The Gulf Oil Spill has been the event at the top of everyone’s mind for many weeks now, almost to the point of our adapting to the initially shocking concept. The images that have surfaced have been heartrending enough, though, that the shock factor hasn’t been allowed to completely fade. Predictions of the results to come in the next weeks and months are concerning to say the least, and the estimate of how much has been leaking each day continues to rise. BP comes up with a new method to “fix” the problem every few weeks, each seeming promising with a side-serving of bad news.  Effects on humans are starting to surface, some gruesome news and some simply tragic projections. With all of… [view entry]

On April 20th, 2010, in the open ocean 42 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, a 560-million-dollar deep-water oil rig licensed to BP, experienced an explosion. Eleven workers were killed and 17 were injured in the explosion, with the other 98 on board exiting safely unharmed. After the initial explosion, the rig burned and two days later sank to the bottom of the ocean.

A few days after this shocking event made headlines, the resulting oil spill became apparent. Oil from the rig’s well immediately began to spew forth into the water column through a damaged well-head, forming a 5-mile long oil slick on the ocean’s surface in short time. Within two weeks, BP had tried and failed to use the well’s blowout protection, President Obama declared dedication of any… [view entry]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldworldworld/3314227532/ Not only is the infamous Pacific Garbage Patch (or gyre as it is properly known) possibly much larger than previously estimated, an Atlantic counterpart has been discovered.

In more local news, your orders of fried clams this summer might get a little expensive. Researchers have warned that New England may experience major red tide events this year.

Lastly, a potentially positive piece: California is considering “un-grand-fathering” power plants permits to dump waste heat into coastal waters.

Oregon is set to test another buoy-based power generation system after the previous system sank two years ago.

Closer to home, plans to deploy a more traditional turbine-based system known as SeaGen in the Bay of Fundy were announced last year. An earlier Irish SeaGen installation has been operational for more than 1,000 hours since it was installed in 2008.

Both systems use “run-of-the-river” technologies which should minimize disruption of the surroundings, unlike the Annapolis basin installation also in the Bay of Fundy which operates more like a conventional hydroelectric dam.

Also of note, a relatively recent announcement about more cheap renewable energy in the future from north of the border into “Boston” which seems to have received little attention.

A new ocean is emerging on planet Earth. This ocean was once composed mainly of solid ice, sometimes hundreds of meters thick. During this past summer however, the first known commercial shipment from Asia to Europe took place — via the Arctic (NYTimes). The German cargo vessles Beluga Foresight and Beluga Fraternity are two examples of such a new-found commercial shipping trend. The cargo carriers originally left from South Korea and are departing on their last leg from Siberia.  Such a passage has been the dream of many a mariner, sea-voyager and commerical tradesman, yet the gripping reality of vast open Arctic waters is not the dream of those concerned about climate change. For about a month each summer, Arctic ice recedes to a degree that now allows cargo ships to… [view entry]

This month’s Sierra magazine includes a blurb about some of the lesser known impacts of fossil fuel use & global warming.

Half of the carbon dioxide we’ve put into the atmosphere since 1800 has been absorbed by the world’s oceans, increasing acidity by 30% and changing seawater to carbonic acid. In terms of pH (lower numbers equate to higher acidity), that means a drop of 0.1 from preindustrial levels [8.1] to today’s 8. If trends continue, ocean pH will be 7.7 by the end of the century. At 7.8, however, shell formation ceases. Barnacles, sea snails, and corals will decline precipitously.

In fact, the Caribbean is already impacted, as are sensitive Alaskan waters.

For those of you whom may have forgotten your high school chemistry: Like the Richter… [view entry]

While climate change skeptics continue to derail needed climate policy and deepen the public’s confusion on accepted science, the planet is exhibiting more acute global warming symptoms.  Recent observations are indicating that climate change is occurring at a faster pace and of a greater magnitude than  predicted by IPCC models.  Our Oceans are showing a decreased ability to absorb our excess carbon, leading to ocean acidification– reducing the ability of many marine organisms to build their shells and skeletal structure.

The Ocean which covers 70 percent of our planet, just broke a record last month for the warmest temperature on record and combined with land temperatures it was second to 2005′s all time high.  Run away global warming is a real concern with the potential for accelerated ice melt and… [view entry]