ENN rounds up the most important and compelling environmental news stories of the week. In the news July 9th - 13th: North Slope drilling, artificial reefs, palm oil companies, solar variations, and much more.
Top Ten Articles of the Week
In the news July 9th - 13th: North Slope drilling, artificial reefs, palm oil companies, solar variations, and much more.
1. BLM Gets OK for New North Slope Drilling
The Bureau of Land Management could go ahead with plans to allow drilling in a sensitive area near Teshekpuk Lake on the North Slope, an agency spokeswoman said. The BLM added to its environmental impact assessment of drilling in the area and that information is now being reviewed, said spokeswoman Sharon Wilson. The results of the review should be completed soon, she said.
2. Florida Raises Ill-Fated Artificial Reefs
When people began dumping used tires in the ocean 40 years ago to create artificial reefs, they gave little thought to the potential environmental cost, or to how difficult it would be to pick them up. "It was one of those ideas that seemed good at the time," said Jack Sobel, a senior scientist at The Ocean Conservancy, a Washington-based environmental group. "Now I think it's pretty clear it was a bad idea."
3. Palm Oil Firms Burning Indonesia Forests
Palm oil companies are burning peat forests to clear land for plantations in Indonesia's Riau province, despite government pledges to end forest fires, environment group Greenpeace said on Thursday. Forest fires are an annual menace for Indonesia and the country's neighbours, who have grown deeply frustrated at the apparent lack of success in curbing the dry-season blazes and vast smoke clouds, or haze, that smothers the region.
4. Study Shows Dull Birds Fared Better After Chernobyl
Birds with bright feathers suffered worse from contamination after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a study into the impact of radiation on different species showed on Wednesday. Four groups of birds in the forests around Chernobyl -- the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986 -- declined more than others, researchers examining 1,570 birds from 57 different species at varying distances found.
5. Solar Variations Not Behind Global Warming
The sun's changing energy levels are not to blame for recent global warming and, if anything, solar variations over the past 20 years should have had a cooling effect, scientists said on Wednesday. Their findings add to a growing body of evidence that human activity, not natural causes, lies behind rising average world temperatures, which are expected to reach their second highest level this year since records began in the 1860s.
6. Top Government Regulator Defends Administration's Latest Antismog Rule
The government's top environmental regulator Wednesday defended the Bush administration's proposal for new limits on smog against Democratic charges that it's too weak and Republican complaints that it went too far. Neither criticism pushed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson off his talking points in an appearance before a Senate environmental panel.
7. NYC's Jamaica Bay Fades Away with No Clear Cause
The scene from Dan Mundy's living room window is worlds away from the normal urban views of New York City. The sky is a brilliant blue, and the waters lapping at the stone wall just a few feet away are clear and calm. A duck paddles off, and even a jellyfish looks more peaceful than dangerous as it undulates near Mundy's dock. Welcome to Jamaica Bay, a wildlife haven just next door to John F. Kennedy International Airport and a short subway ride from Manhattan's skyscrapers.
8. Malaysia Seizes 900 Monkeys from Wildlife Poachers
Malaysia has smashed a ring of wildlife smugglers and seized more than 900 poached monkeys destined for China or the Netherlands in what officials called their biggest seizure involving the animals so far, media said. Wildlife officials arrested four men after finding the long-tailed macaques confined in cages and sacks during a raid on a plantation in the southern state of Johor, the state news agency Bernama said on Monday.
9. U.S. Confirms Low-Risk Bird Flu in Virginia Turkeys
Turkeys at a farm in Virginia had antibodies to a low-risk strain of bird flu but direct evidence of infection has not been found, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. None of the birds became ill but 54,000 were being slaughtered as a precaution, said Dr. John Clifford of USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
10. Researcher Says Seeds from Salt-Tolerant Plant a Promising Source of Biodiesel
John Gallagher pinches a pod from the long-stemmed plant in the greenhouse next to his office, cracks it open and pops the BB-sized seeds into his mouth. While the seashore mallow might be handy for a quick snack, the sturdy plant has provided Gallagher food for thought in addressing a smorgasbord of environmental problems, from global warming to the disappearance of coastal farmland.
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