Pirating plankton

by Amanda Womac

A plan to combat global warming is drawing criticism from U.S. environmental organizations. Planktos, a California company, plans to dump about 100 tons of iron dust into international waters about 200 miles west of the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Iron encourages plankton growth, which can absorb carbon dioxide. Planktos wants to fertilize plankton blooms, measure the carbon they capture and sell credits to companies emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide. However, Paul Watson, Greenpeace co-founder, claimed his group, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, would intervene and stop the Planktos vessel in open waters.

No cars, no emissions

by Amanda Womac

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and researchers from Oxford University Center for the Environment released a study suggesting London’s carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced 72 percent by 2030 if all automobile traffic was banned. The Greater London Authority is committed to a 60 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2025, but researchers stressed the urgency of more rapid reductions in order to avoid dangerous climate changes. Researchers said a car-free London would reduce emissions by 83 percent and proposed high levels of active transportation such as walking and biking.

Don't forget to drink your mercury!

by Amanda Womac

A British Petroleum (BP) refinery in Indiana tried to obtain a permit in July from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to continue dumping mercury into Lake Michigan. The permit would have exempted the plant three miles south of Chicago from a 1995 federal regulation limiting mercury discharges into the Great Lakes to 1.3 ounces per year. According to the Toxic Release Inventory, the plant reported releasing three pounds of mercury each year through surface water discharges from 2002 to 2005. BP wanted the permit to coincide with their $3.8 billion expansion, but was met with heavy public concern over the amount of mercury contaminating Lake Michigan. Studies have shown mercury, a neurotoxin, is absorbed by fish and can be harmful if eaten in significant quantities, especially by children and pregnant women. After considering their options, BP chose to reconsider the permit. They even went so far as to pledge no increases in Lake Michigan discharge limits. Communities around the plant are not convinced by BP’s pledge, but will wait and see.

Global warming claims a lake

by Amanda Womac

In early July, a lake vanished in Chile. Scientist blamed global warming for the disappearance of the glacial lake in remote southern Chile, which took a mere two months to flow away, leaving a crater behind. Upon investigation, scientists believe water flowed to a nearby fjord through a hole in a glacier at the northern end of the lake in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. Melting of nearby glaciers raised the lake’s water level, increasing pressure. This caused part of a glacier acting as a dam to give way, allowing water to flow out of the lake and into the sea. The missing lake is the smaller of a two-lake system; the larger lake remains, but at a lower volume.

Funky species in Suriname

By Amanda Womac

Scientists discovered 24 new species in eastern Suriname, on the north coast of South America, during an expedition led by Conservation International in 2005. New species include the atelopus frog, which has florescent purple markings, six types of fish, 12 dung beetles and one ant species. The study was financed by Suriname Aluminum Company LLC, which has a government concession to explore for gold in the area.

Judges gone wild

By Amanda Womac

A federal judge in Spokane, Wash. ruled that only wild fish can be counted when determining which species are endangered, nullifying a Bush administration policy that allows hatchery fish to be included in determining protections under the Endangered Species Act. Judge John C. Coughenour ruled that mixing the numbers of hatchery and wild populations when deciding on protection was contrary to the best available scientific evidence.

Coburn considers Carson killer

By Amanda Womac

Sen. Tom Coburn derailed approval of a Senate resolution to honor the life of Rachel Carson, author of “Silent Spring,” because he believes her 1962 book on the dangers of DDT to wildlife and humans created a climate of hysteria and misinformation. Sen. Ben Cardin, who introduced the resolution, planned to honor Carson on what would have been her 100th birthday for her impact on generations of environmentalists. Coburn claimed Carson was responsible for the deaths of millions of African babies because of her efforts to ban DDT. Coburn also targeted a House-passed bill naming a post office in Springdale, Pa., Carson’s hometown, in her honor.