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#oil drilling
saywhat-politics · 7 months
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The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will reverse Trump-era decisions on oil drilling in Alaska in a move intended to protect millions of acres of public land and waters.
Driving the news: The Department of the Interior canceled all existing oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and proposed new regulations for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), a vast area of northern Alaska that is oil rich but ecologically vulnerable.
State of play: More than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic will be protected through the move, President President Biden said.
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"On Monday, March 13th, 2023, the Biden Administration approved the controversial Willow Project, the largest fossil fuel project the United States has reckoned with in decades. An $8 billion initiative of ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest crude oil producer, the project will nearly double existing oil production in the state."
"Long story short, over 30 years, Willow will release 260 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. That’s not good, especially given a United Nations climate report saying global carbon emissions rose in 2022. Also, Alaska Natives are sharply divided on this project. The blog explores the long history of extractive capitalism in Alaska, and how that has essentially put impoverished Indigenous people at the end of the barrel of a gun when it comes to fossil fuel projects like Willow."
The Lakota Law Project has another petition going around against a massive oil drilling project in Alaska. First link is the petition, second is their blog post about it with more information. Signing the petition is super easy. Just add your name and email.
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Hello! Do you live in the USA, then I’ve got some IMPORTANT SHIT for you to sign and it’ll take like 5 seconds out of your day.
Please sign these three petitions to stop the Alaskan drilling Willow project, which will accelerate climate change and ice cap melting along with desecrate Alaskan wildlife and shores and negatively impact the local Iñupiaq (Native Alaskans) living in the Arctic circle. The Biden admin is posed to vote to approve Willow this week (fuckers), so let’s push this as much as we can in the 48 hours!
WILLOW PROJECT ACTIONS
BLM here is the Bureau of Land Management
ICWA ACTIONS
youtube
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supplyside · 6 months
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Transocean Winner aground on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland
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anakinsafterlife · 11 days
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Thoughts on Dune Part 2
All right, friends. Dune Part 2. I absolutely picked the wrong time to start wanting to return to Tumblr, since I'm currently in the thick of Ramadan, but c'est la vie. I'm a bit worried that if I don't review now that I might forget my specific impressions of the movie, though I have to say that if this weren't Ramadan that I absolutely would be going back to see it again in the cinema, which says a lot considering that it's been at least ten years since I've actually wanted to go back and repeat a film instead of just waiting for it to come out on streaming/DVD.
So the movie is good. It is in fact very, very good. It's the Empire Strikes Back of the Dune duology (possibly trilogy), and (much like Empire) in terms of cinematography, music, scripting and acting it's nearly flawless. There are, however, issues, things that might not occur to a majority-Western audience but which are immediately clear to anyone who either comes from an Arab or Muslim background.
What follows here is a deep dive into some of the historical and cultural sources of Dune and some of the ways in which the movie producers, and in some cases fans, have failed to acknowledge those sources.
First of all, it's obvious that the Fremen are meant to be based on the Arabs, but of the the entire main cast there is only ONE actor with an Arab background, and that is Souhaila Yacoub, the half-Tunisian actress who plays Shishakli, the female Fremen warrior who is executed by the Harkonnens. Now, I have to say that this woman was fantastic. Her attitude is completely on point for an Arab, especially a North African Arab: forceful, loud, a bit brash and mocking even under fire. Nicely done. Points to the producers there, but I have to take that point away again because she is literally the only Space Arab who is actually Arab. Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who plays Stilgard, does have some interesting moments and one of the reasons why I feel that the screenwriters were advised on Arabic traditions/culture. The incident during which he warns Paul about the Jinn in the desert like it's a joke but then immediately turns extremely serious when Paul starts smiling is so in character for an Arab and honestly just a brilliant bit of scripting, but much of the time he also acted more or less like what people *think* a fanatical religious Arab acts like--loud, frantic and unstable.
Not only this, but the "Muslim" behaviour/traditions in the film are at best...vague. People are praying, but in any direction at all. I do realize that this would be a complicated issue on another planet, where the Ka'aba couldn't be pointed to, but there are Islamic rulings for EVERYTHING. Check out the one about praying in space:
Even if they had as a society simply picked a random direction for prayer, they should all be praying at the same time and in the same direction (they seem to do this in larger crowds, but not in the smaller group where we first see people praying). They also definitely shouldn't be talking during prayer or trying to make other people talk to them during prayer (as Chani does), since talking breaks your prayer and you have to start over all over again (during obligatory prayers).
Language, too, is an issue, and a big one, because while I do understand that a conlang was developed for use in this movie, the linguists consulted did know that the language was meant to be heavily influenced by Arabic. Consequently, they've included a lot of fragmentary Arabic in their work. Unfortunately this Arabic is poorly pronounced at best, to the point where I was looking words up and laughing at what they're meant to be based on. For example, "Shai Hulud," the word for the Worms, is based on the Arabicشيء خلود, which means "immortal thing," and should be pronounced with "shai" rhyming with "say" followed by a glottal stop, and the 'h' in "Hulood" is actually a guttural sound like the infamous "ch" in Bach, followed by a long U. Another example is Mua'dib مهذب , a real word in Arabic that means "teacher," but is is actually pronounced with a "th" sound instead of a d and emphasis on the second syllable, not on the last as in French. (Note: I made an error here. There is a word مؤدب , pronounced mostly the same in the movie, but with a glottal stop after the 'u' sound and a short 'i' after the d sound rather than a long vowel, that is usually used to mean polite, urbane, gentlemanly, etc. but which can also mean teacher, although I have never heard it used in this context) "Usul", أصول, Paul's other Fremen name, was likely not, as I had previously guessed, based on the word "Rasool," meaning Prophet, but on أصول الفقه the Principles of islamic Jurisprudence, which also ties directly into a religious/prophetic them. Again, this is pronounced on the long vowel, so with a short first U and a long second U.
I've included the Arabic spellings in here, by the way, so that you can drop them into Google translator and hear how they actually sound.
Now, I do realize that the story itself is set 8000 years in the future and that spoken Arabic as a language would have changed considerably in that time, if it existed still at all, but Arabic is a liturgical language as well as a vehicle for conversation, and Muslims all across the world today use it as a tool for worship. Muslims who have no cultural connection with Arabic often still learn it in order to connect more deeply with religious traditions and simply to perform prayers and other religious duties. Religious scholars consider it to be a necessary duty of the Muslim to learn at least some Arabic:
And keep in mind that the Arabic spoken today across the MENA region is very different (and different in different places) to the Arabic spoken 1400 years ago by the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him). Given Islamic traditions, the chances of the Fremen using liturgical/classical Arabic for their worship would be quite high, even if their spoken language had evolved past the point of being recognizably Arabic.
Keep in mind, also, that Dune as a whole is an allegory for colonialism, economic exploitation of poorer nations (or making rival nations poor through the same), as well as dehumanization of the views and needs of native peoples in order to make that exploitation palatable to the occupying forces (I thought that this was done quite smartly in Jessica's part of the story; although she is sympathetic to the Fremen, she feels that manipulating their religious traditions is the best way to protect her son, and in doing so she allows herself to dehumanize the people who come to rely on her).
It is, therefore, incumbent upon us not to distance ourselves too much from the intended message by claiming that Dune is fiction and need not too accurately reflect the culture and religion of the people that the Fremen are so clearly based on. The fact that the producers have done little to hire Arab actors or induced any real effort to accurately pronounce the Arabic words or accurately portrayal Islamic practices seems to indicate that they are concerned about identifying too closely with the economic and cultural struggle between East and West, properly because they fear the potential economic backlash, and this despite the fact that Frank Herbert clearly wrote his book to illustrate the fallout of that struggle.
Here is a wonderful article written by a culturally Arab woman:
There are numerous other articles addressing the same issues, but I like this one because it's written by a Muslim woman, who also addresses the "hijab cosplaying" in the movie. I didn't get into that much, but I definitely recognize that it's a problem when Muslim women worry about potential violence while wearing hijab in the streets of Western nations, but the same article of clothing is fetishized in movies and fashion.
I've also seen some comment about the Mahdi mention in particular. This is a saviour-figure in Islam who will come near the end of the world. There is no emphasis on this figure in Sunni Islam, but Shias seem to have a significant body of literature concerning this figure and, from what I understand, believe that he may perhaps have already come, and so there has been some poor reception in that community to applying the label of Mahdi to Paul. Criticisms ranging from insensitivity to outright blasphemy have been levelled regarding this usage. Now, there was some tip-toeing around the prophetic theme in Dune, and rightly so, I believe, since the Prophet Mohamed is the "seal of the prophets" in Islam, meaning the last and final. The fact that Paul was essentially set up as a false prophet by the Bene Gesserit does avoid some of the potential fallout from this, and also makes sense of Chani's rejection at the end of the film, since she felt strongly about Paul acting as a false Prophet.
Again, I am aware that there is internal cosmology within the series itself, and that some fans object to the religion of the Fremen being referred to as Islam, but when the inspiration for the entire ethnicity, religion, and the natural resources at stake are as clear as they are in this series, it's also futile to expect that people will not draw those associations, nor that people belonging to the religion or ethnic group in question may not acknowledge the beauty of the movie, the gorgeous cinematography, rousing music, and tightly plotted story, but still take exception to what is clearly Orientalism.
And it is frankly such a shame that we have to place this movie under that header, because the story of Dune is so sympathetic to the Middle East and its peoples, and as I said in the beginning I actually loved the film and found it very beautiful. It was also exciting to see Islamic themes used creatively in mainstream media, but while Frank Herbert clearly wrote the story as an exposition on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly oil, in the MENA region, the truth is that the racism and exploitation that he was protesting are very much alive today and contribute to the oppression of millions. It's particularly disappointing to see the message of the movie sail over the heads of people watching it when Arab Muslims in Palestine are being dehumanized and obliterated at this very moment, and while Libya was one of the latest Arab nations to be targeted for its oil resources, only a decade ago, with European oil companies moving in directly after the downfall of Ghadafi (which makes the timing extremely suspicious, one might say):
And even after the US finished their occupation of Iraq, Western oil companies remained en mass to continued drilling:
Egypt to this day remains economically destabilized while Western nations exploit its oil stocks, to no benefit at all of its peoples:
I'm sure I could cite dozens of other cases, but it's clear that there is a one-on-one parallel between spice melange and oil, making any protests of apoliticism in an inherently political story utterly vain.
I could go on, but I needn't. In short, this beautiful movie could have done so much good even beyond its obvious artistic merits, but instead it is still towing the political line. Much as was the case for Jessica and Paul, sometimes you can be a Harkonnen and not know it.
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hesploro12 · 6 months
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Oil ≠ Dinosaur fossils
Oil isn’t made of nonavian dinosaurs, it is made of fossilized tree trunks from the carboniferous, specifically coal marshes.
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couldusesomeassist · 1 year
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Hey you should probably care about the Willow Project because if it goes through it is going to speed up climate change by a lot. Like more than I personally can even comprehend. It will also have huge negative effects on the wildlife and people of Alaska
Please go sign petitions, write an email / call the Whitehouse, and research if there are protests in your area that you may be able to attend. Also spread that this is happening because a lot of people don’t even know. The decision to put this project through can happen anytime now up to a week or so. Please go express your dislike for this project
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r74n · 17 days
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pumping oil directly into the ocean
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Ecuadorians voted against drilling for oil in a protected area of the Amazon, an important decision that will require the state oil company to end its operations in a region that’s home to two uncontacted tribes and is a hotspot of biodiversity.
Yasuni National Park is inhabited by the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who live in self-isolation. In 1989, it was designated a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO. Encompassing a surface area of over 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), it boasts 610 species of birds, 139 species of amphibians, and 121 species of reptiles. At least three species are endemic.
With over 90% of the ballots counted by early Monday, around 6 in 10 Ecuadorians rejected the oil exploration in Block 43, situated within Yasuni.
The outcome represents a significant blow to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, who advocated for oil drilling, asserting that its revenues are crucial to the country’s economy. State oil company Petroecuador will be required to dismantle its operations in the coming months.
The referendum took place alongside the presidential election, which will be decided in a runoff between leftist candidate Luisa González and right-wing contender Daniel Noboa. The country is experiencing political turmoil following the assassination of one of the candidates, Fernando Villavicencio.
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plethoraworldatlas · 2 months
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Federal data show the Biden administration approved 9,779 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first three years, nearly keeping pace with the Trump administration’s 9,982 drilling-permit approvals in its first three years.
The Biden administration’s policy of oil and gas expansion contradicts the clear climate science that fossil fuel growth must be stopped and governments must phase out fossil fuels to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. In December the United States and other countries agreed to a phasedown and ultimate phaseout of fossil fuel extraction.
“Given the urgency of the climate crisis and our nation’s pledge to phase out oil and gas extraction, the Biden administration needs to pump the brakes right now on issuing drilling permits on our public lands,” said Jeremy Nichols of the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s time for the administration to show the world what true climate leadership looks like.”
The pace of new oil- and gas-drilling approvals stands in contrast to the administration’s action last week to temporarily pause new gas-export projects. While met with support, the pause is not permanent and does not stem new fossil fuel production.
“The temporary pause on new gas-exports projects is a good step, but for it to be meaningful, the Biden administration needs to make it permanent and stop rubberstamping more fossil fuel production,” said Nichols.
More than 6,000 of the drilling permits granted by the administration are on public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s New Mexico office, followed by 1,793 permits in Wyoming and several hundred each in Utah, Colorado, California and North Dakota.
Scientific analyses show climate pollution from the world’s already producing fossil fuel developments, if fully developed, will push warming past 1.5 degrees Celsius. Avoiding such warming requires ending new investment in fossil fuel projects and phasing out production to keep as much as 40% of already developed fields in the ground.
The Biden administration has not enacted any policies to significantly limit drilling permits or manage a decline of production to avoid 1.5 degrees of warming. It supported Sen. Joe Manchin’s demands to add provisions to the Inflation Reduction Act that will lock in fossil fuel leasing for the next decade.
The administration has also ignored petitions from hundreds of climate, conservation, Indigenous and environmental justice groups calling for a phaseout of federal oil and gas production.
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In this episode, Jared & I discuss the conflict in #Haiti, & the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (#ACP) that provides internet to 1 in 6 in the US, that will potentially strip the most vulnerable of internet access, & the need for #nationalization of utilities and services.
Jared also treats us to an original song.
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eternalbomb · 3 months
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These whales need our help! President Biden auctioned off about 6 million acres of Rice Whales habitat in the Gulf Of Mexico. These whales were only discovered to be a unique species in 2021 are yet there are approximately 50 of these whales left, 25 being mature. Its fair to expect they'll leave as soon as it arrived in our minds.
Oil spills have a direct effect on these whales. The 2010 Deep Water Horizon Spill overlapped with about half of their population's territory, and as a result, 22% of them died.
Another major concern is ship strikes, as they tend to swim right below the surface. If theyre swimming where were drilling, and they will be swimming, their predisposed nature to getting hit by boats only increases.
Its not over, though. Appeals get filed, appeals get over rulled but George Torgun, a senior attorney in the ocean program at Earthjustice says that its not over - times just running out.
Call your representatives. Tell them you want them to do everything they can to give the Rice Whale a fighting chance. They deserve to have every opportunity for populatuon recovery, no matter how low the stakes.
Weve not even known about them long enough for them to be some kids favorite whale. These guys keep to themselves, do their own thing. They live in their habitat year round, and sometimes make pairs or groups, sometimes stay alone. They dive during the day, and stay near the surface at night. Theyre just a whale. Our whale.
Ontop of this? Stopping ocean drilling is the equivalent, according to the NGO Oceana in DC, of removing every car off the road for fifteen years. But to the Rice Whale? Thats just gravy.
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commonsensecommentary · 8 months
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It would, of course, have made more sense to stop suppressing domestic oil drilling, but Dementia Joe has no sense. We’re now down to an 18 day supply in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Absolute idiocy!
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cgandrews3 · 3 months
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dr1f7w00d · 1 year
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are you FUCKING kidding me
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feckcops · 11 months
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‘They’re destroying us’: Indigenous communities fear toxic leaks from Canada oil industry
“In May, Calgary-based Imperial Oil notified Alberta’s energy regulator it had discovered discoloured water near its Kearl oil sands project. The regulator soon concluded the water had come from tailings ponds where the company stored the toxic sludge-like byproducts of bitumen mining. Environmental samples showed high levels of several toxic contaminants, including arsenic, iron, sulphate and hydrocarbon – all of which exceeded provincial guidelines.
“But the company failed to notify the federal government and nearby Indigenous communities. In February, there was another leak, in which 5.3m litres of tailings water escaped from an overflowing catchment pond. This time, the community was informed two days later …
“For residents who are forced to live in fear about the water they can’t drink or the food that could be tainted, environmental justice remains elusive.
“‘We’re not talking about compensation. I don’t want compensation. I want them off our traditional land. This is Treaty 8 territory, where my great-uncle signed that treaty. They’re using our land, and they’re destroying us,’ said Rigney. ‘This is a battle worth fighting for. I can’t say I see the light at the end of the tunnel. But as long as I have a voice, I will keep speaking.’”
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