US President Barack Obama has flown to New Orleans, Louisiana, to reassure residents of the area following the accident where an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and sank, releasing thousands of barrels of oil. The slicks from the accident, 40 miles from the Louisiana shore, have been moving inland, threatening the fishing industry and potentially creating the worst such disaster in US history. Obama pointed out that the responsibility lies entirely with BP, which will foot the bill. The bulk of the slick is now just nine miles (a little over 5km) off the coastline.
Meanwhile, supertankers that ship crude to the US may face tighter regulations in the wake of the disaster, reports Bloomberg.
Background, GenevaLunch
Links to other sites: New Orleans Times-Picayune, Times, UK,
Expect more colour this summer on Geneva's lakefront
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Food and souvenir vendors and ice-cream sellers along the lakefront in Geneva will soon be working from bright new stalls that will replace the drab ones they have used for years. The issue of what the new huts would look like was a hot political potato in Geneva for six years but the first 20 stalls have arrived in the city to a remarkable lack of opposition, notes the Tribune de Genève. The cost: CHF2.2 million. The new ones look like crates when closed, but the sides open up to provide shelter from sun and rain.
The five huts to be used as food stalls will have solar panels that will provide enough energy for their electric needs, estimated at 1,300 kWh for each one.
Map of new stall locations: click to view larger
Some 700,000 homes along the coastline in Australia are at risk from erosion as sea levels rise: the government says it expects the level to rise by one meter within 40 years, thanks to global warming. Some homes have already lost substantial amounts of land around them, from storms but also higher water levels, reports Reuters.
Schumacher home in Gland
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Formula 1′s former champion Michael Schumacher, had grandiose ideas about the dock he wants to install at his new lakefront estate on the shores of Lake Geneva in Gland, according to the Tribune de Geneve, quoting Michel Cosendai of the Vaud cantonal water service. The final solution, posted for public consultation until mid-August, will allow docking space two motor boats and the option of an offshore anchor for a sailboat. One group that is likely to oppose the new construction is the Association Rives Publiques, which has been fighting for open public access to the shores of Lake Geneva. According to the Tribune, the group plans to file its opposition.
