Chris Howard's Blog, page 20
January 3, 2012
December 23, 2011
Nigeria on alert as Shell announces worst oil spill in a decade | Guardian
Via a friend: "This is a disgrace - and what they don't mention is that western oil companies already spill as much crude oil in the Niger Delta EVERY YEAR as was spilled during the horrendous 2010 gulf of mexico disaster. The entire assets of companies like Shell ought to be seized and spent on cleaning up the pollution and contamination they have wrought in the Niger Delta and other places. Western oil companies out of Africa; and oil companies out of everywhere!"
===
Nigerian coastal and fishing communities were on Thursday put on alert after Shell admitted to an oil spill that is likely to be the worst in the area for a decade, according to government officials..
The company said up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled on Wednesday while it was transferred from a floating oil platform to a tanker 75 miles off the coast of the Niger delta.
All production from the Bonga field, which produces around 200,000 barrels a day, was last night suspended. "Early indications show that less than 40,000 barrels of oil have leaked in total. Spill response procedures have been initiated and emergency control and spill risk procedures are up and running," said Tony Okonedo, a Shell Nigeria spokesman.
Satellite pictures obtained by independent monitors Skytruth suggested that the spill was 70km-long and was spread over 923 square kilometers (356 sq miles).
But a leading Nigerian human rights group said Shell's figures about the quantity of oil spilled or the clean-up could not be relied on. "Shell says 40,000 barrels were spilled and production was shut but we do not trust them because past incidents show that the company consistently under-reports the amounts and impacts of its carelessness," said Nnimmo Bassey, head of Environmental Rights Action, based in Lagos.
November 9, 2011
Hoping to save 1 billion trees in NW Brazil:
Photograph: Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas/nbpictures
Award-winning photographers Sebastião Salgado and Per-Anders Pettersson are taking part in Amazon, an exhibition in aid of Sky Rainforest Rescue - a partnership between WWF and Sky that aims to help save 1 billion trees in the state of Acre, in north-west Brazil. Here is a selection of images from the free exhibition, that runs until 4 December at Somerset House, London
November 3, 2011
November 2, 2011
writing vs. blogging
it's come to my attention that a lot of writer folk keep active blogs full of fascinating tid-bits and what-not, meanwhile the closest thing to a blog i have is this here TUMBLR where i mostly just post cool pictures and re-blog interesting things that i stumble upon. i reckon it's because i love writing about characters and stories and things i make up. but writing about myself or my opinions, i just can't get the hang of it. and i just can't get into blogging as a result. so, by default, this here will be one of my few actual blog posts about writing.
and now i'm back off to write some more.
see u.
November 1, 2011
October 31, 2011
ecologyglobal:
"It's the little things citizens do. That's what...
"It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees."That one "little" thing led Wangari Maathai, who died September 25th, to found a movement that not only planted over 47 million trees worldwide, including re-foresting her native Kenya, but has bettered the lives of over 900,000 women through economic empowerment. "Mama Trees," as she was affectionately known, spoke from experience when she said: "Every person who has ever achieved anything has been knocked down many times. But all of them picked themselves up and kept going, and that is what I have always tried to do."
October 29, 2011
October 28, 2011
PLEASE REBLOG!!! LAST DAY TO COMMENT - tell USDA to reject Monsanto's GMO Drought Corn
If you care about your health, please take a second to reblog this and SIGN the PETITION.
Don't let Monsanto's erratic genes in your food! Tell USDA to reject GMO drought corn.
[NOTE* from Leftish: YOUR FUTURE IS AT STAKE PEOPLE. How could you care so little about your own, and our planet's health and survival? I am so disappointed that nobody reblogs or signs petitions that I post - I try not to waste your time with stuff that doesn't matter or have a purpose, even if it is only to entertain - but this is some serious shit, and your apathy saddens me - Citizen Petitions really affect policy, you know. Sorry, it's been a rough day for me, today.]
