CDP: Oceans Clips: November 8, 2022
Environmental Groups Push Interior To Delay Oil Lease Sales. According to Politico, “More than 40 environmental groups are asking the Interior Department to hold public hearings on federal oil lease sales planned in Wyoming, New Mexico and Kansas. In a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Monday, the organizations also requested the deadline for public comment be extended 45 days for the public to weigh in on the climate impacts of ongoing leasing and the ramifications of oil and gas development on local communities.” [Politico, 11/7/22 (=)]
A Tombstone No One Can Miss': Gorsuch Seeks To Bury Chevron. According to Politico, “Justice Neil Gorsuch on Monday admonished his colleagues for declining a chance to limit the leeway federal courts give to agencies like EPA. His rebuke came in response to the denial of a Supreme Court petition that had asked the justices to consider overruling Chevron deference, which affords federal agencies leeway to interpret ambiguous statutes, such as the Clean Air Act. The high court had an opportunity to do away with the doctrine in a case last term — but declined to do so explicitly (Greenwire, June 15).” [Politico, 11/7/22 (=)]
US Offshore Wind Update: New Construction Kicks Off. According to Offshore Engineer, “October saw the first offshore construction activity for a commercial scale U.S. offshore wind farm. Two cable layers have commenced the laying of Vineyard Wind’s export cable. This important milestone was also accompanied by complaints around the deployment of foreign flag workboats to support the cable layers. At the same time, South Fork wind farm has deployed Jones Act compliant vessels to prepare the offshore construction areas for cable laying and foundation installation. These two projects bring into focus the ongoing opportunities and challenges of the U.S. offshore wind market.” [Offshore Engineer, 11/7/22 (+)]
After A Long Wait, Tiny Sickle Darter Gains ESA Protection. According to Politico, “The Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday added the tiny, climate-vulnerable sickle darter to the Endangered Species Act list of threatened creatures. Acting a dozen years after environmentalists first petitioned on behalf of the species, the agency declared that it will provide protections for the fish currently found in parts of Virginia and Tennessee. A warming planet bears some of the blame for the animal’s decline.” [Politico, 11/7/22 (=)]
Emperor Penguins Added To ‘Threatened’ List. According to Earth Sky, “Emperor penguins thrive on Antarctica’s coastlines in icy conditions any human would find extreme. Yet, like Goldilocks, they have a narrow comfort zone. If there’s too much sea ice, trips to bring food from the ocean become long and arduous, and their chicks may starve. With too little sea ice, the chicks are at risk of drowning. Climate change is now putting that delicate balance and potentially the entire species at risk. In a recent study, my colleagues and I showed that if current global warming trends and government policies continue, Antarctica’s sea ice will decline at a rate that would dramatically reduce emperor penguin numbers to the point that almost all colonies would become quasi-extinct by 2100, with little chance of recovering.” [Earth Sky, 11/7/22 (=)]
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Celebrates 30 years. According to Maui Now, “November marks Ho‘i Koholā, “welcome back whales” month. This November is also the 30th anniversary for Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Designated in November of 1992, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is one of the world’s most important whale habitats, and the only place in the United States where humpback whales mate, calve, and nurse their young. November marks the traditional start of the 2022-2023 whale season at the sanctuary. Humpback whales are generally seen in Hawai‘i from November into May each year, with the peak season running from January through March.” [Maui Now, 11/7/22 (+)]
World Faces ‘Terminal’ Loss Of Arctic Sea Ice During Summers, Report Warns. According to the Guardian, “The climate crisis has pushed the planet’s stores of ice to a widespread collapse that was “unthinkable just a decade ago”, with Arctic sea ice certain to vanish in summers and ruinous sea level rise from melting glaciers now already in motion, a major new report has warned. Even if planet-heating emissions are radically cut, the world’s vast ice sheets at the poles will continue to melt away for hundreds of years, causing up to three metres of sea level rise that will imperil coastal cities, the report states. The “terminal” loss of sea ice from the Arctic during summers could arrive within a decade and now cannot be avoided, it adds.” [The Guardian, 11/7/22 (-)]
Subtropical Storm Threatens Bahamas, U.S. Coast. According to Politico, “Subtropical Storm Nicole has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, bringing threats of a "prolonged period of hazardous weather" to parts of the Bahamas and the southeastern coast of the United States, NOAA'S National Hurricane Center in Miami said Monday. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the northwestern Bahamas, including Andros Island, New Providence, Eleuthera, Abacos Islands, Berry Islands, Grand Bahama Island and Bimini, forecasters said.” [Politico, 11/7/22 (=)]
How Belize Cut Its Debt By Fighting Global Warming. According to New York Times, “Belize faced an economic meltdown. The pandemic had sent it into its worst ever recession, putting the government on the brink of bankruptcy. A solution came from unexpected quarters. A local marine biologist offered Prime Minister Johnny Briceño a novel proposal: Her nonprofit would lend the country money to pay its creditors if his government agreed to spend part of the savings this deal would generate to preserve its marine resources. For Belize, that meant its oceans, endangered mangroves and vulnerable coral reefs. The resulting deal, known as blue bonds, is an example of a novel approach that has allowed a growing number of developing nations to cut their debt by investing in conservation, giving them a larger role in the fight against climate change.” [New York Times, 11/7/22 (=)]
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