Water & Oceans

"A task force representing Iowa and 11 other states said Thursday it needs another 20 years to reduce the size of a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico by two-thirds."

"Some eight million metric tons of plastic waste makes its way into the world’s oceans each year, and the amount of the debris is likely to increase greatly over the next decade unless nations take strong measures to dispose of their trash responsibly, new research suggests."

"The US south-west and the Great Plains will face decade-long droughts far worse than any experienced over the last 1,000 years because of climate change, researchers said on Thursday."

"The shared waters of New Jersey and New York's harbors, long battered by industry and neglect, have 'advanced considerably' over the last five years, according to a report released Monday."

"On a postcard-perfect winter morning, harbor pilot Charlie Hand steers his boat up the crowded Seybold Canal, a 2,000-foot stretch of Wagner Creek dredged and straightened a century ago, scooping up discarded plastic bags."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A year after a toxic leak contaminated drinking water for 300,000 residents, West Virginia lawmakers are considering a series of proposals that would weaken a new chemical tank safety law, remove stronger pollution protections for streams across the state, and protect the coal industry from enforcement actions over violations of water quality standards."

"California has proposed closing by October up to 140 oilfield wells that state regulators had allowed to inject into federally protected drinking water aquifers, state officials said Monday."

"Four decades after the passage of the Clean Water Act, regulators haven’t kept up with the pollution pressure that growing populations put on America’s shorelines."

"President Obama’s budget proposal for 2016 includes a significant cut in funds for the Great Lakes Initiative, and some groups have responded by calling the president’s proposal a ' non-starter.'"