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.
”The new White House initiative will take a comprehensive approach to all the different uses of our public seas. Using our best observing tools and a national Ocean Council working with regional and local interests there will be a determination how we can best restore our ocean commons while maintaining its use for recreation, transportation, trade, (clean) energy, (limited) protein, security and, of course, inspiration, the everlasting blue in our red, white and blue.” – Taken from the Blue Frontier Campaign’s BLUE NOTES #77 written by David Helvarg
Several Senators have introduced a Senate companion bill to the Coastal Jobs Creation Act
On June 24th, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced S. 3528, the Coastal Jobs Creation Act (CJCA) to create jobs for fishermen and coastal communities. This Senate legislation follows the CJCA legislation in the House of Representatives that has already gained significant support, in large part due to your calls and letters. For the CJCA to advance in the Senate, we need your help!
Tell Florida’s Senator to cosponsor the Coastal Jobs Creation Act (S. 3528)!
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
Urgent Gulf Coastal Recovery Action – Support the Coastal Jobs Creation Act
Please help champion The Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010 (HR 4914), a bill that will financially assist fishing communities in the face of huge challenges including the recent Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
Please take a moment to review this request, and call your Congressional Representatives today, and encourage them to pass HR 4914. Help us flood Congress today, Thursday, June 17, 2010, with calls of support for a bill.
The Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010 is new legislation that creates jobs for fishermen and coastal communities as fish populations rebuild. It creates a grant program, called the “Coastal Jobs Creation Grant Program”, that will help fund new jobs for fishermen. The grant will also promote sustainable fisheries and fishing communities, revitalize waterfronts, and improve the ocean environment.
For more information, please contact:
Lee Crockett, Director of Federal Fisheries Policy, Pew Environment Group, (202) 552-2065, lcrockett@pewtrusts.org.
You can also visit the website for more resources at
www.endoverfishing.org.
