calves Mammoth Iceberg

by laderrick

Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland has calved a massive iceberg. Cracks in the glacier's floating tongue prompted scientists to install monitors last summer to watch for sections beginning to separate.

Today the sun emerged after a few days of cloudiness that had shrouded the glacier from satellite view, revealing a dramatic break-up.



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When does 'Mostly Gone' actually mean, 'A LOT is still There'?

by jamess


The oil has gone? Tell that to Gulf coast residents
By Rupert Cornwell, independent.co.uk -- 6 August 2010

And though only a quarter of the 4.9m barrels reckoned to have leaked is still unaccounted, that represents the equivalent of five Exxon Valdez, the tanker whose spill caused an environmental catastrophe in Alaska in 1989.

"There are still boats out there every day working, finding turtles with oil on them and seeing grass lines with oil in it," charter boat captain Randy Boggs, of Orange Beach in Alabama, told the Associated Press. "All the oil isn't accounted for. There are millions of pounds of tar balls and oil on the bottom."


Turns out, This -- TIMES 5 --

IS mostly STILL There! ... lurking somewhere, just below the surface ...



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Breaking -- Wolves Back on Endangered Species List

by RLMiller

Howls of joy for wolves!  Judge Donald Molloy in Montana has ordered that the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf goes back on the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho.

mollie's_pack[1]



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California Pioneers Clean Energy Solutions W/Fun Poll!

by passionateprotagonist

Here's the back story:  Senate inaction on energy/climate leaves me disheartened yet more determined than ever to do something, now.  A recent conversation with a voter revealed that energy efficiency measures have saved her $40 per month on electric bills over the last year. (I love connecting with voters...lots of learning and inspiration for me).  Finally, a comment by Kossack FishOutofWater gave me a big nudge.

"We are wasteful and inefficient users of resources."   FishOutofWater 6-29-10

The Senate failed despite having a willing participant in the energy industry. Utility companies support a bill that mandates greenhouse gas emissions and favors renewable energy.  They prefer dealing with Congress, not the EPA/ Clean Air Act.

"Industry has been here over and over again literally begging the Senate to put a price on carbon. "  Senator Mark Udall, D-CO

Maybe the climate peacocks didn't want to stick out their necks before midterm elections, or the fear of being targeted by teabaggers for backing climate measures was too much to bear. Some say the recession makes it difficult to pass legislation that could increase electricity costs.  Enter California.



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That's still a lot of oil

by Jed Lewison

Yesterday, government scientists released their official estimate of the total amount of oil that leaked from BP's deepwater disaster: 4.9 million barrels, or 206 million gallons. Of that total, they estimated that about half had either been either contained, evaporated, or dissolved, that 24% had dispersed into tiny droplets in the ocean, and that 26% had either come ashore, been buried in sand, or remained in the Gulf as tar balls.

The New York Times reports that many people, particularly on the Gulf Coast, are concerned that these new estimates represent an attempt to whitewash the damage of the spill. But as the Times points out, these new estimates show that an enormous amount of oil -- twenty times more than spilled from the Exxon Valdez -- spilled into the Gulf.

By a process of elimination, the researchers concluded that only 26 percent of the oil had come ashore or was still in the water in a form that could, in principle, do additional shoreline damage. And much of that was breaking down quickly in the warm waters of the gulf, the report said.

Of course, that 26 percent equals more than 53 million gallons of oil, five times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

"One way of looking at it is to say that 26 percent of the world’s largest oil spill is still out there," said Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society. "And that is a lot of oil."

Let's assume for a moment that these estimates are accurate. If so, you'd be making a huge mistake to conclude that the spill wasn't a big deal because three-quarters of it never made landfall. First of all, about a third of the oil that didn't make landfall is still in the water column dispersed into tiny droplets, much of it mixed with dispersants. While much of that dispersed oil is likely to biodegrade, we still don't know what its long-term effects will be. As the report argues:

Even though the threat to shorelines, fish and wildlife, and ecosystems has decreased since the capping of the BP wellhead, federal scientists remain extremely concerned about the impact of the spill to the Gulf ecosystem. Fully understanding the impacts of this spill on wildlife, habitats, and natural resources in the Gulf region will take time and continued monitoring and research.

Even if we set aside the all the oil that didn't hit the shoreline or doesn't pose a threat to the shoreline, to say that "only" one-quarter of the oil impacted the shoreline would be a peculiar use of the world "only." After all, 25% of a big number is still a big number, and it's hard to see how anyone can look at that report and determine that it shows the BP oil spill was no big deal, especially coming so soon after the leak was finally capped.

It's important to remember that even if it ultimately turns out that the BP spill wasn't as bad as our worst fears, it would be a huge mistake to conclude that deepwater drilling is safe. The mere fact that we might consider ourselves "lucky" that only 53 million gallons of oil came ashore is testament to the inherent riskiness of deepwater drilling -- and the desperate need a new national energy policy to develop clean, secure, affordable, and renewable sources of power.



continued at Daily Kos...

Updated: Boulder, inspired by others, puts Utility in its place

by citizendane

Tuesday night the City Council of Boulder, Colorado took a historic step towards self-determination regarding its energy supply.  With this vote, the City of Boulder is no longer under the monopoly power of Xcel Energy.  Some key issues are still up in the air, but the power dynamics have shifted dramatically and permanently.

Boulder has taken a path that municipalities across Colorado (and perhaps the country) can follow, much as Boulder has followed the outstanding lead of Marin County, CA and Winter Park, Florida.

Jump the fold to learn how we did it and how your community can as well.



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News from the Arctic: Belated from weekend of 31 July

by billlaurelMD

This is the next in a series of diaries on the state of Arctic sea ice (and other topics as warranted) in memory of Johnny Rook, who passed away in early 2009. He was the author of the Climaticide Chronicles.

I was away in, of all places, Ft. Lauderdale FL this past weekend, so I didn't do a diary right away. I was at a yearly conference for the National Asssociation of Black and White Men Together Annual Convention for 2010. This group at one time had as many as 1200 or so members and 30-some-odd chapters in the U.S. and elsewhere (when known as the INTERnational Association of Black and White Men Together). Now we only have about 10 chapters and maybe one-hundred members. What happened is the topic of another diary I may do some day.

Headlines from last week:

  • Rate of ice loss increases
  • Strong low pressure anomaly forms over west Siberia
  • Anomalous southerly flow from the Asian continent over central and east Siberia
  • Off-Arctic: Record heat wave and drought in European Russia, Ukraine, adjacent countries; Moscow hits 101°F; first time ever over 100°F.

Follow me below the fold.



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Russia is Burning

by Steven D

We usually hear of wildfires in California and the American West, or Australia, or the Mediterranean (especially Greece) for those are areas of drought and heat and wind and brush and trees that become tinder easily.  But in this, the hottest summer on record for much of the world, Russia is literally burning at a rate never before seen in that part of the world:

This will be ridiculed and ignored by those who always find excuses to ignore and ridicule the idea that human beings are transforming our climate in ways that are dangerous for all life on earth, but the reality is that the conservative IPCC assessments of climate change predicted an increase of extreme events such as droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.



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Energy BOOKSHELF: The power of invisible energy

by A Siegel

Efficiency is the ugly stepchild of the energy and climate world.

Recently, I put solar on my roof.  Many neighbors and friends are excited about trying to do the same.  When I hear this from them, the advice: make sure that your home is energy efficient before putting a penny into something like solar power or a generator. One friend's response, "I know that but insulation isn't sexy."

It might not be sexy, but efficiency is powerful.

In Invisible Energy, NRDC's David Goldstein lays out a strong case why our national policy should be that of the home: first, second, and third priority should be energy efficiency and then clean energy (renewable energy) can meet the reduced energy demands.



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Scientists Call for More Transparency in the Gulf, Questions the Administrations Assessment

by Ellinorianne

Recommend the BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 72

I've written about a couple of diaries in the past few days regarding the heavy use of corexit and the issue of where the animals have gone in the Gulf regarding the gusher.

Both are relevant and important and touch on two of the major issues that will be ongoing for many years in the Gulf coast, health issues for the residents and the environment.

As the EPA continues to defend the use of dispersants, the questions have more to do with full disclosure, the amount of dispersants used and the long term consequences, from the food chain to the health of residents and workers.  

Both those diaries were met with some skepticism, healthy at times and hostile at others.  Which is fine, this is a community and when you write things here, it is open to comments and discussion.  



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The Many Misconceptions About Genetic Engineering and Organic Agriculture

by NourishingthePlanet

This is the second of three parts of an interview with plant geneticist Pamela Ronald and her husband, organic farmer Raoul Adamchak. They are co-authors of the book Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food. Check out Nourishing the Planet for more and our Daily Kos diary on Tuesday for the first part of the series.



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BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 72

by Gulf Watchers

Please rec the new Mothership #73 here. This one has expired.
The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #276 - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - khowell
Rules of the Road

  • We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
  • Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
  • Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!



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I'm a ____ing BELIEVER _____ing updated + observations as to comments.

by LaFeminista

Oh Jeez

Every five days for one hundred days we had an Exxon Valdez spewing into the gulf.

I'm sticking with my estimate of 65,000 barrels a day giving 6.5 million versus the official 5 million barrels flooded into the gulf.

Say 273,000,000 gallons of crude oil.

Plus

1,500,000 million [oops back to work] gallons of Corexit dispersant.

They think I am going to swallow the story that it has all dispersed, and we can now go back to watching whatever mindless piece of celebrity misadventure there is to take our minds off reality?

Sure I'm a ___ing believer!

Hey presto no oil plumes

Hell Yes I'm a ___ing believer!

Hey presto hardly anything dead at all

Slap me silly I'm a __ing believer!

Nothing to see here now move a long

Holly shit I'm a __ing Believer!

Drill Baby Drill

Bring it on, I'm a ___ing believer!

"The vast majority of the oil has now been contained, it's been skimmed, Mother Nature has done its part, it's evaporated," Carol Browner NOAA

Heck of a job Browner!



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