Showing no Signs of Giving Ground, China and US Remain at Odds over South China Sea Projects
The U.S. and most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations want a halt to the projects, which they suspect are aimed at building islands and other land features over which China can claim sovereignty. U.S. officials say China has reclaimed about 2,000 acres of dry land since 2014.
NASA Study Shows Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf Nearing Its Final Act
A new NASA study finds the last remaining section of Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf, which partially collapsed in 2002, is quickly weakening and likely to disintegrate completely before the end of the decade.
Oil Spill In Vancouver Would Coat Beaches Within Hours: Analysis
An analysis of the impact on Vancouver’s inlets and beaches in the event of a major oil spill contends the shoreline would be coated in crude within hours.
Decade-Old Gulf Oil Spill Could Last 100 Years
A decade-old oil leak where an offshore platform toppled during a hurricane could continue spilling crude into the Gulf of Mexico for a century or more if left unchecked, according to government estimates obtained by The Associated Press that provide new details about the scope of the problem.
Lego Ends Shell Partnership Following Greenpeace Campaign
Lego -the world’s biggest toy maker – said the company will not renew its marketing contract with Shell after coming under sustained pressure from Greenpeace to end a partnership that dates to the 1960s.
Seattle Becomes Shell’s Arctic Base
The arrival in Seattle Thursday of an oil rig Royal Dutch Shell is outfitting for oil exploration in the remote Arctic Ocean marks a pivotal moment for an environmental movement increasingly mobilized around climate change.
Editorial: Beach Replenishment is No Cure-All
What do you do if a beach replenishment project is not working the way it was intended? That is the question facing Sea Bright, NJ, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers these days.
Further Assessment Needed of Dispersants Used in Response to Oil Spills
Experts argue for further in-depth assessments of the impacts of dispersants on microorganisms to guide their use in response to future oil spills. Chemical dispersants are widely used in emergency responses to oil spills in marine environments as a means of stimulating microbial degradation of oil.
U.S. Gives Conditional OK To Shell Oil For Drilling Off Alaska’s Arctic Shore
The Obama administration has given conditional approval to Shell Oil’s plan to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean this summer. The company wants to resume drilling in the Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska; it broke off that effort in 2012 because of safety problems.