Category Archives: old tired advice

Nuclear Safety Questioned Worldwide And This Is The Response

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Come on. This is the response to the fact that the world is on a new nuclear brink. My mother could do better than this.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/24/austria.nuclear.japan/

IAEA chief: Meeting paved way for nuclear safety framework

By the CNN Wire Staff
June 24, 2011 9:59 a.m. EDT

(CNN) — The top U.N. nuclear official said a conference on nuclear safety this week “achieved its main goal,” paving the way “for an enhanced post-Fukushima global nuclear safety framework.”

Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told attendees of the IAEA’s Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety on Friday that its work will help strengthen “nuclear safety, emergency preparedness, and radiation protection of people and the environment worldwide.”

The officials at the meeting discussed nuclear safety in the aftermath of the disaster in Japan three months ago.

Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan. The tsunami swamped the plant and knocked out cooling systems that kept the three operating reactors from overheating, leading to the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Amano said the Ministerial Declaration forged at the conference “outlines a number of measures to improve nuclear safety” and underscores the commitment to make sure they are implemented.

“Collectively, our Member States have expressed their sense of urgency, as well as their determination that the lessons of Fukushima Daiichi will be learned and that the appropriate action will be taken,” Amano said.

“This is not about process — it is about results. The Declaration agreed here this week must be translated into action — and it will be. This will require hard work from all Member States, and from the IAEA, in the years ahead,” Amano said.

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More next week.

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Japan’s Nuclear Contamination Is Spreading All Over The Island

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Literally. They are finding “hot particles” in places away from even the evacuation and controlled zones. This thing looks like it could get out of hand. I am convinced that it will stay a local event. And I am convinced that when people report that the entire Island could become uninhabitable they are mistranslating things Japanese Officials are saying. Still, something that I thought would be over by August or September is going to be around until next year.

http://www.naturalnews.com/032751_Fukushima_strontium.html

Fukushima: Strontium levels up to 240 times over legal limit near plant, uninhabitable land area now the size of 17 Manhattans

Sunday, June 19, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Representing the first time the substance has been detected at the crippled plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported on Sunday that seawater and groundwater samples taken near the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan have tested positive for radioactive strontium. And according to a recent report in The Japan Times, levels of strontium detected were up to 240 times over the legal limit, indicating a serious environmental and health threat.

Radioactive strontium, which is known to accumulate in bones and eventually lead to diseases like cancer and leukemia, is one of at least three “hot particles” being continually released by the damaged plant, according to experts. The others include radioactive cesium and plutonium, both of which are implicated in causing birth defects, cancer, and death.

“We are discovering hot particles everywhere in Japan, even in Tokyo,” said Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president with 39 years of nuclear engineering experience, to Al Jazeera. “Scientists are finding these everywhere. Over the last 90 days these hot particles have continued to fall and are being deposited in high concentrations. A lot of people are picking these up in car engine air filters.”

TEPCO has allegedly installed a new water decontamination system that it claims will eventually help filter dangerous radioactive isotopes from polluted water, and thus limit environmental and human exposure to the poisons. But that system has already run into several problems as flow rates have been lower than intended.

“Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed,” added Gundersen. “You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively.”

Al Jazeera also reports that a nuclear waste advisor to the Japanese government recently explained that roughly 966 square kilometers (km), or 600 square miles, around Fukushima are now uninhabitable due to the unfolding disaster. This massive dead zone area is the equivalent size of 17 Manhattans placed next to each other.

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More bad nukes tomorrow. :}

Russian Nuclear Power Plants Are Old And Dangerous

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Just when you thought there could be no more Chernobyls, this report caused the reindeer to stampede.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Russian+officials+numerous+shortcomings+at+nuclear+plants+near+Finland/1135267043718

Russian officials: numerous shortcomings at nuclear plants near Finland

Inspection report leaked to Norwegian newspaper

Inspections of Russian nuclear power plants have revealed serious shortcomings in the safety of the plants – particularly in the preparations for earthquakes and other natural disasters.
The difficulties emerge in a report by the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, which was acquired by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
The paper wrote on Sunday that many of the problems apply to Russian nuclear installations in general. However, the greatest risks are in old reactors located in areas near Finland and Norway – on the Kola Peninsula and the St. Petersburg region. 

In several countries, including Russia, nuclear power plants have undergone “stress tests” following the nuclear accident which occurred at the Japanese plant in Fukushima in March.
Keijo Valtonen, an official at the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority Finland (STUK), expects that the results of the inspections conducted in Russia will be available in Finland soon.

Russian officials: numerous shortcomings at nuclear plants near Finland
Russian officials: numerous shortcomings at nuclear plants near Finland
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In addition to the earthquake risk the Rosatom report warns of inadequate reserve cooling systems in Russian plants. Nuclear fuel storage facilities were also shown to be inadequate in some places, and there is a shortage of trained maintenance personnel and inspectors in Russia.
The report lists a total of 31 shortcomings.
According to Valtonen, judging from the deficiencies that were listed, the Russians have made an open assessment of the problems. Norwegian experts also feel that the assessments are reliable.

The report also mentions the Sosnovy Bor nuclear power plant near St. Petersburg, which has been a cause for concern in Finland for some time.
The Sosnovy Bor plant uses the same reactor technology as what was used in Chernobyl, where the world’s worst nuclear accident took place in 1986. A mitigating factor in the matter is that the area is not especially prone to earthquakes.
Nuclear safety has also been assessed in Finland, in the wake of Fukushima. According to Valtonen, the risk reports made at the national level are to be given over to international assessment. “If shortcomings are noticed, drawing conclusions is a matter for each individual country.”

Previously in HS International Edition:
Finnish nuclear industry says Japan scenario unlikely in Finland (14.3.2011)
Steam leak brings Unit 1 of Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant to controlled shutdown (21.2.2011)
Finnish nuclear authority investigates problems in online reporting on Japan (15.3.2011)

See also:
People in Sosnovyi Bor discuss constructing new nuclear reactors (8.2.2007)

Links:
Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority Finland (STUK)

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Unfortunately more Tomorrow.

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We Even Waste Light During The Day – That’s right

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The people of the US actually turn on more lights then they need and make there eyes worse from the glare. If you don’t believe me listen to this professor.

http://envirowriters.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/proposal-essay-less-wasted-light-equals-more-energy-savings/

Proposal Essay: Less wasted light equals more energy savings

Posted on April 18, 2011 by David Apperson

The UAF campus uses electricity.  Some of the electricity is used to power fluorescent light bulbs which are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs but because they exist as a load in the power grid, use energy.  How much energy is being used by these lights, is it more than is necessary, and how bright to classrooms and computer labs need to be?  In 2010, UAF created its Office of Sustainability to utilize the $20 per student fee towards sustainable projects.  The goal is to supply the necessary funds to make sustainable projects happen but the projects must be cost effective with realistic financial return periods.  Although bright rooms are convenient, the UAF sustainability club should lobby the Chancellor and Facilities Services to implement a program that systematically removes bulbs from over-lit rooms because it will reduce the energy use of the UAF campus, make indoor conditions more comfortable, and save money.

The simplest way to reduce the energy use for lighting is to remove unnecessary bulbs.  Before someone begins pulling random lights from their fixtures at will, some simple calculations can be done to get “back of the envelope” numbers for a cost-benefit analysis.  The following calculations will use some simple energy units, the kilo-Watt (kW) and the kilo-Watt-hour (kWh).  A kW is a measurement of Power and is defined as 1,000 joules per second, how quickly work is being done.  A kWh is a measurement of energy, a fairly large amount of energy at that, being the amount of work by a one kW source for one hour.  Electricity is sold in kWh, because it doesn’t matter how fast someone or something is using the electricity but how much of it they are using.  Light intensity can be measured in lumens or foot-candles.  A lumen is a measure of the power of light perceived by the human eye and the foot-candle can be considered as the amount of light falling on a surface, being defined as one lumen per square foot.

The first thing to be determined is whether or not rooms are over lit.  If they are, then energy is being wasted.  The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), recommends that in an office setting, the light intensity be between 20 and 50 foot-candles (OSHA).  As I write this essay, I am sitting in the Students of Engineering Computer Lab (SOECAL) in Duckering.  The room is quite bright and approximately 20 ft by 40 ft and holds 15 light fixtures, each containing three fluorescent bulbs.  The bulbs are GE Ecolux Starcoat bulbs consuming 32 Watts and producing 2800 lumens a piece (light bulb).  To determine if this particular room is over lit, the following calculation is made:

It appears that the SOECAL lab is over lit by three times the amount of recommended light for a work office, perhaps other similar classrooms and computer labs are as well.  Since we can assume the SOECAL lab and many other rooms are over lit, it can also be determined how much energy is being wasted and how much it is costing.  The following calculations are performed considering a single bulb for a single hour.

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In the room where he is writing no less. More tomorrow.

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Wasted Food Is Wasted Energy – And we waste alot

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Remember when your mom used to say, “Clean your plate. There are children in the world who are starving.”? Well now it is save the world kind of stuff. Wasting food wastes huge amounts of energy. This brief article below sums it up nicely. Please click on the authors name to see more of this authors work.

http://boingboing.net/2010/08/03/theres-more-energy-i.html

There’s more energy in wasted food than there is in the Gulf of Mexico

Maggie Koerth-Baker at 8:42 PM Tuesday, Aug 3, 2010

Recently, while doing some research on the carbon footprint of food, I ran across some studies that reported Americans ate, on average, 3774 calories of food each day.

Something about that smelled funny to me.

Sure, Americans eat a lot. But 3774 calories a day? I have family members who subsist almost solely off fried meat and various sorts of potatoes and I’m not convinced that even they hit that number on a regular basis. When I took my questions to the researchers, I found out that my hunch was correct. Americans aren’t, technically, eating an average of 3774 calories per day. This figure is calculated by looking at food produced, divided by the number of Americans. It assumes we’re eating all that, but, in reality, according to environmental scientist Gidon Eshel we really only eat about 2800 calories per day. That whopping 3774 includes both what we eat—and what we waste.

And what we waste—not just at home, but from the farm field, to the grocery store, to our Tupperware containers full of moldy leftovers—is a big deal.

We use a lot of energy producing, transporting, processing, storing and cooking food we don’t eat. About 2150 trillion kilojoules worth a year, according to a recent study. That’s more kilojoules than the United States could produce in biofuels. And it’s more than we already produce in all the oil and gas extracted annually from the Gulf of Mexico.

Reducing that waste requires both changes in the way we eat at home, and systematic changes that address waste at every part of the food cycle. Right now, I’ve talked to a lot of researchers who can identify the problem, but don’t have a lot of suggestions for concrete solutions. I’m sure they’re out there, though, and I’ll report back as I track them down.

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More tomorrow.

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Maumar Gaddafi – Mercenaries strike protesters and oil goes over 100 $$$

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I hope the lunatic rots in hell.

http://earlywarn.blogspot.com/2011/02/libya-oil-updates.html

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Libyan Oil Grinding to a Halt

Here’s the latest:

At least 300kbd-400kbd of oil production are shut-in already, and likely more, but the situation is still confusing.

As much as a quarter of Libyan oil output has been shut down, Reuters calculations showed on Wednesday, as unrest prompted oil companies to warn of production cuts in Africa’s third-largest producer.

Austria’s OMV said on Wednesday it might be heading for a full production shutdown in Libya. Total, Repsol, Eni and BASF have also said they are either slowing or stopping output.

The latest comments point to a growing impact on oil output from Libya, which produces 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of high-quality oil, or almost 2 percent of world output. About 1.3 million bpd is exported, mainly to Europe.

According to Time Magazine’s Robert Baer, anonymous sources close to Gaddafi say he is now giving orders to sabotage Libya’s oil industry:

There’s been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible situation in Libya will get much worse. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya’s rebellious tribes: It’s either me or chaos.

Libyan ports are shutting down:

Libyan cargo port operations have shut down due to increasing violence sweeping the country, Reuters has reported.

Operations at Tripoli, Benggazi and Misurata Mediterranean ports, which handle general cargo and container shipping, have closed.

In particular, oil exports appear to be halting completely:

Operations at Libyan oil ports were disrupted by a lack of communications, trade sources said, and flows from marine oil terminals in Libya were halted on Tuesday, an Italian government source said.

“The situation is worrying. This morning the oil terminals were blocked in Libya,” the government source said.

It was not possible to get through by phone to Libyan oil ports or shipping agents on Tuesday.

“Everything is out,” said a source with a major oil company. “We can’t get through to anyone. Our operations people say contact is impossible with the shipping agents, port officials, anyone. The lines are all down.”

The country appears to be descending into civil war:

Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya kept his grip on the capital on Wednesday, but large areas of the east of the country remained out of his control amid indications that the fighting had reached the northwest of the country around Tripoli.

Libyans fleeing across the country’s western border to Tunisia reported fighting over the past two nights in the town of Sabratha, home of an important Roman archeological site 50 miles west of Tripoli. Reuters reported that thousands of Libyan forces loyal to Col. Qaddafi had deployed there.

“The revolutionary committees are trying to kill everyone who is against Qaddafi,” said a doctor from Sabratha who had just left the country, but who declined to give his name because he wanted to return.

Of course, as for the oil production losses, the Saudi’s say they stand ready to make up the difference:

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Go there and read the rest. More tomorrow I am afraid.

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India To Burn More Hydrocarbons – That should clear the air

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101101/sc_afp/indiaenergyoilpolitics

India predicts 40% leap in demand for fossil fuels

by Penny MacRae Penny Macrae – Mon Nov 1, 7:12 am ET

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Premier Manmohan Singh told India’s energy firms on Monday to scour the globe for fuel supplies as he warned the country’s demand for fossil fuels is set to soar 40 percent over the next decade.

The country of more than 1.1 billion people already imports nearly 80 percent of its crude oil to fuel an economy that is expected to grow 8.5 percent this year and at least nine percent next year.

Demand for hydrocarbons — petroleum, coal, natural gas — “over the next 10 years will increase by over 40 percent,” Singh told an energy conference in New Delhi.

“India needs adequate supplies of energy at affordable prices to meet the demand of its rapidly growing economy,” he said, as rising Indian incomes spur industrial demand and more people buy energy-guzzling cars and appliances.

Singh’s call comes as India is locked in a race with emerging market rival China for fuel supplies to feed their booming economies in which analysts say Beijing has taken a strong lead.

India faces “immense competition from China which has been far quicker to react when an asset becomes available,” Kalpana Jain, senior director of global consultancy Deloitte, told AFP.

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More tomorrow

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Nuclear Power Too Cheap To Meter – Forty years later

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Why in the world would you want to fuel up a 40 year old reactor. Because it is a religious dictatorship and the ayatollahs can order it to be done. It is Allah’s will. Allah definitely has a sense of humor.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-nuclear-20101027,0,1194581.storyIran begins fueling nuclear reactor

Iran begins fueling nuclear reactor

The start of the weeks-long process brings the controversial Bushehr plant another step closer to operation. Iran says the facility will generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity, but Western nations fear it is to be used to produce atomic weapons.

Nuclear power plantIran’s controversial nuclear plant near the southern Iranian city of Bushehr. The country has begun a weeks-long process to fuel its reactor. (Majid Asgaripour / AFP Getty Images)
By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles TimesOctober 26, 2010|6:53 a.m.
Reporting from Dubai, United Arab Emirates —

Iran began loading nuclear fuel rods into the core of its first nuclear power plant Tuesday, bringing the facility a step closer to producing electricity, Iranian state television reported.

The start of the weeks-long process lends credence to Iranian claims that a high-profile computer virus attack earlier this year did not significantly postpone the launch of the nuclear plant near the southern Iranian city of Bushehr. After years of delay, the plant, built in part by Russian engineers, is scheduled to produce electricity early next year, after all 163 of its fuel rods are moved into the reactor core and undergo tests.

“We hope that nuclear electricity would enter the national grid within the next three months,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency

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More tomorrow.

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Are You Ready For Some Lawsuits – Gulf Coast oil spew will be in court for 25 years…

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Of course I will be dead by then so I won’t care.
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LOUISIANA ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION NETWORK AND REPRESENTING ATTORNEY STUART SMITH CREATE WEBSITE FOR PUBLIC EXAMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING DATA IN AREAS IMPACTED BY BP CATASTROPHE
For weeks, Attorney Stuart Smith and researchers Dr. William Sawyer and Marco Kaltofen have been providing evidence contrary to the federal government’s assertions that the oil from the BP DEEPWATER HORIZON catastrophe is gone and that seafood from oil-impacted waters are not compromised.
Now, citizens can examine for themselves data compiled by Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) at a public website maintained by Dr. Kaltofen’s company, Boston Chemical Data.
“We are thrilled about this new resource,” said Marylee Orr, Executive Director, LEAN. “This website allows anyone interested to see what chemicals were found, where they were found, and how much was found. We feel the public has the right to this information.”
The website, http://bostonchemicaldata.com/LEAN/ provides oil spill data and mapping resources. You can compare where EPA, universities and independent labs have sampled. An individual must download Google Earth in order to view the site’s various downloads and maps.
“This should be useful to environmental groups and the unified command,” said Mr. Smith. “We’ve always believed there should be more transparency in this process.”
Most recently, Mr. Smith’s team has documented a large oil plume offshore of northwest Florida which is killing seafood. Samples have been sent to Canada for independent assessment.

“As state and federal officials continue to open Gulf waters to fishing, we have to again point to evidence that the ‘all clear’ is being sounded way too early,” said Mr. Smith, who represents the United Commercial Fishermen’s Association, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, public entities in the Gulf Coast, as well as private property and business owners. “One of the cautionary notes is that our experts have documented that toxic chemicals remain in the water and food chain – and pose a significant health risk. Those studies have shown that PAHs (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons) are present in shrimp from the impacted area. And the PAHs in off-shore Florida are at levels 43 times the levels of shrimp from inland, low-impact inland areas sampled in Louisiana. In our estimation, it may take eight months before the toxic soup has had substantial enough biodegradation to announce an ‘all clear’ on seafood.”
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.smithstag.com
www.gulfoildisasterrecovery.com
www.oilspillaction.com
www.leanweb.org

Dr. William Sawyer: Chief Toxicologist of Toxicology Consultants & Assessment Specialists, LLC., Sanibel, FL (Registered d/b/a 1990, Incorporated January, 1994, 2009-FL)
Marco Kaltofen, P.E.; President of Boston Chemical is a Registered Professional Engineer (Civil, Massachusetts) and an environmental scientist with more than 25 years experience in environmental, workplace and product safety investigations in North America and Eastern Europe.

CONTACT:

S. Smith: (504) 593-9600        C. Brylski/H. Harper (504) 897-6110

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More tomorrow

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More From The Gulf Gusher – This from Lean, one of my favorite groups

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I keep telling people that crude oil is really really toxic. No one really listens.

I know this is not centered and you can not read all the text. Tough. Go to our BB Refrigerator Magnets and click on Louisiana  Environmental Action Network to read the whole thing. Or better yet, go to their website and read the original if you are really interested…I think you get the drift from what you can see.

BP Makes Me Sick!

BP Makes Me SickAmazing! 57,264 people joined our “BP Makes Me Sick” coalition in only 4 days. As BP blocks Gulf clean-up workers from wearing respirators when dealing with harmful toxins, thousands of us are asking President Obama to step in. (Keith Olbermann explains the issue here.) The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Baton Rouge Advocate, and others all wrote about this new coalition!

We have momentum — can you help us reach 100,000 signers by joining our coalition today? Click here! (Then, forward to others!)

Today, we are proud to announce that our effort is endorsed by 50 partners across the nation. This includes:
  • Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert Kennedy Jr. and the Save Our Gulf Waterkeepers
  • Louisiana Environmental Action Network Executive Director Marylee Orr
  • Major Senate candidates — Roxanne Conlin (IA), Jack Conway (KY), Kendrick Meek (FL), and Elaine Marshall (NC)
  • 27 House candidates — including bold progressives Ann McLane Kuster (NH), Bill Hedrick (CA), David Segal (RI), and others (full list here)
  • 9 House members — including Carolyn Maloney (NY), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH), Jared Polis (CO), Chellie Pingree (ME), and Alcee Hastings (FL)
  • National organizations like Democracy for America, Color Of Change, and Commercial Fishermen of America

Please join our coalition and stand up for workers today — then, pass this email to others.
Press Coverage:
Louisiana Watermen Demand Proper Safety Equipment In Gulf Oil Cleanup
By Ryan Grimm
The Huffington Post
July 8, 2010

In the harried cleanup that followed the attack on downtown New York on September 11th, managers of the process famously failed to equip workers with protective gear, damaging countless lives of those who came to the rescue. Environmental advocacy groups and commercial watermen, who are more often joined in combat than alliance, have come together with bloggers and public officials to prevent the pattern from repeating in the Gulf.

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Waterkeeper Alliance, the United Commercial Fisherman, the Louisiana Shrimp Association, Commercial Fisherman of America, the Nassau Sierra Club in Florida and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, among dozens of others, are calling on BP to properly equip rescue workers mired in the toxic muck that has been spewing from the Gulf floor for nearly three months.

“We cannot let the denial of protective gear that hurt so many 9/11 clean-up workers happen again with the Gulf clean-up workers,” reads a statement signed by the groups, organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “President Obama and the federal government must demand that BP allow every clean-up worker who wants to wear respiratory protective equipment to do so — and ensure that workers get the equipment and training they need to do their jobs safely.”

The fishing organizations represent those who have been transformed into cleanup workers by the spill. A scientist with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network recently testified before Congress on the hazards of Gulf cleanup.

The groups are organizing an online petition at BPMakesMeSick.com, where a full list of the coalition, which includes local bloggers and national politicians such as Florida Democratic Reps. Alan Grayson and Kendrick Meek, can be found.

Go to the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/08/louisiana-watermen-demand_n_639094.html

Gulf Fishermen, Bloggers, RFK Jr. Say “BP Makes Me Sick”
By Nancy Scola
Tech President
July 8, 2010

A growing coalition of local bloggers, elected officials, online organizers, workers, environmental groups, and public figures formally launched today a drive to get BP to allow workers wear health-saving protective gear as they go about cleaning up the Gulf coast.

The new BP Makes Me Sick Coalition is, it’s probably fair to say, the first high-profile push we’ve seen to use political organizing tactics, online and offline, to shape the ongoing disaster in the Gulf. The implicit tactic is to coalesce public opinion around a tangible idea — one itself important, but that stands for something bigger. The BP Makes Me Sick Coalition is a project spearheaded by the Progressive Change Coalition, with the backing of local groups like Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and Galveston Baykeeper, Gulf fishermen, local blogs like the Burnt Orange Report and Texas Kaos, local electeds like Reps. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Kendrick Meek (D-FL), and national figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who helps head the New York-based environmental group Riverkeeper.

The group, explained PCCC’s Adam Green, started taking shape about two weeks ago, after Marylee Orr, the head of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, talked on Keith Olbermann’s MSNBC show about BP’s alleged efforts to prevent clean-up workers from wearing respirators on the job.

“It’s a choice between feeding their family, and not having money to feed their family,” Orr told Olbermann. “They’re willing to sacrifice their health to feed their family, and I think that’s tragic. When our fishermen folks had their respirators on, they were told to take them off, that they would be fired if they used them.” (Clip  here.) Through Orr, says Green, PCCC connected with local fisherman’s organizations. Through them, they reached out to local environmental groups, and on to Kennedy, who came aboard yesterday.

This being a PCCC joint, there’s also a strategic twist. The subtext of BP Makes Me Sick is using the relatively discrete matter of protective respirators to press President Barack Obama on his leadership in the Gulf — or, to flip it around, his supposed deference to BP. Fleshing out that angle is a note on the site echoing the George W. Bush-era: “We cannot let the denial of protective gear that hurt so many 9/11 clean-up workers happen again with the Gulf clean-up workers.”

At the moment, BPMakesMeSick.com features an online petition that anyone can co-sign.

Go to the article here: http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/gulf-fishermen-bloggers-rfk-jr-say-bp-makes-me-sick

NY DAILY NEWS: Group Demands BP Provide Cleanup Workers With Respirators
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/07/group-demands-bp-provide-clean.html

SAN FRAN CHRONICLE: Sources: BP threatens to fire cleanup workers who wear respirators
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=67426#ixzz0t87rmAfd

DAILY KINGFISH: Kingfish joins coalition to protect cleanup workers
http://www.dailykingfish.com/diary/1575/kingfish-joins-coalition-to-protect-cleanup-workers
SaveOurGulf.orgVisit SaveOurGulf.org to get more information about the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster from Waterkeeper organizations across the Gulf Coast and donate to Save Our Gulf!

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More tomorrow.

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