I loved the newspaper headline that greeted me this morning.   Did we win in our request to shut the plant down until the leaks are repaired and the site is cleaned up?  Not yet.  It seems Vermont Yankee simply hasn’t figured out how to put the plug back in after refueling.  Yankee’s unexpected emergency shut down yesterday is just one of many failings that demonstrates Yankee’s incapacity to operate responsibly.

The  public hearing scheduled for tonight has been CANCELLED  – ironically due to a power outage.  

Recent news includes finding strontium-90 at the Vermont Yankee site and the NRC saying  don’t worry about the mess, it will be cleaned up when the plant closes.  As I told one reporter:

“This is a good example of lax oversight by the NRC. I expect to hear I will clean it up later from my teenager. When it comes to radioactive contamination, people in charge should be more diligent.” 

As the oil disaster continues in the gulf, watch the live feed below (windows media player required).

Angry? Frustrated? Had enough? Click here to tell President Obama to take action today – and help us prevent an oil disaster in New England.

Today’s story in the New York Times regarding collusion and corruption between the Mineral Management Service and the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico is stunning. But, “stunning” is less than surprising when it comes to the many ways in which MMS and the Department of Interior has allowed the oil industry to dictate the terms of oil operations.

The BP oil disaster is well into its fifth week and the grumbling is growing that the government should move BP aside in order to shut down the oil geyser and get on with the clean-up. The tragic irony is that the federal government cannot stop the oil geyser but has had the chance to stop the collusion and corruption which results in oil spills, fraud, environmental damage and the erosion of professional conduct. Because MMS broke down years ago we are now at the mercy of BP’s last minute inventions.

The “Culture of Ethical Failure” was well described by the DOI Inspector General in this report in Sept. of 2008. Read the first two pages. Chuckle about the part where the IG details illicit sex, alcohol and drug abuse. Now, go back to the first paragraph and re-read the mention that one person pled guilty to a criminal charge but others ”escaped potential administrative action by departing from federal service, with the usual celebratory send-offs that allegedly highlighted the impeccable service that these individuals had given the Federal Government.” As far as the other employees that were referred to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution? “That office declined to prosecute.”

Tony Hayward of BP

The BP oil disaster has now reached its one month anniversary. No viable solutions are at hand for shutting down the underwater geyser, cleaning up the soiled marshes or restoring the damaged economies of coastal communities. The “outhouse” failed and the “top hat,” “top kill” and “junk shot” are still theories. What’s the performance assessment from the BP CEO? “Extraordinarily successful.” In fact, if BP continues on their chosen strategy, says Man at the Helm Tony Hayward, it just might be an improvement for their reputation!  Bravo Tony. Shirley Temple‘s sunny outlook pales in comparison.

The arrogance seen on display is not new. It’s the same gall we have seen in the Congress with Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s incredible response that the solution to the BP oil disaster is to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It’s the same predicted blindness we have seen from the industry spokesmodels who were scolded by President Obama last week. This is the same greed that has other oil companies rushing to seek 20 new waivers from environmental analysis for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico SINCE the Deepwater Horizon erupted.

The Obama Administration has taken some much needed action to establish an independent investigation commission and to – finally – address the rat’s nest of collusion and corruption at Minerals Management Service. We are thankful to have New England’s Rep. Ed Markey and Sen. Bernie Sanders helping to lead reform. Other areas of the country which are faced with new oil drilling such as the coast of Virginia are seeing the real face of oil, not the shiny industry portrayal. But, why wait any longer? We need real action. We need President Obama to reinstate the 20 year moratorium on oil drilling.

From the first time I heard a BP official (May 3, 2010 on NPR)  promise to pay “all legitimate claims” arising from the massive “Deepwater Horizon” discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, my mind turned immediately to the epic legal drama that unfolded in the poisonous wake of the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster.

In the press and during Congressional hearings, BP officials have been extremely disciplined in their undeviating use of this phrase to describe BP’s alleged readiness to pay its fair share (let’s remember that Halliburton and other oil industry contractors are also responsible for this mess) of the financial damages caused by the oil plume emanating from its drilling operation.  Putting aside the issue of whether the full extent of the damage this disaster is causing can ever truly be measured in dollars and cents, it doesn’t take a lawyer to figure out that the phrase “all legitimate claims”–a reasonable enough sounding frame–could give defense attorneys a lot of wiggle room in deciding which claims to pay and which claims to fight.   If BP takes a page out of the Exxon playbook and decides to fight, there’s a good chance that BP will pay pennies on the dollar for those claims that it ultimately determines to be legitimate.

NOAA scientists cleanup and study oil as the Exxon Valdez tanker's breached hulk spews oil into Prudhoe Bay

In case you’re wondering, BP’s profits from the first quarter of 2010 alone were nearly 5.598 BILLION–an increase of 135% over first quarter of 2009 according to BP’s own figures.  That kind of money can buy you the most aggressive defense attorneys in the country–the likes of which lost the first Exxon Valdez trial, but then won the 20-year long legal war of attrition that followed.  Exxon’s endless appeals dragged out payment of and–with the help of a corporation-friendly Supreme Court majority–ultimately dwindled down the amount of damages awarded to fishermen, natives, and others whose livelihoods suffered or were destroyed by the Valdez disaster. 

If you want a preview of where things could be headed if BP does decide to dig in its heels, there are at least two great books on the Exxon disaster that are worth reading.  David Lebedoff’s Cleaning Up: The Story of the Biggest Legal Bonanza of Our Time focuses on the known facts surrounding the Exxon disaster as they were argued at trial and tells the heart-wrenching story of the victims, the perpetrators, and the lawyers that represented them on both sides of the issue.  Dr. Riki Ott’s book Not One Drop– Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill covers some of the same ground, but brings a broader scientific and socio-political context to the events that led to and followed the Valdez disaster.  Hers is a compelling indictment of the whole legal and political system surrounding oil extraction that has been designed for and in large part by the oil companies themselves.

As we continue to watch helplessly as the Deepwater Horizon debacle unfolds, it’s important to revisit the Exxon Valdez spill and its tortured legacy.  Regardless of what happens in the legal battles to come, both disasters–and the growing menace of climate change that is literally fueled by our seemingly insatiable appetite for oil–make the most compelling case in the Court of Public Opinion for truly getting “Beyond Petroleum.”  We are all members of the jury in that case.  How will you vote?

I had my first whole-body x-ray at the Denver International Airport last night. The amiable attendant jerked his head up and over his right shoulder as he explained that the scan was read by someone far above in the cavernous hall. He then listened for a moment to his earpiece and asked if I was sure I had nothing in my right front pocket. I reached in and pulled out my boarding pass, to which my checked-bag ticket had been affixed with a very small staple. The guy upstairs had seen it, and in an instant we had our hands on the tiny, inoffensive item, and I was on my way.

At about the same time, 5,000 feet of water above their target, BP engineers had finally managed to insert a tube into the gusher spewing untold thousands of barrels of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico and wreaking havoc on a scale we cannot yet comprehend. At best the tube is only a partial, and temporary, fix.

Which is true of many technological solutions to our energy — not to mention our national security — challenges. They are essential, especially in the near term, but they are not sufficient. Greatly expanded renewable energy generation is critical. In the near term, so is substituting more efficient and cleaner fossil-fuel generation, like combined-cycle natural gas plants, for coal generation, while we build a new energy system. That system will rely on carefully selected and implemented technologies that are far more sustainable than the ones we use now.

But the technologies will not save us and the planet — only we can do that. We must summon the will to change the way we build, move around, and live on this planet, including how we support ourselves, feed our families, create wealth and maintain a high quality of life, for everyone on the globe. It is a fundamental mind-shift that will restore a semblance of balance to our ecosystems, ensure long-term prosperity, and promote peace. I believe it is happening. To all who are part of this effort: keep it up.

In the meantime, we can’t bring 4 oz. of liquids onto an airplane, but thousands of gallons of oil foul the Gulf every hour. We should tolerate neither and work hard to change both.

Our global over-reliance on fossil fuels is the crisis of our time. The solution to that crisis is not just plugging the hole in the Gulf.  It is changing our global economy.

As recently as this morning the Coast Guard was asserting that oil from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had not entered the “loop current” that travels around the tip of Florida over to the East Coast.

And now it appears the oil is hitting Florida as tar balls appear in Key West . . . they are being tested to determine to determine their origin.

Some commentators have, appropriately, noted that in addition to banning drilling in sensitive areas off our own coasts we need to appropriately regulate drilling that is underway and, to truly solve the problem, we must gain control and dramatically reduce our use of oil – a process that will involve building livable, walkable communities centered around transit.

Sadly, efforts are afoot in Washington to push in exactly the opposite direction – tell your Senator not to back Senator Lisa Murkowski’s Big Oil Bail-Out which would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to crack down on global warming pollution from oil and coal.

Comprehensive energy and climate legislation, combined with strong federal and state action using current law, can point us towards a cleaner and safer world where we don’t have to worry about tar balls on our beaches . . .

Now is our chance.

On Thursday, May 27, the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) will hold a public hearing on whether to shut down Vermont Yankee right now, instead of waiting until 2012. You will have the opportunity to tell the PSB what you think—whether the PSB should shut down the plant now, or take other action to address the ongoing leaks, false information and company misconduct that violates state laws.

It is important for our regulators, the Vermont Public Service Board, to hear from you.

What can you do to help? Join a growing community of concerned people like you by attending the public hearing on May 27. Tell the PSB what YOU think should happen to Vermont Yankee.

Public Hearing on Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station
Thursday, May 27
7:00 p.m.
Gymnasium at Vernon Elementary School
381 Governor Hunt Road, Vernon, VT

One more voice might be all we need to stop Vermont Yankee in its tracks for good—make it yours.

Today, Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter extended a moratorium on oil and gas drilling on Georges Bank for another three years, citing the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as a factor in his decision. Peter Shelley, CLF’s vice president and director of its Massachusetts Advocacy Center, responds:

“For decades, CLF has advocated for the full protection of Georges Bank from the hazards of oil and gas drilling. We are pleased that Nova Scotia Premier Dexter has decided to extend the moratorium on the Canadian side of the border and we applaud his decision. The need to protect the incredible richness of marine life and to make this area available to sustainable fishing far outweigh the risks of catastrophic pollution and habitat degradation caused by oil drilling.”

“CLF believes it is time for a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling on Georges Bank and urges both the Canadian and United States governments to act to do so. There is no more need for study and delay. Georges Bank is an area of international importance and deserves permanent protection from oil drilling now.”