I’ve been avoiding shrimp for close to two years because I expected this. Do you remember how the EPA said it was safe for New Yorkers to return to the area around Ground Zero, despite the obvious hazard to respiration from asbestos dust? The government’s action around the BP oil
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DeSmogBlog: Deadly Bacteria Found In Gulf Coast Tar Balls
tar balls.jpg Since the very first tar balls began rolling onshore along the Gulf of Mexico following 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion and subsequent underwater oil geyser, the oil industry told us to relax because those tar balls were completely harmless. But as we approach the two year anniversary of
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Big Oil Rakes In Billions, Still Complains Taxes Are Too High
20080810-violin.jpg The President rolled out his FY2013 budget recently, which includes eliminating $40 billion in tax breaks from Big Oil companies, such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute's response would have you believe that cutting the subsidies would be the equivalent of moving back
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: U.S. Chamber Hits The Road To Promote "Oily" Highway Transportation Bill
us_chamber_of_commerce_0.jpg A bitter fight has erupted in Washington, D.C. in recent weeks surrounding the fate of a much-needed transportation and infrastructure bill. Congressional Democrats wanted to pass a bill that would fund projects to help rebuild roads and bridges, but Republicans were against the idea. So, in an attempt to
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Unethical Oil: Why Is Canada Killing Wolves and Muzzling Scientists To Protect Tar Sands Interests?
shutterstock_71225605.jpg In the latest and perhaps most astonishing display of the tar sands industry’s attacks on science and our democracy, the government of Alberta has made plans to initiate a large-scale wolf slaughter to provide cover for the destruction wrought by the industrialization of the boreal forest ecosystem. In the coming
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Waterkeeper Groups Sue Over Gulf Oil Leak Gushing For Seven Years And Counting
Gulf Oil.jpg Like many Gulf Coast residents, I was highly skeptical when both the media and the Coast Guard told us that the tar balls we were seeing wash up on our shores in the months following the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster were not from BP’s oil geyser at the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: American Petroleum Institute’s Jack Gerard Fact Checked By Activists During Speech
Vote 4 Oil.png Guest post by Connor Gibson, cross-posted from Polluterwatch. Two days ago, President Obama denied the permit for the destructive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, much to the dismay of Big Oil's top lobbyist and propagandist. Speaking at the National Press Club to an audience dominated by oil, coal and nuclear representatives and
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: BP Launches PR Blitz To Repair Image
bp-logo-oil.jpg College football fans aren’t the only ones who’ll be paying close attention to what’s happening in Louisiana this evening – BP is hoping that tonight’s BCS championship game will be the ultimate payoff for their aggressive public relations campaign which is aimed at convincing the American public that the
Continue readingNext time some ‘Ethical Oil’ salesperson gives you the ‘foreign influence’ bunk on the pipeline hearings, mention Alison’s post on the subject at Creekside
I watched in mild horror ’Question Period’ yesterday. Horror, not because CTV is too cheap to broadcast the show in HD, but because of the nonsense delivered on behalf of Alberta’s ‘Ethical Oil’ lobby by Huffington Post’s Kathryn Marshall. Her spiel was more about trying to trap Eric Swanson of Dogwood Initiative with circuitous and
Continue readingNext time some ‘Ethical Oil’ salesperson gives you the ‘foreign influence’ bunk on the pipeline hearings, mention Alison’s post on the subject at Creekside
I watched in mild horror ‘Question Period’ yesterday. Horror, not because CTV is too cheap to broadcast the show in HD, but because of the nonsense delivered on behalf of Alberta’s ‘Ethical Oil’ lobby by Huffington Post’s Kathryn Marshall. Her spiel was more about trying to trap Eric Swanson of Dogwood Initiative
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: What We Didn’t Learn From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster
oil-rig.jpg Almost 20 months have passed since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. And to this day, the lessons we should have learned from that disaster remain completely ignored. In spite of an intense battle involving a moratorium
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Report Partially Blames Federal Government For Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion
Deepwater-Horizon-oil-rig-006.jpg Perhaps one of the most honest assessments of last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion reveals the numerous failures of both industry and the federal government in the worst marine oil disaster in U.S. history. The U.S. Department of the Interior sanctioned the report, compiled by more than a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: BP Returns to Deepwater Offshore Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
800px-Deepwater_Horizon_offshore_drilling_unit_on_fire_2010.jpg BP, the oil major responsible for the biggest offshore oil disaster in U.S. history, is officially returning to deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Obama Interior Department "awarded" BP $27 million worth of leases for oil-and-gas exploration in the Gulf waters into which the company and
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Ohio’s Utica Shale to "Boost Local Economy"? A "Total" Sham
Total Energy Logo.jpg It is a well-known fact that the unconventional gas industry is involved in an inherently toxic business, particularly through hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), which the EPA just confirmed today has contaminated groundwater in Wyoming. The documentary "Gasland," DeSmogBlog's report "Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens our Water, Health,
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: BP Accuses Halliburton Of Destroying Evidence In Gulf Deepwater Horizon Disaster
halliburton-logo.jpg Just months before trials are set to begin, BP is accusing Halliburton of destroying evidence related to their shoddy cement work that helped cause last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. According to Reuters, BP has officially filed their allegations with the courts, hoping to get the ball rolling
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Brazilian Officials Investigating Chevron Oil Spill Off Coast
oil slick.jpg Law enforcement agencies in Brazil announced today that they would begin investigating the cause of an oil spill that occurred off the coast. Chevron's Frade Well off the coast of Brazil has been leaking for more than a week. From the start, Chevron tried to downplay the significance
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Commonwealth Business Council Picks In-house Denier To Chair Climate Forum
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IF you were going to have a serious high-level discussion about, say, improving science teaching in schools, then who would you invite to chair the meeting?
How about an astrologer? …
DeSmogBlog: In Throes of Keystone XL Controversy, Obama Admin OKs Alaska Offshore Drilling
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With all eyes on the ongoing battle over whether or not the Obama Administration and the State Department will approve the disastrous Keystone XL pipeline, it was easy to l…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: New Federal Report Says Gulf of Mexico Cleanup Needed “Urgently”
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A preliminary report released Wednesday by the federal Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force says that cleanup is needed for the Gulf of Mexico “urgently,” in orde…
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