Smoke rises as an illegal oil refinery burns after a military chase in a winding creek near river Nun in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa, on December 6, 2012. Thousands of people in Nigeria engage in a practice known locally as "oil bunkering" - hacking into pipelines to steal crude then refining it or selling it abroad. The practice, which leaves oil spewing from pipelines for miles around, managed to lift around a fifth of Nigeria's two million barrel a day production last year according to the finance ministry.
Reuters photographer Akintunde Akinleye recently gained rare access to an illegal oil refinery near the river Nun in Nigeria's oil state of Bayelsa. There, he was able to document the secret and dangerous practice of oil bunkering, where locals hack into oil pipelines, steal the crude oil, and refine or sell it abroad. For over 50 years now, crude oil and natural gas have been extracted from the Niger Delta by large corporations, which have had their share of environmental disasters. The ongoing damage from the tapped pipes and these makeshift refineries continue to take a terrible toll on the environment and the local population. See also "Nigeria: The Cost of Oil" from 2011.
Ebiowei, 48, carries an empty oil container on his head to a place where it would be filled with refined fuel at an illegal refinery site near river Nun in Bayelsa State, on November 27, 2012. Locals in the industry say workers can earn $50 to $60 a day.
A man working at an illegal oil refinery site pours oil under a locally made burner to keep the fire going, near river Nun in Bayelsa State, on November 27, 2012.
A passenger speedboat churns up the water, while in the background an illegal oil refinery is left burning after a military chase had occurred earlier, on December 6, 2012.
More:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/01/nigerias-illegal-oil-refineries/100439/
For over 50 years now, the extraction of crude oil and natural gas from Nigeria's Niger Delta has meant wealth for a privileged few but has exacted heavy costs on residents and the environment. Nigeria is the world's 8th largest producer of crude oil, yet remains one of its poorest nations -- an estimated 70 percent of its 150 million residents live below the poverty line. The environment is paying a steep price as well. An estimated 500 million gallons of oil have spilled into the delta -- the equivalent of roughly one Exxon Valdez disaster per year. A number of factors have contributed to these disasters: poor construction and maintenance, lax regulation, militant attacks, and petroleum thieves, not to mention government instability and abuse of power. According to cables released by WikiLeaks, Shell Oil claimed to have planted staff in all of Nigeria's main ministries, gaining access to key government decisions. Gathered here are some scenes from Nigeria's long, disastrous relationship with the crude oil industry.
Nigerian oil companies burn off the second largest volume of natural gases in the world, with the practice of gas flaring. In 2008, Nigerian flares burned off an estimated 15.1 billion cubic meters of natural gases, or roughly 70% of the overall gas recovered that year. The flares are so prevalent, the Niger Delta appears brightly lit (lower left) in this detail from a NASA image of the Earth at night. Flare activity at night from 1994 through 2007 is also visible as a movie compiled by NOAA.
Police and officials stand above a skeletal burned corpse lying on the ground next to a gas pipeline that exploded at the waterside village of Ilado, about 45 km east of Lagos, Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday, May 12, 2006. Gas gushing from the ruptured pipeline exploded Friday as villagers scavenged for the free fuel, setting off an inferno that killed up to 200 people and left charred bodies scattered around the site.
Crude oil spills from a pipeline in Dadabili, Niger state, on April 2, 2011.
More:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/06/nigeria-the-cost-of-oil/100082/
Edited by Crow ()
oil is gross!
slothrap posted:
viva nigeria
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/unsubsidised-solar-flags-revolution-in-energy-markets-60218
Ironicwarcriminal posted:so can someone who's smarter than me tell me if this is as cool as it sounds?
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/unsubsidised-solar-flags-revolution-in-energy-markets-60218
it sounds nice & all but assuming the US is a typical example of a modern first world country with regards to energy production & use, check out this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/LLNLUSEnergy2011.png
solar can't really deliver the volumes of energy needed for modern industrial production, and for homes even if it is "break-even" it would only be so over a long period so it's only going to be practically available to those with a lot of extra capital sitting around, so it's not going to spread like wildfire or anything. might put a dent in a couple of the yellowish gold lines on that energy use map, but as you can see that's not really a big deal
it'll make people feel really good inside though!
drwhat posted:Ironicwarcriminal posted:
so can someone who's smarter than me tell me if this is as cool as it sounds?
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/unsubsidised-solar-flags-revolution-in-energy-markets-60218
it sounds nice & all but assuming the US is a typical example of a modern first world country with regards to energy production & use, check out this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/LLNLUSEnergy2011.png
solar can't really deliver the volumes of energy needed for modern industrial production, and for homes even if it is "break-even" it would only be so over a long period so it's only going to be practically available to those with a lot of extra capital sitting around, so it's not going to spread like wildfire or anything. might put a dent in a couple of the yellowish gold lines on that energy use map, but as you can see that's not really a big deal
it'll make people feel really good inside though!
How much does climate factor into it? If it can make significant inroads in grey old Germany than surely us here in Australia (or the southern US) can do better than that.
Edit: I get that it isn't going to power industrial production (nor lesson the demand for the petroleum that causes the horrific Nigerian pics) but it would be a nice thought if people's homes were just that touch less destructive.
Ironicwarcriminal posted:How much does climate factor into it? If it can make significant inroads in grey old Germany than surely us here in Australia (or the southern US) can do better than that.
Edit: I get that it isn't going to power industrial production (nor lesson the demand for the petroleum that causes the horrific Nigerian pics) but it would be a nice thought if people's homes were just that touch less destructive.
latitude is one of the biggest factors as far as i remember, not climate specifically. you could have a month of sun in the arctic but because the angle of the incoming sunlight is so low it doesn't generate enough of a reaction to produce a lot of power. i'm sure australia & the southern us generate pretty good amounts of solar. there's a "solar updraft tower" going up in western australia somewhere i think which is supposed to be a big deal proof of concept whatever - power-generating turbines spun by sun-heated naturally flowing air.
sure, yes, people's homes will be slightly less destructive. it would be nice if that resulted in a psychological shift -- maybe having solar power would help people think more about sustainability, etc., and how nice it is to be off a grid but still have the comforts they're used to, maybe it'll feed back into investments in alternative heating & such...
drwhat posted:Ironicwarcriminal posted:
How much does climate factor into it? If it can make significant inroads in grey old Germany than surely us here in Australia (or the southern US) can do better than that.
Edit: I get that it isn't going to power industrial production (nor lesson the demand for the petroleum that causes the horrific Nigerian pics) but it would be a nice thought if people's homes were just that touch less destructive.
latitude is one of the biggest factors as far as i remember, not climate specifically. you could have a month of sun in the arctic but because the angle of the incoming sunlight is so low it doesn't generate enough of a reaction to produce a lot of power. i'm sure australia & the southern us generate pretty good amounts of solar. there's a "solar updraft tower" going up in western australia somewhere i think which is supposed to be a big deal proof of concept whatever - power-generating turbines spun by sun-heated naturally flowing air.
sure, yes, people's homes will be slightly less destructive. it would be nice if that resulted in a psychological shift -- maybe having solar power would help people think more about sustainability, etc., and how nice it is to be off a grid but still have the comforts they're used to, maybe it'll feed back into investments in alternative heating & such...
yeah i've been hearing about that solar updraft thing for years, we'll see where it goes.
State governments here have been offering subsidies for solar panels but have recently been withdrawing them because blah blah faux-austerity-measures. A lot of people do have them though
maybe it's wishful thinking on my part because the "lunatic green schemes making your power bills soar!!!!" meme is a massive one here and efficient cheap solar would pull the rug out from that quite effectively.
i mean you could argue this looks aesthetically retarded but it's cool
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/energy-smart/generating-interest-and-plenty-of-power-20120821-24k9l.html
he got a bunch of flood damaged solar panels (lol) for $12K and now makes $500 a month selling power back into the grid.
Goethestein posted:the suffering of first world whites for any reason in any circumstance is irrelevant at best
agree in the abstract but in practice many white ppl living amongst the first world dont meet the 'this tall to ride' mark of First World Whites
cleanhands posted:Goethestein posted:the suffering of first world whites for any reason in any circumstance is irrelevant at best
agree in the abstract but in practice many white ppl living amongst the first world dont meet the 'this tall to ride' mark of First World Whites
a white person in the first world who can't make it is like one of those white south africans who ended up too poor to flee when apartheid fell
Goethestein posted:cleanhands posted:Goethestein posted:the suffering of first world whites for any reason in any circumstance is irrelevant at best
agree in the abstract but in practice many white ppl living amongst the first world dont meet the 'this tall to ride' mark of First World Whites
a white person in the first world who can't make it is like one of those white south africans who ended up too poor to flee when apartheid fell
youre changing the subject but theres probably a bunch of SA whites who were only subsisting under the old norms and didnt have enormous empire families to call on
