As a Canadian company is involved, at least the CBC is covering it: Enbridge steps up Michigan oil cleanup

Canadian energy distributor Enbridge was working Wednesday to contain more than three million litres [792,500 gallons or 18,870 barrels] of oil that leaked from one of its pipelines in southern Michigan, damaging water and wildlife in the Kalamazoo River.

The 41-year-old pipeline belonging to the Calgary-based company usually carries about 30 million litres of oil daily to Sarnia, Ont., from Griffith, Ind.

Enbridge said Wednesday it is doubling its work force on the containment and cleanup effort in affected areas, including the Kalamazoo, which is one of the state’s major waterways and empties into Lake Michigan.

About 300 employees and contractors are trying to contain the spill, and the company is adding more barricades in nearby waterways to help contain the leaked crude, officials said.

Instead of oil-soaked pelicans, they have a picture of an oil-soaked Canada goose.

So, it is vital to drill in the Gulf of Mexico to provide “energy independence” for the US as we are shipping crude oil from Indiana to Canada and have done for decades.

The only good news it that it didn’t happen in the Spring, which is prime time for nesting and spawning.

McClatchy features a nice anniversary article from the Miami Herald on the Well from Hell at 100 days.

My only quibble is that they are overly optimistic about the recovery. The fact that the surface oil was churned by Tropical Storm Bonnie and isn’t as visible from the air, doesn’t mean it is gone. What are gone are all of the creatures killed by the pollution.

After a hurricane you might believe that your trees survived, but then you notice that they don’t green out the following spring and you have to take them down. Theirs wasn’t a visible death, but they died just the same from the salt water carried by the wind.

Just because you don’t see the all the dead creatures wash ashore, doesn’t mean they didn’t die. The indicator of their deaths will be absence of their offspring. When the waters are again open for fishing, there may be nothing to catch.

After several months of fires springing up and being contained quickly, the fire season has really taken off in the West.

British Columbia has seen larger and more frequent fires as a result of the continuing drought, and now California has gotten busy this week.

The Bull Run Creek Fire started in the Sequoia National Forest early Monday morning. and the West Fire, also in Kern County, started yesterday afternoon.

The West Fire has already destroyed 30 structures and consumed more that 1,200 acres, while the Bull Run Creek Fire is approaching residential properties around Kernville and has expanded to more than 11,000 acres.

California has declared a state of emergency, but that won’t make the money needed to fight the fires magically appear.