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Author Topic: Pollution  (Read 58214 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #690 on: April 28, 2018, 08:17:22 pm »


NGO Shipbreaking Platform: 152 Ships Broken Up on South Asia’s Beaches in First Quarter of 2018

April 27, 2018 by gCaptain


Shipbreaking at Alang, India.

Of the 206 ships dismantled worldwide up in in the first quarter of 2018, a total 152 ships ended up on beaches in South Asia, according to a quarterly report from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

So far this year, 10 workers have lost their lives and 2 workers have been severely injured
when breaking ships in Chittagong, Bangladesh, the organization said their report. At least two workers also lost their lives due to a toxic gas leak at a shipbreaking yard in Alang, India in March, according to the report.

During the first quarter of 2018, 27 ships were also dismantled in Turkey, 7 in China, 11 in Europe and 9 in the rest of the world, the report showed.

“Ship owners continue to sell their ships to the beaching yards despite the well documented deplorable conditions. The prices offered for ships this first quarter have been high in South Asia, especially when compared to the figures of last year. Whilst a South Asian beaching yard can pay about USD 450/LDT, Turkish and Chinese yards are respectively currently paying USD 280/LDT and USD 210/LDT. This situation led to especially a significant decrease in number of vessels recycled in China, where only 7 vessels were scrapped this quarter,” the NGO Shipbreaking Platform said.

According to the NGO, South Korean and UAE ship owners sold the most ships to South Asian yards the first quarter of 2018 with 14 beached vessels each, followed by Greek and Russian owners. Shipping companies from the United States beached 5 vessels.

“South Korean Sinokor is, for now, the worst corporate dumper with seven vessels beached in South Asia in 2018. South Korean H-Line Shipping is a close runner-up, with five ships sold for dirty and dangerous scrapping on the beach. Following the ban on the import of tankers to Pakistan due to major explosions that occurred in 2016 and 2017, no tankers were sold to the Gadani yards this first quarter. However, Pakistan has re-opened to the import of tankers this week,” the organization said.

Meanwhile, only 3 ships had a European flag – Belgium, Italy and Norway – when they arrived on the beach.

“All ships sold to the beaching yards pass via the hands of scrap-dealers, also known as cash-buyers, that often re-register and re-flag the vessel on its last voyage,” the NGO Shipbreaking Platform said. “In this regard, flags of convenience, in particular those that are grey- and black-listed under the Paris MoU, are used by cash-buyers to send ships to the worst breaking locations. Almost half of the ships sold to South Asia this quarter changed flag to the grey- and black-listed registries of Comoros, Niue, Palau and St. Kitts and Nevis just weeks before hitting the beach. These flags are not typically used during the operational life of ships and offer ‘last voyage registration’ discounts. They are grey- and black-listed due to their poor implementation of international maritime law.”

According to 2017 data released by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in February, of the 835 large ocean-going commercial ships that were sold for scrap in 2017, a total of 543 ships were intentionally run ashore and dismantled by hand at shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where the controversial ‘beaching’ method continues to be the predominant means of disposal for end-of-life vessels.

The 543 ships represent just over 80% of the total tonnage scrapped worldwide last year, according to the organization.

http://gcaptain.com/ngo-shipbreaking-platform-152-ships-broken-up-on-south-asias-beaches-in-first-quarter-of-2018/
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #691 on: April 30, 2018, 09:56:08 pm »
 

Make Nexus Hot News part of your morning: click here to subscribe.

Kingston Coal Ash Spill photo

April 30, 2018

Coal Ash Concerns Mount From Puerto Rico to DC

PBS NewsHour reported this weekend from Guayama, Puerto Rico, where the island's only coal-fired power plant and coal ash industrial facility may be contributing to the high incidences of cancer, respiratory problems and heart disease in surrounding neighborhoods.

Local concern is growing over how Hurricane Maria may have further compromised public health, after the plant's owner failed to cover ash piles during the storm and released a report last month showing "dramatic" increases in arsenic and chromium in groundwater in the months following Maria.

Polluters across the country could soon be held accountable: Politico Pro reports this morning on how green groups in DC are successfully suing utilities for coal ash contamination under the Clean Water Act.

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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #692 on: May 03, 2018, 02:25:28 pm »
 

Eighteen U.S states are taking the EPA to court over weakening emission regulations

LAST UPDATED ON MAY 2ND, 2018 AT 10:29 PM BY ALEXANDRU MICU

A coalition of 18 U.S states is suing the current administration over “arbitrary and capricious” moves to weaken air quality regulations.

Eighteen states will take representatives of the Trump administration to court. In a move championed by the golden state of California, they will fight against the administration’s revisions of Obama-era car greenhouse gas emission rules — one of his most significant measures against climate change.

“Arbitrary and capricious”

New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, the District of Columbia, and California are suing the EPA and its Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Together, the states hold roughly 43% of the U.S.’s cars and are understandably angry at the EPA’s moves to weaken current car emission regulation. They aim to “set aside and hold unlawful” the newer (and weaker, compared to those adopted in 2012) fuel economy standards, which are slated to take effect in 2022.

According to The New York Times, the Trump administration said the standards were too stringent and began legal procedures to revise them. The EPA hasn’t offered any new standards, instead choosing to draft regulation that weakens existing ones post-2020. In other words, we’re not talking about a different take or a paradigm shift here — just a simple, old-fashioned cut.

The NYT explains that after executives from General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler visited the White House to request more lenient emissions rules, Trump’s administration began to try and roll back the standards. The Agency claims that the standards are “based on outdated information” and that new data suggests “the current standards may be too stringent.” For context, these standards aimed to raise efficiency requirements to about 50 miles per gallon by 2025.

The states, however, contend that the EPA acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in changing these rules, in direct opposition to their citizens’ best interests. Furthermore, they hold that the EPA under Pruitt violated the Clean Air Act and didn’t follow its own regulations.

The lawsuit comes just days after learning that the Department of Transportation is planning to propose freezing fuel economy standards at model year 2020 levels, Politico adds.

“The federal standard the states are suing to protect is estimated to reduce carbon pollution equivalent to 134 coal power plants burning for a year, and save drivers $1,650 per vehicle,” the states said.

Which, you have to admit, sounds pretty sweet. There’s something for everybody, no matter if you care about the environment or your bottom line. No matter how this plays out, we’re likely to look at a protracted legal battle as both sides seem intent to see it through to the bitter end.

“My message to the EPA and Administrator Pruitt is simple: Do your job. Regulate carbon pollution from vehicles,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We are not looking to pick a fight with the Trump administration, but we are ready for one.”

“This is about health, it’s about life and death,” adds California Gov. Jerry Brown. “I’m going to fight it with everything I can.”

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

https://www.zmescience.com/science/epa-lawsuit-air-quality-8525323/
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #693 on: May 05, 2018, 01:23:51 pm »
Agelbert NOTE: The following educational video with excellent graphics is rather optimistic. WHY? To begin with, the available carbon budget (the amount of GHG emissions we can still generate without exceeding the 2 degree celsius increase in temperature) is actually in the rear view mirror. IOW, we have already blown through that budget and are well on the way to a 4 degree C increase (with an accelerating RATE of increase, NOT a linear or slowing rate of increase) BEFORE the end of this century. Also, there is no discussion of the methane contribution. both from fracking activity and from the melting of the permafrost and the release of the vast (over a HUNDRED times 🔥🌡️ the current GHG emissions warming 🔥🌡️ effect) shallow arctic sea methane clathrates, all of which require the immediate banning of the burning of fossil fuels and a crash program to get the CO2 level back to 350 PPM (at least - 300 PPM would be ideal).

 


While the following graphics are correct in portraying the vast amount of fossil fuels that can still be extracted to be burned (which is irrefutable evidence that "peak" oil will NOT save us from Catastrophic Climate Change ), the claim that we can still burn SOME fossil fuels is not based on the reality of the Runaway Greenhouse Situation we are in.



A Brief History of CO2 Emissions


Potsdam Institute

Published on Sep 13, 2017

An animated short film on greenhouse gas emissions.

Together with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the Urban Complexity Lab of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (FHP) developed an animated short movie that visualizes the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the past – and the possible future.

https://uclab.fh-potsdam.de/projects/co2

-----

Credits:
“A Brief History of CO2 Emissions”
A film by the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (FHP) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

Design and Production: Julian Braun
Concept: Julian Braun, Jürgen Claus, Susanne Droege, Elmar Kriegler, Boris Müller und Mareike Schodder

Creative Lead: Boris Müller (FHP)
Scientific Lead: Elmar Kriegler (PIK)
Data Research: Lavinia Baumstark

Music: Leo Brunnsteiner
Voice: Andy Bramhill 
Sound Design: Manfred Bauche
Translation to Arabic: Ali Hydar

A project by the
Gesellschaft der Freunde & Förderer der Fachhochschule Potsdam e.V.

Supported by the Lottery Fund of the Ministry of Rural Development, Environment and Agriculture of the Federal State of Brandenburg (MRDEA)

Category Science & Technology

 



He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #694 on: May 05, 2018, 02:57:41 pm »
CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica’s work via donations on Patreon or PayPal!

Or just go buy a cool t-shirt, cup, baby outfit, bag, or hoodie.


410 PPM & Rising — CO2 Levels Reach Dangerous Levels 😨 😟

May 5th, 2018 by Steve Hanley

Carbon Dioxide & You — A Cautionary Tale



https://cleantechnica.com/2018/05/05/410-ppm-rising-co2-levels-reach-dangerous-levels/
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #695 on: May 10, 2018, 07:04:44 pm »
GLOBAL CITIZEN

mAY 10, 2018

Scientists Discovered a Dead Zone the Size of Florida 😨 in the Gulf of Oman

But the damage doesn’t have to be permanent.

SNIPPET:

Scientists recently identified a dead zone as large as Florida in the Gulf of Oman. The 65,755 square mile area is now devoid of marine life due, in large part, to climate change and human pollution.

The increasing size of dead zones in the ocean is threatening the animal populations in our oceans and leading to the destruction of underwater life. But scientists say the damage doesn’t have to be permanent. One study has called for further investigation of the Gulf of Oman to understand how to manage the fisheries and ecosystems of the Western Indian Ocean to prevent dead zones from widening.

Full article:

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/scientists-discovered-a-dead-zone-the-size-of-flor/
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #696 on: May 16, 2018, 05:07:54 pm »
EcoWatch

By Lorraine Chow

May. 16, 2018 07:39AM EST

1,400 Tons of Contaminated Soil Hauled From Montana Reservation Oil Spill Site

SNIPPET:

Quote
The wellhead has crac ked along the length of the pipe. It's believed the crack formed in December when the well was shut in over the winter. EPA

Trucks have removed more than 1,400 tons of contaminated soil following a large oil spill on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, The Billings Gazette reported.

Cleanup is still ongoing. So far, more than 50 large dump trucks full of soil have been removed with more to come, the publication noted.

An estimated 600 barrels of oil and 90,000 barrels of brine (production water) leaked from an Anadarko Minerals Inc. wellhead that was shut in and last inspected in December. It is believed that the wellhead might have frozen and crac ked over the winter, leading to the spill.

Read more:

https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-spill-montana-reservation-2569319391.html
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #697 on: May 16, 2018, 05:26:13 pm »


Investors Worth $2.5 Trillion Don’t Want Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

By Yessenia Funes

May 15, 2018 Filed to: MONEY TALKS

SNIPPET:

Basically, the investors are saying this type of drilling doesn’t make sense anymore. It’s time to start thinking of more long-term ways to make money (like, uh, renewables).   On top of that, the American public is not down with tearing up ANWR. Investors gotta protect their reps.

Most important of all, however, is the way this drilling sacrifices human rights in the name of profit. The letter acknowledges the Gwich’in’s cultural ties to these lands, and how any drilling that causes the Porcupine caribou herd to suffer would in term harm this indigenous group.

The Gwich’in, for their part, have been actively fighting potential drilling in ANWR since at least the 1980s, when the idea first started gaining steam. They put out their own letter Monday alongside the investors’.

read more:

https://earther.com/investors-worth-2-5-trillion-don-t-want-drilling-in-th-1826046725
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #698 on: May 16, 2018, 05:34:03 pm »


Judges Rule Against Controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline Because Wildlife Matters

By Yessenia Funes

May 16, 2018 2:00pm Filed to: AND SO DO HUMAN LIVES

SNIPPET:

Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a decision that canceled a key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a 600-mile long project that would travel from West Virginia to North Carolina. The panel found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) didn’t set clear limits on how the Dominion Energy-owned pipeline would impact threatened or endangered species in the Biological Opinion required under the Endangered Species Act.

This opinion includes an Incidental Take Statement, which is the issue here. “Take” means “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect,” per the FWS. As plaintiffs argued—and the court agreed—the federal agency granted Dominion Energy this permit under “indeterminate” limits on the “take” of certain species, including a migratory shorebird called the piping plover, and sea turtles. The federal agency never clarified what percentage of threatened or endangered species are allowed to be killed during construction, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Plaintiffs, which include the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Virginia Wilderness Committee, filed this lawsuit (among others) against the Department of Interior and FWS back in January. The pipeline has met serious opposition from environmentalists throughout its proposed route—and not only for the ways it could harm wildlife.

Local advocates worry about air pollution from compression station sites concentrating near a black community in North Carolina. There’s also the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, which feels it wasn’t properly consulted.

“This fracked gas project has been proven to be perilous to our health, our communities, and wildlife, and now, thanks to tonight’s ruling, must be stopped,” said Sierra Club Attorney Nathan Matthews, in a press release.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is set to be completed by the end of this year. This decision won’t halt all construction, so the project should stay on schedule for now. Earther contacted Dominion Energy for comment and will update upon a response.

read more:

https://earther.com/judges-rule-against-controversial-atlantic-coast-pipeli-1826078504

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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #699 on: May 16, 2018, 05:50:13 pm »


Shipping’s Financiers Turning the Tide On Controversial Shipbreaking Practices

May 15, 2018 by Reuters

Workers carry a rope line to fasten a decommissioned ship at the Alang shipyard in Gujarat, India, in this March 27, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files

By Jonathan Saul and Simon Jessop LONDON, May 15 (Reuters)

SNIPPET:

The shipping industry has long been criticized by campaigners for allowing vessels to be broken up on beaches, endangering workers and polluting the sea and sand.  >:(

Now, it is being called to account from a quarter that may have a bit more clout – its financial backers.

Norway’s $1 trillion Oil Fund, a leader in ethical investing, in February sold its stake in four firms because they scrap on the beach.

Three of the firms excluded by Norway’s fund – Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, Precious Shipping and Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) of Thailand – say they have been unfairly singled out. The fourth, Korea Line, declined to comment.

Norwegian life insurer KLP soon followed, selling shares in the one of the four it owned and blacklisting the other three.

Further exclusions are likely, said KLP, the fund and its advisory Council on Ethics. The council’s chief adviser, Aslak Skancke, said the divestments had already effected wider change, including encouraging companies to seek cleaner scrapping.

The fund contacted several firms in its portfolio during its investigation, Skancke said, “and when we made them aware of the possibility of exclusion from the fund, they … decided to change their policy.” He declined to name the companies.

hree leading pensions funds – Caisse de Depot, CCP and OMERS – are reviewing their investments in shipping over ethical and green considerations, a finance source familiar with the matter said. OMERS declined to comment. Caisse de Depot and CCP did not respond to requests for comment.

The steps add to momentum on the issue from European Union regulators and courts, in particular pressure to measure up to standards for inclusion on the EU’s list of approved ship-breaking yards, which is due to be updated later this year.

It’s a revolution that has been a long time coming, environmental, labor and human rights activists say. But a transition won’t be easy, for owners or breakers.

More than 80 percent of aging commercial ships are broken up on the beaches of Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

Industry leaders in South Asia say they cannot afford to upgrade their sites and remain competitive.

Full article with important details:

http://gcaptain.com/shippings-financiers-turning-the-tide-on-controversial-shipbreaking-practices/
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #700 on: May 25, 2018, 10:23:40 pm »


Sharp Exchanges    Highlight BP Fears of Climate Legal Jeopardy

May 22, 2018 by Bloomberg

SNIPPET:
The Deepwater Enterprise conducts operations to mitigate the effects of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, May 23, 2010. U.S. Coast Guard Photo


By Kelly Gilblom (Bloomberg) — After paying more than $65 billion in legal costs for the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, BP Plc is wary of the risk of lawsuits related to climate change.

Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley raised the topic of class-action lawsuits twice during the company’s annual general meeting in Manchester, England on Monday, saying he wouldn’t disclose certain climate targets, or even answer some questions from activist investors, because the risk of legal action in the U.S. was too high.

“You want to get us to make statements here in front of you that you can document that will lead to a class action,” Dudley said in response to one question from the Union of Concerned Scientists about pending U.S. litigation against energy companies. Such legal actions are “a business model in the United States,” he said.

The sharp exchange between BP and two advocacy groups — Amnesty International  and the Union of Concerned Scientists  — shows the growing pressure on major oil companies to acknowledge their responsibility for emissions of greenhouse gases. It also reflects the burgeoning efforts to hold them legally responsible for the potentially disastrous consequences of rising global temperatures.

Lawsuit Fodder

“BP could be on the hook for millions, if not billions of dollars,” Kathy Mulvey, accountability campaign director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. “Why wouldn’t shareholders want to know about the risk of legal liability, a risk that’s growing rapidly as climate costs multiply.”

In response to another questioner who suggested that selling oil and gas should be considered a violation of human rights, Dudley warned shareholders this could be another attempt to mire BP in a class-action suit. An open letter from shareholders including Aviva Plc last week urging more transparency could also end up providing lawsuit fodder, he said.

BP 😈 absolutely believes in being transparent. Transparency is beneficial to all,” Dudley said. “But we don’t want climate disclosures to be a tool for class-action lawyers.”


Full article:

http://gcaptain.com/sharp-exchanges-highlight-bp-fears-of-climate-legal-jeopardy/

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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #701 on: May 27, 2018, 07:33:49 pm »
Families hit by climate change sue the EU

Date 25.05.2018

Author Anne-Sophie Brändlin

SNIPPET:

A group of families have filed a lawsuit against the European Union for failing to protect citizens against the impacts of climate change. It's the first climate lawsuit at EU level.

A total of ten families from five EU countries, Kenya and Fiji, as well as a Swedish youth organization, are taking the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to court. They say the EU is violating their fundamental rights of life, health, livelihood and property by failing to combat global warming.

The People's Climate Case, as the lawsuit has been dubbed, was filed with the European General Court on May 24. It argues that the EU's 2030 climate target of reducing domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent compared to 1990 levels, is inadequate. Instead, they are demanding a reduction of at least 50 to 60 percent by 2030.

The plaintiffs argue that three EU emission regulation legal acts, issued as part of the 2030 climate target, still allow for high levels of greenhouse gases to be emitted. They are asking the EU to raise the target in defense of the fundamental rights of citizens — not just of those living in Europe, but also beyond its borders, who suffer from climate change as a result of EU emissions.

Unprecedented case

"This court case is incredibly important and unique because it's addressing the European Union as a whole and not individual states," Stefan Küper, press spokesperson for the NGO Germanwatch, which is supporting the People's Climate Case, told DW.

"This is vital, because it's the EU that's responsible for setting minimum thresholds for the climate policy of EU member states, not the member states themselves. They can be more ambitious than the set guidelines if they want, but they have to stick to the minimum threshold."

The EU is responsible for 10 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, which makes it the third largest emitter after China and the United States.


"What also makes this court case so unique is that it's about fundamental rights. It's asking the EU to take its own values seriously and base its policies on the values the EU stands for," Küper said.

Full article with video:

http://www.dw.com/en/families-hit-by-climate-change-sue-the-eu/a-43933608
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AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #702 on: June 03, 2018, 06:39:10 pm »
Across U.S., Toxic Blooms Pollute Lakes

By Bill Walker, Editor in Chief and Emily Wathen, Digital Journalist

TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018

SNIPPET:

TOLEDO, Ohio – In the middle of a muggy summer night, Keith Jordan got an urgent text: Toledo’s tap water wasn’t safe to drink.

“I thought it was a joke," said Jordan, who works with at-risk youth in Toledo’s inner city. He went back to sleep. When he got up a few hours later, he took a shower and had a cup of coffee, then turned on the news.

“They were saying don't drink the water, don’t take a shower – the water is messed up,” Jordan said. “You couldn’t even touch the water. It was something you could not believe was happening here in Toledo.”

That was Aug. 2, 2014. For the next three days, half a million people in and around this industrial city at the western edge of Lake Erie scrambled to find safe water.


Many drove hours across state borders to stand in long lines at stores that hadn’t sold out of bottled water. Some stores were charging $40 for a case of water that usually costs less than $5. Jordan, unaffected by his shower and coffee, helped set up distribution centers for free water, and helped deliver it to seniors and mothers with babies. The National Guard sent tanker trucks full of drinking water to the city.

The panic was set off by a toxin called microcystin, the byproduct of an enormous bloom of blue-green algae that had invaded Lake Erie. The bloom – technically not algae, but photosynthetic single-celled organisms called cyanobacteria – blanketed vast expanses of the lake with what looked like thick, sickly green split-pea soup. It was triggered by chemical pollution from farm fertilizers and industrial sources into the lake, which supplies the region’s tap water.




Toledo was the first large U.S. city where toxic blooms made tap water unsafe for human consumption. But it may not be the last.

No government agency collects nationwide data on toxic blooms. But EWG’s research found news reports of almost 300 blooms in lakes, rivers and bays in 48 states and the Gulf of Mexico since 2010. Based on those reports, the problem appears to have worsened over the past few years.

In 2010, there were just three reports of toxic blooms in the U.S. In 2015, there were 15, including the largest to date in Lake Erie, although the bacteria did not get into Toledo’s drinking water. In 2016, there were 51, including a huge bloom in Florida that prompted the state to declare an emergency in four counties on the Atlantic Coast. Last year, 169 blooms were reported. And in March, Ohio Gov. John Kasich declared the open waters of western Lake Erie “impaired for recreation” – an unprecedented designation that under the federal Clean Water Act will require the development and enforcement of plans to reduce toxic blooms.



EWG’s interactive nationwide map shows locations of reported toxic blooms in green. Orange locations have links to vivid satellite photos of blighted lakes from California to Florida.

Full EWG article with interactive map of affected areas:

https://www.ewg.org/toxicalgalblooms/
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Re: Pollution
« Reply #703 on: June 04, 2018, 10:26:25 pm »


Video Shows Insane Tanker Fire 🔥 That Led to Two Houston Pilots Being Awarded the IMO Bravery at Sea Award

June 4, 2018 by Mike Schuler

The MT Aframax River after the allision with the dolphi. Tractor tugboat David B is in the foreground rendering assistance. Image courtesy of ITC City Dock security video / NTSB

On the morning of September 6, 2016, Houston harbor pilots Michael McGee and Michael Phillips found themselves surrounded by towering walls of flames after the tanker they were piloting, the MT Aframax River, lost propulsion and struck two mooring dolphins on the Houston Ship Channel.

The allision punctured the tankers hull plating, causing the release of about 88,000 gallons of low-sulfur marine gas oil which suddenly ignited in a massive fire ball.

Despite the danger, the pilots remained on the bridge and managed to maneuver the vessel away from facilities and other ships in the area while coordinating with first responders. Amazingly, they sustained only minor burns, the only injuries resulting from the fire.

For their efforts, Captain McGee and Phillips were awarded the International Maritime Organization’s Bravery at Sea Award, the IMO’s highest honor for bravery at sea, in recognition of their role in preventing a major disaster on one the nation’s busiest commercial waterways.

While details of the accident have since been chronicled in a NTSB Marine Accident Brief and as well as other recounts of the event, a new video posted online last week gives us the best look yet at what exactly what the pilots, crew members, and responding tugboats were faced with that night.

The video was recorded by a security at the Intercontinental Terminals Company facitility where the tanker was mooring Check it out:


More on the incident as described by the International Maritime Organization:

Captain McGee and Captain Phillips were surrounded by a towering wall of burning fuel as the raging fire quickly spread across the channel, threatening other tank ships and nearby waterfront facilities.

Both pilots remained at their stations on the bridge of the ship during the fire. Captain McGee managed to manoeuvre the stricken and blazing vessel away from surrounding ships and facilities.

Captain Phillips coordinated communications and firefighting efforts with the United States Coast Guard and numerous local fireboats. Captain Phillips rushed to grab a fire extinguisher and put out a fire raging on the port bridge wing.

The inferno was finally extinguished after 90 minutes, leaving both pilots exhausted and suffering minor burns. Captain McGee, using tugs, was then able to bring the damaged tanker safely to a mooring facility.

Read the NTSB Marine Accident Brief: Allision of Tanker Aframax River with Mooring Dolphins

Update: After scouring Youtube for an earlier version of the video above, I came across the following interview with Captain McGee and Captain Phillips in which they describe what happened. It also includes snippets of the same footage:


http://gcaptain.com/video-shows-insane-tanker-fire-that-led-to-in-two-houston-pilots-being-awarded-the-imo-bravery-at-sea-award/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Pollution
« Reply #704 on: June 06, 2018, 08:30:05 pm »
June 6, 2018

Government Not Paying Attention to Oil & Gas Cleanup

The government is failing to adequately track the cost of cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells on federal and American Indian lands, according to a new government watchdog report. The analysis from the Government Accountability Office shows that the average cost of cleaning up an abandoned well, based on data collected from over a dozen Bureau of Land Management field offices, was $267,600--a far higher figure than the $171,500 BLM reported in 2010 when it last examined the issue.

"Despite what Republicans keep telling us, the fossil fuel industry🐉🦕🦖 isn't being regulated into the ground," Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), one of the lawmakers who requested the review, said in a statement. "Too often, it's freeloading off the American people, and this report tells us we don't even know how much it's costing us."

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/390739-watchdog-government-isnt-sufficiently-tracking-costs-from-orphaned


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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