Mary Anderson

srijeda, 19.05.2010.

BP lawyers trying to get homefield advantage by trying all lawsuits in Texas

Even with the oil still coming out of its broken well under the Gulf of Mexico, BP's lawyers are working behind the scenes to get a leg up on the people who are suing them

http://looncanada.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/unfrozen-oil-industry-lawyers/

Greenland rising rapidly as ice melts

The ice is melting so fast in Greenland that the giant island is rising noticeably as the weight is lifted. In some spots, the land is rising 1 inch per year.

A vast ice cap covers much of Greenland, in some places up to 1.2 miles (2 km) thick. The ice, in place for eons, presses down the land, making the elevation at any given point lower than it would be sans ice.

Scientists have documented on Greenland and elsewhere that when longstanding ice melts away, the land rebounds. Even the European Alps are rising as glaciers melt.

Now, scientists at the University of Miami say Greenland's ice is melting so quickly that the land underneath is rising at an accelerated pace.

Some coastal areas are going up by nearly 1 inch per year, the scientists announced today. If current trends continue, that could accelerate to as much as 2 inches per year by 2025, said Tim Dixon, professor of geophysics at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) and principal investigator of the study.

"It's been known for several years that climate change is contributing to the melting of Greenland's ice sheet," Dixon said in a statement. "What's surprising, and a bit worrisome, is that the ice is melting so fast that we can actually see the land uplift in response."

Dixon added: "Even more surprising, the rise seems to be accelerating, implying that melting is accelerating."

The results, based on a study of data from global positioning system (GPS) receivers stationed on the rocky shores of Greenland, were published online by the journal Nature Geoscience. The data stretches back to 1995.

"During ice ages and in times of ice accumulation, the ice suppresses the land," explained Shimon Wdowinski, research associate professor in the University of Miami RSMAS, and co-author of the study. "When the ice melts, the land rebounds upwards," Wdowinski said. "Our study is consistent with a number of global warming indicators, confirming that ice melt and sea-level rise are real and becoming significant."

continued

OIL SPILL NEWS: BP Uses Toxic Dispersant (and Gag Orders) to Keep Oil Out of Sight

05/05/2010

BP working hard to keep the damage hidden

The weather along the Gulf of Mexico finally cleared today, but with the wind backing around to the north and east, the spill remains out to sea.

Retired University of Alaska marine conservation expert Rick Steiner joined us today. He's worked on oil spills around the world, most significantly on the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound Alaska.

Rick says that the fact that this spill emanates from the bottom of the gulf (5,000 feet down), where the water temperature is approximately 1 degree Centigrade (and the oil is hot) means that by the time the oil reaches the surface, it has thoroughly mixed with water and therefore does not appear to be the kind of gruesome slick that is so famous from previous disasters.

It's a PR boon to BP that this is so, because it means that the oil spill remains hidden from public view. It does not, however, mean there is not a tremendous environmental tragedy unfolding. As we speak about this, we need to make that point clear. It's not just about what we can see from shore and that BP has been proactively taking steps to keep the damage hidden.

The dispersant being used at the wellhead – tradename “Corexit,” is nicknamed by Rick “Hidez-it” because the real reason it is used is to keep the damage out of sight. He points out that oil is toxic to wildlife, dispersant is toxic to wildlife, but the toxicity of the two combined is greater than the sum of the parts.

A fisherman we spoke with also noted that if dispersants are used, it saves BP money because they can hire fewer fishing boats – at $1,500 per day each – to skim oil.

As we noted last night, when dispersants are not used, the oil comes ashore and kills birds, when it is not used, it stays in the water column and kills fish, but it's worth noting that killing fish means killing birds eventually because of, y’know, that whole food web thing.

On another BP front, we hear that BP is demanding that fishermen who they hire in the cleanup sign gag orders, agreeing not to talk to the media. Rick says it’s one of the many similarities to the Valdez spill. BP’s reading from the playbook Exxon wrote.

The rules are:

1 – Understate the amount of oil spilled and environmental damage done.

2 – Overstate the effectiveness of the oil company’s response (or more accurately, the oil company’s “response theater”).

3 – Try to buy off the locals for a pittance in exchange for waivers that they will not sue.

4 – Get as many people under a gag order as possible.

We are warning the locals that it took 20 years of court battles to get Exxon to pay damages to the people of Prince William Sound and that the final settlement was only one-tenth of the original award.

Rick said, “Right after Valdez, someone told me, ‘Lawyers still unborn will be litigating this spill’ and I laughed at him. Well, it’s been 21 years and the litigation is still not finished, so he may be right.”

See also this video from the Guardian's coverage:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/apr/30/bp-cost-deepwater-horizon-spil...

City full of naked people partying?

Only four more weeks till June 12th and the worlds largest naked parade! This will be my fifth year of participation. Last year, I didn't get home till three days later .

http://chicagonakedride.org/

Bring Down Monsanto...

Take action now and let's bring down Monsanto:

70% percent or more of our food contains genetically engineered food brought by the bio-tech giant: Monsanto.

GMO is endangering people's health and our environment at an alarming rate.

Cross-contamination is irreversible and good, organic crops are being jeopardized.

These seeds are incredibly expensive compared to the traditional ones and have been genetically modified to produce their own pesticide, to survive the spraying of the: "Roundup", a potent herbicide and to self terminate.

This has lead our farmers to buy new GMO seeds each year and depend on Monsanto. As a result of this ruthless drive to use India as a testing ground for genetically modified crops, 125,000 farmers took their own lives.

These people were driven to debt, to economic distress, homeless and landless.

GMO has and is failing catastrophically.

This company is persecuting, bullying and bringing farms to bankruptcy.

GMO was never adequately tested for safety, actually more and more research shows its dangers to the human/animal health, polluting our crops and our water.

Monsanto did use false advertising; Monsanto poisons the third world and privatizes water. Its employees have passed through the so-called revolving door many times, they rotated between this industry and the public agencies:

Clarence Thomas, Gwendolyn S. King, Linda Fisher, Jim Travis, Linda Avery Strachanand, Toby Moffet , Marcia Hale, Donald Bandle, George H. Poste, Michael Kantor and Michael Taylor all bending rules, finding loopholes to assure this company profits.

This technology is only exacerbating hunger, poverty, irreversible contamination and climate change in our world.


Bring down Monsanto's monopoly on our food and a centralized agriculture.

Bring down Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds.

Bring down the use of harmful pesticides, herbicides and chemicals alike.

Hold this company accountable for its damages to the world.

Organic agriculture, permaculture and biodiversity are the only answer to sustainability, to the preservation of our environment and our health.

We want you, as our government, as a body of representation of the people of the United States to invest billions subsidizing organic, environmental agriculture.

Bring down Monsanto's poisoning, companies alike and the agrochemical industry once and for all as it is one of the greatest threats to the whole human race.

Thank you.

Sign this petition, it takes less than thirty seconds and you'll make a world of difference, BRING DOWN MONSANTO NOW:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/bring-down-monsanto-monopoly

Join the Organic Movement:

http://current.com/groups/organicgreen/

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs305.snc3/28853_393239006316_237028...

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