Geology guest lecture next Monday...

by Dr. Frannie Skomurski from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on nuclear waste management.  The presentation is scheduled for Monday, 14 November, at 10 am in SCI 118.  Frannie will also be available at 9 am in SCI 115 to meet with students about summer internship opportunities at PNNL.

Canadian black gold...

Alberta's Oil Sands Heat Up

The BNSF Railway re-fueling depot...

at Hauser, Idaho was a controversial project when it was proposed and built, especially since it lies atop the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie sole source aquifer.  Two tanks hold a total of 500,000 gallons of diesel fuel to dispense to locomotives along the main rail line (click to enlarge):

The fuel is brought to the facility in 30,000 gallon tank cars that are individually off-loaded to the larger storage tanks seen above:

My environmental science seminar students toured the complex today in order to examine the environmental protections integrated into the facility.  Above ground storage tanks, double-lined piping, epoxy-sealed concrete platforms with two HDPE liners beneath them, are all designed to minimize accidental releases to the underlying aquifer.  Special thanks go to BNSF for allowing us to visit the operating industrial facility.

The trip to a closed landfill...

today with my environmental science seminar class was instructive, where we viewed the successful implementation of a pump-and-treat groundwater remediation program at the Colbert Landfill about 15 miles north of Spokane.  The tour was guided by KB, a former EWU geology grad who oversees the functions at several closed solid waste sites in the county, seen here making introductory comments (click to enlarge):

Students peer into a vault that contains a groundwater interception well and associated electronic controls and sampling port at the periphery of the contaminated site:

Since the landfill originated as a sand and gravel pit in 1968 it doesn't have a bottom liner, but a cap installed during closure in the mid-1990s includes a thin HDPE geomembrane that prohibits water from infiltrating into the buried wastes and generating additional leachate:

The interior of the plant is a maze of pipes and valves where contaminated groundwater from a number of interceptor wells is collected and routed to the top of the air-striping tower outside of the plant:

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) rapidly disperse from the descending column of water in the four story air-striping tower while a blower forces air up through the base and out the top, venting the evaporated VOCs into the atmosphere:

The treated water is collected and discharged to the Little Spokane River, about a half-mile to the west.  In sum, this represents a local environmental success story.

Slash burning at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge...

this afternoon is responsible for enormous clouds of ash and smoke rising into the atmosphere, partially obscuring the Sun, as seen from my cottage in the forest southwest of Cheney, Washington.  This doesn't seem to be a very environmentally responsible practice these days, especially if you have a respiratory problem, but it does make for a good photograph.  Let's hope they keep it under control.

Early winter arrives at Anaconda...

where snow dusts the mountains above the nation's largest superfund site in western Montana (click to enlarge). The historic 585 foot high brick smelter stack can be seen standing in the left center part of the image.

Tailings project ahead of schedule...

DOE Officials Say Rail Transport Has Saved Money.

Here's an image of the project site taken today (click to enlarge):

Compare with this one taken in June 2009, from nearly the same vantage point and almost one year ago:

This female pheasant...

(Phasianus colchicus) that's been hanging around my place the last few days has more meat on it than President Obama's speech this evening concerning the on-going oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

For some perspective...

10 Biggest Oil Spills in History

Bear Grylls is no friend of wildlife...

as this e-mail from Bat Conservation International indicates (reproduced in full with no edits):

"A recent episode of Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild featured Bear Grylls gleefully killing bats with a homemade club. The clip, which shows Grylls throwing a flame in a cave to "smoke out" the bats, swatting them to the ground and then stomping on them, has aired internationally and been posted on YouTube, allowing for continued access.

Though we understand the show is about survival, we feel that this clip perpetuates negative attitudes toward bats and could generate senseless copycat activity and/or the type of vandalism that is driving many bat species to the brink of extinction. Only four months ago, a Kentucky man was sentenced to eight months in jail after pleading guilty to beating to death 105 endangered Indiana bats.

Please express your disappointment at this anti-conservation message by filling out the feedback form on Discovery Communications website. Let the Discovery executives know:

• This episode undermines decades of bat conservation efforts
• Bats are an important part of a healthy ecosystem. They eat agricultural pests, disperse seeds to replenish the rainforest and pollinate a variety of plants. Many bats are endangered and the loss of a single species can have ramifications throughout the ecosystem.
• Viewers should be informed that killing bats-or even disturbing them-may be illegal depending on the species and country.
• We would like Discovery Channel to ensure this edition of Born Survivor and related footage is not aired again and that this footage is removed from Youtube, the Discovery Channel website and all other communications
• We hope Discovery Channel uses all its nature programming to forward conservation efforts.

Best regards,

Nina Fascione
Executive Director
Bat Conservation International

P.S. Help spread the word. Forward this to a friend."

Remember, bats need friends.

Size XXL carbon footprint...

Al Gore, Tipper Gore snap up Montecito-area villa

It's not easy being green...

How Going Green May Make You Mean

This has nothing to do whatsoever with today being Saint Patrick's Day.

The myth...

of clean coal. You can't claim to be an environmentalist if you don't acknowledge the benefits of nuclear energy.

Wind energy not so green...

after all, that is, if you care about bats and birds: Wind Energy: A Scare for Bats and Birds.

Previous related post on bat mortality related to wind farms.

Remember, bats need friends.

Water use in the United States...

is lower today than 35 years ago according to the U.S. Geological Survey:

"Despite a 30 percent population increase during the past 25 years, overall water use has remained fairly stable according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report."

Hmm. Maybe I can take that long, hot shower after all.

You must forego hot showers...

in order to save the planet. If you don't then you're a bad person. And stinky.

More dams coming down...

to promote better fish habitat: Rogue River freed after 88 years.

Previous related post.

Good news if you're an anadromous fish...

in the Klamath River: Utility agrees to removal of four dams.

EPA clears Superfund disposal project...

in northern Idaho despite environmental concerns, including seasonal flooding of the site which is located on a floodplain. This is priceless:

"The early warning system will be installed by next spring, so it’s in place before the spring floods occur, she said."

Indeed, it sounds like a perfect site to sequester contaminated soils from the environment! Sheesh.

Previous related post.

UPDATE: Repository shipments begin.

I'll need a receipt...

for that exhalation, please: Carbon budget for every human being is proposed by German scientist. The gist:

"It means that each person on earth would only be able to produce about 110 tons of CO2 between 2010 and 2050."

Good luck with that.