Water & Oceans

Japan has successfully extracted natural gas from methane hydrates ("fire ice") 1,000 feet below the seabed.

"SAN DIEGO — The California Coastal Commission on Friday rejected a Navy explosives and sonar training program off the Southern California coast that critics said could harm endangered blue whales and other sea life."

"Texas was ordered to temporarily stop issuing new water permits for a river system that supplies dozens of Central Texas cities, power generators and petrochemical plants to ensure enough water reaches the last migratory flock of endangered whooping cranes."

"CARRIZO SPRINGS, Tex. -- In this South Texas stretch of mesquite trees and cactus, where the land is sometimes too dry to grow crops, the local aquifer is being strained in the search for oil. The reason is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a drilling process that requires massive amounts of water."

"RICHMOND -- The Environmental Protection Agency will not appeal a federal district court’s ruling declaring it is illegal for the EPA to regulate storm water as a pollutant as it flows into Virginia waterways."

"Forty years ago, when North Carolina banned using deep wells to permanently dump industrial waste, some thought the issue had been decided for good. Now state lawmakers who want to turn North Carolina into the nation’s next fracking hotspot are reopening the case for injecting brines and toxins deep underground."

"NEW YORK -- Just across the East River from midtown Manhattan’s shimmering skyscrapers sits one of the nation’s most polluted neighborhoods, fouled by generations of industrial waste, overflow from the city’s sewage system and an underground oil leak bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill."

"Tucked away in northeast Texas, Lake Gilmer was the last major reservoir built in the state, more than a decade ago. Local officials said they had intended to share construction costs and water with a new power plant, but the power company backed out, leaving the City of Gilmer with the bill."

"CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A federal grand jury returned an indictment against the owner of an oil and gas drilling company on Thursday, charging him with violating the Clean Water Act by dumping more than 20,000 gallons of fracking waste into a river in Youngstown."

"CARLSBAD, Calif. — On a calm day, a steady rain just about masks the sound of Pacific Ocean water being drawn into the intake valve from Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Listen hard, and a faint sucking sound emerges from the concrete openings, like a distant straw pulling liquid from a cup."