In celebration of Earth Day, Gaute Hogh, publisher of the book 100 Places to Go Before They Disappear, was interviewed. The book features 100 photographs from one hundred different places around the world in risk of disappearing or seriously threatened by climate change.
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New Caledonia’s Lagoon: Better Understanding for Better Protection
New Caledonia possesses the second largest coral reef lagoon on Earth and harbours an exceptional biodiversity. The island is also the world’s third most important nickel producer. Ore extraction over the 20th Century has in places tripled the input of sediments and accompanying pollutants, such as metals, in the marine environment.
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3,200 Gulf wells unplugged, unprotected lie abandoned beneath the Gulf of Mexico
More than 3,200 oil and gas wells classified as active lie abandoned beneath the Gulf of Mexico, with no cement plugging to help prevent leaks that could threaten the same waters fouled by last year’s BP spill. These wells likely pose an even greater environmental threat than the 27,000 wells in the Gulf that have been plugged and classified officially as “permanently abandoned” or “temporarily abandoned.”
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Earth has 657 more barrier islands than previously thought, according to a new global survey by researchers from Duke University and Meredith College. Barrier islands help protect low-lying mainland coasts against erosion and storm damage, and can be important wildlife habitats.
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Hundreds of so-called tsunami stones, some more than six centuries old, dot the coast of Japan, standing in silent testimony to the past destruction that these lethal waves have frequented upon this earthquake-prone nation. But modern Japan, confident that advanced technology and higher seawalls would protect vulnerable areas, came to forget or ignore these ancient warnings, dooming it to repeat bitter experiences when the recent tsunami struck.
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One year after the BP oil spill began, spurring 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the largest oil spill in U.S. history, it’s still far from certain that deepwater drilling has become much safer, as the environmental impact remains uncertain.
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With the new Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) 2011 notification, exploiting the coastline of Chennai, East of India, becomes that much more difficult. But loop holes are found everywhere, and concerns mount over sand mining and other alterations of the beaches’ natural state.
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Near coastlines, harbors and rivers, earthquakes can make the wet, sandy soil jiggle, turning it temporarily from a solid to a liquid state, a process known as liquefaction. Japan’s soil liquefaction occurred over hundreds of miles, surprising even experienced engineers who are accustomed to seeing disaster sites, including from the recent earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand.
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Asia, the world’s most seismically charged region, is undergoing a nuclear renaissance as it struggles to harness enough power for its huge populations and booming economies. The skeleton of what will soon be one of the world’s biggest nuclear plants is slowly taking shape along China’s southeastern coast, right on the doorstep of Hong Kong’s bustling metropolis. Like Japan’s Dai-ichi plant they lie within a few hundred miles of the type of fault known to unleash the largest tsunami-spawning earthquakes.
Read MoreBeach of the Month
Photo of the Month
Plastic Pollution
Sand Wars – United Nations-GEA
Sand Mining Detrimental Effects
The World’s Beaches
Coastal Care Junior
NASA – Fly along with NASA’s fleet of Earth science missions and observe Earth from a global perspective in an immersive, 3-D environment.
