Water & Oceans

"The BP oil spill left an oily "bathub ring" on the sea floor that's about the size of Rhode Island, new research shows."

"The 2014 season for Lake Michigan's only coal-powered passenger and car ferry comes to a close Sunday, signaling the end of the controversial practice of dumping coal ash into the Great Lake. When the vessel resumes operations in 2015, it will no longer release the waste material into those waters."

"Despite the global moratorium on commercial whaling that began in 1986, Japan continues to kill thousands of whales under the guise of 'research.'"

"West Virginia regulators have revoked the state certification for a Raleigh County laboratory, following the guilty plea of a lab supervisor who admitted he and other employees falsified coal industry samples so mining operations would appear to be in compliance with water pollution standards."

"Citing a rash of contaminated wells in Kewaunee County, a coalition of environmental groups on Wednesday petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use its emergency authority to investigate pollution of groundwater from dairy manure."

"As the Tomblin administration considers a plan to allow natural gas drilling under the Ohio River, a major chemical maker in Marshall County has been fighting a proposal for hydraulic fracturing near its plant, citing a 'near-catastrophic' gas-well incident last year that might be linked to geologic conditions beneath the river."

"Stretching along the Queensland coast, the reef is an underwater wonderland home to thousands of different fish and coral species. But it is facing multiple threats."

"Federal laws meant to protect drinking water require fracking companies to get a permit before using diesel fuel in the drilling process."

"This year's early count of sea turtles nesting on Florida beaches is encouraging, though there are many unknowns in the numbers."