» Pollution



Greenpeace v. Russia in the Arctic: the plight of the Arctic Sunrise crew darkens

As 6 weeks of 24 hour winter darkness approaches, the arrested crew of the Greenpeace vessel “Arctic Sunrise” face continued detention in prison in Murmansk, Russia. Greenpeace has produced a video of the plight facing the crew and journalists caught up in this situation. Also the Guardian reports, 7th November 2013: “Russia will bring more […]

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Concern that the discharge of mine water from old collieries in S. Tyneside could pollute the sea

The South Shields Gazette reports, 30th October 2013: “The Coal Authority plans to abstract mine water from a borehole at Whitburn Coastal Park to drain water which has flooded the former Westoe, Wearmouth and Whitburn Collieries. The water would then be discharged directly into the sea through a new 270ft outfall pipe to a point […]

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Yachtsman describes the Pacific Ocean as “dead”

The Guardian reports, 21st October 2013: “An Australian sailor has described parts of the Pacific Ocean as “dead” because of severe overfishing, with his vessel having to repeatedly swerve debris for thousands of kilometres on a journey from Australia to Japan. Ivan MacFadyen told of his horror at the severe lack of marine life and […]

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Independent professional panel says health of oceans is “declining fast”

BBC News, 3rd October, 2013, reports: “The health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating even faster than had previously been thought, a report says. A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats. They are being heated by climate change, turned slowly less […]

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Armed Russian boarding of Greenpeace’s Arctic protest vessel

The Guardian reports, 19th September 2013: “Armed Russian military have stormed a Greenpeace ship protesting against oil exploitation in remote Arctic waters. According to the last communications from the Arctic Sunrise before all contact was cut at around 4.30pm BST, the Russians dropped guards on to the deck of the vessel by rope from a […]

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Significant oil discovery in the seas of the Norwegian Arctic

The Guardian reports, 6th September 2013: “Tullow Oil, one of the Britain’s most successful exploration groups, has made its first discovery in the Arctic in a move which will encourage more drilling and anger green groups campaigning against fossil fuel extraction in the region. “This is a major frontier light oil discovery for Norway, Tullow […]

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80% of waste plastic in the sea comes from land-based sources

The Guardian reports, 9th August 2013: “Green turtles are swallowing plastic at twice the rate they did 25 years ago, according to a new study. The finding is based on data collected across the globe since the late 1980s and analysed by researchers at the University of Queensland. Study leader and PhD candidate Qamar Schuyler […]

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The “most persistent polluters of England’s beaches are the water companies”, claims The Observer

The Observer reports, 4th August 2013: “The most persistent and frequent polluters of England’s rivers and beaches are the nation’s 10 biggest water companies, an Observer investigation has revealed. “The companies, which are responsible for treating waste water and delivering clean supplies, have been punished for more than 1,000 incidents in the past nine years, […]

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The best and worst of Britain’s beaches, using your photos

The Guardian reports, 27th June 2013: “It’s not been great news recently for the British beach, according the Marine Conservation Society, the number of cigarette butts littering UK beaches actually doubled last year and almost two-thirds of the litter recorded was plastic and therefore unlikely to break down. It seems that wet weather in the […]

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Insecticide Blamed for Bee Decline also Lethal to Aquatic Organisms

A new study shows neonicotinoid insecticides are lethal to freshwater invertebrates following low but constant exposure. This group of insecticides are in the headlines again following a partial EU–wide ban agreed in April 2013, as evidence of their toxicity to bees became indisputable. Thirty studies have now linked neonicotinoid insecticides to the global demise of […]

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They said it, not us!

A short quote in respect of Fracking from Water Briefing Newsletter of May 2013. “Finally, with shale gas extraction on the agenda in the UK, there will be opportunities in water management and wastewater treatment” We couldn’t have better put it ourselves. However, let’s see what the seismologists have to say.

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could be on the “danger list”

It might be regarded as some sort of sick joke that the Great Barrier Reef happens to nestle beside the heart of Australia’s fossil fuel export boom. When the coal ships leave the Queensland ports, the two become one as the captains make passage through the 2300 kilometre/1430 mile-long reef – the world’s largest. Now […]

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Two-thirds of all beach litter is made of plastic

The number of cigarette butts littering UK beaches doubled last year, while other rubbish from smoking including lighters and packets increased by 90%, according to a survey that raises that concerns anti-littering campaigns are failing to make an impact. Plastic rubbish including sweet and lolly wrappers also rose by 3% in 2012 compared with 2011, […]

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2013 Good Beach Guide reveals that sea bathing water quality in 2012 was “weather affected”

One of the UK’s wettest summers on record has led to a worrying drop in the number of beaches around the country being recommended for their excellent bathing water quality in the annual ‘Good Beach Guide’, published online by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). MCS has recommended only 403 of the 754 UK bathing beaches […]

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Sulphur reduction targets for fuels will make “ferries uncompetitive”, say owners

The price of a sea crossing will soar, threatening jobs and businesses, unless ferry operators are exempted from imminent environmental regulation, shipowners have warned. The UK Chamber of Shipping claims that the cost of new laws on sulphur emissions that will apply within the North Sea and Channel will mean longer ferry routes are no […]

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Sperm whale dies after swallowing large amount of dumped plastics

A dead sperm whale that washed up on Spain’s south coast had swallowed 17kg of plastic waste dumped into the sea by farmers tending greenhouses that produce tomatoes and other vegetables for British supermarkets. Scientists were amazed to find the 4.5 tonne whale had swallowed 59 different bits of plastic – most of it thick […]

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Prof. Callum Roberts outlines the urgent task the new Global Ocean Commission must tackle

Prof. Callum Roberts writes in The Observer, 10th February 2013: “The oceans are changing faster today and in more ways than at any time in human history. We are the cause. Which is why I welcome the launch of the Global Ocean Commission, dedicated to ending the neglect, in international affairs, of the high seas. […]

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Explorers find “evidence” of mankind in the oceans’ abyssal depths

Jon Copley, marine explorer, writes in The Guardian, 25th February 2013:” On 15th August 1934, two adventurers squeezed into a tiny metal capsule and became the first people to see another world. Their names were William Beebe and Otis Barton, and the world that they saw was the deep ocean, when they dived more than […]

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Surfers oppose plans to mine the Cornish seabed

Surfers are leading a campaign against plans to “dredge” millions of tonnes of sand from the seabed off Cornwall amid fears that it could wreck the shape and power of the coast’s waves. A minerals company is planning a 10-year project to recover tin washed out of old mine workings and now settled in sediment […]

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Clyde marine station threatened with closure

“The Marine Biological Station at Millport, based on the isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde, is a world class research and educational centre which must be saved from closure” says Andrew Binnie, The Community of Arran Seabed Trust’s (COAST) Marine Project Officer. Andrew is one of many former Millport students appalled by the withdrawal […]

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