BP in record US civil pay-out and ordered to install system-wide pipeline safety management system as part of court settlement BP’s subsidiary in Alaska will pay a $25mfine under a settlement announced on Tuesday that comes five years after more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from company pipelines on the North Slope in 2006. The penalty is the largest per-barrel civil penalty assessed, exceeding the statutory maximum because the settlement resolves claims other than the spill, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency . The settlement also calls for BP Exploration Alaska Inc. to install a system-wide pipeline integrity management program. “This penalty should serve as a wake-up call to all pipeline operators that they will be held accountable for the safety of their operations and their compliance with the clean water act, the clean air act and the pipeline safety laws,” assistant US attorney Ignacia S Moreno said. US attorney for Alaska Karen Loeffler said the penalty underlines the seriousness of BP’s conduct. She said BP Alaska admitted that itfailed to adequately maintain its pipelines. A March 2006 leak in a transit line, also called a feeder line, between a gathering center and a pump station for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in March accounted for most of the oil spilled, about 212,000 gallons. Oil from the spill reached a lake. BP four months later had begun inspecting pipelines with “smart pigs”, devices inserted to detect abnormalities, when a second leak occurred. The tiny second leak allowed about 1,000 gallons more to spill from another transit line. With data in hand indicating 16 “anomalies,” or other possible corrosive spots, BP shut down part of the massive Prudhoe Bay field . The partial shutdown brought an economic chill throughout the state and led then-Governor Frank Murkowski to temporarily freeze hiring until the effects of the interruption on the state budget would be known. Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said BP in 2007 pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the spills and was ordered to pay $20m, including $1m in criminal fines. Cynthia Quarterman, administrator for the department of transportation’s pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration, said her agency found serious safety problems relating to internal corrosion on the pipelines and ordered BP to correct those problems. BP had a year to address the problems but its willful failure to do so led to filing civil litigation against the company, she said. The settlement requires BP Alaska to develop a system-wide program to manage pipeline integrity for the company’s 1,600 miles (2,500km) of pipeline on the North Slope based on PHMSA’s integrity management programme. That cost is estimated at $60m. BP will be required to compile information on pipelines and what they carry, ranking them by highest risk. It will be required to provide a Web portal and post reports. The information will be public, Quarterman said. The independent monitor will confirm that BP is complying with requirements of the settlement, Giles said. “We are not going to just take BP at its word,” Giles said. BP completely replaced Prudhoe Bay oil transit lines and added modern leak detection and anti-corrosion systems at a cost of about $500 million by the end of 2008, a spokesman for the firm said. The agreement was negotiated with the concurrence of the other working interest owners, Rinehart said, but he declined to discuss any financial arrangements with the other owners. Oil spills Oil BP Oil Oil and gas companies Energy industry United States Pollution guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …BP in record US civil pay-out and ordered to install system-wide pipeline safety management system as part of court settlement BP’s subsidiary in Alaska will pay a $25mfine under a settlement announced on Tuesday that comes five years after more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from company pipelines on the North Slope in 2006. The penalty is the largest per-barrel civil penalty assessed, exceeding the statutory maximum because the settlement resolves claims other than the spill, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency . The settlement also calls for BP Exploration Alaska Inc. to install a system-wide pipeline integrity management program. “This penalty should serve as a wake-up call to all pipeline operators that they will be held accountable for the safety of their operations and their compliance with the clean water act, the clean air act and the pipeline safety laws,” assistant US attorney Ignacia S Moreno said. US attorney for Alaska Karen Loeffler said the penalty underlines the seriousness of BP’s conduct. She said BP Alaska admitted that itfailed to adequately maintain its pipelines. A March 2006 leak in a transit line, also called a feeder line, between a gathering center and a pump station for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in March accounted for most of the oil spilled, about 212,000 gallons. Oil from the spill reached a lake. BP four months later had begun inspecting pipelines with “smart pigs”, devices inserted to detect abnormalities, when a second leak occurred. The tiny second leak allowed about 1,000 gallons more to spill from another transit line. With data in hand indicating 16 “anomalies,” or other possible corrosive spots, BP shut down part of the massive Prudhoe Bay field . The partial shutdown brought an economic chill throughout the state and led then-Governor Frank Murkowski to temporarily freeze hiring until the effects of the interruption on the state budget would be known. Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said BP in 2007 pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the spills and was ordered to pay $20m, including $1m in criminal fines. Cynthia Quarterman, administrator for the department of transportation’s pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration, said her agency found serious safety problems relating to internal corrosion on the pipelines and ordered BP to correct those problems. BP had a year to address the problems but its willful failure to do so led to filing civil litigation against the company, she said. The settlement requires BP Alaska to develop a system-wide program to manage pipeline integrity for the company’s 1,600 miles (2,500km) of pipeline on the North Slope based on PHMSA’s integrity management programme. That cost is estimated at $60m. BP will be required to compile information on pipelines and what they carry, ranking them by highest risk. It will be required to provide a Web portal and post reports. The information will be public, Quarterman said. The independent monitor will confirm that BP is complying with requirements of the settlement, Giles said. “We are not going to just take BP at its word,” Giles said. BP completely replaced Prudhoe Bay oil transit lines and added modern leak detection and anti-corrosion systems at a cost of about $500 million by the end of 2008, a spokesman for the firm said. The agreement was negotiated with the concurrence of the other working interest owners, Rinehart said, but he declined to discuss any financial arrangements with the other owners. Oil spills Oil BP Oil Oil and gas companies Energy industry United States Pollution guardian.co.uk
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From giggling elephants to tiger cubs – actors Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, plus director Francis Lawrence, talk about working with animals at the London premiere of their latest film ‘Water for Elephants’. (May 4)
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The Huffington Post is quite “pro-choice” in orientation — including Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards on its blogger list. But on Monday, they published psychologist Pamela Gerloff insisting on treating each life with dignity — when that life was Osama bin Laden's. Celebrating his demise is neither “appropriate, nor advisable,” says this Obama voter: “Celebrating” the killing of any member of our species–for example, by chanting USA! USA! and singing The Star Spangled Banner outside the White House or jubilantly demonstrating in the streets–is a violation of human dignity. Regardless of the perceived degree of “good” or “evil” in any of us, we are all, each of us, human. To celebrate the killing of a life, any life, is a failure to honor life's inherent sanctity…. The death of Osama Bin Laden gives us an opportunity to ask ourselves: What kind of nation and what kind of species do we want to be? Do we want to become a species that honors life? Do we want to become a species that embodies peace? If that is what we want, then why not start now to examine our own hearts and actions, and begin to consciously evolve in that direction? We could start by not celebrating the killing of another.
Continue reading …Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds
May 4, 2011 No Comment
When we heard that Brammo was hitting the dirt in a Las Vegas motorcross race we had horrific visions of a bright green Enertia with knobby tires struggling in the dirt, pitching its rider over the bars on the first yump it encountered. Thank goodness we can now say with confidence that is not the case. The company has announced it has not one but two new models coming, both specifically designed to handle questionable terrain. The Engage is a full-sized dirtbike, available in both motorcross (offroad) and supermoto (onroad, mostly) variants, and is just one letter short of a beautiful marketing tie-in. It starts at $9,995 for the on or off road racing versions and then steps up to $11,995 for the street-legal SMS Super Moto, which you can see above wearing some pre-production bodywork. There’s also the Encite MMX Pro, a more hardcore racing version that lacks a price. More details and a video after the break. Continue reading Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The comedian has recently turned his hand to directing music videos – with spectacularly odd results. We asked him how it feels to step into a boxing ring with a robot Shaun of the Dead, Alan Partridge, the voice of Darth Maul … Peter Serafinowicz boasts an impressive CV. Still, being able to say “You worms are no match for the dark side” in a menacing voice doesn’t necessarily mean you’re qualified to direct music videos. This hasn’t deterred Serafinowicz, who took up the music video challenge when Hot Chip asked him on Twitter if he fancied directing something for them. He came up with the bonkers video for I Feel Better. Now he’s directed a second video – for Alex Metric and Steve Angello’s new single Open Your Eyes – a Rocky spoof in which Serafinowicz dons gloves to face a robotic opponent. Thrillingly, it’s just as stupid, funny and original as his darkly comic debut. Seeing as it was about time someone caught up with him to find out what on earth he was thinking when he decided to laser a boyband to death, we got in touch to ask a few questions. But be warned: Serafinowicz’s current favourite video is, in his own words, Not Safe For Anywhere. All will be explained … How did the idea come about for the Open Your Eyes video? PS: I’ve always wanted to do a feature-length comedy remake of Rocky. My agent told me this was wasn’t realistic so a music video based on Rocky was the next best thing. How long did it take to shoot, and where was it made? PS: The video was shot over two days in Philadelphia. I mean west London. Sorry, I’m eating cream cheese. Who made the robot in the video? PS: A hugely talented puppeteer/model-maker called Jonny Sabbagh. He sent me a video of
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A new scheme aims to encourage more disabled people into politics and develop a cross-party network of ambassadors If the House of Commons were truly reflective of the people it represents, at least 65 would be disabled. But, as the country prepares to vote in the local elections tomorrow, it is unlikely that many disabled people will be among those elected. While there are 10 million people registered disabled in the UK, there are no formal figures on the number of disabled election candidates; those standing for local or national office are not obliged to disclose such information. The little research that does exist includes work by the University of Plymouth’s elections centre. It conducted random surveys in 2008 and 2009 with more than 1,000 local election candidates. In 2008, when asked what best described their situation, 2.8% of candidates stated they were permanently sick or disabled. In 2009, the figure was 1.3%. Given the prejudice and stigma experienced by disabled people, it is easy to imagine how disability might be regarded as a vote loser, or activists might be put off supporting disabled candidates who need extra support. But the government hopes to encourage more disabled people into local and national politics, and to improve public attitudes to disability through a new training and development scheme. The
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Frederika Whitehead learns how to turn a pile of earth into a wood-fired cob pizza oven in a matter of hours In pictures: Building a cob pizza oven “I thought my wife had gone mad when she gave me an empty pizza box for Christmas,” Graham Shields tells me. “I opened the wrapping and there it was. An empty pizza box.” Then he saw the white slip of paper inside with the details of the pizza-oven building course his wife had bought him. “I realised what she was basically saying was, ‘You go and learn how to do it and then come back and build us one in the garden.’” He’s not alone. Of the 12 of us on the course, most say they were strongly encouraged by their families to attend. A pizza oven, it appears, is this year’s must-have. “You could buy one from Jamie Oliver at three grand a pop,” the course leader tells us, “or you can build one for nothing using materials from your garden.” The day’s lesson is led by Kate Edwards, who runs them in her large backyard in rural Norfolk. She starts by teaching us how to identify the materials we need. “This is the most important thing I’m going to teach you. All the rest is easy as long as you recognise the materials.” All 12 of us gather round to watch Edwards dig a hole. “Can you hear that noise?” she asks. “That crunching sound? When I was digging through top soil there was no real noise – it’s kind of soft.” We take it in turns to peer down the hole she has dug and, sure enough, the chocolate-brown topsoil has given way to a seam of crunchy gravel. “We dug over the whole of our garden and it was incredible how different the soil was – clay here, beach sand there,” she says. “Go home and dig a hole and see what comes out of it.” To make cob, we need 25% clay, 75% sandy gravel. Luckily Edwards doesn’t make us pepper her garden with holes, but instead gives us buckets of clay and sand she herself dug out the night before. Then she orders us to “dance” on the mixture. Basically, this involves throwing the clay and sand onto a tarpaulin and jumping up and down on it, mashing it up with out boots until it becomes a smooth, even paste. That done, we divide the batch. Keeping one quarter back, we add half a bucket of straw to the remaining three and mix it in. We leave the cob to one side while Edwards shows us the base she prepared for us earlier. It’s a round brick structure that looks a bit like a wishing well. She’s filled it with rubble and topped that with sand to make it smooth and flat – ready for us to add a layer of firebricks. This will be the cooking surface. After that, we build a dome of wet sand to act as a “former” – the support for us to build the cob around. Next to me a man called David groans audibly. “It’s so obvious when you someone tells you,” he says. “I’ve already built the base but I just couldn’t work out how to make the dome.” We get talking. He muses over whether he might be able to use the oven to smoke fish, but in the end we decide not – adding a chimney would let out too much heat and the pizzas would never cook. He tells me about his friend’s Bramley orchard and cider press – he makes 120 gallons a year, “enough for family and friends” – and of the still he is hoping to procure in order to turn some of the cider into calvados . By now the sand dome is perfect, ready for David and I to help the others lay two skins of cob over the sand. The inner skin is cob without straw – it will be in contact with the flames, so any straw would catch light. The outer skin contains straw, which gives the cob strength, acts as insulation and helps the dome to dry out quicker. And that’s it. We cut a hole for the door, pull the sand out, and the oven is built. It’s unbelievably quick. Edwards says the whole thing – the base as well – can easily be put together in a day. Although, for environmental reasons, she strongly recommends building the brick base with limecrete rather than concrete – and while concrete will dry in a couple of hours, limecrete will take a couple of weeks. Also there is the small matter of digging up enough clay and sand, which thankfully we didn’t have to do. I say thankfully not because I was keen to avoid hard labour, but because it did leave us quite a lot of time for testing the pizzas. They were terrific. • Frederika Whitehead attended Kate Edwards’s one-day cob-oven course near Acle, Norfolk, priced £80 including lunch. DIY Food & drink Gardens Craft Frederika Whitehead guardian.co.uk
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Labour leader urges people not to punish deputy PM by saying no to electoral reform because referendum is chance to change political system for better The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has urged voters not to use the AV referendum to “kick Nick Clegg”, as the latest poll showed opinion against changing the electoral system is hardening. Miliband, who supports replacing first past the post with the alternative vote – under which voters would rank candidates in order of preference – said the referendum presented a “once in a generation opportunity” to change Britain’s political system for the better. Speaking on the eve of the polls, which will see the referendum conducted alongside local elections and devolved elections in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the Labour leader appealed to voters to send a message to the coalition about their concerns over cuts, university tuition fees and the proposed shake-up of the NHS. But he urged them not to vote against AV in order to punish the deputy prime minister for breaking Liberal Democrat election promises. The referendum was the key concession Clegg gained from David Cameron in last year’s coalition negotiations. Miliband made his last-minute appeal amid polling which suggests the no campaign will romp to victory in the referendum. A ComRes poll for the Independent showed a resounding 32-point lead for the no campaign among people who have made up their minds and say they are sure to vote. It put the no vote on 66% compared with 34% for the yes campaign – a 12-point widening of the gap since last week, when the margin was 60% to 40%. Miliband refused to be drawn on the referendum result, but admitted it was unlikely that the country would be “coming back to this very quickly” if voters say no on Thursday. He defended his refusal to share a platform with Clegg throughout the campaign, despite lauding AV as a system more likely to encourage parties to “reach out to each other”. The Labour leader said he had feared throughout the campaign that the poll would become a referendum on a political individual, whether this was Clegg, Cameron or himself. He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “I think there was always a danger that it did become that, and that was my reason [for refusing to share a platform with Clegg].” Pointing out that he had been willing to share a platform with Vince Cable, the business secretary, Miliband said the difference with Clegg was that people – including many in his own party – had been “shocked” by his willingness to “pose as somebody from the centre-left” and then go into a Tory-led coalition to pursue policies for which the government had no mandate. Many of those policies – such as raising tuition fees and the pace of spending cuts – had previously been opposed by Clegg. The Labour leader said Clegg had presented himself as “the poster child” for new politics before the last general election before entering into coalition and breaking promises in line with “old politics”. “I hope people vote Labour tomorrow on those issues [at the local and devolved elections] because I think they do need to send a message to this government without a mandate, but I hope people do not use the referendum to kick Nick Clegg,” he said. Miliband conceded that Labour should have introduced AV during its 13 years in power, but had been deterred by its heavy majority under first past the post. He also dismissed the claim, made by David Cameron on air on Tuesday, that AV would mean some votes counted more than others. “Votes count equally,” he said. The campaign for or against voting reform for Westminster elections has seen tensions mount among the coalition partners. Chris Huhne, the energy secretary, directly confronted Cameron at the weekly cabinet meeting at Downing Street over alleged “lies” by the no camp. Clegg admitted “feelings are rising high” ahead of the referendum, but dismissed the idea that the alternative vote poll would destroy the coalition. He declined to comment directly on Huhne’s intervention in cabinet, which was criticised by the yes campaign as unhelpful. The Liberal Democrat leader told BBC’s 5 live Breakfast: “This government will move on whether the vote tomorrow is yes or no.” Clegg also denied that he had given up on a yes result, saying many people would not put their minds to how to vote until polling day arrived. “I wouldn’t immediately start deciding how people are going to vote until they’ve had the chance to vote tomorrow,” he added. “It’s a very simple choice – obviously the temperature is rising, feelings are rising high as you’d expect at this stage in the referendum campaign, but at the end of the day it isn’t about what politicians think or feel or even say to each other – it’s about what people want and do people want the current system. “Gallons of ink is going to be spilled in the nation’s newspapers providing a post mortem one way or another. Actually, the choice before people is not whether this was said in the referendum campaign or that was said in the referendum campaign but what this is all about.” AV referendum Alternative vote Electoral reform Ed Miliband Nick Clegg Elections 2011 Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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Warning: contains graphic content. Police officers in Tomah, Wisconsin were cleared of any wrongdoing Tuesday after a gunfight with a suspect ended in his death. (May 4)
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