Jaguar. See OceanDiver's
post.
Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The most recent Spotlight can be seen here. More than
23,490 environmentally oriented diaries have been rescued for inclusion in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a diary in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
Washington Wildfire Update, Getting Better Every Day—by
foresterbob: "In eastern Okanogan County, the saga began slightly more than three weeks ago. A series of fires began almost simultaneously under dry windy conditions. Many were started by lightning. Before resources could be mustered to the scene, vast stretches of timberland were on fire. Homes and sheds were reduced to rubble. Thousands more were in serious jeopardy of joining the toll. The complex of fires grew so large, so fast, that they became the nation’s #1 priority. Fire camps were established; personnel and equipment poured in from everywhere. There were days when the weather was so extreme that the crews could do little besides get out of the way. As time went on, there were more good days than bad ones. Firefighters finally gained the upper hand."
South African Women Kicking Ass Keeping Wildlife Safe—by
Chaoslillith: "Majority Women Ranger Unit from South Africa Wins UN’s 'The Champions of the Earth' Award. These women are role models for all of us! Walking 20km a day to protect rhinos and other wildlife and making an immense impact. Follow over the jump for the details.
While their work contributes most toward ecosystem preservation and halting biodiversity loss, Goal 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals, it also exemplifies the action-driven solutions needed to achieve all of the SDGs. With every rhino saved the Black Mambas demonstrate that action on a local level is critical to achieving global sustainability and equity.' The unit has ensured that not a single rhino has been poached on the land they protect in over ten months. In the neighbouring reserve, 23 rhinos have been killed over the same period. Since being founded in 2013, the 26-member unit has also helped arrest six poachers, reduced snaring by 76 per cent, removed over 1,000 snares and put 5 poachers’ camps and 2 bush meat kitchens out of action."
Who will Fight the United States' Biggest Greenhouse Gas Source?—by 6412093: "The Scherer Power Plant, north of Macon, Georgia is the largest single source of Greenhouse Gasses in the entire United States and the 20th largest in the world, according to Wiki. It consumes two to five unit trains (135 cars apiece) of Wyoming Powder River coal daily and emits over 20 million tons a year of Greenhouse Gasses while generating about 3500 megawatts of electricity. Plant Scherer has produced more greenhouse gasses, every year for 33 years, than the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. As most Kos readers know, milions of folks are screaming bloody murder over the XL pipeline and its indirect impact on increasing greenhouse gasses; people are demonstrating, getting arrested, and condemning inadequately opposed Democratic elected officials like our President and our leading Democratic candidate. Meanwhile, Plant Scherer puffs away, relatively unnoticed, on its way to emitting a billion tons of CO2 by 2030."
Below the orange spill you'll find more excerpts and links to green posts.
Climate Chaos
In thawing Siberian Permafrost - A 4th Type of Pre-historic Virus Found That May Retain Infectivity—by Pakalolo: "French researchers reported in the US National Academy of Sciences the discovery of Mollivirus Sibericum, the fourth type of pre-historic virus found since 2003. Giant viruses are considered "giant" if they are longer than half a micron, or 0.0005 millimetres and are visible by a light microscope. The first discovery of a Giant Virus occurred in started in '2003 with the discovery of Mimivirus. Two additional types of giant viruses infecting Acanthamoeba have been discovered since: the Pandoraviruses (2013) and Pithovirus sibericum(2014), the latter one revived from 30,000-y-old Siberian permafrost. We now describe Mollivirus sibericum, a fourth type of giant virus isolated from the same permafrost sample. These four types of giant virus exhibit different virion structures, sizes (0.6–1.5 µm), genome length (0.6–2.8 Mb), and replication cycles. Their origin and mode of evolution are the subject of conflicting hypotheses. The fact that two different viruses could be easily revived from prehistoric permafrost should be of concern in a context of global warming.'"
GOP going abroad to stop Obama's Climate Policy—by wade norris: "While we discuss here on this Labor Day, what will do if Climate Change creates a refugee crisis that will soar into the Millions. I was angered to read on another site that an aide to Mitch McConnell is reporting that the GOP is going to take the fight against Obama's Climate Change policies overseas. A top policy aide to McConnell (R-Ky.) has had conversations with a select group of representatives from foreign embassies to make it clear that Republicans intend to fight Obama's climate agenda at every turn, sources familiar with the efforts say. [...] Yes, in Paris this Winter, once again world leaders will try to come together to make some meaningful agreements on Climate Change, like we hoped that would have done in 2009 in Copenhagen. And even though what Obama's proposals may seem minimal in an advance in policy in spite of more and more refugee crises, even this is a bridge too far for our Republican counterparts."
The geopolitics of global warming—by Shockwave: "I started educating myself about the threat when "global warming" was what I stumbled on. Recently I stumbled upon an interesting map of a survey taken in 2008 by Gallup. First the easy stuff. Europe, Latin America (all the way to Mexico), Australia, some parts of Africa and to a degree Canada have majorities of people that are aware of global warming and of those who are aware, a majority agree that it is a serious threat. And there are indications that they are making an effort to do something about it. Interestingly Germany and Brazil seem to be leading these regions. [...] Let's start with this graphic representation of how many planets would be needed to achieve sustainability if all the people in the world consumed the same as the selected countries. Germany and Brazil join forces on climate change action. Brazil Has Done More To Stop Climate Change Than Any Other Country, Study Finds. Germany Just Got 78 Percent Of Its Electricity From Renewable Sources. If you look at other BRIC countries, India, things are more complicated."
Moore is Less than Honest in WSJ—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "Patrick Moore, who (falsely) claims to be a co-founder of Greenpeace, has a short oped in the WSJ addressing the President's trip to Alaska. Given Moore's decades of service to various industrial interests, his misleading and illogical points shouldn't be taken too seriously. Nevertheless, we'll rebut. During Obama's Alaska visit, the President hiked up the rapidly-retreating Exit Glacier saying, '[glacial melt] is as good a signpost of what we're dealing with when it comes to climate change as just about anything.' According to Moore, however, Alaska's glaciers have retreated and advanced in the past—including before the industrial revolution—so warming must not be at fault now. The logical failing here should be clear: just because something happened naturally in the past doesn't mean it can't happen unnaturally now. After all, the fact that people die of natural causes is hardly a defense for murder."
Two new studies say a melting Arctic could weaken or halt Ocean Currents—by Lefty Coaster: "The scientific evidence of the urgency of taking substantial action to reduce GHG emissions keeps mounting. Among the changes in our oceans driven by Climate Change is the possibility we are damaging our system of ocean currents. Global warming could shut down major ocean currents, say researchers. Two papers examine how rapidly melting Arctic ice could slow or even halt normal ocean circulation, with northern latitudes getting frigid and Southeast Asia hit by super-droughts."
If We Can't Handle Thousands Of Refugees, How Will We Handle 100's Of Millions?—by pollwatcher: "Europe is currently experiencing a mass migration problem (most refugees will never return home), on a relatively tiny scale but that should scare the hell out of most nations. Refugees are flooding Europe by the 100's of thousands and it's already causing political and social problems for the destination countries. The problems to come will include stress on local government resources, cultural differences, and a right wing backlash against immigrants. [...] Whether you call them refugees or immigrants, what no one can deny is that this movement of people is causing big problems for many nations. But this is really a drop in the bucket compared to what is about to happen to the world in the next several decades. The biggest impact on civilization caused by Global Warming, will be the absolutely unbelievable mass migrations that are just starting and that will overwhelm and crush destination countries. 100s of millions and possibly well over a billion people will be forced to leave their homes and move to a country with a more stable environment. What country, or group of countries can handle a doubling or tripling of their population in a few short years?"
Climate Justice and the 99% (VIDEO)—by Dont Just Sit There DO SOMETHING: "Looking for a way to keep up with climate news and findings that won't crush your soul? Look no further than our latest Don't Just Sit There—Do Something! video! This one covers water cycle impacts—floods, blizzards, droughts—with a generous splash of good humor. We also give a summary of recent international news, and easy actions you can take to make a difference! The series is created and produced by Communitopia."
Critters & the Great Outdoors
The Daily Bucket - out to the Rocks & back—by OceanDiver: "September 5, 2015. Salish Sea, PNW. A few scenes from my latest trip out around Whale Rocks the other day for our late Bucket this Wednesday. We take the boat out regularly, every ten days or so, to spin new barnacles off the prop and to see what's happening offshore. The conditions and wildlife change through the seasons out at sea as they do on land. Most particularly I was interested to see the Steller Sea Lion situation out at Whale Rocks after reading matching mole's recent account of his nature-watching trip past there. The larger of Whale Rocks had several big groups of golden Steller Sea Lions."
Washington State Open Thread - Geoducks in Our Midst—by
John Crapper: "As reported on King 5 news August 13, 2015:
New geoduck farming rules are rolling out across Puget Sound, prompting a renaissance in the clam harvest and a growing movement to stop it ... It comes after several years of stagnation, as state officials worked on better regulation. Now, counties across Puget Sound are adopting the new geoduck rules. That's prompted renewed interest, along with big demand in Asia. The Department of Ecology counts 28 new geoduck farm permits since 2012. But geoduck farming is controversial creating conflicts with shoreline property owners and nongovernmental organizations. [...] The large, meaty siphon is prized for its savory flavor and crunchy texture. Geoduck is regarded by some as an aphrodisiac because of its phallic shape.A team of American and Italian researchers analyzed bivalves and found they were rich in amino acids that trigger increased levels of sex hormones. Their high zinc content aids the production of testosterone."
Dawn Chorus - Belize Zoo, a rehab and educational facility—by OceanDiver: "Last May I had half a day on mainland Belize after the boat from Blackbird Caye dropped us off and before our plane left. We were in Belize to scuba dive and nature-watch out on Turneffe atoll for 10 days (island bird Dawn Chorus here from our trip in 2014), but figured we'd rather see a bit more of Belize than sit in the airport for 6 hours. We hired a car and driver/guide to visit the Belize 'Zoo,' an hour's drive inland. 'Zoo' is in quotation marks because this place is not your typical zoo. It's more a rehab and educational facility. In its 29 acres of mostly natural lowland forest habitat, it houses about 170 animals, 45 different species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and many incidental animals like insects. Every plant and animal is native to Belize and not one them was a wild self-sufficient creature captured from the countryside. They all came here after being abandoned, orphaned, mistreated in captivity or semi-domesticated and unable to function in the wild. Each animal has a story, and the ones I heard are sad. Still, however injured or compromised, the animals play an important role in educating Belizean citizens about their own wildlife, and us foreign visitors as well. 15,000 Belizean school-children visit the zoo every year and many of the animal enclosures are labeled with them in mind.
The zoo operates on a shoestring entirely by donations, with no government funding. It's an interesting dynamic between the zoo and the government of Belize. While the state benefits from the flow of tourists the zoo attracts it is hostile to its operation and has tried to undercut it in the past."
The Daily Bucket: Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge—by
matching mole: "On Saturday we drove down to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Nisqually NWR protects the estuary of the Nisqually river and is important habitat for waterfowl and many other organisms. It is at the south end of Puget Sound between Tacoma and Olympia. Fellow bucketeer Elizaveta has written two buckets on Nisqually, the first of which, with many links to informative sites can be found here. I visited the refuge briefly in June of last year but this was my first time to explore it thoroughly. It is an area of particular interest to me as the habitat is, in some ways, parallel to that found in a lot of coastal Florida where I make my permanent home. So I'm going to do a bit of a compare and contrast with what we saw at Nisqually and what I might expect to see at our local NWR at home, St Marks. [...] Ducks. I saw four or five species of duck at Nisqually: mallards, northern shoveler, blue-winged teal, hooded (?) merganser, and possible gadwall. All of these are species I've seen at St Marks but, with the exception of the teal, I'd be astounded to see them there for another couple of months. So way earlier duck arrivals here."
The Daily Bucket: Baby Turtles—by PHScott: "Look! Baby Turtles! Aren't they cute? I accidentally unearthed this pair of turtles while digging around the garden yesterday. I'm not sure where they were and what they were doing. They might be recently hatched since I found a couple shell casings. For comparison, the plastic cap is not quite 2 inches. So once I saw the shells, I slowed down and searched for more, wondering if I would find a nest. That's when I saw these 2 mixed in with all the dirt I turned over. After washing them off and posing for photos, I let them go under one of the Rosemary bushes."
Walter Palmer, Cecil Killer, Returning to Work—by
nannyboz: "Tomorrow. Because he is 'needed.' His staff and patients have 'suffered' without him there to care for them. Should I have put 'breaking' in the title? Nah. We knew he would be back. His kind always comes back. 'I have a lot of staff members, and I'm a little heartbroken at the disruption in their lives,' Palmer told the AP and Star Tribune. 'And I'm a health professional. I need to get back to my staff and my patients, and they want me back. That's why I'm back.' Good to know he is heartbroken about his staff's lives. Not to mention Cecil or his cubs or anything."
Daily Bucket: A Walk at the Ohio State University Campus—by Lenny Flank: "Recently I spent a day walking around the Ohio State University campus to visit a couple sites on campus and another site just off-campus. Here are some of the critters I encountered":
Yes, that's its real color.
Trophy Hunting is Conservation yup even Cecil—by
ban nock: "There seems to be some problems with the fallout from the social media skewering of a trophy hunting dentist from Minnesota that occurred roughly a month ago. It seems conservationists in Africa are feeling the effects and journalists who should have known better are suddenly having come to Jesus epiphanies. No more talk of 'beloved' and 'noble,' now the words are more like 'sustainable' and 'populations' and "complex relationships" when discussing African big game hunting. It's widely known that big game hunting in Africa conserves species and habitat, even poorly run programs such as in Zimbabwe are better than not having hunting at all. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, the people who actually run the parks get almost all their funding from trophy hunting. No hunting no park rangers to enforce any wildlife laws, more than likely no more wildlife."
Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion Returning to Work Tuesday—by Puddytat: "In his very first, highly controlled interview since killing Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, Walter J. Palmer, DDS says he'll be returning to his dental practice on Tuesday. The dental practice which found its doorway deluged with stuffed animals and Cecil tributes after Palmers actions were revealed, shut its doors soon after, but has since reopened. Palmer has been publicly unavailable since until this interview, but says he's been spending his time 'like he would on his day off' with friends and family (see below where he reveals this is a lie). He continues to claim ignorance about Cecil being an important and protected lion and claims all of his actions were 'legal'—claims that were supported by his lawyer who was present throughout the interview. His history of past hunting misdeeds seems to disagree with those claims."
Bay Tree Deaths: Surprising Losses in New Port Richey, Florida—by jtietz: "Citizens of New Port Richey, Florida, in the southwest corner of the Springs Coast Watershed, may have recently noticed an unusually large number of dead and dying trees, some of which are huge, once beautiful specimens. We are talking about a lot trees that have died or are dying now. Such a die-off is noticeable in a small community, like New Port Richey (population about 15,000). This writer is not a certified arborist, so the presentation offered here is not a professional assessment. However, since no other reports on this rather significant local die-off have been generated (professional or otherwise), this presentation will at least call attention to the loss of important residents in New Port Richey's urban forest, and perhaps a call for vigilance with regard to the remaining trees in the city and the Springs Coast Watershed – and, maybe, some motivation for the city sponsoring a staff member to attain certification as an Arborist."
Energy
Coal, Oil, Gas & Nuclear
#Coalisamazing… at Embarrassing Coal Industry—by ClimateDenierRoundup: "The Minerals Council of Australia—an industry association representing Australia's mining companies—has produced and released a video ad for coal as part of its new 'Little Black Rock' PR blitz intended to defend against the increasingly loud calls to limit carbon emissions. In conjunction with the video, the Minerals Council attempted to launch a new hashtag touting the wonders of coal, #coalisamazing. Environmentalists have pushed back on the campaign's 'ludicrous' and "desperate" claim that coal has been amazing for humanity. As anyone who has ever followed corporate hashtags before could have predicted, the twittersphere immediately began mocking the campaign, using the hashtag to point out the climate and clean air impacts of coal. Mashable has collected some of the most amusing tweets, though they missed what may be the best one, from @denial101x (pictured left.) These tweets point out that, in a way, the ad campaign is right. Coal does accomplish a lot of amazing things: by locking more heat into the Earth's climate system coal causes more extreme heat and floods; by pooling additional carbon in the ocean, coal is fueling coral bleaching and shellfish die-offs; and through direct human exposure, coal leads to millions of deaths annually."
oil imports and inventories rise, the oil rig count & fuel prices fall, & America keeps on truckin—by rjsigmund: "The latest EIA reports did show a larger than usual drop in oil production, which when coupled with a large jump in imports and lower refinery throughput, led to the aforementioned increase in oil inventories ... US field production of crude oil fell nearly 1.3%, from 9,337,000 barrels per day in the week ending August 21st to 9,218,000 barrels per day in the week ending August 28th ... while that leaves us almost 4.1% below the modern record production of 9,610,000 barrels per day in the first week of June this year, it was still 6.8% higher than our 8,630,000 barrels per day production during the last week of August last year, a level high enough at the time to contribute to the growing global glut that precipitated the drop in oil prices ... more than offsetting that production decrease, our imports of crude oil rose by 656,000 barrels per day to 7,855,000 barrels per day in the week ending August 28, enough to bring the 4 week average of imports carried in the weekly Petroleum Status Report (62 pp pdf) up to 7.7 million barrels per day, which is now 0.2% above the same four-week period last year ..."
Renewables & Conservation
AZ's electric utilities' unrelenting war on solar—by Dave in AZ: "Arizona electric utilities are at war with solar - more specifically, they're at war with privately generated solar—rooftop PV (Photovoltaic) solar panels. You see, Arizona electric utilities are a collection of co-ops. The larger ones - Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project—own most of the power generating plants, and sell some their power directly to residential and business customers, as well as selling their power to other cooperatives in Arizona and utilities in other states. Whether you're a cooperative that generates electricity or one that just buys it from them and sells it at a markup to residential and business customer, they've all had a pretty cozy monopoly for over 100 years, and they don't like the idea of anyone cutting into part of their take. That would be companies like Solar City that make rooftop solar affordable with no upfront costs, but a 20 year lease on the equipment. So, Arizona electricity utilities are fighting back. They claim that folks who like the idea of generating their carbon free electricity from the sun aren't bearing their "fair share" of the costs of maintaining the grid transmission lines."
New economic study says cities could save as much as 22 trillion dollars going green—by Walter Einenkel: "TWENTY-TWO TRILLION DOLLARS. $22,000,000,000,000.00. That's the top side in savings as calculated by a group of economists who have just released their findings in a paper titled "Accelerating Low-Carbon Development in the World's Cities": The economic case for low-carbon urban development is compelling. Even with very conservative assumptions, the current global value of that opportunity could be US$16.6 trillion by 2050. And that value could increase significantly, and the payback periods on the investments could shorten substantially, with effective national and international support and continued leadership by cities. In addition, there is a compelling wider economic case for transformation towards a more compact, connected and efficient urban development model. As Better Growth, Better Climate shows, this model can also make cities more productive, socially inclusive, resilient, cleaner, quieter and safer. This new study puts the kibosh on conservative naysayers who fear going green, pushing for lower carbon outputs in all industries might lead to the end of the world."
Fracking
Major University Forces Freshmen to Read Fracking Propaganda & Give Essay Winners $100—by S Kitchen: "Penn State University is once again attracting the ire of the environmental community. This time, the university if forcing incoming freshman to read 'The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution & Changed the World' by Russell Gold. According to a video posted on the Penn State Reads website, the program will be a student’s 'first sanctioned experience with the university.' The video is narrated by Terry Engelder, who is no stranger to fracking activists. In 2012, I reported on a slideshow authored by Engelder that compared toxic chemicals found in a polluted aquifer to what you would find in a bowl of Wheaties. Yes, Wheaties. Students who read the book, will then have the opportunity to write an essay on the book and then the top two go-getters will win a $100 Amazon gift card and meet the book’s author."
Candidates, DC, State & Local Eco-Politics
CA climate bills—by ybruti: "The California legislature has passed several of the twelve bills in its 'climate package' and others will be voted on this week. These bills continue California's effort to be a leader in the fight against climate change: [...] SB 350—Golden State Standards: sets the following goals for 2030: 50% reduction in petroleum use; 50% utility power coming from renewable energy; 50% increase in energy efficiency in existing buildings. SB 367—Agriculture Climate Benefits Act: helps California agriculture reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop healthy soils that sequester atmospheric carbon. [...] SB 788—California Coastal Protection Act of 2015: ensures that the Coastal Sanctuary Act and Marine Protection act are able to provide their intended protections by repealing outdated sections of the Public Resources Code."
Agriculture, Food & Gardening
Facts vs understanding in GMO propaganda wars—by Steve Masover: "When is reporting the facts a hindrance to broad understanding and informed, participatory democracy? That's actually not a hard question to answer. A common circumstance in which facts fail to enable understanding is when they lack (or obscure) context. Eric Lipton reported on 5 Sept 2015 for the NY Times, in an article titled Food Industry Enlisted Academics in G.M.O. Lobbying War, Emails Show, that: Corporations have poured money into universities to fund research for decades, but now, the debate over bioengineered foods has escalated into a billion-dollar food industry war. Companies like Monsanto are squaring off against major organic firms like Stonyfield Farm, the yogurt company, and both sides have aggressively recruited academic researchers, emails obtained through open records laws show. The emails provide a rare view into the strategy and tactics of a lobbying campaign that has transformed ivory tower elites into powerful players. The use by both sides of third-party scientists, and their supposedly unbiased research, helps explain why the American public is often confused as it processes the conflicting information."
Just another Backlash—by GreenMother: "Lately I have been watching a lot of nasty language aimed at people who hold one or more of the following views: 1. Want GMOs labeled. 2. Want GMOs banned for human consumption. 3. Want to preserve heirloom non GMO seed sources in order to ensure accessibility while preserving genetic diversity. 4. Want better quality food in general. 5. Want more sustainable food sources in general. The desires listed above can be because the consumer has health problems, or has a strongly held desire for a more sustainable agriculture, it could be tied in with views on pollution, global climate change, or conservation. It can also be a way of expressing concern over future food security issues. Lately there has been a backlash against these people, and it takes the forms of a lot of personal attacks, and straw-man arguments. The most popular of which is to conflate these sentiments exclusively with CT and mostly that CT being of the Anti-Vaccine Movement."
Transportation & Infrastructure
Sunday Train: Can Nuclear and Renewable Energy Be Friends?—by
BruceMcF: "There is an ongoing general discussion in the field of sustainable energy that does not carry the risk of the destruction of our current industrial society and economy about variable renewable energy. Renewable energy includes a range of low or no carbon sources of energy—but not all renewable energy is sustainable, and not all is low or no carbon. And not all low or no carbon energy sources are from renewable energy resources. Among the sustainable, no/low carbon renewable energy resources, the most abundant involve the harvest of variable renewable energy, with windpower and solar PV being the most notable. So one obvious strategy for a no-carbon-emitting energy system is to base it on collecting as much of these affordable variable renewables as practicable, and then use other no/low carbon sources to fill in the gaps. However, in some quarters, this elicits a counter-argument. The most 'successfully de-carbonized' economies of the world today are either those with a very high reliance on reservoir hydropower ... which while very useful in the United States offers nowhere near a large enough economic resource to meet any large fraction of our current consumption ... or those with a very high reliance on nuclear power."
Oceans, Water & Drought
Zeke Grader, fish and rivers advocate, passes away—by Dan Bacher: "Zeke Grader, a legendary defender of fish, fishing communities, the Bay-Delta Estuary and the public trust, passed away Monday night. The Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), Zeke was one of one of the most quotable and witty people I have ever met. I spent many, many hours in meetings, conferences, protests and rallies with him - and he would always come up with the best quote summarizing what happened. In 2007 when the 'marine protected areas' created under the controversial MLPA Initiative went into effect on the Central Coast, Glen Martin, then writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, published one of the most memorable quotes that Zeke ever made: 'For (the reserves) to work, they have to be integrated with a strong water-quality policy," Grader said. 'By themselves, the reserves will afford about as much protection to fisheries as the Maginot Line did for the French in (World War II).' "
Trash, Pollution & Hazardous Waste
Chevron loses case in Canada—by PACIFICOPIPIL: "Chevron contaminated the Amazon with the arrogance that only have the 1% of the world. The contamination they, did was criminal, since they basically did not care about the repercussions of their actions. They contaminated about 5 millions cubic meters of land without caring to treat the spill. Now they are suppose to pay around 5+ billions of dollars, but I really dubt they will paid anything. When I see stuff like this happening in our planet, I wish we can spill petroleum in the CEO's mansions. Made them eat with all the stinging odors around them. That will be a perfect punishment for them. Is like in the artic. I wish there would be a clause saying the the ceo of shell and Obama will have to clean by hand and case something go wrong. I bet they will think it more carefully knowing that there'll be repercussions if something goes wrong."