10 years after BP spill: Oil drilled deeper; rules relaxed
Industry leaders and government officials say they’re determined to prevent a repeat of BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster. Yet safety rules adopted in the spill’s aftermath have been eased as part of Trump’s drive to boost U.S. oil production.
Eurasian ice sheet collapse raised seas eight metres: study
Ice sheets melting or breaking away as global temperatures rise are subject to what climate scientists term temperature “tipping points”. Many researchers fear that the ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica will continue to melt even if warming is slowed as carbon emissions are cut.
‘We’ve been abandoned’: a decade later, Deepwater Horizon still haunts Mexico
Amid public and political outrage in the US, BP took full responsibility for the worst oil spill of the 20th century. But BP denied the oil reached Mexico, claiming the ocean current propelled the huge spill in the opposite direction. However, fishermen and Mexican scientists knew this wasn’t true.
Polynesian sailing vessels are being used to clean up microplastics
Pacific Islanders are banding together to bring attention to the tons of plastic waste washing up on once-pristine shores.
US to have major floods on daily basis unless sea-level rise is curbed – study
Flooding events that now occur in America once in a lifetime could become a daily occurrence along the vast majority of the US coastline if sea level rise is not curbed, according to a new study that warns the advancing tides will “radically redefine the coastline of the 21st century”.
We’re watching them die’: can right whales pull back from the brink?
Dedicated conservationists are striving to save the North Atlantic right whale – believed to be down to 400 individuals as ships and fishing gear take their toll.
Creating a sustainable sand industry requires greater regulation – here’s why
Until its trade is more closely monitored and regulated, sand will continue to be exploited, threatening the very building blocks of modern society. But surveillance alone may not be enough: the industry urgently needs more alternatives to sand.
Scientists confirm dramatic melting of Greenland ice sheet
There was a dramatic melting of Greenland’s ice sheet in the summer of 2019, researchers have confirmed, in a study that reveals the loss was largely due to a persistent zone of high pressure over the region.
Images of Venice from space show how current crisis has changed the city’s iconic canals
The European Space Agency has released two images of Venice, taken one year apart, which highlight the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on its famous waterways.