Tackling the Problem of Plastic Waste on World Oceans Day

June 8 is World Oceans Day an opportunity to reflect on the importance of our oceans as well as solutions to the numerous threats they face. In 2017 the action focus is plastic pollution. Our oceans are indispensable to life of Earth and fate of humanity is intimately tied to their well-being. Our oceans are hotter and more acidic and they are increasingly unable to serve as carbon sinks. Coral reefs are dying and entire aquatic ecosystems are being destroyed. Norwegian billionaire and ocean advocate Kjell Inge Røkke aptly summarized situation when he said, "the oceans are also under greater pressure than ever before from overfishing, coastal pollution, habitat destruction, climate change and ocean acidification, and one of the most pressing challenges of all, plasticization of the ocean. The need for knowledge and solutions is pressing."

Partial Summary of Oil Spills in 2016

Fossil fuels are the primary cause of climate change, they are also prone to spills. Such spills are toxic and they have been a consistent part of the fossil fuel industry since its inception. As long as we extract and transport oil and gas spills are a statistical certainty.

In December, Wired reported that there are about 30,000 oil spills in US waters every year. In October, Hurricane Ivan caused dozens of leaks in undersea oil wells and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of these spills will leak for decades. The Taylor Energy site will continue to leak between 84 and 1,470 gallons per day for the next hundred years. The oil slick from this spill stretches over eight square miles on an average day. Taylor Energy has gone bankrupt and they just walked away from the mess they created.

Liberal Dualism: Canadian Climate Leadership is at Odds with Ramping Up Fossil Fuels

The ruling federal Liberals have canceled one pipeline and approved two others. It is but the most recent example of Canada's one step forward two steps back approach to climate action.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has the laudable goal of wanting to be a climate champion and an economic leader. However, this balancing act is completely undermined when you add increased fossil fuel production to the equation. Canada was criticized at COP22 for expanding its fossil fuel production and now they have compounded the problem by adding a couple of pipelines to the mix.

Contradictory climate and energy policies

Canadian government energy and environmental policy is a checkerboard of seemingly opposing policy positions. The government announced a carbon tax then followed that up with a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. To further illustrate the two faces of this government, they banned tanker traffic off the coast of northern BC while increasing traffic to the south. Most recently they rejected some pipelines while approving others.

Another Day Another Oil Spill This Time in Alabama (Video)

Although nobody seems to have noticed, between a quarter and a third of a million gallons of gasoline has leaked from a pipeline in the middle of September. The Colonial Pipeline Company reported the spill prompting the governors of Alabama and Georgia to declare states of emergency. The sad fact is that oil and gas spills have become so common that it is no longer construed as newsworthy.

The ecological impact of the spill appears to be secondary to concerns about the interruption of the supply. In Alabama the Pipeline spill triggered a supplier 'Red Alert' and Georgia Gov. Robert Bentley issued an executive order Thursday declaring a state of emergency in Alabama.

New Pipeline Safety Law Followed by Another Oil Spill

Mere hours after President Obama signed the PIPES safety bill into law, a pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of oil. Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 became law on June 22nd. Within hours of the signing an oil pipeline erupted in Ventura County, California. It was first noticed by a local rancher early Thursday morning.
The spill emanated from a ten inch underground pipeline owned by Colorado-based Crimson Pipeline LLC. It sent an estimated 29,400 gallons of crude oil down into an arroyo that flows through the city of Ventura and reaches the ocean near the Ventura Pier. The spill marks Crimson’s 11th such incident in the last ten years.

Second Shell Oil Spill in Less than Two Weeks

For the second time in less than two weeks pipelines belonging to Shell have leaked oil. The most recent spill has leaked 21,000 Gallons (500 barrels) of oil near Tracy in San Joaquin County, California. This time the culprit was the company's underground San Pablo Bay Pipeline which transports crude oil from California’s Central Valley to the San Francisco Bay Area. The spill took place on May 20th but Shell did not report the leak until the evening of Monday May 23.

Oil Spill in Peru is a Life Threatening Emergency for Local Indigenous People (Video)

There is another fossil fuel tragedy taking place that is going largely unnoticed by the world. This one is taking place in Peru and like so many oil spills it does not get press attention despite its destructive human and ecological impact. It could be that this is due to the fact that spills are common. As has become common, there were dozens of oil spills in North America in 2015 making the point that there is no safe way of transporting fossil fuels. It is well known that fossil fuels are the leading cause of the climate crisis we are facing but the problems associated with extraction and transporting hydrocarbons often goes unnoticed.

In the northern jungles of Peru people are in peril after two pipeline ruptures spilled crude oil into various waterways, including the Marañon River, a principal tributary of the Amazon River. For indigenous people these waterways are their lifeline, they provide food and water for crops and consumption.

Summary of Fossil Fuel Spills in 2015 (Videos)

Oil spills continued to be a problem in 2015 with a number of major incidents in North America. These spills contaminated both land and waterways and prompted the evacuation of local citizens. Whether by pipe, ship, rail or truck, there are well founded concerns about the safety of transporting fossil fuels. These concerns add weight to the argument that we need to expedite the shift away from fossil fuels. Many consecutive years with substantial numbers of spills illustrate the dangers associated with transporting fossil fuels.

Sustainability in the Apparel Industry and Eco Fashion (Video)

Sustainable apparel and eco-friendly fashion is growing. This type of fashion has a much smaller environmental footprint this includes minimizing waste and eliminating the use of harmful chemicals. For years the clothing industry has been dominated by cheap imports from places like China and India, however, burgeoning consumer awareness about social and environmental issues are pushing brands in more responsible directions.

Nike has been pushed by consumers to become a more sustainable company and Patagonia has made a name for itself by being one of the most responsible and sustainable companies in the world. A host of other brands have also boarded the sustainability train. This includes accessible brands like H&M and North Face, to high end designer brands like Gucci, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney.

New Charges Against MMA Employees in Lac Mégantic Train Wreck

Several people have been indicted 2 years after the tragic oil train derailment that killed 47 people and decimated the town of Lac Mégantic Quebec. This includes President and CEO of the now defunct Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) rail company Robert Gindrod, managers and the train's engineer. These people face the possibility of jail terms or fines for violations of the Rail Safety Act and the Fisheries Act.

Freedom Industries and CEO Charged Over Spill

Just before Christmas, Freedom Industries and six former officials of the company were charged with federal crimes associated with the spilling coal processing chemicals into the Elk River in West Virginia. The spill, which occured on January 9th 2014 poisoned the drinking water of at least 300,000 people.

The leak emanated from a storage tank consisted of 7,500 gallons of a coal washing chemical known as 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCMH). A number of people got sick and went to hospital due to their ingestion of the chemical. In addition to contaminating drinking water and making people sick the spill reportedly cost local businesses $61 million.

Enbridge Spills Again

On December 16th, a 1,350-barrel (56,700-gallon) oil spill at a Regina terminal in Saskatchewan forced Enbridge to temporarily close a pipeline that connects to a terminal in Wisconsin. The 796,000 barrel-a-day Line 4 pipeline was shutdown after a leak was detected in a valve.

Enbridge is a $57 billion company that is no stranger to oil spills. Early in 2014 a W5 report showed how Enbridge's Line 9 had a host of unreported spills, alarming communities. According to the report, the 830 km Line 9 pipeline runs between Sarnia Ontario and Terrebonne Quebec has had at least 35 unreported spills.

Enbridge is best known for their role in the largest and most expensive inland oil spill in US history. The 2010 event in Michigan spilled more than 800,000-gallons (3.8 million litres or 20,000 barrels) of diluted oil-sands bitumen, contaminating a 48-km stretch of the Kalamazoo River. The cleanup was hampered by the fact that the tar sands crude sank to the bottom of the river. The cleanup costs alone were at least $1.2 billion excluding the reimbursement to those who were impacted.

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Pipeline Oil Spill Poisons Muskeg in Northern Alberta

There has been another oil spill in Alberta that has poisoned a large area of muskeg. This spill occurred at a pipeline belonging to Canadian Natural Resources Limited approximately 27 kilometers north of Red Earth Creek. According to the Alberta Energy Regulator around 60,000 litres of crude oil have spilled into muskeg northwest of Slave Lake.

Muskeg is an Algonquian term for "grassy bog," another name for it is peatland. It generally is defined by a wet environment and vegetation.

Two Pipeline Spills: Tar Sands and Brine

On August 29, 2014 Anterra Energy Inc spilled Over 300,000 Litres of Crude Oil and Salt/Produced Water from a pipeline into a nearby waterbody 63Km North of Slave Lake Alberta.

The Anterra spill follows a brine spill from an underground North Dakota pipeline on the weekend of July 4th.  Around 1 million gallons spilled down a bluff into local waterways. The brine contains petroleum and residue from hydraulic fracturing operations. The spill occurred in a pipeline owned by the Crestwood subsidiary Arrow Pipeline LLC.

These spills are but the latest in a large and growing number of spills reinforcing the point that fossil fuels cannot be safely transported.

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Toxic Tailings Pond Spill in BC Contaminates Drinking Water and Threatens Wildlife

On the fourth of August over a billion gallons of toxic effluents from a tailings pond in British Columbia (BC) breached its banks. This spill poisoned local drinking water and threatens wildlife. The toxic river that spilled into local waterways is composed of the remnants of mining operations that include chemicals like arsenic, mercury, and sulfur.

The mining waste was contained in an open-pit at Mount Polley copper and gold mine. Five million cubic meters (1.3 billion gallons) of slurry poured into Polley Lake and Hazeltine Creek. Hazeltine Creek which used to be four feet wide expanded to 150 feet to accommodate the massive volume of toxic sludge. The creek flows into Quesnel River which in turn flows into BC's majestic Fraser River, the longest river in the province.

Los Angeles Oil Spill and the Problem of Leaky Pipelines

On Thursday May 15, a street in Los Angeles was awash with oil due to a ruptured valve at the Atwater Village district pump station. A geyser of crude oil spewed 40 feet into the air and spilled almost 20,000 gallons of oil before it was finally stopped.

The Los Angeles spill is but the latest in a spate of petrochemical accidents that appear to be plaguing the nation with increasing frequency. In the context of the debate over the Keystone XL, the problem of leaking fossil fuel pipelines have garnered national attention.

Criminal Charges Leveled Against those Responsible for the Lac Megantic Disaster

Charges have finally been laid in the July 6, 2013 death of 47 people caused by a runaway train carrying crude oil in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Prosecutors have laid criminal negligence charges against the railway and three employees connected to the disaster, including the train’s lone engineer. The trio were arrested on Monday May 12, and they were formally charged on Tuesday May 13.

Video - Train Derails and Spills Oil into Drinking Water in Lynchburg Virginia

In this video you can see the derailed train cars and the St. James River just behind them. An unknown quantity of crude spilled into the James River, the source from which Richmond gets its drinking water.

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Video - Oil Train Derails and Explodes in Lynchburg Virginia

On April 30th an oil bearing train derailed and caught fire in Lynchburg Virginia.

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Transport Canada's New Train Safety Rules for Oil

On Wednesday April 23, Canada's Transport Minister announced new rail safety regulations. These new rules follow recommendations by Canada's Transportation Safety Board. The government has instituted a directive to eliminate or retrofit the DOT-111 tanker cars. The DOT-111 which makes up about 70 per cent of all tankers on the rails, are prone to rupture.

The move comes in response to last year's runaway oil train that derailed and exploded, killing forty-seven people and destroying 30 buildings in the small town of Lac Megantic Quebec. Trains ferrying fossil fuels have also derailed in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in recent months.