Powerful 7.1 quake rocks New Zealand; buildings collapse, 2 injured but no deaths reported

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged buildings, cut power and knocked fleeing residents off their feet on New Zealand's South Island early Saturday, but there were so far no deaths and only two injuries reported.

Panicked residents in their pajamas ran into the streets of the southern city of Christchurch after the pre-dawn quake, residents said. There were reports of some people trapped in damaged buildings — though none appeared to be crushed by rubble — and a few looters broke into some of the damaged shops in the city of 400,000, authorities said. Read more at the LA Times.

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Hurricane Earl downgraded to category three

Hurricane Earl, a hurricane said to be packing winds of near 125 mph (200 kph) as it 'blows towards the coast of North Carolina. The Associated Press has reported that the storm has been downgraded to a 'category three' hurricane, and is becoming weaker each day.

It is reported that experts believe it will pass the outer banks of North Carolina tonight as a 'powerful storm'.

Administration officials say that residents and tourists of the area can no longer afford to wait and see what the forecast will be.

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Another rig explodes off La. coast; oil spreading

Another oil rig exploded and caught fire Thursday off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico west of the site of BP's massive spill. All 13 crew members were rescued. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough said the sheen, about 100 feet wide, was spotted near the platform. Firefighting vessels were battling the flames.

The company that owns the rig, Houston-based Mariner Energy, did not know what caused the blast, which was reported by a helicopter flying over the area. Crew members were found floating in the water, huddled together in survival outfits called "gumby suits."

Read the rest at the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

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Brad Pitt: BP deserves death penalty

Popular actor turned pseudo-Al Gore Brad Pitt has lashed out at embattled oil company BP in a new film on environmental issues to be released on Monday night.

"I was never for the death penalty before," he says. "I am willing to look at it again."


Read USA Today's full review. 

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Cost of oil spill tops $6 billion as hole is plugged

Although the damage the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has done to the environment is the subject of much debate, nobody is arguing about just how much the incident has damaged the oil company's finances.

BP has reported that as the company and its specialists work to clean up the spill, the financial wizards at the group can announce that the total cost of the spill so far has reached over $6.1 billion.

This includes some $319 million in compensation paid to the US Government and a number of other organizations. BP has also confirmed that no oil is leaking into the Gulf following a successful effort to plug the well on July 15.

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Another oil spill erupts in the Gulf of Mexico

As if to affirm what we already thought about oil companies working in the Gulf of Mexico, MSNBC has reported that yet another oil leakage has started after a tug boat hit a major oil platform.

The oil platform is now spewing oil and natural gas into the Louisiana marsh area, the network's site posted this morning. [MSNBC]

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Wall-sized chunks of fat removed from London sewers

Of all the tourists that can be found in London, I doubt many of them would opt - instead of going to the London Eye or the Tower of London - to clean fat off the walls of the city's sewers, which have become ridden with enough of the stuff to fill nine double-decker buses.

The bulk of the work is being performed in the heart of London - underneath Leicester Square.


The "flushers", as the workers on the site are referred to, are set to remove one million kilograms of fat from the sewer. According to the Independent:

The operation, which began in the early hours of this morning, is claimed to be the largest-ever sewer clean-up of its kind.

The build-up is the result of years of "sewer abuse" - when anything other than water, human waste and toilet paper is put down drains - according to Thames Water.

Danny Brackley, the water company's sewer flusher, said: "We're used to getting our hands dirty, but nothing on this scale.

"We couldn't even access the sewer as it was blocked by a four-foot wall of solid fat."

The cleanup is expected to continue for a couple of weeks. [Via The Independent] 

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'A Whale' to the rescue; Is this the saviour that the Gulf has been waiting for?

The World's largest oil skimmer is currently steaming its way toward the Gulf of Mexico - as it promises to be one of the last great chances for the government and environmental experts to save the area, which has been ravaged environmentally by a mass oil spill perpetrated by oil company BP. 

According to the Washington Post:

The Taiwanese vessel dubbed "A Whale," which its owners describe as the largest oil skimmer in the world, began showing its capabilities on Saturday just north of the Macondo Deepwater well site. An April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig there killed 11 workers and began what is now the largest oil spill in Gulf history. The vessel will cruise a 25-square-mile test site through Sunday, according to TMT Shipping, the company that created A Whale by retrofitting an oil tanker after the explosion sent millions of gallons of crude spilling into the Gulf.

BP plans to pump heavy mud through one relief well to stop the leak from the broken well. The second relief well is being drilled as a backup. [Via WP]

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Ted Turner on our world's imminent cannibalism

Although I do believe that global warming is a serious threat to society, I think Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, has done a little too much thinking into the matter - and has claimed that it will cause cannibalism in the future. Maybe all that oxygen is going to his head. 

"None of the crops will grow, most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals". The few people who are left, Turner says, will be living in a 'failed state like Sudan'. 

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Oil spill costs for BP top $2 billion

BP, the company deemed responsible for the oil spill currently occurring in the Gulf of Mexico has recently reported that their costs associated with their (as yet unsuccessful) cleanup effort have totaled above two billion dollars.

BP shares fell 4 percent in trading on the London Stock Exchange in response to further woes.



Clearly it has been $2 billion that hasn't been very well spent. BP is still nowhere near a completed clean-up.

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"The gulf looks like it has chicken pox" - BP has 48 hours

The US Government has given BP a symbolic 48 hours to devise a plan that will reduce the amount of oil that is currently gushing into the Gulf.

BP, which stands for British Petroleum, has thus far struggled to contain the leakage, which is currently leaking at a staggering rate, dozens of thousands of barrels each day.

The Coast Guard reportedly contacted BP requesting more information on their plans to control the leak, to which there was no known reply.

"The Gulf looks like it has chicken pox", said an ariel photographer. "It's like waiting for someone to die of cancer", said a local resident, who, according to The Associated Press, walks along the beach every morning.

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There's actually twice the amount of oil leaking into Gulf

Scientists have re-evaluated their earlier predictions of the amount of oil leaking into the Gulf, in one of the worst environmental disasters in recent times. A new government issued scientific report estimates that 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day is being gushed into the sea. 

An earlier estimate was dreadfully inaccurate, estimating only around 12,000 to 19,000 a day. [Via NYT]

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Tiger penis found at Auckland Airport

In a rather odd twist of news this afternoon, a Cambodian woman has been caught (allegedly) smuggling a tiger's penis into New Zealand.

The illegal item, which may cost the woman up to $100,000 in fines, was discovered by a sniffer dog at Auckland Airport after she arrived from Singapore on Saturday. According to Stuff.co.nz:

A search of the woman, who was travelling with her daughter and husband, allegedly revealed a stocking tied around her waist and a plastic bag around her leg.

What is particularly worrying about this case for bio-security and environmental specialists is that tigers are endangered in many parts of the world and are protected by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species.

In the 2008-09 year, officials seized over 126,000 goods identified as risky for the environment.

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