Public Comment Opportunity: NOAA Next Generation Strategic Plan
NOAA is currently developing its Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP), which will help inform the agency’s priorities, activities, and how they conduct their science, service and stewardship mission.
Read the Draft Next Generation Strategic Plan
Key sections of the plan that affect coral reefs:
Goal: Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies
- Objective: Comprehensive ocean and coastal planning and management
- Objective: Improved coastal water quality supporting human health and coastal ecosystem services
Long-Term Goal: Healthy Oceans
- Objective: Improved understanding of ecosystems to inform resource management decisions
- Objective: Healthy habitats that sustain resilient and thriving marine resources and communities
E & E News, July 12, 2010
Enviro group sues for Salazar leasing docs
By Noelle Straub
The Center for Biological Diversity today sued the Interior Department for failing to provide information requested under the Freedom of Information Act related to the Interior secretary’s decisions on oil and gas leasing.
On May 18, the group filed a FOIA request seeking all phone logs and correspondence to or from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar related to the approval of offshore oil and gas leasing, along with notes of meetings Salazar attended on the topic.
A response to the request was due July 1, after Interior invoked a 10-day working extension. The lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asks the court to order Salazar to immediately respond to the request and promptly provide the documents.
CBD said it wants documents related to proposals on expanding drilling off the Atlantic Coast and Alaska and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and to approvals of numerous offshore leases and drilling plans in the Gulf.
“Secretary Salazar has been cozy with the offshore drilling lobby for many years,” CBD Executive Director Kieran Suckling said in a statement. “There is no question that BP and other oil companies were integral to his decisions to expand offshore oil drilling. We want to know who Salazar was talking to, what was said, and what deals were made.”
An Interior spokeswoman said the department could not provide comment on a lawsuit.
Cleaner Water Mitigates Climate Change Effects on Florida Keys Coral Reefs, Study Shows ScienceDaily (July 6, 2010) —
Improving the quality of local water increases the resistance of coral reefs to global climate change, according to a study published in June in Marine Ecology Progress Series. Florida Institute of Technology coral reef ecologist Robert van Woesik and his student Dan Wagner led the study, which provides concrete evidence for a link between environmental health and the prospects for reefs in a rapidly changing world. Van Woesik and his team showed that when waters in the Florida Keys warmed over the last few summers, corals living in cleaner water with fewer nutrients did well. On the other hand, corals in dirtier water became sick and bleached. “Regulating wastewater discharge from the land will help coral reefs resist climate change,” said van Woesik. “In the face of climate change and ocean warming, this study gives managers hope that maintaining high water quality can spare corals.”
More Story Source: The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Florida Institute of Technology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS. Journal Reference: 1. DE Wagner, P Kramer, R van Woesik. Species composition, habitat, and water quality influence coral bleaching in southern Florida. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2010; 408: 65 DOI: 10.3354/meps08584
Oil Spill Updates and Information
http://www.keysspill.com
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/
http://oilspill.fsu.edu/
For the most up-to-date information on Florida’s Deepwater Horizon response, as well as health and safety tips, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon.
The Florida Emergency Information Line (FEIL) will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice. The number for residents to call is:
1-800-342-3557
The Florida State Emergency Information Line activated at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, May 3 to provide Floridians a link to informational resources regarding the Deepwater Horizon response.
~Hotline provides Floridians information regarding the Deepwater Horizon Response~TALLAHASSEE- -
The State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee remains activated to a Level 2, or Partial activation, and emergency management officials are continuing to coordinate with local, state and federal partners to ensure Florida’s coastline is protected.
Wodu worked closely with Reef Relief to create this comprehensive website for Reef Relief.
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