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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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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Paul McCartney says that global warming skeptics are like Holocaust deniers

Former Beatles superstar and musician Paul McCartney has set his aim at skeptics of a climate crisis in an interview with Britain's Sun tabloid, where he compared global warming skeptics to 'Holocaust deniers".

Speaking on the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Beatles legend said: "Sadly we need disasters like this to show people. Some people don't believe in climate warming - like those who don't believe there was a Holocaust.

"But the facts indicate that there's something going on and we've got to be aware of it if we want our kids to inherit a decent world, not a complete nightmare of a planet - clean, renewable energy is for starters."

The singer also defended the US President, Barack Obama, over the criticism that he has received regarding the spill. [Via The Sun]

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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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Global environmental network protests proposed mining

The New Zealand branch of a global environmental initiative has protested the prospect of mining of protected lands in New Zealand.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature New Zealand Committee (IUCNNZ) made a submission this week in response to the idea of removing 7000 hectares of conservation land from protected status under the Crown Minerals Act.

Submissions on the Government's controversial discussion paper close this Wednesday.

The organization's New Zealand branch sent a letter to Government, saying that the country had been able to 'hold its head high' within the union, because it had, for so long, managed to prevent New Zealand's protected land from being mined.

Some 40,000 people protested the proposal in Auckland last month.

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Residents of flooded homes airlifted

It could be days, according to Fairfax Media, till families who had to flee rising floodwaters could return to assess the damage.

Residents from 22 homes were rescued, including around 12 by helicopter. According to Stuff.co.nz:

Summit rescue helicopter paramedic Johnny Mulheron described chaos in the region, with roads washed out by mud and logs, and said some isolated families would remain stranded for up to three days.

A family – parents and two children – living on the Motueka River near Tapawera had a flash-flood go through their house and had to scramble up a steep bank to a neighbour's home, where they were rescued by helicopter.

"They were school-aged kids ... they were fairly upset but not physically hurt," Mr Mulheron said.

The helicopter spent about four hours flying up and down rivers – close to breaching their banks in many areas – checking on houses which were now cut off by the floods.

Police and Civil Defense have said repeatedly that they are unaware when the families will be able to return home, and that they are merely serving their best interests in safety.

Read the full article.   

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