Dinosaurs, blind mice, light sabres – and Enron.

Dinosaurs, blind mice and light sabres – all make an appearance in the stage production of Enron.

It’s based on the story behind what was, at the time, the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history (Lehman Brothers now hold that dubious accolade).

It's fast moving and entertaining – and most amazingly seems to explain the complicated accounting practices that Enron employed in simple terms even a five year old could understand!

Before its bankruptcy in late 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications and pulp and paper companies, with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion in 2000. Fortune named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for six consecutive years.

But at the end of 2001 (soon after the 9/11 attacks) it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained substantially by institutionalised, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud, now known as the "Enron Scandal"

For those who know little about the story, this production is an entertaining education even if you have to allow for a certain amount of artistic licence. For example the character of Claudia Roe is fictional and included to add a little female glamour to an otherwise predominantly male cast.

The staging is inspired with neon lights, Perspex chairs and a large cinema style screen, creating sets that, despite their minimalist design, manage to conjour up the decadence and opulent lifestyles of Enron’s directors.

The dinosaurs are a wonderful way to give a visual image to the accounting practices that Enron used to hide its massive losses. And the Lehman Brothers as Siamese twins in a single suit is certainly worth a few laughs.

Verdict: A fun and surprising night out – with a bit of education thrown in!

Enron is at the Noel Coward Theatre until 14^th August and then goes on tour. Check ENRON website for more information.

Latest news about the oil spill from the BP press office

This is the latest press release from BP (issued 6th July 2010)...


BP today provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

Subsea Source Control and Containment:

Two containment systems continue to collect oil and gas flowing from the Deepwater Horizon's failed blow-out preventer (BOP) and transport them to vessels on the surface.

The lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap, installed on June 3, takes oil and gas to the Discoverer Enterprise where oil is collected and gas flared. The second system, which began operations on June 16, takes oil and gas to the Q4000 vessel on the surface where both oil and gas are flared.

On July 3, a total of approximately 25,198 barrels of oil were collected or flared by the two systems and 57.0 million cubic feet of gas were flared. Specifically, the LMRP containment system connected to the Discoverer Enterprise collected 17,022 barrels of oil, and the Q4000 flared an additional 8,176 barrels of oil. To date, the total volume of oil collected or flared by the containment systems is approximately 585,400 barrels. Information on the volumes of oil and gas that are collected or flared is updated twice daily on BP's website; www.bp.com

Preparations continue for the next step in containment operations. Work on the first floating riser containment system planned to be connected to the Helix Producer was delayed by heightened sea states caused by Hurricane Alex as it passed through the Gulf of Mexico. The floating riser system is designed to allow more rapid disconnection and reconnection of the system, reducing the time that collection may be impacted in the case of, for example, inclement weather. It is currently anticipated that this first floating riser system will be available to begin first operations towards the end of the week.

Plans also are being developed for additional containment capacity and flexibility. These projects are currently anticipated to begin operations around mid- late July.

The LMRP containment cap system, the Q4000 system, and the planned additional containment systems have not been deployed at these depths or under these conditions, and their efficiency and ability to contain or flare the oil and gas cannot be assured.

Work on the first relief well, which started May 2, continues. The well reached a depth of 17,725 feet on July 4 and a sixth 'ranging' run was completed. The second relief well, which started May 16, has now reached a measured depth of 13,871 feet. Both wells are still estimated to take approximately three months to complete from commencement of drilling.

Surface Spill Response and Containment:

Work continues to collect and disperse oil that has reached the surface of the sea, to protect the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, and to collect and clean up any oil that has reached shore.
Approximately 44,500 personnel, more than 6,563 vessels and some 113 aircraft are now engaged in the response effort.

Operations to skim oil from the surface of the water were temporarily placed on hold for approximately three days because of the effects of Hurricane Alex. To date, these operations have recovered, in total, approximately 673,497 barrels (23.5 million gallons) of oily liquid. In addition, a total of 275 controlled burns have been carried out to date, removing an estimated 238,000 barrels of oil from the sea's surface.
The total length of containment boom deployed as part of efforts to prevent oil from reaching the coast is now almost 2.9 million feet (550 miles).

Additional information:

To date, almost 95,000 claims have been submitted and more than 47,000 payments have been made, totalling almost $147 million.

The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately $3.12 billion, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs. On June 16, BP announced an agreed package of measures, including the creation of a $20 billion escrow account to satisfy certain obligations arising from the oil and gas spill. It is too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities associated with the incident.


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Nine key lessons for sustainable development from Brazil’s Amazon

Brazil’s Amazonas state has important lessons for the rest of the nation and other developing countries as they search for green and sustainable economies, says a new report published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

It was written by Virgilio Viana, the former Secretary for Environment and Sustainable Development in Brazil’s Amazonas State who is now head of the Sustainable Amazonas Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation.

Viana has spent the past decade promoting sustainable solutions to development challenges in Amazonas. During this time the vulnerability of Amazonas to threats from deforestation has declined. The state now sustains real value-chains in forest-based goods and services that confer ecological, social and economic resilience.

In the report, Viana details the following nine key lessons that have emerged from his experiences.

1) Change the ‘natural resource liquidation’ paradigm of development by making forests worth more standing than cut;

2) Create political support for sustainability and the environment by focusing on jobs, income, votes and other mainstream incentives;

3) Place environmental and sustainability concerns at the centre of policy design and implementation – expanding environment institutions to become catalysts of sustainable development;

4) Pay people for environmental services rendered – such as through the Bolsa Floresta scheme. This fights poverty and protects biodiversity by rewarding forest households with monthly payments into credit card accounts for practicing ‘farming without fire’, which is monitored by satellite;

5) Invest in good communications – especially relations with the media by helping journalists to bridge to politicians, the public and the forests;

6) Provide simple and attractive green solutions: engaging the public in identifying and developing solutions that most help them and the forests;

7) Demote “problemologists” and promote “solutionologists” – changing the paradigm from a problem focus to solutions;

8) Make bureaucracy and regulation work for people – not the other way around;

9) Invest in partnerships for policy implementation – NGOs connecting government and local organisations.


Viana says: "I would like these lessons from Amazonas to be a source of inspiration that encourages greater South-South cooperation on sustainable development."

He see the biggest political challenge as “changing the paradigm that guides public policies and private investments – forests have been seen as obstacles for development, not as opportunities”.

He says the practical challenge is to “develop solutions that are scientifically based, but which ordinary people can easily understand — solutions that fire the imagination, are simple and attractive, and have wider benefits for as many stakeholders as possible”.

James Mayers, head of IIED’s Natural Resources Group, says: “For decades, Brazil and the Amazon in particular have been synonymous with a ‘frontier’ style of development that has destroyed forests. Professor Viana has led a unique experiment to explore and implement more forest-friendly forms of development.”

Mayers adds: “The ideas Viana has developed and honed are both timely and inspiring – for Brazil as a whole and indeed for many other countries, as they now search for new green economies.”

The report describes many schemes that are beginning to surmount the political and practical challenges.

It is schemes like these that offer real lessons for taming the potential tsunami of international forest and carbon funds, so that they contribute to local sustainable development, rather than submerge other local needs.



Download Sustainable Development in Practice – lessons learned from Amazonas

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