Filed under: Uncategorized
It has been recently estimated that gasoline storage tanks that have been leaking underground will cost at least $12 billion to cleanup. This is a lot more than the $72 million per year that Congress and the Bush Administration have alloted for the clean up projects. In a report in September of 2005, it was estimated that there were 117,000 tanks that still needed cleanups because they were “faulty.”
The General Accountability Office, estimated that it would cost $12 billion to remove 54,000 tanks that have been leaking. Why does the government have to pay for these tanks? Well they are either abandoned or no one can be held accountable for the cleanup. 63,000 tanks removals are going to be paid for by pump stations, storeowners, other operators, insurers, and state funds.
It is important to be noted that this lag in cleanups or removals of these leaking tanks is not due to lack of money.
For every gallon of gas 1/10 of a penny goes to trustfund to remove contamination caused by the leaking tanks. Lets take a closer look into what this means.
I know that when I fill up my car, a Honda Element, with gas it takes up about 15 gallons of gas. I usually fill up my tank of gas completely about one a week.
1/10 of a penny/gallon * 15 gallons = $.015.
$.015 * 52 weeks/year = $0.78/ year/car.
It seems like a really small amount of money, but it could potentially be a lot of money if you multiple how many cars are on the road in a given year. This trust fund has now reached $2.6 billion since it was started in 1986 and is expected to reach $3 billion by the end of 2008.
Why are the leaking tanks such a big issue? Well, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and carcinogens have contaminated water supplies causing 150+ lawsuits.
I think that it is a good idea to clean up these underground leaks. I am interested in seeing the outcome of the lawsuits and the evidence presented that the contaminated water supplies were contaminated by the leakages. I really like the trustfund, but I also think that something needs to be done to ensure that the government does not get stuck with the bill again for abandoned gas leakages.
Information from: www.enn.com/today.html?id=12281. Assocaited Press. Cleanups of Leaking Fuel Tanks Lag; Job Could Cost $12 Billion.
Filed under: Our Oceans
The Joint Ocean Comission Initiative recently released that the United States is received a “C-” for 2006. This grade is not nearly where it should be; however, it is slightly improved from 2005’s grade of a “D+.”
President Bush and his administration have promised an eight percent increase in the federal budget for coastal and marine conservation programs in 2007. The budget previously was 1.75 billion dollars and now an additional $143 million will be added. The majority of this money will go to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; however, approximately 8 million will go the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument which spands about 14, 000 miles.
At this point the states themselves have been doing better than the federal government at giving money for coastal and marine conservation programs. The cities doing particularly well in this area include: Washington and New York.
I think that it is very sad that we received a grade of a “C-”, although it is an improvement from the year before. I guess that politicians don’t really think of this as a serious issue when soldiers are being killed in Iraq and around the world. Although this might not seem like that important of a thing now, the federal government will regret it if the states don’t continue the funding. I don’t understand if it is the budget/money issue or what it is, but at least it has brought to the administrations attention and they are trying to get it under control.
http://www.enn.com/anim.html?id=1583 Associated Press
I guess you could say that having a test on global warming inspired me to write on this particular subject. In the short answer part of the test, I was amazed at the article Mr.McKinley gave us on the Chicago Tribune writer. When I saw this article, I knew that it was one topic I should write on.
On Friday, hundreds of scientists and representatives from 113 countries released a 21 page report on global warming. This article ”only discusses how and why the planet is warming, not what to do about it.” The report says that there is “little doubt” that global warming is attributed to humans. It also says that temperature and sea levels will rise for centuries regardless of if people control pollution or not.
Some of the facts that it pointed out include:
- a 2-11.5 degree Farenheit temperature increase by the end of the century
- a best estimate for temperature rises from 3.2-7.1 degree Farenheit
- 7-23 inch rise in sea level by 2100
The scientists have been observing and recording data to come up with these calculations since the 1960’s, even before the UN Environmental Program was founded. (That is who they work for)
This report is the first in a series of 4. Another report will address what to do about the global warming.
Achim Steiner, executive director of UN Environmental Program, stated, “It is critical that we look at this report…as a moment where the focus of attention will shift from whether climate change is linked to human activity, whether the science is sufficient, to what on earth are we going to do about it.”
I completely agree with Mr. Steiner. I know that some people are going to deny that global warming is occuring and is going to get worse, but they will probably never realize that they are wrong. I figure why not move forward with the people who do believe that it is true. This report proves that it is not just one part of the world that feels that global warming is occuring. Scientists from 113 countries all came the conclusion and agreement on what is going to happen. I would say thats a pretty good number. I am curious to see when the next report comes out.
