Oil Spills

Pilot of Tanker that Hit Bay Bridge Was Involved in Three Other Accidents Since 2009

The pilot operating the tanker that hit the Bay Bridge yesterday morning had been in three other accidents since 2009, the Associated Press reported. Guy Kleess, who has been licensed to handle big vessels in Northern California waters since 2005, was found responsible for two of those accidents. T ... More >>

Oil Tanker Hits Bay Bridge, No Signs of Spilled Oil So Far

At 11:37 a.m today, an oil tanker hit the Bay Bridge's eastern tower. The tanker was empty and emergency crews said that they have not seen spilled oil in the water, the Chronicle reported. Still, officials from the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife established a nearby command post and sent ... More >>

No Glove, No Love

Dubai Star Owners Must Pay $2 Million for S.F. Bay Oil Spill

The owners of the Dubai Star oil tanker has to shell out $1.96 million for a 2009 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay that impacted more than 200 acres and killed some 100 seabirds, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said today.About 75 percent of that cash -- which will be divvied up amo ... More >>

Apple, at $153 Billion, Unseats Google as World's Most Valuable Brand

Secret weapon​A surge in estimated valuation from sales of products such as the iPad has landed Apple at the top of a survey of the world's most valuable brands, displacing fellow Silicon Valley juggernaut Google.Financial-research company Millward Brown set the company's current brand value at $1 ... More >>

The New Yorker: Chron Tech Blogger, Yobie Benjamin, Confuses Water with Industrial Poison

Dihydrogen monoxide can kill within minutes of entering a victim's lungs.​Last summer, San Francisco Chronicle citizen blogger Yobie Benjamin covered the waterfront, denouncing perceived failures in BP's oil-spill cleanup, including its penchant for using the then-controversial oil dispersant, Cor ... More >>

Chevron Sues To Guard Secrets on How to Prevent Oil Blowouts

Why should preventing catastrophes be a secret?​After the BP oil spill devastated the Gulf of Mexico, you would expect that a prominent oil company like Chevron would want consumers to trust its ability to prevent such blowouts. Yet the San Ramon oil company, is suing Scribd, a San Francisco docum ... More >>

Cosco Busan Operators Agree to Pay San Francisco Fishermen $3.65 Million

The hull of the Cosco Busan following its 2007 accident​Two international shipping companies have agreed to pay San Francisco's commercial fishermen $3.65 million in damages for an oil spill that occurred after the Cosco Busan container ship crashed into the Bay Bridge in 2007.The settlement, anno ... More >>

Prop. 8 Judge Vaughn Walker to Teach at U.C. Berkeley Law School

Vaughn Walker, reimagined as a pimp. This is not a real photo.​Vaughn Walker, the federal judge who in August delivered a landmark ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples in California to marry, will begin teaching a class at U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law after he retires at the ... More >>

Top Five BP Oil Spill Conspiracies

You see? You see who's benefiting?​The Deep Water Horizon's ongoing ruination of the Gulf Coast is one of the worst accidents in the history of humanity. But wait! Some people -- as some people always do -- aren't willing to concede this was an accident. This was ... a conspiracy! Here's five that ... More >>

Sweet Relief from the Stink

Bouncer drinks to forget the oil leak at Kezar Bar & Grill.

Bi-Rite's Raffle for Gulf Fishermen Starts Today

Revival Meats/FlickrJust like family ― only with checkout lines.​One thing we like about Bi-Rite is how the store treats its employees and producers like family. In September, when pastured-chicken purveyor Soul Food Farm fell prey to a fire that savaged its stock of poultry, Bi-Rite staged ... More >>

Protest Party to Boycott BP, Shut Down ARCO Entrance

It's about to get crazy up in this joint!​Party at the gas station! Approximately 150 guests are confirmed to attend the "ARCO/BP Shut Down Party" on the corner of Fell Street and Divisadero Street at 5:30 p.m. Organized by a group of friends, this party is actually a three-pronged environmental p ... More >>

On Second Thought, Says Scientist, Hair Still Crummy Way to Fight Oil Spill

Nice. But not to fight an oil spill. ​Distinguished scientist Terry Hazen had to be the big, bad killjoy on a story about how local company Matter of Trust could collect your hair and use it to fight the ongoing Deep Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. "If you shaved everybody in the Unit ... More >>

Gulf Oil Spill Solution: Donated Hair? Scientist Laughs.

Don't grab those scissors yet, Phil Spector...​According to some San Francisco non-profit called Matter of Trust, donating your hair can help clean up one of the worst oil spills in United States history. The Huffington Post, and plenty of other news media outlets, have recently run straight-faced ... More >>

Dead Sea

An unpublished study shows the surprisingly lethal effects of the Cosco Busan oil spill. Why are government scientists helping the ship's owner keep it a secret?

Lawyers for Fishermen, Leaky Dubai Star Tanker Talk -- But Disagree On What They Talked About

The opposing attorneys' stories seem to go together like oil and water...​Lawyers representing aggrieved San Francisco fishermen and the oil-spewing Dubai Star tanker spoke this week. They can agree on that. But not on much else, it would seem. After reviewing the $10 million class-action suit ... More >>