Conservative Revolutionary American Party III: Daily Grist: Federal officials mixed up in oil & gas sex scandal, coal protesters acquitted, and more‏

TOP STORY

Is That a Drill in Your Pocket ... ?
Ethics violations alleged at agency that collects oil and gas royalties

Between 2002 and 2006, a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" existed at the federal agency responsible for overseeing oil and gas royalties, according to an investigation by Minerals Management Service Inspector General Earl Devaney. Thirteen MMS employees (in an office of 55 people) are alleged to have rigged contracts, worked part-time as oil consultants, and accepted high-priced gifts from energy companies. Several "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives," wrote Devaney. The report also singles out Chevron for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. The MMS has come under fire in the past few years for oversight failures; notes Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.V.), "Clearly, the employees had other priorities in that office." The ethics allegations are ill-timed as Congress primes to consider offshore-drilling expansion, which would also expand MMS influence.

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sources: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters
straight to the memo: OIG Investigations of MMS Employees

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XOXO, The Grist Staff.

TODAY'S NEWS

Life's a Beach and Then It's Closed
EPA to update health-hazard reporting standards for U.S. beaches

The U.S. EPA has agreed to update its 22-year-old criteria for reporting beach-related health hazards to the public thanks to a new settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Right now, the EPA's criteria for assessing ocean-water and beach health are based on the likelihood of beachgoers contracting gastrointestinal illnesses, but apparently that's just one small part of what befouled ocean water can do to people. The expanded criteria, to be released by 2012, would also calculate the likelihood of beachgoers contracting ear infections, hepatitis, pink eye, and skin rashes; the new standards will also require same-day reporting of results to the public. "The new studies will have to look at the whole range of how people get sick, which will lead to stricter and more protective criteria," said NRDC attorney Aaron Colangelo. Earlier this summer, NRDC reported that there were 22,571 pollution-related closures or warning advisories on U.S. beaches in 2007, mostly due to runoff and human and animal waste in the water.

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source: Associated Press

Now They've Gone and Gordon It
Greenpeace protesters acquitted in coal-activism case

In a decision that anti-coal activists say is a game-changer, six Greenpeace protesters have been acquitted of nearly $53,000 in criminal-damage charges for painting "Gordon" on a British coal plant. The activists climbed a 650-foot coal-plant chimney last year with the intent to paint "Gordon bin it" in huge letters, aiming to pressure Prime Minister Gordon Brown to disallow new coal plants. They only got to "Gordon" before being served with a high court injunction. In court, the six used a "lawful excuse" defense, arguing that burning coal exacerbates climate change, thus putting property around the world "in immediate need of protection." Climate scientist James Hansen testified on their behalf, and the jury found in their favor. "This verdict marks a tipping point for the climate change movement," says chimney-scaler Ben Stewart. "If jurors from the heart of Middle England say it's legitimate for a direct action group to shut down a coal-fired power station because of the harm it does to our planet, then where does that leave government energy policy?"

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sources: Reuters, BBC News, The Times, Greenpeace
see also, in Grist: Direct-action protesters in the U.K. are focusing on climate change

Shelter from the Storm
White roofs could help keep climate change at bay

This whole climate-change debacle could be significantly slowed down if the world's 100 largest cities installed white roofs and more-reflective pavement, says a new study to be published in the journal Climatic Change. It may sound like ~~green~~whitewashing, but physicist Hashem Akbari crunches the numbers: By bouncing heat away from the Earth, a 1,000-square-foot white roof offsets 10 metric tons of greenhouse gases. Roofs account for 25 percent of the surface of most cities, and pavement makes up some 35 percent. Thus, going White-House-style could offset 44 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases -- more than is emitted by Earthlings each year. "I call it win-win-win," says Akbari. "First, a cooler environment not only saves energy but improves comfort. Second, cooling a city by a few degrees dramatically reduces smog. And the third win is offsetting global warming." We'd help the cause by wearing white, but sorry, it's after Labor Day.

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sources: Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, East Bay Business Times, United Press International
straight to the report: Global Cooling: Increasing Worldwide Urban Albedos to Offset CO2 [PDF]
see also, in Grist: Umbra advises on albedo

I Think You Sink
Old-growth forests absorb more CO2 than they release, study finds

Most of the world's old-growth forests actively absorb more carbon dioxide than they release into the atmosphere, making them effective carbon sinks, according to a new study in the journal Nature. The new research, which relies on data from over 500 forests around the world, refutes the commonly held assertion that old-growth forests are merely carbon neutral, absorbing only as much carbon as they release. Instead, the study found, forests between 15 and 800 years old typically not only act as active carbon sinks, but collectively act as a storehouse for up to 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide -- some 10 percent of the world's total net CO2 uptake. "The absolute amount of carbon stored in these forests is significant," said forest-science professor Beverly Law. And because they are active carbon absorbers as well as large carbon reservoirs, destroying them is doubly stupid climate-wise (and dumber still if you factor in their conservation value and unique ecology). "If you have an old forest on the ground, it's probably better to leave it there than to cut it," Law said.

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sources: Associated Press, Agence France-Presse

In Brief
Snippets from the news

• Deaths at oil and gas fields rise at an alarming rate.

• Almanac prognosticators consider how to deal with climate change.

• Santa Barbara city council says no to offshore drilling.

• Berkeley tree-sitters descend from their perches.

• Old-growth forests do their part to fight global warming.

• Alberta oil spill kills hundreds of birds.

• Australia hit by "extreme waves."