Putting Deepwater Horizon In Context

When dealing with a spill the size of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it can be hard to wrap your head around the sheer size of the numbers. They’re used so casually, but just what do they actually mean? At a current maximum of 60,000 barrels per day (“current” only because estimates have been rising since the spill began), it is now officially the largest spill in US history. That’s a far cry from the original estimate of 1,000 barrels per day publicly stated by Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry. (For a timeline of the evolving spill estimates, check out CNN’s summary).

In an attempt to explain the sheer scale of the disaster, more than a few news outlets and a few enterprising online hobbyists have created maps, videos and interactive tools. Here are just a few of the online demonstrations trying to put some visual context on the Deepwater Horizon disaster and its environmental fallout.

CNN A time-lapse video that shows the expanding, and moving, footprint of the spill.

If It Was My Home Using Google Maps, this site allows you to impose the Deepwater spill onto any location. Imposing the spill on the land we’re familiar with goes a long way to making it seem more real.

Masdar chosen for IRENA headquarters

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has chosen an unlikely location for its headquarters – a mirage in the desert.

Near the city of Abu Dhabi, the carbon-neutral city of Masdar is being built. It will run entirely on solar and wind energy, and allow no cars; the streets will be only ten feet wide. Electric rapid transit will transport people underground and overhead. A solar-powered desalination tank will provide drinking water. The city’s grey water will be collected and used for irrigation. Waste-to-energy plants are in the works. Looking at all of this, it’s no wonder IRENA chose Masdar for its headquarters –it just hasn’t been built yet.

The announcement has raised a few eyebrows and provoked quite a few questions. Is it greenwashing on behalf of a small country with an enormous footprint? Is it insurance for oil companies, if they believe the fossil fuel era is winding down?

Time, as it always does, will tell. Masdar itself isn’t scheduled to be completed until 2012. Until then, construction will be monitored closely by the World Wildlife Fund and BioRegional to verify it walks the sustainable talk.

For what it’s worth, the WWF and BioRegional are optimistic. Both have already endorsed Masdar as a “One Planet Living Community.” That designation means it will only use its “fair share” of resources as determined by them.

That really should be no problem, if Masdar really becomes a zero-emissions, zero-waste city.

Going green a taxing experience

Canada Revenue Agency is pressing more companies to buy into “the paperless filing solution” by sending T4 and other information electronically. Its web page includes T4 web-forms and desktop applications for use in calculating totals, validating data and enabling companies to print completed slips for their employees. Don’t have an access code? Call the CRA Help Desk at 1-877-322-7849.

Employers who use management software can file up to 20 megabytes of information – equivalent to some 20,000 slips, including original and amended T4s – by using the agency’s XML Internet file transfer service.