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Posts Tagged ‘oil’

Who Do We Blame For The Oil Spill?

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This is a big question, with just about everyone having a different opinion.  I am going to try and put a little history in these next few paragraphs which I undoubtedly will miss something.

Obviously, BP shares in some of the blame.  The Administration sat on their hands for almost 5 weeks before anything was done.  The real blame as I see it goes back before the Reagan Administration.

Oil was cheap back then at $ 35.00 per barrel and we as consumers are as much to blame as anyone.  We were using gasoline and oil like it was water.  Families were vacationing further away from home and did not give a rip about the price of gasoline or oil, they just wanted to have fun.  An boy did they have fun.  The economy was humming on all 8 cylinders and it was a proverbial high for all Americans.

Then the environmentalists started getting media coverage on what we were doing to the ecology.  They were right partially, so the EPA was formed, gasoline was changed to NO Lead, the auto mfg. had to start putting catalytic converters on the cars and trucks they sold.  Then California started putting more restrictions on the auto companies because of their smog problem.  More an more environmental types were elected to office and we were off to the races.

Then congress along with the environmental groups started to push for no more refineries to be built.  Then it was a war on Nuculear Plants.  Then they started their attack on the oil companies, can’t drill here can’t drill there and after awhile the oil rigs became deep water wells.  Now,  as I said earlier the environmentalist were partially right to go after the oil companies.  The companies pulled a lot of crap and tried to get away with underhanded things. 

Now, if this BP well was on land or no deeper than 200′ it would have been capped in about a week or two.  So, who is to blame?  As I see it we all are.

I would like to take a poll from the readers to see who they think deserves most of the blame for this mess.

1.)   B P    2.)   The government    3.)   All of us

I heard a joke the other day.  The reason that it took Obama so long to go to Louisiana is that he thought they said Golf in New Orleans and he just did not want to take the time to play golf in Louisiana.

As Always have a good one!

Posted by GreenPowerGuy on June 15th, 2010

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Climate Change in Africa

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NIGER DELTA, home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, this floodplain makes up 7.5% of Nigeria’s total land mass. It is often called THE LAND OF MONEY. Niger Delta is the largest wetland and maintains the third-largest drainage basin in Africa. Its environment can be broken down into four ecological zones: coastal barrier islands, mangrove swamp forests, freshwater swamps, and lowland rainforests. This wonderfully well-endowed environment, contains one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. The area is facing serious environmental pollution due to the extraction and processing of crude oil. Some of these problems are oil spills, water, air, land and noise pollution. Research as shown that the region could experience a loss of 41% of its inhabitable terrain in the next thirty years as a result of extensive environmental degradation and dam construction in the region.

Already the region is facing the impact of the environmental problems which include acid rain, destruction and migration of fishies, infatile farm land, lack o clean-drinking water, no good air, noise pollution. Gas flaring is also a major problem in this region. Along with the inefficiency of gas flaring, another problem gas flaring poses is the release of large amounts of methane, which has very high global warming potential. Areas like Eket and it’ environs in Akwa Ibom State are already importing drinking water from neighbouring communities, Port-Harcourt, Bayelsa, Delta, etc are dying of the numerous environmental pollution. Dispite these harmful environmental impacts, the Federal Government and the oil industy are carelessness about the situation, which is the causes of the popular militancy, killings, vandalism, shortage and irregular supply of oil, crime and general unrest Nigeria and the dependent nations for Nigeria’s oil are facing today. With the poisoning of the waters of this country and the destruction of vegetation and agricultural land by oil spills which occur during petroleum operations, one can conclude that PART OF THE WORLD IS DYING RAPIDLY

Note: Climate Change is a threat to we, the people of the earth. Therefore, we must come together to proffer potential/sustainable solutions to the problems of our environment.

By Okon E. Promise (Environmentalist)

www.promiseokon.blogspot.com

Lagos, Nigeria

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/climate-change-in-africa-1422733.html

Posted by GreenPowerGuy on November 5th, 2009

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The Marine Bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis: “The New Hope for Ecologist”

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Oil spills are absolutely a threat to the environment and many living organisms like plants and animals. In the oceans, oil spills prove to be very disastrous to marine organisms like fishes, turtles, and even sea birds. Oil spill cleanup has never been an easy task and involves extensive labor and new technologies. Microbial degradation of oil spills has intensified over the years. Certain species of bacteria are capable of breaking down oil. Species belonging to Alcanivorax, Marinobacter, Thallassolituus, Cycloclasticus, Oleispira genera of marine bacteria are capable of oil degradation. Such oil spill bacteria were also used to clean up the Exxon Valdez. The Marine Bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis

1. Alcanivorax borkumensis is an omnipresent bacterium rod-shaped that has special characteristics to degrade oil growth.

2. These bacteria are found abundant in polluted waters but scarcely populated in clear waters.

3. The physiology includes alkane metabolism that can destroy a vast range of alkane hydrocarbons. This bacterium has three different alkane-oxidizing systems for the breakdown of a broad range of oil hydrocarbons.

4. They use oil hydrocarbons as their source of carbon and energy. The bacteria acts on hydrocarbons to produce glucose lipids. These biosurfactants act as an emulsifier to enhance the degradation rate of hydrocarbons.

5. Genome sequencing has revealed the low prevalence of mobile genetic elements and an excess of genes related to oil degradation.

6. When populated at oil spill sites, these bacteria can eliminate a considerable amount of petroleum.

7. Due to all these factors, Alcanivorax borkumensis is considered to be one of the best ecological biodegrader. T

he genome of Alcanivorax borkumensis was sequenced by a group of scientists, co-led by Martins dos Santos of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany. A research team has also been running pilot tests with the Alcanivorax borkumensis bacterium in the North Sea. Further research to sequence the genome of other, oil-degrading bacteria is also being carried out in the United States, Australia, and Japan. Such research will contribute immensely to field of oil spill cleanup with bacteria.

http://www.oilgoneeasy.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/the-marine-bacterium-alcanivorax-borkumensis-the-new-hope-for-ecologist-1407227.html

Posted by GreenPowerGuy on November 2nd, 2009

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Dealing with Residential Oil spills

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Residential oil spills can be caused by different things such as domestic fuel tank leakage, oil spills during floods, and oil leakage from vehicles or lawn mowers. Whatever the cause of the spill, the outcome is disastrous.

An oil spill at home can prove to be dangerous to you and your family. Besides fire hazards, chances of associated health hazards are high. Vapors from petroleum products are highly noxious and can cause problems such as increased blood pressure, nausea, eye irritation, headaches, and light-headedness when inhaled. Long-term exposure to high levels of harmful vapors can cause nervous and respiratory problems. That is why you should know how to deal with residential oil spills.

Here are some steps that you can follow to efficiently manage residential oil spills. The first thing to do when a spill occurs is to report it to the oil delivery company. Next come the safety precautions. Remove all sources of ignition. Open the windows for proper ventilation. Do not operate central heating or air conditioning. Furnace fan should be shut down to minimize the distribution of odors throughout the house.

Now comes the most important part of all, the oil spill cleanup. You can minimize the damage caused by removing oil stains promptly. So, try your best to contain the spill as early as possible. Use a good oil stain remover such as Oil Gone Easy S-200, an eco-friendly product that makes use of the bioremediation technology to degrade oil. Pour this oil stain remover on the oil spill or on oil stains anywhere in your home. Wear full pants, long sleeved shirts, rubber gloves, and overshoes during oil spill cleanup work to reduce skin exposure. Make sure that you don’t track oil from contaminated area to other parts of the house. If there is a strong odor, fans can help control it.

Posted by GreenPowerGuy on September 28th, 2009

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