Ecosystems


Pennsylvania Funding Restored Based on Clean Water Plan

"Pennsylvania was not on track to meet nutrient reduction targets, and EPA made clear in 2015 that it would withhold funding due to that lack of progress. DEP worked with our sister agencies and wrote a plan that will put us on track," said DEP Secretary John Quigley.

WHO Warns of El NiƱo's Public Health Impacts

Based on the latest UN figures, the report estimates 60 million people will be affected by El Niño this year, with many of them suffering health consequences.

Human-Caused Bat Mortality Studied

The study's authors concluded infectious diseases are not the main worry, and that bats globally could benefit from policy, education, and conservation actions targeting human-caused mortality.

Report Plots Course to New Plastics Economy

It envisions a global economy in which plastics never become waste. If this systemic change can't be realized, the potential damage will be severe -- given the projected growth in consumption and a business-as-usual scenario, by 2050 the world's oceans are expected to contain more plastics than fish by weight.

The January 2016 final rule from NOAA will allow aquaculture operations in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

New Rule Greenlights Aquaculture in Gulf of Mexico Federal Waters

"While this framework is the first of its kind in federal waters, the states already support many successful and thriving aquaculture operations in their waters," said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. "Allowing this type of seafood production will not only reduce U.S. dependency on imports, but also provide a domestic source of sustainable fish protein and create jobs."

New biopesticide will help control population of lampreys while also protecting Great Lakes

Lamprey Pheromone Becomes First Vertebrate Pheromone Biopesticide

The EPA has, for the first time ever, registered a sea lamprey mating pheromone as a vertebrate pheromone biopesticide, which will be used to help collect and remove adult lampreys before they have a chance of reproducing.

The Sustainable Development Goals stress zero poverty, zero hunger, good health, clean water and sanitation, and affordable clean energy.

UN's Sustainable Development Goals Now in Place

The 17 goals build on the eight Millennium Development Goals that sought to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, reduce child mortality; ensure environmental sustainability, and more.

New USGS Director Confirmed

Dr. Suzette M. Kimball has been leading the agency in an acting capacity since February 2013.



Living Shorelines Blunt Effects of Climate Change, Study Shows

"Shoreline management techniques like this can help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while increasing coastal resilience," said Russell Callender, Ph.D., acting director of NOAA's National Ocean Service.

EPA Moves to Protect Big Bend National Park and Other Wild Areas from Air Pollution

The EPA recently finalized a plan to address serious air pollution that is dramatically reducing visibility at the Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in Texas and the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Clean Water Act Charges Filed Against Houston Energy Company

Energy Resource Technology GOM, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Houston-based Talos Energy LLC, has been charged with two felony counts of violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and two felony counts of violating the Clean Water Act related to its offshore oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

ArcticNet Scientific Director Wins 2015 Northern Science Award

Dr. Louis Fortier, scientific director of ArcticNet, was awarded the 2015 Northern Science Award on Nov. 18, Polar Knowledge Canada announced.

Waterway Restoration Project Targets Salt Water Intrusion, Storm Surge

America's WETLAND Foundation brings private funding to shoreline stabilization.

INTERPOL Meeting Highlights Environmental Crimes

Experts participating in the Security and Environmental Crime conference issued a 15-point call for action to raise awareness and encourage greater involvement by the global community.

Canon USA Plants 50,000 Trees in Natural Disaster Sites

Through the Arbor Day Foundation Partnership, Canon U.S.A. has achieved their environmental sustainability initiative goal by contributing 50,000 to natural disaster sites in 2015.

Intermountain Communities Receive Grant Program to Help Connect Them to Rivers

The Intermountain West will begin a new grant program provided by American Rivers that will help to benefit rivers and their communities.

No Further Valdez Damages Sought

DOJ now reports that harlequin ducks and sea otters that had appeared vulnerable to the lingering oil have recovered to pre-spill population levels and are no longer exposed to oil more than populations outside the spill area.

A New Analysis and Approach to Watershed Management

UMass Amherst watershed scientists offer national flood and runoff assessment.

This map of ocean surface temperatures shows how warm waters in the North Atlantic fueled Hurricane Katrina. (Scientific Visualization Studio/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center photo)

Researchers Find Link Between Amazon Wildfires and Atlantic Hurricanes

"Hurricane Katrina is, indeed, part of this story," said UCI Earth system scientist James Randerson, senior author on the paper. "The ocean conditions that led to a severe hurricane season in 2005 also reduced atmospheric moisture flow to South America, contributing to a once-in-a-century dry spell in the Amazon."

This Shell photo shows the Noble Corporation

BSEE Outlines Extent of Shell's Alaska Drilling

The agency's director, Brian Salerno, on Aug. 17 said Shell's application to conduct exploratory drilling was approved after extensive review.