Each year, tons of oil can be spilled into the ocean. Whether it comes from an oil tank spill, a leak that occurs during offshore drilling, or even natural seeps that occur within the ocean, oil spills can cause grave environmental and economic damage to marine and coastal ecosystems.
oil spill
Chinese researchers have developed a method of removing oil from polluted water using tiny barbed spikes that mimic the natural design of a cactus. Writing in the journal Nature Communications, the Beijing-based researchers describe how arrays of tiny copper spikes, similar to the cone-shaped spikes of a type of cactus known as Opuntia microdasys,
Commenting on Monday’s ruling by a federal judge in Anchorage that Shell’s oil spill plans for drilling in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas don’t violate environmental laws, Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner Ben Ayliffe said:
“Even a cursory glance at Shell’s oil spill response
Fire is burning on a gas rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 55 miles off the Louisiana coast, in the same general area as the infamous Deepwater Horizon disaster.
44 workers have been evacuated from the platform. The rig is in the Gulf of Mexico which is where the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in 2010, leaking
New Cleanup Method Offers Major Solution to Oil Spills, Study Claims
Scientists have developed a superabsorbent material they say offers a cost-effective way to remove, recover and clean up large oil spills.
Writing in the journal Energy & Fuels, Pennsylvania State University researchers Xuepei Yuan and T. C. Mike Chung describe a polymer material that they
The 2010 BP oil spill hastened the loss of Louisiana’s already fragile salt marshlands, a new study says.
In a comparison of erosion rates at three healthy marsh sites and three areas affected by the oil spill, University of Florida scientists found that oil from the spill coated thick grasses on the outer edge of some wetlands, killing off salt marsh plants 15 to 30 feet from the shoreline.
Another oil spill is taking place in the world right now from an off-shore drilling operation.
The incident was at Chevron’s deep-sea drilling operation off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. The country’s federal police says information released by Chevron does not match what they have seen, that is, the spill is larger,
A coalition of environmental groups and Alaska natives has filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. approval of Shell Oil’s plans to drill off the Alaska coast.
The lawsuit — led by Earthjustice, the Alaska Wilderness League, and the Natural Resource Defense Council — alleges that Shell’s plans to drill
U.S. Conditionally Approves Shell’s Oil Drilling Plans in Arctic Ocean
U.S. government regulators have conditionally approved Shell Exploration’s plans to drill for oil in the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska. Drilling could begin as early as next July.
The decision is a setback for various environmental groups and indigenous people, who are concerned
Some recent stories in the press have attempted to paint a picture that an agreement on energy issues signed during the President’s trip to Brazil shows a lack of commitment to domestic oil and gas production. Let’s be clear – this administration is committed to developing a broad range of energy sources, and we
Investigators working to piece together the data that workers on the Deepwater Horizon saw in the rig’s final hours have run into a roadblock, according to a letter sent Monday to the presidential panel’s commissioners.
A company called National Oilwell Varco, an offshore drilling company, provided the
(Reuters) – Halliburton Co. used flawed cement in BP Plc’s doomed Gulf of Mexico well, which could have contributed to the blowout that sparked the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a White House panel said on Thursday.
Halliburton’s shares tumbled as much as
(Reuters) – The U.S. government confirmed on Sunday that BP Plc has succeeded in permanently plugged its runaway Macondo well, closing the first chapter in the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Here are some questions and answers on how things might play out for BP, the U.S. offshore industry and the Gulf’s fragile ecosystem.
Today, a panel of government scientists released a report which said that the vast majority of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed much of which is in the process of being degraded. A significant amount of this is the direct result of the federal government’s aggressive