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Archive for May 4th, 2010

Why BP Didn’t Care – Oil Spill Update May 4

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

BP would have gone the extra mile if its management cared about or respected American people

It’s very simple. If you care about the people, or respect them as human beings, especially those who enrich you, then you do everything humanly possible to protect them from any harm.

Ultimately, there’s little difference between the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (and elsewhere) and the Union Carbide catastrophe in Bhopal, India in 1984.

In both cases, the two giant corporations had zero regard for the welfare of local populations, never mind the due diligence, care, respect, even basic human rights—they’re just fancy words.

Environment ranks even lower than do people on the corporate scale.

Take a look at this picture:


Would you do this to the environment, if you cared? Does the underwater jungle of pipelines make you feel any safer or more energy secure? Image source: MMS. Click image to enlarge.

How big is the oil spill


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill- Approximate Oil Locations from April 309 – May 4, 2010 including forecast for May 5 based on trajectories and overflight data. Click image to enlarge.


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill- Approximate Oil Locations from April 29 – May 3, 2010 including forecast for May4 based on trajectories and overflight data. Click image to enlarge.

How BP is already denying Alabamans adequate compensation

In case you haven’t already heard, BP lawyers and paralegals are knocking on the doors in Alabama trying to hoodwink people to accept a one-time compensation of about $5,000, which they could get if they waved their rights to a class action lawsuit.

“BP oil spill 2010 news is revealing that BP is trying to offer settlements to some residents in Alabama. The BP oil spill is not their accident, according to BP CEO Tony Hayward, and now it appears that they are trying to get Alabama residents to agree to settlements that might be far less than they would get in a law suit. Some of the settlement agreements that BP is shopping around to coastline residents in Alabama stipulate that they will get a one-time payment of up to $5,000 in exchange for the residents giving up the right to sue the company. This could also mean that some of the offers are well below that $5,000 threshold, and it has already angered the Alabama attorney general.”  More …

Summary of Related News and Events

Make me a giant funnel

BP employees and contractors in Louisiana are welding together large sheets of metal to build a giant 88-ton funnel which they intend to place above the underwater leaks and use a pipe to channel the gushing oil from the damaged well to collection barges.

“It will not happen here” —Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger may not be as suave  as the President, but he sure as oil spill is a lot smarter, and knows how catastrophe is spelled when he sees one made earlier. [He knows that California stands to lose more money from an offshore oil disaster,  than it would make from the royalties, if the new leases went ahead.]

“It will not happen here in California.” Schwarzenegger said at a press conference. “If I have a choice between the $100 million [for state parks] and what I see in the Gulf of Mexico, I’d rather just figure out how to make up for that $100 million.”

“All of you have seen, when you turn on your televisions, the devastation in the Gulf,” he said. “I’m sure that they were also assured that it is safe to drill.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying on Monday, he would mount a vigorous defense of his landmark environmental legislation, vowing to “push back” against “greedy oil companies who want to keep polluting in our state.” [Isn’t this stuff just amazing?]

US [Oil-Covered] Fish and Wildlife

  • The oil is likely to move slightly southeast away from the Mississippi River Delta and Breton National Wildlife Refuge over the next two days. Winds are forecasted to shift to the southeast on Wednesday.
  • The Mississippi and Alabama coastlines could be impacted by Thursday.
  • Weather conditions have improved since the weekend and on-water recovery operations are expected to resume today.

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Posted in environment, gulf of mexico oil leak, Gulf of Mexico oil Spill, Gulf of Mexio | Tagged: , , , | 11 Comments »

Landslides Kill Dozens of People

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

Latest Landslide Casualties

Myanmar Border with China

About two dozen Chinese workers have been killed or reported as missing after a landslide in a Myanmar region bordering with southwest China’s Yunan Province, reports said.

Taiwan


The construction site on No. 3 Freeway at the junction with the No. 2 Freeway that leads to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is seen in this photograph taken yesterday.  Photo: Central News Agency. Image may be subject to copyright.

A Taiwanese construction worker died in second freeway landslide, a week  afetr another deadly mudslide  claimed four lives.

“Too much water was collecting at the base of a bridge, making it necessary for workers to pump out the water. While Su was pumping, the earth around him collapsed and swept him down 10m, fire fighters said. Rescue workers needed half an hour to free him, but by then he was completely covered in mud, reports said.” A report said.

On April 26, a massive landslide blocked a 300-meter long section of a major road, the No.3 Freeway between Taipei and Keelung, burying 4 people under thousands of tons of earth and rocks. The volume of earth that moved onto the freeway was later estimated at about 200,000m³ of rock and soil.

Kenya

Landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed more than 2 dozen people, and made hundreds homeless in Kenya. Dozens of homes have been destroyed, a report said. See also: Kenya villagers die in Rift Valley landslide

Azerbaijan

Some 32 villages were isolated from the center of Azerbaijan as landslide destroyed a major road, Guba-Gonagkend, in Guba region of the country, a report said.

The “Ministry of Emergency Situations” dispatched aid helicopters to deliver foods to the affected villages.

According to  Azerbaijan New Agency, APA, some 71 landslides were reported in the country in 2009 including 29 incidents within the first 4 months of the year. The number of landslides reported in the first quarter of this year totaled 110 incidents, or 3.8 time as many as last year.

According to the chief of Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, Shaig Niftiyev, the government hot line had received 11 reports of landslides in the last two days, APA reported.

Atmospheric condensation and torrential rains

“ The recent observations revealed 178 zones of landslide in the country. Monitoring and geological work was done once in these areas. The majority of them are stabilized areas. But this stabilization does not mean that there will not be landslide in this area. There is periodical activation in the landslide processes,” he said.

“The great majority of the landslides occur along the foot of the Great Caucasus and Mountainous Talish. A landslide occurred on the 32km of Goranboy-Agjakend highway in Ashagi Agjakend village. Though it was a local area, the landslide caused serious damage. A local landslide in Gariblar village of Tovuz region killed one. The landslide occurred in alunite production field in Dashkesan last February. When we visited the site we made prognosis that the landslide would continue in Altundagh settlement too. Mollahasanli village of Dashkesan also suffered from the disaster. It has been a landslide area since 1990s. The landslide intensified there last year and caused serious damages this year too. Yesterday we were informed that the landslide area intensified again.”

Ministry experts say Azerbaijan landslides are invariably triggered by the increase in atmospheric condensation. “[A 25-cm] snow cover [triggered] the landslide zone in Guba region.  [The hazard was worsened by] torrential rains.”

Another land slide caused much destruction to Dashkesen region of Azerbaijan on May 2, 2010.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
Water Crisis in Mbuji-Mayi Caused by Landslide

Hundreds of thousands of people in Mbuji-Mayi, central DRC, are facing a severe water crisis after a landslide destroyed their town’s water supply in March.

Many of  town’s three million population have to walk at least 20km in search of water every day, a report said.

“Lack of water in Mbuji-Mayi has been dire for several weeks now; at the moment people are obliged to walk over 20km to fetch water for domestic use from small rivers around the town,” Theodore Thiyekele, a priest, told IRIN. “Others are buying drinking water from young men who fetch it from sources far away from the town.”

Landslide Blocked Railway in Armenia

A large landslide triggered by torrential rains blocked the railway lines, stopping the trains  near Vanadzor-Alaverdi, Armenia, Emergency officials said, News-am reported.

“Railway was covered by 500 m³ layer of soil Sunday. The road was partially cleaned by 2:35 p.m., trains traffic was temporarily resumed,” an official statement said.

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Posted in environment, Landslide, mudslide, rock avalanche | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

NO New Offshore Drilling: Schwarzenegger Sees the Light

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

Schwarzenegger nixes new offshore drilling  plan

The hell with the wages of sin, I ain’t ‘alloween’ NO new ‘dreellin,’ or words to that effect—Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger may not be as suave  as the President, but he sure as oil spill is a lot smarter, and knows how catastrophe is spelled when he sees one made earlier. [He knows that California stands to lose more money from an offshore oil disaster,  than it would make from the royalties, if the new leases went ahead.]


I smell oil executives!

“It will not happen here in California.” Schwarzenegger said at a press conference. “If I have a choice between the $100 million [for state parks] and what I see in the Gulf of Mexico, I’d rather just figure out how to make up for that $100 million.”

Schwarzenegger had been very keen on a new oil drilling proposal called the ‘Tranquillon Ridge project,” as means of raising cash for the state’s federal parks amid a massive $18.6 billion budget deficit.

The project would have been California’s first new oil lease in 40 years. It proposed to drill new off Santa Barbara County from an existing platform. But the Governor says he has seen enough, and won’t allow new drilling.

“The governor has said he supported Tranquillon Ridge only as a last-ditch measure amid the state’s worst financial crisis in decades. And on Monday, he said even that support came only after ‘numerous studies’ showed how safe the drilling would be. Then, he said, he watched the news this weekend.” A report said.

“All of you have seen, when you turn on your televisions, the devastation in the Gulf,” he said. “I’m sure that they were also assured that it is safe to drill.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying on Monday, he would mount a vigorous defense of his landmark environmental legislation, vowing to “push back” against “greedy oil companies who want to keep polluting in our state.”

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Posted in California budget, environment, gulf of mexico, gulf of mexico oil leak, Gulf of Mexico oil Spill | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Man-made Major Disaster Looming in China

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

Fire-Earth Forecast: The next wave of man-made, or human-enhanced disasters could strike China

Continued…

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Posted in China, china energy, environment | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

FLOODING: Kentucky governor declares a state of emergency

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

Southern U.S. struck by deadly thunderstorms, tornados and flash floods since weekend, 25 dead

Kentucky  Governor Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency afetr  four people died in weather-related accidents on Monday.

“I urge individuals who encounter high waters to use extreme caution and avoid unnecessary contact with flood waters if at all possible,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile President Obama signed a disaster declaration for Alabama on Monday, in response to the damage caused by tornados and flooding in two counties, the White House said.

Parts of downtown Nashville had to be evacuated Monday as Cumberland River overflowed after 2 days of violent thunderstorms, which triggered an extreme rain event.

At least 25 people have been killed in storm and flooding-related incidents throughout Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi.


The flooding Cumberland River that snakes through Nashville forced schools, offices, bars and clubs to shut down. About 1,500 tourists had to be evacuated from the famed Opryland hotel, where the floodwater reached the second in several wings of the building. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

At least 33cm (13 inches) of of rain fell in Nashville over the weekend, almost double the previous record of 17cm that fell in 1979 when Hurricane Fredrick struck.

One of Nashville’s two water treatment plants was submerged in floodwater, and Mayor Karl Dean urged  residents to cut their water use by 50 percent “using it only for drinking and cooking, or risk contamination of the city’s drinking water.” A report said.

The storm cut power lines leaving thousands of residents without electricity.

Meanwhile, about 13cm (5 inches) of rain fell over parts of Alabama overnight, causing extensive flooding As much as 5 inches of rain fell over some parts of Alabama overnight, causing flooding of roads in the Alexander City area in east central Alabama.

Roger McNeil of the National Weather Service in Mobile said Monday the worst flooding was , where there were reports of police having to rescue people from cars in flooded roads. There were no reports of any injuries.in some areas.

Police reported many people caught in their cars on flooded roads, which had to be rescued. There was no report of fatality or injury.

2010 could prove to be one of the deadliest and costliest years on record for storms, flooding, landslide and other human-enhanced disasters. —Fire-Earth

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Posted in Climate Change, climate change fallout, extreme rain, extreme weather, storm | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Intensifies, Flight Ban Imposed

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

New clouds of volcanic ash force Ireland flight ban

Ireland imposes a six-hour flight ban, as a section of British airspace is closed

An intensified wave of seismic activity, which began on May 2, PM,  and is still ongoing, the volcano people at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland reported largest plumes of ash reaching a maximum height of about 5.2km height (17,000 ft) a.s.l., as estimated
by the Icelandic Coast Guard during an observation flight at 14:30 local time.

The plume reached a new height of about 5.5km after a major explosion about 30 minutes later. For more details, see  Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull
Status Report: 16:00 GMT, 03 May 2010 (PDF file)


Eyjafjallajökull Eruption photo dated 2010.05.02 – Sigrún Hreinsdóttir – 1. Source: IESNVC. Image may be subject to copyright. For older images see link in the corresponding sections. Click image to enlarge.

Volcanic Ash Cloud Over Ireland

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) grounded all flights into and out of Ireland from 06:00 GMT (UTC) to midday on Tuesday as a safety precaution against potential dangers posed by the new volcanic cloud from Iceland.

“Ireland falls within the predicted area of ash concentrations that exceed acceptable engine manufacturer tolerance levels,” IAA statement said.

“The decision is based on the safety risks to crews and passengers as a result of the drift south of the volcanic ash cloud caused by the north easterly winds.”

The statement added that  “over-flights of Ireland from the UK and Europe will not be impacted tomorrow. Flights in mainland Europe will operate normally.”

Up to a thousand Irish flights affected

Up to a thousand flights in and out of Dublin airport  Shannon and Cork in the south of the country as well as in the smaller regional airports were reportedly affected.

IAA chief  Eamon Brennan was reported as saying that winds had already pushed volcanic ash on to Ireland airspace.

“Some of the denser volcanic ash, that’s the no-fly zone, is over the (County) Donegal area (in the northwest) and we are concerned about the northeasterly winds moving this down over the rest of the country,’’ he told RTE state radio.

“At the moment we have a slither of denser ash over the midlands.”

Limited airspace closures in Scotland

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warned “increased concentrations of volcanic ash in the atmosphere are forecast to cause limited airspace closures in Scotland” on late Monday and Tuesday (local time).

Icelandic Met Office reported:  “No measurable geophysical changes within the Katla volcano.”

It’s highly probable that they are looking down the wrong volcano, however. Volcanic chain reactions are not as regular, or indeed predictable as, say, the 4 seasons.

The pattern of seismic activity in Iceland:

The pattern of seismicity in Iceland is virtually unchanged sine the initial eruption occurred more than 2 weeks ago:


Iceland’s Map of Seismicity. Click image to enlarge and update (assuming the image is still there). Source IMO. See source for copyright information.

On April 20, 2010 Fire Earth said:

Iceland seismic record for the past 48 hours shows 7  separate cluster of quakes in the vicinity of the following volcanoes (See image below)

  1. Kolbeinsey ridge (Last erupted: 1999)
  2. Krafla (1984)/ Theistareykjarbunga (< 1000 BC)/ Tjörnes fracture zone (1868)
  3. Askja (1961)
  4. Bárðarbunga (1903) and neighboring Grímsvötn (2004)
  5. Grímsnes (> 3500 BC)
  6. Reykjanes (1879)
  7. Eyjafjallajökull (Currently ongoing)

Bárdarbunga, one of the most active volcanoes in Iceland, is a massive volcano with a  700-m-deep caldera which lies beneath the NW Vatnajökull icecap.  A fissure eruption at Thjorsarhraun produced about 21 km³ of lava, the largest known Holocene lava flow on the planet.

Powerful eruptions may occur among the volcanoes lying along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The plate tectonics could also translate into increased seismicity along the divergent plate boundary and boundaries of neighboring plates.



Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands

Further evidence  …

On April 22, 2010 Fire-Earth said: The Next Icelandic Volcano Likely to Erupt

The pattern of seismicity in Iceland has remained almost unchanged from two days ago, while the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull has become less explosive.

Loads of magma seem to be flowing under the land of Ice and Fire [Iceland,] but where is it all going?

In Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting posted on April 20,2010, Fire Earth Moderators said they believed Iceland’s Bárdarbunga May Be Erupting or is about to Erupt.

Seismic events occurring between Apr 18 – 20,2010

Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands

Seismic events occurring between Apr 20 – 22,2010

Source: Iceland Met Office. © Veðurstofa Íslands

Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Latest graphics   click image to enlarge


Click image to enlarge.

Iceland Volcanic Eruption – click image to enlarge


These images are monitoring for the presence of volcanic ash emission in the vicinity of Iceland using infrared data from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. Because cloud particles and volcanic ash particles interact with the infrared radiation in different ways, data at several different wavelengths can be combined to identify the main ash plume, which, when present, would be shown as yellow and orange colours in the images. Note that it is only the thicker parts of the plume that are able to be detected by this method. In addition, the ash plume is often masked by overlying high cloud. UK Met Office – © Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office.

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Posted in iceland ash cloud, Iceland volcano | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak – Detailed Satellite Image

Posted by feww on May 4, 2010

BP Oil Well in Gulf of Mexico Continues to Bleed Crude Oil


Heavy oil colors the surface of the Gulf of Mexico in this detailed satellite image, acquired by the ASTER on NASA’s Terra satellite on May 1, 2010. The image is made from both visible and infrared light, but the slick looks similar to a natural color image made solely from visible light. The heaviest oil is silver with slightly lighter concentrations radiating out in streaks of white. The water is black, though even the dark water is tainted with white, hinting at oil on the water’s surface throughout the image. Image and Caption: NASA. Click image for larger, detailed image.

Selected Reading

“BP oil spill 2010 news is revealing that BP is trying to offer settlements to some residents in Alabama. The BP oil spill is not their accident, according to BP CEO Tony Hayward, and now it appears that they are trying to get Alabama residents to agree to settlements that might be far less than they would get in a law suit. Some of the settlement agreements that BP is shopping around to coastline residents in Alabama stipulate that they will get a one-time payment of up to $5,000 in exchange for the residents giving up the right to sue the company. This could also mean that some of the offers are well below that $5,000 threshold, and it has already angered the Alabama attorney general.”  More …

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Posted in BP, BP oil spill, environment, gulf of mexico, Gulf of Mexico oil Spill | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »