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Archive for July, 2011
Exxon has yet to craft Montana pipeline fix plan
Posted by Reuters: Tom Doggett and Erwin Seba on July 6th, 2011
Reuters: U.S. pipeline safety regulators on Tuesday said Exxon Mobil must make fixes to its ruptured Montana oil pipeline and submit a restart plan before oil can flow again.
The U.S. Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration also ordered the company to re-bury the pipeline segment and do a risk study where it crosses any waterway.
"The safety of our nation's pipelines is a priority and the investigation into this incident is ongoing," Transportation Secretary...
ROCKIES: Montana: Assessing Damage From Spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 6th, 2011
New York Times: Almost four days after an Exxon Mobil pipeline broke and spilled some 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River, government officials and wildlife advocates struggled Tuesday to evaluate what the impact to water, birds and fish would be. Some 350 emergency personnel are working to ease the effects of the spill — absorbing pooled oil and conducting aerial flights to spot oiled birds and other damage. Alan Jeffers, an Exxon spokesman, said that so far, none of the towns that take drinking...
Warmer temperatures may threaten Northern California vineyards, study says
Posted by LA Times: Ashlie Rodriguez on July 6th, 2011
LA Times: In the next 30 years, high-value vineyards in California could shrink by 50% because of global warming, according to a Stanford University study released last week.
Scientists applied scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in a computer model and found that Napa and Santa Barbara counties could experience 10 more very hot days –; 95 degrees or higher –; during the growing season.
Related Supreme Court kills global warming suit Jonah Goldberg: Cooling on global warming...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Warmer temperatures may threaten Northern California vineyards, study saysFord, Toyota Criticize EPA Ethanol-Blend Fuel Proposal
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 6th, 2011
Bloomberg: Automakers including Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. criticized an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to allow gasoline containing as much as 15 percent ethanol in all cars and trucks in the U.S., saying its use may void warranties.
Twelve automakers released letters today sent to Representative James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, saying the EPA proposal to sell so-called E15 fuel may damage engines and fuel-supply systems in vehicles made to run on gasoline...
Exxon has yet to craft Montana pipeline fix plan
Posted by Reuters: Kristen Hays and Erwin Seba on July 5th, 2011
Reuters: Exxon Mobil Corp does not have a definite repair plan yet for the ruptured Montana crude oil pipeline that it shut over the weekend, and company and government officials are still trying to determine the cause of the spill, a top executive said on Tuesday.
The company and state and federal investigators are "working in parallel, looking at both the investigation, trying to determine what happened, as well as possible repair plans," Gary Pruessing, president of Exxon Mobil Pipeline Company, told...
Exxon Yellowstone River oil spill disrupts ranches, farms
Posted by Reuters: Emilie Ritter on July 5th, 2011
Reuters: Environmental officials scrambled on Tuesday to assess the extent of contamination from a weekend oil spill that has fouled water supplies and ranch lands along a scenic and otherwise pristine stretch of the Yellowstone River in Montana.
An Exxon Mobil pipeline ruptured on Friday night about 150 miles downstream from Yellowstone National Park near the town of Laurel, Montana, just southwest of Billings, dumping up to 1,000 barrels, or 42,000 gallons, of crude oil into the flood-swollen river....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Exxon Yellowstone River oil spill disrupts ranches, farmsCleanup Of Montana Oil Spill Complicated By Flooding
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 5th, 2011
National Public Radio: A ruptured Exxon-Mobil oil line has spewed an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude oil into Montana's Yellowstone River. While company officials are still trying to figure out the extent of the spill, high flood waters and mountain runoff are spreading the oil beyond the river's banks, complicating the cleanup efforts. Melissa Block speaks with Rob Rogers, who has been covering the story for the Billings Gazette.
Yellowstone river oil spill spreads
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 5th, 2011
Guardian: ExxonMobil clean-up crews work to collect oil from along side the Yellowstone river in Montana. Flooding is preventing them reaching the broken pipeline.
Oil from a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline on the famed Yellowstone spread at least 15 miles beyond the initial leak – further than the oil company's original estimates.
Clean-up crews have yet to reach the break in the 12-inch pipeline because of historic flooding on the river, which is projected to peak on Tuesday.
Montana's governor, Brian...
More Rain, Less Snow Leads To Faster Arctic Ice Melt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 5th, 2011
redOrbit: Rising air temperatures in the Arctic region have led to an increase in rainfall and a decrease in snowfall, making the sea ice more susceptible to melting, a new study has revealed. The research was presented today by Dr James Screen from the University of Melbourne at the XXV International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics General Assembly in Melbourne. The Arctic region is warming more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth. Dr Screen of the University’s School of Earth Sciences, who led the research,...
Argentina Hopes for a Big Payoff in Its Shale Oil Field Discovery
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 5th, 2011
New York Times: Just east of Argentina’s Andean foothills, an oil field called the Vaca Muerta — “dead cow” in English — has finally come to life. In May, the Argentine oil company YPF announced that it had found 150 million barrels of oil in the Patagonian field, and President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner rushed onto national television to praise the discovery as something that could give new impetus to the country’s long-stagnant economy. “The importance of this discovery goes well beyond the volume,” said...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Argentina Hopes for a Big Payoff in Its Shale Oil Field Discovery