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Tell the Obama administration to develop strong plans to protect our oceans

2011-06-16T17:11:15Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

I encourage everyone to take advantage of a unique opportunity to set the course of our oceans’ health for generations to come.

Our ocean is facing innumerable threats – from overfishing and pollution to ocean acidification and invasive species – and it needs urgent attention. One major step forward toward protecting our ocean resources came last July when President Obama established America's first-ever National Ocean Policy. Like a Clean Air Act for our air or a Clean Water Act for our water, we finally have a bedrock environmental policy for our oceans. The President also set up a National Ocean Council (made of existing federal agencies) to work together to ensure that we have a coordinated effort to protect and restore our ocean resources.

This new National Ocean Council was tasked with developing strategies to fix some of the most pressing challenges facing our oceans' health. And they are asking for the public’s help.

The council just released outlines of the steps that federal agencies plan to take to address these priority issues, and is accepting public comments on these outlines through July 2nd. They are also hosting listening sessions across the country.

The stories that you share at these meetings and the comments you send in will help shape the course of this new National Ocean Policy for years to come.

It is not too much to say that healthy oceans are essential to our very survival. They provide the food, jobs, and recreation that we rely on. They create the air we breathe. And healthy oceans are a vital part of a healthy U.S. economy. The majority of this economic strength comes from recreation, tourism and fish and ocean wildlife, all of which need clean beaches, clean water, and healthy coastal habitat.

We need to ensure that the final plans developed from the Council’s outlines prioritize protection, maintenance and restoration of ocean ecosystems and include specific, short-term actions that agencies will take to improve ocean health. The plans should require that important ocean areas like the mid-Atlantic canyons and seamounts will be protected from harmful activities. Certain areas of the ocean host important habitat for endangered species or serve as critical areas for spawning, breeding and feeding; these places must be protected.

Please take a minute to send in comments and to RSVP for a listening session in Hawaii, New Hampshire, Texas, Washington, California, New Jersey, and Oregon. Thank you for helping shape our oceans’ future!

The Gulf Disaster's Potential Impacts to the Florida Keys

2010-09-01T19:18:22Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

While the media fervor over the Gulf oil disaster has died down somewhat, large amounts of oil still remain in the Gulf. In areas near Pensacola, Florida officials and local fishermen have reported finding weathered oil for weeks. This isn’t surprising, considering that the Administration’s own oil accounting revealed that half the Gulf disaster’s oil (over 100 million gallons) may still be in the Gulf. That’s an amount equivalent of nine Exxon Valdez-sized oil spills.

Thankfully, the Florida Keys has been spared so far from the Gulf oil disaster. As the days pass, the chance of oil marring the Keys’ ecological treasures becomes less likely, though the underwater plumes that have been found in deeper waters of the Gulf could be brought to shallower waters through natural upwelling.

Recently, NRDC and Oceana hosted a scientific conference to answer some of the questions the Florida Keys public had about how oil could impact their community and how people could help defend their home from harm. Local scientists and volunteer and response effort officials were on hand to discuss the potential impacts of oil on the area at the conference, called “The Gulf Disaster & the Florida Keys: What Are the Environmental Impacts & How to Help”. The panelists overall expressed their concern about declaring victory from this disaster too soon.

Given that not everyone is lucky enough to live in the Florida Keys and therefore many people were unable to attend, we filmed the conference so that others could hear more about the impacts that oil can bear on marine mammals, turtles, birds, fish, and natural habitats like sea grass and mangroves. Below please find a compilation of excerpts from some of the speakers.

[For specific information on:

Marine mammals, please see :30

Sea turtles, please see 2:34

Birds, please see 5:14

Sea grass and mangroves, please see 7:35

Tracking the oil, please see 10:35

Fisheries, please see 13:01]

Even as we remain alert for signs of oil from this spill, we need to plan ahead for any future emergencies. In his remarks, Captain Pat DeQuattro, the Commander of Sector Key West for the United States Coast Guard, urged the public not to wait to get involved.

We all need to learn from this disaster and ensure a tragedy of this magnitude never happens again.

Diana Nyad's Swim in the Gulf

2010-08-27T20:19:41Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

Diana Nyad - a world class swimmer - is about to attempt an amazing and historic feat. She's going to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys. And she's going to do it at the age of 61.

This trip will take hours of constant swimming while facing intense ocean elements - the currents, jellyfish, and possibly sharks.

Earlier this year, a catastrophe raised the possibility of her fighting another element during her summer swim - oil.

To hear Diana tell it - the threat the spill initially posed could have put an end to a challenge that was already teetering on the edge of impossible.

Luckily, current studies indicate the oil hasn't reached that region yet and may not at all.

But regardless the threat proved to be a tragic wake-up call for all of us and reinforced for Diana that our oceans need protection from the myriad of threats facing them. That’s why she filmed this video for us:

As Diana says in the video she sees herself as having a close relationship with the ocean. She becomes one with it during her swims.

Though we demand a lot from our oceans - from fishing to shipping and energy development - we can develop better, more sustainable, ways to manage the increasing amount of industrial pressure on our seas so that they can continue to provide the food, jobs, and recreation we rely on.

One way to tackle the problem of “ocean sprawl” is through marine spatial planning. Marine spatial planning identifies areas where industrial uses make sense, and areas that should be set off limits. When marine spatial planning is based on environmental protection, it allows human uses of the ocean to co-exist, while protecting the environment.

Thankfully, the Administration just took a giant step forward toward fostering a more sustainable relationship with our waters on July 19 when President Obama signed an executive order that created a national ocean policy to protect and restore our oceans and that created a framework for coastal and marine spatial planning.

Diana's swim is a reminder of what's possible as we strive to sustainably harvest the riches our oceans have to offer.

What We Learned From Waldo: Our Florida Keys Oil-Seeking Robot Ends His Run

2010-08-20T17:50:15Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

On July 19, NRDC, Oceana, and Mote Marine Laboratory launched “Waldo” – an ocean robot designed to help defend the Florida Keys’ environmental and economic resources from impacts from the Gulf oil spill. Waldo is armed with an array of instruments, including a fluorometer that measures the light emitted – or fluorescence – of the water. If the water sampled contains fluorescence, this indicates that oil may be present. Researchers look for corroborating signals, such as a change in salinity, and may conduct water sampling tests to confirm the presence of oil. If oil is found, local government officials are alerted so that emergency resources and response plans can be activated to help to protect the area’s important ecological resources.

The autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) like Waldo run for approximately 30 days at a time and NRDC’s sponsored run of Waldo ended on day 28 – after he had transmitted roughly a ½ million water sample points – when a shark bit into and damaged Waldo’s rudder and his left wing was lost. Since then, the robot has been recovered and hopefully will soon be out for another run with 7 other gliders to monitor for the oil from the submerged plumes of oil droplets in the Gulf. Just yesterday, scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution confirmed the existence of a submerged oil plume from the Gulf spill that’s at least 22 miles long – an AUV was critical to this discovery. Additional AUV runs should help us keep track the route of this oil.

Data: SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO; Image: U.S.G.S.

Thankfully, the best thing about Waldo’s run is what we didn’t find – oil. Waldo didn’t turn up any strong indications of oil on the continental shelf to the north and northwest of the Florida Keys during this run.

He did, however, teach us more about hurricanes. Waldo operated throughout Tropical Storm Bonnie – something that manned research vessels are unable to do because of the need to ensure the safety of their crews. Waldo was able to monitor the heat content of the water column over the continental shelf, which is deeper than satellite can reach (being able to identify the heat at the surface only). How much heat is in the water determines hurricane force and the measurements Waldo captured during this time will help advise future forecasting of hurricane strength.

AUVs searching for oil in the Gulf have also taught us more about the area’s water currents – and about global climate change. At a depth of about 180 to 300 feet below the surface, thick layers of chlorophyll extend from approximately 60 miles offshore to 80 miles offshore and even beyond. Chlorophyll is an indicator of algal growth and algae needs carbon dioxide to grow. Just like plants on land help absorb carbon dioxide, so too does plant life (e.g., algae) in the ocean. Satellites can only measure surface chlorophyll; they cannot reach the deep layers that these AUVs can. Until now, researchers have supplied guesstimates of the undersea extent of plant life, and hence carbon dioxide absorption by the ocean. The AUV data can be folded into climate change models to help more accurately report on the extent of plant life and resulting extent of carbon dioxide uptake by the ocean.

NRDC and Oceana decided to help fund Waldo’s mission because we want to ensure that the ecological treasures off of Florida’s west coast and the Florida Keys are protected – and the path of the oil plumes is still a huge question that remains from the spill.

We know that as much as half the Gulf disaster’s oil (over 100 million gallons) may still be in the system. That’s an enormous amount of oil, the equivalent of nine Exxon Valdez-sized oil spills. While most of the underwater oil has been found in the deeper waters of the Gulf, natural upwelling can bring deep waters to the shallower shelf – and the Florida Keys and other areas so far safe from the spill are not out of the woods just yet. We are pleased that NOAA may be continuing this important effort by funding another run of the AUV gliders and using Waldo to help answer “where is the oil?”. With Waldo and the rest of his team, we can hopefully better determine the fate and impacts of this remaining oil.

Everglades National Park added to List of World Heritage in Danger

2010-08-09T15:45:04Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

At the recent meeting of the World Heritage Committee, the Everglades National Park was placed back on the List of World Heritage in Danger. This is the ecological treasure’s second time on the list: the park was first added in 1993 following damage from Hurricane Andrew and because of serious deterioration in water flow and quality as a result of agricultural and urban runoff; it was removed in 2007 at the behest of the Bush Administration. But water flow reduction and nutrient pollution has continued and the park sorely needs restoration.

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

The park is also threatened by the Gulf oil disaster. Despite questionable assurances from the Administration that the coast is clear, there is still much we do not know about the location of underwater oil plumes. In July, NRDC partnered with Oceana and Mote Marine Laboratory to launch “Waldo”, an oil-seeking robot that patrols the waters to the north and northwest of the Florida Keys, and we hope that Waldo will help serve as a sentinel for oil plumes so if they are located in the area, emergency response can start as quickly as possible.

What is clear is that the Everglades represent an ecological Eden and that they contribute significantly to the regional economy:

Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and has been designated as a Wetland of International Importance and an International Biosphere Reserve, in addition to a World Heritage Site.

Everglades National Park hosts over 300 species of birds and is a hugely important breeding area for wading birds as well as serving as a key stopover for species migrating up and down the Americas.

The Everglades are home to 68 threatened and endangered species, including the Florida panther, American crocodile, and wood stork.

Underwater, Everglades National Park contains more than 800 square miles of marine habitat supporting hundreds of species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks.

Nearly 1 million visitors came to Everglades National Park in 2009. In 2007, park visitors spent $58.8 million dollars and were responsible for 1,066 local jobs.

Florida's multi-billion dollar recreational and commercial fishing industries support more than 500 seafood processing businesses and 800 dockside fish buyers, wholesale brokers, importers and exporters -- all of these businesses rely on the regular distribution of freshwater through the Everglades, its estuaries, and Florida Bay. Recreational fishing in the Everglades Region supports more than 12,000 jobs and is responsible for more than $1.2 billion in economic activity.

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

NRDC is working to ensure protection and restoration for the Everglades, both from oil and from a host of water management and development threats. Hopefully in time, this majestic area will be restored for present and future generations to enjoy and removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Scientists Discuss Potential Impacts of Oil Exposure on Florida Keys

2010-08-05T20:49:48Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

In the Florida Keys – a place defined by its ocean environment and where the economy’s health is directly reliant on a healthy ecosystem – the community is anxious to know whether or not oil will reach their shores, what the impact will be on their unique and precious corals, seagrasses and mangroves, how the oil could affect the abundant wildlife, and how they can help prevent this ecological treasure from harm.

Last night, NRDC and Oceana hosted a conference for the Florida Keys’ community – called “The Gulf Disaster & the Florida Keys: What Are the Environmental Impacts & How to Help” – that was designed to answer these questions.

At the conference, Florida scientists discussed the current understanding about the Gulf oil spill’s potential impacts, should it reach the Florida Keys’ coastline and national marine sanctuary, and local volunteer and response effort officials described their work to prepare for the disaster and offered ways for the public to engage in monitoring and spill response.

Coming on the heels of the Administration’s questionable reassurances yesterday that the worst of the Gulf disaster may well be over, the audience and panelists instead expressed concern about declaring victory far too soon and reiterated that we need to remain vigilant for impacts from this spill and proactively plan to improve our response capacity for future spills.

A few take-away lessons from the event follow:

Thankfully, to date, the Florida Keys has been spared from oil on its shores. However, it’s important to be vigilant because we’re not out of the water yet. There is much we do not know about the path and fate of the submerged oil plumes and what the future will hold. While we hope that this oil will not reach the area, we remain alert for impacts.

Seagrass beds – which cover nearly 95 percent of the Keys' shallow water ocean floor – are more resilient to oil impacts than, for example, the area’s mangroves, however, “The seagrass community of crabs, shrimp, small juvenile fish and other marine life of great biological and economic importance, are very susceptible and would be killed [by oil]." – Jim Fourqurean, Professor of Biology, Florida International University
“The real threat to [the area’s marine mammals, like manatees and dolphins] are respiratory problems due to the inhalation of the [oil] fumes concentrated at the ocean surface where they are forced to breathe." – Robert Lingenfelser, President, Marine Mammal Conservancy

We are just beginning to tally the huge costs that the BP spill has had on the Gulf region’s marine life. We know that what happens elsewhere to the marine life in the Gulf will affect the Keys’ marine life and we are only starting to learn about the fate of fish and other species from the months of oil exposure. The environmental legacy of an oil spill can last decades, if not lifetimes, and incur significant economic losses for coastal communities, whether directly affected by the oil or not.

"Fish-eating ocean birds, like frigates, pelicans and terns, don't have to be physically oiled to be harmed. By eating contaminated bait fish over time, they can bio-concentrate pollutants, [like heavy metals and polycyclic hydrocarbons] that can cause long-term health problems and death." – Michelle Anderson, Director, Key West Wildlife Center
"Bluefin tuna … not commonly found [in the Keys] actively spawn in the central Gulf ... where the major effect of this Gulf oil spill disaster is being felt. Because their eggs float and the young fish larvae are very dependent on clean, open ocean water, oil is a killer to them." – Patrick Rice, Dean of Marine Science and Technology, Florida Keys Community College

The partnerships and relationships with individuals and organizations as a result of the BP spill is one of the silver linings to this disaster. We need to continue to plan and work together to protect our unique resources.

“The take home of this event [the Gulf disaster] in the Keys is – we had a plan, and we assembled a great team of federal, state and local government partners experienced and use to working together in emergency situations. What we didn't have was the connections to the wildlife rehab groups, citizens and community that wanted to help and be better prepared to address the environmental impacts that would surely occur from the spill if it reached the Keys. … Don't wait for the next emergency to get involved and prepared.” – Captain Pat DeQuattro, Commander, United States Coast Guard, Sector Key West

In the coming weeks, NRDC will be posting segments from the conference so that those outside of the Keys’ community can hear about the impacts that oil can bear on marine habitats and wildlife.

Where's Waldo? Oil-Seeking Robot Helping to Protect the Florida Keys

2010-07-19T15:14:41Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

Today NRDC, Oceana, and Mote Marine Laboratory launched “Waldo” – an ocean robot that will help defend the environmental and economic bounty of the Florida Keys from impacts from the Gulf oil spill.

Dr. David Vaughn, Director of the Tropical Research Center at MOTE Marine Lab and Paul Johnson, Marine Expert, NRDC standing with WALDO on launch day

Satellite imagery and aerial reconnaissance can only see what’s visible on the surface of the water – they’re not able to tell us the locations and movement of the submerged plumes of oil droplets. These plumes could well be drifting offshore of Florida and without looking to see if they’re there, we won’t know. Enter Waldo, six-and-a-half-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) resembling a yellow torpedo.

The undersea robot is equipped with a fluorometer, which measures the light emitted – or fluorescence – of the water as the AUV travels in the water column. The fluorometer has an LED (light-emitting diode) that sends out ultraviolet light, and if water contains certain chemical components of oil, these chemicals will absorb the light and re-emit it as fluorescence. A detector will see this light emission and report its presence.

Waldo gathers data every few seconds on its journey and transmits the information to researchers via satellite every three hours, giving near real-time information. If oil is detected, researchers will conduct water sampling tests to confirm the presence of oil and, if oil is found, provide local government with this information so that emergency resources and response plans can be activated to help to protect the area’s important ecological resources.

NRDC and Oceana decided to help fund Waldo’s mission because we want to ensure that the ecological treasures off of Florida’s west coast and the Florida Keys are protected – and right now we don’t know enough about the path of the oil plumes. Waldo will help us solve the question of where is the oil.

Waldo is one of a team of robots circling the waters off the west coast of Florida as sentinels for oil. So far, the coast has been clear and the robots have not found evidence of the plumes along their paths. The data they have collected though has provided critical data about water currents and other information that has served to refine their routes. Waldo will patrol the waters north and northwest of the Florida Keys nonstop for about three weeks – the length of its battery life. Adding Waldo to the team will help ensure that the Florida Keys community hears about oil in their waters as soon as it’s found, giving as much time as possible for response plans to be put into place.

What wildlife is at risk from the Gulf oil disaster?

2010-06-08T18:28:21Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

Today is World Oceans Day and we are facing the worst oil spill in U.S. history. I wanted to take a minute to look at some of the hundreds of wildlife species and habitats at risk. Hopefully this will serve as a reminder for why we fight for ocean protection, including why NRDC is 1) calling for a moratorium on all new offshore oil and gas activities until we find out what went wrong in the Gulf, 2) supporting the creation of a National Ocean Policy (think Clean Air or Clean Water Act), and 3) urging our nation to transition to clean energy that can’t spill or run out.

Photo Credit: NOAA

Brown pelicans have sharp eyesight and dive steeply into the water from heights of 60 to 70 feet to catch fish – water that is now covered in oil. Recently removed from the Endangered Species List, they are still being monitored to make sure their recovery is complete. The Southeastern U.S. supports approximately 90% of the nation’s brown pelicans, with the Gulf Coast comprising 40% of that habitat. Oil ingestion is not the only health risk for these birds - their feathers can get fouled by oil to the point that they can no longer fly.

The photos below show brown pelicans near Breton Island, Louisiana, during a NRDC trip to the Gulf Coast right after the spill.

Photo Credit: NRDC

Photo Credit: NOAA

Shorebirds like sandpipers (pictured above) travel from South America to the Arctic to breed and are currently in peak migration. Long term chronic effects from consuming oil-contaminated prey can lead to reproductive failure. For example, more than 10 years after the Exxon Valdez spill, black oystercatchers that forged in contaminated areas had smaller eggs and reduced breeding levels compared to other populations.

Photo credit: Alex Brandon, AP

More than 30 distinct population segments of bottlenose dolphins can be found in the Gulf of Mexico. These populations are currently calving in the polluted waters. The dolphins pictured below were captured swimming in the middle of chemical dispersants released to break up the oil during NRDC’s recent visit to the spill site.

Photo Credit: NRDC

Loggerhead Turtle, Photo Credit: Dr. Paddy Ryan

Of the six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters– green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley – all are threatened with extinction. This includes the loggerhead turtle pictured above and found in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill could leave turtles too ill to mate or lay their eggs and, once ashore, the oil can contaminate their nests.

Photo Credit: Seaweb, NRDC Web Department

Currently more than 40 species of sharks can be found in the Gulf of Mexico. Many are currently breeding and use the local seagrass areas as nurseries. Whale sharks are at a special risk of ingesting oil because of the considerable amount of time they spend at the surface of the water, near the oil.

Photo Credit: NOAA

The loss of only 3 of the Gulf of Mexico’s population of sperm whales – of which there are just 1,400 to 1,600 – could risk the species’ long term survival. Sperm whales, like dolphins, surface to breathe and can ingest oil; oil can also impact the whales’ prey like squid. After the Exxon Valdez disaster, some populations of killer whales were reduced as much as 40% percent.

Photo Credit: NOAA

Oysters are likely to be negatively affected by both direct contact with the oil and by the efforts to ward it off. Intertidal oysters are vulnerable to effects of coming in contact with approaching oil (toxic to oysters) and oysters within interior estuaries are at risk of mass flows of fresh water that are being flushed into the coastal areas to push out the oil.

Photo Credit: Antonio Medina Guerrero, UCA

The entire western Atlantic breeding population of bluefin tuna migrates into the Gulf and Florida Straits to spawn from mid-April to June. The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a candidate for endangered species status.

Photo Credit: NOAA Photo Library, courtesy of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

The coral habitat of the Florida Keys is the 3rd largest in world. Such delicate habitats like these are already stressed from overfishing, pollution, water warming and acidification. An oil spill will only add to their stress and decline.

Photo Credit: NOAA Photo library, courtesy of Ben Mieremet, NOAA/NOS

Wetlands such as Texas’s Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (pictured above) provide important storm protection for the Gulf shore. Estuaries are critical habitat for many species and commercial fish and shellfish populations: more than 75 percent of the nation’s commercial fish and 80 to 90 percent of its recreational fish spend part of their lives in coastal and estuary habitats.

The Gulf Spill Threatens Florida's Economy

2010-06-02T14:22:38Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

Florida Governor Charlie Crist today announced that oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster could hit the western Florida Panhandle "in a day or two." Less clear remains our understanding of the fate of any oil that enters the powerful Loop Current. This fast moving current can circulate water around Florida and up the Atlantic Coast via the Gulf Stream. Needless to say, the Loop Current has the potential to vastly expand the environmental and economic impacts of the spill.

The impacts to Florida’s economy will depend on how much oil hits the shores and moves through the current and what form it’s in. But we do know that the impact to Florida’s valuable ocean resources could be significant. If the oil reaches Florida it would be devastating for its:

TOURISM AND RECREATION INDUSTRY:

In 2004, Florida’s ocean sector industries contributed more than $27.4 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). The largest single ocean sector business contributing to Florida’s GDP is tourism and recreation. In 2004, tourism and recreation alone contributed almost $18.6 billion to the state’s GDP, nearly 68 percent of the total ocean sector industries’ contribution. In 2008, VISIT FLORIDA documented 84.2 million visitors who spent over $65 billion and supported more than 1 million persons directly employed by Florida’s tourism industry.
In 2006, more than 3 million people participated in bird watching in Florida; Florida wildlife watchers in general spent more than $3 billion on expenditures (e.g., equipment purchases like binoculars and cameras).
At least two studies have estimated the economic value of a single beach day enjoyed on Florida’s shores to be between $19 and $74 per beach day.

FISHING INDUSTRY:

A 2008 report by the National Marine Fisheries Service found that the commercial fishing industry in Florida generated nearly $5.7 billion in sales and more than $3.1 billion in income.
In 2008, western Florida experienced the greatest economic boost from recreational fishing of the Gulf states (Alabama, West Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas): expenditures from recreational anglers in western Florida generated $5.65 billion in total sales to the regional economy and added approximately 54,600 jobs. On the East Coast of Florida, expenditures from recreational anglers generated more than $4 billion in total sales to the regional economy and added more than 35,000 jobs.

Fishing, wildlife watching, tourism, and so many other ocean uses depend on healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems. When those systems are degraded because of water pollution, habitat loss, destructive fishing practices and other human impacts, the economy suffers.

BP has announced tourism grants to several Gulf states – including Florida – but the financial impacts may very well eclipse the marketing dollars they are making available. A true assessment of the various losses will take time, and in the meantime we can only hope that the Gulf well is plugged soon and we can start recovering from this disaster.

We also need to impose a moratorium on all new oil activities offshore – not simply deepwater drilling – until an independent investigation is held to assess the causes of the current spill, how such spills can be avoided in the future, the adequacy of containment and clean-up measures for spills generally, and the implications of these findings for drilling in, or adjacent to sensitive or ecologically important areas. The moratorium should not be lifted before the investigation has been completed and the commission’s recommendations have been acted on. It is critically important that we learn from this spill and protect our valuable coastal and ocean resources for the future.

What Will the Economic Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Spill Be?

2010-05-11T17:25:32Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

As the country watches the oil slick licking the Gulf’s shores in horror, residents are looking at something else – their shrinking budgets. The economic impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill are begin to emerge, and the worst may be on the way.

Fishermen cut off from their fishing grounds for who knows how long can seek jobs cleaning up the very spill that prevents them from fishing, but it’s unclear how many will get work.

Some hotels are filled up with oil cleanup crews and reporters, but for others cancelations are rolling in from vacationers who don’t want to relax by a oil spill. Fishing tournaments are being postponed and fishing trips canceled. The Times-Picayune quotes Theophile Bourgeois, who operates 10 charter boats and two fishing lodges: “In reality, this time of year I should be booking 10 trips a day … That’s decreased about 20 percent.”

The economic value of the Gulf of Mexico’s ocean resources are being hit hard, and it will take time to truly understand the impacts.

Consider these facts:

TOURISM:

In 2003, tourism and recreation comprised 71 percent of the employment in the Gulf region’s ocean economy.

RECREATIONAL FISHING:

A 2006 National Marine Fisheries Service report noted that 6.2 million recreational anglers in the Gulf region spent $2.2 billion on more than 23 million fishing trips in 2006.
A similar report in 2008 noted that 3.2 million resident recreational anglers took a Gulf of Mexico fishing trip in 2008.
In 2008, eastern Florida and the Gulf region’s commercial fishing industry generated more than $10.5 billion in sales, more than $5.6 billion in income, and supported more than 200,000 jobs in 2008.

COMMERCIAL FISHING:

More than 75 percent of the nation’s commercial fish and 80 to 90 percent of its recreational fish spend part of their lives in estuary habitats – oiled wetlands will impact the breeding areas and nurseries for a variety of fish and shellfish, and the fishing.
Many of the Gulf region’s key species are likely to be the first casualties of spill: oysters cannot flee the low dissolved oxygen areas caused by oil on the water’s surface and the newly spawned larvae of shrimps and crabs – the catch of the future – are likely to be closer to the water’s surface and any floating oil.

BIRDING:

In 2006, more than 7 million people participated in bird watching in eastern Florida and the Gulf region; wildlife watchers in this region in general spent nearly $7 billion on expenditures (e.g., equipment purchases like binoculars and cameras).
Currently, it is peak spring migration for colorful songbirds that winter in South and Central America and nesting season begins soon for terns, plovers, and egrets. All of these species depend on the Gulf marshes to refuel after long flights and could be impacted by oiled resources.

The most difficult assessment to make is what the long-term impacts of oil on the Gulf region’s resources will be. Much depends on the winds, weather, and how much shoreline and open ocean life are contaminated by the oil and the materials used to disperse the oil. We do know that oil spills have decadal consequences:

Scientists investigating the long-term impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill estimate that nearly 20,000 gallons of oil from that spill remain in Prince William Sound, continuing to harm threatened and endangered species and undermine their recovery.
Marine mammals, sea birds, fish, shellfish, and other sea life are extremely vulnerable to oil pollution and the long-term toxic effects can impair reproductive success for generations. Studies have shown that tiny amounts of oil – as little as one part per billion – can harm pink salmon and cause their eggs to fail.
Researchers discovered long-term effects on shellfish, crabs, seabirds, whales and sea otters in years following oil spills in Alaska, Massachusetts and Spain – issues ranged from altered blood chemistry and higher levels of stress hormones to erratic behavior, contaminated eggs, and long-term population declines.

All we know is that that the short and long-term economic impacts will be severe for a Gulf population already recovering from several hurricanes and our national recession. More analysis will be generated in the days to come and I’m certain that plans will be put into place to help some of the struggling communities. That said, we need to make sure that these economic impacts are not overlooked as we make decisions for our energy future. We must learn from this spill and protect our fragile and valuable ocean resources for the future.

To celebrate Earth Day, see Oceans – a new film is out from Disneynature

2010-04-23T21:03:43Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

This weekend, I’m hoping to see the ocean as never before. Disneynature has created a new film – Oceans – that celebrates the amazing life that lives under the waves. The clips I’ve seen so far seem to live up to the hype that the film provides a whole new look at our seas. In you haven't seen it, check out the trailer for yourself here.

I’m thrilled that this movie is coming out – for far too long, we have simply viewed the oceans as a vast expanse of blue space. In reality, there’s more there than we ever imagined.

For example, carved into the continental shelf you’ll find a series of submarine canyons that stretch from Massachusetts to Virginia. Nearly 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon every year to lean over the edge of the mile deep geologic formation and many of those visitors have no idea that here in the Mid-Atlantic, we have canyons off our shores that are three times as deep as the Grand Canyon and that are largely unexplored. Like the Grand Canyon was shaped by the Colorado River, Hudson Canyon (New York’s closest canyon) and the other submarine canyons were formed by strong currents flowing from underwater rivers or earthquakes in the seafloor. The currents continue to provide microscopic food into and flush waste from the canyons, making them ideal ocean oases for marine life to feed. The canyons’ stone and clay walls provide important structure for corals and other bottom dwelling species to take hold.

Corals and sponges on the seafloor provide shelter and food for marine life. They have also led to medical and technological advances: compounds from deep sea sponges are in clinical trials for treatment of cancer; bamboo corals have been used to synthesize human bone analogs for grafting; and the deep sea sponge Euplectella also served as a model for development of more durable optic cables.

The canyons provide valuable habitat for hundreds of fish and crustacean species, including monkfish, species of hakes and skates, bioluminescent lantern fish, American lobster and red crab. Tuna, swordfish, and billfish travel through the canyons, feasting on schools of fish and squid.

Blue Fin Tuna, Photo Credit: Antonio Medina Guerrero, UCA

One particularly industrious fish that lives in the canyons is the tilefish. This fish constructs large burrows in the canyons walls, making them look like miniature, underwater versions of the pueblo villages of the American Southwest.

And endangered sperm whales and right whales, beaked whales, and dolphins come to the canyons to feed.

Sperm Whale, Photo Credit: NOAA

All this activity – just off our shores. We need to protect special places like this, for our and future generations.

Please take a minute to go to http://savemyoceans.com/pledge.php and sign the pledge to help protect and restore our ocean resources. And please tell others about the movie and about the amazing life beneath the waves – the more people know these beautiful and rare ecologically and economically valuable ocean places that exist, the better chance we have to save them.

NRDC presents on ocean planning & managing the melting Arctic at AAAS Annual Meeting next week

2010-02-09T15:04:55Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

Next week, the scientific community’s AAAS Annual Meeting kicks off in San Diego. The nations’ leading science organization will be bringing together a diverse group of preeminent scientists, engineers, educators, and policy-makers from around the world to share ideas and insight on the most cutting edge science of the time.

NRDC will be sending a significant delegation to the meeting. And its oceans program will be hosting three panels: one on marine spatial planning (aka planning for the industrial uses & environmental needs of our seas); another on international management of new and emerging industrial activities made possible by the loss of sea ice in the Arctic; and a third on the impacts of sea ice loss on the Arctic environment.

NRDC OCEANS PANEL 1: Designing The Future Ocean: Baseline Data Needs for Marine Spatial Planning

Sunday, Feb. 21, 1:30-4:30 p.m., San Diego Convention Center, Room 17A

I’ll be hosting a panel with my colleagues NRDC Ocean Policy Analyst Leila Monroe and NRDC Science Center Director Gabriela Chavarria. We’ll be bringing together six marine spatial planning experts to explain the data sources behind several key ocean planning efforts and share the lessons they’ve learned from their hands-on work. This panel is particularly timely as the White House is in the process of creating a new national ocean policy. As a part of that process, the administration is weighing important decisions about how to move ahead on planning the uses of our ocean.

We ask a lot from our oceans – from food and energy to shipping and recreation. As demand on ocean space grows, we need a way to manage the increasing industrial pressure on our seas while protecting them from further harm and reviving ocean health. Marine spatial planning is the process of allocating spaces in the ocean for its various uses by identifying areas where industrial activities make sense and areas that should be safeguarded. Without such a process, we essentially see “ocean sprawl,” which stresses our ocean resources more than necessary and jeopardizes the food, jobs and recreation they provide. Identifying a smart planning process is especially critical now as America moves forward in developing clean, renewable energy off our coasts. Marine spatial planning can help develop new offshore renewable energy sources right the first time – minimizing conflicts between new and existing uses of the sea from the start so we can get clean energy up and running faster.

As we look to implement marine spatial planning, people are wondering: “What information do we need to plan responsibly? In this time of government belt-tightening, what can we do with limited resources?” This panel should provide recommendations for how we can manage our ocean resources so that they can support us and future generations.

NRDC OCEANS PANEL 2: Management and Governance in a Melting Marine Arctic: Challenges and Opportunities

Saturday, Feb. 20, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., San Diego Convention Center, Room 17A

NRDC’s International Oceans Director, Lisa Speer will be hosting this panel on international management of new and expanded industrial activities made possible by the retreat of the Arctic sea ice. Arctic warming has been front and center in the climate debate, but much less attention has been devoted to managing the accelerating human activity made possible by the sea ice retreat – from new oil drilling and fishing, to the opening of new shipping routes.

This panel will focus on international management and governance options that can best promote resilience for Arctic ecosystems in the face of ocean warming, loss of sea ice, acidification, and the additional impacts of new industrial activities. It will look at the existing international governance regime and offer a range of options for improving it.

NRDC OCEANS PANEL 3: Arctic Sea-Ice Loss: What This Means for the Conservation of Arctic Marine Ecosystems

Saturday, Feb. 20, 1:30-3 p.m., San Diego Convention Center, Room 17B

NRDC Arctic Science Fellow Tara Connelly together with Chuck Clusen, Director of NRDC's National Parks and Alaska Projects, will also host a panel on the Arctic - but with a focus on the impact of melting sea ice on polar and marine organisms. Present-day sea-ice loss is fundamentally altering the structure and function of Arctic Ocean ecosystems, from algae to top predators. And the new industrial activity will also have an impact.

Understanding the current science and recognizing the limitations in what we know is an important first step in addressing these impacts for future conservation efforts in the Arctic. This symposium will explore sea ice conditions in a melting Arctic, offer background on the links between sea-ice and Arctic ecosystems, examine how they may be responding to ice loss, and discuss the data and steps we need to develop a strong conservation plan.

Governor’s environmental raid is bad for New York’s economy, ocean and Great Lakes

2009-10-21T14:14:52Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

Last Thursday, Governor Paterson announced a two-year, $5 billion deficit reduction plan (DRP) to eliminate the state's current budget without raising taxes. Among other things, the plan calls for a transfer of $10 million from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to the state's General Fund. The New York Legislature is holding hearings this week on the budget proposal, and NRDC is strongly urging our legislators to say "no" to further environmental funding cuts.

New York is facing serious budget woes. Even as the recession begins to recede, we're all - states and the average American alike - facing the challenges of balancing what remains of our bank accounts. But cutting corners on the EPF is bad for our state's economic and environmental health.

The EPF is funded through a dedicated revenue source that was established so that our critical environmental programs can be carried out in both good and bad economic times. And New York's ocean and Great Lakes provide millions of dollars for the state's economy and thousands of jobs. In 2004, New York's coastal counties had 17,558 ocean sector establishments, such as seafood markets, boat and ship building, and tourism, which contributed more than 356,200 jobs and $11.5 billion in wages. And ocean sector industries contributed a total of more than $24.6 billion to the state's gross domestic product. Long Island Sound alone contributes roughly $8.5 billion a year to the regional economy through boasting, fishing, swimming and sight-seeing activities. These jobs rely on healthy ocean resources.

The Governor is also being deceptive about the scale of his actions. His press release states that "... it is fully expected that after implementation of the DRP, the State would still be able to meet its original 2009-10 EPF cash spending plan of $180 million, which is equal to record 2008-09 levels." The problem is - the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a budget that promised $222 million to the EPF in 2009-10, and, in addition to this $10 million cut, he already withheld $42 million earlier this year from what was promised to New York citizens.

That's $52 million - nearly 25 percent - the Governor is actually taking back in total from the EPF, and the fund can't take the cut. Repeated "sweeping" of funding from the EPF into the General Fund over time has led to largely unbalanced books, where state agencies are struggling to pay past due notices and shortchanging important research projects and on the ground actions that will restore and protect our ocean health. Over the past 7 years, close to half a billion dollars that was dedicated to restoring the state's environment has been taken for other purposes. Scientists, not-for-profit partners, and local governments aren't getting paid on time, despite delivering the work the state approved and promised to fund.

Already the state's failure to deliver on EPF funding has resulted in the loss of the state's whale monitoring project. This multi-year project uses acoustic buoys to monitor the migration paths whales are taking off our shores so that we can help prevent ships from running over them and make sure we're developing our offshore energy resources outside of their routes. We learned a lot in year 1 - including that the whales are much closer than we ever thought to our shoreline. But we need two more years of research in order to establish the trend and make our initial down payment scientifically worthwhile. Around $400,000 was needed to fund year 2 of the research - and the time to get the buoys out this season has come and gone.

EPF funding is essential to ensuring that the economic and environmental engines that are our oceans are healthy and able to support us. The Legislature must act to protect our environmental resources, and the health and wellbeing of this and future generations, by preventing further cuts to the EPF and encouraging the promised funding to be paid out.

Tomorrow in Providence I’ll Testify that a National Policy Can Help Protect the Atlantic Coast

2009-09-21T23:09:09Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

As a child, my summer revolved around my family's week-long vacation to Cape Cod. My brother and I loved jumping in the waves, searching for beach glass along the shore, and threading small shells together into necklaces that my grandmother would actually wear. I took for granted having a clean beach to play on and the fresh seafood we ate. The ocean was so vast - it seemed capable of handling anything that was thrown at (or into) it. But that's not the case.

Worldwide, our oceans are under enormous strain as a result of overexploitation, habitat degradation, coastal pollution and climate change. Globally, 80 percent of the world's fish stocks are either fully exploited or overexploited and highly migratory species of large tunas, marlin and sharks have declined by as much as 90 percent in some regions. Stormwater runoff from streets and nutrient-laden fertilized lawns contributed to two-thirds of the U.S. beach closing/ advisory days in the 2008 beach season. Ocean waters are turning increasingly acidic from their intake of carbon dioxide: average surface ocean pH has already decreased by about 0.1 units in seawater pH compared to preindustrial levels, equivalent to a 30 percent increase in acidity. A more acidic ocean could wipe out species, disrupt the food web and impact fishing, tourism and other jobs that rely on healthy seas.

One major obstacle to protecting our marine and Great Lakes wildlife and ecosystems is the fact that these resources are currently governed by a mix of more than 140 laws and 20 different agencies, each with different goals and with no single unifying conservation mandate. We have a Clean Water Act for our water and a Clean Air Act for our air; we need a national policy to similarly protect our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.

In June, President Obama called together an interagency Ocean Policy Task Force to fix this problem. The 23-member federal Task Force is directed to create a unifying oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes policy and design an effective marine spatial planning framework in 180 days. This Thursday, I'll be at the Ocean Policy Task Force's public hearing in Providence, R.I., with my colleague Sarah Chasis, to talk about why President Obama should issue an Executive Order formally establishing a national oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes policy to protect, maintain, and restore the health of these valuable ecosystems.

The Atlantic Coast's underwater canyons are a great example of why this kind of national overarching policy is needed. A series of ancient submarine canyons line the continental shelf offshore, under the waves, from Massachusetts to Virginia. The canyons plummet down several miles and their solid undersea walls, combined with the fact that fast flowing currents carry in microscopic food and remove waste from the canyons, make these areas oases for an astonishing diversity and abundance of animals - from various species of flounder, hakes, and skates to American lobster, colorful corals, sponges, and anemones. Endangered sperm whales, beaked whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals come to the canyons to feed on the schools of squid and fish that congregate there.

But these remote sanctuaries are in danger of irreversible damage from advanced fishing technologies and renewed oil and gas exploration. Bottom trawling technology advances are making it increasingly possible to fish challenging seafloor landscapes like the canyons as commercial fishing enterprises seek out new populations or species to catch. Trawling nets stretching up to 40 meters in width and held open by pairs of seven-ton steel trawl doors crush or rip out habitat as they are dragged along the seafloor, removing in a few brief acts what took nature centuries to build and leaving bare, scarred sand, mud and rock where corals and abundant sponges once were. The canyons also need protection from oil and gas exploration and development. Between 1959 and 1983 dozens of exploratory oil and gas wells were drilled in or near several major submarine canyons off the Atlantic continental shelf. Until recently, the Atlantic Coast was protected from oil and gas drilling by Presidential and Congressional actions, but during the Bush Administration these measures were removed and new oil and gas exploration, including drilling and seismic surveys, would introduce significant oil, toxics, and sound pollution into the canyons.

With our haphazard system of laws and agencies in control of ocean resources there's no way to address simultaneously both the problems posed by bottom trawling and oil and gas exploration and drilling. Offshore energy issues are the purview of the Department of the Interior, while the regional fisheries councils and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration address fisheries issues.

Without being able to tackle both challenges at the same time we run the risk of the situation that is playing out right now in South Carolina. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is trying to protect from destructive fishing gear a remarkable 23,000-square-mile forest of coral reefs that stretches from North Carolina to Florida. Simultaneously, a South Carolina feasibility study committee set up by the state legislature has been looking at where exploratory drilling should occur off the coast - in this same coral landscape.

A national policy to protect and restore our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes would establish a unified, underlying structure for addressing such issues. Additionally, protecting the submarine canyons from bottom trawling and oil and gas development would be a prime early initiative that would help translate the new national policy into action.

Join me in sending your support for a national policy for healthy oceans by taking action here.

Funding Needed for Year 2 of New York’s Whale Monitoring Program

2009-09-14T15:29:17Z

Ali Chase, Policy Analyst, New York

As our wonderfully long summer draws to a close, Cornell scientists should be out in New York's ocean setting up the acoustic buoys that monitor for endangered whales. October signals the start of the whales' southern migration from the rich feeding waters of the Northeast.

Knowing what paths whales take up and down our shorelines is important. It can be used to help prevent ships from running over them as they swim just off our shores - sometimes as close as 10 miles from Times Square. We also need to make sure we're developing our offshore energy resources outside of their migratory routes.

The whale monitoring effort was designed as a multi-year project, and we learned much in the first year. Whales have been found much closer than anticipated to our shores. North Atlantic right whales (of which only around 300 remain) have even been heard off New York Harbor. And there's a population of fin whales that has made New York their year-round residence.

But we've never really explored the whale migratory paths in our neighborhood before last year, when the state began funding a program to understand where these endangered animals travel off the city's shores. It was designed as a multi-year effort and we need funding for two more years of research in order to establish the trend and make our initial down payment scientifically worthwhile.

Unfortunately, one key casualty of the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) crisis in Albany is the loss of the state's whale monitoring project. This spring $222 million was committed to the EPF, which funds New York State environmental initiatives. But it hasn't been released. Right now, the amount expected for FY 09-10 is only $180 million - $42 million less than the amount voted by the Legislature and agreed to by Governor Paterson just a few months ago.

This means scientists, not-for-profit partners, and local governments aren't getting paid, despite delivering the on-the-ground actions and important research goals the state approved and promised to fund. They need and deserve timely payment for their important work.

The state's budget woes and the repeated "sweeping" of funding from the EPF into the general fund over time has led to largely unbalanced books, where state agencies are struggling to pay past due notices and shortchanging important projects, like the whale monitoring program.

The EPF was established as a dedicated revenue source so that our critical environmental programs can be carried out in both good and bad economic times. And without it, we will lose much of the progress New York State has made to restore our natural resources.

Cornell needs to get the buoys out in October to start year 2 of the project. They have the equipment on hand and would love to make all the arrangements. Around $400,000 is needed to fund year 2 of the research.

New York has become a true leader on ocean issues through the visionary efforts of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council and Governor Paterson's leadership in establishing the Governors Mid-Atlantic Council on Oceans, which allows five coastal states to work together to protect the Atlantic. But much work remains ahead, and the EPF funding is essential to ensuring that we fund the programs that are helping restore to health the economic and environmental engines that are our oceans.

The state's Department of Environmental Conservation has done all it can with the EPF money it's being allotted - other contracts must be paid off as well. We need Governor Paterson to keep his word to the scientists and others working on the projects he said he would fund.