what bp could buy
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All the things that BP could buy with the money lost from the oil spill
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Posted in 4. Hazardous Waste and Pollution
Ocean garbage patches are not growing
so where is all that plastic going?
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Researchers have been visiting locations in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea for more than two decades to better understand the large patches of plastic that have formed there. Although the mysteries surrounding exactly how the plastic gets to these locations, where it comes from and what impact it’s having on marine life remain unanswered, a team of scientists has now published perhaps the most analytical study of the patches to date based on data collected by research vessels over a 22-year period, between 1986 and 2008.
The researchers from Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of Hawaii (UH) found, among other things, that the amount of plastic picked up by the researchers’ nets remained pretty stable over the years, despite society’s increased production and consumption of plastic, according to research published in Thursday’s issue of Science Express.
More than 64,000 individual plastic pieces were collected at 6,100 locations that were sampled yearly over the course of the study. To collect these data, ships towed nets along the water’s surface at each location, and researchers used tweezers to pick the small plastic bits out of the algae and other collected material. More than 60 percent of the surface plankton net tows collected buoyant plastic pieces that were typically millimeters in size. The highest concentrations of plastic were observed in a region centered at roughly the latitude of Atlanta.
By combining their measurements with a computer model of ocean circulation, the researchers report that this concentration of plastic occurred in an area where wind-driven surface currents were converging. The researchers think this helps explain why the debris accumulates in this particular region, so far away from land. The authors propose a handful of possible explanations for why the patch hasn’t grown rapidly since its discovery. The plastic there may break up into pieces too small to be collected by the nets, or it might be sinking beneath the surface. Or, it might be consumed by marine organisms. More research will be necessary to determine the likelihood of each scenario, the researchers conclude.
10 Worst Manmade Environmental Disasters
10 Worst Manmade Environmental Disasters
Find out which catastrophes were the most destructive in history
Between the horrific impact on marine life, the threat to a fragile ecosystem and the contamination of miles of coastline, it’s hard to say what the worst aspect of the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is. Perhaps it’s the fact that the disaster was preventable. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time miscalculations, poor judgment or other variations of human error have been to blame for major environmental catastrophes. From honest mistakes to blatant disregard for the consequences, read on for 10 terrifying examples of the damage people are capable of causing.
nfortunately, the Gulf of Mexico has experienced a disproportionate amount of ecological trauma. In addition to the recent BP oil spill, a 6,000-square-foot area of the Gulf is classified as a “dead zone,” which means that it is so low in oxygen that it can’t support sea life. To blame are fertilizers, pesticides and nitrogen-rich livestock waste that have seeped into the water from farms along the Mississippi River. Researchers suggest that this year’s oil spill could aggravate the already troubled area by restricting the natural oxygenation of the water and fueling the growth of algae that promotes dead zone climates
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Posted in 4. Hazardous Waste and Pollution
Nigeria’s agony dwarfs Gulf oil spill
Nigeria’s agony dwarfs Gulf oil spill
by John Vidal on May 31, 2010
We reached the edge of the oil spill near the Nigerian village of Otuegwe after a long hike through cassava plantations. Ahead of us lay swamp. We waded into the warm tropical water and began swimming, cameras and notebooks held above our heads. We could smell the oil long before we saw it — the stench of garage forecourts and rotting vegetation hanging thickly in the air.
The farther we travelled, the more nauseous it became. Soon we were swimming in pools of light Nigerian crude, the best-quality oil in the world. One of the many hundreds of 40-year-old pipelines that criss-cross the Niger delta had corroded and spewed oil for several months.
Forest and farmland were now covered in a sheen of greasy oil. Drinking wells were polluted and people were distraught. No one knew how much oil had leaked.
“We lost our nets, huts and fishing pots,” said Chief Promise, village leader of Otuegwe and our guide. “This is where we fished and farmed. We have lost our forest. We told Shell of the spill within days, but they did nothing for six months.”
More oil is spilled from the Niger delta’s network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Posted in 4. Hazardous Waste and Pollution
Hands across the Sands in Nags Head
HANDS in nags head. thanks to eric dreelin for flying, julie dreelin for shooting, and everyone else for participating. in fact, julie says “there were a ton of people up the beach that did it too, but this was the most people in one spot . . .”
Matt Walker
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Posted in 4. Hazardous Waste and Pollution, Local Organizations and Blogs
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outerbanksharvest
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