Chronic Failure Podcast

Episode Source MaterialThe Whiskey Fungus SourcesWhiskey Fungus Fed by Jack Daniel’s Encrusts Tennessee Town by Michael LevensonWhiskey fungus lawsuit forces Jack Daniel’s to halt building project by Max MatzaThe Willow Project SourcesThe Willow Project has been approved. Here’s what to know about the controversial oil-drilling venture by Ella NilsenWhat is Willow? And how an Alaska oil project could affect the environment by Timothy PukoThe Red Tide SourcesToxic Red Tide is Back in Florida - Here’s What to Know by Sarah KutaWhat is red tide and why is it killing fish in Florida? by Amudalat AjasaWhat is a red tide? by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)The IPCC Report Sources Five things we’ve learned from the UN Climate Report by Matt McGrathFive key points in the IPCC report on climate change impacts and adaptation by Lisa Schipper, Vanesa Castán Broto and Winston Chow

Episode Source Material

We still don’t know the full impacts of the BP oil spill, 10 years later by Alejandra Borunda

Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA)

Doug Brown’s lonely fall from the Deepwater Horizon to ‘The Great Invisible’ by Steve Druin

Is Using Dispersants on the BP Gulf Oil Spill Fighting Pollution with Pollution? by David Biello

Effects of Corexit dispersants on cytotoxicity parameters in a cultured human bronchial airway cells BEAS-2B by Yongli Shi, Astrid M. Roy-Engel and He Wang

‘Super skimmer’ a giant bust in Gulf cleanup by NBC

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico by The Marine Mammal Commission

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Long Term Effect on Marina Mammals, Sea Turtles by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)

Relief wells are last hope to stop oil leak by Eryn Brown and Joy Leovy

Deepwater Horizon by The United States Department of Justice

Summary of the Clean Water Act by the United-States Environmental Protection Agency

BP paid a steep price for the Gulf oil spill but for the US a decade later, it’s business as usual by David M. Ulmann

This event put international eyes on the oil and gas industry, claimed many human lives, and was one of the worst environmental disasters to befoul the coastal United-States.

Episode Source Material

Deepwater Horizon In Their Own Words (Full Episode) by Frank Alcock for National Geographic

Profit, Pollution and Deception: USA’s Largest Oil Spill by ENDEVR

The Devastating Environmental Impact of BP’s Deepwater Horizon by Earth Stories

Deepwater: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling

Remembering Deepwater Horizon, 10 Years Later by The NASEM

Fleet Specifications: Deepwater Horizon by Transocean

Dynamic positioning mobile offshore drilling units by Global Maritime AS/Gard

Monitoring system reduces rig downtime by Judy Maksoud

U.S. exempted BP’s Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study by Juliet Eilperin

The Forensic Anatomy of the Events on the Deepwater Horizon by Bartley J. Eckhardt and Arthur Faherty

Eleven workers missing after Louisiana oil rig explosion by USA Today

Deepwater Horizon: one of history’s worst offshore accidents by Arnold & Itkin

Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hours by David Barstow, Stephanie Saul and David Rohde

Telling the true story of the heroes behind ‘Deepwater Horizon’ without using ‘stolen valor’ by Josh Rottenberg

Understanding Gas Kick Behavior in Water and Oil-Based Drilling Fluids by Kaushik Manikondam, et al.

Episode Source Material

Sydney Tar Ponds by Environment & Society Portal

Sydney Tar Ponds – Project Spotlight by Lafarge

Coke Ovens Emissions – National Cancer Institute

Laying Waste to Toxic Waste by Barbara Webber

Coke by U.S. Energy Information Administration

Sydney Tar Ponds Environmental Class Action is Over by Dianne Saxe

Local Willingness-to-Pay Estimates for the Remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds in Nova Scotia by Ida Ferrara, Sephen McComb and Paul Missios

Islanders Cast Adrift; Nova Scotians Feel Forsaken Amid Toxic Waste by Steven Pearlstein

The Sydney tar ponds: lessons learned from Canada’s first superfund level project by E. MacLellan & A. Britten

Steel’s Legacy Contained – Remediation of the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens Site in Sydney, Nova Scotia by Alan Van Norman

What are PCBs by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

If you were to fly over the Crown Prince Range of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea you would be soaring above a lush, jade-green tropical rainforest. Amid this verdant expanse, you would see a gaping hole, opening sky-ward and dotted with uncanny-blue waters, looking like a poorly healed flesh wound. This is the defunct Panguna mine and its story is the catalyst for an era of violence and pollution.

Episode Source Material

Paguna mine at centre of bloody Bougainville conflict set to reopen after 30 years by Leanne Jorari

Rio Tinto accused of environmental damage and human rights violations in Bougainville by Natalie Whiting

Biodiversity Hotspots and Major Tropical Wilderness Areas: Approaches to Setting Conservation Priorities by Russell A. Mittermeier, Norman Myers, Jorgen B. Thomsen, Gustavo A. B. Da Fonseca and Silvio Olivieri

Bougainville communities file human rights complaint against Rio Tinto for impacts of mine waste pollution The by Human Rights Law Centre

After the mine: living with Rio Tinto’s deadly legacy by The Human Rights Law Centre

Weaving Consensus: The Papua New Guinea – Bougainville Peace Process by Conciliation Resources in collaboration with BICWF

A development consequence — Disposal of mining waste on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea by M.J.F. Brown

Rio Tinto’s Panguna mine and the history of resistance in Bougainville by Beyond Mining – Protecting Land and Life

The economic causes and consequences of the Bougainville crisis by Herb Thompson

Rio Tinto's billion-dollar mess: 'unprincipled, shameful and evil' by Daniel Flitton

Bougainville starts process to reopen controversial Panguna mine by Catherine Wilson

The aim of this podcast has always been to highlight some of humanity’s greatest failures when it comes to the environment. Although most of the topics that we have covered to date happened in the not-so-distant past, I think it’s important, every now and then, to talk about what is happening on our planet in real time. This is why, once a month, I’ll be talking to you about some of the current events happening in the world today that affect the world we live in. So, here we are, rounding out February 2023 with an overview of some of the month’s greatest environmental Happenings.

Episode Source Material

Train Derailment in Ohio

What to know about the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio by Becky Sullivan

Crew tried to stop train before toxic derailment, NTSB preliminary report says by Laura Clawson

It’s been 3 weeks since a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in Ohio. Here’s what’s happened since by Alisha Ebrahimji

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Environmental impacts feared following the earthquakes in Turkey by Aude Cazorla

Turkey earthquake: Why did so many buildings collapse? by Jake Horton and William Armstrong

Turkey earthquake death toll prompts questions over building standards by Peter Beaumont

Venice Canals Dry Up

Venice canals start to run dry as low tide and lack of rain hit by Manuel Silvestri

Gondolas Grounded and Canals Run Dry Amid Venice’s 2023 Drought by Lizzy Rosenberg

The DUH lawsuit victory

Volkswagen: The scandal explained by Russell Hotten

VW May Recall TDIs In Germany After Environmental NGO’s Diesel Win by Sebastian Bell