Monday, 07 Aug 2006

Wouldn't Be Prudhoe

BP shuts down major Alaskan oil field; poop to hit fan

Oil giant BP will temporarily shut down production at its Prudhoe Bay oil field, after "unexpectedly severe corrosion" and a small spill were discovered in an oil transit line on Sunday. That could mean trouble: the Prudhoe field represents nearly half the production from Alaska's North Slope, some 400,000 barrels a day, about 8 percent of total U.S. production. It will take a few days to shut things down, but once the oil is offline, the impact on prices could be substantial -- a bump of up to $10 a barrel, according to one analyst. Alaska could suffer up to $4.6 million a day in lost revenues. Though BP may win some points for its better-safe-than-sorry approach, the shutdown represents unwelcome attention for a company that has faced a series of PR disasters, from a massive oil spill in March, to an explosion at a Texas refinery in March 2005, to propane market price-manipulation charges in early 2004. Ah, oil addiction ... never a dull moment!


Though we prefer ping pong, we know some of our more masochistic readers enjoy running. Not running to anything, or away from anything, mind you, just ... running. We don't get it. But whatevs. In today's column, a resident of Ottawa asks advice maven Umbra Fisk about a summertime conundrum: it's too hot to run during the day, and too scary to run in the park after dark. But as she jogs down the city streets at night, she wonders: is all that pollution still sticking around? Umbra races to conclusions.

Forsmark and Several Fears Ago

Sweden shuts down four nuke reactors after near-meltdown of one

The near-meltdown of one of Sweden's 10 nuclear reactors has resulted in the closure of three additional reactors over safety concerns. It's also fueled a raging debate in the country over the future of nuclear power. After a short-circuit of the national grid kept power from reaching a reactor at the Forsmark plant 125 miles north of Stockholm, only two of the four diesel generators meant to provide backup power for a safe shutdown came online -- barely enough to contain a disaster, critics said. Analysts say that without power, if none or even just one of the generators had come on, a meltdown was possible in some 90 minutes. "It's a bit like a lottery," said nuclear engineer and consultant Lars-Olov Hoglund. (Just what you like to hear from nuclear engineers!) In the 1980s, anti-nuke activism was all the rage in the country. Looks like that retro fashion may be back in style.


Brian Keane heads a national nonprofit marketing campaign for clean energy -- "the 'Got Milk' people for wind, solar, and hydro power" -- that is currently pushing for a commitment to 20 percent clean energy by 2010 in the U.S. As InterActivist this week, he chats with Grist about finding clean energy's "tipping point," creating ads that appeal to the average consumer, working with the late Sen. Paul Tsongas (D-Mass.), and more. Send Keane a question of your own by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish his responses to selected questions on Friday.

Another Nail Polish in the Coffin

Many nail polishes contain shady ingredients

A question for all you women, girls, drag queens, trannies, metrosexuals, goths, punks, and so on: have you ever wondered what's in that nail polish? If you're in the U.S., one ingredient is likely the nefarious dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, which has been linked to cancer in lab critters and to underdeveloped genitals and other fertility problems in newborn boys. The FDA doesn't require that cosmetics be tested for long-term effects before coming to market; nor is it requiring companies stop using DBP. Activist groups like the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have stepped into the breach, trying to persuade manufacturers to sign a "Compact for Safe Cosmetics" pledging to replace suspect chemicals with safer alternatives. Seems reasonable, but few big-name companies in the U.S. have signed on. And you thought the beauty myth was poisonous.

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Cut 'Em

Group tries logging forests to save them

In order to save logged-over areas from development while improving wildlife habitat and creating jobs, the Virginia-based nonprofit Conservation Fund plans to ... log them more. It's a counterintuitive approach that's raising some hackles in the environmental community. The group has been acquiring thousands of acres of less-profitable forestland from logging companies in Northern California, with plans to log them responsibly. In 2004, the group bought 24,000 acres for $18 million, some 35 percent of which they have designated a forest reserve; the remainder will continue being commercially logged. It's now purchasing some 16,000 additional acres, and hopes to buy 165,000 more. To cover loan and management costs of the 16,000 acres, the group will need to do over $1.8 million a year worth of logging there. "We can get foresters to say this would promote sustainable forestry," said Louis Blumberg of The Nature Conservancy, "but it is hard to get society to accept this notion."