Usa

As the hermit crabs go, so goes the Gulf

Posted by jamie — 15 June 2010 at 2:12pm - Comments

Unlike these pelicans, hermit crabs are less obvious victims of the Deepwater disaster (proper crab imagery below the fold, honest) © Magan/Greenpeace

John Hocevar, team leader of the oceans campaign at Greenpeace USA, is currently in Louisiana helping with Greenpeace's response to the BP oil spill. Here's his latest report from the centre of the ever-growing disaster.

Greetings from Grand Isle, Louisiana, one of the growing number of places unlucky enough to win a "heavily oiled" classification on the government maps tracking the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite BP's efforts to keep it under wraps, we're here to document the impacts of the spill. The public has a right - and a responsibility - to know the true cost of our continued reliance on offshore oil, and fossil fuels in general.

Article tagged as: biodiversity, BP, gulf of mexico, oceans, oil, oil spill, USA

BP = Biodiversity Perishes

Posted by Willie — 1 May 2010 at 5:25pm - Comments

Gulf of Mexico oil slick: the view from space © NASA

The Gulf of Mexico is in the news right now, because of a catastrophic oil spill. You will probably already have seen the pictures. We’ve already pointed out that this is yet another example of the impact our global dependency on oil is having, and how BP in particular, are at fault for their relentless pursuit of the black stuff. They’ll seemingly stop at nothing to fill up oil barrels.

The images we most associate with oil spills are of the impact on wildlife: sea otters in Prince William Sound , or seabirds in Shetland, covered with oil. It’s a dramatic and easily understood impact on our seas’ biodiversity.

Article tagged as: BP, disasters, fossil fuels, oil spill, USA

BP Deepwater: oil slick hits the Gulf Coast

Posted by jossc — 30 April 2010 at 3:14pm - Comments

Gulf Coast disaster: Seabirds surrounded by oil booms © Sean Gardner/Greenpeace

America woke up to what could be one of the biggest environmental disasters in its history this morning as crude oil from the wrecked BP rig Deepwater Horizon started to wash ashore along Louisiana's Gulf coast.

The 5,000 square kilometre slick threatens to devastate fisheries, wildlife refuges and bird sanctuaries. Louisiana is most at risk, but Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are also in danger.

Article tagged as: BP, disasters, fossil fuels, oil spill, USA

BP rig disaster exposes its high risk investment strategy

Posted by jossc — 29 April 2010 at 3:17pm - Comments

Ships work to contain the oil spill © Sean Gardner/Greenpeace

Will they never learn? Today the Gulf coast of the southern US is facing environmental catastrophe. Over 200,000 gallons of crude oil a day is leaking from the wellhead of the destroyed BP rig Deepwater Horizon, creating a giant slick visible from space.

Article tagged as: BP, disasters, fossil fuels, oil spill, USA

A run on salmon?

Posted by Willie — 16 February 2010 at 3:38pm - Comments

It's worth stopping to think about the true price of the salmon you eat. And there's quite a lot to think about.

Salmon is one of the biggest international seafood commodities, and in the UK it's easily one of the most consumed and most conspicuous species in our supermarkets and restaurants. But the vast majority of the salmon you'll find on shelves or plates these days has been farmed rather than fished. Partly that’s because there's hardly any wild Atlantic salmon left, but it's also because salmon's popularity has grown and it has gone from being a delicacy to become more of an everyday food in the past few decades.

Article tagged as: canada, chile, fish farming, msc, salmon, scotland, USA, videos

Toxic cheats Hewlett Packard incur the wrath of Kirk

Posted by jossc — 30 July 2009 at 10:12am - Comments

When Hewlett Packhard staff arriving for work at the company's California HQ checked their phone messages yesterday morning, they found a recorded message from Star Trek's Captain James T Kirk waiting for them. Actor William Shatner urged them to question their boss, Mark Hurd, about the reasons why HP recently reneged on its promise to phase out dangerous toxic substances from its computers by 2009.

Article tagged as: bfr, computers, e-waste, hewlett packard, PVC, toxics, USA

Video: Fox News takes the tissue paper test

Posted by jamie — 6 March 2009 at 2:09pm - Comments

Fox News is a strange beast which is at once both wonderfully entertaining and deeply, deeply disturbing. Here in the UK, we're insulated from its 'Day Today gone real' presence (although I'm not so smugly parochial that I haven't noticed our own TV news drifting in a similar direction) and if it weren't for the wonder of YouTube, we might not see it at all.

So a big thumbs up to Rolf Skar from Greenpeace USA who gave an interview this week about the new tissue paper guide they've recently released. The two newscasters get to do a tissue texture test (recycled comes out good), and Rolf valiantly presses on when one says she finds recycled toilet paper "really hard and scratchy". But there are creams you can get for that.

Article tagged as: deforestation, forests, fox news, kleercut, tissue paper, USA, videos

US coal development blocked

Posted by bex — 14 November 2008 at 1:14pm - Comments

From WattHead:

The Sierra Club just won a HUGE legal victory in a coal permitting case at the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Appeals Board [in the USA]...

While the Sierra Club's legal team and other lawyers are still determining the full implications of the decision, it appears that this decision will essentially stop all new coal plant permitting dead in it's tracks for at least a year as EPA decides what BACT means in the context of CO2...

In short, with this new regulatory uncertainty, it's highly unlikely anyone will want to invest a dime in a new coal plant for the foreseeable future.

Read the full story on WattHead »

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, legal, USA

The Obama drama: welcome back, USA

Posted by bex — 6 November 2008 at 5:09pm - Comments

I've noticed a higher-than-expected amount of traffic going to our Obama press statement over the past couple of days, so it looks like people are interested in what we make of Obama's victory.

I think this image, on the homepage of the Greenpeace USA website, says it all:

Article tagged as: barack obama, climate change, politics, USA
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