Disasters

"Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist's video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor."

"WASHINGTON -- Fifty million 'environmental refugees' will flood into the global north by 2020, fleeing food shortages sparked by climate change, experts warned at a major science conference that ended here Monday."

"Lake Isabella Dam is just one acute example of a widespread problem: Of the nation’s 85,000 dams, more than 4,400 are considered susceptible to failure, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. But repairing all those dams would cost billions of dollars, and it is far from clear who would provide all the money in a recessionary era."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released draft staff reports Thursday on the proposed Yucca Mountain repository but omitted any conclusions about whether the site would be safe for storing radioactive waste."

"A wave of charged plasma particles from a huge solar eruption has glanced off the Earth's northern pole, lighting up auroras and disrupting some radio communications, a NASA scientist said."

"New evidence unearthed by investigators shows that in some key moments before the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, BP leaders were disengaged from critical tests and recognized major problems, but they failed to communicate their concerns or take corrective action."

"Extreme rainstorms and snowfalls have grown substantially stronger, two studies suggest, with scientists for the first time finding the telltale fingerprints of man-made global warming on downpours that often cause deadly flooding."

"Environmental groups said Wednesday that a 1,700-mile oil pipeline planned between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico posed safety risks and should be delayed."

"A U.S. government investigation of the Trans Alaska oil pipeline has found potentially major safety issues on the line that ships 12 percent of domestic oil supply, making its operation risky until repairs are made, according to a letter sent by regulators to the operator and viewed by Reuters on Friday."

"As Thursday dawned, the extent of the explosion and fire in central Allentown became starkly visible: half a block reduced to cinders by a catastrophe that killed five people, displaced scores from their homes and raised fears about the soundness of the aged gas pipelines beneath the city."