As BP finishes pumping cement into the damaged Deepwater Horizon wellhead Thursday, some scientists are taking issue with a new U.S. government report that says the "vast majority" of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been taken care of by nature and "robust" cleanup efforts.In addition, experts warn, much of the toxic oil from the worst spill in U.S. history may be trapped under Gulf beaches—where it could linger for years—or still migrating into the ocean depths, where it’s a "3-D catastrophe," one scientist said.

via Much Gulf Oil Remains, Deeply Hidden and Under Beaches.

Deepwater Horizon burns

It’s now been three days since BP capped the Deepwater Horizon well and so far this temporary solution seems to be holding. The pause in the gushing oil has provided me an opportunity to think about what it means.

One thing I’ve learned is just how recklessly desperate the world is for oil. This drives a greed-filled drive to meet that demand, no matter what the environmental cost. I thought the wildcatting days depicted in the movie There Will Be Blood were over but that is apparently far from the case. I had no idea before the disaster that tens of thousands of oil rigs are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Another thing I now know is how oil is killing us. Petrochemicals make our modern world: the things they do for us are truly miraculous. At the same time they’re poisoning us. How did we get in this dilemma and how do we get out of it?

This disaster has not only deeply wounded the Gulf of Mexico, it has wounded the concept that we can continue our dirty-energy lifestyle as long as the wells don’t run dry. But they will eventually and that’s a fact. A disaster like this one must never be allowed to happen again.

We’ve had our warning shot. The next one might be fatal to us all.

Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Oven

Check out the Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Oven: a hybrid solar-electric cooker. I’ve been wondering if we could use the abundant sun on our back deck for cooking food, and this solar cooker looks like the perfect solution. When the sun isn’t available to do the cooking, the Tulsi-Hybrid uses electricity to keep your food warm – avoiding spoilage.

I’ve found the Tulsi-Hybrid available online for as low as $240 at the Solar Store.

Sun BD Corporation, presents Hybrid Solar Oven Technology at its finest, it is easy to use, portable, sets up in seconds and is safer to use because there are no dangerous open flames. The Tulsi-Hybrid produces zero carbon emissions!

The Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Cooking Oven can be used in Hybrid mode: It’s the best of all worlds. We call using both solar and electric in combination – peace of mind. You can solar cook more often and never have to worry about clouds again.

When the sun is out the oven acts as a solar oven but when the sun disappears the oven acts as an electric oven cycling itself on and off between electric and solar when the sun reappears. Forget the roller coaster cooking temperatures and the threat of bacterial food poisoning that can happen with solar only ovens. The Tulsi-Hybrid’s two setting thermostat automatically controls and maintains the cooking temperature inside the oven chamber so your food is always safe and cooked to perfection even when the weather isn’t.

via Tulsi Hybrid Solar Oven, Solar Cooking, Hybrid Solar Ovens – Sun BD Corporation.

Morford writes:

I think the most disturbingly satisfying thrill of this entire event — and it is, in a way, a perverse thrill — comes from understanding, at a very core level, our shared responsibility, our co-creation of the foul demon currently unleashed.

What a thing we have created. What an extraordinary horror our rapacious need for cheap, endless energy hath unleashed; it’s a monster of a scale and proportion we can barely even fathom.

Because if you’re honest, no matter where you stand, no matter your politics, religion, income or mode of transport, you see this beast of creeping death and you understand: That is us. The spill may be many things, but more than anything else it is a giant, horrifying mirror.

Go read the rest. And then start thinking of where we go from here.

I sent this email to NCDOT in April:

From: Mark Turner
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 1:38 PM
To: Halsey, Steven M
Subject: Graffiti around Raleigh NCDOT structures

Hello, Mr. Halsey,

Here are some spots around Raleigh with graffiti on NCDOT-maintained structures. I figured it was easier to email you than call:

1. I-40 West, Harrison Avenue overpass: orange graffiti on northside columns.

2. Wade Ave. Ext. under I-40 flyover: brown graffiti on southside columns.

3. Wade Ave. Ext. East at Blue Ridge Rd: black graffiti on southside columns.

4. I-440 West (outer) between Brentwood and Wake Forest Rd: graffiti on brick wall.

5. I-440 West (outer) at Lake Boone Trail: graffiti on brick wall.

6. I-440 West (outer) at Lake Boone Trail: graffiti on median barrier.

7. I-440 West (outer) at Glen Eden overpass: graffiti on columns.

If you are not the right contact for this info I’d appreciate you forwarding me to the proper person. If you have any questions, feel free to call.

Thanks so much!

Here’s the response I got back:

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: RE: Graffiti around Raleigh NCDOT structures
Date: Mon, 3 May 2010 11:03:07 -0400
From: Halsey, Steven M
To: Mark Turner
CC: Briley, William R , Holmes, Jason M

Mr. Turner:

I have copied Reese Briley, Division Bridge Engineer on this response. He is your contact person for graffiti on bridge structures.

As for the other areas you have mentioned on the noise walls, we will work to get them removed as soon as we can, but since removal is not directly related to the safety of the traveling public, I can’t make it graffiti removal a priority based on other work we currently have on our schedule. A crew is currently working to remove graffiti along I-540, and we will do our best to work on I-440 next.

Thanks,

Steve Halsey
Wake County Maintenance Engineer

Some time went by, I didn’t hear anything more, and nothing got done. I suspected foot-dragging, so I figured I’d follow up with Secretary Gene Conti:

From: Mark Turner
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 8:51 AM
To: Conti, Gene
Subject: Fwd: RE: Graffiti around Raleigh NCDOT structures

Mr. Conti,

As a fellow East Raleigh neighbor, I know you are aware of the problem of gang graffiti. It’s not something we want to see in the Capital city. Leave graffiti up too long and it spreads – creating a bigger problem.

Much of the graffiti I reported below has been there for many months. I have made multiple calls on this vandalism and nothing has yet been done. I don’t know what else to do at this point so that’s why I’m writing you.

Would you see what you can do to get the graffiti off Beltline walls and overpasses, please?

Thanks for your attention!

This was passed on to Sec. Conti and was soon followed by this response:

Subject: Graffiti
Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 15:46:20 -0400
From: Jones, Brandon H
To: Mark Turner
CC: Jernigan, Hannah, Halsey, Steven M, Holmes, Jason M, Elmore, Thomas R, Bowman, John W, Hopkins, Joey

Mr. Turner,

On behalf of Secretary Conti I would like to take an opportunity to respond to your concerns about graffiti on NCDOT rights of way.

The department is aware of the existence of the graffiti and has made an effort along sections of I-540 to remove some graffiti from walls and bridges only to have come back again. It does take considerable man hours to address graffiti removal and we are not currently in a position to react to graffiti as soon as it happens. The same men and women that remove graffiti are the same ones doing vital maintenance work on bridges, overpasses and signs to assure safety of the traveling public. I understand the graffiti around 440 has been there for a while and we will get that removed in the near future.

We will be exploring different avenues to address this issue such as a graffiti removal contract or a designated crew made up mostly of inmates.

Sincerely,

Brandon Jones
Division Five Maintenance Engineer

Email correspondence to and from this sender is subject to the N.C. Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

Again, sounds like a runaround. So I just wrote the governor.

I’m sure DOT can solve this problem it’s got so many resources, right? If not, why can’t it either get prisoners to work fixing the problem or contract out to the city of Raleigh to take care of it? And don’t say there aren’t any resources: there is double-digit unemployment in this area. There should plenty of people who would want this job.

As I told Governor Perdue, the people of North Carolina did not pay top-dollar for these beautiful brick noise walls only to see them become billboards for criminals. Let’s hope this problem gets dealt with before it spirals way out of control.

Update 16 June: Anthony Wilson of WTVD 11 has done a story on the Beltline graffiti problem. Hopefully it will now get some attention.

Update 21 June: Good news! The graffiti is now being cleaned up.

Trolley to Bloomsbury Park, 1913, Courtesy of N.C. State Archives

Recent work on Glenwood Avenue has turned that busy street into a pockmarked disaster, with construction blocking lanes and backing up traffic. I’ve been avoiding that road to keep my sanity (and my car in alignment). However, I couldn’t help but gawk yesterday when I drove through Five Points because the road work has uncovered rails from Raleigh’s old trolley line.

I’ve always been captivated by the now-defunct streetcar system. I’ve written Progress Energy before, asking them if they have any old trolley maps. Never heard back from them. And I know some downtown buildings used to be trolley-related. But briefly uncovered was hard evidence:trolley tracks!

I didn’t care what drivers behind me thought: I took my time riding up the road in front of the Rialto Theatre, tracing the lines in the exposed concrete. There were the actual tracks, hidden for decades beneath countless layers of asphalt! Yes, I’m a hopeless geek, but I was thrilled to see those steel rails. I also have to admit my glee at hearing how those rails had taken out some of the teeth of the paving machines. Serves them right!

I was amused at the timing, thinking how different the world might be if these tracks hadn’t been buried. Perhaps the Gulf of Mexico would still be alive. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll one day reconsider the wisdom of basing our society on finite resources and the trolley bells will ring once again.

As much as this disaster upsets me it also made me examine what led to it. By drilling for oil, BP was fulfilling a need: the world’s insatiable need for oil. And that insatiable need is my insatiable need, too. If my car doesn’t get gasoline, it doesn’t go anywhere. That means I can’t get to work, which means I can’t provide for my family. Not a good scenario.

So what can I do about it? Well, already I am an advocate for clean energy, so I know the issues and I’m talking to others about them. That’s a step in the right direction. But what about my personal life? Can I reduce my reliance on oil? Could I possibly eliminate it?

That’s what I’m wrestling with now. Small steps such as carpooling and public transit would be good. An electric car might provide the best of both worlds. And we’re reducing our electricity use at home, too (outside of charging a car, if we do go electric). Is that enough, though? How can I cut my very own oil dependence on oil?

This spill’s damage to the Gulf is profound. It should rightly lead to some profound changes in my energy use. I desperately want to get out of the “part of the problem” category and fully embrace clean energy. It remains to be seen whether I will succeed.

I’ve been watching the live feed of the BP oil spill tonight and becoming very depressed. Those submersibles seem no match for the fury of the raging gusher. It makes me think that I’m only marginally less capable of plugging the leak than BP is.

Some experts estimate 39 million gallons have spilled at this point, with little chance of stopping it soon. Frankly I wonder when this leak will ever be brought under control.

The Gulf will never be the same in my lifetime, sad to say. If ever.

Also, NPR reported today that, based on analysis of BP’s video of the leak, the flow rate of the leak is closer to 70,000 barrels per day: far higher than initial official estimates. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez dumped 250,000 barrels of oil into Alaska’s Price William Sound. The BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster is pouring an Exxon Valdez-sized amount of oil into the Gulf every four days.

I’m sure glad my kids have gotten to see the Gulf before this disaster because they’ll probably have kids by the time it’s cleaned up. If ever.