"I have to see it to believe it," was the reaction to my Russian colleague, Jon Burgwald, when he told me that every spring the rivers in Northern Russia turn black with oil saturated ice.
He sent me the pictures last night (But I am now debuting the video for the first time) from his visit to Usinsk which borders the Arctic and has the unenviable title of Russia's oil capital. Before oil was discovered here in the 1970's Usinsk was a pristine area, with rivers villagers could drink from, teeming with life.
Now the winter thaw marks the annual running of the black ice. You have to see it to believe it and here is the video. It is b-roll with no narrative, but this kind of messed up content needs no explanation [note: send me some Effexor to help me deal with this kind of thing]:
Please don't be impatient with this, wait until you see the oil literally gooping its way down the river. [oh, and if you are on Chrome the video code is a mess so click here]
Jon tells the story in his own words here, describing it as "Russia's oil leaks -- a forgotten disaster." He writes:
We also visited Kolva, one of the local villages in the area. Here the locals told us about their everyday life and how it has been affected by the oil industry. They named the village after the river, which the village is located next to. The Kolva River used to be the villagers' source for fresh water and food. They used to be able to drink the water directly from the river and the fish used to be plentiful. Today the river is more known for transporting ice painted black by the oil. In fact, oil slicks cover almost the entire surface.
There is a famous saying by the American theologian Tyron Edwards that goes like this: "Some of the best lessons we ever learn we learn from our mistakes and failures. The error of the past is the wisdom of the future."
Right now I feel we are at a crossroads. Right now a drilling rig is slowly making its way to the Arctic ocean. It is one of the last untainted, unspoiled places we have left on the Earth. So will we learn from places like Usinsk? Or are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes?
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
You don't see this every day. President Barack Obama used Twitter today to call out climate deniers in Congress who are blocking political action to address climate change. 
The tweet links to this video released by Organizing for Action, the 501(c)(4) campaign group that promotes the President's national agenda.
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Comments
And this is what Libertarians like Koch want?
Libertarians and of course the Republicans want this. They crave it. They covet it. They want to kill the EPA and get rid of environmental regulation.
Where's Canman to remind us that regulation kills industry? I would remind you right wing nut jobs, that we have the same industries here. And they aren't the disaster you personally want to foist upon us..
Hmmm...
Did you guys lose a few of the Heartland bashing articles or did you just do some rearranging?
Strange how the Chris Mooney article was buried on page 2 but now it's right up near the top again(?)
Typical of
the way the Great Russians treat Siberia and Siberians. Plenty of roughly similar to be found all over Siberia.