19 mai 2010

The struggle for control over natural resources is far from being resolved.

Africa's oil spills are far from U.S. media glare

Oil gushing from an undersea well in the Gulf of Mexico has damaged BP's reputation and share price but accidents involving other companies in less scrutinized parts of the world have avoided the media glare.

In contrast, the international media has largely ignored the latest incidents of pipeline damage in Nigeria, where the public can only guess how much oil might have been leaked.The most recent damage in Nigeria, which has not been attributed to militant attacks that have preyed on Nigerian oil infrastructure for years, forced U.S. operator ExxonMobil to relieve itself of contractual obligations by declaring force majeure on its exports of Nigerian benchmark crude.The light sweet crude is particularly well-suited for refining into gasoline and is regularly supplied to the United States, the world's biggest oil burner. Exxon declined the opportunity to give details of the damage, clean-up or repair work.(Reuters)

Reliance on Oil Sands Grows Despite Risks

CONKLIN, Alberta — Beneath the subarctic forests of western Canada, deep under the peat bogs and herds of wild caribou, lies the tarry rock that is one of America’s top sources of imported oil. There is no chance of a rig blowout here, or a deepwater oil spill like the one from the BP well that is now fouling the Gulf of Mexico. But the oil extracted from Canada’s oil sands poses other environmental challenges, like toxic sludge ponds, greenhouse gas emissions and the destruction of boreal forests.(nytimes)

European Parliament debates cyanide mining technologies

The EP resolution calling for the ban on cyanide mining technologies sends a signal about our also thinking of the future, not just of the present and we hope that the EU executive body comes up with a proposition to prevent ecological disasters, said MEP Daciana Sarbu (S&D/PSD), after the vote on the relevant resolution. „The resolution adopted today is a very strong signal sent by the European Parliament on how mining should be done in the future, in Europe and all over the world. Given that the resolution calls on the Commission and on Member States to not support any project that uses cyanides, the Romanian government must understand that this message addresses it directly and that its hasty and desperate efforts to implement the Rosia Montana mining project must stop,” added Renate Weber.(financiarul.ro)

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