Recent News
June 11, 2010: Exxon Valdez experts: Gulf oil spill response off to a bad start
Via Sacramento Bee
April 27, 2010 : Statement on the BP/TransOcean Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill:
David Grimes, Mt. Lassen, driving north to Alaska
Iishuh. We who experienced the disaster of the Exxon oil spill in Alaska now offer our prayers to the Gulf of Mexico-to the ocean, the wild creatures and wetlands, to the human residents of the spill region, to the workers who died on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig when it exploded and sank.
This crisis is a teachable moment, a time to remember that ALL fossil fuel we humans use is spilled into the environment. It is spilled into the air when we burn it in our automobiles and furnaces and factories, and it is spilled into the water when super tankers collide with reefs or other ships, and when oil rigs like the Deepwater Horizon catastrophically malfunction. Every time we use fossil fuel, we spill fossil fuel.
We humans are addicted to oil-it is our number one drug. It is also the sacred black blood of Mother Earth that has often befriended and helped us. When we treat it with disrespect and enslave it to our unbridled greed, we too become slaves. We go to war for our drug. We poison our planet, our water and air. We poison our spirit.
To restore balance with the rest of creation, let us use this crisis as an opportunity-an opportunity to give thanks to the earth, to the water and the air and all the wild creatures. Let us give thanks to energy. Let us use this crisis as an opportunity to commit to conservation, to energy efficiency, to the development of clean alternative energies. Let us create a Manhattan Project for conservation and respectful use of energy.
Each of us can be a leader in our own lives to restore respect and love for the earth. Blessings to all beings. Blessings to the Gulf of Mexico and the waters of the world.
Awa' ahdah.
April 21, 2010: Breaking News. Oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers are still missing and 17 injured in an explosion at a Transocean oil drilling rig that was contracted by oil giant BP off the Louisiana coast. As of this writing, the fire is still burning. Although pollution reports are hard to find, we heard an oil sheen has been reported on the surrounding waters.
Via Associated Press
April 20, 2010: SERVS meeting in Cordova this Thursday on Earth Day, April 22: There are "issues" regarding the proposed pay raise.
Via Anchorage Daily News
April 13, 2010: Cordova, Shepard Point Meeting Held
A meeting took place early this morning in Cordova at the Reluctant Fisherman with the Army Corps of Engineers, and representatives from the Native Village of Eyak and several citizens of Cordova representing those against the proposed Shepard point road and deep water port permit application. An important gathering, as Colonel Reinhard W. Koenig from Army Corps called for and attended the meeting to review and see the proposed area that is planned for the dubious oil spill response facility. Unfortunately because of illness, representatives from EPC were not able to attend. EPC learned of a request by the Native Village of Eyak to conduct a "government to government" consultation with the ACE (U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska). An Army Corps source has informed us that this is "not usual" as applicants are not usually those that also request government to government relations. We will post an update after the meeting. Check back later to find out more.
April 7, 2010: 160-Square-Mile Oil Spill Fouls Mississippi Delta Wildlife Refuge
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, An 18,000 gallon spill of crude oil from a pipeline into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge has personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, the state of Louisiana, and the Cypress Pipe Line Company scrambling to contain the spreading mess.
The incident was first reported to the Coast Guard early Tuesday morning. At that time, Berry Brothers General Contractors were conducting dredging operations for ExxonMobil in the area of the spill. They notified the Coast Guard that oil was spilling into a canal located 10 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana.
An area of about 160 square miles has been affected by the spill - 16 square miles of wetlands in the 76 square-mile Delta National Wildlife Refuge and 120 square miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Cypress Pipe Line Company of Opelousas, Louisiana, which operates the pipeline, reports that approximately 18,000 gallons of crude oil has been released.
Located at the mouth of the Mississippi River and formed by the deposition of sediment carried for hundreds of miles down the river, the Delta National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935.
The refuge is the wintering ground for hundreds of thousands of snow geese, coots and ducks. Endangered and threatened species on the refuge include the American alligator, the brown pelican, the Arctic peregrine falcon and the piping plover.
Environmentalists warn that the incident casts doubt on more offshore drilling. "This is just more evidence that the oil and gas industry don't have the proper safety standards in place," said Casey DeMoss Roberts of the New Orleans group of the Sierra Club. "The President claims drilling is safer than ever but our state is the cautionary tale."
"Louisiana has been devastated by the oil industry," said Anne Rolfes, founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental health and justice organization. "Our health and our environment have been ravaged by accidents and carelessness. Instead of raking in the profits it is time to start honestly reckoning with the problems."
April 5, 2010: Salvage experts work to stabilise Chinese ship aground on Great Barrier Reef
Environmentalists warn of devastating effects if Chinese vessel that hit Douglas Shoals breaks up click here to read article
Via The Guardian.uk.com
March 31, 2010: Obama boosts drilling off US coastlines but protects Bristol Bay
click here to read article.
Via Anchorage Daily News
March 30, 2010: Rainforest Action Network 25th Anniversary Kick-off
March 18, 2010: Shepard Pt. Project application suspended
Click here for more info.
March 22, 2010: Chuitna coal project plans to mine through salmon stream
click here to read article.
Via Anchorage Daily News
February 16, 2010: Fast to protest Norwegian-owned salmon farms ends
"In an attempt to draw attention to a long simmering dispute, environmentalists and the chiefs of several First Nations in British Columbia have held a 29-hour fast that ended Tuesday just as Canada was about to play Norway in men's hockey." Click here to read article.
Via The Globe and Mail
March 13,2010: Alyeska says it's short of oil spill vessels
"The operator of the trans-Alaska pipeline and Valdez tanker port is reporting a shortfall in the number of fishing boats ready to provide aid in the event of a Prince William Sound oil spill." click here to read article.
Via Anchorage Daily News
December 23, 2009: Two serious incidents in Prince William Sound in less than a month? One on Bligh Reef, the same reef that hemorrhaged the Exxon Valdez.
The Pathfinder spilled over 6,000 gallons of fuel, and we still don't really know why: Click here to read article.
Via Deckboss
January 17, 2010: Exxon tanker carrying more than 25 million gallons of Alaska crude oil loses power early Sunday morning while leaving Prince William Sound.
Vessel had to be towed to safety according to U.S. Coast Guard. Click here to read article.
Via The News Tribune
