National News

Editorial | Seismic Testing Isn’t Pretty. By Charlotte Observer, “The Trump administration on Nov. 30 gave five companies permission to conduct seismic airgun blasting off the coast of the Carolinas and other states, a major step toward offshore oil and gas drilling. Here’s what that would look like, directly off the Carolinas’ coasts and extending over an area twice as large as California: Ships crisscrossing the ocean dragging dozens of airguns. The guns fire off blasts that can be heard underwater 2,000 miles away up to every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day for months. The five companies would have up to 208 guns in the water at a time and would fire a combined 5 million blasts over the first year. A coalition of environmental groups has filed suit in Charleston to prevent the blasts.” [Greensboro.com, 12/19/18 (+)]

EU Agrees Ban on Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds to Tackle Plastic Pollution. “Negotiators from the Parliament and Council reached an agreement Wednesday morning on a Commission proposal to cut pollution from throwaway plastic items. This is part of a wider effort to cut plastic waste and reuse resources. The deal ‘will reduce the environmental damage bill by €22 billion, which is the cost of plastic pollution in Europe until 2030,’ said Frédérique Ries, the Belgian MEP who shepherded the file through the talks.” [Politico, 12/19/18 (=)]