EarthScape

Residents in Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane, sandbagged their homes against rising waters on Monday as torrential rain worsened floods that have paralysed the coal industry in the northeast and now threaten tourism. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the cost of the floods would not delay a return to budget surplus in 2012-13, but J.P.…

The Trans Alaska Pipeline shut down on Saturday after a leak was discovered at the intake pump station at Prudhoe Bay, constricting supply in one of the United States’ key oil arteries. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the operator of the 800-mile (1,280 kilometre) line which runs from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield to the tanker port…

The U.N. urged Nigeria on Friday to clean up polluted villages and limit ore-processing after hundreds of children died last year from mass acute lead poisoning linked to illegal mining for gold by residents. High levels of lead pollution were found in soil and mercury levels in the air were nearly 500 times the acceptable…

There is a relationship between known hydrocarbon (oil and natural gas) discoveries at great depth in the Gulf of Mexico and hydrocarbon seepage such as Methane at the seafloor. Chemosynthetic communities are associated with these seeps. They are remarkable in that they utilize a carbon source independent of photosynthesis and the sun-dependent photosynthetic food chain…

A cancerous cell is not a problem if it is benign. However, if it becomes malignant, it can cause major health problems and even be fatal. Scientists have identified a molecule known as PML which directly affects whether or not a cancer cell becomes malignant. This line of study may prove to be a breakthrough…

Apollo astronauts may be garnering another prize from their exploits of more than 3 decades ago. They left seismometers across the face of the moon to probe its interior, but no one had been able to paint a clear picture from the data the sensors collected. Now, two independent groups have reanalyzed the Apollo data…

Commercial whaling by many nations continues despite an international ban and widescale condemnation. What may end the practice, argues Peter Nolan-Smith, is that the financial incentives are starting to dry up.

China will step up its controls over the mining of rare earths and release new industry standards to cut pollution, a minister and media said on Friday, after the world’s biggest supplier cut export quotas for the minerals. China, which produces about 97 percent of the global supply of the vital metals, slashed its export…

Offshore drilling typically refers to the discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater. Most commonly, the term is used to describe oil extraction off the coasts of continents, though the term can also apply to drilling in lakes and inland seas. Offshore drilling presents environmental challenges, especially in the Arctic or…

The European Union (EU)27 will exceed its target of meeting 20 % of its gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. Today the European Wind Energy Association published its analysis of the 27 National Renewable Energy Action Plans, submitted by the EU Member States to the European Commission. “Taken together the Action Plans…