Breaking Waves: Ocean News

03/27/2023 - 14:09
A Canada Pacific train derailed on Sunday night, affecting 31 of its 70 cars, and spilling petroleum used to make asphalt A train carrying hazardous materials derailed in North Dakota late on Sunday night in the latest toxic railway accident to hit the US. The incident happened less than two months after a train derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, causing a raging fire and leaking cancerous chemicals near the small town of East Palestine. Continue reading...
03/27/2023 - 12:20
Extinction Rebellion leads protest and council leader expresses anger over damage done to protected site Environmental activists, biodiversity experts, politicians and nature lovers are demanding answers over an oil leak in Poole harbour, a site internationally recognised for its ecological importance. Nearly 200 barrels of reservoir fluid – a brine mixture that is about 15% oil – leaked into the waters of Owers Bay on Sunday afternoon from a pipeline operated by the energy company Perenco. Continue reading...
03/27/2023 - 10:43
A sailor in Poole in Dorset posted a video on social media on Sunday showing an oily substance he had noticed leaking into the water in the harbour. He collected some of the 'horrible, oil kind of sludge' in a plastic bottle. The public is being urged to avoid using the water and beaches within Poole after the harbour regulator said a leak occurred at a pipeline operated by gas company Perenco. The incident, which took place at Wytch Farm oilfield, resulted in approximately 200 barrels of 'reservoir fluid' being released from the UK’s largest onshore field Poole harbour: major incident declared over leak from oilfield Continue reading...
03/27/2023 - 10:30
Residents show skepticism to officials insisting tap water is uncontaminated after chemical spill in the Delaware River Residents in Philadelphia and nearby areas have been buying bottled water after a chemical spill upstream in the Delaware River in neighboring Bucks county, despite officials’ latest advisory insisting tap water was safe to drink at least up to midnight Monday. The concerns came after a leak late Friday evening at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township spilled between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of a water-based latex finishing solution into the river, Bucks county health officials said Sunday. Continue reading...
03/27/2023 - 09:00
The agreement delivers important changes to the safeguard mechanism. But there is still a lot of work to do Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The safeguard mechanism is a better policy to deal with major industrial greenhouse gas emissions after a deal between the Albanese government and the Greens. It is not perfect, it is needlessly complicated and there are still things to be ironed out about how some of the headline changes will work. But it is an improvement. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...
03/27/2023 - 03:30
Students at Princeton describe unease that Exxon employee had an office on campus, while dozens of universities have big oil links The lecturer looked, and sounded, the part. Sporting a pale blue shirt and Princeton University ID badge, he had his own office on campus, a short stroll from the room where several dozen students were gathered to hear him confidently talk about the challenges in moving away from fossil fuels. Tim Barckholtz is not a Princeton professor, however. He is a senior scientific adviser at ExxonMobil, the oil giant that has done so much to both perpetuate and downplay the climate crisis. Barckholtz, an affable figure who has fronted adverts for Exxon touting its emissions reduction research, spent around six months sitting in and contributing to lectures and research groups, based in his own office space at the elite university. Continue reading...
03/27/2023 - 00:00
Population likely to peak sooner and lower than expected with beneficial results – but environment is priority The long-feared “population bomb” may not go off, according to the authors of a new report that estimates that human numbers will peak lower and sooner than previously forecast. The study, commissioned by the Club of Rome, projects that on current trends the world population will reach a high of 8.8 billion before the middle of the century, then decline rapidly. The peak could come earlier still if governments take progressive steps to raise average incomes and education levels. Continue reading...
03/26/2023 - 22:39
Adam Bandt says deal puts ‘significant hurdles’ in the way of new coal and gas but Chris Bowen insists it will not kill off new investment Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The Albanese government’s signature climate bill targeting big polluters is a step closer to passing after a deal with the Greens including an absolute cap on emissions. The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, announced the deal on the safeguard mechanism bill on Monday, taking credit for “a big hit on coal and gas” that could effectively block half of 116 proposed new fossil fuel projects. Continue reading...
03/26/2023 - 20:00
In the latest episode of the American Shoreline Podcast, co-hosts Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham speak with Joelle Gore, Stewardship Division Chief, Office for Coastal Management at NOAA, and Jessica Grannis, Program Director, Coastal Resilience at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, about the 2023 National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF). The guests discuss how the NCRF, which is being supported by funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, aims to enhance protections for coastal communities from the impacts of storms, floods and other natural coastal hazards while also improving habitats for fish and wildlife. They also cover the selection process for funding, the role of partnerships in advancing coastal resilience, and successful projects that have been funded in the past.
03/26/2023 - 18:01
National Infrastructure Commission accuses ministers of ‘prevarication’ over installation of heat pumps Ministers have made negligible progress in improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s homes even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need to cut the reliance on gas for home heating, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). The independent infrastructure tsars’ annual report warned that the progress towards improving the UK’s infrastructure “stuttered further” last year, despite the need for increased investment to meet its economic and climate goals. Continue reading...