Breakthrough Made in Gulf Leak Disaster

I just saw this article online and thought it was very relevant to what we were recently discussing in class about BP.

Here is a brief summary:

BP says a mile-long tube, which they refer to as a "riser insertion tube tool" is sucking oil from the gushing well up and away. Their success in containing "some of the oil and gas" leaking from a pipe at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is the first progress they have made in over three weeks. Although this tube is not collecting all of the leaking oil, it is an important step in reducing the amount of oil being released into the water. It is estimated that 4.8 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf since April 22nd. Furthermore, scientists have found vast plumes of oil in deep water, one of them 10 miles long.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/bp-starts-capturing-crude-from-broken-oil-well-amid-ominous-signs/19479228

The Carbon Hunters on PBS Frontline

Investigative journalist Mark Schapiro (Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power) finds himself deep in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest in search of one of the hottest commodities in this era of climate change: carbon.

Upcoming Green Drinks!

Anyone and everyone is welcome! If you're available come over to meet friends and network...

What: Green Drinks

When: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 from 6 - 8pm

Where: Kooma (Justinson Landing on the Wilmington waterfront)
400 Justison Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
302.543.6732
GoKoomaRestaurant.com

Why: Because you are green, because you want to go green, because you want to meet other environmentally minded people.

Free CFLs!

Energy Efficient Now is an independent project to distribute CFLs. By signing up on their website, they will ship two free CFL bulbs to you. Visit the website for more info:

http://energyefficientnow.com/learn.asp

And request your bulbs: http://energyefficientnow.com/tfli_signup.asp

Spread the word!

Delaware House OKs Curbside Recycling Bill

A new bill in the state legislature requiring trash haulers to provide curbside recycling just needs Gov. Markell's signature to be put into Delaware state law. In order to get started, the bill includes a temporary 4 cent fee on small carbonated beverages to help cover initial costs. The fee will end after 4 years and will be offset by savings in diverting waste from landfills to recycling centers. Charges for regular waste disposal at Delaware Solid Waste Authority landfills are slated to increase by 50 percent on July 1 of this year.

via DelawareOnline

Want to be a part of the University of Delaware Sustainability Task Force?

To better promote sustainability at UD, the Task Force is moving to a new structure forming an Executive Council and a series of Working Groups. At this time we are seeking volunteers/nominations for persons willing to serve on the Executive Council or to serve as a facilitator for one of the five Working Groups.

• For the Executive Council, we need a representative from: 1) faculty, 2) undergraduate students, 3) graduate students, 4) staff or administrative personnel, and 5) facilities. We ask the student representatives to serve a 1-year term and others to serve 1-2 year terms, so that we can stagger turn-over of the council membership.

• In addition to Executive Council members, we need strong leaders willing to serve as facilitators or co-facilitators for the following Working Groups: 1) UD Sustainability Fund, 2) Green Liaisons, 3) Marketing and Communication, 4) Campus Sustainability Day, 5) Earth Week, and 6) RecycleMania. We would ask the facilitators to serve at least a 1-year term.

• Please e-mail either Kathleen (kkerr@udel.edu) or John Madsen (jmadsen@udel.edu) with your name (or the name of someone that you’d like to nominate); what role you are interested in; and why; by May 17th! If you have any questions, feel free to contact either one of us

Newark Coop

Please see the attached flyer for information from Newark Co-op about a series of workshop seminars entitled "From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience" that they will be holding Saturdays in May. Please contact Newark Co-Op for more information.