A federal judge in California is scheduled to release a decision this week that will outline what the Navy must do to protect marine mammals from the loud blasts of its sonar equipment.
Reservoirs Closed After Carcinogen Is Found
Two Los Angeles reservoirs – the Elysian and the Silver Lake – have been closed after it was found they were contaminated with carcinogenic bromate caused by a rare reaction between sunlight and chlorine. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plans to drain 600 million gallons from the reservoirs – equal to one day of LA’s water consumption … Read More
Arctic Summers Ice-Free "by 2013"
As the observed rate of summer ice melt in the Arctic begins to run ahead of projections, a study done by US scientists shows previous models as underestimating processes driving ice loss and that Arctic summers could be ice-free as soon as 2013.
Red Sea Mega-Dam Would Be 'Irresponsible'
The proposed construction of a gigantic “heliohydroelectric” dam that would literally part the Red Sea holds the potential to generate large amounts of clean energy for an impoverished region, but could also cause irreversible global ecological damage through the partial draining of the Red Sea.
Bio-Rock: Shock Treatment for Coral Reefs
“Bio-Rock” – a procedure created by scientist Thomas Goreau and late architect Wolf Hilbertz – is being used to stimulate growth in threatened coral reefs by bringing them into close contact with low-voltage electricity and speeding the formation of a key building component in coral reefs.
Natural Hazards: Unique Imagery: Oil Spill off South Korea
After the 146,000-ton tanker, Hebei Spirit, collided with another vessel on Friday, December 7, around 10,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the coastal waters of the Yellow Sea just Southwest of Seoul, Korea. The extent of the spill is shown here in an image taken using Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR).
Humans Make Atmosphere Wetter
A joint US, UK, German and Japanese study finds human-caused increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels has in turn forced up water-vapor content.
High Weedkiller Levels Found in River Checks
An extensively used weedkiller – Atrazine – has been found in streams and rivers throughout the Midwest in levels high enough to damage amphibians, fish and aquatic ecosystems. Atrazine, which is manufactured by Syngenta Crop Protection, has been linked to sexual abnormalities in frogs and fish in scientific studies and is currently banned in the UK.
Shrinking ice means Greenland is rising fast
Greenland’s landmass is rising up to 4 centimeters per year. The accelerated rate of its rise is attributed to its shrinking ice dome.
Feds Want to Clean Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a stewy body of plastic and marine debris that floats an estimated 1,000 miles west of San Francisco, is a shape-shifting mass far too large, delicate and remote to ever be cleaned up, according to a researcher who recently returned from the area. But that might not stop the federal government from trying.