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8/04/05

Scientists Speed Coral Growth - Read Story

Report: California Has Nation's Largest 'Ocean Economy'
Los Angeles -- California Industries Along The Coast Generated $42.9 Billion in 2000, Giving it The Nation's Largest "Ocean Economy," According to a Report. The Ocean Economy Also Provided 408,000 Jobs Five Years Ago And $11.4 Billion in Wages And Salaries, According to a California Resources Agency Study Released Friday. - Read Story

Repeat Storms Compounding Florida's Beach Erosion Problems - Read Story

Toxic Algae Poisons More Than 150 People on Italian Coast - Read Story

MTV Damaged Sea Turtle Beach in Tobago
Endangered Sea Turtles Forced to Run "Gauntlet" to Nest - Read Story

Ancient Mariners Phone Home - Read Story

Corps Cites Seattle For Filling Wetlands - Read Story

Indonesia to Charge One of Six Newmont Executives Accused of Polluting Bay - Read Story

Officials Investigate Deaths of Sea Birds - Read Story

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2/11/05

Coral Reefs Create Clouds To Control The Climate
When temperatures soar, coral reefs might create cool shade by releasing chemicals into the atmosphere that promote cloud formation When the temperature soars, coral reefs might cool off by creating their own clouds. Research from the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast shows that corals are packed full of the chemical dimethyl sulphide or DMS. When released into the atmosphere, DMS helps clouds to form, which could have a large impact on the local climate. - Read Story

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2/4/05

Scientists Say Valdez Spill Impacts Slow To Fade - Read Story

Federal Officials To Sue after Gas Leak from State Oil Company on Mexico's Gulf Coast - Read Story

IFAW Rescues and Rehabilitates Hundreds of Animals Affected by Major Oil Spill in Veracruz, Mexico - Read Story

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1/26/05

Environmentalists Say Hawksbill Sea Turtle in 'Drastic Decline' in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Activists of the World Wildlife Fund called on Mexico and the Caribbean nations on Tuesday to urgently implement plans to reverse what the organization called "a drastic decline" in the population of hawksbill sea turtles. The hawksbills are considered endangered, and are one of the seven sea-turtle species that call Mexico home. The group said the turtle population had fallen to half its previous levels, according to final reports from counts in 2004. - Read Story

Indonesia to Replant Mangroves in Tsunami Defense
JAKARTA — Indonesia will replant huge swathes of mangrove forest along its vulnerable coastline to help provide a buffer against possible future tsunamis, the forestry minister said. Environmental experts say Southeast Asia's mangroves -- many of which have been ripped out to make room for shrimp and fish farms -- could have helped slow the Dec. 26 tsunami by providing a barrier between the killer waves and land. - Read Story

Islands' Fears on Climate, Trade Acknowledged - Read Story

Small Island Nations Appeal for Help to Deal with Environmental and Economic Woes - Read Story

Major Caribbean Earthquakes and Tsunamis a Real Risk - Read Story

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1/21/05

Divers Begin Thailand's Big Coral Clean-Up
KOH PHI PHI, Thailand - Boatloads of volunteer divers descended into the azure waters of the Andaman Sea on Sunday to clear away the tsunami debris littering Thailand's famed coral reefs. The killer waves flung everything from people to televisions to plastic chairs into the pristine waters, including those around the paradise island of Koh Phi Phi, made famous by cult backpacker movie "The Beach". However, marine experts said overall damage was not as bad as initially feared and that Mother Nature's own clean-up process had already kicked into action. - Read Story

Indonesia to Replant Mangroves in Tsunami Defense
JAKARTA — Indonesia will replant huge swathes of mangrove forest along its vulnerable coastline to help provide a buffer against possible future tsunamis, the forestry minister said. Environmental experts say Southeast Asia's mangroves -- many of which have been ripped out to make room for shrimp and fish farms -- could have helped slow the Dec. 26 tsunami by providing a barrier between the killer waves and land. - Read Story

Tsunami Rebuilding Should Not Overlook Nature - WWF
BASEL, Switzerland - Poorly planned coastal development compounded the impact of Asia's tsunami and rebuilding efforts should use natural protection provided by reefs and forests, conservation group WWF said on Monday. In a report ahead of a UN meeting on the plight of small-island states, the Worldwide Fund for Nature warned against over-logging and urged protection for tsunami-hit fishermen who could be pushed aside by opportunistic outside fleets. "It is also vital that coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs, mangroves, marshes and forests that buffer the impact of tsunamis are rehabilitated and restored," the Swiss-based WWF said in a statement. - Read Story

Mangroves Could Have Reduced Tsunami Damage, U.N. Official Says - Read Story

First Oil Removed from Broken Freighter off Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Salvagers have begun removing oil from tanks on a freighter that broke apart last month off Alaska, spilling most of the vessel's estimated 442,000 gallons of fuel into the Bering Sea and onto shore. A salvage team Monday used a heavy-lift helicopter to remove three steel "retrieving cubes" loaded with diesel from the stern of the Selendang Ayu. The 738-foot freighter ran aground and split in two Dec. 8 off Unalaska Island in the Aleutian chain. - Read Story

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1/14/05

Deepest U.S. Reef Found
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) -- Marine researchers have discovered the deepest coral reef ever found in the United States in about 250 feet of water off the Florida coast. The discovery in the Gulf of Mexico was announced last month by the U.S. Geological Survey. - Read Story

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