Showing posts with label Water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Water. Show all posts

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Fukui Gov Issei Nishikawa will soon give his consent for the restart of two nuclear reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Takahama plant


To deliver electricity in a stable and safe. Each employee will continue to support it with a passion and mission of each as a company take charge of an important lifeline.
THE KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER CO., INC.
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JAPAN TODAY


Fukui governor to give consent for nuclear plant restart

 
FUKUI —

Fukui Gov Issei Nishikawa will soon give his consent for the restart of two nuclear reactors in the prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, sources close to the matter said Sunday, as the central government seeks to bring more reactors back online after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The governor will visit the site of the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Takahama plant on Monday to check safety measures before expressing his consent, they said. The governor’s consent is necessary to restart the reactors.

Earlier in the day, industry minister Motoo Hayashi, in charge of the country’s energy policy, met with Nishikawa at the Fukui prefectural office and sought the Fukui governor’s consent for the restart of the two nuclear reactors.



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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Nestlé lawsuit claims food and beverage giant is illegally bottling California water



the guardian


Environmental groups claim Nestlé is breaking federal law by operating on an expired permit to remove millions of gallons of water from a southern California forest despite the state’s historic drought
A new lawsuit against Nestlé claims the company is illegally pumping millions of gallons of water from California’s San Bernardino National Forest.
A new lawsuit against Nestlé claims the company is illegally pumping millions of gallons of water from California’s San Bernardino National Forest. Photograph: Larry W Smith/EPA 
 
A consortium of environmental advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the US Forest Service, alleging that the federal agency has allowed food and beverage giant Nestlé to illegally pump millions of gallons of water from California’s San Bernardino National Forest for decades, despite the current historic drought.

The Story of Stuff Project, along with co-plaintiffs the Center for Biological Diversity and the Courage Campaign Institute, claim that Nestlé is breaking federal law, operating on a permit expired nearly 20 years ago, in 1988, removing between 50m-150m gallons of water each year from a creek in the southern Californian forest to use in its Arrowhead bottled water brand. The organizations are asking the US Forest Service to immediately turn off the water spigot and conduct a permit review, assessing the environmental impact of Nestlé’s operations.

“They are taking water from a national forest that desperately needs that water,” said Michael O’Heaney, executive director at the Story of Stuff, a group that advocates to clean up consumer culture. “The Forest Service is obligated by law to ensure the natural resources of the forest are protected.”

Lisa Belenky, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the Forest Service “has a duty to look at permits and make sure they’re current and do an environmental review to make sure it isn’t impacting areas of the forest”.

But Nestlé says it isn’t breaking any laws, and insists that its permit hasn’t expired.


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Friday, October 2, 2015

Public Emergency Declared Over Elevated Lead Levels In Flint's Water

It's not the water supply. It's the plumbing.

<span class='image-component__caption' itemprop="caption">In this Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 photo, Genetha Campbell carries free water being distributed at the Lincoln Park United Methodist Church in Flint, Mich, Since the financially struggling city broke away from the Detroit water system last year, residents have been unhappy with the smell, taste and appearance of water from the city’s river as they await the completion of a pipe to Lake Huron. They also have raised health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems. A General Motors plant stopped using the water, saying it was rusting its parts. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)</span> ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 photo, Genetha Campbell carries free water being distributed at the Lincoln Park United Methodist Church in Flint, Mich, Since the financially struggling city broke away from the Detroit water system last year, residents have been unhappy with the smell, taste and appearance of water from the city’s river as they await the completion of a pipe to Lake Huron. They also have raised health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems. A General Motors plant stopped using the water, saying it was rusting its parts. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

DETROIT (AP) -- A public health emergency has been declared in cash-strapped Flint after tests showed the Michigan city's water supply is causing elevated levels of lead in children and following months of complaints about the smell and taste.

Gov. Rick Snyder this week questioned the switch to the Flint River from the Detroit water system in 2014, a decision that was made as a cost-saving move while a new regional pipeline is built to Lake Huron.

And on Thursday, the Genesee County health department declared a public health emergency, recommending that people not drink the water unless it has been filtered and tested to rule out elevated levels of lead. More steps will be announced Friday.

The problem: Although the river water is treated, it is corrosive and releasing lead from old plumbing in thousands of homes.

A coalition of residents and national groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to order the state to reconnect Flint to Detroit water.


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Sunday, September 27, 2015

Fukushima The Gift That Keeps on Giving : Floods across eastern Japan have swept more than 700 bags containing Fukushima-contaminated soil and grass into Japan’s rivers



 RT

Over 700 Fukushima waste bags swept away by torrential floods

©
Extensive and destructive floods across eastern Japan have swept more than 700 bags containing Fukushima-contaminated soil and grass into Japan’s rivers, with many still unaccounted for and some spilling their radioactive content into the water system.
 
Authorities in the small city of Nikko in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, some 175 km away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, have said that at least 334 bags containing radioactive soil have been swept into a tributary of the Kinugawa river, The Asahi Shimbun reports.

According to the city’s authorities, the washed-away waste was only part of hundreds of bags being stored at the Kobyakugawa Sakura Koen park alongside the river. Another 132 bags of waste reportedly rolled down the slopes.


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Afghanistan Landslide Updates : Trucks full of food aid have arrived but no one has distributed the bags of rice, oil and other necessities, survivors say

Hunger and desperation as Afghan mudslide survivors wait for food


Mudslide survivors
Mudslide survivors in Argu village, Afghanistan. Photograph: Nasir Waqif/EPA
Lailema's soft wailing filters through the canvas of her tent, a 12-year-old's hopeless lament for her mother and a life that is gone forever. Her three younger siblings play on the dusty floor as her grandmother cries silently nearby and her uncle wonders how to feed his new dependents.
None of them have eaten since the landslide in the village of Aab Barik – in the north-eastern province of Badakshan – that took away their home and six relatives two days earlier, despite trucks full of food aid parked just a few metres away. No one has distributed the bags of rice, oil and other necessities, they say.
"They promised that they would hand them out after the government officials leave today," said Khan Baay, the uncle, who was heading out to hear the vice-president, Yunus Qanuni, lead prayers for the dead and promise survivors whatever help they need, backed by a delegation of ministers, members of parliament and European ambassadors.
But many on the ground were less interested in pledges from dignitaries helicoptered in to survey the damage than getting their hands on something edible. "I am so hungry I could scratch your eyes out," said Bibi Jaahan, a grandmother in her early 60s who lost her home and several relatives to the mud. "I haven't eaten for over two days."
Sharing her tent is Zaina, breastfeeding her 11-month-old son but worried that her milk is drying up, as he grumbles then starts crying. She has only scavenged a few biscuits to feed him, and knows he needs more solid food.
The Afghan Red Crescent was quick to hand out tents to those who lost their homes in last Friday's devastating mudslide, and in the corner of newly motherless Lailema's cramped new home, barely two metres wide and perhaps three times as long, there are new plates and tea cups but nothing to eat off them.
They were part of their package of "non-food items", explains Ahmad, an official from the charity who stops by to check on the family. "We started handing out tents on Friday, but other organisations are responsible for food. We cannot provide everything ourselves."

Read More Here

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5May 02 2014 03:32 PMLandslideAfghanistanProvince of Badakhshan, [Argu district]Damage levelDetails

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Description
Around 250 people were feared dead following a landslide in northeastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. According to local government officials, the incident took place in Argu district and dozens of others have been trapped under the rocks. A local official in Badakhshan province said around around 250 people have been killed following the landslide while 200 houses and dozens of more people were trapped following the rockslide. Provincial police chief, Fazluddin Ayar confirmed that over 250 people were trapped following a landslide in Aab Khoshk village. Mr. Ayar further added that the incident took place around 12:00 pm local time and Afghan secuirty forces and rescue teams have been deployed to the area to assist the local residents. This comes as deputy Afghan interior minister Gen. Ayub Salangi earlier said around 200 houses were affected following the rockslide. Gen. Salangi had said preliminary reports suggest that the casualties due to the rockslide is around 200 people.

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Updated:Friday, 02 May, 2014 at 16:13 UTC
Description
A landslide triggered by heavy rains buried a village Friday in northeastern Afghanistan, leaving as many as 2,000 people missing, a top official said. Badakshan province Gov. Shah Waliullah Adeeb said more than 2,000 people were missing after a hill collapsed on the village of Hobo Barik. Adeeb said the landslide buried some 300 homes in the area - about a third of all houses there. The governor said rescue crews were working but didn't have enough equipment, appealing for shovels. "It's physically impossible right now," Adeeb said. "We don't have enough shovels; we need more machinery." He said authorities evacuated a nearby village over concerns about further landslides. Faziluddin Hayar, the police chief in Badakshan province, said the landslide happened about 1 p.m. Friday. Badakshan province, nestled in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges and bordering China, is one of the most remote in the country. The area has seen few attacks from insurgents following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

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Updated:Saturday, 03 May, 2014 at 04:09 UTC
Description
A landslide triggered by heavy rain buried large sections of a northeastern Afghan village Friday, killing at least 350 people and leaving up to 2,500 missing. Villagers looked on helplessly and the governor appealed for shovels to help dig through the mass of mud that flattened every home in its path. The mountainous area in Badakhshan province has experienced days of heavy rain and flooding, and the side of a cliff collapsed onto the village of Hobo Barik at midday, burying it under up to 60 feet of mud and rocks, officials said. Landslides and avalanches are frequent in Afghanistan, but Friday's was one of the deadliest. It was one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory in Afghanistan, where spring rainfall and snowmelt make the mountainous northeast susceptible to flash floods and mudslides. U.N. officials said more Afghans had been killed in natural disasters in the past seven days than in all of 2013. Gov. Shah Waliullah Adeeb said up to 2,500 people were missing after the landslide buried some 300 homes, about one-third of all the houses in the area. At least 350 people were confirmed dead, according to Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He said the U.N. was working with authorities to rescue trapped people.

The governor said rescue crews were working, but didn't have enough equipment. "It's physically impossible right now," Adeeb said. "We don't have enough shovels; we need more machinery." The Badakhshan provincial police chief, Maj. Gen. Faziluddin Hayar, said rescue workers had pulled seven survivors and three bodies from the mounds of mud and earth, but held out little hope that more survivors would be found. "Now we can only help the displaced people. Those trapped under the landslide and who have lost lives, it is impossible to do anything for them," Hayar said. Video footage showed that a large section of the mountain collapsed, sending mud and earth tumbling onto the village below. The landslide was likely caused by heavy rain, said Abdullah Homayun Dehqan, the province's director for the National Disaster Department. He said the landslide happened about 1 p.m. Friday, a day of worship in Afghanistan when many families would have been at home instead of at work. President Obama said the United States was ready to assist. "I want to say on behalf of the American people that our thoughts are with the people of Afghanistan, who have experienced an awful tragedy," he said at the White House during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. U.N. humanitarian officials said some areas remained difficult to reach, making the scale of the damage unclear. Officials fear more landslides are possible because of more rain and melting snow. About 700 families living on a hillside near Aab Barik were told to move to higher ground and wait for emergency aid to reach them, Adeeb said.

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Updated:Saturday, 03 May, 2014 at 05:22 UTC
Description
About 2,250 people are feared dead after a mudslide Friday buried an Afghan village in the far-north-eastern province of Badakhshan, a spokesman for the provincial governor said. More than 300 houses in Ab-e-Barik were swept away in the mudslide, which occurred after heavy rainfall, Naveed Ferotan said. "Our rescue teams have so far found 150 bodies in the area, and they are working hard to save the villagers," he said. About 2,100 other people are missing and also feared dead, officials said. The mudslide first struck a wedding party, killing 250 people, and then buried nearly all of the village as well as farmland, said Haji Abdul Wadood Saeedi, governor of the Argu district, where Ab-e-Barik is located. About 300 families are missing, he said. The ground is still unstable, and people in nearby villages are scared they could also become victims, Saeedi said. Rescue teams were dispatched to the area and at least 1,500 people have been evacuated from Ab-e-Barik so far, Saeedi said. The United Nations said 700 families lived in Ab-e-Barik and at least 120 houses were destroyed. "Reportedly, 350 people have died and 580 families are at severe risk of further landslides," said Ari Gaitanis, a UN spokesman in Kabul. "The village is flooded, and a drainage channel must be opened to prevent further destruction," he said. The national government and United Nations planned their own rescue and aid response.

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Updated:Saturday, 03 May, 2014 at 14:26 UTC
Description
At least 300 families have been burried under a hill that collapsed in a remote mountain village in northeast Afghanistan on Friday. The confirmed death count at present is 2,100, and is expected to rise in the coming days. "More then 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governorsaid. The United Nations said the focus was now on the more than 4,000 displaced by Friday's disaster. There is a risk of further landslides in the area, officials said.

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Updated:Sunday, 04 May, 2014 at 15:23 UTC
Description
The Afghan government officially named the scene hit by a massive landslide in Badakhshan province as a mass grave and started focusing on helping the survivors on Sunday. "The religious scholars and high level officials has convinced the locals to give up looking for dead bodies," Haji Abdul Wadoud, governor of Argo district in Badakhshan told Anadolu Agency. "It is almost impossible to search for dead bodies," he said. "When muslims die, they must be buried, and they are already under a huge hill of mud." The first Vice President Mohammad Younus Qanooni also visited the area on Sunday along with some cabinet members and religious authorities. "All agreed that it would be named as the mass grave of Abe Barik martyrs," Abdul Wadoud said. Early Friday afternoon, a massive landslide triggered by heavy rainfall engulfed the village of Abe Barik in northern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. At least 300 families have been trapped under dirt and mud, whereas only 255 of the dead bodies have been identified so far, but the local authorities estimate that more than 2,100 people are dead. Heavy rains in the last few weeks have also caused flash floods in different parts of the country, taking dozens of lives and damaging hundreds of houses. Turkey's IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has delivered humanitarian aid to 350 families hit by Friday's landslide disaster in Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan. "Emergency packages were prepared for 350 families in the first stage of the aid campaign," Orhan Sefik, Central Asia regional coordinator of the foundation, told Anadolu Agency. He said the packages contained food, rugs, blankets and kitchen utensils, adding that the foundation would continue to provide aid to the area. Earlier, Noor Mohammad Khawari, head of the Badakhshan central hospital told Anadolu Agency that it would be tragic if the locals agreed to the village becoming a mass grave although he said it would require an extraordinary effort driving by a big number of professionals and machinery to find the buried individuals. "Now they are discussing securing the scene from the threat of floods so that members of the victim families can come here to prayer" Khawari added. In a statement released from his office late Saturday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he was deeply saddened after hearing the news of the landslide. The Afghan government has also announced a day of national mourning in the country.

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Friday, May 2, 2014

Keystone XL pipeline : A group of 56 senators -- all 45 Republicans plus 11 Democrats –- introduced legislation on Thursday that would bypass the Obama administration and grant approval for the pipeline.


Senators Seek To Force Approval Of Keystone XL Pipeline

Posted: Updated:
HEIDI HEITKAMP
 

WASHINGTON –- Senate supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline say they think they have enough votes to pass a bill that would force the approval of the controversial project. A group of 56 senators -- all 45 Republicans plus 11 Democrats –- introduced legislation on Thursday that would bypass the Obama administration and grant approval for the pipeline.
Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) introduced the bill on Thursday. Democrats Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), John Walsh (D-Mont.), and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) are cosponsoring it.
Because it crosses an international border, the decision on the pipeline falls under the authority of the State Department. The State Department announced another delay on a decision last month in response to a court decision that invalidated the pipeline's proposed route through Nebraska, saying that it would wait to decide until there is more clarity on where the pipeline will ultimately run. The legislation would grant approval to "any subsequent revision to the pipeline route" in Nebraska, without requiring further environmental analysis.
"We continue to hear delay, delay, delay from the Administration about the Keystone XL pipeline. I’m beyond sick of it," Heitkamp said in a statement Thursday. "We have strong bipartisan support in the Senate for this project –- and I’m proud to have recruited support from 10 other Democrats last month. Now, all of those Democrats also signed onto this bill that we crafted to fully approve the construction of the Keystone pipeline. If the Administration isn’t going to make a decision on this project after more than five years, then we’ll make it for them. End of story."

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Pipeline Company: Oil Spills Create 'Employment Opportunities' .....REALLY ???

Hmmmm,  alert the presses and  let  everyone  know  that in spite of the  facts that  :

Oil spills are  never  properly  cleaned up and the  side effects of  the  chemicals  and  toxins  left  behind linger  for  years.

Energy Companies  responsible  for the  spills are  never  truly  held  accountable  for  all the  damage  done  due to carelessness and  cost  cutting to fatten their  bottom line

Sea life , Coral Reefs, and  the  food chain  in  oil spill damaged  areas face  death at  every turn.  While the  culprits shrug their  shoulders and  say   "Oh Well"

Coastlines are negatively impacted.  Damaging  not  only the  ecology but the likelihood  of  those  who depend  on  a clean and healthy ocean to sustain themselves  and  their families.

The  Energy Companies walk away  after THEY feel they  have  done  enough when in  reality  they  fall  woefully  short  and the   corrupt  government taking   corporate  kickbacks   allows  them to  get  away  with  their  crimes  with a slap on the  wrist.


In spite of all this  destruction ........Oil Spills create  jobs.


Would that  also be the case  for oil spills caused  by,

oh let's say, pipeline leaks and  train derailments in populated  areas where  not only  people  are affected, but  their  ground water  and lands are  poisoned with chemicals and toxic oil that  can never  truly be completely removed?

Yes indeed, that  certainly  is worth  the  jobs   created  alright......NOT!!


~Desert Rose~
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Kinder Morgan: Oil Spills' Economic Effects Are Both Good And Bad

The Huffington Post Canada  |  Posted: 05/01/2014 1:41 pm EDT  |  Updated: 05/01/2014 1:59 pm EDT

kinder morgan

There is at least something of a bright side to oil spills, pipeline company Kinder Morgan says.
In a recent submission to the National Energy Board, the company says marine oil spills “can have both positive and negative effects on local and regional economies” thanks to the economic activity generated by cleanup operations.
“Spill response and clean-up creates business and employment opportunities for affected communities, regions, and clean-up service providers,” the company says.
The comments appear in a 15,000-page application to the NEB to triple the capacity of its Trans Mountain Pipeline, which carries oil from Alberta to Port Metro Vancouver.
Environmentalists fear an increase in oil shipments through West Coast waters would increase the risk of oil tanker accidents.
Kinder Morgan’s submission doesn’t ignore the negatives; it points out that oil spills are devastating to fishing and tourism industries, and notes the negative impacts on human health, damage to property and harm done to “cultural resources.”
But it cites a 1990 research paper looking at the economic impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill to argue there are positive elements as well.

Read More Here

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It's in the cards; spread of possible oil spill tracked by 'drift card' study

  • Apr 1, 2014 at 12:00PM updated at 2:33PM
Jennifer of Victoria and a friend show off a drift card that she found on Vancouver Island.  - Contributed photo/Friends of San Juans
Jennifer of Victoria and a friend show off a drift card that she found on Vancouver Island.
— image credit: Contributed photo/Friends of San Juans
Journal staff report
Conservation groups from Washington and British Columbia commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill by launching 650 ‘drift cards’ along Salish Sea oil tanker routes.
The event, organized by Friends of the San Juans in Washington state and by Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Georgia Strait Alliance in Canada, is part of a study mapping the path that an oil spill might take in the Salish Sea.
The cards were dropped at two locations: off Turn Point, Stuart Island, where Haro Strait intersects with Boundary Pass, and near Bird Rocks in Rosario Strait. They carry a simple message: This Could Be Oil.
This research responds to a sharp increase in fossil fuel export projects proposed in British Columbia and Washington state. The proposed Gateway Pacific coal terminal at Cherry Point north of Bellingham and Kinder Morgan’s increase in tar-sands shipping from Vancouver, and other projects, would add an additional 2,620 ship transits per year to the waters of the Salish Sea, making the region one of North America’s busiest fossil fuel shipping corridors.Drift card
“The increased risk of a major oil spill in the Salish Sea is real," said Stephanie Buffum, executive director of Friends of the San Juans. "Anyone with a cultural, environmental or economic interest in our region should get engaged with Coast Guard rulemaking; familiarize themselves with effects of cargo traveling through our waters; and ask decision makers to ensure diluted bitumen (oil sand) is classified as a petroleum product that is taxed to fund oil spill clean-up efforts.”

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Here are some of  those  job opportunities Kinder Morgan was referring to  :

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BP pipeline sprays ‘oily mist’ over 33 acres of Alaskan tundra

Published time: May 01, 2014 03:15


Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett
Reuters / Suzanne Plunkett

Alaska state officials confirmed Wednesday that an oily mist sprung from a compromised oil pipeline and sprayed into the wind without stopping for at least two hours, covering 33 acres of the frozen snow field in the oil well's vicinity.
The discovery was at the BP-owned Prudhoe oil field on Alaska’s North Slope, the northernmost region of the state where a number of profitable oil fields sit beneath the tundra. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) revealed that BP officials found the mist during a routine inspection on Monday.
Initial reports said that 27 acres had been covered, although that figure was updated later on Wednesday. The cause is still under investigation, according to the Associated Press, but officials know that the mist was made up of a mixture of gas, crude oil, and water. They also reported that while the noxious mist was distributed over such a wide area by 30 mph winds, no wildlife was impacted.
BP spokeswoman Dawn Patience said the company is “still assessing repairs” and will soon know what, if any, long-term effects the spill could have.
The Prudhoe Bay region, like elsewhere in the North Slope, is home to a great number of migratory birds and caribou, as well as other animals, such as a massive porcupine herd. Clean-up efforts are expected to be complete before birds pass through the region again in the coming weeks.
The company was at fault in at least two oil spills in the same region since 2006. That year, an estimated 267,000 gallons of oil seeped through a quarter-inch sized hole in a corroded BP pipeline. That accident went unnoticed for five days, until an oil worker smelled the aroma of crude when driving through the area, according to Think Progress.

Read More Here

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Lynchburg, Virginia Train Derailment Sparks Fire, Fills Air With Plumes Of Black Smoke

Posted: Updated:
LYNCHBURG TRAIN


A CSX train derailed near downtown Lynchburg, Virginia around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, prompting evacuations and calls to avoid part of the city as flames and a plume of black smoke rose into the air. There are no immediate reports of injuries.
The City Of Lynchburg announced that the train was carrying crude oil and three or four of its 13 to 14 cars were breached.
"There is some spillage in the river of crude oil," Lynchburg city spokeswoman LuAnn Hunt told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond primarily draws its water from the James River, downstream from Lynchburg. Another official said the city is making plans to tap an "alternative water supply."
The train's tankers may be from a class of rail cars deemed an "unacceptable public risk" by a member of the National Transportation Safety Board in February. These black, pill-shaped cars, known as DOT-111s, have been involved in recent notable oil train derailments in North Dakota and Quebec.
"We are very clear that this issue needs to be acted on very quickly," National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman told reporters last week. The Transportation Department is currently working on stricter standards for rail tank cars used to transport hazardous materials. "They aren't moving fast enough," Hersman said.

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Explosive Virginia Train Carried Fracked Bakken Oil, Headed to Potential Export Facility

Posted: Updated:
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
Platts confirmed CSX Corporation's train that exploded in Lynchburg, Virginia was carrying sweet crude obtained via hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") in North Dakota's Bakken Shale basin. CSX CEO Michael Ward has also confirmed this to Bloomberg.

Photo Credit: Erin Ferrell - ABC 13 News | Twitter
"Trade sources said the train was carrying Bakken crude from North Dakota and was headed to Plains All American's terminal in Yorktown," Platts explained. "The Yorktown facility can unload 130,000 b/d of crude and is located on the site of Plains oil product terminal."
In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a Safety Alert concluding Bakken crude is more flammable than heavier oils. Hence the term "bomb trains."
At least 50,000 gallons of the oil headed to Yorktown is now missing, according to ABC 13 in Lynchburg. Some of it has spilled into the James River, as previously reported on DeSmogBlog.
A map available on CSX's website displaying the routes for its crude-by-rail trains offers a clear indication of where the train was headed.

Map Credit: CSX Corporation
Formerly a refinery owned by Standard Oil and then BP/Amoco, Plains All American has turned the Yorktown refinery into a mega holding facility.
Yorktown may become a key future site for crude oil exports if the ban on exports of oil produced domestically in the U.S. is lifted. 

Yorktown: Future Oil Export Mecca?

In February, Plains CEO Greg Armstrong said on the company's quarter four earnings call that Yorktown is ideally situated geographically to become an oil export mecca if the ban is lifted.
When asked by an analyst from Bank of America about the ongoing debate over lifting the crude oil export ban, Armstrong discussed how Plains could stand to profit from exports.

Read More Here

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Holding BP Accountable: Environmental Justice Struggle Continues in Gulf Region After 2010 Spill







Published on Oct 1, 2013
http://www.democracynow.org - The oil giant BP is back in court for the April 2010 accident that caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, killing 11 workers and leaking almost five million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, the second phase of the trial began with lawyers accusing the oil company of lying about how much oil was leaking, failing to prepare for how to handle the disaster, and for not capping the leak quick enough. We're joined in New Orleans by Monique Harden, co-director of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights and an attorney who specializes in environmental justice concerns in New Orleans. In the aftermath of the BP spill, Harden's organization exposed how the oil giant had contracted with a claims processing company that promoted its record of reducing lost dollar pay-outs for injuries and damage caused by its client companies. We are also joined by John Barry, vice president of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority -- East, which has brought a lawsuit against 97 oil and gas companies for destruction of the Gulf coastline, making the area more at risk from flooding and storm surges.
Democracy Now!, is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,200+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch it live 8-9am ET at http://www.democracynow.org.

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Deepwater Disaster BP Oil Spill Documentary

Mary Leon Mary Leon




Published on Feb 24, 2014
BP oil spill redirects here. For the 2006 oil spill involving BP, see Prudhoe Bay oil spill. For other uses, see The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also refe.

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On the three year memorial of the BP Oil Spill disaster I wanted to share with you one very important fact. BP has been lying to you! Due to decades of abuse.

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A documentary that examines the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. News Feeds on the issue ht.

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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the BP oil disaster, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the Macondo blowout) began on 2.

Please read the description! What really happened with the cover-up of the Deep Water Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico. Josh and Rebecca Tickell interv.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster or the Macondo blowout) is an oil sp.

This video covers many environmental results of the BP Oil Spill, which originated from a rig explosion on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, placing an e.

Footage about the greatest oil disaster of all times (2010 Gulf) Watch at our Planet like it would be your Child! dont close your eyes! do your part!

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The 14,000 Oil Spills Nobody is Talking About | Brainwash Update






Published on Feb 11, 2014
Abby Martin goes over updates to the chemical spill in West Virginia and the coal-ash spill in North Carolina, exposing the human and environmental impact as well as the lack of accountability that accompanies tens of thousands of similar ecological catastrophes that occur in the US every year due to the US' addiction to fossil fuel. .....


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