Category: Environmental Issues
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Japan Nuclear Meltdown Would have Worldwide Implications / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Chris_Ciovacco
The concerns continue to mount after Japan’s devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which may further heighten recent anxiety in the financial markets. An explosion near the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station has industry experts talking about the possibility of a meltdown. According to Bloomberg:
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Japan's Chernobyl, Nuclear Power Plant Explodes, Meltdown in Progress / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: STRATFOR
A March 12 explosion at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan, appears to have caused a reactor meltdown.
The key piece of technology in a nuclear reactor is the control rods. Nuclear fuel generates neutrons; controlling the flow and production rate of these neutrons is what generates heat, and from the heat, electricity. Control rods absorb neutrons — the rods slide in and out of the fuel mass to regulate neutron emission, and with it, heat and electricity generation.
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Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Environmental Disaster Preparedness, Five Things Every American Should Do, But Won’t / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Chris_Kitze
Dennis Evers writes: We’ve all seen him on the news. The guy buying plywood, beer, chips and other survival essentials as the approaching hurricane can be seen over his shoulder in the distance.
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans aren’t much better when it comes to being prepared for emergencies. However, recent disasters have proven that the sheer magnitude of an event can overwhelm relief efforts, coupled with cutbacks in personnel, budgets and equipment, place the onus squarely on our shoulders.
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Monday, February 14, 2011
Shocking Trends in Natural Disasters / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: John_Hampson
2011 has begun with drought in China and Kenya, flood in Sri Lanka, and Australia suffering both cyclone and flood. 2010 saw major drought and wildfires in Russia and the worst drought in the Brazilian Amazon in 100 years, as well as flood in Pakistan that affected a massive 20 million people. Volcanic eruption in Iceland affected European air travel and large earthquakes were registered in both Chile and Haiti last year.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
The Gulf of Mexico is Dying, Special Report on the BP Gulf Oil Spill / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dr_Tom_Termotto
It is with deep regret that we publish this report. We do not take this responsibility lightly, as the consequences of the following observations are of such great import and have such far-reaching ramifications for the entire planet. Truly, the fate of the oceans of the world hangs in the balance, as does the future of humankind.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
A Primer on Natural Resources and the Environment / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: George_Reisman
There is a fundamental fact about the world that has profound implications for the supply of natural resources and for the relationship between production and economic activity on the one side and man's environment on the other. This is the fact that the entire earth consists of solidly packed chemical elements. There is not a single cubic centimeter either on or within the earth that is not some chemical element or other, or some combination of chemical elements. Any scoop of earth, taken from anywhere, reveals itself upon analysis to be nothing but a mix of elements ranging from aluminum to zirconium. Measured from the upper reaches of its atmosphere 4,000 miles straight down to its center, the magnitude of the chemical elements constituting the earth is 260 billion cubic miles.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Why is the World Rushing Headlong into Environmental Armageddon? / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dr_Tom_Termotto
Is there any doubt that planet Earth has been undergoing an environmental armageddon for decades? We are not just referring to the spate of oil spills all over the world such as the BP Gulf Oil Spill, or the many other toxic deluges which go unreported unlike the Hungary Toxic Sludge Disaster, or the ongoing destruction of the world’s rainforests like those being systematically wiped out in the Amazon Basin. We are also alluding to the “unseen” worldwide chemical apocalypse, the global proliferation of electro-pollution (EMR), the major uptick in man-made geopathic stress events on both the micro and macro levels, as well as the relentless contamination of living environments throughout the planet with radioactivity.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Hungary Toxic Sludge Catastrophe Reminiscent of BP Gulf Oil Spill Disaster / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dr_Tom_Termotto
Here’s the top headline on Yahoo! News on Thursday, October 7, 2010 regarding the Toxic Sludge Disaster in Hungary:
Scientists say heavy metal in sludge not dangerous (AP)
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Saturday, August 14, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, Time to Lift the Drilling Moratorium / Commodities / Environmental Issues
By: John_Mauldin
The Gulf Oil Spill Disaster
From Unmitigated Disaster to Merely Disaster
The Corexit Decision
Some More Takeaways
Time to Lift the Moratorium
Getting the Balance Just Right As I mentioned last Monday night in my Outside the Box, I did not make it to Turks and Caicos, but did end up in Baton Rouge for a special seminar on the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill. I have both good news (or maybe more like less-bad news) and bad news. Today's letter is a report on what I learned.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
ALERT: Environmental and Health Impacts of the BP Gulf Oil Spill / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dr_Tom_Termotto
THE COMING OF THE BLACK WAVE
Nothing in our shared cultural experience will prepare us better for the oncomingBlack Wave throughout the Gulf of Mexico than the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. And yet even this environmental catastrophe falls far short of what is coming around the corner in the Gulf. Alaska is not Florida, or Louisiana, or Texas. The Deep South summer here in Tallahassee, FL has been as hot and humid as any we’ve seen. This weather pattern is what will distinguish the BP Gulf Oil Spill from the Exxon Valdez just as the total volume of the spill and use of dispersants have.
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Monday, August 02, 2010
Scientists Deeply Concerned About BP Disaster's Long-Term Impact / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dahr_Jamail
GULFPORT, Louisiana, - Contrary to recent media reports of a quick recovery in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists and biologists are "deeply concerned" about impacts that will likely span "several decades".
"My prediction is that we will be dealing with the impacts of this spill for several decades to come and it will outlive me," Dr. Ed Cake, a biological oceanographer, as well as a marine and oyster biologist, told IPS, "I won't be here to see the recovery."
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Did BP Accidentally Tap Into the Rigel Gas Field? / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Washingtons_Blog
On July 23rd, Admiral Thad Allen said that the seep 3 kilometers from the leaking BP well was from the Rigel gas field: David Dishneau: Admiral, this is David Dishneau from The Associated Press. I have a question regarding that seep that we’ve been trying to, that was identified within three kilometers… And I know that the Interior Department now is trying to assist with identifying that but the AP has developed a map that shows the two old wells within the radius that you described. And I wondered if I could show you this map and you could point out which of those you believe.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Plausible Gulf Oil Spill Scenario: Underground Blowout and Mudflow / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dian_L_Chu
Amid rising fears over a circulating story about a leak and seepage, the federal government's oil spill chief said that seepage detected two miles from BP's oil cap is coming from another well. Meanwhile, BP is on track to use static top kill procedure in Macondo.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
BP Abandoning the Capped Gulf Oil Well, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Washingtons_Blog
BP will leave the cap on the oil well while it vacates the area for a number of days to avoid the coming tropical storm.
What could possibly go wrong?
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Sunday, July 18, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Well Cap, Pressure At The Wellhead And What It Really Means / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dr_Tom_Termotto
BP and the Coast Guard are watching the pressure at the wellhead very, very closely because of what it will mean for the future prospects of this well. Pressure readings under a critical threshold usually mean that there may be leaking elsewhere in the system. If there is a single leak, it will be more easily diagnosed and remedied depending on where it is. If there is more than one leak present, a whole set of different challenges emerges. Most importantly, keeping the system under pressure, when leaks exist anywhere, will inevitably increase the potential for those leaks to worsen.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Dire Disaster Realities Of The Methane Predicament In The Gulf Of Mexico / / Environmental Issues
By: T_Anthony_Michael
Methane Gas, Methane Hydrate & Methane Clathrate Formations and Behavior -
There has been a spate of articles recently throughout the MSM and alternative media depicting the methane gas predicament associated with the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Many of these perspectives portray an alarming state of affairs concerning extremely high concentrations of methane that have accumulated in numerous areas in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Gusher: Butterfly Effect, Edge of Chaos & World Wide Summit? / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Submissions
DK Matai writes: Does the flap of a Butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas? How we strive for predictability, which eludes us more than ever before, yet we don't often stop to ask ourselves: why? According to the Butterfly Effect, the slightest disturbance in one part of the world can trigger a chain of events that create a hurricane in another part of the world. Let us just think about how fragile the earth is: from volcanoes to earthquakes and from sinkholes to an uncontrollable gusher spewing crude oil and gas at the bottom of the ocean.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
BP Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: DK_Matai
DK Matai writes: Gas and Methane Levels At Record
As much as one million times the normal level of methane is showing up near the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher, enough potentially to create dead zones in the water. "These are higher levels than we have ever seen at any other location in the ocean itself," according to sources cited by Reuters. The "flow team" of the US Geological Survey estimates that 2,900 cubic feet of natural gas, which primarily contains methane, is being released into the Gulf waters with every barrel of oil.
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Friday, July 09, 2010
BP Relief Wells Are Ahead of Schedule … But Will They Work? / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Washingtons_Blog
By all reports, BP is ahead of schedule in drilling the relief wells. In fact, BP will likely complete the first relief well this month.
The team leader for BP’s relief wells – Boots and Coots – is 40 for 40 in successfully stopping oil spills using relief wells (around 6:10 into video).
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Wednesday, July 07, 2010
BP Hard Cap Installation And Relief Wells Wellbore Problems / Politics / Environmental Issues
By: Dr_Stephen_Rinehart
Background -
In December 2005 (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804090942.html), scientists aboard IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Expedition 312 approached mantle depths while drilling to investigate superfast seafloor spreading rates. The research expedition penetrated volcanic rock (gabbros) and reached a fossil magma chamber lying 1.4 kilometers beneath the seafloor.