Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible

By MATTHEW BROWN (AP) NEW ORLEANS — The gooey oil washing into the maze of marshes along the Gulf Coast could prove impossible to remove, leaving a toxic stew lethal to fish and wildlife, government officials and independent scientists said. Officials are considering some drastic and risky solutions: They could set the wetlands on fire […]

Graph of the Day: Latitudinal movement of US bird species by habitat, 1960s-2006

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) show that the warmer winters in recent decades have played an important role in shifting winter bird ranges to the north. CBC data from the mid-1960s through 2006 show that 170 (56%) of the 305 most widespread, regularly occurring species have shifted their ranges to the north, whereas only 71 species […]

Report on failure to halt wildlife decline is buried

  By Michael McCarthy, Environment EditorSaturday, 22 May 2010 A report showing that Britain is failing to halt the declines of many of its highest-priority wildlife species and habitats, from the red squirrel, the juniper and the common skate to chalk rivers and coastal salt marshes, was “sneaked out” this week by the Government with […]

Boom, trawlers deployed in St. Bernard Parish to combat oil spill

By Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune May 21, 2010, 4:28PM St. Bernard Parish officials on Friday announced a two-pronged effort to combat the potential spread of oil into parish marshes. A BP subcontractor on Wednesday began driving two parallel rows of 60-foot, 8-inch pilings some 500 feet apart off the coast, according to a parish news […]

A month in, outrage over Gulf oil spill grows

By KEVIN McGILL and VICKI SMITH Associated Press WritersMay 21, 11:35 AM EDT GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) — Thick, sticky oil crept deeper into delicate marshes of the Mississippi Delta, an arrival dreaded for a month since the crude started spewing into the Gulf, as anger and frustration mounted over efforts to plug the gusher […]

Grand Isle closes beaches due to oil on shore

By Jenny Hurwitz, The Times-Picayune May 21, 2010, 12:07PM Government officials in Grand Isle are closing all beaches until further notice, citing the fact that oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill is washing up on the shore. “They’re starting to see dead wildlife,” said Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts. Roberts said there is more […]

Graph of the Day: Projected Oil Spill Path to 22 May 2010

NOAA extended the boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf into the northern portion of the loop current as a precautionary measure to ensure seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers. The closed area is now slightly less than 19 percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, […]

Whale shark, world's biggest fish, very vulnerable to oil spill

Swimming with a whale shark off the Alabama coast By Janet McConnaughey, AP WriterMay 19, 2010, 11:37AM NEW ORLEANS — The world’s biggest fish may be highly vulnerable to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and one of its favorite feeding grounds is in the area of the spill. Whale sharks feed on the surface, […]

Heavy sludge oozes into marshes of Louisiana — CBS cameras turned away by BP, Coast Guard

(CBS/AP)  It may be the most disturbing site yet: the first heavy sludge now oozing into the marshes of Louisiana as the slick continues to grow in size out in the gulf. CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports it’s an ominous sight. The oil is thick and black and stretches about a quarter mile down […]

Deep coral in path of Gulf oil plumes — Mix of crude, dispersants could smother life below the sea

By JASON DEAREN AND MATT SEDENSKY updated 10:01 a.m. PT, Mon., May 17, 2010 NEW ORLEANS – Delicate coral reefs already have been tainted by plumes of crude oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, including a sensitive area that federal officials had tried to protect from drilling and other dangers. And marine scientists are […]

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