Chevron begins drilling relief well to extinguish Nigeria rig fire

By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku21 February 2012 Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) has begun the process of drilling a relief well to seal the Funiwa 1A natural gas well. According to a statement by the company, the relief well is being drilled to extinguish a fire that began January 16 at the original well, located approximately six miles […]

NASA maps height of Earth’s forests

Contact: Alan Buis, Alan.buis@jpl.nasa.gov, 818-354-0474      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.17 February 2012 PASADENA, California – A NASA-led science team has created an accurate, high-resolution map of the height of Earth’s forests. The map will help scientists better understand the role forests play in climate change and how their heights influence wildlife habitats within them, while […]

Last penguins covered by Rena oil released

17 February 2012 (bigpondnews.com) – The Rena oil spill clean-up has reached another milestone with the last group of birds being released into the wild. Seven little blue penguins oiled after the container ship Rena crashed into Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga, have been released near Motiti Island, Maritime New Zealand says. Hundreds of birds have […]

Mobile marine reserves may reduce slaughter of endangered sea life

By Steve Connor, Vancouver 18 February 2012 The indiscriminate slaughter of vast numbers of turtles, sharks, albatrosses, and other endangered marine animals that get unintentionally caught by fishermen as “by-catch” could be prevented by a radical proposal of mobile marine reserves, scientists said yesterday. Protected areas of the ocean where commercial fishing is banned would […]

Australia to assess development pressure on Great Barrier Reef

Editing by Robert Birsel18 February 2012 SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will carry out a comprehensive assessment of development pressure on the Great Barrier Reef to help preserve the world’s largest coral reef system, ministers said Saturday. The assessment will take into account how development along Australia’s northeast coast is affecting the reef, Environment Minister Tony […]

Scientists reveal plants that could slow decline of bees

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent19 February 2012 Biologists at the University of Sussex have been analysing how effectively different species of flowers attract foraging insects. Preliminary results have revealed there is a 100-fold difference in the lure that some popular garden plants have for honey bees and bumblebees. The best plants are the Mexican giant […]

Microbial ecosystems changing as oceans warm

Media Contact: David Stauth, 541-737-0787      Stephen Giovannoni, 541-737-1835      CORVALLIS, Oregon – As oceans warm due to climate change, water layers will mix less and affect the microbes and plankton that pump carbon out of the atmosphere – but researchers say it’s still unclear whether these processes will further increase global warming or decrease it. The […]

Pro-oil lobby urged feds to deliver climate-change solutions as Canada’s environmental reputation sinks

By Mike De Souza, mdesouza@postmedia.com, Postmedia News 12 February 2012 OTTAWA – A taxpayer-funded pro-oil lobbying retreat, involving Canada’s European diplomats and industry, has urged the federal government to deliver real climate change solutions to restore the country’s sagging environmental reputation. The two-day retreat, held 1-2 February 2011 in London, England, concluded that Canada’s foreign […]

Canada to kill thousands of wolves to reverse caribou decline caused by tar-sands development

By Dean Kuipers9 February 2012 Woodland caribou herds in Canada are declining, and tar sands development is a big part of the reason why. But Canada’s national and provincial governments know what do about that: Kill the wolves. That’s the crux of new posts by both Grist and the National Wildlife Federation, which are following […]

Texas drought: ‘This is the worst year ever for quality of deer, no question’

By Kim Gierke Special to the Standard-Times11 February 2012 SAN ANGELO, Texas – The West Texas deer season wrapped up in January and, as expected, it was the worst season in recent memory. The drought of 2011 had a devastating impact on the deer herd and forced hunters, guides and taxidermists to scramble to make […]

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