Many, including politicians, want to believe that with improvements in technology and stricter regulations we will soon be able to prevent all such disasters. The above review, however, does not support this optimistic outlook. The majority of the accidents were not due to problems with technology and could not have been prevented by regulations or timely inspections. Of the spills that occurred because of shipping accidents, 29% involved ship collisions, 22% involved ships running aground, and the remaining 49% involved other combinations of factors including inclement weather, fog, fires, explosions, and accidental damage to the ships. Human error, often coupled with insurmountable forces of nature, plays the biggest role in such disasters.
This view has been strongly supported by John Hofmeister, founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy, and former president of Shell Oil Company. In his June 2, 2010 article in the Ottawa Citizen he...
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Saturday, June 5 Continued: After Finishing up Blog Post Number one, I still had an errand or two to run. firstly it was to the bike shop, to pick up two new spare tires to replace the ones that got used the day before. Then I had to pick up groceries for the trip. I was exited, because Jordyn was supposed to be there sometime that night, and it had been almost two weeks since I had seen any of my friends, so I wanted to make sure everything was done. The last and most important trip was to the "Family fun Center" the Medicine Hats largest indoor pool. I was just hoping for a hot tub, but this place had EVERYTHING. Hot tub, steam room, Olympic sized pool with High dive AND Diving platform. As a man who's possibly favorite activity is going to the pool, I was in heaven. I spent nearly three hours there, about half an hour or more of which was in the steam room, drinking several bottles of water till I was full to burst. I felt really amazing after the pool,...
Sometimes I wonder who is actually running the show.
This week, as omnibus legislation threatened to weaken some of Canada’s strongest environmental laws, all anyone could talk about was a fake lake.
As every media outlet in this country has probably drummed into your head by now, the federal government is being blasted for installing a $1.9 million fake lake at a Toronto media centre. The lake, built in preparation for the G8 / G20 Summits, is being branded as a “marketing pavilion” by the feds. With a trademark blend of indignation and hyperventilation, the opposition has voiced its discontent.
Far be it from me to justify wasting public money, but somehow my concern lies elsewhere.
That’s because something far more egregious is happening right under our noses. While Canada’s esteemed leaders remain fixated on a pricy puddle, the government has moved to profoundly weaken our...
Let’s pretend there was no BP oil spill. No explosion killing eleven offshore workers. No waves of viscous and pungent grease choking wetlands and sensitive wildlife breeding grounds. No sticky end to the Gulf fishing season, with the portent of immense lasting damage.
Would we still be discussing the hazards of offshore drilling and transport?
Sure, albeit in a very limited way. After all, there is always a deeply concerned minority on issues like these.
But now the conversation is more urgent, more passionate. The minority may gradually, finally be turning into a majority.
Yet the problem is far larger than this disaster alone. In fact, it’s bigger than “BP” or “oil” altogether. The danger lies in human energy needs, and in the way we’re trying to meet them.
As the planet’s population careens towards nine billion slated for sometime within the next four...
Monday, May 24, Day one: Well after that big Post I made about success and failure, I went ahead and failed right off the bat. I got as far as just outside Lumby, and got a flat tire. So I pumped it up enough to get me back to town, changed it out, and wouldn't you know it; a second flat tire. This, coupled with the fact that I had forgotten a few things, forced me to turn back, and call my girlfriend for a ride home. She was most gracious about it, and although I went to sleep miserable over my poor start, I knew it would have been a lot worse without her to cheer me up.
Tuesday, May 25, Day two: Rising early so I could be at the bike shop when it opened to get a new rear tire and spare tubes, I was off and riding out of town by 9:00 AM, Which is just the way I wanted it. Due to my desire to make up for lost time, I absolutely exploded out of Vernon. Rising to the top of the Monashee Mountains by 4:00 that afternoon, I decided to go...