‘Green News Report’ – May 18, 2010

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Oil, Oil, Tarballs and Trouble: the latest on the BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf; NASA: Last year the hottest on record; Pesticides tied to ADHD; More coal mine explosions as the fossil fuel death toll continues to mount; PLUS: Another call for accountability, real accountability… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: Hot dogs, bacon put your heart at risk; When will Eyjafjallajökull eruption stop?; Deadly floods hit eastern Europe; Numerous safety violations at BP refineries, too; MSHA pushes to keep Upper Big Branch investigation closed to public; Oceans’ fish could disappear in 40 years: UN … PLUS: This Makes Up for ‘Waterworld’: Kevin Costner Shows Machine that Extracts 97% of Oil From Water …

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today’s episode follow below…

• NASA: Last 12 Months Hottest on Record:
• NASA: Easily the hottest April — and hottest Jan-April — in temperature record: Plus a new record 12-month global temperature, as predicted (Climate Progress)
• How Will They Spin This?: NASA-GISS data show that the past 12 months were the hottest 12-month period on record. (NY Times)
• This Week’s Fossil Fuel Death Toll:
• Dozens trapped after Turkish mine blast (UPI)
• Rescue work suspended at Siberian mine where 24 missing (AP)
• Russia Coal Disaster Likely to Stall Export Ambitions (BusinessWeek)
• Putin Asserts Control Over Mining After Coal Deaths (BusinessWeek)
• Russia Riot Police Deployed in Coal Town as Blasts Spark Unrest (BusinessWeek)
• China says death toll in mine blast rises to 21 (AP)
• Pesticides Tied to Higher Risk of ADHD in U.S. Children
• Study: Pesticides Tied to Higher Risk of ADHD (Reuters)
• They’ve got nerve!: Scientists link ADHD in kids to routine pesticide exposure (Grist)
• GOP Senators Block Effort to Raise Oil Spill Liability Cap:
• Murkowski Backs BP Bailout (Mother Jones)
• Lisa Murkowski (R-Exxon) Opposes Forcing Oil Companies to Pay to Clean Up Oil Spills
• Dem accuses GOPer of ‘sandbagging’ oil spill legislation (The Hill)
• GOP’s Inhofe Blocks Hike on Oil Spill Liability Cap (Again) (Washington Independent)
• Murkowski, Oil Lobby Block Effort To Make Industry Fully Pay For Spills (Talking Points Memo)
• What spill? Rig owner approves $1 billion dividend to shareholders (Raw Story)
• Transocean to give shareholders $1 billion while trying to cap its responsibility for Gulf spill at $27 million (Climate Progress)
• LATEST on the BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf:
• HEARINGS and INVESTIGATIONS, and the Federal Reponse:
• More Questions on the Gulf Spill: New questions about angles that have yet to be explored in the incident (Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones)
• WATCH: CBS 60 Minutes Stunner on the Deepwater Horizon Disaster: A Survivor Recalls His Harrowing Escape; Plus, A Former BP Insider Warns Of Another Potential Disaster (CBS)
• Federal Agency Chief Admits Lapses in Gulf Oil Spill: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, facing Congress for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico last month, said Tuesday that weaknesses at his agency’s Minerals Management Service may have contributed to the disaster. (NY Times)
• Ken Salazar: Government failed to assure drilling safety in Gulf oil spill (AP)
• Obama To Apppoint Panel To Probe BP Oil Spill (NPR)
• Onshore oil drilling reforms announced by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (AP)
• Oil Drillers’ ‘Ire’ Raised by Tougher Oversight (BusinessWeek)
• Bush Administration-appointed Director of MMS federal drilling safety oversight in Gulf calls it quits (Raw Story)
• Oil Spill Investigators Find Critical Problems With Blowout Preventer (Washington Post Carbon)
• Questions raised about expertise of MMS inspectors (Houston Chronicle)
• Training Exercises Revealed Gaps in Preparedness for Major Oil Spill: Lack of Experience, Poor Communications and Conflicting Roles Cited (ABC News)
• Congressional investigation reveals oil rig’s blowout preventer had a hydraulic system leak (AP)
• BP Oil Disaster: Latest Conditions in the Gulf
• Tar balls found along shore in Key West: The Coast Guard reported that 20 tar balls were found Monday night along the shore in Key West. Samples are being sent to a laboratory for analysis. (Miami Herald)
• No oil spill landfall through Thursday; has the sheen reached the Loop Current? (Mobile Press-Register)
• Researchers: Unlikely Keys tar balls stem from Gulf oil spill (CNN)
• Federal government extends area of fishing ban in Gulf of Mexico (CNN)
• NOAA shutting down 19 percent of Gulf fishing due to oil spil (AP)
• Giant Plumes of Oil Forming Under the Gulf (NY Times)
• Gulf oil spill: Real disaster might be lurking beneath the surface: New research suggests that huge plumes of oil might be spread at all levels of the water column, showing how much scientists don’t yet know about the complex Gulf oil spill. (CS Monitor)
• Gulf of Mexico oil spill ‘increasingly likely’ to enter Loop Current, travel to Florida Keys (Times-Picayune)
• Gulf oil spill: Has BP ‘turned corner’ with siphon success: BP says its siphon is collecting one-fifth of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. But questions linger over BP’s use of underwater dispersants in the Gulf oil spill. (Christian Science Monitor)
• Oil spill may have negative credit impact on Gulf communities (Houston Chronicle)
• Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) seeks fisheries disaster declaration (Mobile Press-Register)
• Turtle deaths running high since oil spill: At least 150 sea turtles have washed up dead or dying along the U.S. Gulf Coast since the giant oil spill off Louisiana, a higher number than normal for this time of year, a leading wildlife expert said on Monday. (Reuters)
• WATCH: Is it time to blow up the leaking Gulf oil well? BP doing its best to keep that option under wraps (Crooks & Liars):
  Shepard Smith had a fascinating segment on the catastrophic Gulf oil spill today, featuring an interview with a former nuclear-sub captain who argued persuasively that it was time — past time, really — to blow up that leaking oil well in the Gulf and put an end to the massive pollution that’s resulted from its being open.

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’: More green news not covered in today’s audio report…

• Hot dogs, bacon put your heart at risk: study (AFP)
• Torrential storms, deadly floods hit eastern Europe (EuroNews)
• Iceland volcano ash cloud: When will Eyjafjallajökull eruption stop?: The Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajökull has been erupting since March, at times disrupting European air traffic with its ash cloud. The last time the volcano erupted, in 1821, it continued for 14 months. (Christian Science Monitor)
• Had Enough Yet?: BP has numerous safety violations at refineries, study finds (AFP)
• MSHA announces more details of investigation plans, but still pushes forward with closed-door hearings (Coal tattoo)
• So Long and Thanks For All the Fish: Oceans’ fish could disappear in 40 years: UN (AFP)
• This Makes Up for ‘Waterworld’: Kevin Costner Shows Machine that Extracts 97% of Oil From Water (Video) (Treehugger)