Happy Christmas Alaska. Exxon’s present to those desperate for compensation from the Exxon Valdez oil spill is its new defence in the U.S. Supreme Court that the $2.5 billion verdict the company was ordered to pay conflicts with more than 200 years of maritime law. Exxon is now arguing that trial and appellate courts erred … Read More
Pollution
Car Industry to Fight EU CO2 Plans
The European car industry has pledged to fight the already watered-down plans to reduce CO2 from new cars. Leading the fight will be the Germans and their powerful car industry, which is dominated by gas-guzzling cars like BMW, Porsches and Mercedes-Benz. Even the country’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has opposed the plans saying they were “not … Read More
Alaska Spill May Signal New Corrosion Problems
Another day, another oil spill, this time on an Alaskan pipeline. Alaska officials are investigating the cause of a pipeline rupture on the North Slope earlier this week that they say could be a sign of more widespread corrosion problems at the state’s aging fields.
Another Oil Spill – This Time in Indonesia
This is getting silly. There has been yet another oil spill. Rescuers are trying to contain an oil slick from a small tanker that capsized at a port in central Indonesia yesterday, after it was loaded up with more than 4,000 barrels of fuel. It is not immediately clear how much oil had leaked from … Read More
Another Week, Another Oil Spill
Suddenly another week cannot go past without another oil spill. Recently, we have had spills in Russia, California, South Korea and now Norway. Yesterday, about 25,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Norwegian sector of the North Sea at the Statfjord oil field. It is Norway’s second worst oil spill, and yet it is hardly … Read More
Seoul Declares Oil Disaster
South Korea has declared a section of its west coast a special disaster zone, as thousands of residents, soldiers and police spent a fifth day trying to mop up the worst oil spill in the country’s history. President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday the government would offer “maximum support” to the residents of the area “focused … Read More
US Sues Oil Spill Ship
The US federal government has filed suit against the owners and pilot of the container ship that ran into San Francisco’s Bay Bridge on November 7th. The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, seeks compensation for cleanup costs and the harm to natural resources caused by the 58,000-gallon spill of heavy bunker fuel … Read More
15,000 Birds Dead, 20,000 Poisoned in Russian Slick
The major oil spill off the southern coast of Russia killed over 15,000 birds and poisoned over 20,000, the state agricultural and natural resources monitoring agency has confirmed. “It is impossible to determine the exact number of perished birds due to the fact that the dead birds were swept to the beach and covered by … Read More
Pelosi Expands Probe of San Francisco spill
The American Speaker of the House of Representatives has announced she will request a new investigation by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security into the November 7th oil spill in San Francisco Bay. Central to the investigation will be the questionable Coast Guard response. “One way or another soonner or later, we … Read More
Dolphins Dying in Russian Spill
The Russian tanker that broke in two in the Black Sea is killing dolphins, Russia’s environment watchdog has said. Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of state environment watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said the oil had polluted a 50-km (30-mile) long stretch of Black Sea coastline and rescue workers would have to remove 10,000 tonnes of oily sludge from … Read More