The Russian tanker that broke in two in the Black Sea is killing dolphins, Russia’s environment watchdog has said. Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of state environment watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said the oil had polluted a 50-km (30-mile) long stretch of Black Sea coastline and rescue workers would have to remove 10,000 tonnes of oily sludge from … Read More
impact on wildlife
Soldiers Deployed to Black Sea Oil Spill
As hundreds of Russian soldiers have been deployed to clean up a 2,000-tonne oil spill in the weather has deteriorated, in the worse storms to hit the region in thirty years. Officials are now warning of “an environmental catastrophe” as high winds and heavy rain continued to lash Russia’s southern coastline. Thousands of tonnes of … Read More
Exxon Can Contest Valdez Fine
And so it continues. Much to the dismay of thousands of Alaskans, Exxon Mobil has won the right to appeal against a $2.5bn damages bill relating to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The US Supreme Court said it would hear the appeal against record damages due to victims of the Valdez oil spill. The case … Read More
Humanity’s Survival is at Risk, Says UN
The speed at which mankind has used the Earth’s resources over the past 20 years has put “humanity’s very survival” at risk, a UN study involving 1,400 scientists has concluded. The study found that each person in the world now requires a third more land to supply his or her needs than the Earth can … Read More
Lake Teshekpuk at Risk From Bush’s Drilling Plan
The Wilderness Society is urging people to oppose the Bush Administration’s plans to sacrifice one of the world’s most important ecosystems in Alaska. Although nearly ninety percent of this region is already open to oil and gas drilling, the ecologically fragile area around Teshekpuk Lake is so important to Native communities and wildlife that it … Read More
A “Warm Wind’ in the Arctic
The Arctic is being hit by melting ice, hotter air and dying wildlife, according to a US government report on the impact of climate change there. A new wind circulation pattern is blowing more warm air towards the North Pole than in the 20th Century, scientists found. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) … Read More
Ecaudor Bans Drilling in Yasuni
The Reuters news agency is reporting that Ecuador has confirmed it will not allow oil drilling inside part of the Yasuni rainforest. The move could hurt the operations of China’s Andes Petroleum, Spain’s Repsol, and Brazil’s Petrobras who manage oil fields partially inside the area. “We are not going to allow oil exploitation in this … Read More
UK: Government Ponders $30 Billion Severn Barrage
For more than 150 years, engineers have toyed with the idea of constructing a dam across the width of the Bristol Channel, in Western England. However, the scheme took a large step towards reality yesterday, when John Hutton, the Secretary of State for Business, announced a multimillion- pound feasibility study into the construction of a … Read More
Court Halts Shell Oil Exploration in Beaufort Sea
The second marine impact story is from Alaska. Oil giant Shell, which was poised to start oil exploration in the Beaufort Sea, cannot proceed until the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether the potential for environmental damage was properly considered by the federal agency that issued an exploration permit to the oil company. A … Read More
Sakhalin: Covert British Backing “Endangers Whales’
Two stories on the impact of oil on marine mammals with environmental and Indigenous groups fighting back against the oil industry. Two environmental groups have accused the British Government of covertly sponsoring Royal Dutch Shell’s Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project off east Russia, which they say is causing major environmental damage and threatening a rare … Read More