Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment

Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2014-08-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030929889X

U.S. Arctic waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border encompass a vast area that is usually ice covered for much of the year, but is increasingly experiencing longer periods and larger areas of open water due to climate change. Sparsely inhabited with a wide variety of ecosystems found nowhere else, this region is vulnerable to damage from human activities. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. How can we best prepare to respond to such an event in this challenging environment? Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment reviews the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region north of the Bering Strait, with emphasis on the potential impacts in U.S. waters. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the Arctic and makes recommendations to provide an effective response effort in these challenging conditions. According to Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment, a full range of proven oil spill response technologies is needed in order to minimize the impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems. This report identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. The Arctic acts as an integrating, regulating, and mediating component of the physical, atmospheric and cryospheric systems that govern life on Earth. Not only does the Arctic serve as regulator of many of the Earth's large-scale systems and processes, but it is also an area where choices made have substantial impact on life and choices everywhere on planet Earth. This report's recommendations will assist environmentalists, industry, state and local policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of this special region to preserve and protect it from damaging oil spills.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Offshore Safety and Environmental Management Systems

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Offshore Safety and Environmental Management Systems
Author: United States. Committee on the Effectiveness of Safety and Environmental Management Systems for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Operations
Publisher: Transportation Research Board National Research
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2012
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

This report recommends that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) take a holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness offshore oil and the Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) programs of gas industry operators. According to the report, this approach should, at a minimum, include inspections, audits by the operator and BSEE, key performance indicators, and a whistleblower program. SEMS is a safety management system (SMS) aimed at shifting from a completely prescriptive regulatory approach to one that is proactive, risk based, and goal oriented in an attempt to improve safety and reduce the likelihood that events similar to the April 2010 Macondo incident will reoccur. According to the committee that produced the report, it is not possible for a regulator to create a culture of safety in an organization by inspection or audit; that culture needs to come from within the organization. To be successful, the tenets of SEMS must be fully acknowledged and accepted by workers, motivated from the top, and supported throughout the organization and must drive worker actions. The report also notes that BSEE can encourage and aid industry in development of a culture of safety by the way it measures and enforces SEMS. The committee believes BSEE should seize this opportunity to make a step change in safety culture by adopting a goal based holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness of SEMS programs. In recommending a holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness of SEMS programs, the report explores in detail the role of SEMS in helping to develop a culture of safety, highlights the pros and cons of various methods of assessing the effectiveness of a SEMS program, and investigates existing approaches for assessing the SMS programs of various U.S. and international regulatory agencies whose safety mandates are similar to that of BSEE.

Best Available and Safest Technologies for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations

Best Available and Safest Technologies for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations
Author: National Academy Of Engineering
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780309294270

The nation turns to the National Academies-National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council-for independent, objective advice on issues that affect people's lives worldwide. Book jacket.

Water and Energy

Water and Energy
Author: Gustaf Olsson
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Total Pages: 492
Release: 2015-06-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1780406932

Rapid and important developments in the area of energy - water nexus over the last two to three years have been significant. This new edition of Water and Energy: Threats and Opportunities is timely and continues to highlight the inextricable link between water and energy, providing an up-to-date overview of the subject with helpful detailed summaries of the technical literature. Water and Energy has been up-dated throughout and major changes are: new chapters on global warming and fossil fuels, including shale gas and fracking; the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Mexican Gulf and the Niger Delta oil spills; new developments in hydropower; and continued competition between food, water and energy. Water and Energy Threats and Opportunities, 2e creates an awareness of the important couplings between water and energy. It shows how energy is used in all the various water cycle operations and demonstrates how water is used and misused in all kinds of energy production and generation.Population increase, climate change and an increasing competition between food and fuel production create enormous pressures on both water and energy availability. Since there is no replacement for water, water security looks more crucial than energy security. This is true not only in developing countries but also in the most advanced countries. For example, the western parts of the USA suffer from water scarcity that provides a real security threat. Part One of the book describes the water-energy nexus, the conflicts and competitions and the couplings between water security, energy security, and food security. Part Two captures how climate change, population increase and the growing food demand will have major impact on water availability in many countries in the world. Part Three describes water for energy and how energy production and conversion depend on water availability. As a consequence, all planning has to take both water and energy into consideration. The environmental (including water) consequences of oil and coal exploration and refining are huge, in North America as well as in the rest of the world. Furthermore, oil leak accidents have hit America, Africa, Europe as well as Asia. The consequences of hydropower are discussed and the competition between hydropower generation, flood control and water storage is illustrated. The importance of water for cooling thermal power plants is described, as this was so tragically demonstrated at the Fukushima nuclear plants in 2011. Climate change will further emphasize the strong coupling between water availability and the operation of power plants. Part Four analyses energy for water - how water production and treatment depend on energy. The book shows that a lot can be done to improve equipment, develop processes and apply advanced monitoring and control to save energy for water operations. Significant amounts of energy can be saved by better pumping, the reduction of leakages, controlled aeration in biological wastewater treatment, more efficient biogas production, and by improved desalination processes. There are 3 PowerPoint presentations available for Water and Energy - threats and opportunities, 2e. About the author Gustaf Olsson, Professor Em. in Industrial Automation, Lund University, Sweden Since 2006, Gustaf has been Professor Emeritus at Lund University, Sweden. Gustaf has devoted his research to control and automation in water systems, electrical power systems and process industries. From 2006 to 2008 he was part time professor in electrical power systems at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He is guest professor at the Technical University of Malaysia (UTM) and at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China and he is an honorary faculty member of the Exeter University in UK. Between 2005 and 2010 he was the editor-in-chief of the journals Water Science and Technology and Water Science and Technology/Water Supply, (IWA Publishing). From 2007 to 2010, he was a member of the IWA Board of Directors and in 2010 he received the IWA Publication Award. In 2012 he was the awardee of an Honorary Doctor degree at UTM and an Honorary Membership of IWA. Gustaf has guided 23 PhDs and a few hundred MSc students through their exams and has received the Lund University pedagogical award for distinguished achievements in the education". The Lund University engineering students elected him as the teacher of the year He has spent extended periods as a guest professor and visiting researcher at universities and companies in the USA, Australia and Japan and has been invited as a guest lecturer in 19 countries outside Sweden. He has authored nine books published in English, Russian, German and Chinese and and contributed with chapters in another 19 books as well as more than 170 scientific publications.

Offshore Wind Energy

Offshore Wind Energy
Author: Julia Köller
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2006-11-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3540346775

This book provides the only compendium of the research efforts of the German Federal Republic for the development of offshore wind energy that summarizes the main findings of German accompanying research. The main objective of the book is to show the relevance of the new results and realizations of the research projects for the planning and permission process for offshore wind energy plants.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities
Author: Donald DePamphilis
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 784
Release: 2011-08-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0123854857

Two strengths distinguish this textbook from others. One is its presentation of subjects in the contexts wherein they occur. The other is its use of current events. Other improvements have shortened and simplified chapters, increased the numbers and types of pedagogical supplements, and expanded the international appeal of examples.