More bad new for BP: It has admitted the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline will cost 30 per cent more than first expected. David Woodward, head of BP Azerbaijan, said yesterday the 1,768 km (1,099 mile) pipeline would cost $3.9bn (£2.18bn) rather than $2.95bn.

Although that is bad news - you just wait until the company starts experiencing corrosion problems on this pipeline. It will make its Alaska problems seem insignificant. Or so the rumour goes...

Normally those working on environmental or “green issues” complain that it is high on the list of peoples’ priorities but low on those of politicians. When an election comes along issues like climate change sink without a trace.

There is a saying that the best way to release bad news is to bury it. So what did the US do on Easter Monday – it released figures that showed that it emitted more greenhouse gases in 2004 than at any time in history, confirming its status as the world's biggest polluter. Latest figures reveal that net greenhouse gas emissions during 2004 increased by 1.7 per cent on the previous year, equivalent to a rise of 110 million tons of carbon dioxide.

Good on you George - glad you are really taking climate change seriously.

For want of getting repetitious, it seems that BP has yet another corrosion problem in Alaska – this is its third. Chuck Hamel, BP’s bette noir, wrote to Stephen Johnson, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to report that BP had suffered additional corrosion leaks, which it had not yet reported. One we reported yesterday in a gas pipe.

Earlier today I said we haven't got it in for BP. So, in the interests of impartiality, I am just passing this message on and not commenting on yet another organisation or person having a go at this Great British institution.
It concerns Art Not Oil which is “a rolling exhibition aimed at encouraging artists to create work that explores the damage that companies like BP are doing to the planet, and the role art can play in counteracting that damage”. See for yourself at http://www.artnotoil.org.uk/

Today is the Global Call to Action Against Burma’s SHWE Gas Project. Human rights activists in over 20 countries will be protesting against the controversial project at South Korean Embassies and Daewoo Offices. For more info see: www.shwe.org.

Now – you might start thinking we have it in for BP, especially in the Arctic region. No, this is not true. The company seems to be doing enough damage to its corporate reputation and the environment without us. But now it faces further criticism for its operations. This time from the head of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

BP has admitted that it has found yet another pipeline break caused by corrosion on the North Slope, at the same time it faces a criminal investigation into its management of pipelines and six weeks after the company caused the worst spill on the North Slope. “We are at the point where there is so much damage to the lines from corrosion, we don't know where another leak will occur," says Marc Kovac, a BP worker. Well that is reassuring - especially given the other news today (see above).

During his tenure as one of the world’s most powerful oilmen, Lee Raymond who retired as Exxon’s Chief Executive last December, was vilified by environmentalists for his stance on climate change. Over the last decade Exxon has led the way to derail any action on the issue. The consequences of Raymond’s actions will be felt by the world for decades  to come.

A quarter century ago, when I began purchasing cigarettes and gasoline in significant quantities, a pack of smokes and a gallon of gas went for about the same price – 65 or 70 cents.

Last week, a gallon gas was selling for about $2.65 in Vermont and while I was filling up, I noticed a pack of cigarettes now sells for $4.80. Some addictions are more expensive than others. I quit smoking years ago, but it was not the price of cigarettes that changed my behavior, I was just done smoking.