Chile Reels in Salmon Farming
Chile is the second largest producer of salmon in the world. But these fish don’t occur there naturally. Instead, the salmon swim within enclosed nets, often tightly packed together. Kept off the country’s coastline, fish farms like these can pollute local ecosystems. But in Patagonia, Chile has begun taking steps to protect some of its wild waters from the farmed fish.
Sand mining Is Booming Along With Fracking
Fracking, the latest craze in the quest to produce oil and gas, has been blamed for environmental problems ranging from flammable tap water to minor earthquakes. Now a new risk is emerging: sand mining. To squeeze hydrocarbons out of shale through hydraulic fracturing of the rock, the process known as fracking, producers need to pump an enormous amount of sand into the ground.
Green Project Attempts To Tackle Jakarta’s Huge Mountains of Waste
Mountains of trash, about 6,000 tons, are dumped unceremoniously into Jakarta’s open landfills every day, leaking pollution into the waters or just ending up blown into the sea…But enterprising groups of activists have been busy trying to reduce the growing pile of garbage.
Officials Seek Public Comment On Beach Renourishment Project, California
Residents have two weeks left to comment on the Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project. In 2011 dollars, the project will cost $84.9 million over the 50-year lifespan.
Japan finds radiation in rice, more tests planned
Japan is ordering more tests on rice growing near Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, after finding elevated levels of radiation, government officials said Saturday.
Oil Still Threatens a Cajun Paradise
More than a year after the BP well was plugged, oil still floats on the surface and moves with the wind, spreading its tentacles to birds and fish and anything else that touches its toxic trail across the sea.
Huge Ancient Roman Shipyard Unearthed in Italy
Few Roman Imperial shipyards have been discovered and, if all identification are correct, this would be the largest of its kind in Italy or the Mediterranean.
Nitrate Levels Rising in Northwestern Pacific Ocean
Changes in the ratio of nitrate to phosphorus in the oceans off the coasts of Korea and Japan caused by atmospheric and riverine pollutants may influence the makeup of marine plants and influence marine ecology, according to researchers from Korea and the U. S.
Approaching the 2011 Arctic Sea Ice Minimum, NASA Animation
Every year, the frozen Arctic Ocean emerges from winter and thaws under the 24-hour light of the summer sun. Each year is different: sometimes ice retreats from the shores in dramatic fashion and other years have a more gradual melt. 2011 proved to be a year of extreme melt.