Green Options » exxon valdez

Scientists: “Frozen Smoke” is the Ultimate Tool for Cleaning Up Oil Spills

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:01:19 +0000

The American Chemical Society reports that aerogel or “frozen smoke” may be the holy grail of sponges for capturing oil from wastewater and soaking up oil spills. Unlike other costly and inefficient sponges, hydrophobic silica aerogels are both highly porous and absorbent.

Clean Coal? I Don’t Think So!

Leslie Berliant — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:25:10 +0000

The next time someone tells you about clean coal, remind them of the coal ash spill in Tennessee, bigger than the Exxon Valdez disaster. Or better yet, point them to the Think Progress video that shows the reality of the clean coal oxymoron in just 34 seconds.

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$5 Million Ash Spill Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Status

Alex Felsinger — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:01:29 +0000

Lawyers representing owners of waterfront property impacted by the 1.1 billion gallon spill of fly ash from Tennessee’s Kingston Fossil Plant have filed a lawsuit requesting $5 million in damages in addition to class action status for all residents affected by the massive spill.

There’s No Place like Nome

Maggie Milstein — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:27:16 +0000

On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of Alaskan crude oil aboard the Exxon-Valdez curled into Prince William Sound. Known as possibly the largest ecological disaster in history, the Exxon Valdez Crisis loomed in the minds of a world on the cusp; the Wall was about to come down, but no progressive attempts had been made to stop environmental hazards.

Alaskans are now facing a greater ecological threat with even graver social and political implications. The Prius Hemp Crisis struck the coast on July 4th, 2008, spilling tons of crude corn oil into Bristol Bay. American transportation companies are beginning to rely on corn oil instead of petrol in a herculean effort to decrease emissions. Alaska and Russia now import their fuel from the Midwest, an economic and ecological role reversal that has spawned a new breed of dangers.

Corn oil and by-products washed up onto the Alaskan coastline, sewing the seeds of defeat. Cornfields began to spring up in Bristol Bay, Anchorage, and as far north as Nome and, almost immediately, liquor store owners began to close their shops on Sundays. The Apple Company reported a sharp correlation between corn migration and iTunes purchases of John Mellencamp’s Greatest Hits.