"I have to see it to believe it," was the reaction to my Russian colleague, Jon Burgwald, when he told me that every spring the rivers in Northern Russia turn black with oil saturated ice.
He sent me the pictures last night from his visit to Usinsk which borders the Arctic and has the unenviable title of Russia's oil capital. Before oil was discovered here in the 1970's Usinsk was a pristine area, with rivers villagers could drink from, teeming with life.
Now the winter thaw marks the annual running of the black ice. You have to see it to believe it [full slideshow below]:
Jon tells the story in his own words here, describing it as "Russia's oil leaks -- a forgotten disaster." He writes:
We also visited Kolva, one of the local villages in the area. Here the locals told us about their everyday life and how it has been affected by the oil industry. They named the village after the river, which the village is located next to. The Kolva River used to be the villagers' source for fresh water and food. They used to be able to drink the water directly from the river and the fish used to be plentiful. Today the river is more known for transporting ice painted black by the oil. In fact, oil slicks cover almost the entire surface.
There is a famous saying by the American theologian Tyron Edwards that goes like this: " Some of the best lessons we ever learn we learn from our mistakes and failures. The error of the past is the wisdom of the future."
Right now I feel we are at a crossroads. Right now a drilling rig is slowly making its way to the Arctic ocean. It is one of the last untainted, unspoiled places we have left on the Earth. So will we learn from places like Usinsk? Or are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes?
Loading Slideshow
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Russia's Hidden 'Arctic Nightmare'
Location: Usinsk, Russia. Oil from Russian drilling operations gushes from damaged pipelines directly into local rivers. Trees are left dead and black. The rivers which serve as the the only source of drinking water for many in the area are heavily polluted.
You can help by spreading the word, tweet this, post it on Facebook, heck print these photos off and mail them to your grandma!
Follow Kevin Grandia on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/kgrandia
When I study the beauty and complexity of nature, and then see the petroleum overlords snuff the life out of the land, air, and water with their toxic black stew and combustion gas poisons, I for one want to see then be taken out of the equation and punished for crimes against nature and humanity as soon as possible.
Proper regulations (with teeth) based on sound science and common sense is the answer.
And the US did learn from the past, the EPA was formed which does enforce environmental laws. Are there still ponds of oil around the Kalamazoo river spill? And while they are no saints, Enbridge is replacing this ancient pipeline which split open near the Kalamazoo river.
Concerns over Arctic ocean drilling is justified but like it or not, there is a massive pipeline already built in Alaska (TAPS). Instead of opening up new areas, we should uses existing infrastructure for oil production.
But TAPS is running low on oil to keep it viable (~500K bpd). So the choice is, drill in Beaufort Sea or open up ANWR.
It seems Obama does understand the importance of TAPS and his hands are tied concern ANWR. Opening up the Beaufort Sea is the only option.
1. downwind from Chernoble ( land randomly poisoned by fallout )
2. abandoned in place Nickel, copper, and cobalt mining ( due to USSR ending )
3. over 1000 Nuclear submarines beached on the banks of the White sea ( and abandoned )
4. almost all heavy industry abandoned in place with no disposal of by-products on peninsula
5.oh yes, they are pumping crude oil...and spilling some of it...
the crude oil thingy sounds almost tame compared to the other stuff... IMHO
Just Wondering= why anyone lives there??
the Russians left a long time ago= ( due to unlivable bio hazard conditions )
Ruining land with petroleum contamination for any reason is criminal. This is libertarian heaven, and it is a realist's nightmare.
Private profits, public losses.
It's the New Way.
http://intelligencepress.com/features/bakerhughes/
The problem is that it's more cost effective for the energy industries to do the minimum in prevention and cleanup R&D, and just pay the cost when things go wrong. If fines and other repercussions were truly draconian, then I think you'd see companies making an extra effort to be safe and speed the cleanup when something does go wrong. But as long as it's cheaper to cut corners, they will. Profit will always trump safety and preparedness. It's cold, calculated free market risk-benefit analysis. Doesn't make them evil, just short-sighted and greedy.
The 'greenies' who you dismiss so casually, are mostly just people who don't want to see rivers burn or dead animals piled up on the shores. They'd like to have clean water and be able to enjoy nature and know their kids will too. They aren't anti-business, just anti stupid.
Erik
http://eaprince.blogspot.com