How often after a Big Energy disaster do we come to learn that the parties to blame were previously cited — sometimes more than once — for the same type of safety violation(s) that caused the latest incident?

Whether it’s a coal mine collapse, a ruptured pipeline, or a leaking oil well, what first appears to be an accident turns out to be an act of negligence that could have — and legally should have — been prevented.

In a segment that aired last Friday, Rachel Maddow discussed the ineffectiveness of government fines when levied against a company such as Exxon Mobil — one that brings in $122 million in profits each day, spent nearly $13 million lobbying Congress last year, and is, quite literally, “too big to care.”

Yet, despite the coverage, the obvious damage, claims and counter-claims, it’s difficult to understand these events in the overall context of pipeline safety without looking at longer time frames. Fortunately, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) maintains a comprehensive database of all pipeline incidents reported in the U.S.

Using data from 1993-2012, we focused on onshore and offshore pipelines carrying hazardous liquids (primarily crude oil and refined petroleum products) that suffered what PHMSA classifies as “significant incidents.” To qualify, a “significant incident” must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

• a fatality or injury requiring in-patient hospitalization;
• $50,000 or more in total costs, measured in 1984 dollars;
• highly volatile liquid releases of 5 barrels or more, or other liquid releases of 50 barrels or more;
• liquid releases resulting in an unintentional fire or explosion.

Of 5,727 reported incidents during 1993-2012, 2,079 met the PHMSA definition of “significant incidents,” accounting for 99.4% of the total volume spilled.

Significant Incidents

Surprisingly, perhaps, the number of significant incidents has declined in recent years, with only one year of the past 10 exceeding the 20-year average.

From 1993 through 2012, 2,709 incidents were reported involving pipelines carrying hazardous liquids and meeting PHMSA criterion for a "significant incident." Data source: PHMSA Significant Incidence Files, Feb. 28, 2013.

Property Damage

On the other hand, costs related to property damage, including the loss of goods being transported, have increased markedly in the most recent decade. Total property damage over the 20-year period from spills of hazardous liquids amounted to $3.2 billion — with 74% of that occurring from 2003-2012.

The spike in the graph below for 2010 reflects losses due to the Enbridge pipeline spill near Marshall, Michigan — the costliest onshore spill in U.S. history.

Costs for incidents prior to 2012 are presented in 2012 dollars. Data source: PHMSA Significant Incidence Files, Feb. 28, 2013.

Volume Spilled vs Volume Recovered

Despite the massive 2010 Enbridge spill, the total volume of hazardous liquids spilled has declined in the most recent decade (1 billion barrels) compared to the previous decade (1.4 billion barrels).

The percentage of oil recovered, however, has declined somewhat, from 41% in 1993-2002 to 38.4% in 2003-2012.

Of the 2.4 million barrels of hazardous liquids spilled during the 20-year period, 1.5 million -- more than 60% -- were never recovered. Data source: PHMSA Significant Incidence Files, Feb. 28, 2013.

Causes

Looking at the causes of significant spills, nearly half were related to pipeline construction, equipment failure, and corrosion, suggesting that better engineering, more rigorous inspections, better monitoring and proper maintenance could go a long way toward reducing significant pipeline failures.

Data source: PHMSA Significant Incidence Files, Feb. 28, 2013.

For a more detailed breakdown of causes, visit Significant Pipeline Incidents By Cause on the PHMSA website.

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy at birth for the overall U.S. population was 78.7 years in 2011 — unchanged from 2010. Across all races and ethnicities, life expectancy for women (81.1) exceeded that for men (76.3) by nearly five years.

Among racial and ethnic groups, Hispanics showed the highest life expectancy (81.4), followed by non-Hispanic whites (78.8) and non-Hispanic blacks (74.8).

Mortality Rates

The overall age-adjusted mortality rate in 2011 was 740.6 deaths per 100,000 population — and all-time low and 0.9% lower than in 2010.

When compared with the year 2000, 2011 mortality rates have declined across all population groups, whether defined by gender or race/ethnicity. The largest decreases occurred among males, with the greatest mortality reduction (22.6%) among non-Hispanic black males.

Mortality Rates by State

Mortality rates across the 50 states and the District of Columbia vary dramatically, from a low of 584.8 deaths per 100,000 population in Hawaii, to a high of 956.2 deaths per 100,000 population in Mississippi.

Generally speaking, states in the southeast had higher mortality rates than states in other regions.

Leading Causes of Death

In 2011, five major causes of death (heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and accidents) accounted for 62% of all deaths in the United States; however, causes are distributed differently across different age groups.

For those aged 1–24 years, external causes far outweigh chronic conditions, with accidents, homicide, and suicide representing 64% of all deaths. At the other end of the age spectrum the situation is reversed, with chronic conditions outpacing external causes among those 65 and older.

Infant Mortality

The infant mortality rate is the ratio of infant deaths (prior to the first birthday) to live births in a given year, and generally regarded as an indicator of the overall health of a population.

The preliminary infant mortality for 2011 was 6.05 infant deaths per 1,000 live births — not significantly different the 2010 rate of 6.15 deaths per 1,000 live births.

When viewed over time, however, a clear trend emerges — between 1990 and 2011, infant mortality in the U.S. dropped 34%.

Professor Hans Rosling offers an entertaining visualization of changes in life expectancy relative to income during the past 200 years. Excerpted from “The Joy of Stats,” presented by the BBC.

But in the wake of the March 2011 disaster, as facilities shut down for scheduled maintenance, operators were required to perform computer-simulated stress tests to confirm their ability to operate safely in the event of another natural disaster. By May 2012, the last of Japan’s 54 nuclear generating reactors had been shut down, and since then, only two have been restarted.

To make up for the loss of nuclear capacity — which last year accounted for only 2% of Japan’s total electricity output — the island nation has become dependent upon fossil fuels for 90% of of its power.

Compared to 2011, combined use of natural gas, oil, and coal was up 21% last year, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) — up 15% — making up most of the difference.

Today, Japan is the world’s largest importer of LNG, second largest importer of coal and the third largest net importer of oil. Prior to the Fukushima disaster, Japan was the world’s third largest producer of nuclear power behind the US and France.

No, Sarah. It's not "just pop."

Sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks and fruit drinks may be associated with 180,000 deaths each year, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association on Tuesday.

Using data from the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study, researchers linked intake of sugar-sweetened beverages to 133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000 deaths from cardiovascular diseases and 6,000 cancer deaths worldwide.

Seventy-eight percent of these deaths due to overconsumption of sugary drinks were in low and middle-income countries.

“In the U.S., our research shows that about 25,000 deaths in 2010 were linked to drinking sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Gitanjali M. Singh, Ph.D., co-author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Researchers calculated sugar-sweetened beverage intake around the world by age and sex, by effects of consumption on obesity and diabetes, and by the impact of obesity and diabetes-related deaths.

Of nine world regions, Latin America/Caribbean had the most diabetes deaths (38,000) related to the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in 2010.

East/Central Eurasia had the largest numbers of cardiovascular deaths (11,000) related to sugary beverage consumption in 2010.

Among the world’s 15 most populous countries, Mexico — with one of the highest per-capita consumptions of sugary drinks in the world — had the highest death rate due to these beverages, with 318 deaths per million adults.

Japan, with one of the lowest per-capita consumptions of sugar-sweetened drinks, had the lowest death rate associated with sugary drinks, at about 10 deaths per million adults.

“Because we were focused on deaths due to chronic diseases, our study focused on adults. Future research should assess the amount of sugary beverage consumption in children across the world and how this affects their current and future health,” Singh said.

The American Heart Association recommends adults consume no more than 450 calories per week from sugar-sweetened beverages, based on a 2,000 calorie diet, and offers tips on how Life’s Simple 7™ can help you make better lifestyle choices and eat healthier.

The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

This year, Earth Hour is on March 23 at 8:30 pm – wherever you are in the world.

This is the hour when the world goes dark, turning off lights as a symbolic gesture to protect the Blue Marble we call home. Since Earth Hour’s inception in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, where 2.2 million Sydneysiders and 2100 businesses turned off their lights for an hour, this movement has spread to include the more than 151 countries and thousands of states, cities, towns and rural communities that have pledged to go dark this year.

In 2012, the I Will If You Will campaign was launched, with more than 200,000 people accepting a challenge at YouTube.com/EarthHour to share what they would be willing to do to save the planet, and what they’d expect done in return. The campaign continues this year, with thousands more committing to help change the world for the better.

The youTube channel is fun to watch, with the pledges ranging from kiteboarding wearing a panda hat if 1,000 people will commit to using reusable tumblers, to an 8th grade class going paperless if 1,000 people commit to planting a tree and a five-year-old Greek boy, who will give up chocolates for a week if 50 people pledge to green their balconies.

There is still time for you to publicly pledge what you will do to help save Mother Earth. Privately, it’s a pledge we can all make at any time, to take steps to help reduce our impact on the planet.

Meteor trail over eastern Russia is seen in this image from the Russian Emergency Ministry. Credit: Russian Emergency Ministry

The meteor explosion generated ground motions and air pressure waves in the atmosphere which were picked by seismometers and air pressure sensors.

Ground motions were recorded by the Global Seismic Network (GSN) and the EarthScope Transportable Array (TA). Pressure waves were detected by special sensors that are part of the TA.

Both the GSN and TA are supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

“These recordings of seismic waves through the Earth, and sound waves through the atmosphere, are good examples of how these facilities can help global organizations better monitor earthquakes, clandestine nuclear tests and other threats,” said Greg Anderson, program director in NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences.

Incoming! Then Outgoing!

When the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded in the atmosphere at approximately 9.20 a.m. local time, energy from the blast created pressure waves in the atmosphere that moved rapidly outward and around the globe. The blast also spread within the Earth as a seismic wave.

Trajectory of the meteor as it neared impact in Russia. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Waves in the ground travel quickly, at about 3.4 kilometers per second. Waves in the atmosphere are much slower, moving at about 0.3 kilometers per second, but can travel great distances.

GSN stations in Russia and Kazakhstan show the ground-traveling wave as a strong, abrupt pulse with a duration of about 30 seconds.

The atmospheric waves, referred to as infrasound, were detected across a range of inaudible frequencies and were observed at great distances on infrasound microphones.

When the infrasound waves reached the eastern United States, having traveled 8.5 hours through the atmosphere across the Arctic from the impact site in Russia, they were recorded at TA stations at the Canadian border. Nearly 12 hours after the blast, the waves reached Florida.

Hole in the ice at Russia's Lake Chebarkul, said to be caused by the meteor. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Infrasound sensors at TA stations along the Pacific coast and in Alaska also recorded the blast, but with signatures that were shorter and simpler than those recorded by stations in the mid-continent and along the southeastern seaboard.

The duration of the signals, and the differences between the waveforms in the east and west, scientists believe, are related to the way in which energy travels and bounces on its long path through the atmosphere.

EarthScope Transportable Array

The Transportable Array is operated by the IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) Consortium as part of NSF’s EarthScope Project. It consists of 400 stations traversing the United States, recording at each site along the way for two years.

Each of the TA stations was originally equipped with sensitive broadband seismometers for measuring ground motions, but in 2010, NSF awarded the University of California, San Diego, in cooperation with IRIS, funding to add pressure and infrasound sensors.

These special sensors help scientists understand how changes in pressure affect ground motions recorded by the TA’s seismometers and provide a view of regional pressure changes related to weather patterns.

The sensors also record events such as tornadoes, derechos, rocket launches, chemical explosions–and meteor impacts.

The Chelyabinsk meteor is the largest signal recorded to date.

In 2013, the Transportable Array will reach states in the Northeast, completing its traverse of the contiguous United States and southern Canada.

From top: Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum), Globefish (Diodon nicthemerus), and Redfish (Centroberyx affinis). Source: FishMap

Known as FishMap, the online resource provides search and sort options for location, depth ranges, family, and ecosystem, and generates visual maps with illustrations for each species. Lists can be printed to create simple guides or downloaded to a spreadsheet template for collecting new data.

“Australia’s marine biodiversity is among the richest in world,” says ichthyologist Mr Daniel Gledhill of CSIRO’s Wealth from Oceans Flagship. “FishMap is the only resource of its kind in the world that covers virtually all species of marine fish found in the marine waters of an entire continent.”

FishMap is built upon more than a century of research, as well as the work of museums and research agencies across Australia who contributed underlying data and images.

During the month-long Challenge that ran from January 12 through February 10, a total of 68 pythons were turned in by the 1,600 registered participants from 38 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

To put those 68 takes in perspective, estimates of the Burmese python population in South Florida range from the tens of thousands to as many as 150,000. Their behavior, camouflage, and nature of their habitats combine to make them highly elusive — so much so, that the vast majority of hunters never even saw one.

Nevertheless, when it comes to stalking pythons, it appears that not all hunters are created equal.

In the General Competition for most snakes harvested, Brian Barrows turned in six, and in the Python Permit Holders Competition, Ruben Ramirez took 18. Each was awarded a $1,500 first place prize.

Paul Shannon’s 14-foot, 3-inch kill in the General Competition for longest python earned him a $1,000 prize, while Blake Russ won among Python Permit holders for his 11-foot kill. (Ramirez, who brought in a 10-foot, 6.8-inch snake, was initially named the winner over Russ, but both will keep their prizes.)

The exotic nature of the 2013 Python Challenge generated worldwide interest through coverage in print, broadcast and electronic media. From that perspective, the Challenge was a huge success despite the relatively few snakes actually taken.

Burmese pythons, many of which were former pets, are an invasive top predator for which South Florida ecosystems have no defense. The large constrictors have voracious appetites and like to dine on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals. While pythons typically don’t threaten humans, they have been known will go after larger animals, including deer and alligators. Native populations of mid-sized mammals, such as rabbits, racoons, and opossums have declined as the number of Burmese pythons has increased.

In 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey reported capturing the largest known specimen in the Everglades to date; at 17-feet, 7-inches long, it was carrying 87 eggs.

Florida prohibits possession or sale of Burmese pythons for use as pets, and federal law bans their importation and interstate sale.

The public can help the fight to control invasive species such as Burmese pythons by:

• Reporting sightings of exotic species to 888-IVE-GOT-1 or www.ivegot1.org. It’s helpful if you can submit a photo and location.
• Not releasing an exotic pet into the wild, and reminding others of the dangers of releasing nonnative species.

If you have an exotic pet that you can no longer care for, the Nature Conservancy has some recommendations.

Image: U.S. National Park Service