Water & Oceans

"MUSKEGON, Mich. — Scientists say an invasive European snail that carries parasites fatal to some aquatic birds is spreading across the Great Lakes region."

"Road salt is a big help to roads and sidewalks in the winter, but it wreaks havoc in many streams in the northern United States, including Milwaukee."

"Whale watchers have spotted a stunning number of humpback whales in New York waters recently, especially around the Rockaway peninsula, part of New York's borough of Queens. More than a hundred of the massive and majestic beasts have been sighted so far this year, marking what may be the largest resurgence of whales the region has ever seen."

"When Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) hits his last few days in office next month, he plans to enact dramatic new regulations for farmers who use chicken droppings to fertilize their fields."

"With ocean policymakers mulling new protections for deep-sea canyons off the East Coast, a new report portrays them as vulnerable "treasure troves" of marine life at risk from fishing trawlers."

"Better protecting the world's fast-disappearing mangroves could have big economic, social and environmental benefits, experts said at the U.N. climate talks in Lima this week."

"A coalition of environmental groups reminded President Obama Monday that they want him to set set strong standard for coal ash storage."

"It is no secret that the world’s oceans are swimming with plastic debris — the first floating masses of trash were discovered in the 1990s. But researchers are starting to get a better sense of the size and scope of the problem."

"A slight increase in air temperature over the past half-century has caused waters to warm more than two degrees in tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay, a change that could reduce the expected benefits of the multibillion-dollar bay cleanup plan and eventually alter the behaviors of marine animals, a new study says."