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Archive for June 6th, 2010
Rescuers Plan To Kidnap Rare Fish
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
National Public Radio: A remote pond in the largest old-growth forest in New England is home to one of just a dozen populations of blueback char in the United States. But the trout-like fish have been nearly wiped out by non-native fish illegally introduced to the pond. Now Maine biologists are mounting a rescue operation to capture the pond's few remaining bluebacks for safekeeping until they can remove the invasive smelt.
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BP capturing ‘10,000 barrels of oil’ a day from Gulf of Mexico
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
Guardian: <figure> <figcaption>BP chief executive Tony Hayward said he would not be quitting over the oil spill. Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters</figcaption> </figure> BP's containment cap is capturing 10,000 barrels of oil a day from the leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the company's chief executive said today. The rate is about half a day's flow from the leaking oil well, estimated to be 19,000 barrels a day, but represents the first significant progress in almost seven ...
Saltwater crocodiles surf across the ocean
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
Mongabay: Despite being poor swimmers, researchers have discovered that the saltwater crocodile (also known as estuarine) commonly travels long distances over open oceans by riding ocean currents. The discovery, published in Journal of Animal Ecology, solves an unknown mystery of why saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) are found across vast distance in the Pacific, yet have not diverged into different species. Researchers tracked 27 adult saltwater crocodiles for one year using tags and ...
Mr. President, lead now on fossil fuels
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
LA Times: Here's the president on March 31, announcing his plan to lift a longstanding moratorium on offshore drilling: "Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy." And here he is on May 26, as political pressure started to really build over BP's hole in the bottom of the sea: "We're not ...
Containment Cap Shows Hopeful Signs
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
Associated Press: A containment cap that sucked some of the oil from a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico offered a small sign of progress for a region that has seen its wildlife coated in a lethal oil muck, its fishermen idled and its beaches tarnished by the nation's worst oil spill. BP chief executive Tony Hayward told the BBC on Sunday that over the last 24 hours, the cap placed on the gusher near the sea floor trapped about 420,000 gallons of oil. It's not clear how much is still escaping -- an ...
United States: Environmental activists go up against Massey mining
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
LA Times: In just eight words, James "Guin" McGuinness, a veteran environmental activist, summed up the fight being waged against Massey Energy Co.'s mountaintop removal mining here in the Coal River Valley. "They draw a line," he said. "We step over it." Although public scrutiny of Massey has focused on the April 5 mine explosion that took 29 lives -- a congressional committee grilled company executives last month -- the battle between the company and activists has largely escaped ...
Tourism-dependent Florida braces for hit as next Gulf oil front
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
Agence France-Presse: The welcome sign to this sugar-white sand beach resort Sunday signaled the unwelcome arrival of the Gulf's oil spill eastern front: "Do not pick up oil balls, let the clean-up crew do it." Despite the caution, Illinois tourists Taggert and Tammy Schakelford couldn't help themselves from strolling the water's edge, picking up pea-sized globules of glistening black oil and depositing them in a clear plastic soda bottle. "I don't know," Taggert said, responding to a question of ...
BP sucking up 10,000 barrels daily from US oil leak
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
Agence France-Presse: BP said Sunday it was capturing some 10,000 barrels of crude a day from the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well, raising hopes it could be containing most of the worst oil spill in US history. With an environmental catastrophe unfolding on the shores of Louisiana and fears for neighboring southern states, BP chief's executive Tony Hayward said a cap fitted on the leaking pipe 1,600 meters down on the sea bed appeared to be working. "As we speak, the containment cap is producing around ...
Two new frogs discovered in Panama amidst amphibian plague
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
Mongabay: Researchers working to save Panama's frogs from a fatal disease have stumbled on two species unknown to science. In Omar Torrijos National Park they found a bigger version of a common species, which is now known to be a unique species, and near the Colombian border they discovered a new frog that has been named after Spanish for DNA (see photos below). Both frogs were discovered while researchers searched for frog populations in chytridiomycosis-infected areas. The highly contagious ...
Amazon forest fires ‘on the rise’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 6th, 2010
BBC: The number of fires destroying Amazon rainforests are increasing, a study has found. A team of scientists said fires in the region could release similar amounts of carbon as deliberate deforestation. Writing in Science, they said fire occurrence rates had increased in 59% of areas with reduced deforestation. As a result, the rise in fires could jeopardise the long-term success of schemes to reduce emissions from deforestation, they added. The researchers - from ...