Bold Plan Proposed to Save Coastal Louisiana

A $50 billion, 50-year proposal aspires to stop coastal land loss in Louisiana. Since the 1930s, the state’s coast has lost about 1,900 square miles, an area larger than Rhode Island.

Greenland’s Ice Is Growing Darker

In the past decade satellites have observed a decrease in Greenland’s reflectiveness. This darker surface now absorbs more sunlight, which accelerates melting. So why is the area becoming darker?

Stricken Rena Cargo Ship Finally Sinks Off New Zealand’s Coast

Debris and oil is floating from the mess of the sinking Rena container ship as its stern finally slips under the water more than three months after it ran into New Zealand’s Astrolabe reef. Officials said trajectory projections showed containers could wash up on beaches as far as Mercury Bay over the next few years.

Belize Protected Area Boosting Predatory Fish Populations

Sensitive coral reef ecosystems require a delicate balance of marine life to thrive. From the barracudas at the top of the food chain to the algae at the bottom, the system works together to keep itself healthy. A 14-year study by the WCS in an atoll reef lagoon in Glover’s Reef, Belize, has found that fishing closures there produce encouraging results.

Mexico Says 1,500-barrel Oil Spill Controlled

Mexico’s Environment Department says a spill of 1,500 barrels of oil from a pipeline near the Gulf coast has been brought under control, and about 40 percent of the oil has been recovered. Video from the scene shows the banks of the river coated in black sludge.

Nigeria’s Oil Disasters Are Met By Silence

The global media have had little to say on Nigeria’s latest oil spill and the hundreds of others that have destroyed so many lives. In any other region of the world the behaviour of the oil companies involved would result in major sanctions and criminal prosecutions…

Disaster zone as oil slick threatens Christmas Island

Christmas Island is bracing for an environmental and economic crisis after a stricken Panama-flagged MV Tycoon container ship split in two at Flying Fish Cove yesterday afternoon, having been ripped from its berth by a big swell, and leaked tonnes of pollutants into its pristine waters. Experts warned that the spill was a potential disaster for the ecologically important area, with crabs, birds and coral all threatened.

Rena Cargo Washing up On beaches

Months after Bay of Plenty locals cleared their beaches of oil and container debris, the job has begun again as the stricken Rena loses more cargo overboard. Officials were warning beachgoers to stay away from the debris that has washed ashore.