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Authorities are investigating reports from around San Diego County of a strong odor similar to jet fuel. 10News has received dozens of calls from residents who say they smelled what they believe is jet fuel since around 2 p.m. Callers from Encinitas, Solana Beach, Pacific Beach, Mira Mesa and La Jolla have all reported the odor. Residents living in inland areas such as North Park, Hillcrest and Rancho Bernardo have said they can smell the odor in their area. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department has confirmed they have received numerous calls regarding the smell. A public affairs spokesman at MCAS...

An easy choice this time: the Rio de la Plata estuary is one of the most noticeable features on the east coast of South America: (click to see the larger version): And I may be scooping the Astronomy Picture of the Day with this one; Saturn views Cassini eight months from arrival (click to go to Web site with larger volume images):

Ocean commission finds coasts in trouble WASHINGTON - Six months before the first man landed on the moon, a presidential commission urged Congress to use more "fully and wisely" a different sort of vastness, one teeming with life but just as mysterious and far closer to home -- the world's oceans. More than three decades later, a second presidential commission, led by a retired admiral who headed the Energy Department in the first Bush administration, says the urgency is even greater than when the Eagle landed. "The oceans are in trouble; the coasts are in trouble; our marine resources...

Ocean Protection Begins Far Inland JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, September 3, 2002 (ENS) - Drawing on a new emphasis on the interrelationships between ecosystems, the United States is preparing to launch a new initiative that aims to protect ocean ecosystems by cleaning up land based sources of pollution. The White Water to Blue Water initiative was announced Monday at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in South Africa. The National Oceanic at Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which leads the U.S. Commerce Department's delegation to the World Summit, says the new initiative emphasizes a cross sectoral approach to ecosystem management, beginning with...

Most U.S. Coastal Waters Polluted WASHINGTON, DC, April 2, 2002 (ENS) - Almost half the nation's coastal waters are so polluted that their usefulness to humans and their ability to support aquatic life are impaired, finds a new report by a quartet of federal agencies. The study, the first environmental report card on the condition of the nation's coastal waters, rates the quality of these resources as fair to poor. The report finds environmental problems facing most of the nation's estuaries: the highly productive regions where fresh water meets the salty seas. (All photos courtesy EPA National Estuary Program)...