tagged w/ oil exploration
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CNN...
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Peru investigates mystery pelican deaths
By Marilia Brocchetto, CNN
updated 10:29 AM EDT, Mon April 30, 2012
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Mass dolphin die-off in Peru
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Hundreds of dead birds are found on shore, authorities say
It's not clear what killed them
The discovery of the dead birds comes weeks after hundreds of dead dolphins were found
The dolphin deaths remain a mystery
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(CNN) -- Authorities in Peru are investigating the death of over 538 pelicans, along with other birds, on the northern coast of the country, the Peruvian ministry of production said Sunday.
The new environmental investigation comes on the heels of an incident earlier in April when 877 dolphins washed up dead on the same stretch of coast.
It was not immediately clear if the deaths were connected.
The birds appear to have died on the beach, and more tests are needed to determine the cause of death, the ministry of production said.
The Peruvian Sea Institute surveyed about 43 miles (70km) of beach coastline on Sunday and estimated that 592 birds were dead along the shore.
State-run TV Peru estimated that up to 1,200 birds had been found dead on the 100 miles (160km) of northern shoreline extending from Punta Negra in Piura to San José in the state of Lambayeque.
The deaths began less than two weeks ago, local fishermen say.
The investigation into the mystery surrounding the dolphins is still ongoing. Peruvian Deputy Environment Minister Gabriel Quijandria told CNN the dolphins may have died from an outbreak of Morbillivirus or Brucella bacteria.
The Peruvian government has put together a panel from different ministries to analyze a report by the Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE). Officials have been able to conclude that the dolphins' deaths were not due to lack of food, interaction with fisheries, poisoning with pesticides, biotoxin poisoning or contamination by heavy metals.
"When you have something this large, my gut would tell me that there's something traumatic that happened," Sue Rocca, a marine biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, told CNN. She raised a number of possibilities as to what could have killed the animals, including acoustic trauma.
Preliminary reports ruled out that seismic sound waves created by oil exploration in that stretch of sea could have killed the birds, the environment ministry said.
They also expressed concern for the fishermen in the area and restated their commitment to protecting the country's marine ecosystem.
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.CNN...
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Peru investigates mystery pelican deaths
By Marilia Brocchetto,... more
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Bolivian President Evo Morales on President Obama: “I Can’t Believe a Black President Can Hold So Much Vengeance Against an Indian President.”
As the World Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change in Cochabamba closes, we speak to Bolivian President Evo Morales about the US decision to cut off climate aid to Bolivia; narcotrafficking; the tenth anniversary of the Water Wars in Cochabamba; the protest at the San Cristóbal silver mine; and the contradiction between promoting the environment and extractive industries—oil/natural gas exploration, mining. "Democracy Now!" is a daily independent newshour.Bolivian President Evo Morales on President Obama: “I Can’t Believe a... more
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UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Publications - Last Stand of the Gorilla
Gorillas, the largest of the great apes, are under renewed threat across the Congo Basin from Nigeria to the Albertine Rift: poaching for bushmeat, loss of habitat due to agricultural expansion, degradation of habitat from logging, mining and charcoal production are amongst these threats, in addition to natural epidemics such as ebola and the new risk of diseases passed from humans to gorillas.
Alarmingly, parts of the region are experiencing intensifed exploitation and logging of its forest, in some cases even within protected areas. In the DRC, many of these activities are controlled by militias illegally extracting natural resources such as gold, tin and coltan as well as producing charcoal for local communities, urban areas, camps for people displaced by fghting and sometimes even to communities across the border. These militias are located, motivated, armed and fnanced directly by this illegal extraction of minerals, timber and charcoal.
A network of intermediaries including multinational companies or their subsidiaries, neighboring countries and corrupt offcials, are involved in the transportation and procurement of resources which stem from areas controlled by militia, or for which no legal exploitation permission exists.
Recommendations
1. Strengthen MONUC by expanding its mandate to secure full control of border crossings, by any means necessary, with regard to the export of illegally exploited natural resources, that are fnancing the confict, in full collaboration with and assisting the national customs authority to intervene and halt trans-national environmental crime, in close coordination with appropriate national and international bodies.
2. Enhance support for close coordination and trans-boundary collaboration among parks in DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, including coordination with MONUC, the Lusaka Agreement Task Force and relevant law enforcement agencies.
3. Mobilize resources for trans-boundary collaboration and coordination, including all aspects of transnational environmental crime and investigation from source to end-user outside the region – including investigations of complicit companies in recipient countries, especially but not limited to the EU, USA, People’s Republlic of China and the rest of Asia – in order to monitor the origin and halt the purchase of illegally exploited and smuggled minerals and timber from the Congo Basin.
4. Mobilize funding for judicial training and cross-boundary training of judicial staff in national and transnational environmental crime in gorilla range states to assist in bringing successful prosecutions.
5. Strengthen long term training programmes in law enforcement for park rangers and wildlife managers across the region including those working outside of parks, for example in community reserves, with particular reference to anti-poaching, monitoring, scene of crime investigation and intelligence gathering.
6. Promote the essential role that local, national and international law enforcement and anti-corruption plays in ensuring the success of rainforest protection and climate mitigation efforts under REDD+ and source specifc fnance for these measures through UNEP, UNODC, LATF and INTERPOL.
7. Establish a fund for supporting trans-boundary investigation and collaboration on trans-national environmental crime.
8. Strengthen the collaboration of UNEP, UN offce for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO), CITES, World Customs Organization (WCO) and INTERPOL on trans-national environmental crime – including illegal trade in valuable natural resources such as minerals, wood products and wildlife – by, for example, secondment of experienced offcers to help investigate cases and bring about prosecutions.
9. Support the need for strengthened funding for gorilla research and survey data. The report, compiling some of the most recent data and information from a variety of sources, clearly highlights the lack of accurate survey data in parts of the regions within the 10 gorilla range states.
VIDEO: Satinder Bindra interviews Christian Nelleman
http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/gorilla/UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Publications - Last Stand of the Gorilla
Gorillas, the largest... more
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OPPORTUNITY
In the near future the Citizens of Florida will have an opportunity to show their opposition to oil drilling as close as 3 to 10 miles off our coast.
This movement will be made of people of all walks of life and will cross political affiliations.
This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our shoreline, our tourism, our valuable properties and our way of life. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting our waterways and beaches from the devastating effects of oil drilling.
We are Protesting to Protect!
Hands Across The Sand is devoted to protecting our coastline and waterways from the devastating environmental effects of oil exploration and support industries.
MISSION STATEMENT
1. To raise awareness about pending Florida legislation to drill for oil in our coastal waters.
2. To organize a statewide coastal movement to protest this legislation. This protest will bring thousands of Florida's citizens to our beaches and will draw metaphorical and actual lines in the sand; human lines in the sand against near shore oil drilling in our waters. This event will be held on Saturday February 13, 2010.
3. To convince our Legislators and Governor to drop any and all Legislation that would allow this folly.
Please join us in creating what could become the largest public gathering in the history of our state: February 13, 2010.
What To Do On…
February 13, 2010
STEP 1
Go to the beach at 1:00 PM Eastern/12:00 PM Central Time for one hour, rain or shine.
STEP 2
At 1:30 PM EST/12:30 PM CST, join hands for 10 minutes forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters.
STEP 3
Leave only your footprints.
IMPORTANT NOTE!
For ANYONE who is unable to attend, but would like to show their support, please visit the Hands Across the Sand's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HandsAcrossTheSand. Here, you will find a online link to show your support.
Protect Florida’s Beaches
Surfrider Foundation
Progress Florida
Audubon of Florida
Defenders of Wildlife
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g300/mosaic_moon/no-oil-drilling.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g300/mosaic_moon/map-1.jpg
http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/index.phpOPPORTUNITY
In the near future the Citizens of Florida will have an opportunity to... more
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Cramped On Land, Big-Oil Bets At Sea
The Wall Street Journal
by Ben Casselman and Guy Chazan
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Big Oil never wanted to be here, in 4,300 feet of water far out in the Gulf of Mexico, drilling through nearly five miles of rock.
It is an expensive way to look for oil. Chevron Corp. is paying nearly $500,000 a day to the owner of the Clear Leader, one of the world's newest and most powerful drilling rigs. The new well off the coast of Louisiana will connect to a huge platform floating nearby, which cost Chevron $650 million to build. The first phase of this oil-exploration project took more than 10 years and cost $2.7 billion -- with no guarantee it would pay off.
Chevron came here, an hour-long helicopter ride south of New Orleans, because so many of the places it would rather be -- big, easily tapped oil fields close to shore -- have become off-limits. Western oil companies have been kicked out of much of the Middle East in recent decades, had assets seized in Venezuela and seen much of the U.S. roped off because of environmental regulations. Their access in Iran is limited by sanctions, in Russia by curbs on foreign investment, in Iraq by violence.
So, Chevron and other major oil companies are moving ever farther from shore in search of oil. That quest is paying off as these companies discover unexpectedly large quantities of oil -- oil that only they have the technology and financial muscle to find and produce.
In May, the first wells from Chevron's latest Gulf of Mexico project came online. The wells are now pumping 125,000 barrels of oil a day, making the project one of the gulf's biggest producers. In September, BP PLC announced what could be the biggest discovery in the gulf in years: a field that could hold three billion barrels.
Beyond the Gulf of Mexico, companies have announced big finds off the coasts of Brazil and Ghana, leading some experts to suggest the existence of a massive oil reservoir stretching across the Atlantic from Africa to South America.
More at link--
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/108509/cramped-on-land-big-oil-bets-at-sea
http://ldhinc.com/images/oil_platform_lg.jpgCramped On Land, Big-Oil Bets At Sea
The Wall Street Journal
by Ben Casselman and... more
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The House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday lifting a longstanding congressional moratorium on offshore drilling.
The extensive energy package introduced by Democrats would give states the option to allow drilling between 50 and 100 miles off their shores. Areas more than 100 miles from the coast would be completely open to oil exploration and drilling.
In addition to drilling, the bill requires the government to sell 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It also provides tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency that would be funded by repealing some tax breaks for the oil industry.
http://climateprogress.org/2008/09/16/breaking-news-house-energy-bill-passes-236-189/#comment-26937
The House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday lifting a longstanding... more
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Conservationists have come out with a warning that over 688,000 square kilometers (size of Texas) of the Amazon have been released for oil exploration. Over 35 multinational companies are vying for bits of the open space to place their drills and pipelines, effectively killing off a huge part of the Western Amazon. As this constant quest for more and more energy through oil continues, we should be prepared to see the continued destruction of global biodiversity. The Amazon, in particular, is one of the world's richest area in terms of biodiversity in plant and species life. Allowing it to be opened up for exploration is giving an okay to continued global exploration of areas that should, arguably, be protected at all costs. In the end, it may provide us with immediate answers to the energy crisis, but in the long-term it will only continue to destroy our world and leave us, once again, in an energy crisis.
The article says:
"Researchers used government information on land that has been leased to state or multinational energy companies over the past four years to create oil and gas exploration maps for western Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia. The maps showed that in Peru and Ecuador, regions designated for oil and gas projects already cover more than two thirds of the Amazon. Of 64 oil and gas regions that cover 72% of the Peruvian Amazon, all but eight were approved since 2003. Major increases in activity are expected in Bolivia and western Brazil."
How much further is this going to go? Until the entire Amazon is turned into a series of pipelines and drills? Until animal and plant life can't exist?
Who does control the world? Right now it seems like these corporations and governments. When and how will we, the people, take it back and protect our earth?
Thoughts on Amazon exploration? Conservationists have come out with a warning that over 688,000 square kilometers... more
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