A seventy-nine thousand ton plastic garbage patch floating in the Pacific Ocean now occupies "an area three times the size of France," according to an article printed in The Washington Post and reprinted in the Tampa Bay Times.
Surveyors using 18 boats and two planes found that "(t)he amount of plastic found in this area...in 'increasing exponentially'."
While the garbage patch has been described before, the latest survey estimates the plastic contained in the patch has a 4 to 16 times larger mass than previously thought.
To read the article in The Washington Post, click here. Click here to read it in the Tampa Bay Times.
Friday, March 23, 2018
"Modest Interest" to Federal Offshore Oil Auction, Setback to Trump Admin
A federal auction of 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for offshore oil production has garnered only "modest interest" from the oil industry, according to an article in The New York Times.
According to the article ("Auction of Oil Drilling Tracts in Gulf Draws Tepid Interest"), "Companies bid on only 1 percent of the acreage," with only $125 million going to the government.
Major oil companies are taking a "wait and see" approach to exploration at this time, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie stated.
While the administration is attempting to "revive exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico," that production has been hurt by sliding oil prices during the last four years. Also, drilling in both the gulf and other deep waters has "slowed considerably" following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon explosion.
In January, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that Florida would be exempts from President Trump's offshore drilling plan, according to another article in the Times ("Drilling Off Florida Is Still on the Table, Interior Official Says").
The Trump administration has lifted a drilling bad imposed by President Barack Obama. However, the lack of interest in the auction may help the environment, at least for the short term.
To read the main article in its entirety, click here. To read the earlier article, click here.
According to the article ("Auction of Oil Drilling Tracts in Gulf Draws Tepid Interest"), "Companies bid on only 1 percent of the acreage," with only $125 million going to the government.
Major oil companies are taking a "wait and see" approach to exploration at this time, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie stated.
While the administration is attempting to "revive exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico," that production has been hurt by sliding oil prices during the last four years. Also, drilling in both the gulf and other deep waters has "slowed considerably" following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon explosion.
In January, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that Florida would be exempts from President Trump's offshore drilling plan, according to another article in the Times ("Drilling Off Florida Is Still on the Table, Interior Official Says").
The Trump administration has lifted a drilling bad imposed by President Barack Obama. However, the lack of interest in the auction may help the environment, at least for the short term.
To read the main article in its entirety, click here. To read the earlier article, click here.
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