Two Minutes to Midnight

“The clock’s ticking two minutes to midnight,” says Chris Aiello of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team, speaking about his thoughts on the state of the oceans. Aiello believes that there is not much times left to protect the oceans and their resources, and if more is not done to protect them their time will run out.

Aiello, a commercial crabber in Port Orford, is a board member of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team or POORT. He says the reason he became involved with POORT is out of frustration with the regulations of fishing being centered around managing people, instead of managing the fish for sustainability.

The oceans are facing some considerable issues today, such as: renewable resources (wind farms, wave power) and large amounts of debris, especially plastic. The world is very much a consumer oriented one and with the diminishing access to oil the world is constantly looking for new ways to create energy. Organizations around the globe are working tirelessly to find and create responsible and reasonable ways to help preserve the oceans.

Redfish Rock Reserve, located off the coast of Port Orford, Oregon, is Oregon’s only marine reserve and is managed my the Port Orford Resource Team.

One solution to solving the sustainability of not only the diminishing fish population, but to all of the oceans resources, is “ocean zoning”, commonly know as “marine spatial planning”. Not all protected areas are the same. Each area is classified as compatible, conditionally compatible, or incompatible and are permitted based on the overall management objectives of each site.

The introduction of wind, solar, and wave-powered energies as new renewable resources are a major reason marine spatial planning areas are becoming a growing importance.

The best example of the battle between renewable resources and persevering the oceans is Cape Wind, a wind farm to be placed in the Nantucket Sound off the coast of New Hampshire. Cape Wind has been talked about for nine years and it seems as though each time it looks set to get approved, another obstacle arises. The most recent of these set backs came from the Wampanoags, who insist the wind farm would threaten their religious need for an unobstructed view of the sunrise, as well as the impediment upon their ancestors burial grounds.

Ancient ritual burial grounds are not the only issue standing in the way of the advancement of renewable resources. Larry Crowder, a marine biology professor at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, predicts that as the debate on how to control the use of offshore areas advances, proven influential players like oil and gas companies, could have an unjustified influence.

Executive Director of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team, Leesa Cobb, admits to being a bit skeptical about energy projects being integrated into the oceans. “After a couple of years of looking at these ocean wave energy projects,” Cobb says. “I’m not for it. Frankly I think it’s greed by people who want to do it and I think it’s driven by politicians looking for recognition to be the first out of the gate.”

Cobb’s main fears are for the marine life ecosystems. Though Cobb insists she is “very excited” about renewable resources, she believes that we do not have sufficient information on how this ability to generate electricity in the ocean will affect the marine environment and the marine mammals. “To jump out into the ocean and initiate this,” says Cobb, “is just foolhardy and reckless.”

Cobb believes the best way we can help protect our oceans and their resources is to start educating people on the oceans at a young age.  “People can be highly indifferent, which is fine,” Cobb states. “But if you’re exposed to the information, you’ll care about a healthy ocean and a healthy ocean ecosystem.”

The Surfrider Foundation couldn’t agree more. Surfrider is a non-profit, grass roots, and coastal environment organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches. A few ways it accomplishes these goals are by conservation, activism, research and education.

Surfrider’s award-winning coastal educational program, Respect the Beach, is designed to explain coastal watershed processes, shoreline ecology and coastal areas stewardship to K-12 students and community groups. The Blue Water Task force is another educational and advocacy program created by the Surfrider Foundation. The program’s main goal is to alert citizens and officials in their communities, about water quality problems and to work with them to find solutions.

“Oregon used somewhere in the order of 50 million plastic bags last year alone,” states Gus Gates the Oregon policy coordinator at the Surfrider Foundation. “The amount of oil to produce those bags is around 150,000 barrels.” Compared to the approximate 100 billion grocery bags and 12 million barrels used each year in the U.S., Oregon accounts for two percent of the plastic bags and eight percent of the oil used to produce them.

To make issues worse, it’s been estimated that about 60 to 80 percent of all debris in the ocean is plastic. Most plastic never actually biodegrades and the ones that do, take hundreds of years to do so. The South Coast Organizer for Our Oceans, Dave Lacey, gives an example of how plastic enters our food chain and actually makes it unsafe to eat certain types of fish. “Plastic, as it sits in the ocean and absorbs pollution,” says Lacey. “It photo degrades and then the birds and other mammals are eating this plastic and we in turn eating them.” Lacey also mentions that tuna are filled with so much mercury “and other gnarly things”, that they are not considered safe to eat anymore according to the parts per million you can ingest.

“I wouldn’t say the ocean is completely unhealthy,” Lacey states. “But there are some issues.” Lacey insists the marine spatial planning push is a very important one. He says, “Marine reserves are a great way to stabilize the fishing industry and to protect special places.”

Save the World and Look Good Doing It

Five years ago, the Surfrider Foundation set a lofty goal for itself to attain 150 ocean and coastal victories by the end of 2010. Today Surfrider has helped improve 130 ocean and coastal areas, creating a healthier environment for the marine mammals and coastal communities in these areas, putting itself on track to reach its goal.

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit, grass roots, and coastal environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches. A few ways it does this is by conservation, activism, research and education. The organization has been a part of 600 beach cleanups, more than 125 meetings and events involving city, county, and state governments, and has over 200 community outreach programs dedicated to educating society about the oceans.

According to Gus Gates, Oregon policy coordinator at the Surfrider Foundation,  Surfrider defines a “victory” as a decision made in favor of the coastal and ocean environment that results in a positive conservative outcome, improves coastal access, or both.

One of Surfrider’s biggest projects is to create an ecosystem based management system in where people and all aspects of the different parts of the ecosystem are on the same page. Surfriders definition of an ecosystem-based management system, or EBM, is an incorporated approach to sustaining the health of the natural environment and human uses that are dependent on it.

Surfrider is trying to promote EMBs through research, education, conservation, and activism. The Respect the Beach program is one created by Surfrider that is designed to explain coastal watershed processes, shorline ecology and coastal areas to K-12 students and community groups.

“Oregon used somewhere in the order of 50 million plastic bags last year alone,” Gates states. “The amount of oil to produce those bags is around 150,000 barrels.”  Maybe not all of these bags end up in the ocean, but a good amount of them do and when this happens not only do they not biodegrade, they end up in the food chain.

One common way society is trying to cut down on plastic is making reusable bags for the grocery store. Gates emphasizes that helping the environment doesn’t have to be so hard. “We have the ability just by bringing a reusable bag to the grocery store, to save fossil fuels and scarce resources and look good doing it.”

Our Shifting Baseline

Since the 1930’s, the population of salmon in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia River has doubled. To some this may sound great; however, the population of salmon in the 1930’s was only 10 percent of what it was in the 1800’s. This is what is known as a shifting baseline.

The issue of the shifting baselines facing our oceans and beaches today is one that South Coast Organizer for Our Ocean, Dave Lacey, is greatly worried about. Our Ocean is an organization dedicated to preserving Oregon’s coastal legacy. One way Our Ocean is doing this is by working to receive approval to protect areas such as Cape Falcon, Three Arch Rocks, Cape Arago, and numerous others.

Daniel Pauly, a fisheries biologist at the University of British Columbia, Canada, first used the term “shifting baselines” in 1995. It is defined as the result from chronic, slow, and hard-to-notice changes. Environmentalists use baselines as points of reference to measure the health of ecosystems, to provide information to evaluate change against and to record how things used to be.

Lacey gave the example of imaging someone taking their child to the beach for the first time and as they walk along the beach they spot a nice log to sit on and take a break; as they do so, the child notices a small pile of garbage behind it. This moment will forever be cemented in the child’s head, as what he or she believes is “natural” for the beaches to look like.

“We can go out and collect five or six large bags of trash one day,” says Lacey on trying to clean up the beaches. “A month later it’ll all back right back out there.”

Lacey insists that we aren’t at a “tipping point” yet, but he doesn’t want us to get there. To prevent this he insists we need to look for problems before they happen, instead of waiting and reacting to them as they do.

Cape Wind Would Save Billions

Cape Wind Would Save Billions

Cape Wind, an offshore wind farm in the Nantucket Sound, would save the country billions of dollars according to a report prepared by Charles River Associates.

The Cape Wind Project would install 130 wind turbines off the coast of New England in the Nantucket sound. These 130 turbines would take up about 24 square miles of the sound.

The project would save the New England region about $185 million a year, according to the report done by Charles River Associates earlier this month. In 2013, Cape Wind would supply approximately 10 percent of the power demanded in Southeaster Massachusetts and about one percent of the total power in New England. Over the span of 25 years, this would save the region $4.6 billion.

On the other side of the coin, Cape Wind has been a long-debated project; the main cause of this is being the Massachusetts Indian tribes. The tribes believe that the turbines would disturb spiritual rituals that require a clear view across the sound.

10 Source Write-Up

1.) Topic: Ocean Zoning

Category: Mainstream Journalistic; news report from the web version of the New York Times

Title: ‘Zoning’ rules urged to protect ocean resources

New York Times, April 11, 2009

Allison Winter; Michael Burnham

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/04/10/10greenwire-zoning-rules-urged-to-protect-offshore-resourc-10509.html

Accessed: Jan. 10, 2010

Summary of sources:

Duke University researchers

Mary Turnipseed, Doctoral student at Duke’s Nicolas School of the Environment

U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy

Stephen Roady, student at Duke’s School of Law and a lawyer at Earthjustice

The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership

Larry Crowde, marine biology professor at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment

These sources signify the researchers who supplied the information on why congress should create an ocean zoning system to protect marine resources from expanded from offshore energy development.

Source Analysis:

Founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones The Times has had a long history of being one of the top news outlets in the nation and the world. Though it was originally created as a daily newspaper, on June 14, 1910 The Times makes its first air delivery to Philadelphia; actual national distribution doesn’t begin until August 18, 1980. The New York Times has one many awards such being ranked number two among peers in Fortune Magazine’s list of “World’s Most Admired Companies”(2009), numerous 100% ratings on the HRC Corporate Equality index (2009, 2008, 2007,) and No. 34 on InforamitonWeeks Top 500, an elite group of businesses that have demonstrated innovation and leadership in information technology.

Usefulness:

The report speaks about questions on how to regulate offshore areas for oil and gas drilling and wave and wind development while protecting fisheries and marine habitat. The article also reports that analysts and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy assumed that the public trust doctrine extends to federal waters, however, one of the Duke researchers insisted that the doctrine must “formally articulated” by Congress, the White House or the federal courts. Other quotes from Duke University’s students and one of their professors give ways that the ocean and its resources could be protected. Though I have not found any other news outlets reporting on this issue, other media outlets such as usoceangov has a Twitter account that posts anything ocean news related.

Works Cited:

Winter, A., & Burnham, M. (2009, April 11). ‘Zone’ rules urged to protect ocean resources [Electronic version]. The New York Times.

2.) Topic: Cape Wind Energy for Life

Category: Institutional

Title: Cape Wind environmental studies

No authors

Website by eCape, Inc. in Cape Cod.

Copyright 2010 By Cape Wind Associates

http://www.capewind.org/index.php

Accessed: February 10, 2010

Summary of Sources:

ESS Group, Inc. of Wellseley, Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Audubon Society

Ocean Surveys, Inc. of Old Saybrook, Connecticut

These sources represent all of the environmental information supplied to the website.

Source Analysis:

Cape Wind Energy for Life is a source created this year for to inform people on how the construction of the wind farm in the Nantucket Sound will affect the environment, about wind energy, and why our nation should be choosing renewable energy.

Usefulness:

The website does not directly speak to ocean zoning or marine spatial management, but because Cape Wind has been a controversial issue because of marine zoning, I feel that the information given on how it will affect the environment it makes it a excellent source to get an idea on how difficult it is to find renewable energy but also preserve our resources.

Works Cited

Cape Wind Energy for Life eCape, 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2010. <http://www.capewind.org/index.php>.

3.) Topic: Marine Protected Areas

Category: Institution

Title: Establishing Resilient Marine Protected Area Networks – Making it Happen

Dan Laffoley

Allan T. White

Stacey Kilarski

Mary Gleason

Scott Smith

Ghislaine Llewwllyn

Jon Day

Annie Hillary

Victoria Wedell

Daphine Pee

http://www.wdpa-marine.org/MPAResources/MPAPlanningResources/Docs/Establishing resilient MPA networks-making it happen.pdf

Accessed: Jan. 22, 2010

Summary of Sources:

Eileen Alicea, Billy Causey, Gonalo Cid, Sean Hastings, John Parks and Anne Walton (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Vera Agostini, Jeanine Almany, Alison Green, Nina Hadley, Lynne Hale, Trina Leberer, Stephanie Wear, Caitlyn Toropova, and Jay Udelhoven ( The Nature Conservancy)

Leah Bunce Karrer ( Conservation International)

Nick Drayton (Ocean Conservancy)

Emily Goodwin (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation)

Andrew Gude (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior)

Sean Hastings (Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary)

Monika Thiele ( The Ocean Foundation)

John Ugoretz (California Department of Fish)

Sue Wells (Marine conservation consultant)

These sources are the people whose combined research and reviews make up the information found in this document.

Source Analysis:

The NOAA, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Ocean Conservancy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, The Ocean Foundation, California Department of Fish and the  Marine Conservation all combined their efforts to create this document. With so many organizations putting time and effort into this project there isn’t one are of MPAs they didn’t cover.

Usefulness:

This document was created by numerous organizations whose purpose is to protect the ocean and its resources. From why marine protected areas are important to Designing Resililent MPA Networks to  implementation strategies, this document covers all the aspects that one need to know about MPA’s.

Work Cited:

Laffoley, Dan , Allen T. White, Stacey Kilarski, Mary Gleason et al. “Establishing Resilient Marine Protected Areas – Making It Happen.” WPDA Marine IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, 2008. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. <http://www.wdpa-marine.org/MPAResources/MPAPlanningResources/Docs/Establishing resilient MPA networks-making it happen.pdf>.

4.) Topic: Marine Protected Areas

Category: Institute

Title: List of National System Marine Protected Areas – American Samoa Territorial Sites

Site-Specific Management Plan

Roy Lowe

http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/bandonmarsh/

Summary of Sources:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services

National Marine Protected Areas Center

The Oregon Coast Refuge Complex

These sources represent the organizations that work together to create federal marine protected areas.

Source Analysis:

The MPA Center is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, and has regionally-based staff in Boston, Massachusetts, and Monterey and Santa Cruz, California. The head quarters office is responsible for program management, planning, consultation, coordination, and outreach. The Oregon Coast Refuge Complex completed a planning process for the long term management of wildlife, habitat, and public use activities on Cape Meares, Oregon Islands, and Three Arch Rocks NWRs.

Usefulness:

This has been a useful source because it gave me all of the National Marine Protected Areas, the MPA program contact email, and the website address for the site.  From this source I found two people to contact for my final project.

Work Cited:

“List of National System Marine Protected Areas – National Wildlife Refuge System Federal Cites.” National Marine Protected Areas Center National Marine Protected Areas Center, 13 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. <http://mpa.gov/pdf/helpful-resources/national_system_mpas_list_4_22_09.pdf>.

5.) Topic: Oregon Coast National Refuge Complex

Category: Institution

Title: Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Website – no author, editior

http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/index.htm

Accessed: Jan. 27, 2010

Summary of Sources:

This source represents the main organization responsible for protecting the Oregon Coast’s Wildlife .

Source Analysis:

The Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a branch from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and has been put in place to protect Oregon’s wildlife, habitat, and public use activities on Cape Mears, Oregon Islands, Three Arch Rocks, Nestucca Bay, Siletz Bay and Bandon Marsh.

Usefulness:

This site isn’t one that is trying to persuade anyone about protecting our nations coasts, rather it supplies information on the areas being protected and why these areas are important to preserve. It  presents information on each of the six areas being protected, the managers of the project, contact information and directions on how to get there.

Work Cited:

Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex Americas National Wildlife Refuges, 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. <http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/index.htm>.

6)Topic: Nature Conservancy in Oregon

Category: Institution

Title: Nature Conservancy in Oregon

No Authors

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/oregon/

Accessed: Jan. 27,2010

Summary of Sources:

Though The Nature Conservancy works across the globe with indigenous tribes and corporations, the organization provides all its own information and monitors it s own site.

Source Analysis:

The Nature Conservancy was founded in 1951 in order to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.The areas that The Nature Conservancy protect may not be marine protected areas, but they operate over 100 marine conservation projects globally. Along with those 100 marine conservation projects, The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers.

Usefulness:

Even though the areas that The Nature Conservancy protects aren’t considered MPAs, they provide information on the areas they protect all over the world including coral reefs, forests, freshwater, ecosystems, great rivers, islands, marine ecosystems, rainforests and tropical forests.

Works Cited:

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy, 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. <http://www.nature.org/?src=t1>.

7.) Topic: Oregon Coastal Management Program

Category: Institution

Title: Oregon Coastal Management Program

Website

Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and Coastal Services Program

http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/OCMP/Ocean_Intro.shtml#Setting_for_Ocean_Management

Accessed: Jan. 27, 2010

Source Summary:

Because this is a website and it is partnered with numerous government partners there are too many sources to name. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development is the State of Oregon’s website. Their purpose is to protect farm, forest , coastal and ocean resources. They are committed to land stewardship and public service.

Usefulness:

This website supplies numerous other sources such as publications, urban and rural issues, statewide planning goals, local government partners and public records requests. It also includes the Territorial Sea Plan, Shoreland Processes and Oregon Coastal Management Program.

Works Cited:

OREGON.gov OREGON.gov, 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. <http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/OCMP/Ocean_Intro.shtml#Setting_for_Ocean_Management>.

Topic: Protecting Our Oceans

Category: Institutional/Education

Title: National Ocean Service

Web site

Emily Crum

National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, USA.gov

Accessed: Jan, 27 2010

Source Summary:

Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)

International Program Office (IPO)

National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

National Geodetic Survey (NGS)

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS)

NOAA Coastal Services Center

Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS)

Office if Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM)

Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)

These sources represent all of the primary Web sites of the NOAA Ocean Service (NOS) program and staff offices.

Usefulness:

NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) is the nations primary science agency for oceans and coasts. The NOS provides the tools and information to understand the challenges facing our country’s 95,000 miles of shoreline and 3.5 million square miles of coastal, Great Lakes, and deep-ocean waters.

Works Cited:

National Ocean Service Ed. Emily Crum. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. <http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/>.

8.) Topic: National Marine Sanctuaries

Category: Institutional

Title: National Marine Sanctuaries

Sanctuaries Web Team

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/welcome.html

Summary of Sources:

National Ocean Service (NOS)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)

U.S. Department of Commerce

These sources are the partners of the National Marine Sanctuary organization in protecting the nations oceans, beaches, estuaries, and lakes.

Usefulness:

The National Marine Sanctuaries organization delegation is to serve as the trustee for the marine protected areas, to conserve, protect, and enhance these marine ecosystems. The web site provides the history of the organization, the process they take in designating a marine protected area, and the legislation that helped to create marine sanctuaries.

Works Cited:

National Marine Sanctuaries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 11 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2010.

9.) Topic: Protecting Marine Species

Category: Institution

Title: Office of Protected Resources

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Department of Commerce

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aboutus.htm

Accessed: Jan., 27 2010

Source Summary:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Department of Commerce

The NOAA and U.S Department of Commerce are the partners and sponsors of NOAA Fisheries Service. The NOAA Fisheries Service is the federal agency responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s marine resources and their habitat. They are responsible for the management, conservation, and protection of living marine resources within the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

Usefulness:

Information provided from this website includes: agency news, current fisheries rules and regulations, agency information, agency reports and plans, curricula and other educational tools for educators, images, video and other interactive media.

Works Cited:

NOAA FIsheries Services National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2010. <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aboutus.htm>.

Topic: Cape Wind

Category: Journalistic

Title: Report Says Cape Wind Would Save Billions

Sindya N. Bhanoo

The New York Times

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/report-says-cape-wind-would-save-billions/ – more-39997

Accessed: Feb, 12 2010

Source Summary:

Cape Wind Energy for Life

Charles River Associates: Analysis of the Impact of Cape Wind on New England Energy Prices

Sharon Young, Field director of marine issues at the Humane Society of the United States

These are the sources that Bhanoo receives his information from for the article.

Source Analysis:

Sindya N. Bhanoo a writer for the Green Inc. blog ran by The New York Times. Green Inc. is a blog that reports stories for The New York Times that solely have to do with the environent.

Usefulness:

Sindya N. Bhanoo has written a few articles on the Cape Wind project, the wind farm that is going to be built of the coast of New England in the Nantucket Sound. Green Inc. is The New York Times blog for energy and the environment.

Works Cited:

Bhanoo, Sindya N. “Report Says Cape Wind Would Save Billions.” The New York Times The New York Times, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2010. <http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/report-says-cape-wind-would-save-billions/#more-39997>.

Marine Debris is a Global Problem

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