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In the wake of last week's catastrophic oil spill, still growing in the Gulf of Mexico, many people are feeling helpless as to what they can do in their personal lives to stop supporting offshore oil drilling and the use of oil in general. Fortunately, our everyday lifestyle and purchasing decisions matter. We as individuals have the power to help reduce our country's reliance on oil,......read more
When entertainment and environmental politics collide so beautifully, as they often do on Real Time, SHFT needs to share. Nobody does it better than Mr. Bill Maher. Not only does he take the piss out of the boneheads at BP who are "trying" to curtail this messs, but he frequently lands on answers that need to be seriously considered. Van Jones has been talking about the green economy......read more
With the cap on the blown well holding, BP and its team are preparing to permanently seal it with mud and cement early this week. Meanwhile, the oil slick on the water surface is receding quickly, and the company says it will start scaling back cleanup efforts in the area. And so an environmental catastrophe begins to fade away. But what does the future hold for the ravaged ecosystems in the......read more
Scientists from the U.S. government said this week that the blown BP well in the the Gulf of Mexico gushed an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil, making it the largest accidental offshore oil spill in history. The word "accidental" is an important qualifier; the largest offshore spill in history was an intentional release of 5-10 million barrels of oil by Iraqi troops during the Gulf......read more
Home Depot announces LED lightbulb that costs under $20 -- and lasts for 30 years. Seiko Kato's collages are, how you say, AMAZING. Sea Change: Photographers respond to the BP oil spill -- with optimistic pics of sustainable farming, beekeeping, and urban homesteading. No more Mr. Nice Guy: "End of Nature" author Bill McKibben says it's time to get pissed off about climate......read more
In 1997, Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky had an epiphany: "It occurred to me that the vast, human-altered landscapes that I pursued and photographed for over twenty years were only made possible by the discovery of oil and the mechanical advantage of the internal combustion engine. It was then that I began the oil project." For the next decade Burtynsky set himself to......read more
Pier Pressure: From The World's Best Ever, British art prankster Banksy makes a sly comment on the BP oil spill with this “reconditioned dolphin ride with crude oil and a tuna net.” The Dirty Dozen: Mother Jones hips us to the 12 least sustainable seafoods from this year's Smart Seafood Guide, published by Food & Water Watch. The guide takes into account not only health and......read more
The Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster was caused by a faulty design of the blowout preventer and a piece of trapped pipe, says an official report published by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of the Interior. According to the 551-page report, "The primary cause of failure was identified as the blind shear rams failing to fully close and seal due to a portion of drill pipe trapped......read more
When the Deepwater Horizon spill happened over a year ago, Tippy Tippens (what a name!) was determined to help restore the Gulf Coast ecosystem to its natural state. After traveling to New Orleans, the Brooklyn designer launched BirdProject, a line of glycerin-based, bird-shaped soaps that each contain a ceramic keepsake within. In Tippens' words: Through the daily act of washing,......read more
With bad weather hampering efforts to hold back the massive oil slick growing off the Gulf Coast, U.S. President Barack Obama called the situation a "massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster," promising that his administration will do everything it can to stop it and clean it up. President Obama made his remarks from Venice, La., where he arrived yesterday to survey......read more
