The impact of BP’s oil spill on threatened and endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico was serious but not catastrophic, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jane Lubchenco, writes in an essay published Wednesday.
Furthermore, the majority of the 600 dead turtles found during the spill appear to have been killed by fishing operations, not oil. “The heightened scrutiny of the Gulf of Mexico during the oil spill brought to light the need for stronger cooperation between N.O.A.A., the gulf states and the fishing industry to address the significant ongoing problem of sea turtles drowning in fishing operations,” Dr. Lubchenco says. [Miami Herald]
Emissions from coal-fired power plants are killing trees and other vegetation in Texas and Georgia, with pecan orchards being particularly hard-hit in some areas, farmers and environmental groups say. Utilities and state environmental regulators deny that power plant emissions are to blame, but federal regulators are investigating air quality violations. [Associated Press]
Read the complete blog from The New York Times.