All spills in order of occurrence:
March 11 – 21: Gwagwalada Town, Nigera
A week-long leak of Kilometer 407.5 NNPC (Nigeria National Petroleum Corp) pipeline. No official number of barrels spilled released, however the spill saturated a hectare (10,000 sq metres) of marshy ground near a major water source.Tuesday, March 19: Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories Canada
Enbridge Norman Wells Pipeline leaks 6,290 barrels of crude oilMonday, March 25: Fort MacKay, Alberta Canada
Suncor tar sands tailings pond leaks 2,200 barrels of toxic waste fluid into the Athabasca RiverWednesday, March 27: Parker Prairie, Minnesota U.S.
CP Rail train derails and spills 952 barrels of tar sands crude oilFriday, March 29: Mayflower, Arkansas U.S.
Exxon Mobil’s Pegasus Pipeline suffers a 22 foot-long rupture, spilling at least 12,000 barrels of diluted tar sands bitumenSunday, March 31: A power plant in Lansing, Michigan U.S.
16 barrels of an oil-based hydraulic fluid spills into the Grand RiverTuesday, April 2: Nembe, Nigeria
After suffering a reported theft of 60,000 barrels of oil per day from its Nembe Creek Trunkline pipeline, Shell Nigeria shuts off the pipe for nine days to repair damageWednesday, April 3: 350KM southeast of Newfoundland, Canada
A drilling platform leaks 0.25 barrels of crude oilWednesday, April 4: Chalmette, Louisiana U.S.
0.24 barrels (100 lbs) of hydrogen sulfide and 0.04 barrels (10 lbs of benzene) leak at an Exxon refineryMonday, April 8: Esmeraldas, Ecuador
The OPEC-managed OCP pipeline leaks 5,500 barrels of heavy crude oil, contaminating the Winchele estuaryTuesday, April 9: 29KM NE of Nuiqsut, Alaska U.S.
Human error during maintenance spills 157 barrels of crude oil at a Repsol E&P USA Inc pipeline pump stationVisit EcoWatch’s ENERGY page for more related news on this topic.
What is Rio+20?
How did we get from 1992 to 2012? What are the countries discussing? Why is this a necessary forum?
The United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe provides this infographic to explain Rio+20 Sustainable Development Conference currently happening in Rio de Janeiro.
For more information on this conference visit http://www.uncsd2012.org/ and http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture
Human Footprint
Humans leave a mark on Earth that is detectable from space. By analyzing satellite images, scientists can measure the extent of deforestation, agriculture, urbanization, and other features. Satellite analysts estimate that humans directly affect 83 percent of our planet’s land surface, leaving a dwindling percentage of land truly “wild.” This huge influence is called the “human footprint.”
The Pearl River delta near Hong Kong is a dramatic example of the human footprint. Humans have continuously occupied the region for thousands of years, and the region’s cities are among the fastest-growing urban centers ever observed. Scientists use the same techniques illustrated for the Pearl River delta to study human-altered surface features around the world, thus mapping the global human footprint.
The rainforest of the indigenous people Ngobe in Panama shelters an extraordinary diversity of species. Frequent rainfalls in the Tabasara mountains – located in the province of Chiriqui – provide enough humidity to turn this area into a paradise for amphibians and reptiles, many of them being highly endangered species which are only found in this particular region.
One of these species is the blue Tabasara Rain Frog, as Oscar Sogandares, Chiriqui Natural tells us. This beautiful creature lives exclusively on the riverbank which could soon be drowned as part of the planned artificial lake.
Oppression of indigenous protests
Panama’s government has officially acknowledged the land to be indigenous territory. However, the Ngobe never gave their consent to the dam project. Their protests were brutally oppressed in February. At least two were killed, more than 100 injured, arrested and humiliated.
The construction costs of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric power station are estimated an equivalent of 100 million euros. Almost 20 million have been granted by three public development banks: the German DEG, the Dutch FMO and the Central American BCIE.
The indigenous people as well as conservationists are asking these banks not to allocate funds for this dam project in the heart of the rainforest.
Please write to the bank and demand the protection of this natural paradise and of the Tabasara Rain Frog.
TV documentary about Barro Blanco by Aljazeera (25 min.)
Scavenging for survival in oil-rich Venezuela
You can read more on this here:
Wasting Away: An Earth Day Look At Living Among Garbage
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/04/22/151142680/wasting-away-an-earth-day-look-at-living-among-garbage
