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Massive oil plume discovered in the Gulf

Posted by ep-admin on Thursday, 19 August 2010 in Oil Spill

Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have detected a plume of hydrocarbons that is at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, reports a study published in Science. The 1....

A Colossal Fracking Mess

Posted by ep-admin on Wednesday, 18 August 2010 in Earth Violators

Early on a spring morning in the town of Damascus in northeastern Pennsylvania, the fog on the Delaware River rises to form a mist that hangs above the tree-covered hills on either side. A buzzard swoops in from the northern hills to join a flock ensconced in an evergreen on the rive...

Lobster Dieoffs Linked to Chemicals in Plastics

Posted by ep-admin on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 in Wildlife Conservation

Lobsters in Long Island Sound have suffered intense dieoffs in the past decade, and a peculiar affliction, known as “shell disease,” has been a major contributor. Now, a molecular biologist at the University of Connecticut has discovered that waterborne chemicals, leached from plastics and d...

<p>Lobster showing characteristics of shell disease. Photo courtesy of Rhode Island Sea Grant</p>

Largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere to be built in Australia

Posted by ep-admin on Monday, 16 August 2010 in Wind

The largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere will be built in Australia at Macarthur near Hamilton, 260km west of Melbourne, Victoria. Comprising 140 Vestas V112-3.0 MW wind turbine generators, the 420 MW Macarthur Wind Farm will have the capacity to power more than 220,000 average Victo...

Energy Self-Sufficiency Demonstration Project Starts up in Angoon, Promises to Cut Energy Costs by Sixty-Five Percent

Posted by ep-admin on Monday, 16 August 2010 in Energy Efficiency

Angoon, AK-- A demonstration project is underway in Angoon focusing on energy self-sufficiency in Southeast Alaska's rural villages. A large number of rural communities in the region and the state are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, such as diesel and heating oil -unsustainable resources...

Big Oil Maintains Stranglehold on Congress

Posted by ep-admin on Friday, 13 August 2010 in Earth Violators

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has just announced he is withdrawing oil disaster legislation until after August recess. Following is a statement by Peter Lehner, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council: “Two weeks after the U.S. Senate shelved efforts to limit the carbon poll...

Biotech offers promise for producing fuel

Posted by ep-admin on Friday, 13 August 2010 in Biofuels

LOS ANGELES -- Fuel may be a messy business now, as the oil spill fouling the Gulf reminds us. But it might not always have to be. Scientists envision facilities that churn out black gold by enlisting engineered bacteria, yeast and algae to do all the dirty work. Recently, scientists reported a si...

Obama: Gulf beaches open for business

Posted by ep-admin on Friday, 13 August 2010 in Oil Spill

President Obama declared Gulf Coast beaches clean, safe and open for business Saturday as he brought his family to the Florida Panhandle and promised residents that the government wouldn't forget them once efforts to stop the leak are finished. On a warm and muggy day, Obama pledged to "k...

Dissecting the U.S. Wind Market

Posted by ep-admin on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 in Wind

California Doing business in the U.S. wind market is a tumultuous affair. After a number of years of high growth, the wind industry is facing a down year, partly due to the lack of consistent policy. As wind professionals watch the space with uncertainty, it's more important than ever to hav...

Is Russia One Deadly Heat Wave Away From Climate Protection?

Posted by ep-admin on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 in Air Quality

"Practically everything is burning." That's what Russian President Dmitri Medvedev had to say about the results of a massive heat wave that has already left more than 1,000 dead and, according to some estimates, is now killing 700 a day. It took this toll to finally make cli...

Giant "ice island" 4-times the size of Manhattan breaks off of Greenland

Posted by ep-admin on Monday, 09 August 2010 in Climate Change

A large mass of ice broke off of Greenland's Petermann glacier on August 5th, 2010; the largest ice island to calve off Greenland since 1962. The ice island is immense; 4-times the size of Manhattan or over 100 square miles of surface area. The ice island is likely to break down to smaller ice bergs...

Please help save the Leatherback Sea Turtles!!

Posted by ep-admin on Monday, 09 August 2010 in Animals

Dear Family and Friends, On the 8th of January 2011, I will be taking on the challenge of volunteering to help save the Leatherback Sea Turtles in Costa Rica, the largest sea turtle in the world. I will be joining scientist and other volunteers to help end the devastating effects that plague th...

Ten key indicators show global warming 'undeniable'

Posted by ep-admin on Sunday, 08 August 2010 in Climate Change

Melting glaciers, more humid air and eight other key indicators show that global warming is undeniable, scientists said on Wednesday, citing a new comprehensive review of the last decade of climate data. Without addressing why this is happening, the researchers said there was no doubt that every dec...

Help Save Japan's Dolphins

Posted by ep-admin on Sunday, 08 August 2010 in Wildlife Conservation

In The Cove, a team of activists and filmmakers infiltrate a heavily-guarded cove in Taiji, Japan. In this remote village they witness and document activities deliberately being hidden from the public: More than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered each year and their meat, conta...

Hawaii sugar grower working to power Navy

Posted by ep-admin on Sunday, 08 August 2010 in Sustainable Development

HONOLULU — The federal government has turned to a 130-year-old Hawaii sugar grower for help in powering the Navy and weaning the nation off a heavy reliance on fossil fuels. It will spend at least $10 million over the next five years to fund research and development at Maui cane fields for crops ca...

Gulf disaster renews interest in biofuel technology

Posted by ep-admin on Sunday, 08 August 2010 in Biofuels

Even as last of BP oil spilled on the Gulf Coast dissipates, interest in Florida's biofuel industrypiqued by the spill may linger, and even grow. For the moment certainly, biofuels such as ethanol and algae-derived diesel are gaining traction in the minds of the public and energy producers. Coul...

Can The U.S. Keep Up In Clean Energy Race?

Posted by ep-admin on Saturday, 07 August 2010 in General Environment

By Teryn Norris & Daniel Goldfarb This article originally appeared at the National Journal Energy Expert Blog as part of a special series called “Can The U.S. Keep Up In Clean Energy Race?“ U.S. economic leadership is at a crossroads. Recent outlooks suggest we may experience long-term stagnat...

2010: The year nature struck back?

Posted by ep-admin on Friday, 06 August 2010 in Climate Change

Will 2010 be remembered as the year when nature struck back? We’ve witnessed the devastating Earthquake in Haiti, the toxic oil gusher in the Gulf, and now, historic floods in Pakistan that have killed over 1,000 people and displaced millions more. And those are just the international headlines. Di...

Building peace through environmental conservation

Posted by ep-admin on Thursday, 05 August 2010 in Peace

In recent decades debates about the relationship between the environment and peace have focused on how environmental problems like resource scarcity and climate change are likely to create or exacerbate conflict. The emerging discussion that links rising temperatures caused by climate change...

Rescue Plan for Endangered Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico

Posted by ep-admin on Tuesday, 03 August 2010 in Oil Spill

Wildlife experts in the United States have announced an ambitious plan to rescue hundreds of turtle nests and eggs from the potential impacts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Using a strategy never tested before on such a massive scale, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will coordinate the ...