Water & Oceans

Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

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What’s Lost With Federal Funding Cuts At USGS Climate Science Centers

"When the Trump administration began freezing federal funding for climate and ecosystem research, one of the programs hit hard was ours: the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers." "The centers have been helping to track invasive species, protect water supplies and make agriculture more sustainable in the face of increasing drought conditions. They’re improving wildfire forecasting, protecting shorelines and saving Alaska salmon, among many other projects."

Source: The Conversation, 12/01/2025

PFAS And Other Contaminants Surged In French Broad River After Helene: Study

"Fifteen days after Tropical Storm Helene sent debris, runoff and a cocktail of toxins — including raw sewage and pharmaceuticals — pouring into the French Broad River in the fall of 2024, Shea Tuberty set out to investigate the damage."

Source: NC Health News, 11/25/2025

Dumping Mining Waste In Norway’s Arctic Ocean Worries Sámi Fishers, Herders

"Mining company Blue Moon Metals plans to dispose of its mining waste in Repparfjord, a nationally protected salmon fjord in the Norwegian Arctic that Indigenous Sámi fishers rely on."

Source: Mongabay, 11/24/2025

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