Oil On The Tundra--ANWR In Demise

George Bush is a decisive man of action. The fact that he has been 100% wrong doesn't even break his stride.

Two major oil spills on the North Slope in less than 30 days after Congress defied the will of the people and their common sense with their vote to subsidize the destruction of the last pristine place on Earth might give wise stewards reason to reconsider. Don't expect wise or responsible stewardship out of Bush or his Republican congress though.

ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - A mixture of salty water and crude oil spilled out of a leaky pipeline at the Kuparuk oil field on Alaska's North Slope, covering about 2 acres of tundra, state officials said on Tuesday.

The 111,300-gallon spill, one of the largest on the North Slope, was being mopped up by crews working around the clock, said officials with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Although water made up most of the spill, along with some crude oil residue, the salt in the water was the main environmental concern, officials said.

"There is seawater and produced water on the tundra, and it is very toxic to the tundra," said Amanda Leffel, the department's field coordinator at the spill site. Produced water is salty wastewater brought to the surface from gas wells.

Toxic salty wastewater kills plants. Natural gas kills plants and animals.

ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - An estimated 1.4 million cubic feet of natural gas and an unknown quantity of crude oil spewed from a leak in a pipeline at the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska's North Slope, state environmental regulators said on Tuesday.

The resulting mist of crude oil coated an area nearly a mile long and averaged about 300 feet wide, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement.

Compare that map with the one here

This story is no longer available:
Aleutian Oil Spill Now Biggest in Alaska Since 1989
Thu February 10, 2005 20:00 PM ET
ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - A cargo ship that ran aground, split in two and poured fuel oil into the Bering Sea in December ranks as one of the biggest spills in Alaska, dwarfed only by the 1989 Exxon

So much for all that safe technology. Ruptured pipeline in L.A. March 24, Things have been really nasty in Mexico, at least they have the excuse that they pay a 61% tax rate. What excuse could American companies possibly have?


Then there is Norway. At least they are upset about it.

update-check out this post at voice of youth.