The Stream, March 25: Oil Spills Into Lake Michigan

Pollution
Oil spilled into southern Lake Michigan Monday from a BP refinery in Indiana that was updated last year to accommodate an increasing amount of crude oil coming from Canada’s tar sands, Reuters reported. Lake Michigan is currently 60 percent covered in ice, and the company has not yet said how much oil was leaked.

Less than half of the surface water in China meets water quality standards for its designated use, leading the country’s government to insist it will crack down on wastewater discharges, Bloomberg News reported. Efforts will focus on water bodies that are used for drinking water.

Climate Change
Weather events, like La Niña, that make more rain fall over land than over sea are responsible for a slowdown in the rate of global sea level rise observed between 2003 and 2011, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, AlertNet reported. The slowdown, however, is temporary because the rain that falls over land will eventually make its way back to the oceans.

The world’s countries are largely unprepared to address risks to food security posed by extreme weather and climate change, according to international food aid organization Oxfam, AlertNet reported. Oxfam said that areas of the world affected most by climate change will have a difficult time with food security even with adaptation measures in place.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek