http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —A new report on hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") in California warns of the risks of irreversible contamination of surface and groundwater near oil drilling sites, unless the technique is carefully monitored and controlled. The report Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing in California: A Wastewater and Water Quality Perspective is an independent analysis produced by the UC Berkeley School of Law's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and its new initiative, the Wheeler Institute for Water Law & Policy (Wheeler Institute). http://phys.org/news285230057.html Space & Earth Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:10:01 EST news285230057 An innovative new oil-drilling tool concept has seen the light of day. http://phys.org/news284368811.html Technology Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:30:02 EST news284368811 Europe moved Thursday towards agreement on new rules governing offshore oil and gas drilling in response to a major environmental disaster off the United States, but environmentalists criticised the omission of terms covering Arctic exploration. http://phys.org/news280681195.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:00:18 EST news280681195 When he looked at the dramatic increase in his laboratory's thread gauge calibration income – a 50 % increase over last year and a 1000 % increase from 14 years ago – Dennis Everett saw the writing on the wall: The petroleum industry was back in a big, big way. This multi-billion-dollar industry has grown to support 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.3 percent of the U.S. economy. NIST has to find a way to keep up with the resulting new demands and challenges. NIST's impact on this industry is critical—NIST stands at the gateway to help prevent leaks in oil drilling operations. http://phys.org/news279798223.html Technology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:43:52 EST news279798223 Careful observers of the new "Black Marble" images of Earth at night released this week by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have noticed bright areas in the western part of Australia that are largely uninhabited. Why is this area so lit up, many have asked? http://phys.org/news274123198.html Space & Earth Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:20:22 EST news274123198 Researchers have taken a new look at an old, but seldom-used technique developed by the petroleum industry to recover oil, and learned more about why it works, how it could be improved, and how it might be able to make a comeback not only in oil recovery but also environmental cleanup. http://phys.org/news263137096.html Chemistry Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:38:32 EST news263137096 The heaviest polar ice in more than a decade could postpone the start of offshore oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean until the beginning of August, a delay of up to two weeks, Shell Alaska officials said. http://phys.org/news257414409.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 12:00:09 EST news257414409 Offshore drilling safety and oversight is still lacking two years after the massive BP oil spill sullied the US Gulf Coast, two reports released Tuesday have found. http://phys.org/news253897918.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:12:14 EST news253897918 A huge oil spill off Brazil's southern coast was the result of excessive pressure used by oil giant Chevron in drilling the sea floor, according to a report by police and prosecutors published by local media Tuesday. http://phys.org/news251477289.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:48:18 EST news251477289 One of the last significant hurdles to offshore oil drilling in the Arctic was cleared Friday with approval of a plan to deal with a nightmare scenario - an oil spill at the top of the world. http://phys.org/news248962426.html Space & Earth Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:20:01 EST news248962426 US prosecutors are readying criminal charges against British oil giant BP employees over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident that led to the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, The Wall Street Journal reported online. http://phys.org/news244357061.html Space & Earth Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:57:47 EST news244357061 The amount of wind blowing off the California coast is teeming with potential. http://phys.org/news226935217.html Technology Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:33:47 EST news226935217 Offshore oil drilling group Transocean claimed Tuesday that it had a set a world record for deep water drilling at an ocean depth of 3,107 metres (10,194 feet) off the coast of India. http://phys.org/news221834828.html Space & Earth Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:00:02 EST news221834828 Many questions remain about the fate and environmental impact of the marine oil caused by the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform. A predictive model based on engineering design tools is described in an article in Environmental Engineering Science, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. http://phys.org/news215785349.html Space & Earth Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:22:45 EST news215785349 A substance more like quicksand and less like ketchup could improve the "top kill" method of plugging a blown-out oil well. http://phys.org/news215775991.html Space & Earth Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:46:50 EST news215775991 The United States lifted a ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico imposed after the BP oil spill, but set operators tough new safety conditions, officials said. http://phys.org/news206167918.html Space & Earth Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:52:16 EST news206167918 More people are likely to believe scientific studies claiming that oil drilling is riskier, not safer, than was previously thought, according to a new study of attitudes in California. What's more the findings, which appear in the journal Public Understanding of Science (PUS), published by SAGE, show that scientists' efforts to influence public opinion have a limited effect. http://phys.org/news202673982.html Other Sciences Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:30:01 EST news202673982 BP pressed on Friday with a risky bid to plug a ruptured oil well it said was going as planned, while new data showed the Gulf of Mexico spill is the worst in US history. http://phys.org/news194243306.html Space & Earth Fri, 28 May 2010 06:10:01 EST news194243306 A make-or-break attempt to clog a ruptured pipe gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico with a method dubbed the "top kill" has been delayed until at least Tuesday, officials said Friday. http://phys.org/news193714374.html Space & Earth Sat, 22 May 2010 02:33:16 EST news193714374 (PhysOrg.com) -- New Gulf oil spill images from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft paint dramatic portraits of different aspects of the growing spill. http://phys.org/news193655641.html Space & Earth Fri, 21 May 2010 10:14:26 EST news193655641 (PhysOrg.com) -- It was a battle to save a cherished piece of nature from the forces of economic growth. Preservationists formed groups to present their case, and public figures across the country spoke up about the matter. Yet in the end, industry and commerce triumphed, changing the natural landscape. http://phys.org/news180365515.html Space & Earth Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:10:01 EST news180365515 Small amounts of oil leave a fluorescent sheen on polluted water. Oil sheen is hard to remove, even when the water is aerated with ozone or filtered through sand. Now, a University of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters. http://phys.org/news177572736.html Chemistry Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:46:54 EST news177572736 (PhysOrg.com) -- With gas prices topping $4 a gallon and the prospect of record-high heating costs this winter, Americans say they're driving less and cutting their electricity use to save money and improve the environment. http://phys.org/news137682553.html Space & Earth Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:09:13 EST news137682553