Oil giant Exxon is being sued by the New York attorney general’s office who claims that the company did not clean up 17 million gallons of spilled oil in Brooklyn over the past century. This amounts to some 7 million more gallons than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. “Exxon Mobil – the largest, … Read More
Pollution
China: 750,000 a Year Killed by Pollution
China’s poisoned air has risen up the political agenda after reports that the Government forced the World Bank to censor a study for fear that one of its findings – that 750,000 people die of pollution-related illness each year – might stoke social unrest. The World Bank study, produced in co-operation with Chinese government ministries, … Read More
Coping with Climate Change in the Niger Delta:
Nigeria’s Community Research and Development Centre (CREDC) has released a study on the impacts of climate change in the Niger Delta and the adaptation strategies that the people of the Niger Delta are using to deal with growing problems.
Total Pleads for Acquittal Over Erika Spill
Lawyers for Total have asked a French court to acquit the oil giant over a December 1999 oil spill that killed some 75,000 birds off the western coast of France and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. The lawyers said French and international law shielded the company from any liability and insisted Total … Read More
Daryl Hannah Joins Amazon Oil Protest
Daryl Hannah, the actress turned environmentalist, is adding her voice to the campaign demanding redress for the inhabitants of Ecuador’s Amazon region, which has been blighted by 30 years of oil exploration by Texaco. The 46-year-old star of Splash and Kill Bill was hoping to meet Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa, yesterday.On Monday, she toured the … Read More
Federal Court Rejects Latest Exxon Appeal
At the time of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster I remember that someone said “lawyers not yet born will work on this one”. Some seventeen years later the litigation continues. Exxon’s legal options look more constrained though after a federal appeal court rejected the company’s latest request for the court to further reduce damages against … Read More
Yet Another BP Leak in Alaska
Can nothing go right for BP? Yesterday the company said it will shut down production of 100,000 barrels of Alaskan oil for a few days, after discovering yet another leaky pipe at a processing facility. Some 400,000 barrels of oil a day are pumped at Prudhoe Bay, and BP has a 25 percent stake in … Read More
Oxy Now Sued Over Amazon Pollution
Following on from our previous blog about Oxy being accused of dumping oil in the Amazon, the oil company has now been sued by Earthrights International on behalf of the Achuar people. The claim alleges that over the course of three decades Oxy engaged in “irresponsible, reckless, immortal and illegal practices” in an “unchecked effort … Read More
Shell Oil Fined For Pollution at California Refinery
Shell’s subsidiary, Shell Oil Products has paid nearly $3 million in penalties at its California refinery following an equipment failure that sent nearly 1,000 tons of excess carbon monoxide into the air. The pollution escaped the refinery in Martinez back in March after three boilers that simultaneously produce steam and control the plant’s carbon monoxide … Read More
Oxy Accused of Dumping Waste in the Amazon
Occidental has been accused of contaminating an area of the Peruvian Amazon where it and its successor company have drilled for oil for the past 32 years, creating misery for the local Achuar people and widespread lead and cadmium poisoning. Amazon Watch and EarthRights International have accused Oxy of violating Peruvian and international law by … Read More