President Obama has come under criticism over his plans to open up vast, untouched Arctic waters to oil and gas production while pursuing an ambitious plan to fight climate change. “As the first president to seriously tackle climate change, Mr. Obama has proposed aggressive new rules to cut planet-warming carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants and is pushing for a major global warming accord.

He has also overseen an extraordinary boom in domestic energy production that has made the United States the world’s leading oil producer.” [The NY Times]

The Larsen B ice shelf of Antarctica, larger than Rhode Island and 720 feet thick, has undergone a sudden collapse in the past 35 days. “It was following in the footsteps of the 1,500-square-kilometer Larsen A ice shelf, which collapsed in 1995, but Larsen B was more than two times larger.

The ice shelf, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, had “likely existed” for 12,000 years before it collapsed and ceased to be a feature of the Earth.” [The Washington Post]

Turkey and Russia have revealed plans to launch the Turkish Stream gas pipeline by December 2016, signalling a new era in Turkey and Russia’s relations. “Coming just after a case brought by the EU Commission against Gazprom , and just before Turkey goes to the polls this June, the agreement may pave the way for a Eurasian Energy Union that will challenge Europe’s own energy plans.” [Forbes]