You may well ask why PlanetSave, a blog usually dedicated to positive developments and actions to save the earth, is reporting news about ExxonMobil and a Russian arctic oil well. The oil discovery appears to have nothing to do with solar or wind or most of our usual topics—we’re talking fossil fuels here, which have caused much
One oil spill is too much. Three oil spills happened in the last short week, bringing horror to humans and wildlife alike. Dirty oil, at the root of this, has no moral compass. It is a style of bullying at the worst level. If the earth did not have the resources for renewable energy that its
The unique specimen was found in the uterus of a captured adult shark caught in the Gulf of Mexico on April 7, 2011. The two-headed, foetal shark died soon afterwards and the body was brought to the marine biology lab at Florida Keys Commmunity College. There have been a few other dicephalic (two-headed) shark species found over the years
A new report authored by leading scientists and experts explains that the effects of climate change are going to continue threatening the health of coastal communities throughout the United States. The report emphasises the need for increased coordination and planning to protect US coastal communities in the face of a continually changing climate. “[Hurricane] Sandy
The circulation of water through the Atlantic Ocean during the last Ice Age was faster than previously assumed, and stronger than it currently is today, according to new research led by environmental physicists at Heidelberg University, Germany. The “Atlantic heat pump” sees warm water from the Gulf of Mexico transported north and west where it
Following the catastrophic explosion and subsequent spill of oil from the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, scientists have embarked upon a 3-week expedition aboard the R/V Walton Smith to determine how surface ocean currents near the site influence the fate and transport of pollutants. This research is an important next step in understanding
In what is his first in-depth newspaper interview since becoming CEO of BP in 2010, Bob Dudley has made it quite clear that they are expecting the trial into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to last for several years.
The Sunday Telegraph in the UK scored the interview with Dudley, who said that he was hopeful of doing “some deals” on the details of the case, but was really expecting the case to last until 2014.
The wealth of air pollutants that were generated in the atmospheric plume as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 amounted to levels similar to the pollution created by a large city, says a new study led by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “The levels of ozone were similar
In one of the first moves to begin restoration of the Gulf of Mexico after the disastrous Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees (Trustees) today released the Deepwater Horizon Draft Phase I Early Restoration Plan & Environmental Assessment (DERP/EA) for formal public comment. This is just the first
Oil companies are pushing Congress and regulatory agencies to allow for more offshore drilling in the Artic. The U.S. Coast Guard’s top official has come forward and stated that the organization is not prepared for a major oil spill in the Arctic.
Researchers from Texas A&M University who have just returned from a visit to the Gulf of Mexico to explore the scope and size of this year’s dead zone have measured it to be currently around 8,500 square kilometres; approximately the same size as the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
However researchers believe that 2011’s dead zone may continue to grow and become one of the largest ever.
The recent flooding of the Mississippi River has created an unexpected boon for the wetlands around the city of New Orleans.
A leech with over-sized teeth, a glow-in-the-dark mushroom, a bacterium that eats iron, a giant orb spider that spins super silk…”New” to us, for sure, but not new in Nature. Some on the list have been around for millions of years,no doubt. Some, like the jumping cockroach, may not so appealing to human ears.
A year on from the catastrophic explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and news still abounds regarding the cause and affect the spill has had on the region and its inhabitants, human and otherwise.
Average winter temperatures in northern Europe are at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than similar latitudes on the northeastern coast of the United States and the eastern coast of Canada. The same phenomenon happens over the Pacific Ocean, with winters on the northeastern coast of Asia being regularly colder than in the same latitude in the Pacific Northwest.
And the culprit for these cooler winters, is warm waters.
Reporting her results from a fifth Gulf of Mexico expedition ending this past December, University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye has been to the bottom and back, and her findings are anything but optimistic. Her team has found numerous expanses of oil and soot covered sea floor that were “chemically finger-printed” as deriving from
Some top global warming and environmental news from the last day or so: Global Warming & Environmental Politics Time to Put People Ahead of Polluters Over on ecopolitology, Sierra Club’s Michael Brune had a good piece on why it’s time to put people ahead of polluters. Senate 2012 Race & Tea Partiers The conservative right
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Ma.) and some other House Democrats introduced an amendment to an updated oil spill response bill last week that “would implement a key recommendation by the bipartisan oil spill commission,” the Environmental Defense Fund reports. “The recommendation is for Congress to dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties to be assessed for
Other than what we’ve already covered, of course, here are a number of good environmental, wildlife, and green living stories form around the internet. GreenDeals aims to be a Groupon for green shoppers New website aims to offer US consumers discounts on green products and services… High-speed rail route to get 2m trees for shelter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cksCB7HF-YI Following up on reports from Project Gulf Impact videos from August and October. h/t Climate Crocks
Via our sister site FailDrill, check out this great interview and music video. “Produced in partnership with Oxfam-America, the video aims to keep the conversation going about the plight of the people still dealing with the aftermath of the spill,” Jeff McIntire-Strasburg writes. “The Gulf Coast oil spill is making headlines right now as one of
Did you hear about the big BP oil spill in the Gulf that happened this summer? Of course you did, but how much have you heard about the Gulf coast restoration efforts? Probably not a lot. One big issue concerning this matter is whether or not to use Clean Water Act fines BP has to
A National Geographic video looks at whether oil plumes within the Gulf of Mexico are still a threat. Over the course of the summer, scientists detected large plumes of oil droplets in the Gulf of Mexico, presumably from the BP oil spill that began in April. Are these plumes still a threat to the Gulf
Heard much about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico lately? Probably not… once the caps were in place on the well, the media largely moved on to other stories. Even the current slew of political advertising doesn’t seem to try to make much hay out of the US’ largest environmental disaster. But
[UPDATED: Sept. 27, 2013; see addendum at bottom] In the spirit of both Halloween and Environmental Awareness, I hereby offer thirteen environmental horror stories of anthropogenic origin. I have chosen to narrow my sample field to the post World War II time period. I have also excluded nuclear weapons tests and chemical weapons usage (such
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill that shocked the world is fading into the background, but the effects of the disaster will long be felt. And now for the first time an independent study has confirmed the disastrous extent of the oil spill making it the largest marine oil accident ever. “We wanted to do
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report some good news from the Gulf of Mexico stating that they have not detected nor do they expect to detect dead zones as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Despite a measure of dissolved oxygen levels within 60 miles of the wellhead, these oxygen levels have
This guest post is another great response to the recent oil fire in the Gulf of Mexico, the horrible BP oil spill, the Massey Energy coal mining disaster earlier this year, and potential dirty energy disasters we may see in the future if we don’t take action now. The author, Brian F. Keane, is president
In a quick response to the newest oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, some environmental organizations have reiterated what they’ve been saying for a long time, and have sent out more opportunities to take action on the issue of dirty, unsafe energy now. One I received earlier today from the Defenders of Wildlife urges
An oil platform is on fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Will the Gulf of Mexico oil disasters ever end?
A new poll by Gallup clearly shows that America is split down the middle when considering the implications and responsibilities of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. First and foremost for Americans to decide is whether the federal government should maintain the moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, or lift it and
Wasted food energy in the U.S. totals some 2150 trillion kilojoules per year–more than the U.S. could produce in ethanol (grain) biofuels. Further, an article in the New Scientist asserts that this amount is greater than the energy produced annually from all the oil and gas extracted from the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSkQlyG_2IM&feature=player_embedded The BP oil spill has killed and will continue to kill countless animals. A biologist in Florida is creating a modern-day Noah’s Ark in order to help some of them survive.
Great new petition telling members of Congress to donate their oil campaign money to Gulf restoration efforts. I’ve written about the massive amounts of money oil companies give to politicians, and the political influence that has, before. And I have to say, I wish I had thought up this simple, obvious solution for helping Gulf
A variety of oil spill condoms, political condoms, or endangered species condoms are available for folks practicing safe sex these days. Want to help the Gulf of Mexico while also having safe sex? Exactly what you’ve been thinking about lately, right? Well, now you can! Practice Safe Policy has started selling Oil Spill Condoms. 20% of
More music to help with the BP oil spill cleanup. I’ve written about the combination of great music and environmental activism here on Planetsave a few times recently (see: The Mercy Project Update (1st Listening of Pauli Carman’s Remake of Marvin Gaye’s Classic “Mercy, Mercy Me”) & Environmental Music Films). A good friend of mine,
UPDATE: THIS CAMPAIGN IS BACKED/CREATED BY THE OIL INDUSTRY, TO SHIRK RESPONSIBILITY. SANDRA BULLOCK IS NOW DISOWNING IT. A lot of people want the Gulf of Mexico restored, but when several top celebrities say they want something, they have a better chance of getting it then most of us do. Good for us, and good
Informative and interactive map of the BP oil spill available via NRDC. “It appears that only a fraction of the millions of gallons of crude oil that have flooded into the Gulf of Mexico rises to the surface. A lot of the oil remains dissolved or dispersed in the Gulf’s waters, contaminating one of the
Scientists studying the BP oil spill which has only recently been capped believe there could be a decades-long “cascading” effect on marine life. Experts estimate that some 400 species could be at risk from the impact of oil and the chemical dispersants laid down in an effort to disperse the oil. They believe a massive
470 endangered sea turtles and thousands of birds officially killed by BP oil spill so far. Many more covered in oil and on the brink of death. Well, BP has stopped burning endangered sea turtles alive and has apparently gotten the leak stopped, but official reports show that, as of yesterday, at least 470 endangered
Robots are the solution to stopping the oil spill. Here are some ways that robotics engineering teams are helping, and examples of how underwater robots work: *the entire area around the BP Deepwater Horizon wellhead, a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico is constantly being monitored and worked on with robotic activity.
A top member of the European Commission has said that European countries should freeze new deep water drilling until the causes behind the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are investigated. EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in prepared remarks he was to deliver to the European Parliament in Strasbourg that there should be a complete
Louisiana state and top scientists are actively brainstorming how they will stop the oil from destroying Barataria Bay, a huge estuary and major fishery in the southeastern part of Louisiana. Now officials are aggressively trying to carry out a plan they created two months ago to save the fragile ecosystems along the Louisiana coastline. The
This week the X Prize foundation announced their intention to come up with a contest for solutions to cleaning up the damage done by the oil leaking from the BP Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Roughly 35,000 solutions have been proposed to BP, our government and other organizations, including the X Prize
10 beautiful photos of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico’s beautiful beaches. [social_buttons] I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico coast in Southern Florida. It has been horrible and scary to see what is happening and to read about what might happen as a result of the BP oil spill in
[social_buttons] One of our readers, Johnie Lewis Tidwell, passed on a link about a great-looking project in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf. The video below from the The Pauli Carman Show is about the Mercy Project. The Mercy Project is a special music project focused on bringing awareness and the importance
[social_buttons] Following Obama’s BP oil spill speech and 3 ways you can take action in response to the BP oil spill, I thought I’d add one more post on the BP oil spill today. This is a hilarious, if not still very sad, video mocking BP’s response to its oil spill in the Gulf of
New high resolution video of BP oil spill released after pressure from Congress. [social_buttons] BP has released a new high resolution video of the BP oil. It took about a month before BP finally released a live video of the oil spill in the Gulf, and now it turns out what they released is not
