Review of the Top Ten Environmental Moments of 2010

Below are the environmental moments that marks good or bad contributions to our environment.

Oil Spill. On April 20, 2010 a blowout in BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig and continued to destroy marine wildlife and ecosystems. About 172 million gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico according to the estimation of government scientists.

The Bill. With the earnest desire to resolve the heat-trapping emissions that cause climate change, many environmentalists sought resolution on the Senate climate bill. However, after nearly two decades of planning and cajoling and restructuring a program to cap greenhouse-gas pollution and allow polluting industries and financiers to trade pollution allowances, the Senate bill enshrining all this complexity died.

Extreme Heat. No doubt the year 2010 could rank as the hottest year on record. The concentrations or amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were recorded as high as 390 parts per million. This caused heat wave worldwide which led to peat fires in Russia and other forests.

Drought. The big question on the Colorado River, the source of some or all water for more than 25 million people in the Southwest, is whether 2011 will mark the end of the 11-year drought or make the tally an even dozen , forcing federal authorities to declare the first-ever water shortage on the river.

Solar Power. It was a topsy-turvy year for solar power in the United States. The good news was the development of promising new technologies to make solar cells more efficient; the approval of massive solar plants in the California desert; and the expansion of new policies and business practices to encourage their use everywhere from homes to store roofs to parking lots.

Electric Cars. Two new models, Chevrolet’s hybrid Volt and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf went on sale in 2010 and will become a growing part of the national automotive fleet in 2011. But they do not come cheap. The Leaf’s selling price is $33,600, in selected United States markets; the 20,000 slated for sale here have already been reserved. A New York Times reviewer wrote of the Volt, which sells for $41,000, “G.M. has nailed it, creating a hatchback that feels peppy and mainstream yet can sip less fuel than any gas- or diesel-powered car sold in America.” Both the Volt and the Leaf qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Oil Sands Pipeline. In July, the State Department postponed its decision on whether to approve a controversial 2,000-mile, $7 billion pipeline project to deliver crude oil from Canadian tars sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The oil would be drawn from 178 billion barrels of proven reserves percolating through the sands of northern Alberta; the energy-intensive process of separating the oil from the earth has been the focus of environmental opposition. A decision by the Obama administration on the project — which could allow Canada to export up to 1.1 million barrels of oil daily — is expected in a few months.

Fracking. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been a common method used by the natural gas industry to open up sealed pockets of gas in underground formations. But the impact of the high-pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals on groundwater is not well documented. That has been a matter of sharp concern in eastern states like Pennsylvania and New York, which lie above the gas-rich area known as the Marcellus Shale. New York’s governor, David A. Paterson, rejected a legislative moratorium on such drilling, replacing it with his own, which lasts until July but narrows the definition of the prohibited kinds of drilling. While the companies are eager to start their drills, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a study, mandated by Congress, of the technique’s effect on drinking water supplies. The results are expected in 2012.

Tigers and Bears. With major reports on biodiversity all showing an accelerating loss of species on land and in the oceans, attention was focused most closely on polar bears, whose sea ice habitat is melting for longer periods almost every year. A team of climate scientists and biologists is promoting the idea of setting aside a “sea ice refuge” — a swath of the Arctic from northwest Greenland west through northern Canada where the ice remains thickest. Another study predicted that polar bears would breed with grizzlies, creating hybrids that are less resilient. Meanwhile, fears of the extinction of the wild tiger prompted a summit of sorts in Moscow, at which officials agreed to a goal of doubling the number of wild tigers — now about 3,200 — by 2022.

Source: National Geographic