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Energy
6:52 am
Fri November 30, 2012

Sea Trial Leaves Shell's Arctic Oil-Spill Gear "Crushed Like A Beer Can"

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Damaged oil-spill containment dome
Credit BSEE (via KUOW FOIA request)
The Arctic Challenger's containment dome, crumpled after a field test in Puget Sound
Credit John Ryan (left); T.J. Guiton (right)
The Arctic Challenger containment dome before (left) and after (right) a failed sea trial.
Credit T.J. Guiton
Shell contractors at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal repair and upgrade the containment dome.
Credit Shell Oil animation; full video at: http://tinyurl.com/cj4vre5
Illustration of the Arctic Challenger's Remotely Operated Vehicle being lowered into the sea. The real ROV got tangled in anchor lines during a field test.
Credit Shell Oil animation; full video at: http://tinyurl.com/cj4vre5
In addition to the containment dome, Shell's Arctic oil-spill response plans include using drilling mud, shear rams and a capping stack to block the flow of oil from a blowout and fire and chemical dispersants for oil that reaches the surface.
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UPDATE on Congressional interest in this story here.

Shell Oil has been building and testing equipment designed for the Arctic Ocean here in Puget Sound. In September, a key test of underwater oil-spill equipment was a spectacular failure.

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Environment
9:20 am
Wed November 28, 2012

Acidifying Water Takes Toll On Northwest Shellfish

Credit Katie Campbell
Taylor Shellfish crews haul out oysters from Samish Bay that had been picked the night before. The Northwest's shellfish industry is one of the first to feel the impacts of ocean acidification.
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Rescuing shellfish from the rising acidity in Puget Sound will require a wide-ranging response: everything from curbing greenhouse gases and controlling water pollution to growing more seaweed and putting restaurant-discarded oyster shells into shallow bays. Those are among the recommendations in a long-awaited report on ocean acidification that was delivered today to Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire by a blue-ribbon panel.

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Environment
4:00 pm
Mon November 5, 2012

Octopus Killing Fuels Scuba Diver Activism

Credit Flickr/California Academy of Sciences
A giant Pacific octopus similar to the one that was killed recently at Cove 2 in Alki.
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A scuba diving instructor recently encountered a diver who was in the process of killing an octopus at Cove 2, a popular West Seattle diving site. Photos of the incident spread online, prompting the local scuba dive community to seek marine protection status for Cove 2. 

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Environment
5:10 pm
Tue October 30, 2012

New Report: Puget Sound Ports Curb Emissions

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Air pollution from the major shipping ports in Puget Sound has decreased, according to a new report released Tuesday. The 300-page report compared emissions of diesel particulates, greenhouse gases and other air pollutants in five Puget Sound ports from 2005 to 2011. Overall, emissions have gone down.

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Clean Water Act
9:41 am
Wed October 17, 2012

How We Got Into Such A Mess With Stormwater

Diver exploring outfall drain in Puget Sound
Credit OPB Photo/Michael Bendixen
Laura James swims inside a stormwater outfall in Puget Sound that she has come to call "The Monster" because of how much runoff billows from it when it rains.
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The Clean Water Act took effect 40 years ago Thursday. In 1972, stormwater pollution was nowhere near a top priority. Today, it’s taken the lead as the top water contaminator. How bad is it? Puget Sound diver Laura James takes us where nobody wants to go — inside a stormwater outfall — to get an upclose look.

Read the full story on KUOW's EarthFix

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