Oceans
Right whales may need more room
The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered. The National Marine Fisheries Service pegs its current population at roughly 313 individuals, unchanged over the last 25 years. (Early this year there were hopeful reports of a potential rebound, or at least a very good calving season.) Right whales migrate from winter calving grounds off Florida …
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CONTINUE READINGMore on reengineering – what about the oceans?
Regarding Dan’s post on reengineering the planet, one more shortcoming of the commonly discussed geoengineering solutions (even assuming they work exactly as designed and have none of the unintended consequences Dan, and others, fear) is that they are far from complete, leaving out entirely any remedy for ocean acidification, the “other” greenhouse gas problem. More info on …
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CONTINUE READINGFisheries optimism
Three years ago, Boris Worm at Dalhousie University was the lead author on a study published in Science magazine that predicted the total collapse of global fisheries by the middle of this century under a business as usual scenario. That study drew a lot of media attention, but also criticism from other fisheries experts. Now …
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CONTINUE READINGI’ll gladly tell you Thursday if your beach is safe today…
Each year, NRDC publishes a report on the sometimes-foul state of our beachwater nationwide. This year’s Testing the Waters analysis shows that people are still regularly swimming in water with unsafe levels of E Coli and other pathogens, and that thousands of people likely get ill every year from a day at the beach. In the northeast …
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CONTINUE READINGSemi-good news from the Gulf Coast
NOAA this week released the latest survey of the “dead zone” just off the Gulf Coast. The dead zone results from fertilizer pollution brought down from midwest farms and cities by the Mississippi River. That nutrient influx fuels phytoplankton blooms. The subsequent decomposition of dead plankton consumes oxygen, leaving the levels of dissolved oxygen in …
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CONTINUE READINGNo drilling for dollars this year
Earlier this week, Cara noted that the tentative state budget agreement struck between California Gov. Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders included permission for new oil drilling in the state’s waters off Santa Barbara, despite the fact that the State Lands Commission, the body responsible for issuing oil leases, had rejected the proposal in January. Cara also …
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CONTINUE READINGNew California offshore drilling part of budget deal?
Lost in the swirl of reports on what may, or may not, be part of the California budget deal legislators appear to be closing in on is this detail, reported by the AP: Aides to the governor and Legislature spent their weekend rushing to work out legislative language that could resolve the remaining issues. . …
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CONTINUE READINGBirthing Respect
I was a whale lawyer for years (or, more correctly, a lawyer for people working to protect whales and their habitat). I therefore can’t resist the urge to link to this terrific piece in the NY Times magazine on the developing relationship between gray whales and their human fans in Laguna San Ignacio, one of the few remaining gray …
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CONTINUE READINGFor once, regulation precedes crisis
Often government doesn’t notice, or at least isn’t sufficiently motivated to respond to, the need for regulation until after something goes badly wrong (witness the financial market meltdown). But this week the National Marine Fisheries Service got ahead of the curve. On Monday, NMFS finalized a rule prohibiting all fishing for krill, the non-charismatic but …
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CONTINUE READINGEdith Jones Declares War on America’s Coastline
Edith Jones, the 5th Circuit Chief Judge who makes wingnuts swoon, is at it again, this time in Severance v. Patterson, a Takings test case brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation. For environmentalists, Severance is also a test case in who is going to have to pay for coastal damage from climate change. Edith Jones …
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