http://www.oceanconserve.org/ "Ocean Conserve" is an Ocean Conservation Portal and Internet Search Tool that provides access to reviewed ocean conservation news and information Ocean Conserve a project of Ecological Internet, Inc. info@ecologicalinternet.org (Dr. Glen Barry) http://www.oceanconserve.org/images/eilogo85.gif http://www.oceanconserve.org/ Guardian: The star of an Oscar-winning film about dolphin hunting in Japan delivered a petition to the country's US embassy calling for an end to the practice. Ric O'Barry, 70 – who appeared in The Cove and trained dolphins for 1960s TV show Flipper – was flanked by police and dozens of supporters carrying banners. The petition was signed by 1.7 million people from 151 countries. O'Barry had hoped to deliver it to the Japanese fisheries agency but cancelled the plan after threats from a ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/cove-star-stages-dolphin-protest http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181375 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST dolphin hunt Janpnese killing fun | East/South-East Asia | Japan info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: none given) Reuters: An oil and gas platform operated by Mariner Energy burst into flames on Thursday and unleashed a mile-long oil sheen into the Gulf of Mexico, in the region's first major offshore disaster since BP's oil spill began in April. All 13 crew members were rescued with no injuries from the ocean near the burning platform and were taken to another offshore platform, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The fire has been contained but is not yet extinguished. It is not known whether the oil sheen ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/ts_nm/us_oil_rig_fire http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181360 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil sheen spreads | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols) AP: An offshore petroleum rig exploded and was burning Friday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay. The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the explosion, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau says seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were ... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129603017&ft=1&f=1025 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181329 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST offshore oil rig explode | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) AP: An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill. Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast. Ranel says it hasn't been determined whether the structure is a production ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100902/ap_on_re_us/us_gulf_rig_explosion http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181326 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST offshore oil gulf dangerous | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) Nature: The humble Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) bears a heavy burden. It may be just a small, shrimp-like crustacean, but its sheer abundance makes it one of the largest protein sources on Earth, eagerly sought by fish, penguins, whales -- and man. Ecologists are now warning that the rapid growth in krill fishing is adding to the pressure of environmental changes threatening the creatures, and are calling for better monitoring and precautionary management of krill fisheries. The ... http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100901/full/467015a.html http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181316 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Antarctic krill crisis | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Nature: Quirin Schiermeier) Business Green: The US ban on deep water oil and gas drilling could be overturned for a second time after a federal judge yesterday rejected the Obama administration's request to dismiss an oil industry lawsuit challenging the six-month moratorium. US district judge Martin Feldman, who controversially overturned the administration's first ban, yesterday ruled that a second ban imposed by the Interior Department in July "arguably fashions no substantial changes from the first moratorium" and as such ... http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2269117/legal-challenge-drilling-ban http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181298 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST drilling ban legal challenge | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Business Green: none given) AFP: Two Greenpeace activists will face possible jail terms in Japan on Monday for stealing a box of whale meat in a trial the environmental group says will test the country's limits on political activism. Prosecutors have demanded 18-month prison sentences for each defendant, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, on charges of trespass and theft, in a case that started more than two years ago with their arrests in dramatic Tokyo police raids. The two activists admit taking the box of ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100902/lf_afp/japanjusticeenvironmentwhalinggreenpeace http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181296 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST whale activist jail | East/South-East Asia | Japan info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: Frank Zeller) Guardian: Four Greenpeace activists who halted drilling by a British-owned oil exploration rig off Greenland have been arrested after they abandoned their occupation because of severe weather. Greenlandic police arrested the four after high winds buffeted the Stena Don drilling rig overnight, forcing them to abandon mountaineering-style platforms they had suspended by ropes underneath the platform less than 48 hours earlier. Morten Nielsen, deputy head of Greenland police, said the four ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/02/greenpeace-abandons-oil-rig http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181281 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Arctic oil drilling protest | Arctic/Antarctic | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: Severin Carrell) AP: Federal authorities have lifted a fishing ban in part of the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Panhandle to the far eastern coast of Louisiana. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said Thursday about 5,130 square miles of federal waters from Pensacola west through Alabama and Mississippi are open to fishing and shrimp harvesting. NOAA also said shrimping could resume in federal waters east of Pensacola, which reopened to other fishing last ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100902/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_fishing http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181388 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill fishing reopened | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) AP: Engineers have removed a temporary cap that stopped oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's blown-out well in mid-July. No more oil was expected to leak into the sea, but crews were standing by with collection vessels just in case. The cap was removed as a prelude to raising the massive piece of equipment underneath that failed to prevent the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The government wants to replace the failed blowout preventer first to deal with any ... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129611929&ft=1&f=1025 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181385 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST BP temporary cap | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) Inter Press Service: Stealthy submarine gliders slide through the depths of the Gulf of Mexico with the precision of birds of prey. Robot-like rovers search for droplets of oil thousands of metres under the surface. Powerful computerised analysers send instant results to scientists on board the ship above. All of this to assess the impact of disaster. The specialised equipment, ordinarily used to measure the number of plankton suspended in ocean water, or to search for hydrothermal vents on the ocean ... http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52699 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181372 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill BP | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Inter Press Service: Adrianne Appel) Reuters: An oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on Thursday, setting off a blaze and a small oil spill, but the accident does not appear to be as serious as BP's deadly rig explosion and oil spill in April. The U.S. Coast Guard said an oil sheen of 100 feet by 1 nautical mile has been reported at the site. All 13 crew members on the burning platform were evacuated to another offshore platform, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The fire has been contained but is not yet ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/us_nm/us_oil_rig_fire http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181368 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill explosion | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols) AP: Four Greenpeace activists who had clung to an oil rig off western Greenland with rock-climbing gear were arrested Thursday after an Arctic storm forced them to abandon their environmental protest. Police spokesman Morten Nielsen said the four men -- from the U.S., Finland, Poland and Germany -- faced preliminary charges of violating a 1,650-feet security perimeter around the Stena Don rig and trespassing by climbing onto the installation. The activists had been suspended under ... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129604786&ft=1&f=1025 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181363 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Arctic oil rig Greenpeace activists | Arctic/Antarctic | info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) AFP: There is no sign of an oil spill after a rig caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico, a spokesman for rig operator Mariner Energy said. "In an initial flyover by company personnel over the site, there was no hydrocarbon spill that was reported," spokesman Patrick Cassidy told CNN. Everything "appears to be" contained "at this time," he added. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100902/ts_alt_afp/usblastoilenvironmentpollution http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181361 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill no leak | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) Guardian: Another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico suffered an explosion today, raising fears of more pollution just months after the BP oil spill hit the area. There were 13 crew on the rig, of whom one was known to be injured. Most of the crew took to the water when the explosion occurred. The United States Coast Guard said the rig was not in production, suggesting there would be no oil leak, but it could not be sure. The blast comes as states surrounding the Gulf are still ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/oil-rig-explosion-gulf-of-mexico http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181337 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST offshore oil rig explode | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: Ewen MacAskill) Reuters: BP Plc said it had begun removing a cap from equipment atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well on Thursday, the first of several steps in advance of plugging the leak for good. "We expect that to happen this afternoon," spokesman Scott Dean said. The cap has shut off all oil flow from the leak since July 15. Once it is gone, BP can remove a failed blowout preventer and replace it with another before plugging the leak through a relief well. (Reporting by Kristen Hays; ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/us_nm/us_oil_spill_bp http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181333 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill gulf again | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) Reuters: The U.S. Coast Guard was flying helicopters to a possible offshore drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Helicopters were an hour away from the site of the possible explosion, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Prentice Danner. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/us_nm/us_rig_explosion http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181330 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill offshore | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) AP: An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion. The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100902/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_rig_explosion http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181328 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST offshore oil platform explode | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) New Era: The decline in Namibia's fish resources is a result of environmental conditions and failed recovery of the resources despite conservative management strategies, says Beau Tjizoo of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. "Warm events" that have occurred since 1995 have increased along the coast in recent years. This has led to the displacement and mortality of fish species. Reporting to the ongoing meeting of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis ... http://allafrica.com/stories/201009020743.html http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181325 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST climate fish stocks | Africa | Namibia info@ecologicalinternet.org (New Era: Catherine Sasman) AP: The image of thick crude gushing from a blown-out oil well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico was turned off when a tightly fitting cap was secured on top a month-and-a-half ago. Engineers weren't expecting that sight again Thursday when they planned to delicately remove the cap as a prelude to raising the massive piece of equipment underneath that failed to prevent the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. But the government wasn't offering a guarantee no more oil would ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100902/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181295 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill gulf well cap off | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: Harry R. Weber) AFP: Scottish oil exploration group Cairn Energy said Thursday it had resumed operations on a rig off the coast of Greenland after Greenpeace ended a protest. "Cairn can confirm that operations have started again on the Stena Don (oil rig), where safety remains Cairn's priority in this drilling exploration activity," the group said in a statement. "The actions taken by Greenpeace remain a matter for the Greenlandic authorities." Four Greenpeace activists had climbed on to the ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100902/bs_afp/britaingreenlandoilenergycompanycairngreenpeace http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181271 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST Arctic oil climate protest | Arctic/Antarctic | info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) Reuters: Visitors and some residents were evacuated from low-lying holiday islands off the North Carolina coast yesterday as Hurricane Earl bore down on the US eastern seaboard, churning up dangerous swells. Earl, still a major (Category 3) hurricane, weakened slightly overnight as it swept across the Atlantic east of the Bahamas. It was on track to approach North Carolina's coast early tomorrow, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said. The second major hurricane of the season was ... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hurricane-threatens-us-holiday-islands-2067870.html http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181254 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST hurricane climate | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) Daily Press: As Virginia braces for a possible bashing by Hurricane Earl, two environmental groups on Wednesday released a report that suggests things may only get worse for low-lying areas in Hampton Roads, especially area National Parks. The report -- issued jointly by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization -- details the effects of climate change on Colonial National Historical Park, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Shenandoah National Park. ... http://www.dailypress.com/news/weather/stormguide/dp-nws-jamestown-underwater-20100901,0,1267126.story http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181305 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change rising sea | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Daily Press: none given) Nanaimo News Bulletin: The Nanaimo Estuary is one of the most important estuaries in the province for carbon storage, deemed critical for slowing climate change and absorbing spent carbon. In a report titled Blue Carbon – British Columbia, authored by Colin Campbell, science advisor for Sierra Club B.C., the Nanaimo Estuary is ranked in the top seven of 442 B.C. estuaries for effective sea burial of carbon because of its high concentration of eelgrass and salt marshes. "Eelgrass and salt marshes bury ... http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/nanaimonewsbulletin/news/101922948.html http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181304 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST carbon storage strong potential | North America | Canada info@ecologicalinternet.org (Nanaimo News Bulletin: Toby Gorman) National Geographic: Could pollutants from the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico end up as far north as New England? That could happen if a hurricane or tropical storm hits the Gulf region and moves northward. Siddhartha Mitra, Geochemist, East Carolina University "On land, no one's really though about the effect of material coming over from the ocean, marine areas onto land." Geochemist Sid Mitra, from East Carolina University, is studying how far hydrocarbons, released as the oil ... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100901-nsf-oil-hurricanes-mitra-video/ http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181226 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill gulf hurricanes inlad | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (National Geographic: none given) AP: A federal judge who overturned the Obama administration's initial six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling has rejected the government's bid to have the court challenge thrown out. Government lawyers argued that a lawsuit filed by several offshore service companies over the May 28 moratorium was moot because the Interior Department imposed a new, temporary drilling ban on July 12. But U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman rejected that argument Wednesday, saying the second ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100901/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_moratorium http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181217 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST offshore drilling ban | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) Reuter: A federal judge in New Orleans rejected on Wednesday the U.S. government's request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its original 6-month deepwater drilling moratorium. Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc and other oil companies sued the government when it first ordered a halt to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in May after BP Plc's well rupture that killed 11 workers and caused the world's worst offshore spill. The drilling halt was subsequently amended, so the government ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100901/us_nm/us_oil_spill_moratorium http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181205 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST offshore driling halt | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuter: none given) AFP: Energy giant BP spent more than 93 million dollars on advertising in the three months after the April 20 Gulf oil spill, triple what it spent over the same period in 2009, US lawmakers said Wednesday. Leaders of a key US House of Representatives Committee said the embattled firm, still reeling from the disaster's impact, told them Monday that it had shelled out 93.4 million dollars on ads from the spill through July 2010. "This is more than three times the amount the company ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100901/ts_alt_afp/usoilenvironmentpollutionadvertisingpolitics http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181204 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill BP greenwash | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) BBC: Evacuations have begun in areas of the US East Coast likely to be hit by Hurricane Earl. The hurricane strengthened to a category four storm again, generating sustained winds of 215km/h (135mph). President Barack Obama said officials needed to be ready for a "worst case" scenario in a call to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). One island in North Carolina's Outer Banks is being evacuated and visitors are being asked to leave another. The narrow ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11154296 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181258 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST hurricane evacuations | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: none given) Reuters: BP Plc expects to remove a failed blowout preventer atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well by Saturday or Sunday and later plug the leak for good, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said on Wednesday. "We believe in the next 24 to 36 hours, we will enter a weather window that will allow us to proceed," retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said at a briefing in Houston. Rough seas near the Macondo well site on Monday suspended work to remove the giant stack ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100901/us_nm/us_oil_spill_allen http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181257 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill gulf | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: Kristen Hays) National Public Radio: Work should resume later this week to remove the temporary sealing cap and failed blowout preventer from BP's busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, the government's point man on the spill said Wednesday. Rough seas have delayed underwater operations intended to kill the well. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said that when conditions are calmer, BP will bring up the current stack of pipes and valves, and put a new blowout preventer atop the well. "We are making preparations ... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129586095&ft=1&f=1025 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181237 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill resume kill oil | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (National Public Radio: none given) Reuters: A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. government's request to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging its deepwater oil and gas drilling moratorium, dealing another blow to the Obama administration. Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc and other drilling companies sued the administration on June 7 after it first ordered a halt to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico following BP Plc's well rupture that killed 11 workers and caused the world's worst offshore oil spill. As ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100901/ts_nm/us_oil_spill_moratorium http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181224 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil drilling moratorium courts | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) redOrbit: Mandatory evacuations have gone up for visitors along parts of North Carolina's coastal islands on Wednesday as Hurricane Earl continues its path toward the eastern seaboard of the United States, churning up dangerous swells. Earl weakened slightly overnight as it moved across the Atlantic east of the Bahamas. It is still a strong Category 3 hurricane and is on track to approach the North Carolina coast early Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Earl had ... http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1911054/all_eyes_fixed_on_hurricane_earl/index.html?source=r_science http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181219 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST hurricane Earl | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (redOrbit: none given) AP: Oil giant BP says it has spent more than $5 million a week on advertising since the Gulf Coast oil spill -- more than three times the amount it spent on ads during the same period last year. BP PLC told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that it spent a total of $93 million on advertising from April to the end of July. The company says the money was intended to keep Gulf Coast residents informed on issues related to the oil spill and to ensure transparency about its actions. The ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100901/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_bp http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181206 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill BP spent $93m | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) AP: The federal government's point man on the Gulf of Mexico spill response said Wednesday there is no "significant risk" that more oil will leak into the sea when engineers remove the temporary cap Thursday that first contained the gusher in mid-July. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said vessels will remain on standby just in case to collect any leaking oil. "We do believe the risks are small for any hydrocarbon release," Allen said during a teleconference he held from BP's ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100901/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181202 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill downplay risk | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: Harry R. Weber,) BBC: Researchers have discovered that two distinct types of orca, a large and a pygmy form, are rapidly diverging, evolving away from each other. The scientists' study reveals each type of orca carries a unique gene mutation that benefits its particular lifestyle. The genetic change has occurred in the past 150,000 years, adding to evidence that the orcas are quickly evolving into two distinct species. Details of the research are published in the journal Biology Letters by an ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8959000/8959574.stm http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181197 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST whales evolving | Europe | info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: none given) U.S. News and World Report: A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes. The new research also indicates that horseshoe crabs numbers may continue to decline in the future because of predicted climate change, said Tim King, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a lead author on the new study published in Molecular ... http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/09/01/climate-change-implicated-in-decline-of-horseshoe-crabs.html http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181191 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change horseshoe | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (U.S. News and World Report: none given) LA Times: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "Go home, Texas oil companies," Villaraigosa urged at a news conference aimed at encouraging voters to oppose Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative to suspend California's 2006 climate change law until the state's unemployment rate ... http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate-change-prop23-20100901,0,6943320.story http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181170 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil companies proposition 23 | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (LA Times: none given) AP: Wave after wave of tar balls floated ashore Wednesday on the renowned Goa beaches after a ship dumped tons of waste oil off India's western coast, officials said. Semisolid lumps of oil formed layers up to six inches deep (15 centimeters deep) on beaches in the popular tourist destination. Scores of civic workers used brooms to collect and clear the oily debris, but still more tar balls were washing ashore about three days after officials believe a ship dumped burnt oil at ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100901/ap_on_re_as/as_india_polluting_ship http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181165 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST oil dumps beaches | South Asia | India info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) BBC: An ancient reef found in the Pacific may provide clues to what will happen to coral when sea temperatures rise. A team of researchers from Australia and New Zealand have discovered a huge 9,000-year-old reef surprisingly far south. Lord Howe Island is 600km east of the Australian mainland and has a small modern coral reef - the furthest south in the world. The ancient reef however is nearly 30 times as large as the modern reef. The scientists, headed by Colin ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11153193 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181146 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST ancient reef Pacific | Pacific/Oceania | info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: none given) United Press International: A "natural laboratory" in the Mediterranean revealing effects of carbon dioxide levels in oceans paints a bleak picture for future marine life, researchers say. Scientists from the University of Plymouth in England, along with Brazilian researchers, studying single celled organisms called Foraminifera around natural volcanic carbon dioxide vents off of Naples, Italy, found that increasing levels of the gas caused diversity of the creatures to fall from 24 species to 4, ... http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/08/31/Study-Marine-life-at-risk-in-CO2-rise/UPI-28101283298906/ http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181133 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 PST marine life risk CO2 rise | Worldwide/General | info@ecologicalinternet.org (United Press International: none given) AP: A parish official says a Louisiana oil spill command center is shutting down over a dispute with BP over rent and other expenses St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro says the owner of the property that has been home to the operation since May is ordering workers to vacate by the end of the week because BP has failed to make payments. Taffaro says the company owes millions in rent and that its policy of reviewing invoices before cutting checks has made some payments weeks ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100901/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_command_center http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181175 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill center shut | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) BBC: Scientists have found evidence for an ancient sea passage linking currently isolated areas of Antarctica. The evidence comes from a study of tiny marine animals living either side of the 2km thick Western Antarctic ice sheet. Reseachers think their spread was due to the collapse of the ice sheet as recently as 125,000 years ago allowing water flow between different regions. Their findings are published in the journal, Global Change Biology. Bryozoans are tiny, ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11138207 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181103 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change ancient seaway | Arctic/Antarctic | info@ecologicalinternet.org (BBC: none given) AP: The federal government's point man on the Gulf oil disaster says work to remove the 300-ton piece of equipment that failed to stop the massive oil spill could be delayed until the weekend or longer because of rough seas. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Tuesday that seas were 6 feet or higher and have to be closer to 4 feet for the work to be done safely. The process of removing the blowout preventer involves taking off the cap that stopped oil from gushing in mid-July. ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100831/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181084 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill raising key | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: none given) AP: Scandalized by federal regulators who had sex with oil company executives and negotiated with them for jobs, the agency that oversees offshore drilling is imposing a first-ever ethics policy that bars inspectors from dealing with a company that employs a family member or personal friend. Michael Bromwich, head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said the new policy should help restore credibility to his beleaguered agency, which was widely criticized under its former name -- the ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100831/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_revolving_door http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181071 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST drilling interest rules | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (AP: Matthew Daly) AFP: Indonesia has demanded 2.4 billion dollars in compensation from a Thai oil company for damages related to a spill off the northwestern coast of Australia last year, a minister said Tuesday. Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said the claim for 22 trillion rupiah (2.4 billion dollars) had been presented during talks with PTT Australasia, a unit of Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PCL, in Australia last week. "Our calculation includes potential damage to the coral ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100831/sc_afp/indonesiathailandaustraliaoilenvironmentpollution http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181046 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill payout Australia | East/South-East Asia | Indonesia info@ecologicalinternet.org (AFP: none given) Reuters: Tiny marine creatures found on the seabed on opposite sides of the vast West Antarctic ice sheet give a strong hint of the risks of sea level rise caused by climate change, scientists said Tuesday. The discovery of very similar colonies of bryozoans, animals that anchor themselves to the seabed, in both the Ross and Weddell Seas are a clue that the ice sheet once thawed and the seas were once linked, they said. West Antarctica holds enough ice to raise world sea levels by ... http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67U2M220100831?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29 http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181023 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST climate change tiny marine creatures | Arctic/Antarctic | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Reuters: none given) NYT: The federal agency that regulates offshore drilling is taking steps to end a long history of conflicts of interest and excessive coziness with the companies it is charged with policing. Michael R. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement -- the successor to the discredited Minerals Management Service -- has issued a four-page policy statement intended to end some of the more egregious past practices of agency employees. Numerous ... http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/new-conflict-of-interest-policy-for-oil-regulators/ http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=181022 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST oil regulators new conflict-of-interest | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (NYT: John M. Broder) Business Green: BP is expected to admit in the next few days that it was partially to blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, which killed 11 people and led to the largest oil spill in US history. According to reports from news agency Bloomberg citing a source familiar with the company's internal investigation into the disaster, BP has concluded that it shares some of the blame for the accident alongside rig operator Transocean. The newswire reported that the internal investigation ... http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2268926/bp-prepares-shoulder-blame-gulf http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180963 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST oil spill BP | North America | United States info@ecologicalinternet.org (Business Green: none given) Guardian: Greenpeace claims to have shut down offshore drilling by a British oil company at a controversial site in the Arctic after four climbers began an occupation of the rig just after dawn. The environment campaigners said the four protesters evaded a small flotilla of armed Danish navy and police boats which have been guarding the rigs in Baffin Bay off Greenland since the Greenpeace protest ship Esperanza arrived last week. The rigs are operated by the Edinburgh-based oil ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/31/greenpeace-oil-rig-arctic http://www.oceanconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=180954 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PST Arctic oil Greenpeace | Arctic/Antarctic | info@ecologicalinternet.org (Guardian: none given)