A national environmental group has sent state Reps. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, and Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, a letter urging them to put a stop to a controversial Florida fertilizer bill.
A pollution warning sign along the Caloosahatchee River (Pic by Florida Water Coalition)
Though the Senate version of the bill died in committee this week, the House version is still alive, but faces tough odds. It was TPed this morning during a meeting of the State Affairs Committee (for which McKeel acts as chair, and Mayfield acts as vice chair).
According to a letter sent by Ocean River Institute President Rob Moir, the bill would “strip counties of their rights to responsible environmental stewardship” and would prove “a major setback for county governments that have enacted ordinances to reduce summer stormwater runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus into waterways.” Read the full story at http://floridaindependent.com/68403/fertilizer-bill-ocean-river-institute-seth-mckeel-debbie-mayfield
Learn about the Ocean River Institute
COMMENTARY
By Andrew Freedman
An Obama administration plan to cut costs by combining several government agencies may make good political sense, coming in the midst of the Republican presidential primary season, with its heated small-government rhetoric. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea from a policy perspective.
In fact, the White House proposal that would move the country’s oceans and atmosphere agency — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — from its current home in the Commerce Department and fold it into the Interior Department, could severely undermine America’s climate and weather research efforts, as well as marine resource protection. Worse, it comes at a time when climate change beseeches us to build those capacities.
Read the full article athttp://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/obama-proposal-could-weaken-key-climate-oceans-agency/
WASHINGTON | Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:57am EST
(Reuters) – The United States said on Friday it was appealing a World Trade Organization ruling against U.S. dolphin-safe labeling measures for tuna in a longrunning spat with Mexico closely watched by environmentalists.
“Our dolphin-safe labeling measures for tuna products provide information for American consumers as they make food purchasing decisions for their families,” said Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative.
Read the full article at http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/us-usa-mexico-dolphins-idUSTRE80J1BC20120120
The Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition is excited to announce the release of Florida’s Coastal and Ocean Future: An Updated Blueprint for Economic and Environmental Leadership. This report, the latest from the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition, addresses Florida’s most challenging coastal and marine topics and recommends actions for protecting and preserving the future of Florida’s coasts and oceans.
The full report can be downloaded by clicking here or visiting the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition website, www.flcoastalandocean.org/blueprint.
The press release can be viewed by clicking here or visiting the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition website, www.flcoastalandocean.org/blueprint.
photo: South Florida Dive Journal
The Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition is a group of organizations working together to conserve, protect and restore Florida’s coastal and marine environment. The Coalition emphasizes the implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to coastal and ocean management, as well as recognition of the important linkage between the health of Florida’s economy and the health of its beaches and dunes, coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses, wetlands and other natural resources. The Coalition calls on Florida’s Governor, State Agencies, Cabinet, and Legislature for action and leadership to achieve the goal of healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems. Please visit the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition website for more information, www.flcoastalandocean.org.
Photo: NOAA
The Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 men and sent approximately 170 million gallons of oil into one of America’s most productive fishing grounds, was a national tragedy. To determine what went so terribly wrong, and to find out how to make sure such a disaster never happens again, President Obama appointed a bipartisan commission to investigate the root causes of the explosion and to make recommendations to correct them.
The commission’s recently released report is clear: the disaster was not a one-time fluke, but rather the result of systematic failures in government oversight and industry management. The commission concluded that another disaster will likely happen again unless Congress, the Obama administration and the oil industry undertake fundamental reforms that hold the industry to higher safety standards and strengthen the government’s authority to enforce more rigorous protections.
If we are serious about preventing the next disaster, Congress has to act.
What to do:
Send a message urging your senators and representatives to support and implement the recommendations made by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to reform offshore oil and gas drilling, and to protect and restore our nation’s oceans.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Source: NRDC Action Center
WASHINGTON (Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011) – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Tuesday renewed his efforts to enact legislation to enhance penalties for corporations and individuals responsible for environmental crimes. Leahy first introduced the Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act in June 2010, following the April explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Leahy authored bill will strengthen penalties for companies who violate the Clean Water Act and provide victims of environmental crime with access to compensation for their loss. An important goal of the Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act is to ensure that there are meaningful penalties for corporate misconduct including prison time, not fines alone, which can be a mere cost of doing business. The Judiciary Committee approved the legislation last year, but it was not acted on by the full Senate.
“This bill takes two common sense steps – well-reasoned increases in sentences and mandatory restitution for environmental crime,” said Leahy. “These measures are tough but fair. They are important steps toward deterring criminal conduct that can cause environmental and economic disaster and toward helping those who have suffered so much from the wrongdoing of big oil and other large corporations.”
The Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act directs the Sentencing Commission to review and amend sentencing guidelines to reflect the seriousness of environmental crime. It also makes restitution mandatory for Clean Water Act violations. Under current law, restitution is discretionary, and only available under limited circumstances. The Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act will help victims like those affected by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including the families of those killed by the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, seek compensation for their losses caused by criminal activity.
The Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act is cosponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).
Leahy chaired a Judiciary Committee hearing last summer in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster to examine victim compensation and the existing liability caps for corporations responsible for the cleanup of such disasters.
Read the the legislation
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