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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 7962
[Environmental]
Date Posted:
9/9/2003
11:06:32 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,802
RSS: 0
Comments: 14
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Oil And Wildlife 'Can Co-Exist'
Author: Alex Kirby Source: BBC News
Title: OIL AND WILDLIFE 'CAN CO-EXIST'
In a rare tribute to the energy industry, scientists have praised one company's record in exploiting an African oilfield.
They say Shell's field has more wild creatures than the surrounding national parks.
The scientists' surprising endorsement of Shell's work is featured in Oil's Well?, a film made by Television Trust for the Environment (TVE) and shown in its Sustainable World series on BBC World.
Shell tells the film crew about the techniques it is using to try to minimise its impact - specially narrow forest roads, for instance, whose verges are seeded with a mulch of indigenous plant seeds and nutrients to encourage growth and prevent erosion.
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Community Thoughts: There are 14 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Cynical? Damn... | Sep 10th. at 11:51:38 am EDT |
by G. Thomas Trammell Jr. (Indiana, USA) - wc_xemail
You know I am all for taking things with a grain of salt, or being cautious, but some of the posts have been downright raunchy in it's level of cynicism.
Products with Petroleum (sp?)
Vaseline
Oil
Gas
Lamp Oils
Gel Caps (tylenol, etc)
Paint
Some household cleaners
Medical Equipment
Many cosmetics
Deodarants
Some medicines and skin treatments
And many other things...
So don't think that just cars are to blame. The fact is we all use petroleum on a regular basis. So it isn't just a matter of figuring out new fossil fuels, etc... We need to be realistic and realise that it will take time and a LOT of effort. Right now our society is based on profit and capitalism... so until we can change people's perspectives OR make environmentalism profitable we _WILL_ run ourselves into the ground. And enjoy the profits all the way.
Maybe I sound cynical, but I like to see it as realistic. Educate, Do What You Can, and Live Happily... we can't change the world in one fell swoop, but we can with small little changes... and telling Shell to keep up work like this and to thank them (no matter WHAT their reasons) will show them a profitability to continue projects like this...
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| Good Ol' Capitalism | Sep 10th. at 8:37:27 am EDT |
by Mike D (Columbus, OH) - wc_xemail - Web
See, this is captialism: They're looking to increase their profit margin thorugh image.
By showing consumers that their oil is lower-impact than other companies, they just won me as a customer, at least occasionally. I don't usually buy from them, but now, if I'm given the choice, I'll take Shell.
Instead of cutting jobs to increase their market share, they're improving their image among a group that cares about that.
See, when people tell me that companies should be more environmentally friendly, I always point to profit: can they be more environmental and still turn a profit? If not, they shouldn't do it. Laws should not be made regarding pollution unless companies are rewarded for their efforts. If fines are imposed, the money from those fines should go to their competators who are doing it right, as a reward.
Being environmental needs to be a choice. Forcing companies to do it is just wrong. But if a company has to be environmental in order to survive in the market, then they will be.
I'm snail mailing Shell right now to offer my patronage on a permanent basis if I see this program expand. And I'll snail mail the current companies I buy from (speedway, BP, and Exxon) and tell them that they'll lose a customer if they don't keep up.
Companies need to know this sort of stuff. If they don't, they can't improve. So here's the address and the phone #.
Address
Shell Oil Company
P.O. Box 2463
Houston
Texas 77252-2463
Phone +1 888 GO SHELL Find More info -- HERE
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| ALTERNATIVES!!! | Sep 9th. at 10:29:30 pm EDT |
by loopeygirl (Seattle, WA) - wc_xemail
First- Yes, it is nice to see that someone in the Oil Industry is finally pretending to give a damn about the environment.
Second- Hopefully I'm not the only one here who's heard of BIODIESEL. If you have a car with a diesel engine, you needn't feel so guilty about driving. There are almost ZERO emissions from biodiesel. You would need little or no modification to your engine at all, since this is type of fuel that it was originally intended for.
I'd love to see some media on this and all of the many other alternatives to our dependency on oil and other fossil fuels!!! Stay Aware!!!
Blessings.
) 0 (-^^0^^
... Find More info -- HERE
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| Unless Everyone Here Is Running Completely On | Sep 9th. at 9:50:23 pm EDT |
by Shadow (St. Augustine) - wc_xemail
solar power, including cars, then none of ya have the right to complain about any oil companies practices.
Consumer markets drive the corperations. No consumers, no corperations.
While corpertations can and do tend to extend the limits of acceptable behavior.... they do not do it without the peoples consent in the form of purchasing their products. Oil, gas, electricity, what ever.
Even, solar power has its ecological problems. Especially when it comes to storing that power in the form of batteries.
I personally think too many people live to complain even at the expense of their own ethics.
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| Don't You Just Hate It | Sep 9th. at 9:07:23 pm EDT |
by Penny J. Novack (Berkshire Mntns, MA USA) - wc_xemail
It does my heart good to know that the planners of this oil well set-up are trying to be good guys. Bless them, they may be ultimately responsible for global warming, smog and other nasty stuff but, hey, we keep using the stuff and so we're just as much a part of the problem.
It's ironic, tragic and sort of like the last gasp of the Black Death -- it's a Masked Ball. They're doing what they can so they can feel ok about doing the only thing they know.
What I want to know is why we aren't decentralizing our living centers so all this long-distance travel isn't necessary. And when is our economic system going to become local and sustainable? And how are we going to deal with the death of the oil industry in terms of hospitals and medical miracles. You have any idea how much of this stuff is based on oil?
Not to mention food production.
I'm not saying let's support more traffic in the stuff. What I'm saying is we have a problem coming up folks. We need to retool our industries, make them human-sized so working by solar power is practical. Renewable energy sources need to go into production NOW before we run out of the fossil fuels we love to hate.
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| Define "Co-Exist", Please | Sep 9th. at 7:07:43 pm EDT |
by A. Bork (nasionnaic) (Stanchfield, MN, USA) - wc_xemail
Yes, it is true. Oil and Wildlife can, indeed, co-exist -- just look at how well the wildlife co-existed with the after-math of the Exxon-Valdez wreck.
---nasionnaich
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| Let It Go... | Sep 9th. at 7:07:24 pm EDT |
by Jo (Sydney Australia) - wc_xemail
I think it is great for a company to be doing the right thing. I also think that we should be a little less cynical. So many of us have this "oh yeah well they are evil and all the good work in the world is never going to change that" attitude. Come on just turn that phrase around an look at it as though people were talking about us. Be open minded and give credit where credit is due. You don't slap a child when they do something right just because they normaly are naughty.
Kudos to Shell, you have along way to go but if you keep it up people may just forgive you.
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| Kudo! But.... | Sep 9th. at 5:40:32 pm EDT |
by Angela (Maryland) - wc_xemail
Kudos to shell for trying so hard compromise is indeed needed. However the fact that their oil feilds support such diversity means the inpact of a spill or line rupture will be felt all the more. Working with wildlife rehabber as I have for several years I know what oil does to critters. And for that i hope that research into cleaner fuels will continue. In the meanwhile any company willing to be pro-actve for the enviroment instead of reactive surely gets a thumbs up from me. And it will affect my choices at the pump as well.
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| The Ogone | Sep 9th. at 5:14:25 pm EDT |
by Celestine Moonwoman (kamloops, BC, Canada) - wc_xemail
I wish that they would have developed those practices way before now, then maybe there wouldn't have been such an impact on the lives of the Ogone people and Ken Sara-wewa (sp) would not have been killed because of Shells involvement with the Nigerian Government. I agree that they should definately find new alternatives to oil and gas, (like electric car and such) but it's nice that they are starting to concider the impact of their drilling on the wildlife and the people who are dependant on the land that they are drilling in.
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| Shell | Sep 9th. at 3:14:20 pm EDT |
by Ares Hearthfire (ny, ny) - wc_xemail
Even if all this is true they are just showing how they are limitting their evil. This does not make their evil go away. We need more work on alternative energy to replace the ones runing on oil...100% this is the only ultimate acceptable conclusion to keep life as we know it from dying out after the oil does.
Ares
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| Clarification | Sep 9th. at 1:13:53 pm EDT |
by sylvanwalker (Florida) - wc_xemail
One of these days I will learn to think for a few more seconds before hitting the Send button.
Yes, Shell does insane amounts of damage. But as for this being a PR stunt, that's fine with me. I wish all corporations would do such PR stunts. If consumers made it clear through boycotts and letters that they cared about a company's environmental record, and that it affected their buying habits, wouldn't all companies start adopting more environmentally-friendly practices?
I think it's a good thing, overall, that Shell has demonstrated with this site that it's possible to improve drilling methods in a way that doesn't destroy the environment. No, it doesn't let them off the hook, but even if they did this for less than altruistic reasons, I doubt the wildlife there cares why they did it.
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| Shell Is Not The Goody Goody You Think It Is | Sep 9th. at 12:50:49 pm EDT |
by Alex (Amherst, MA) - wc_xemail
Before we go off on praising Shell - I have the sneaking, cynical suspicion that this is a publicity stunt or something, as the linked articles on the top of the page include "Shell sold leaking gasline"... I suppose they figure that if they destroy ten habitats, they better do something decent like this type of oilfield to make up for it in the public eye. I'm sorry, but habitat is too important to be a PR tool - protect it all, every habitat you go bulldozing in, or go to hell (if I, as a pagan, believed in hell) .
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| Impressed... | Sep 9th. at 12:47:21 pm EDT |
by sylvanwalker (Florida) - wc_xemail
I agree, I think that if this is as good as the article indicates, we should be writing to Shell. It's important to not only boycott companies when they do something blatantly wrong, but to encourage the behavior when they do something RIGHT. Judging purely from this article, it looks like Shell is making an effort to drill with as little damage as possible. Hopefully they will be an example for other oil companies.
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| Can A Leopard Change It's Spots? | Sep 9th. at 12:01:46 pm EDT |
by G. Thomas Trammell Jr. (Indiana, USA) - wc_xemail
Wow!
If this article is even remotely accurate... WOW! I am going to do some digging after work today, if this is true I think we should all send a letter of thanks to Shell and show our support of this effort and the international standards involved!
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