CDP: Oceans Clips: March 16, 2023
California Regulators Could Decide Oil Profits Penalty. According to the AP, “California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he wants state regulators to decide whether to impose the nation’s first penalty on oil companies for price gouging, pivoting after months of negotiations with legislative leaders failed to reach an agreement on a bill aimed at reining in the state’s notoriously high gas prices. Gas prices in California are always more expensive than the rest of the country because the state has higher taxes and fees than other states and requires a special blend of gasoline that is better for the environment but more expensive to make.” [AP, 3/15/23 (=)]
Greens Petition NOAA To Create 'Whale Safety Zones'. According to Politico, “Environmental advocates, incensed by recent reports of ships speeding through slow zones meant to protect whales, are calling on NOAA to establish year-round navigation standards for all coastal waters. The Ocean Foundation and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on Wednesday filed a rulemaking petition with NOAA, urging the agency to create "whale safety zones” for all large ships, with mandatory speed limits and other preventive measures. The petition, the first to propose a nationwide minimum standard to reduce vessel collisions with whales, comes as whale species — particularly the endangered North Atlantic right whale — face increased risks from larger, noisier and faster ships.” [Politico, 3/15/23 (=)]
Judge Wants Plan To Protect Humpback Whales From Fishery. According to the AP, “A U.S. judge this week ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the law when it failed to develop a plan to prevent West Coast commercial sablefish fishermen from harming humpback whales. The Endangered Species Act requires the fisheries service to develop a plan to reduce the number of whales accidentally injured or killed by the fishery, but the agency neither crafted such a plan nor started to create one, the ruling said. About 150 commercial fishing vessels use traps to capture sablefish in waters off California, Oregon and Washington.” [AP, 3/15/23 (=)]
A 24-Armed Hunter, Threatened With Extinction, Is Set to Get Protection. According to the New York Times, “Sunflower sea stars, huge starfish that until recently thrived in waters up and down the west coast of North America, are threatened with extinction and should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, federal officials said Wednesday. The starfish have been devastated by a wasting syndrome that has been linked to the effects of climate change. It killed more than 90 percent of sunflower sea stars from 2013 to 2017, in what officials described as the largest marine wildlife disease outbreak on record. The sickness starts with lethargy and lesions followed by tissue decay. Starfish’s limbs drop off and they die within days, leaving a gooey pile.” [New York Times, 3/15/23 (=)]
Arctic Ice Has Seen An ‘Irreversible’ Thinning Since 2007, Study Says. According to the AP, “Arctic sea ice declined dramatically in 2007 and has never recovered. New research suggests the loss was a fundamental change unlikely to be reversed this century, if ever — perhaps proof of the sort of climate tipping point that scientists have warned the planet could pass as it warms. The conclusion comes from three decades of data on the age and thickness of ice escaping the Arctic each year as it flows into the North Atlantic to the east of Greenland. Scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute found a marked difference in the ice level before and after it reached an unprecedented low in 2007.” [AP, 3/15/23 (=)]
Arctic Sea Ice Thins In 2 Big Jumps, And Now More Vulnerable. According to the AP, “Climate change attacked crucial Arctic sea ice thickness in two sudden big gobbles instead of steady nibbling, a new study says. A little more than 15 years ago, sea ice quickly lost more than half its thickness, becoming weaker, more prone to melting and less likely to recover, according to the study that emphasizes the importance of two big “regime shifts” that changed the complexion of the Arctic. Those big bites came in 2005 and 2007. Before then, Arctic sea ice was older and misshapen in a way that made it difficult to move out of the region. That helped the polar area act as the globe’s air conditioner even in warmer summers. But now the ice is thinner, younger and easier to push out of the Arctic, putting that crucial cooling system at more risk, the study’s lead author said.” [AP, 3/15/23 (=)]
How Changes In Antarctica Impact Warming Waters Across The Globe. According to KCRA, “Sister station WMTW meteorologist Sarah Long traveled to Antarctica in January to fulfill a decadeslong dream. The western region of Antarctica is warming at five times the global average. That warming will continue to impact sea ice, the ecology of the region and the ocean circulations around the globe. "Polar regions in the Arctic and the Antarctic are fragile and they are critical to the circulation and overall ecology of marine life on our planet," Dr. Janet Duffy-Anderson said. Duffy-Anderson is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. She spoke about the impacts of climate change on our polar regions and what those changes mean in Maine, where the gulf has recorded the two warmest years on record in 2021 and 2022.” [KCRA, 3/15/23 (=)]
Why Huge Masses Of Seaweed Are Floating To Florida And The Gulf. According to The Washington Post, “Masses of tangled brown seaweed that typically spend most of the year floating around in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean are once again drifting toward shore, where they could pose a significant threat to coastal environments and beach communities. Known as the great Atlantic Sargassum belt, the seaweed clusters collectively weigh about 13 million tons, according to most recent calculations — and are large enough to be seen from space.” [Washington Post, 3/15/23 (=)]
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