This satellite image shows a long tail of oil drifting close to the Gulf of Mexico’s so-called loop current, which could then carry the oil south to Florida and even up the East Coast of the U.S.

Although government officials say the oil has not yet reached the loop current, two university scientists interviewed by The New York Times said the oil is circulating in an eddy just north of the loop current and will probably soon be pulled in the direction of Florida.

The loop current carries warm water in a clockwise gyre from the Yucatan Peninsula to the northern Gulf of Mexico and then south to the Florida Keys and the Atlantic Ocean.

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With more than 16,000 retail locations around the world, Starbucks continues to innovate and evolve the customer experience with a new store design approach inspired by Starbucks Shared Planet, their commitment to ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and community involvement. With each new or renovated store, Starbucks strives to reflect the character of the surrounding neighborhood, allowing customers to feel at home when visiting “their” store and giving them opportunities for discovery at our other locations around the world.

For the last 15 years, the Starbucks coffeehouse at 72 Spring Street in New York City has been a gathering place for local patrons and international visitors alike. The renovated location draws upon the area’s commercial and retail history as well as its vibrant arts and cultural renaissance over the past several decades. The Spring Street store blends the aesthetics of a turn-of-the-century dry goods warehouse with the original iconic mercantile-inspired Starbucks location at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. (more…)

Germany, one of the more frequently discussed countries when it comes to investment in renewable energy projects through its highly touted feed-in-tariff, seeks to attract a new crop of young scientists to partner with German research institutions and corporations.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is sponsoring a competition called “Green Talents: International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development.” They are seeking 15 outstanding scientists, 35 years of age or younger, in the following fields:

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This morning the President met with members of his cabinet to get another comprehensive update on the ongoing administration-wide response to the disastrous BP oil spill in the Gulf region. The president made clear his frustration with BP and the other parties involved in the spill, committed once again to ensuring they are held accountable for picking up the tab, and recapped the Administration’s efforts to tighten up the regulation of offshore drilling sites.

He began with the top priorities, however:

The potential devastation to the Gulf Coast, its economy, and its people require us to continue our relentless efforts to stop the leak and contain the damage.  There’s already been a loss of life, damage to our coastline, to fish and wildlife, and to the livelihoods of everyone from fishermen to restaurant and hotel owners.  I saw firsthand the anger and frustration felt by our neighbors in the Gulf.  And let me tell you, it is an anger and frustration that I share as president.  And I’m not going to rest or be satisfied until the leak is stopped at the source, the oil in the Gulf is contained and cleaned up, and the people of the Gulf are able to go back to their lives and their livelihoods. (more…)

The key executives of the companies responsible for the titanic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were raked over the coals by members of Congress this week and managed to skillfully dance away and blame each other when the grilling got too hot.

Called to account before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer (D) of California, were BP America President Lamar McKay; Steven Newman, CEO of well driller Transocean limited; and Halliburton chief health, safety and environmental officer Tim Probert.

In their testimony, all three men appeared simultaneously to accept responsibility for what happened then shift the blame to the other parties. All relied heavily on the fact that critical details regarding the precise cause of the accident are not yet available. Indeed, when asked by several senators about whether certain industry standards for building ocean-based oil rigs were followed, the witnesses indicated several times that they didn’t know the answer or would have to wait for the outcome of what they promised will be a thorough investigation of the disaster. (more…)

Did you think that the Clean Air Act applied only to companies? Think again. Certain violations of the Clean Air Act are considered criminal violations, and individuals may be subject to prosecution. (A tip: Do not file falsified reports or data to the agency.)

Joseph DeMatteo of Clark County, Nev., is listed on the EPA fugitive Web site for failing to surrender to federal law enforcement authorities following his indictment for criminal violations of the Clean Air Act.

“EPA is serious about enforcing the nation’s environmental laws and making sure that those who are charged with criminal violations are held accountable,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The public can help EPA achieve its mission by reporting any information they have on the whereabouts of Mr. DeMatteo to EPA’s fugitive Web site or local law enforcement.” (more…)

They say timing is everything. And when it comes to the timing of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the politics of climate and energy in the United States, they are right — although it’s not entirely clear what about.

First off, there was President Obama’s sudden — and some would argue surprising — announcement of his intention to lift the moratorium on offshore oil exploration and development on parts of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS): a move that many environmentalists decried as political pandering, ceding a valuable bargaining chip or just plain bad policy.

But Obama saw opening up some areas to offshore oil and gas development as politically expedient, economically rational and — thanks to assurances from the oil industry — environmentally responsible. And then there was the explosion at a BP-leased offshore oil well where contractors were finishing a deepwater exploratory well about 30 miles off the coast of Louisiana. (more…)

WASHINGTON/PORT FOURCHON, Louisiana (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers pressed oil executives about flaws in a well safety device on Wednesday while BP scrambled with its latest deep-sea effort to control the huge Gulf of Mexico spill that threatens environmental disaster.

BP Plc, Transocean Ltd and Halliburton Co are all back in the hot seat in Washington over their responsibility in what could be the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

After a day of hearings on Tuesday where company officials traded blame for the April 20 rig explosion and oil spill, a U.S. House of Representatives panel said it had uncovered significant problems with a safety control mechanism on BP’s oil well that could have contributed to the accident.

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Just days after it received a new 20-year license extension from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey was found to be leaking radioactive tritium .

Located about 60 miles east of Philadelphia in Lacey Township, New Jersey, the Oyster Creek plant is the oldest in the United States, and the tritium leak from underground pipes that was discovered on April 9, 2009 may have spread further than officials previously thought.

New Jersey environmental officials now say that radioactive tritium has leached into the nearby water aquifer and that the plant’s owners need to install new monitoring wells to keep tabs on the spread of the chemical. Commissioner Bob Martin is worried about the tritium — currently being found at concentrations 50 times higher than those allowed by law — which has been slowly spreading underground at one to three feet a day. (more…)

The oil slick spreading across the Gulf of Mexico has shattered the notion that offshore drilling had become safe. A close look at the accident shows that lax federal oversight, complacency by BP and the other companies involved, and the complexities of drilling a mile deep all combined to create the perfect environmental storm.

It’s hard to believe now, as oil from the wrecked Deepwater Horizon well encroaches on the Louisiana marshes. But it was only six weeks ago that President Obama announced a major push to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. Obama’s commitment to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling reflected the widely-held belief that offshore oil operations, once perceived as dirty and dangerous, were now so safe and technologically advanced that the risks of a major disaster were infinitesimal, and managing them a matter of technocratic skill.

But in the space of two weeks, both the politics and the practice of offshore drilling have been turned upside down. Today, the notion that offshore drilling is safe seems absurd. The Gulf spill harks back to drilling disasters from decades past — including one off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif. in 1969 that dumped three million gallons into coastal waters and led to the current moratorium. The Deepwater Horizon disaster is a classic “low probability, high impact event” — the kind we’ve seen more than our share of recently, including space shuttle disasters, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. And if there’s a single lesson from those disparate catastrophes, it’s that pre-disaster assumptions tend to be dramatically off-base, and the worst-case scenarios downplayed or ignored. The Gulf spill is no exception. (more…)