Have fun mowing the lawn

Just posting this in case anyone is wondering what’s going on with the oil spill and comes here to find out what’s going on in the world. (Not sure why anyone would, but if I can inform once in a while, I’m happy to provide the service.)

Gulf fisherman are contemplating suicide

The situation in the gulf is getting so dire for some in the seafood industry, they’ve thought about committing suicide. Steps to intervene are underway.
– WGNO ABC26 News, New Orleans

The EPA told BP to stop using Corexit as an oil disperant in favor of something less toxic.

The move is significant, because it suggests federal officials are now concerned that the unprecedented use of chemical dispersants could pose a significant threat to the Gulf of Mexico’s marine life.
– The Washington Post

I’ve read that Corexit has been banned in the U.K. because it’s been “linked with human health problems including respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders.”

BP is apparently continuing to use the Corexit anyway.

Kentucky-Tea-Party-hero and Supporter-of-Segregated-Woolworths Rand Paul said that President Obama was “un-American” for being critical of BP.

I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest.
– Tony Hayward, BP CEO (5/18/2010)

National Public Radio in the United States last night reported that the well is spewing up to 70,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2.9m US gallons – the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez disaster every four days. Nearly 11m gallons of oil were spilled in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground, oiling beaches and poisoning marine life for generations. NPR said scientific analysis of newly released video footage from the ocean floor suggested the gusher was 12 times more powerful than estimates offered so far by the Coast Guard or BP.
– The Guardian (UK) (5/13/2010)

And now the oil has arrived in the Louisiana wetlands.

Ok, now that I’ve gone through all of that, it seems like a big waste of time. Oh, well. I need to find out who’s collecting the pet hair that will sent down there to mop up the oil. Really, I heard that someone is doing that. And I’ve got plenty of pet hair to provide.

Spill baby spill

May 2, 2010 / Toastie / Leave a comment

(Photo by J.D. Pooley/Getty Images)

Where’s Half-Gov. Lipstick now? Isn’t she an expert on oil and the environment?

(September 18, 2008)

Didn’t follow that?

Oil (of coal), of course, is a fungible commodity and they don’t flag, ya know, the molecules where, where it’s going to where it’s not but and in the, in the sense of the Congress today they know our very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So I believe that what Congress is going to do also is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it’s Americans who get stuck holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here, it’s gotta flow into our domestic markets first.

American Arses

March 1, 2009 / Toastie / Leave a comment

Worth a read.

Extra-soft, quilted and multi-ply toilet roll made from virgin forest causes more damage than gas-guzzlers, fast food or McMansions, say campaigners

I, for one, like the “quilted” stuff, but I’ll think twice in the future, since I don’t like being compared to a Hummer driver.

Try telling this to the Cult of Palin

September 7, 2008 / Toastie / 1 Comment

The most read story on the BBC News website is “Shun meat, says UN climate chief”. This isn’t a new theory, and, shit, it’s not a theory, it’s a fact that reducing meat consumption would do a lot to lower greenhouse emissions. But will you hear a U.S. politican with the exception of a Dennis Kucinich say this? Will the MSM dare tell media consumers that their diets are more important than their vehicle choices?

I’m not saying that I do my part. I’ve been told to cut down on my meat consumption for specific health reasons and never quite been able to truly commit to it. But at least I’m aware that I could be doing my part. Americas would give up their Suburbans before they’d give up their steaks. During the Olympics, every other ad was for Chevy and their shitty cars, mentioning that the plug-in Volt would be ready…one of these days. But in between those ads were ads for McDonald’s.

Republican has good idea

July 3, 2008 / Toastie / 7 Comments

John Warner (R-VA) has proposed a national speed limit of 65. If Americans really love their country, they’ll embrace this idea. I’m guessing they will not. It would be a case of government telling them what to do, depriving them of the freedom to be wasteful. To me, going 75 MPH is akin to dumping your trash out the car window. But I’ve never owned a car with greater than a four-cylinder engine, so what do I know. Barack Obama has turned into a middle-of-the-road wuss (sticking loopholes in his Iraq timetables, proposing more government money for faith-based programs) since he clinched the nomination, and he can regenerate some backbone by signing on to this idea from the venerable retiring senior senator from Virginia.

Energy Department spokeswoman Angela Hill said the department will review Warner’s letter but added, “If Congress is serious about addressing gasoline prices, they must take action on expanding domestic oil and natural gas production”.

In other words, DOE will be installing toilet paper printed with Senator Warner’s letter in its lavatories.

Plastics

March 19, 2008 / Toastie / 2 Comments

I just realized that half the plastic junk I’ve been putting out with recycling can’t be recycled by Durham’s recycling program. Furthermore, they actually expect me to examine each item to determine what kind of resin code the plastics have. Maybe I’m exaggerating the complexity of this, but I’d like to think that if a container has the recycling logo on the bottom that’s it’s ok. Apparently not. And I thought that number in the middle of the logo was supposed to mean something. Durham’s guidelines don’t give me a list of numbers. They tell me that a detergent container is ok but not a margarine container. There are a billion things in between that don’t seem so cut-and-dry though.

Maybe I’m complaining about something everyone else already knows. I guess my big question would be, what is preventing Durham from having a recycling program that accepts all recyclable plastics?

Furthermore, I’ve never received a note telling me that half of my junk is no good for the recycling program. What’s happening to that stuff?

The City of Durham’s Frequently Asked Questions: Plastic Recycling

I thought I had been doing a good job of separating out my recyclables. I suppose, from now, just bottles are going in, and I’ll kill the planet with everything else.