Latest News
Galapagos Corals May Predict the Future of Reefs Worldwide
By Julian Smith
LANDOVER, Maryland, November 20, 2012 (ENS) – The Galapagos Islands have been famous for a century and a half, but even Charles Darwin did not [...]
Oceans
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Unexploded Bombs Menace Busy Gulf Of Mexico
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, October 3, 2012 (ENS) – Millions of pounds of unexploded bombs dumped decades ago off the coasts of 16 states, from New Jersey to Hawaii, [...]
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Invisible Plastic Soup is Harming Ocean Animals
WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands, September 26, 2012 (ENS) – Plastic nanoparticles released when plastic debris decomposes in seawater can have an adverse effect on sea animals, Dutch scientists have [...]
Land Use/Forests
IUCN’s New Red List for Ecosystem Alerts, Green List for Rewards
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, September 9, 2012 (ENS) – A new conservation tool – the Red List of Ecosystems – debuted today at the World Conservation Congress to [...]
Latest News
Pacific ‘Large Ocean Island States’ Conserve Huge Marine Areas
RAROTONGA, Cook Islands, September 3, 2012 (ENS) – Two enormous new marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean have been designated by two of the world’s countries with [...]
Energy
Shell to Start Arctic Drill Preparations, Lawsuit Filed
WASHINGTON, DC, August 30, 2012 (ENS) – The Obama Administration today gave Shell approval to prepare for oil drilling in environmentally fragile Chukchi Sea off Alaska although a [...]
Latest News
New Caledonia to Safeguard Vast Pacific Ocean Area
RARATONGA, Cook Islands, August 29, 2012 (ENS) – The French Pacific Ocean territory of New Caledonia has pledged to create a vast marine protected area in its exclusive [...]
Air/Climate
Arctic Sea Ice Cover Lowest on Record, Melt Continues
BOULDER, Colorado, August 28, 2012 (ENS) – Arctic sea ice cover has melted to its lowest extent in the 33-year satellite record, breaking the previous record low observed in [...]
Energy
Greenpeace Battles Gazprom Over Russia’s Arctic Drill Rig
MOSCOW, Russia, August 27, 2012 (ENS) – Two days after voluntarily ending its occupation of the first permanent oil rig in the offshore Russian Arctic, Greenpeace International has [...]
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EPA Asked to Set National Marine Plastic Debris Standard
SAN FRANCISCO, California, August 23, 2012 (ENS) – The Center for Biological Diversity filed a legal petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday that asks the agency [...]
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Hong Kong Probes Liability for Plastic Pellet Spill
HONG KONG, China, August 14, 2012 (ENS) – Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says he supports the investigation into who is responsible for the plastic pellet spill, in [...]
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UN Chief Seeks to Strengthen Law of the Sea Treaty
YEOSU, South Korea, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday introduced the Oceans Compact, a new initiative to support and strengthen implementation of the [...]
Oceans
Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Up on Galveston Island
GALVESTON, Texas, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – Thousands of dead fish that washed ashore on Galveston Island over the weekend were killed by a toxic algal bloom, state officials [...]
Energy
U.S. Opens Alaska Reserve to Onshore, Offshore Drilling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today proposed to allow additional oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, [...]
Latest News
Typhoon Dumps Tons of Plastic Pellets on Hong Kong Beaches
HONG KONG, China, August 8, 2012 (ENS) – Containers full of plastic pellets swept from a ship during Typhoon Vicente last month have broken open, scattering the pellets [...]
Energy
Groups Seeking Oil Spill Dispersant Rule Sue EPA
WASHINGTON, DC, August 7, 2012 (ENS) – A coalition of conservation, wildlife and public health groups in the Gulf of Mexico region and in Alaska filed a Clean Water [...]
Oceans
CO2 Carried Into Southern Ocean Depths
CANBERRA, Australia, July 31, 2012 (ENS) – A team of British and Australian scientists has discovered how the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2, is drawn down from the [...]
Energy
Chemical Safety Board Invites Public to BP Explosion Hearing
HOUSTON, Texas, July 19, 2012 (ENS) – The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has announced a public hearing in Houston next week to release preliminary findings of the agency’s investigation [...]
Oceans
Five States Funded for Japanese Tsunami Debris Response
WASHINGTON, DC, July 18, 2012 (ENS) – Federal ocean authorities are making $250,000 in grants available to five states hit by debris from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami.
Alaska, [...]
Oceans
South Korea Backs Away from ‘Research’ Whaling Plan
SEOUL, South Korea, July 17, 2012 (ENS) – South Korea has abandoned its recently announced plan to hunt whales for scientific research, according to senior government officials.
First mentioned [...]