Leak at tar sands plant fouls Athabasca River
Tainted water poured for hours into Canada's Athabasca River before a broken pipe was sealed at one of the Suncor tar-sands plants that it is to supply the Keystone XL pipeline.
Tag: petro-oligarchy
Planet Watch
Peak oil apocalyptoids: eating crow yet?
The US Geological Survey estimates there is seven to eight times more oil in the ground than the human race has yet consumed—and this constitutes the real threat to the planet.
Planet Watch
Court upholds statutory protection for polar bears
A US appeals court upheld the listing of polar bears as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act due to the threat to their habitat from global warming.
Planet Watch
Protesters occupy Keystone XL offices in Houston
More than 100 protesters stormed the lobby of TransCanada's Keystone office in Houston as a new tree-sit was established at the Texas town of Diboll to block pipeline construction.
Watching the Shadows
Chuck Hagel: revenge of the paleocons?
Leftists are ironically rallying around Chuck Hagel as Obama's apparent pick for Secretary of Defense—a conservative Republican who is wary of the neocons but close to Big Oil.
Planet Watch
National Intelligence Council predicts global climate disaster —again
The US National Intelligence Council issued a report, "Global Trends 2030: Potential Worlds," that emphasizes the rise of China and the risk of catastrophic climate change.
Watching the Shadows
Military coup d’état against Obama?
Was Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette sacked from his command of a Pacific carrier battle group last month because he was plotting a putsch against Obama?
Planet Watch
Quebec fracking ban challenged under NAFTA
Energy firm Lone Pine Resources is challenging Quebec’s fracking moratorium under the North American Free Trade Agreement, and demanding $250 million in compensation.
Planet Watch
Record $4.5 billion settlement with BP in Gulf spill
British Petroleum agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct for its role in the devastation caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
East Asia
China: changing of the guard —amid same old repression
Xi Jinping was chosen as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party amid stepped-up repression and a wave of labor unrest in the Fujian and Zhejiang industrial zones.
Planet Watch
Sandy and climate change: media hot air
Media bloviators argue about whether superstorm Sandy was "caused by" climate change, oblivious to the obvious reality: such extreme weather events are climate change!
New York City
NYC: obligatory disaster rant
"Mandatory evacuation" set a dangerous precedent for executive power and displacement of the poor—but will the "Frankenstorm" at least be a climate-change wake-up call?