BP

The BP oil disaster has highlighted our quest for oil and how much influence oil companies have over politics. The disaster was easily preventable, however BP wanted to increase production. There were factors that led to the disaster. First of all, drilling this deep was never attempted and there wasn't an official protocol in case there was something wrong with the drill on the seafloor. There was also two major problems with the blowout preventer. The rubber gasket that would automatically plug up the leak was broken and the manual override was not responding. This led to BP attempting to figure a solution. This lasted for months, meanwhile millions of gallons of oil was leaking from the seafloor. There is also evidence that BP overworked its workers and told them to keep working even though they new that the safety precautions were malfunctioning. Like the Exxon Valdez, this event transformed American policy and has forever changed the Gulf of Mexico.

Although the Deepwater Horizon disaster was quite horrendous, it could have been much worse. Scientists were worried that oil was going to be picked up by the gulf  stream and possible contaminate a large portion of the East Coast. Much more action would have been taken against BP if this occurred. BP was ordered to clean up and did a atrocious job. This issue has largely been silence, however the gulf will never be the same again. BP sprayed a chemical to suspend the oil that makes it seem like the water is clear. In fact it has only made the situation worse. Life at all levels of the Gulf are now killed off. Stronger laws should be implemented in order to hold companies more responsible for their actions.

U.S. Federal Government Amps Up E-Waste Reuse and Recycling

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/47355


The U.S is the largest producer of e waste, producing 2.4 million tons of it. Many of these materials contain rare earth elements and poisonous metals such as mercury. However, the Federal government is getting more aggressive in the reduce, reuse, recycle campaign. There's a new law making the federal government more responsible for e waste. Incineration or dumping e waste into landfills would be no longer acceptable. Much money would be saved in the recycling of e waste.

France moving away from Nuclear power

http://www.enn.com/energy/article/47327




France is the world's most dependent country on nuclear power. It has a bold plan to reduce its huge dependency. By 2020, it plans to cut back 75% of energy produced by nuclear, to 50% nuclear energy. So where will this electricity com from, Narnia? France plans to invest in renewables. Wind in particular looks appealing to the French government. A poll was conducted and found that the majority of the French population favors the transition to renewables. Hopefully France can be a model to others how a major country and transfer from a nonrenewable, waste economy to a efficient renewable economy.

Forty-Four Years of Earth Day

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/upshot/forty-four-years-of-earth-day.html?ref=earth

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, much has changed since its first celebration. Alhtough we still face problems such as climate change, overpopulation and rising sea levels, much as been improved. For example, smog levels aren't as bad a forty four years ago. The reason is due to the fact that cars are more fuel efficient nowadays. Although much more could be done, like taking more trucks on the road and use civil disobedience against th oil companies roadblocks to fuel efficiency, the situation has improved. Fossil fuel per captia has decreased in America. Consumption has gone up, however so has the population and it has used less per captia. Rivers dont burn anymore, we recyle and endangered species have come back. We have many major challenges to go, however if we can take politics out of the equation and just act, there can be a substainable future.  

NSIDC, NASA say Arctic melt season lengthening, ocean rapidly warming

http://climate.nasa.gov/news/1058


Grave news from the Artic. Global temperatures are already hammering the ice caps. Now with each passing decade, the melting season is an additional five days. Sea ice is also becoming thinner due to rising temperatures. The last seven Septembers have been the warmest on record for the Artic. In some areas, the melting season has increased from 6 to 11 days.  Due to more rocks being exposed to the sun, the rocks are warming up and adding to the melting of the icecaps. At this current rate, there might not be any ice in the poles in the near future.

Meeting climate targets may require reducing diet of meat and dairy

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/47236

Climate change is predicted to raise the temperature of earth ny 2 degrees C. The main factors are deforestation and burning of fossil fuels. Hoever, what if I told you that eating more vegetables and less meat would assit in reducing CO2 admissions. Nitrous Oxide and Methane are two greenhouse gases more potent than CO2, and if these problems aren't fixed then their levels could doube by 2070. By eating more meat, there's a higher demand for cows, meaning more methane. Beef and lamb are the largest CO2 admmissioners. It looks like that the Bigmac is not only bad for your health, but also for your climate.

Ebola outbreak in Guinea may spread to Liberia

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/03/24/ebola-outbreak-may-spread-to-liberia/6835825/


An outbreak of the highly deadly Ebola virus has been spotted in the west African country of Guinea, resulting in the death of 59 people so far. Sources state that it might soon spread to neighboring Liberia. Ebola is so deadly because it liquefies your internal organs, and if that doesn't kill you, then you will drown in your own blood. Ebola is similar to the HIV virus. It is an ancient retro virus that is originally found in monkeys. Since monkeys are consumed in Africa, the disease has spread to humans. This is the first time in 20 years that Ebola has been reported in west Africa. There isn't a cure or vaccine for Ebola, with mortality rates at 90%. Health officials are desperately trying to contain Ebola.