- December 8, 2022: PHMSA issues Corrective Action Order to TC Energy re: Dec. 7 spill.
- #22: Dec. 7, 2022: TC Energy shut down its Keystone pipeline after detecting a leak of 588,000 gallons into a creek near Washington, KS — about 20 miles south of Steele City, NE. “An emergency shutdown and response was initiated at about 9 p.m. CT on Dec. 7 after alarms and a pressure drop in the system, the company said in a release, adding booms were deployed to control downstream migration of the release.” November 5, 2019: PHMSA issues Corrective Action Order to TransCanada re: Oct. 30 spill.
- #21: October 31, 2019: TransCanada’s (“TC Energy”) Keystone pipeline leaked at least 380,000 gallons of tarsands oil and toxic diluents that affected wetlands in northeastern North Dakota. No cause has yet been established.
- #20: February 6, 2019: Keystone pipeline spills 1,800 gallons in St. Charles County, Missouri. After metallurgical analysis of the spill’s cause: “The composite wrap was inadequately designed for the metal loss feature it was to protect, as the applicator’s interpretation of the feature as mechanical damage led to fewer wraps than corrosion given the naming convention used in the composite vendor’s software. Feature direct examination concluded blunt metal loss with no evidence of sharp edges or stress concentrators, and the feature root cause analysis determined the accelerated rate of corrosion was primarily caused by stray direct current interference and was subsequently repaired. The RCFA indicated the primary cause of the leak was a through-wall crack that exhibited signs of fatigue, initiated from localized stress concentrations in the irregular pitted surface of the repaired metal loss feature.” Of note: A 2015 investigation in the same county found Keystone pipe there had “suffered from corrosion so severe that it was worn through 95 percent in some places after being in service for less than two years. In one spot, inspectors found the pipeline was down to a metal layer just one third the thickness of a dime.”
- #19: February 20, 2018: Keystone pipeline spills 15 gallons from a Pump Station in Steele City, Nebraska, blamed on “a leaking float control valve.”
Following what goes on with oil and gas exploitation in and around Adrian, Michigan since 2013 - and how these events in our little city connect to the global environmental situation... - with the occasional sidetrack to other related environmental issues in Lenawee county, Michigan and how those relate to global issues.
Thursday, December 29, 2022
HISTORY OF SPILLS: TC Energy’s Keystone pipeline (22 SPILLS: 2010-2022)
Monday, December 19, 2022
Cop15: key points of the nature deal at a glance
Agreement to conserve 30% of Earth by the end of the decade
Inspired by the Harvard biologist EO Wilson’s vision of protecting half the planet for the long-term survival of humanity, the most high-profile target at Cop15 has inspired and divided in equal measure. The final wording commits governments to conserving nearly a third of Earth for nature by 2030 while respecting indigenous and traditional territories in the expansion of new protected areas. The language emphasizes the importance of effective conservation management to ensure wetlands, rainforests, grasslands and coral reefs are properly protected, not just on paper.
Monday, December 12, 2022
Keystone pipeline shuts down after oil spill in Kansas creek | PBS NewsHour
Find Corridor-Focused Organizations // LandScope America
Monday, November 28, 2022
EU climate plan sacrifices carbon storage and biodiversity for bioenergy
Friday, October 21, 2022
New Jersey Sues 5 Oil Giants, Industry Lobby for Climate Fraud
Sunday, June 12, 2022
The transformation of a low diversity sterile backyard (first picture) to a backyard rich in insects, wildlife and birds and a productive permaculture garden
The transformation of a low diversity sterile backyard (first picture) to a backyard rich in insects, wildlife and birds and a productive permaculture garden took about 6 years as it was done in several easy and manageable steps:
- Establishments of the raised garden beds
- Building of the 3-bin compost and establishment of rain barrels
- Prairie restorations on the slopes, driveway and side yard
- Planting of native transplants into un-mowed islands
- Changing mowing patterns to keep native plants that outseed into lawn and also keep non-native flowers frequented by pollinators
- Excavating the pond and planting of native water plants