Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
After getting our first glimpse last week of the details of what the Obama Administration is proposing for a national oceans policy (Interim Report issued 9/17), I'm heading to Providence, Rhode Island, this Thursday to testify at the only public...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
Hailing from Hawaii and Illinois - President Obama knows oceans and the Great Lakes firsthand. And before his first year is out, he could quietly revamp the way our nation manages and protects these resources, all with the stroke of...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming
One of the most pernicious, but least known impacts of the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere is ocean acidification. The ocean, which has absorbed about one quarter of the CO2 that's been emitted into the atmosphere, has become approximately...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
There's exciting news on the environment front. President Obama has issued a Presidential Memorandum that calls for the development of a national ocean policy and implementing strategies. The memorandum will establish an interagency task force that is to recommend within...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
Monday, June 8th is World Ocean's Day and in Washington, DC this entire week is Capitol Hill Oceans Week ("CHOW"). With the economy on everyone's mind, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the economic benefits that the oceans...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
Today at noon I will witness the dawning of an important new council dedicated to protecting our precious and threatened Atlantic Ocean: the Governors' Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on Oceans (MARCO). Five Mid-Atlantic governors (from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
On Thursday, five Mid-Atlantic Governors will enter a landmark agreement committing to improving the health of the Atlantic Ocean. The agreement will establish the Governors' Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on Oceans (MARCO) for New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. You will...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
Today, a bi-partisan group of leading citizens called on the Obama Administration and Congress to take swift action to protect the health of our oceans. The recommendations are contained in the report Changing Oceans, Changing World: Ocean Priorities for the...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
There was a great article in the New York Times this week about North Atlantic right whales, which the author referred to as "one of the most endangered, and closely watched, species on earth." The article indicates that the whales...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Moving Beyond Oil , Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
"We are in the renewable energy business." - Interior Secretary Salazar, 3/11/09 It was more good news from the Obama Administration yesterday when Department of Interior Secretary Salazar announced the agency is forming an energy and climate change task force...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
President Obama and the new Congress have inherited a struggling economy, two wars and a climate crisis. They need to know that healthy ocean and coasts are vital to our economy, security and fighting global warming. That's why ocean leaders and...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
Florida's coast and oceans got their report card today. Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, no state is more dependent on the natural resources of its coastal waters for food, jobs and recreation. The state's huge...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Moving Beyond Oil , Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming
I was reminded yesterday that there's a new administration in Washington. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made some positive announcements about the future of offshore drilling in America - though it's important to note we aren't out of the woods just...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Living Sustainably , Reviving the World's Oceans
Yesterday, New York State took an important step toward the protection of ocean resources that are so crucial to the state's environment and economy. The New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council, which is made up of nine...
Posted by Sarah Chasis in Reviving the World's Oceans
For the last four years of the Bush Administration, NRDC has been on the frontlines of repeated attempts at passing a national Healthy Oceans Act. Tuesday - the very first day of the 111th Congress and just weeks before we...
