Blameworthy Firm Pledges Help to Clear Hong Kong Plastic Spill
Chinese petrochemical giant Sinopec promised to help clean up a big spill of tiny plastic pellets in Hong Kong waters which have washed onto many beaches and begun killing fish in fish farms.
New Global Warming Culprit: Dams
Washington State University researchers have documented an underappreciated suite of players in global warming: dams, the water reservoirs behind them, and surges of greenhouse gases as water levels go up and down.
Call for levy on single-use plastic bags in England
Environmental groups demand plastic bags should be charged after data shows rise in annual usage for second year in a row.
Caffeinated Coastal Waters
A new study finds elevated levels of caffeine at several sites in Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Oregon, though not necessarily where researchers expected.
NOAA Collects 50 metric Tons of Marine Debris From Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
The crew of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship pulled 50 metric tons of marine debris out of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the northwestern Hawaiian Islands last month, part of an ongoing mission since 1996 to clean up the shallow coral reef environment.
Seabirds Study Shows Plastic Pollution Reaching Surprising Levels Off Coast of Pacific Northwest
Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of British Columbia.
Arctic drilling creeps forward now, and in 5 years
In choppy water under blue sky off Bellingham, Wash., a Shell Oil crew lowered a “capping stack” 200 feet in the water and put it through maneuvers with underwater robots connected by cable to operators on the surface, a test that fulfilled one of the final steps required for permission to drill exploratory wells in Arctic waters…
Toronto Council Votes for Plastic Bag Ban
Canada’s largest city will eliminate its mandatory plastic bag fee on Sunday, just six months before joining the growing movement to ban the single-use bags entirely.
NRDC Annual Beach Report: Closing & Advisory Days Hit Third-Highest Level in Two Decades
America’s beaches saw the third-highest number of closing and advisory days in more than two decades last year, confirming the nation’s seashores continue to suffer from stormwater runoff and sewage pollution that can make people sick and harm coastal economies, according to the 22nd annual beachwater quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council.