By Shawn Gaynor

Jan. 28 (GNT) — According to scientists, the oceans of the world have become about 30 percent more acidic due to human carbon dioxide emissions — and this spells trouble for ocean life.

Rich in biodiversity, coral reefs like this one in Florida are under threat from increases in the ocean's acidity. Photo courtesy of Tropical Conservancy.

The Environmental Protection Agency agreed last week to review how ocean acidification, a result of atmospheric carbon dioxide pollution, should be addressed under the federal Clean Water Act.

Approximately half of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from human activities over the past 200 years has been absorbed by the oceans and as a result has lowered average ocean pH by 0.11 units.

While the change is smaller then what is currently regulated under EPA clean water standards, scientist say further increases in ocean acidity could mean doom for many ocean creatures, and the overall ecosystems of the ocean.

“Global warming’s evil twin, ocean acidification, is the most insidious threat to our ocean ecosystems,” said Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, who petitioned the EPA to examine the issue.

The petition, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity back in Dec. of 2007, called on the EPA to consider rule changes to the Clean Water Act that would consider new science about ocean acidification, and lower the pH level regulated for water.

If the EPA decides to issue a rules change it would require states to designate water bodies that do not meet the new water-quality standards as “impaired” and take action to limit their pollution. This could lead to state-level regulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Water Act.

Oceans store about 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere, and over time, roughly ninety percent of carbon dioxide emitted into the air from burning of fossil fuels will be absorbed by the ocean.

Unlike global climate change, ocean acidification takes place through a basic chemical reaction and therefore it is easier for scientists to accurately predict future ocean pH changes due to carbon-dioxide emissions.

The oceans currently absorb about 22 million tons of carbon dioxide per day. Scientists agree that the oceans will acidify an additional 0.4 pH by the end of the century under current carbon dioxide emission trajectories.

According to the studies cited by the CBD, the primary known impact of acidification is impairment of calcification, the process whereby corals, crabs, abalone, oysters, sea urchins, and other animals make shells and skeletons. Studies of marine species that build shells or skeletons from calcium carbonate nearly all experience deterioration when exposed to increasing carbon dioxide levels in seawater. In fact, studies have shown that at carbon dioxide concentrations likely to occur by 2030, the shells of many marine species would deform or dissolve.

Many species of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which form the basis of the marine food web, are also particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. Already coral reefs worldwide have suffered mass die-offs as a result of ocean acidification.

“In just a few decades, ocean acidification will unravel a delicate balance of underwater diversity that took millions of years to build,” said Sakashita. “Absent quick regulatory action to address ocean acidification, we will likely see catastrophic impacts on our ocean ecosystems, including the near-complete loss of coral reefs.”

The ocean has been more acidic in some geologic periods. However, according to Sick Seas, a report published in the journal Nature in 2006, the current increase in ocean acidity is an unprecedented 100 times faster than any other rise in at least the last hundreds of thousands of years. The gradual nature of previous acidification cycles left time for marine life to adjust though evolution to the new conditions.

The EPA’s letter responding to the CBD’s petition agrees with the need for review in light of new science, and commits to a course of action.

“We plan to publish a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) by April 15th, and we plan to publish guidance regarding coral biocriteria by the end of 2009,” stated the EPA. In return, the CBD will suspend a lawsuit file over EPA inaction on its 2007 petition.

When the EPA issues a NODA, it opens an issue to comment, solicits expert opinion, and considers new scientific data. After examining the science the EPA will determine whether the current water-quality criterion for pH under the Clean Water Act should be modified to address ocean acidification.

“EPA’s commitment to review its water-quality criterion in light of ocean acidification marks an important step toward taking action under the Clean Water Act to begin to address this perilous threat, ” said Sakashita.

GreenNewsToday.org

By Shawn Gaynor

Jan. 21 (GNT) – A coalition of environmental groups filed an appeal today against the leasing of federal lands for the construction of LS Power’s White Pine Energy Station.

Photo courtesy of Coal-Is-Dirty.com.

The appeal, filed by Earthjustice on behalf of ten environmental groups, expresses concerns about the White Pine facility’s impacts on human health, climate change, and lowered visibility in the Great Basin National Park in Nevada and Zion National Park in Utah.

By filing the appeal, the groups will challenge a Dec. 22, 2008 decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management granting LS Power Group the necessary rights of way to construct a 1,590-megawatt coal-fired power plant on federal lands in eastern Nevada.

“Instead of allowing a huge new dirty coal plant, LS Power and BLM should take the lead from other companies and public agencies that are working to meet electricity demand through energy efficiency and renewables,” said John Barth, an attorney for the groups.

According to the coalition, White Pine would release an estimated 12.88 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year and would also emit significant amounts of other harmful pollutants such as mercury, sulfur dioxide, and fine soot, impairing local air quality and visibility.

The plant would also consume 4.5 million gallons a day of water for cooling in one of the nation’s driest states.

LS Power backed out of building a similar coal plant in Waterloo, Iowa, on Jan. 10, just days after project development partner Dynegy dissolved its partnership with LS Power.

It is unclear how LS Power will raise the capital for the White Pine project after Dynegy’s withdrawal, but Mark Milburn, director of project development for LS Power, announced in a statement that construction of the White Pines facility would proceed.

The White Pine plant is one of three new coal fired power plants proposed for Nevada. The other two facilities — the 1,500-megawatt Ely Energy Center and the 750-megawatt Toquop Energy Project — are also seeking approvals to begin construction.

Dr. Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, whose group is a party in the appeal, said Utah citizens already suffer poor air quality due to regional coal plants, and that the three new plants proposed for Nevada will only make the air quality worse.

“Yesterday, four of the top five most polluted cities in the country for air quality were in Utah,” said Dr. Moench. “The air pollution was the equivalent of everyone smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes a day, including children and pregnant women. Utah citizens are not going to stand back and allow several new coal plants to make these pollution problems even worse.”

With Obama’s inauguration and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) poised to take the reigns at the Interior Department, the coalition expressed their hope that the incoming administration will take a different, more environmentally friendly approach to public-land management and energy issues.

“We’re hopeful that the new administration in Washington will act quickly to secure a clean energy future for the United States, and manage our public lands in ways that benefit all Americans,” said Earthjustice attorney Paul Cort.

Nationally, upwards of thirty new coal fired plants are proposed, though tight credit markets may delay or cancel some of those projects.

GreenNewsToday.org

Jan. 15 (GNT) – Lisa Jackson, Barack Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, seemed on her way to a smooth confirmation yesterday as she appeared for hearings before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Lisa Jackson, Barrack Obama's choice to head the EPA. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Ms. Jackson, 46, who has worked as a career employee at EPA 15 years, most recently served as head of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection. Jackson’s committee hearing lasted more than four hours.

Signaling her support for Jackson in the opening statement of the hearing, committee chair Sen. Barbra Boxer (D-CA) railed against the Bush administration’s approach to the EPA, saying, “the EPA must rely on scientists, not special interests. The EPA needs to be woken up from its deep and nightmarish sleep. With new leadership, I am confident we can wake up EPA.”

Its was a theme repeated throughout the hearing. Responding to concerns from Senators in both parties that the EPA had become politically driving and unresponsive to legislators and the public, Jackson repeatedly assured the committee that science and the rule of law would be the guiding principal at EPA.

The committee members outlined in great length what they believed have been failed policies on issues ranging from global warming to EPA’s inability to regulate levels of perchlorate pollution in drinking water, and urged quick action be taken to restore their own and the public’s faith in the EPA.

Extracting Jackson’s commitment to review topics from the defeated California Tailpipe Emissions Standards, to the cleanup of uranium mining sites on the Navaho reservation, senators ticked off a laundry list of the nation’s most impacted sites.

Jackson was confronted about transparency at the EPA by Sen. Klouchar (D-MN), who criticized the EPA under the Bush administration for lacking transparency and hiding scientific evidence. Sen. Klouchar pressed the issue and asked Jackson for her own ideas to restore the public faith in the EPA.

“As far as transparency, the president-elect has made it clear that he has an unprecedented level of commitment to transparency in government, and to opening the doors of government and government decision-making,” stated Jackson. “If I am confirmed I would be proud to uphold the president elect’s commitment on my part. I would make sure the staff understands the committment to transparency as well.”

When asked to outline her views on climate change, Jackson replied, “We know that manmade emissions are contributing to climate change, and we know these conditions are worsening. Time is not our friend in this matter. CO2 lasts in our atmosphere for decades — sometimes longer.”

Jackson continued, “There is a need to act… Not only for our country but for the world, which has been waiting for our leadership on this issue.”

One of the most pressing issues facing Ms. Jackson was broached by Sen. Merkley of Oregon, who inquired about the EPA’s defeat of the California tailpipe emissions standards, which were adopted by Oregon and several other states.

In December of 2007, the EPA prevented California tailpipe emissions standards from being adopted by refusing to grant waivers under the Clean Air Act for California to regulate carbon emissions from vehicles.

Current EPA administrator Stephen Johnson overruled the opinion of the agency’s legal and technical staff and rejected California’s request, a move criticized by many as politically, not scientifically, motivated.

The California emissions standards had called for a cut tailpipe emissions by 30 percent by 2016.

In response to Sen. Merkley’s concerns, Jackson promised a review of the issue and stated she would “let science be the guide in making the determination, and let the rule of law.”

Ms. Jackson, latter answering a question by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) said she was committed to personally visiting uranium mining sites on the Navajo Reservation, but cautioned about what progress could be made. “The scope of the problem is such that progress will have to be incremental.”

Sen. Udall responded characterizing the issues of pollution on the Navajo reservation as issues of environmental justice, calling the situation a tragedy and disaster.

Jackson has faced criticism from some corners about her tenure as head of the EPA in New Jersey, but faced few questions about her time in that role.

She closed the hearing stating, “If I am confirmed, I will continue to do that which I have always prided myself on. I would never claim that we’re perfect, but I believe that New Jersey’s environment is better off because of my tenure there. I would like to be able to say that at the EPA, that the country is better off because of my tenure there.”

Source: GreenNewsToday.org