An Alberta Oil Sands Toxic Lake. One of Many.
At one point or another we have all witnessed the effects of a much too free market economy when it comes to the oil industry. Massive oil spills, serious deforestation, and now, of course, global warming are all byproducts (or externalities for the eco-nomists) of the carbon intensive lifestyle that we are so accustomed to. Without current government regulation, our planet’s health would be in even more jeopardy than it already is, which, for me, is hard to fathom.
So with that said, what happens to two million square miles of pristine forest, known as Canada’s Boreal Forest, when the worlds second largest oil deposits lie deep below the forest floor, the government turns a blind eye because it’s making billions off of lease sales and royalties, and oil prices skyrocket as they did in the summer of 2008 and are forecasted to again in 2030? Read more…
Graphic Credit: Christian Guthier
Last December, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the findings of its investigation on the harmful effects of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases not only drive the climate change we are experiencing which is causing freak weather and the endangerment of the few all natural habitats left in the earth, but, more close to home, the EPA found that the climate change that greenhouse gases drive can cause heat waves that are a danger to people prone to strokes and the ground-level ozone pollution can be linked to respiratory illness. Read more…
Photo Credit: The U.S. Army
“Ten years ago, you would have had three- or four-star generals stomping up and down. Now they just ask, ‘How do I get it done?’ ” said Tad Davis, the Army’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health. What Tad Davis is referring to are major conservation orders given by the Pentagon requiring the military to spend millions on protecting endangered plants and animals all over the country. Read more…
Dan McKay
The city of Los Angeles has the highest recycling rate of the ten largest cities in the U.S. (about 65% of L.A. population reduce, reuses, and recycles). Recently, a new pilot program was announced that will encourage an even greater participation of such practices. Known as the RecycleBank, the program allots points to residents who recycle daily with the intention of creating the “cleanest, greenest big city in America” as declared by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. According to the mayor the program will work to better the city’s reputation for sustainability while stimulating the local economy. Read more…
Photo Credit: Ken Lund
Is money all it takes to overturn a government’s regulatory laws? Independent oil company Veneco Inc. is certainly trying to prove it with its attempts to amend regulatory laws in Southern California.
Veneco Inc. owns a large oil storage facility in Carpinteria, California, a charming beach town just outside of Santa Barbara. In 2005, it first proposed the Paredon Initiative, with plans to install an oil deck next to its storage facilities and do an offshore drill for oil in the ocean. The project would sit right next to several residential areas, which could cause many health and environmental issues for the residents and disturb the coastal habitat. Since this project is illegal in Carpinteria, negotiations ensued and an environmental review was conducted. 11 “significant and unavoidable impacts” were identified. Read more…
Photo Credit: David Gil
According to the latest version of the Environmental Performance Index, Iceland leads the world as the top nation in environmental performance. The index is put together by researchers from both Columbia University and Yale University. A number of factors are examined in determining where countries rank on the index, and a final cumulative score is given to each country ranging from 25-100. Iceland received a 93.5. Among the factors considered for ranking are “environmental health, preservation of habitat and reductions in greenhouse gases, air pollution and waste.” Read more…
Photo Credit: Rene Ehrhardt
“This is about a different way of doing business,” said Jennie Nevin, a 31 year old who formerly worked as an investment specialist for Merrill Lynch. “It’s certainly different from Wall Street, where it was all about what you did. This is all about what we can do.”
What Ms. Nevin is referring to is a co-working space called ‘Green Spaces’ that is home to about 20 entrepreneurs (many of whom are in their 20’s) of environmentally centered start-up companies. The office, founded by Ms. Nevin and her partners (who are also very young: 29 and 30) opened in September in TriBeCa, New York and provides the perfect setting for green brainstorming. Another ‘Green Spaces’ was recently opened in Denver, Colorado and a third should be underway in Los Angeles in the near future. Read more…
Photo Credit Andy S-D
March 1 is a very important day in the world for the future of harvesting wind for energy in the United States. March 1 marks the deadline for the Mashpee Wampanoag of Cape Cod, the Aquinnah Wampanoag of Martha’s Vineyard, and project management company Energy Management to compromise on the construction of a long awaited, long debated wind energy farm in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. Cape Wind, the name of this project consisting of 130 wind turbines, each 440 feet tall, covering approximately 24 square miles offshore of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, has been receiving opposition ever since its conception in 2001. Read more…
Photo Credit: Jared Tarbell
Fresh off an attempt to reboot his image and his administration during the State of the Union Address, President Obama is taking swift action to follow through on at least one of his talking points from the evening. The president recently announced a plan to invest in and further explore alternative energy sources in and for the United States. Read more…
A Tiny Village
Kivalina, a minute Inupiat Eskimo village with only 400 residents located just off the Northwestern coast of Alaska, doesn’t have a hotel, restaurant, or movie theatre. But what it does have is a huge lawsuit that might just deal the devastating blow to major greenhouse gas emitting companies needed to change the way the U.S. handles climate change. Kivalina is accusing ExxonMobile, Shell Oil, and 22 other fuel and utilities companies of increasing the global warming which has led to the drastic erosion of the small island’s coasts. In the past sea ice surrounded the island during the winter months preventing heavy wind and wave erosion. However, the sea ice no longer forms due to warmer temperatures. Read more…
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