Posts Tagged ‘Water’
Illegal Fishing Costing Billions
Fish piracy, seafood caught illegally, not reported to authorities or outside environmental and catch regulations, represents as much as $10 billion to $23 billion in global losses each year, a non-profit conservation group estimated Wednesday. Because pirated fish is sold on black markets, specifics of the economic impact are tough. . .
California Drilling Auctions Postponed
Federal land managers have postponed all oil and gas lease auctions in California until October, citing budget problems and low staffing as well as the toll of environmental litigation. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management recently announced it would put off an auction planned for later this month for leases. . .
Ocean Temps Highest In 150 Years
The warmest year on record for the continental U.S. also brought the warmest recorded sea surface temperatures in 150 years for the East Coast between Cape Hatteras, N.C. and the Gulf of Maine. Using satellite and ship-board measurements, NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) reported thataverage surface temperatures reached 57.2 F (14 C) in. . .
Endangered Waters Report Says Colorado River At Most Risk
Drought and demand are pushing the Colorado River beyond its limits, with the needs of more than 40 million people in seven Western states projected to outstrip dwindling supply over the next 50 years, according to an advocacy group’s report on endangered rivers released on Wednesday. The annual top-10 list. . .
EPA Finds U.S. Rivers Lacking
More than half of the country’s rivers and streams are in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures, according to a new nationwide survey released Tuesday. The Environmental Protection Agency sampled nearly 2,000 locations in 2008 and 2009, from rivers as large as. . .
WA Power Plant Leaking Nuclear Waste
Radioactive waste tanks may be leaking some 1,000 gallons per year at Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday officials are still evaluating how to effectively remove the remaining material from the problematic tanks. The 1,000-gallon figure is a rough estimate based on the early assessment of. . .
Shell Suspends Arctic Drilling For 2013
Royal Dutch Shell PLC announced Wednesday that it will suspend its offshore petroleum drilling program in the Arctic Ocean for 2013, taking a break to make sure it can do so safely. The company announced it will “pause” exploration in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast and in the. . .
U.S. Water Infrastructure Repairs At Risk
Repairing U.S. water infrastructure is becoming increasingly expensive and options for funding upgrades to sewers, storm drains and drinking water systems are under threat, the National League of Cities told a congressional hearing on Friday. Costs for the repairs run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, with federal estimates. . .
Texas Drought Could Be Worst Ever In 2013
Texas continues to suffer a serious rainfall deficit and is on track to experience the second-worst drought on record, the state climatologist said Tuesday. John Nielsen-Gammon told the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees that most of the state is still in extreme drought and the forecast tilts toward drier-than-normal. . .
When the Levee Breaks
Inspectors taking the first-ever inventory of flood control systems overseen by the federal government have found hundreds of structures at risk of failing and endangering people and property in 37 states. Levees deemed in unacceptable condition span the breadth of America. They are in every region, in cities and towns. . .
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to one and all. All the best for 2013. New Year’s resolutions have been made, most of those will not make it to February, but hey resolutions are made to be broken. So since we’re in the New Year, I’d like to make a few new Top Ten. . .
Arid West Wants To Tap Into Mississippi River
Even as drought-stricken Midwestern states squabble over diminishing water supplies in the region, a new federal-state study raises the idea of constructing a 670-mile pipeline to divert water from one of the Mississippi’s major tributaries to help seven arid states in the West. For two years, the U.S. Bureau of. . .
NOAA Predicts Six Feet Rise In Ocean Waters By 2100
The worst potential scenario for sea level rise around the US coastline this century is more than two meters, says an authoritative report issued today by NOAA’s Climate Program Office. More than 8 million people in the US live in areas at risk of coastal flooding. Along the Atlantic Coast. . .
Debate On Rebuilding NJ Beaches After Sandy To Intensify
The average New Jersey beach is 30 to 40 feet narrower after Superstorm Sandy, according to a survey that is sure to intensify a long-running debate on whether federal dollars should be used to replenish stretches of sand that only a fraction of U.S. taxpayers use. Some of New Jersey’s. . .
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