June 26, 2012
Industry-wide need for “readily” biodegradable and non-toxic lubricants and fluids
Across the globe, an increasing amount of emphasis is being placed on researching and implementing environmentally safe and sustainable initiatives. Bio-fuels, wind energy and renewable fibers are just a few of the environmental alternatives that have recently made headlines. Over the past several years, marine construction services, dredgers, pile drivers and fleet operators have all been exploring eco-friendly products. While contractors attempt to lessen their carbon footprint, many unscrupulous lubricant marketers (some of them major oil companies) are misrepresenting the environmental validity of their products.
June 25, 2012
VALDEZ, Alaska - Against the backdrop of Alaska's snow-topped Chugach Mountains and in the same waters that were spoiled by the Exxon Valdez oil spill more than two decades ago, Shell Oil Co. has been training recruits in skills it hopes they never have to use.
The company has put scores of people through oil spill response training in the Valdez port, ahead of expected drilling in Arctic waters north of Alaska. If regulators approve the plans, Shell anticipates drilling up to five wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas this summer.
As crews work to mop up more than a million litres of oil that has spilled in Alberta in a month, Premier Alison Redford is steering the province toward a safety review of its 377,000 kilometres of pipeline.
Ms. Redford has charged her ministers of energy and environment to investigate whether a larger provincial response to the spills is merited. The leaks have come at an alarming pace in recent months, while the government is attempting to persuade its neighbours across Canada and the United States to accept pipelines carrying Alberta crude.
The Premier’s statement on Wednesday, two days after 230,000 litres leaked from an Enbridge pipeline system, that she is “certainly not opposed to the idea” of a more comprehensive review, is her strongest support yet for the notion.
June 22, 2013
While much talk and discussion centers on plastic waste in the Pacific gyre, a new study will be conducted this summer on the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie.
This study will assess for the first time the potential effect plastic pollution has on these bodies of water. It's expected to provide data regarding the levels of discarded plastics from trash to tiny particles found in the lakes, as well as examine their impact on food supplies, according to an article on Cleveland.com.
Lake Erie is widely reported as having a high concentration of plastic pollution especially because water from Huron, Michigan, and Superior flow into it. At the same time, some marine scientists have said since Lake Erie is shallow, water flows through it at a fast rate so pollution may actually be minimized
June 19, 2012
Federal, state, and local officials say they’ll have something to say about the status of the Kalamazoo River oil spill clean-up Thursday morning.
Representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Calhoun County Public Health Department, the Michigan departments of Environmental Quality and Community Health, and Kalamazoo County officials are among those who’ll brief reporters on the issue. The event will also include officials from Enbridge Energy, the Canadian company that owns the oil pipeline that ruptured in the summer of 2010, spilling at least 800,000 gallons of crude oil into the river.