BP plans to get rid of safety watchdog

BP plans to get rid of safety watchdog, sources say
By Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick, CNN Special Investigations Unit
June 30, 2010 9:56 p.m. EDT
The March 23, 2005, explosion at the BP facility in Texas City took 15 lives and led to the formation of an Ombudsman Program.
The March 23, 2005, explosion at the BP facility in Texas City took 15 lives and led to the formation of an Ombudsman Program.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Ombudsman Program set up after 2005 explosion at a BP refinery in Texas
* Office was set up to hear BP workers’ safety concerns
* 112 employees have filed complaints with office

RELATED TOPICS

* BP plc
* U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* Texas
* Accidents and Disasters
* Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Don’t miss “AC360°” at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday for more on this story.

Washington (CNN) — BP has been trying to shut down an internal safety watchdog agency it set up under congressional pressure four years ago, according to sources close to the office and a leading congressman.

The Ombudsman Program was set up after a 2005 explosion at a BP refinery in Texas that killed 15 workers and a massive oil spill in Alaska the following year. Its chief, former federal judge Stanley Sporkin, would not comment for this story — but a source inside his office told CNN, “I’m surprised we’re still here.”

The Washington-based office was set up to hear BP workers’ safety concerns after investigations into the Texas City refinery explosion raised questions about whether employees feared retaliation for speaking up. Since then, 112 employees have filed complaints, and 35 of them have dealt with “system integrity or safety issues” that the office says are extremely serious.

But sources close to the office say BP doesn’t like having independent investigators pursuing those complaints. A union representative told CNN that some workers who complained have faced retaliation. Jeanne Pascal, a former lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency, agreed.

“They’ve been demoted, they’ve been terminated, they’ve also been blackballed,” Pascal said.

BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said the company has a “zero-tolerance” policy toward retaliation and said it is unaware of any unresolved cases that violate that policy.

“Concerns raised internally or with the Ombudsman’s office in respect to our operations are fully investigated and appropriate actions are implemented,” he said in a statement supplied to CNN. He added, “If Ms. Pascal or others believe there are cases that have not been resolved appropriately, they can be raised through the ombudsman’s office.

BP has promised Rep. Bart Stupak, the chairman of a congressional subcommittee investigating the April sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drill rig, that it will keep the watchdog office in place for another year. But Stupak said the head of BP’s American subsidiary, Lamar McKay, told him earlier this year that the ombudsman’s office was slated for elimination.

McKay had become the head of BP America in January 2009, more than a year before the the Deepwater Horizon disaster killed 11 workers and uncorked the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Stupak, D-Michigan, and other lawmakers met with McKay in January and March of that year.

“One of the first things Mr. McKay said was, ‘I’m going to replace the ombudsman. I’m going to shut her down,’ ” Stupak told CNN. “He wasn’t even on the job for more than a few weeks, maybe a month or two, and he wanted to shut down the ombudsman. We encouraged him not to do so.”

Stupak said lawmakers were “shocked” that McKay would bring up the topic so soon.

“The logic was, ‘Well, we will make things better,’ ” he said. “Well, I’m not sure.”

BP has said it can do a good job investigating complaints through an established internal system — without the ombudsman’s office. But Pascal, who spent 26 years prosecuting polluters for the EPA, has called BP a “serial environmental criminal.” She said BP repeatedly violates environmental laws, scoffs at safety regulations and treats U.S. government safety and pollution control officials as a mere nuisance.

The company paid record federal fines and pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with the Texas City explosion. It also pleaded guilty in 2007 to one count of criminally negligent discharge of oil, a misdemeanor, in Alaska. In 2009, the Justice Department filed a civil complaint alleging the company had violated clean air and water laws in Alaska.

That record indicates that BP considers safety “a secondary or tertiary concern,” with no indication that will change, Pascal said.

“From my perspective, BP for a long time has been a company that is interested in profits first and foremost,” she said. “Safety, health and the environment are subjugated to profit-making, and I do not think that has changed.”

Examples Of How Going Green Saves You Money

There are many examples of how going green saves you money. Kermit the Frog was wrong – it IS easy being green, and it saves you money at the same time. As the planet faces a period of warming where our actions are believed to be the prime cause, it makes sense to seek out examples of how going green saves you money and act on them.

That cell phone charger that stays plugged in, the DVD player that waits for the occasional playing, and the TV that sits on standby all night, these are prime examples of how going green saves you money – if you unplug them, that is. For even if the items are not working, they are consuming energy!

Another of the prime examples of how going green saves you money is switching from bottled water to filtered tap water. The average family spends some $1,400 a year on bottled water. And the worst part is that 95% of the plastic bottles are not recycled! For less than $100 you could get a high quality staged water filter to make your tap water perfect.

Examples of how going green saves you money are everywhere. Do you drive as fast as the law allows? You shouldn’t. Car engines perform most efficiently at around 55 miles an hour. If you combine that with gentle driving on properly inflated tires, you will save money and help the planet too.

You could always use a bicycle to travel around town. Or you could simply walk for those short trips. You won’t be pouring hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, warming the planet, you will save money, and you will get some good exercise at the same time. Walking and cycling when you can are excellent examples of how going green saves you money.

Some 65 million newspapers are printed every day in the US. Some 70% of them will not be recycled. What a waste of trees! You can do your bit to help, and read whatever news you want to read at the same time simply by going online. Very few newspapers don’t have an online presence these days, so save some money and read from the web pages.

Do you want more example of how going green saves you money? They are all around you. Just look and you certainly will find them.

Fuel

$3.39 per gallon I paid for gas today 5-19-07 in Lafayette, LA. I heard some stupid citizen/person being interviewed on the cable news last night say that gas prices are no big deal and that she is getting used to it. Stupid! Later in the day a local Lafayette news team interviewed a similar individual from River Ranch. How many interviews did it take the local news team have to do before they found some little girl that is okay with spending mommy and daddy’s money on gasoline? I do believe that if she was spending any of the $5.15 per hour that she is earning, she would then have a problem with the cost of fuel. If we become complacent big business will and is walking all over us just like they do with the UK, which is currently paying $5.64 per gallon of regular gas. We will eventually pay $10.00 per liter before we know it if we don’t speak up now. Speak up America write your congress men, write blogs, and post your local gas prices world wide on the web. Everyone in the world is invited to www.zz2p.com to post your local prices. Why is VENEZUELA only paying $0.14 per gallon, what does Venezuela have that the world’s super power doesn’t? They have the foresight to act now to keep fuel prices down. Venezuela has the refineries and plans to develop more by 2012. We “America” have a greedy bunch of Politicians and big business jerks running our country and using conservationists as an excuse not to build refineries. Technology has grown by leaps and bounds we no longer need fossil fuels to the degree we once did, “In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline………..Ten years later, these cars were destroyed.” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489037/taglines.) You can see a short video about the electric car and get information about other low or no fuel vehicles at: http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar The big oil companies put a stop to the electric car thing, they knew that they would loose billions to an era of vehicles that needed little maintenance and absolutely no gas. We the people are in control of our country. Don’t forget it, we elect and we impeach. The countries biggest mistake is that we have fallen short by letting the government have to much say in our daily lives. The government is over powering the people buy stepping into our lives and dictating whether or not we: buckle up, discipline our children, smoke legal cigarettes, making air travel a living hell by searching everyone but the target profile, Yes there is a target profile but according to the government that would be discrimination or racial profiling. Racial profiling wasn’t a problem when the FBI rounded up all the Arabic looking foreigners working in around the country after 9/11. Our current government deals in fear and as long as we are scared of our shadows they are able to do as they please with our country. Another problem that is compounding our current state of affairs is that of our growing welfare population corporate and otherwise keeps the greedy in office in order to keep their government checks coming in. Kick the government out of our homes so maybe they might have time to see how the American people are being screwed by big business. Speak up America your only crazy if you’re Okay with bending over for the man.

BIO-FUEL CROPS PRODUCING BIO-DIESEL

The company now boasts 22 employees, including scientists, farmers, international businessmen, industrial workers and of course family.

GreenEnergy`s corporate mission aims to bring large tracts of rural land under scientific but basic cultivation of bio-fuel feedstocks, bringing with it employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to potentially thousands of Vietnamese rural poor, while providing inputs for GreenEnergy`s core business, the refining and marketing of bio-diesel.

It is a win, win situation for everyone because not only does cultivation of this vegetable oil require only marginally arable, war damaged or barren land, this also means its activities do not compete with other food production which avoids putting upward pressure on food prices.

N.B (Vietnamese Government has identified seven million hectares as marginal, barren or war damaged land).

In addition GreenEnergy`s operations achieve a renewable and sustainable fuel source for Vietnam to continue its development with all the attendant social, economic and environmental benefits in producing clean energy.

Because of the scale and potential of the bio-diesel industry in Vietnam and indeed globally, where tens of millions of bio-fuel crops will have to be grown to substantially replace fossil fuels, a ‘second green revolution’ is possible, bringing with it true improvement in the lives of the rural poor and vegetable oils can play a
significant role in helping to ameliorate global warming as a key aspect of climate change.

Global warming, a key aspect of climate change, now clearly recognized as a result of a concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere – has the worst impact on the climate.

Carbon dioxide, the most common of GHGs, is emitted during the burning of fossil fuels.

The Kyoto Protocol gazetted in February 2005 requires participating countries to cut carbon emissions.
Further to this, rising crude oil prices and the need to reduce dependence on imported oil has made it necessary for net oil importers to think of alternative energy sources. The precarious situation with fossil fuel supplies coupled with the ability of bio-fuels to lessen that risk, makes it feasible for the global economy to
revert its focus towards agriculture and those traditionally engaged in it, thus offering a potential boon to Vietnam’s rural sector.

Full bio-diesel use would reduce net CO2 by over 78% compared to petroleum diesel and up to 16% with the use of blends comprising 20% bio-diesel.

While both fuels are almost equally efficient at converting raw energy resources into fuels, bio-diesel has a larger part that is renewable. Similarly, bio-diesel is non-toxic and environmentally friendly as it produces
substantially less CO2, ensuring sustainable environmental practices.

GreenEnergy has recognized this mammoth task and has adopted a dual strategy for attaining its goals in Vietnam.

1.Public –Aggressive initiatives to “jump-start” the production side of bio-fuel feedstocks by forming a partnership with Vietnams Central Government and People’s Committees as well as aid agencies to help put large tracts of marginal land under bio-fuel crop cultivation quickly.

A memorandum of understanding and support was signed by the Peoples Committee of Binh Dinh Province and Green Energy Vietnam on the 8th of December 2006 and the 500 hectare Binh Dinh Research and Training Facility for the Cultivation of Biofuel Feedstocks has been established, known as BDF- FARMER ENERGY- a working laboratory devoted to developing the bio-fuel industry for the benefit of Vietnamese rural poor.

2.Private – Includes GEV investments to retain its ‘First Mover’ advantage by securing its proprietary feedstocks, expanding its physical plant refinery presence and continuing to build its integrated supply-chain, complete with forward contracted suppliers and customers.

It is in this first arena, Public Initiatives, that GreenEnergy sees co-operation with aid agencies.

Some of the substantial and sustainable benefits that the cultivation of bio-fuels crops can contribute to Vietnam are:
1. Real cash growth, raising the annual income of $820 to $1,300 U.S. for thousands of marginalized rural families.

2. Private homesteading for the rural poor.

3. Stress relief and barren or war damaged land reclamation.

4. Enfranchisement of poor, rural women.

5. Retention of scarce foreign currency reserves and
6. Independence from the uncertainties of global mineral oil markets.

The People`s Committee of the Province of Binh Dinh and GreenEnergy, Vietnam, in full realization of the enormous impact this Research and Training Facility will have for all of Vietnam`s rural communities, cordially
invites any and all organizations seeking positive change in the livelihood of rural Vietnamese to form an active Partnership in the development of this Research and Training Facility.

The Binh Dinh Facility wants to be a catalyst in harnessing this opportunity for all stakeholders and delivering:

. A path for the rural poor to climb out of their deprivation rather than fall further behind.

. A renewable, sustainable and viable alternative to fossil fuel for Vietnam’s surging economy and an industry that rejuvenates, rather than degrades the environment.

Introduction to the oil plant Jatropha.

The oil plant Jatrophas curcas (L) (Jatropha) or physic nut, is multipurpose and drought resistant, growing to a height range of 2 to 7 metres for the Asian species and it not only flourishes in tropical and sub-tropical climate zones but even in areas absent of water.

Because its leaves and stems are toxic to animals it is often used as a protective hedge around farm houses, gardens and fields.

It also reduces soil damage caused by erosion from wind and water and traditionally the seeds were harvested by women for medical treatments and local soap production.

In Thailand, Jatropha normally flowers twice a year, in dry and rainy seasons with seed harvesting conducted approximately 60-90 days after flowering and the oil plant has a productive life of 20 years.

Because the market is probably not yet mature enough for the plant to generate enough income solely from oil extraction, a holistic rural development approach has to be taken into account in order to exploit all potential uses of the Jatropha plant. This approach is known as the Jatropha System.

The system focuses not only on the use of the source as a fuel, but rather as an element, to activate a system combining ecologic, economic and income generating activities.

Consequently, the Jatropha System offers four main aspects of development aiming to better the livelihoods in rural areas, especially for women and farmers:

. Renewable energy- bio-diesel

. Erosion control and soil improvement

. Promotion of women and

. Income generation.

About one-third of seeds can be extracted as oil that has a similar energy value to diesel fuel. The oil is extracted by hydraulic pressure and then filtered through an intensive sleeve that can then be readily used without any complicated refinery process, directly available for small diesel engines as a substitution for
diesel oil, without engine modification.

This oil can power engines, such as water pumps, tractors, hand mowers, other farm machinery and rice milling machines and by using this domestically produced oil as a substitution for imported oil, significant cash
savings can be made.

GreenEnergy Ltd have already committed a considerable amount of time, money and resources to this environmentally sound an economically sustainable project in Vietnam and welcome further input from other interested parties.

It is also their belief that at an international level, stakeholders involved should perform a three pronged approach, with mutual knowledge, technology transfer, genetic development of high oil content in the seeds and exchange of Jatropha species, together with investment and trade linkage.

The Benefits of Wind Energy

Wind turbines – white structures with three or more blades which are used to generate electricity from the wind – are one of the most efficient methods of generating renewable energy. This is simple fact, and the continued development and licencing of turbines is further testament to this.

The reason for this general opinion is that, when one views the statistics, wind turbines are powerfully useful. For example, with older energy generation techniques such as using fossil fuels, to generate electricity one must use some of the earth’s natural resources. In the case of fossil fuels, these one day will run out.

Wind turbines have no effect on the earth’s composition and do not need to dig into anything to be able to generate. They take nothing from the earth as an organism, and this makes them a mighty weapon in the battle against climate change.

Wind turbines do not produce any emissions, be it carbon dioxide – the cause of climate change – or other such chemicals which may be harmful. Though the construction of a wind farm or turbine requires electricity and source material, it is estimated it takes a mere nine months for a single wind turbine to ‘pay back’ what is has taken out. What is more, after that initial nine months pay back time, wind turbines do not require anything but the wind to operate.

The biggest benefit of wind turbines, however, is that they take a natural source and make it useful. The wind blows everywhere in the world, and all wind turbines do is take the previously unused kinetic energy of natural weather phenomenon and create usable electricity.

Put simply, the benefits of wind turbines and wind power are overwhelmingly convincing.

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