Tagged: environment

The federal government is set to sell off oil and natural gas leases in the central Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The sale, taking place in the Superdome, starts at 9 a.m. CDT and ends at noon, when the U.S. Department of the Interior is expected to announce the results.

The government is offering 7,434 tracts covering about 38 million acres. As of Tuesday, 593 bids were submitted by 48 companies for 454 tracts.

The blocks are located from three to about 230 miles offshore.

There's plenty of mud flowing down the Mississippi River and getting washed out into the Gulf of Mexico every day. Now, in a bid to save the threatened delta, the Army Corps of Engineers says it wants to take mud dredged from the shipping channels to build up fragile wetlands.

From Backstory with the American History Guys: in 1815, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia sent enough ash into the sky to disrupt the world’s weather for the next year. In New England, 1816 became known as “The Year Without a Summer.” Snow fell in June and July. Crops and animals died. Tens of thousands of people picked up and left; their search for greener pastures became an early chapter in a larger story of westward expansion.

As global population grows, so does the demand for water. Yet less than one percent of the planet's supply is potable, and estimates suggest that 40% of humanity will not have access to clean water by 2025.

Explore the complex issues surrounding this precious resource in this edition of America Abroad.

Go here for more information on this series.

Airing Sunday, June 17th. You can hear The Listening Room Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m., on WWNO, 89.9 FM.