CDP: Oceans Clips: March 23, 2023
White House Announces $49B For Water Security. According to Politico, “The Biden administration on Wednesday announced up to $49 billion in funding to advance global water security efforts. The United States will ‘unveil a series of commitments of up to $49 billion’ at a U.N. water conference meeting in New York this week, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Wednesday in a statement. The spending commitments, Watson said, ‘reflect President Biden’s once-in-a-generation investment in equitable access as well as climate-resilient water and sanitation infrastructure at home and around the world. We will leverage learning from domestic investments and programs to improve and expand the success of our work abroad.’ The White House did not provide specifics about the spending commitments.” [Politico, 3/22/23 (=)]
Biden To Create New Marine Sanctuary In Pacific. According to the Honolulu Civil Beat, “President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he would expeditiously expand and increase environmental protections for a group of remote atolls and islands in the Central Pacific and the nearly 777,000 square miles of waters around them. He’s directing the commerce secretary to consider initiating a new national marine sanctuary designation within the next 30 days around the Pacific Remote Islands, which would further his goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. ocean waters by 2030. A coalition of Pacific island leaders and members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation among others applauded Biden’s decision, though there were some lingering concerns.” [Honolulu Civil Beat, 3/22/23 (+)]
Climate Advocates Say The Oceans Are Overlooked In Climate Change. Biden's New Action Plan Would Change That. According to USA Today, “President Joe Biden released a first-of-its-kind U.S. Ocean Climate Action Plan on Tuesday, which he said will ‘harness the tremendous power of the ocean to help in our fight against the climate crisis.’ Speaking at the White House Conservation in Action Summit, Biden said: ‘We can reduce emissions by building offshore wind farms, better protect our coastal and fishing communities from worsening storms, changing fisheries and other impacts on climate change.’ Ocean advocates say it comes not a minute too soon. By absorbing more than 90% of the Earth's warming in recent decades, the ocean is ‘already playing an enormous role in the climate crisis, said Lara Levison, senior director of federal policy for the ocean conservation group Oceana.” [USA Today, 3/22/23 (=)]
Senate Committee Approves Bill To Change Ocean Cleanup Laws. According to Politico, “The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted Wednesday to approve a bill that would give NOAA more flexibility in creating partnerships to clean up ocean pollution. On a unanimous voice vote, the panel advanced S. 318, the ‘Save our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act,’ sponsored by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska. Sullivan's bill would amend the 2020 Save Our Seas 2.0 Act and the 2006 Marine Debris Act to make it easier for NOAA to deliver federal resources and enter into new agreements on marine debris prevention and cleanup.” [Politico, 3/22/23 (=)]
Seabirds That Swallow Ocean Plastic Waste Have Scarring In Their Stomachs – Scientists Have Named This Disease 'Plasticosis'. According to Yahoo News, “As a conservation biologist who studies plastic ingestion by marine wildlife, I can count on the same question whenever I present research: “How does plastic affect the animals that eat it?” This is one of the biggest questions in this field, and the verdict is still out. However, a recent study from the Adrift Lab, a group of Australian and international scientists who study plastic pollution, adds to a growing body of evidence that ingesting plastic debris has discernible chronic effects on the animals that consume it. This work represents a crucial step: moving from knowing that plastic is everywhere to diagnosing its effects once ingested.” [Yahoo News, 3/22/23 (=)]
The Melting Arctic Gets A U.S. Ambassador And An Influx Of Military Cash. According to NPR, “The Arctic is melting — and that's setting off a geopolitical rivalry for the region's once inaccessible resources and shipping routes. In response, the U.S. will soon see its first ambassador-at-large for the Arctic Region; the Biden administration last month nominated Mike Sfraga to the position. "What we're seeing now is something that is just so dramatic." Sfraga told students at Duke University last year. "[T]he Arctic has warmed nearly four times the global average." While indigenous communities have long thrived in communion with the land there, nation states haven't had much presence in the northern latitudes because it hasn't been ripe for exploitation. Until sea ice began rapidly receding, oil, gas, shipping and minerals were all under frigid lock and key.” [NPR, 3/22/23 (=)]
A 5,000-Mile Seaweed Belt Is Headed Toward Florida. According to the AP, “A 5,000-mile seaweed belt lurking in the Atlantic Ocean is expected in the next few months to wash onto beaches in the Caribbean Sea, South Florida, and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt — as the biomass stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico is called — contains scattered patches of seaweed on the open sea, rather than one continuous blob of sargassum. It’s not a new occurrence, but satellite images captured in February showed an earlier start than usual for such a large accumulation in the open ocean. Once it washes ashore, sargassum is a nuisance — a thick, brown algae that carpets beaches, releasing a pungent smell as it decays and entangling humans and animals who step into it. For hotels and resorts, clearing the stuff off beaches can amount to a round-the-clock operation.” [AP, 3/22/23 (=)]
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