Bio-remedation consists of utilizing living organisms (such as bacteria, fungi and plants) to absorb organic-molecules, converting them into safer byproducts such as carbon dioxide and water. The process can be carried out on either land or water, but has gained some attention in recent years, especially following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico) Oil […]
Comment: Stop drilling in the Arctic
In late March, the U.S. Department of the Interior swung the door wide open to drilling in the remote waters of the Arctic Ocean when it announced that it was reaffirming controversial Bush-era leases for the Chukchi Sea. In 2008, the Bush administration offered nearly 30 million acres of remote and poorly understood ocean to […]
What does the data on oil spills look like?
The warnings are stark, the images dire. “If drilling is allowed off the East Coast of the United States, it puts our beaches, our fishermen, and our environment in the crosshairs for an oil spill that could devastate our shores,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a press conference last month. And this week, the […]
Predicting an oil spills ocean travels
Considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in history, April 2010’s BP’s Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico challenged scientists to think about the way in which oil and other pollutants move in the ocean. Scientists in the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE), in partnership with other researchers, […]
Comment: How to ignore an environmental catastrophe
The explosions that rocked BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 set in motion a series of environmental events that captured the attention of the world for much of the year. Media coverage of the environmental harm caused by the disaster, however, was sporadic — as were reactions to […]
A dubious first for Canadian Natural Resources
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. has admitted a series of never-ending spills on its property could be caused, or at least exacerbated, by its own high-pressure steaming. It’s the first time the company has admitted this, despite fact environmentalist critics have been saying it for years. And 5 years ago the Energy Resources Conservation Board (regulator […]