Environmental Glance
The Antarctic ozone hole, which was expected to reduce in size swiftly when manmade chlorine emissions were outlawed 27 years ago, is stubbornly remaining the size of North America, new data from Nasa suggests.
The hole in the thin layer of gas, which helps shield life on Earth from potentially harmful ultraviolet solar radiation that can cause skin cancers, grows and contracts throughout the year but reached its maximum extent on 9 September when monitors at the south pole showed it to cover 24.1m square km (9.3m sq miles). This is about 9% below the record maximum in 2000 but almost the same as in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
Ozone hole remains size of North America, Nasa data shows
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil from BP spill may be on the ocean floor
Over 5 million barrels of oil was released into the ocean during the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and up to 620,000 barrels may now be on the ocean floor, a new study finds.
The study, done by geochemists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, looked at sediment samples from the Gulf of Mexico and located evidence of the chemical Hopane, which indicates the presence of crude oil. It was known that 2 million barrels of the 5 million barrels spilled had not been collected, and the researchers determined between 4 and 31 percent of the 2 million barrels has reached the ocean floor.
Colombian farmers sue BP for $29M over alleged land degredation
Colombian farmers took on oil giant BP in the British High Court on Wednesday, in a lawsuit that alleges that the company negligently managed the construction of a pipeline in the mid-1990s, resulting in severe damage to their land.
The four-month trial marks the first time the U.K. firm has faced a domestic court over its actions overseas in what is being billed as one of the largest environmental case of its kind.
Lego To Scrap Shell Deal After Arctic Drilling Protests
Danish toy maker Lego said Thursday it won't renew a deal allowing Shell to hand out Lego sets at its gas stations in some 30 countries, following a viral campaign protesting Arctic drilling.
Environmental activists Greenpeace launched in July a video showing an Arctic landscape with a Shell drilling platform made of Lego bricks covered in oil.
Lego CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp said the protest "may have created misunderstandings among our stakeholders," adding the company didn't want to be embroiled in the environmental campaign.
Strongest 2014 Storm Churns Without Getting Closer Look
The strongest tropical system the Earth has produced in almost a year is now churning in the Pacific Ocean on a track toward Japan.
Super Typhoon Vongfong’s exact strength may never be known. Yesterday, the best estimate pegged its winds at just over 178 miles (286 kilometers) per hour, according to the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Dukesville, NC: Don’t drink the water, locals and activists warn
In Sherry Gobble’s house, the water runs toxic.
Gobble, who lives alongside Duke Energy’s Buck Steam Station in a Rowan County community called Dukeville, discovered six months ago that water in her family’s well contains the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6. Since then, they have armed themselves with bottled water and a growing pile of empty jugs they fill up across town where they know the water isn’t tainted.
She believes the potentially cancer-causing contaminant is seeping in from the leaking coal ash pond next door. It’s a charge Duke Energy vigorously denies.
Earthquake Rattles Wichita, Tulsa; 4.4-Magnitude Tremor Felt Widely in Kansas, Oklahoma
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake rattled a large part of Kansas and Oklahoma Thursday afternoon, just one day after residents had been ducking for cover from tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 1:01 p.m. CDT. The epicenter was 7 miles east-southeast of Harper, Kansas, or about 43 miles southwest of Wichita, Kansas. There have been no immediate reports of damage. Wichita television station KAKE-TV said officials near the epicenter in Harper County, Kansas, reported no known damage.
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