Earth and Science // Current

The Guardian: Glaciers melting at record rate

But in Norway, there are signs that climate change has also led to a surprising growth in some places.

Vierotchka
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Natural wonder: The melting of the Perito Moreno glacier

Every four years like clockwork, the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina draws photographers and tourists from all over the world... more

JanforGore
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Maryland Doesn't Need a $10 Billion Radioactive Boondoggle

Public Citizen and a coalition of environmental organizations have filed a legal challenge to the proposed Calvert Cliffs-3 atomic... more

covelogibbs
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New Digs For The Space Station

Discovery-News.com: New toilets, beds and a fridge are being installed in the ISS. Dave Mosher and James Williams hammer out the... more

DiscoveryNewsVideo
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Weed powered airplanes get high

well, not that weed. but maybe it should be. as science and business try to come up with solutions to environmental problems... more

phillyphil
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Einstein's e=mc2 theory was right! 103 years later

PARIS (AFP) – It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been... more

insanejain
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Court Says Shell Can’t Drill Near Alaska

Environmental groups, including the Alaska Wilderness League, as well as the North Slope Borough, which represents the indigenous... more

covelogibbs
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Appeals court rules against Bush administration Arctic drilling plan

The Bush administration authorization of a major new offshore oil drilling program in the Arctic Ocean was dealt a serious setback Thursday when a federal appeals court ruled the plan did not adequately consider the effect on bowhead whales and the native villagers who make their living from the frigid coastal waters.

Ruling on the first of several major new projects for tapping oil and gas deposits from the Arctic floor, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the federal government should have prepared a more exhaustive environmental review before concluding that harm to whales, caribou and other Arctic wildlife either would be insignificant or could be mitigated.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ordered the federal Minerals Management Agency to prepare a more thorough review, a decision that probably puts the offshore exploration plan up for new consideration under the administration of Barack Obama. Environmentalists have fought the plan, saying it could have disastrous consequences for Arctic wildlife.

I think the new administration can respond to this decision by calling for a timeout on new exploration and leasing in the Arctic Ocean until a full review of potential impacts and conservation measures is completed, said Eric Jorgensen, managing attorney at Earthjustice in Juneau, Alaska.

Rebecca Noblin of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several plaintiffs in the case, said in a statement: If polar bears and other ice-dependent species are to survive as the Arctic melts in the face of global warming, we need to protect their critical habitat, not turn it into an industrial zone.

Officials at Shell Offshore Inc., which has proposed to drill up to 12 exploratory wells in the Arctic s Beaufort Sea over the next three years, said they were convinced that the company had met or exceeded requirements for environmental analysis -- including how noise from exploratory drilling might affect the migration patterns of fish, endangered bowhead whales and caribou, which give birth in the nearby Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The U.S. faces an energy supply crisis, and delays like this only extend and aggravate it. In times of shrinking global supply and ever increasing reliance on imported oil, the Alaska offshore could be a significant resource for national energy security, Shell said in a statement.

Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, who has urged the nation to take better advantage of Alaska s untapped oil and gas resources, expressed determination to get the project back on track.

We re disappointed, but will work with the company moving forward from here, said her chief spokesman, Bill McAllister.
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Oh, do not worry, drilling is environmentally safe. That is the rhetoric we hear from proponents who want to drill baby, drill. And that is all it is... rhetoric. There is no way to drill for oil that will not affect the wildlife and inhabitants in this area. Time and time again the Bush regime has shown its total disdain for the environment and the lives of those their destructive policies touch. This ruling by the 9th circuit court of appeals reaffirms that the rule of law takes precedence over any man or woman (Governor Palin, I am pointing at YOU) and their greed.

Instead of calculating ways to now steal the resources below the Arctic for corporate profit we should be working on ways to preserve it and its habitat for future generations and those who live there now. This is also one area I will be looking at regarding the Obama administration. Drilling is a false choice and if Obama and his Congress permit this to happen just to not piss off Republicans who want it over the moral imperative, it will speak volumes about their priorities as well. Bi-partisanship is one thing, but capitulation to an immoral principle for political expedience is quite another.The Bush administration authorization of a major new offshore oil drilling program in the Arctic Ocean was dealt a serious setback... more