offshore oil drilling

Oil Spills 101: Everything You Need to Know

Oil Spills 101: Everything You Need to Know

Quick Key Facts What Is Oil? Crude oil or petroleum is a liquid fossil fuel. We use it to generate electricity, heat our homes, and fuel our cars. Petroleum products supply about 35% of energy in the U.S., with transportation accounting for the largest portion. Burning fossil fuels like oil releases greenhouse gases into the […]

Join our newsletter

The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    ‘Disappointing’ Decision From Norway’s Supreme Court in Climate Lawsuit Challenging Arctic Offshore Oil Licenses

    ‘Disappointing’ Decision From Norway’s Supreme Court in Climate Lawsuit Challenging Arctic Offshore Oil Licenses

    By Dana Drugmand Norway’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled not to overturn the Norwegian government’s approval of new licenses for offshore oil drilling in the fragile Arctic region. The ruling – a culmination of four years of high-profile litigation in a case challenging continued fossil fuel production on climate change grounds — came as a […]

    Court Rejects Trump’s Arctic Drilling Proposal in ‘Huge Victory for Polar Bears and Our Climate’

    Court Rejects Trump’s Arctic Drilling Proposal in ‘Huge Victory for Polar Bears and Our Climate’

    By Jessica Corbett Climate action advocates and wildlife defenders celebrated Monday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected the Trump administration’s approval of Liberty, a proposed offshore oil-drilling project in federal Arctic waters that opponents warned would endanger local communities, animals, and the environment. “This is a huge victory for polar […]

    Huge Victory: Seismic Blasting Is Halted in Atlantic Ocean

    Huge Victory: Seismic Blasting Is Halted in Atlantic Ocean

    By Andrea Germanos The federal government and fossil fuel industry announced at a legal hearing Thursday that seismic blasting will not be carried out in the Atlantic Ocean this year—and possibly not in the near future either—a development welcomed by conservation groups who lobbied forcefully against what they said would have been an “unjustified acoustic […]

    Trump Weakens Rules Meant to Prevent Next Deepwater Horizon Spill

    Trump Weakens Rules Meant to Prevent Next Deepwater Horizon Spill

    The Trump administration announced Thursday it was rolling back offshore oil drilling regulations put in place after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest ocean spill in U.S. history. Officials announced changes to the Well Control Rule on the Louisiana coast, not far from where the 2010 oil rig explosion killed 11 workers and […]

    Departed Interior Sec. Zinke Under Investigation by DOJ

    Departed Interior Sec. Zinke Under Investigation by DOJ

    The Justice Department is looking into whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to investigators at the Department of Interior, The Washington Post reports. Anonymous sources tell the Post that investigators at the Interior’s inspector general’s office raised the issue with the DOJ after suspecting Zinke may have lied during questioning over his real estate […]