Friday, 20 Jan 2006

The End is Nigeria

Oil pollution, corruption contribute to hostage-taking in Nigeria

In Nigeria, oil, corruption, pollution, and violence have produced a drama rich with 21st-century portent. Last week, militants in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region took four Western oil workers hostage. Their demands include more local control of Nigeria's massive oil wealth -- the proceeds of which typically end up in the pockets of crooked leaders -- and $1.5 billion from Royal Dutch Shell in compensation for pollution in the delta, like the big pipeline rupture last July that oozed contamination over farmers' fields and a fishing stream near the poor village of Iwhrekan. Villagers accuse Shell of sending thugs to ransack Iwhrekan after villagers chased off the company's chosen cleanup contractor -- charges the company denies. The Nigerian government and Shell reportedly want to pay the ransom and get back to business as usual. Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter, and is the fifth-largest supplier of America's imported oil.

Sonar, and Thanks for All the Fish

References to naval sonar cut from report on mass whale stranding

Sonar who? A federal government report on the stranding of 37 whales on North Carolina's Outer Banks last year conspicuously fails to mention the possible influence of naval sonar. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investigator Teri Rowles says that although she initially suggested loud blasts of sound from active sonar might have factored into injuries to seven whales, she removed these mentions later on because sonar was just one of several possible causes. The Natural Resources Defense Council thinks it's a fishy redaction, as the Navy is currently holding public hearings on building an underwater sonar training range in the same area. The second draft of the report "seems a lot more like spin than science," says NRDC attorney Andrew Wetzler. The eco-advocacy group sued in federal court to get the investigator's first draft released.

Tailpipe Spin

NASCAR plans switch to unleaded racing fuel

Mechanics, crews, and NASCAR dads will be able to wheeze a little easier beginning in 2008 -- that's when the racing body plans to switch its cars and trucks from leaded to unleaded fuel. Though it's exempt from the Clean Air Act's unleaded requirement, NASCAR's nonetheless been looking for a high-performance alternative that lubricates the engine while getting the lead out. It says its new fuel does it without using MTBE, the health-hazardous fuel additive barred by some states. Clean Air Watch has been after NASCAR to clean up its exhaust; just this week, the group petitioned the U.S. EPA to monitor air quality for lead levels at NASCAR races. "2007 would be better, but 2008 is within inhaling distance," said CAW's Frank O'Donnell. Better yet: biofuels!

What About Those Cahs in the Yahd?

Pioneering e-waste recycling law takes effect in Maine

Maine: It's not just lobstah anymore. This week, the Pine Tree State became the first in the nation to require manufacturers to cover the cost of recycling televisions and computer monitors. Similar to e-waste laws already in force in Japan and some European countries, Maine's new rule allows municipalities to bill the expenses of recycling dumped screens to manufacturers. The aim is to make it less costly for these localities to keep televisions and computer monitors -- which can contain about five pounds of lead each, as well as mercury, cadmium, and other toxic chemicals -- out of landfills. Maine's groundbreaking-for-the-U.S. move is inspiring about 15 other states to consider similar legislation.

A Whale of a Door Prize

Greenpeace dumps dead whale at Japanese embassy

Greenpeace, ever masters of artful subtlety, dumped a big ol' dead whale on the doorstep of the Japanese embassy in Berlin yesterday. Here we pause a moment to let you savor the mental image ... ahh. The whale dump was a protest against Japan's ongoing hunt for minke and fin whales in the Southern Ocean, allegedly in the name of research. Two Greenpeace ships have spent the past month there, where they've "dogged, delayed, and disrupted" Japan's whaling fleet, the group says. But today Greenpeace announced that the ships will be ending their mission and that the campaign's focus will turn to encouraging the public to boycott products from companies with ties to whaling. It's not just Greenpeace that objects to Japan's "research." Earlier this week, 17 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Britain, France, and Germany, voiced their opposition to the Willy killin'.