The Exxon Mobil Pegasus pipeline ruptured on Friday, leaking an estimated 4500 barrels (189,000 gallons) of oil into a subdivision in Mayflower, Arkansas – less than 30 minutes from Little Rock. There are conflicting reports on the source and type of oil that was spilled, with some environmentalists claiming this to be a Canadian tar sands pipeline and Exxon simply stating that the pipeline originates in Illinois.

If it turns out the Pegasus pipeline is in fact transporting tar sands oil, this spill could bring more attention to the environmental risks that tens of thousands of protesters rallied over in February, calling for Obama to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline project. Keystone XL would extend an existing pipeline (which currently runs from Alberta, Canada to Oklahoma) in two directions: from Alberta to Kansas, and from its endpoint in Oklahoma all the way to the Gulf Coast of Texas, totaling an additional 1700 miles of pipe.

Creative Commons image “Exxon” courtesy of Minale Tattersfield Roadside Retail via Flickr

Regardless of the source or type of oil flowing through the streets and stormdrains of Mayflower, people have been evacuated from their homes – and Lake Conway, which borders a state wildlife management area, is at risk for contamination – until the mess is cleaned up. More details will surely become available on the Arkansas spill as the cleanup progresses, but as of Saturday night local news stations and blogs were the best source of information; only brief updates from AP and Reuters could be found on any major news networks.  Today NPR and CBS have picked it up as well.

March 22^nd is the United Nations World Water Day, a day to call attention to water issues around the globe. 2013 is also the International Year of Water Cooperation, highlighting the importance of water as a global resource. Check out this list of worldwide events to find something near you!

No Deal: Obama Administration Won’t Trade ANWR Drilling for Energy Fund

The Obama administration says that drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge is not an option as they seek support to launch an Energy Security Trust Fund. The proposed fund aims to support the research and development of automotive technology that doesn’t rely on oil.

Creative Commons image courtesy of ali_pk via flickr

Wind is Picking Up

The wind industry appears to be experiencing an uptick following the renewal of a tax credit. In late 2012, the U.S. Congress allowed the production tax credit to lapse and the industry experienced a lull of uncertainty. The credit (which provides 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 10 years of a wind facility’s operation) was renewed in January and as a result many delayed projects are being picked up.

Something Fishy Going on in Coronel, Chile

Locals are baffled by the thousands of dead prawns washed up on the shores of Coronel, Chile, this week. Fishermen speculate that local power plants using seawater as a cooling fluid may be to blame, but an investigation into the water temperature and oxygen levels is still underway.

Coral Reefs: A Delicate Balance at Heron Island

National Public Radio launched a weeklong news series on coral this week, focusing on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Scientists at Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef are simulating potential future scenarios to determine what’s next for coral and other reef organisms if current trends in ocean temperature and acidity changes continue.

Despite the blessings of FDA and WHO that food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is safe, consumer are exercising their “right to know” and have made great strides in the fight to see labeling on grocery store shelves.Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. and Canada will now follow suit with their European locations, requiring labels on all genetically modified food products by 2018. Ben & Jerry’s has already made a commitment to be GMO-free by 2014, and many states are proposing mandatory labels for genetically engineered food.

Is improved weather modeling in the forecast for the U.S.?

The nation’s capital and surrounding metropolitan areas effectively shut down on Wednesday, March 6 in anticipation of a severe snowstorm that left mostly slush. A professor of atmospheric science at the University of Washington in Seattle explains why the European forecasting system is more accurate than U.S. models, and weather forecasters admit that they could do a better job in communicating uncertainty along with their predictions.

Hot Mess: Spikes in temperature and CO2 pollution

Lots of climate change-related news this week, with evidence that carbon pollution is rising faster than predicted and new research showing that the abrupt U-turn in global temperatures over the past 100 years from cooling to sharply warming trends reflects an unprecedented shift over such a brief period of time.

Leftovers anyone? Remnants of the Manhattan Project looking for new home 

Amid concerns that leaking tanks of radioactive waste at the former Manhattan Project Hanford site in Washington state could potentially threaten groundwater supplies to the 4th largest river in the United States, lawmakers are  proposing to ship 3 million gallons of the toxic sludge to a repository in New Mexico. Not surprisingly,  environmental groups  are against accepting waste from Hanford at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located in Loving, NM. In the meantime, cleanup efforts in Washington may be slowed by budget cuts.

Process tubes on the front face of the nuclear reactor in Hanford, WA. Creative Commons Image “Manhattan Project Hanford B Reactor Tour” courtesy of Redbeard Math Pirate on Flickr.

Climate-induced change in guidelines for energy efficiency

The EPA and U.S. Green Building Council announced this week that Puerto Rico would get its own set of guidelines, based on the tropical climate, for home energy efficiency. Plans for infrastructure improvements in the U.S. already take climate change into consideration, to ensure that they are capable of withstanding severe storms and high heat. Will mounting evidence of climate change result in changes to the USBGC’s code throughout the United States?