Amazon rainforest
carbon bomb potential in, 158
cattle ranching and, 159
feedback loops from cutting down, 158
future of, 195, 198
hydroelectric projects in, 179
record low deforestation in, 160
regulations on clearing, 183–84
secondary forest, 194
selective logging in, 176
size of, 158
soy moratorium, 190–91, 198–201
strangeness of owning, 202–3
Tapajos National Forest, 169–175
waste from logging, 176–77
waves of exploitation in, 164
Archeology sites on Spindletop, 109–10
Beijing, China, pollution in, 219–220
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
China as biggest emitter of, 221
forests absorbing, 158
Fort McMurray’s emissions, 60–61
oil’s part in emissions, 77
small farmers’ footprint, 183
Cargill Incorporated
deforestation prompted by, 183, 186
forest “preserve” on land of, 193
Greenpeace and, 190–91, 199–200
Santarem terminal of, 159, 167–68
Chernobyl area
briefing for trip to, 15–18
cancer in, 36
firemen’s memorial, 18
Garbage Patch compared to, 127
liquidators in, 10
nature in, 23, 24, 25, 34–36
sanctioning of tourism to, 13
Chernobyl Museum, Kiev, 3–4
Chernobyl reactor
destruction caused by accident, 30
firemen at, 3, 18, 29
generation of electricity by, 5–6
model at Chernobyl Museum, 4
New Safe Confinement for, 31–32
nuclear lava in, 30
scale model of, 29–30
sequence leading to failure of, 12–13
Shelter Object around, 28–29, 30–31
visitor center, 29–32
Chernobyl town, 34–38
China
as biggest CO2 emitter, 221
government jobs in, 240
journalists unwelcome in, 208–9
lead poisoning in, 217
as major e-waste importer, 207
polluted cities in, 231
Climate change
forests as protection from, 158
oil sands mining and, 44, 60–61
oil’s part in, 77
Coal mining in China, 232–245
changes in industry, 233, 242
coal bosses, 232–36
dangers of, 233, 243
pollution from coal, 221, 237–38
Sad Coal Man, 224–25, 230, 239–240, 245
small mines, 237, 242
visit to a coal mine, 239–245
wages for, 243
Dead zone, Chernobyl area, 19–20, 35
Dragline mining of oil sands, 54–55
Electricity generation
from fossil fuels, 112, 221, 238
nuclear, 5–6
renewable energy in China, 221
Electronics recycling, 206–19
countries involved in, 207
government representative for, 214–15
processes of, 211–13, 214, 215
shipping arrangements for, 207
60 Minutes report on, 207
souvenir chips bought by author, 214
toxic hazards of, 206
Environmentalism
beauty and, 226
Christianity and, 269–270
division of humanity and nature in, 171–73, 179–180, 292
of Hilton Kelley in Port Arthur, 80–84
in India, 248
nature-as-purity concept, 172–73, 280, 281, 292
oil sands development fight, 44
scorned by soy farmers, 186–87
Exclusion Zone
checkpoint at entry to, 14
dead zone, 19–20, 35
distribution of contamination, 17–18
itinerary through, 15
Kolachi (buried village), 20
Pripyat (deserted city), 22–28
Pripyat River, 32–33
reactor visitor center, 29–32
Red Forest, 21
as Zone of Alienation, 34
Fort McMurray, Canada
CO2 emissions from, 60–61
described, 44–45
duck holocaust in, 41–42, 54
oil’s influence on, 49–50
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
challenge of cleaning up, 126, 127, 128, 129
challenges getting the voyage started, 121, 122, 124–25
Chernobyl compared to, 127
discovery of, 118
Eastern and Western patches, 120
as an ecosystem, 119
fishing net in, 138–39, 146–47
galaxy compared to, 148
inaccessibility of, 120, 148–49
nonvisual nature of, 147–48
not an island, 118, 119, 126, 148
origins of material in, 119–120, 129, 149
plastic confetti in, 126–27, 129
questions needing research, 149–150
size of, 119
varied nature of, 142
voyage from, 151–55
voyage in, 146–151
voyage to, 117–18, 129–146
Greenpeace
on cancer due to Chernobyl, 36
Cargill negotiations, 190–91, 199–200
on Crane Lake, 66
oil sands activism by, 67–68
people excluded from environment by, 179–180
on shipping electronic waste, 207
Guiyu, China, 206–19
described, 205–6
pollution in, 206, 215, 216–17, 219
temple tour by children, 215–16
India
environmentalism in, 248
environmental law in, 260, 261
ghats in, 256, 257, 262–66
holy rivers in, 247–48
judiciary rulings in, 260
as land of contrasts, 249–250
origin of name, 247–48
sexual abuse of children in, 257
Kasei (ship taken to Garbage Patch)
crew of, 122–25
daily life on, 135–37
described, 121
going aloft, 142–43
misgivings about, 121–22, 124, 125
oddity of, 123–24
previous Garbage Patch voyage of, 129
propeller fouled by net, 138–39
squall false alarm, 151
steering, 132–33
Kiev
Chernobyl Museum, 3–4
electronics black market, 9–10
fled after Chernobyl accident, 2
journey to Chernobyl from, 14
practices after Chernobyl, 2–3
radiation detector sought in, 6–7, 9–11
radiation levels in, 14, 18
Linfen, China
Audi sales in, 233–36
billboards on outskirts, 229
coal pervading, 232
drum tower in, 222–23
healthy civic life in, 223–24, 225–26
as most polluted city in the world, 220–22, 223, 229–232
Sad Coal Man symbol of, 224–25, 230, 239–240
Spring Festival in, 223–24
tourist attractions in, 227–29
Oil drilling
by big vs. small companies, 106–8
continuing on Spindletop, 103–9, 110–12, 115
equipment for, 104–6
kerosene as original goal of, 76
original Lucas oil well, 75, 76, 88–89, 113, 114–15
process of, 105
stripper fields, 106
Oil sands
air pollution from, 56
amount in Canada, 43
amount of oil produced from, 56–57
as dirty oil, 43–44
duck holocaust due to mining, 41–42, 54
helicopter tour of, 68–71
Keystone XL pipeline from, 73–74
land reclamation, 57, 59, 61–62, 63–66
older dragline system of mining, 54–55
overburden covering, 59
process of removing oil from, 43, 47–48
salaries paid for mining, 55–56
size of mining equipment, 54–55, 58–59
sulfur byproduct from, 48–49, 69
Suncor bus tour of, 50, 53–59
tailings mountain from mining, 69
US attitudes toward, 43, 44
Oil spills
Deepwater Horizon, 113–14
Eagle Otome tanker, 89–90, 102
fishing after, 94–95
pelican rescue after, 92–93, 95–97
work generated by, 90–93
Pollution
in Beijing, China, 219–220
Blacksmith’s list, 230–32
in Chinese cities, 231
from coal, 221, 237–38
from electronics recycling, 206, 215, 216–17, 219
in Ganges river, India, 248, 270
in Linfen, China, 220–22, 223, 227, 229–232
oil industry, 56, 78, 81, 83, 84–85
sources in India, 260
Port Arthur, Texas
cancer in, 84–85
Chamber of Commerce slogan, 91–92
Eagle Otome tanker accident, 89–90, 102
expansion after oil discovery, 76
Keystone XL pipeline to, 73–74
Mardi Gras Ball, 85, 86–88
poverty in, 79
refineries surrounding, 78–79
refinery pollution in, 78, 81, 83
ship channel, 89, 90, 97–102
Project Kasei
current line crossed, 155
daily life at sea, 135–37
debris collection technique, 139
first debris sightings, 133–34
goal of the voyage, 128–29
mahimahi caught, 145–46
motto of, 121, 128
NOAA waypoint, 140, 141
ocean-current model testing, 140–41
plans to maximize data, 144–45
scientific shortcomings of, 134–35, 140–41, 144–45, 147–150, 154
watches for debris, 130–31, 133–35, 140
Radiation detectors
function of, 7–8
noise made by, 19–20, 21
Radiation levels
adaptation to, 26
at beginning of “dead zone,” 19–20
checked after Chernobyl area visit, 39
after Chernobyl accident, 29
confusing measurements of, 8
in Kiev, 14, 18
at Kolachi, 20
in Pripyat, 24–25, 27
at Pripyat turnoff, 21
in the Red Forest, 21
standards for, 18
in town of Chernobyl, 18
Sad Coal Man, 224–25, 230, 239–240, 245
Santarém, Brazil
Cargill terminal in, 159, 167–68
rivers meeting in, 161–62
selection as destination, 159
Soy farmers in Brazil
environmentalists scorned by, 186–87
local dislike of, 180
local environment changed by, 181
not major cause of deforestation, 189
small farms bought by, 180–81, 182
southern migration of, 185–86
soy moratorium, 190–91, 198–201
Spindletop, Texas, 103–12
archeology sites, 109–10
continued drilling, 103–9, 110–12, 115
natural gas storage in, 109
original Lucas oil well, 74–76, 88–89, 113, 114–15
overdrilling at, 88
Yamuna river, India, 254–55
black water of, 247
cleanup programs, 260–62
cremation ground beside, 254–55
as dead river, 252
diversion into canals, 251–52
eutrophicated segment, 261
groundwater depletion and, 262
ISBT highway bridge, 257–59
kayaking plans for, 266
monsoon floods and, 253
as most polluted river, 249
Najafgarh drain, 267–68
offerings to, 253, 258–59, 263, 264, 268
Okhla Barrage, 256
Ram Ghat, 262–66
rowboat trip on, 251, 252–55
scavenging from, 254–55, 258–59, 263, 264
as sewage canal, 251, 252, 253
suicides in, 264–65, 266
yatra along, 266–67, 269, 275–299