While Oil Filled the Gulf…

Here are some big water and energy stories that you might have missed while you were monitoring the situation in the Gulf of Mexico.

1. Water Boil Order in Boston

A major water main break in Boston caused the city to issue a massive boil order in the city. The order had major implications for businesses, especially those that deal with food. We could all stand to think about how this same scenario might play out in our own cities and towns because, as our infrastructure ages and remains underfunded, we will all face similar disruptions in service.

2. Major Flooding in Nashville

Record rains in Nashville caused the worst flooding in 70 years, taking out one of the city’s water treatment systems, along with major country music historic sites. “You know you see it on TV all the time, but you never expect to live it,” said one Nashville resident. I think we better get used to seeing more and more extreme weather events and start understanding the implications of those events.

3. EPA Backs Away from Labeling Coal Ash Hazardous

You would think after the huge spill in Tennessee in December 2008 that dumped 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash into the environment, the feds would willingly classify the stuff as hazardous. Not so my friends. On Friday, the EPA announced that it was backing off the “hazardous” label to give equal consideration to the industry-favored “non-hazardous” label. This is scary, considering there are 1,300 similar dumps in this country, and most of those are unregulated and unmonitored. Of course there are some serious financial implications with a “hazardous” designation that have industry balking. Stay tuned to find out if the EPA will let industry get its way.

4. The Energy Bill is Dead in the Water

When your Energy Bill is centered around a strong off-shore drilling plan and you’re in the midst of what might be the country’s worst off-shore drilling accident, it’s better to just let it go. At least that’s what Lindsey Graham had to say about it last week. Look, Lindsey, just because you’re wrapped up in the whole off-shore drilling idea, doesn’t mean the rest of us are. Please keep working on that bill.

5. First Off-shore Wind Farm Approved

Approving this off-shore wind farm is a major step towards true clean, renewable energy in our country. I know some of you are worried about wind…the effects of a major air spill could be traumatizing, I know, but I think it’s a risk we can live with.

Source

Well we have all been pretty occupied with the oil spill situation. I didn't know some of these things happened and while they are not all of significant difference, it's nice keeping up with everything else but the worst.

Well, the off shore wind farm is worrying. Pelicans managed a come-back after DDT was ousted. How the hell are the pelagic birds supposed survive this?

I know that's not what you are getting at, but those things piss me off.

It's tough to remain a compassionately detached these days.

Originally posted by blujay
Well, the off shore wind farm is worrying. Pelicans managed a come-back after DDT was ousted. How the hell are the pelagic birds supposed survive this?

I know that's not what you are getting at, but those things piss me off.

It's tough to remain a compassionately detached these days.

your kidding right? im pretty sure the air spill was a stab at sarcasm..

i think thats a great idea! and ive pretty much heard of all these storys and kept up on them. im an info-whore

Are pelicans going to fly into the wind farm and get chopped up?

Three water main breaks in Richmond, VA in the last week. Wric.com. weird, ain't it. I was hoping someone would start a thread on this very subject. Thanks!

Originally posted by blujay
Well, the off shore wind farm is worrying. Pelicans managed a come-back after DDT was ousted. How the hell are the pelagic birds supposed survive this?

I know that's not what you are getting at, but those things piss me off.

It's tough to remain a compassionately detached these days.

I dont know man, seems like they would just fly around it. Why would the pelicans fly into giant hard objects?

I see pelicans and birds of all sorts navigate around trees successfully every day. They even navigate around tree limbs swaying in the wind. Hell, one time i saw a bird fly through a forest. All those trees and he didnt hit a single one.

wind farms suck for many reasons.
too inefficient that you need a farm the size of a city to power a smaller city.
offshore wind farms will be majorly prone to rust.
dependant on weather.

im all for green energy but this isn't the way forward, it's more of a stalling position.
hydrogen plants need more development and funding.

reply to post by Crossfate

While Oil Filled the Gulf…

?

"is Filling"

reply to post by UberL33t




I see your point. I just kept the original headline for accuracy's sake.