Conservation & Environment

Biologists say these fish, native to the Midwest, threaten local fish.

See the video from the Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

Gov. Deval Patrick, a strong clean-energy proponent who favors the project, and a large contingent of state officials were at Salazar’s side for the announcement at the State House.

“Thank you for this day,” said Patrick. “America needs offshore wind power. It’s been a long time coming. We’re making wind power a reality on our Nantucket Sound.

“We are on our way and if we get wind energy right, the whole world will be our customer,” Patrick said.

Patrick and the governors of five other East Coast states recently sent Salazar a letter in favor of the project.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) wasn’t at the State House and instead voiced his disapproval.

“I am strongly opposed to the administration’s misguided decision to move forward with Cape Wind. While I support the concept of wind power as an alternative source of energy, Nantucket Sound is a national treasure that should be protected from industrialization,” Brown said in a statement. “With unemployment hovering near 10 percent in Massachusetts, the Cape Wind project will jeopardize industries that are vital to the Cape’s economy, such as tourism and fishing, and will also impact aviation safety and the rights of the Native American tribes in the area. I am also skeptical about the cost-savings and job number predictions we have heard from proponents of the project.”

Salazar said the 468-megawatt project would create 1,000 construction jobs, presumably part-time jobs to construct the wind farm.

Neither Salazar nor Patrick were able to answer questions at today’s press conference about how much Cape Wind would cost or how high the taxpayer subsidies would be to fund the project.

Read the complete story at The Boston Herald.

 

 

 

 

 

The nine-year regulatory battle over the nation’s first proposed offshore wind farm is expected to end this week, when US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar plans to issue a final federal decision on whether to permit 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound.

But some opponents of the wind farm are making it clear that if Salazar approves the project, they will go to court to try to overturn his ruling.

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, on Martha’s Vineyard, issued a statement yesterday saying they will sue if Salazar approves the project in the 560-square mile sound. The group is one of two Wampanoag tribes that say the proposed turbines, which would be more than 400 feet tall, would disturb spiritual sun greetings and threaten ancestral artifacts on a seabed that was once exposed land.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

President Barack Obama recently announced a halt to offshore oil and gas leasing in Alaska's ecologically rich Bristol Bay,  a decision that should be applauded for temporarily eliminating a serious threat to these lucrative fishing grounds. But those who have been fighting for more than 25 years to protect these waters from drilling know that this is not enough. It is time to permanently protect the nation's most productive fishery.

Bristol Bay and the southeast Bering Sea are home to some of the best-managed, most prolific fisheries in the world, including the largest runs of wild sockeye salmon anywhere and abundant stocks of cod, crab, halibut, herring and pollock. Their $2 billion annual fishing industry provides a powerful economic engine supporting thousands of fishermen from Alaska and the West Coast – and contributing 40 percent of the nation's seafood.

More than 900 Bristol Bay salmon fishermen live in Washington state, as well as an additional 1,100 who hold permits for other Bering Sea fisheries.

Read the complete story at The Sacramento Bee.

 

 

 

 

 

The future of offshore drilling in the United States may depend on which way the wind blows in the Gulf of Mexico in the next few days.

If the sunken Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig were to spew millions of gallons of crude oil into the gulf, the scenes of environmental devastation, combined with the loss of life, could rapidly reverse the confidence drillers have gained with the public in the past few years.

But if the wind and current drive any leaking oil out to sea, the disaster could remain, in the public's mind, a tragedy for oil workers and their families — similar to the recent West Virginia mine disaster — but not a threat to the environment.

Read the complete story at The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

There's no word yet on the cause of Wednesday's explosion on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, where 11 workers are missing.

But the disaster is already affecting the politics of off-shore oil drilling elsewhere, including Virginia.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who has been a leading opponent of coastal drilling, is calling for an investigation into what caused the Louisiana fire.

"The tragedy off the coast of Louisiana shows we need to be asking a lot more tough questions of big oil," Nelson said today, according to the Associated Press. "I think we need to look back over 10 years or so to see if the record denies the industry's claims about safety and technology."

Read the complete story at The Washington Post.

 

 

 

 

 

Doug Helton, a fisheries biologist who coordinates oil spill responses for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the oil emanating from the riser was taking the shape of a giant ice cream cone as it drifted toward the surface. He said there were no reports of dead animals yet, although that was expected to change if the leaks were not sealed.

Mr. Helton added that wind data allowed officials to predict that the spill would not hit shore within three days, but that it was moving north.

“Louisiana is the closest area,” he said. “There is a potential for other Gulf states if the release continues unabated, but we have no indication in our trajectories that shorefall will happen in the next three days.”

Sea life that congregates at the surface and has no mobility of its own — like plankton and fish eggs — is the most vulnerable to the slick. A large-scale destruction of eggs could affect fish populations in the future.

Read the complete story at The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

A circular patch of smooth water spotted in Rhode Island Sound this week led scientists to a surprising discovery: a quarter of the entire North Atlantic right whale population is hanging out and feeding in a spot where the endangereA circular patch of smooth water spotted in Rhode Island Sound this week led scientists to a surprising discovery: a quarter of the entire North Atlantic right whale population is hanging out and feeding in a spot where the endangered animals are not usually seen.d animals are not usually seen.

That tell-tale patch of water — a “flukeprint’’ generated when a whale pumps its tail up and down as it dives, roiling the surface in a distinctive way — led researchers doing an aerial survey to circle their plane to find a large cluster of whales in an unexpected location. In total, researchers found 98 whales in the waters east of Block Island, including two pairs of mothers and calves.

“It is really quite a bit higher [number of whales] than you find, even in places where you expect to find them,’’ said Charles “Stormy’’ Mayo, senior scientist at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies. Recently in Cape Cod Bay, where the whales regularly migrate to feed, “the highest numbers we’ve had have been over 70, and we thought that was mind-blowing.’’

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

A project that is rebuilding 50 acres of oyster reefs in the Pamlico Sound and around coastal North Carolina has been hailed this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through whose offices funding for the work has been granted.

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – known colloquially as the Stimulus – the NOAA has provided USD 167 million for marine and coastal habitat restoration. The North Carolina Estuary Habitat Restoration is one of 50 habitat restoration projects selected by NOAA for this funding.

John Gray, director of NOAA’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, said: “The Recovery Act is making a difference here in North Carolina. Over the long term, recovering oysters will help improve water quality and will boost important recreational and commercial fisheries that bring economic vitality to coastal communities.”

[read the FIS story in full]

 

 

 

Environmental scientist, marine ecologist and biologist, Jane Lubchenco was named administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in early 2009, the top political job in the country on ocean issues. She is using everything she has learned from her many days on the sea as a scientist and activist to try and shape a national ocean policy. Can politics really make a difference? An excerpt from our new book, companion to the DisneyNature release, "Oceans, The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do To Turn the Tide."

Jon Bowermaster: Is it easy for you to name a highest priority?

Jane Lubchenco: There are multiple. One is definitely oceans, another is climate, and obviously they intersect with one another. Those are the focus of NOAA's responsibilities and are just so incredibly timely right now because of the importance of oceans and the importance of addressing climate change, both on the mitigation side as well as the adaptation side.

JB: Which is easier mitigation or adaptation?

JL: Well it's not an either/or, they are both incredibly important. I think that one way to think about them is: Mitigation is really about avoiding the unmanageable and adaptation is about managing the unavoidable.

Read the complete interview at The Huffington Post.