Taylor Energy benefitted from lax regulation, now claims it can’t stop—or clean up—ongoing spill I didn’t know this was even possible. Did you know that an oil company can drill in the Gulf of Mexico and, when things go horribly wrong—as in “multiple wellheads pumping oil into the seawater for 14 years” type of wrong—the […]
Still a month left in the Atlantic hurricane season: It’s a good time to check your supply kit So far, so good for Central and South Florida this hurricane season (touch wood). Not so for Northwest Florida, the panhandle of our state, which was devastated by Hurricane Michael last month. Especially now that we’re experiencing […]
It’s really something when—in this era of hotter weather every year—you hear meteorologists talk about “abnormally hot” anything. How warm did the Gulf Coast waters that fueled Hurricane Michael have to be for weather experts to call them “abnormal”? It’s not a word that scientists bandy about freely. But it’s in line with what climatologists […]
Maybe executives at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ought to pause and take a break from their doubtlessly busy day. Carefully, taking their time, they should read the name of the agency that employs them. If letterhead isn’t readily available, they ought to walk out the front door and read the sign on the building: […]
Through no real virtue of its own, the continental United States is shielded from the brunt of many tropical storms (up to and including major hurricanes) by the Caribbean islands. West of Africa’s Cape Verde, where most Atlantic hurricanes form, sit hundreds of islands which—as history shows—absorb much of the destructive energy from cyclones which […]
Petroleum hits us coming and going: inbound spills and outbound greenhouse gases It’s time to have a look at year-to-date petroleum disasters worldwide. Not the everyday disasters of burning fossil fuels; the ones that lead Earth closer to extinction. Not the everyday spills that wreak havoc on ecosystems large and small. No, the petroleum industry […]
After warning from top NASA climatologist to end fossil fuel use, worldwide demand has only increased How’s this for a disconnect? Thirteen years ago, Dr. James Hansen, at the time NASA’s top climatologist, wondered aloud at an American Geophysical Union meeting if there was “still time to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with global climate.” A […]
Climate scientists and average American drivers going in opposite directions “A [vehicle] can be a way to bolster [a person’s] sense of self and their confidence by connecting them to something they feel holds power… to compensate for feelings of insecurity or inferiority.” –Dr. Thomas D’Agostino, psychologist When I heard about Ford Motor’s decision to […]
Last time at Port Fourchon, Louisiana: Sergeant Julius “Mack” McNamara and every other cop on duty in the tiny bayou town made a dusty bee-line toward the Select Oil Company staging site after hearing “shots fired” over their radios. This was a must-attend event in the sleepy community, and no PFPD officer was about to […]
“Mary, grab the baby, the river’s rising Muddy water taking back the land The old-frame house, she can’t take-a one more beating Ain’t no use to stay and make a stand Well the morning light shows water in the valley Daddy’s grave just went below the line Things to say, ‘You just can’t take ‘em […]