California Lawmakers Push to Ban New Drilling in Wake of Massive Oil Spill

Pipeline leak near Huntington Beach could be as much as 144,000 gallons, officials say as new details emerge

LOS ANGELES — California lawmakers demanded a stop to oil drilling off their state’s coast Tuesday as outrage grew over an enormous oil spill and new questions and details emerged about the source and reporting of the leak. With as many as 144,000 gallons of oil continuing to spread through the waters off Orange County, legislators said they would push to block any new federal drilling leases in the Pacific Ocean along the West Coast.

Wetland Area That Was Damaged by California Oil Spill Could Take Years to Recover

The wetlands damaged in southern California's oil spill had been restored decades ago, and are some of the last remaining in the area. Ecologists say damage from the recent spill will be long lasting.

The oil spill off the Southern California coast is threatening fragile coastal ecosystems. Crude oil spewed from an underwater pipeline is now showing up on shorelines as far south as San Diego, roughly a hundred miles from where the leak began. NPR's Nathan Rott visited a polluted wetland that could take years to recover.

Ticking Time Bomb” Oil Tanker Threatens Food & Water Supply for Millions

An abandoned oil tanker off the coast of Yemen is deteriorating rapidly, and experts say that a hull breach could have far-reaching environmental impacts and threaten millions of people’s access to food and water supplies. The FSO SAFER tanker holds 1.1 million barrels of oil — more than four times the amount that was spilled by the Exxon Valdez 2. But an ongoing civil war has prevented UN inspectors from accessing the vessel, leaving the Red Sea in peril.

Biden Bets Big on Wind Power Ahead of Climate Summit

President Biden is betting big on wind power to demonstrate U.S. climate commitments ahead of an international summit that starts in just over two weeks.

The Biden administration has set a goal of cutting U.S. carbon emissions in half by 2030, in addition to boosting offshore wind energy. Under the roadmap announced by administration officials this week, offshore wind power would be installed along almost the entire U.S. coastline in the coming years.

Our Ocean is Stressed Enough: Give it a Break From Drilling

Ending new leasing for offshore oil and gas is crucial both to mitigate climate change as well as help marine ecosystems become more resilient to its effects. We need to protect 30 percent of the ocean and transition away from fossil fuels to better, cleaner technologies. California is in the middle of a year with record-breaking heat, record-breaking wildfires, and record-breaking drought. On top of these climate change-fueled events, 144,000 gallons of oil spilled in Southern California last weekend — the latest in a string of disasters reminding us that our addiction to fossil fuels has devastating consequences.

Will the Offshore Wind Industry Solve Pay and Environmental Issues?

Offshore wind is on the verge of becoming a major new industry in the U.S. There's a push to make sure it creates lots of good-paying union jobs.

President Biden likes to say that fighting climate change is about creating good-paying union jobs in addition to fixing environmental injustices. There's now a push to do both as the new offshore wind industry takes shape.

Miriam Wasser of member station WBUR in Boston reports.

Hurricanes and Coastal Energy Development Are a Dangerous Combination

As Louisiana digs out from yet another devastating hurricane, it’s important to focus on the way that federal action can either help or harm the residents of our region. The gas industry wants to add another 19 new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in Louisiana. The industry is looking to expand in Texas as well, which is also in the hurricane zone.

Gary Griggs, Our Ocean Backyard | Otter and Pelican Populations Rebound

The announcement last week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that 23 more species are now officially declared extinct was a sobering reminder of our collective human impacts on this diverse group of organisms. The list includes 11 birds, eight freshwater mussels, two fish, a bat and a plant. Many of these were probably extinct, or close to it, when the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973.

Climate Change Kills 14% of Earth’s Coral Over Last Decade

A new report has found that 14% of the earth’s coral reef disappeared in the decade after 2009. Published by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the study is the most extensive analysis of coral reef health yet. Findings indicate climate change has raised sea levels and ocean surface temperatures, making it increasingly inhospitable for coral and leading to this mass die-off. “Coral reefs are the canary in the coal mine telling us how quickly it can go wrong,” David Obura, one of the report’s editors and chairman of the coral specialist group for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, told the New York Times.

Only 73 Southern Resident Orcas Exist in the Wild. Scientists Just Discovered 3 are Pregnant.

On a routine research trip, two marine biologists were struck by what they saw in the waters of the Pacific Northwest: three endangered orcas with bulges indicating that they are pregnant.

The discovery was delightful — there are only 73 southern resident killer whales in the wild, and time is running out to save the species from extinction. Orcas, also called killer whales, give birth to one baby at a time, every three to 10 years.

Protected Too Late: U.S. Officials Report More Than 20 Extinctions

The animals and one plant had been listed as endangered species. Their stories hold lessons about a growing global biodiversity crisis.

The ivory-billed woodpecker, which birders have been seeking in the bayous of Arkansas, is gone forever, according to federal officials. So is the Bachman’s warbler, a yellow-breasted songbird that once migrated between the Southeastern United States and Cuba. The song of the Kauai O’o, a Hawaiian forest bird, exists only on recordings. And there is no longer any hope for several types of freshwater mussels that once filtered streams and rivers from Georgia to Illinois.