By Rebecca Bowe

Jan. 7 (GNT) — Industrial fishing in all US waters north of the Bering Strait is banned until further notice, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council ruled in a unanimous vote on Feb. 5. The precautionary measure aims to protect Arctic marine ecosystems, which are in a precarious position due to the destabilizing effects of global climate change.

Walrus are among the key species threatened by lose of sea ice. Commercial fishing in the Arctic could further effect walrus populations. Photo courtesy of US FWS.

Spanning some 200,000 square miles north of Alaska, the protected area encompasses US waters of the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea. Since commercial fishing has never existed in this region, which is frozen for much of the year, the ban signifies a rare move to preserve uncharted territory before industry moves in, rather than after the fact.

“The cumulative effect of commercial fishing and shipping, as well as open-ended oil and gas development, could be devastating to this highly fragile system if not done correctly,” said Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group. “Rarely are we given a chance to put an area’s value as an ecosystem ahead of its commercial potential. Too often we get it wrong by depleting resources first and then backpedaling to return a place to its former grandeur.”

Global climate change has caused the Arctic to warm twice as fast as the rest of the planet, resulting in an unprecedented 40 percent loss of summer sea-ice cover. To commercial fishing interests, the suddenly ice-free waters present a new economic opportunity, especially with northward migrations of fish populations suited for warmer waters. But opening the gates to commercial fishing couldn’t come at a worse time, scientists argue, as the effects of climate change are already crippling fragile Arctic ecosystems.

For marine mammals such as polar bears, walrus and ice seals, the shrinking platforms of sea ice translate to a loss of critical habitat. Scientists and policy makers fear that commercial fishing could put food pressure on these already troubled species. The disappearance of these key species could, in turn, disrupt the entire food chain, leaving more species vulnerable. According to a letter to the NPFMC drafted by a team of marine scientists, “Recent sea ice losses threaten to fundamentally transform marine food webs in the Arctic.”

Nor are marine creatures the only ones who would be affected by expansion of commercial fishing into the Arctic. Subsistence fishing is central to the economy and culture of indigenous communities living along Alaska’s northern coast, and commercial fishing in the region could devastate traditional fishing areas.

Conservation organizations, including Audubon Alaska, Oceana, the Ocean Conservancy and the Pew Environment Group applauded the Council’s move to protect the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

“Today’s decision signals a new day in the Arctic, where science comes first and where we think about the consequences of our actions before we take them,” said Janis Searles Jones, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy. “This proactive decision by the Council removes one source of additional stress, giving the Arctic, its peoples and animals a better chance to adapt to the changes.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to approve the Arctic commercial-fishing ban and issue final regulations to protect the Arctic later this year. However, because the ban was approved in part because of a lack of in-depth information about Arctic marine fish stocks and potential ecosystem effects, it could be lifted at some point in the future if new information is produced showing a viable way to conduct commercial fishing there.

Meanwhile, the 200,000 miles under U.S. control represents just a small portion of Arctic waters. So far, no other nations have taken such preventative steps to protect marine life from overexploitation in light of the debilitating effects of climate change.

Some species found in the Arctic, including the polar bear, bowhead whale and spectacled eider (a kind of sea bird) are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

According to a report issued for the United Nations-led World Summit on Sustainable Development, 75 percent of the major marine fish stocks are either depleted, overexploited or being fished at their biological limit.

GreenNewsToday.org

By Shawn Gaynor

Three glass frogs of the Nymphargus, Cochranella and Centrolene genera are among the 60 species of amphibians identified by scientists during a three-week expedition in Colombia. Photo by Marco Rada, courtesy of Conservation International

Feb. 3 (GNT) — A team of scientists exploring Columbia’s Darien region announced the discovery of ten new amphibian species today.

The expedition, a three-week long project in this remote region near the Panama boarder, was undertaken by Conservation International as part of its Rapid Assessment Program, and was aided by the local indigenous Emberá community of Eyakera.

The newly recorded species include three glass frogs of the Nymphargus, Cochranella and Centrolene genus; three poison dart frogs of the Dendrobatidae family (Colostethus, Ranitomeya and Anomaloglossus genera), one harlequin frog of the Atelopus genus, two species of rain frogs of the Pristimantis genera and one salamander of the Bolitoglossa genus.

Two species of rain frogs (Pristimantis genus) potentially new to science were discovered in an expedition in the hills of Tacarcuna, a mountainous area of the Darien in the border limit of Colombia with Panama. Photo Marco Rada, courtesy of Conservation International

Salamander (Bolitoglossa taylori) potentially new to science discovered in Colombia. The country is home to over 754 species of amphibians-one of the highest in the world. Photo by Marco Rada, courtesy of Conservation International

According to Conservation International, Columbia is one of the worlds most biologically diverse countries in the world, with one of every 10 species of animals and plants found there.

“This region is a true Noah’s Ark. The high number of new amphibian species found is a sign of hope, even with the serious threat of extinction that this animal group faces in many other regions of the country and the world,” said Jose Vicente Rodriguez-Mahecha, Scientific Director of Conservation International-Colombia.

In reaction to the new discoveries, Colombia’s Minister of Environment Juan Lozano said, “Without a doubt this discovery represents a great milestone for science and human health.”

Worldwide amphibians have suffered declining numbers, due to their sensitivity to pollution. With porous, absorbent skin, they are particularly sensitive to acid rain, heavy metals, and agricultural chemicals.

Too little is known about the new species to label them as endangered or threatened, however the Darien region is undergoing rapid changes as this relatively pristine area faces expanded logging, mining, and cattle ranching. Between ¼ and 1/3 of the area is threatened by deforestation.

Over the last five years, Columbia has been participating in a Debt-for-nature swap. In return for strengthening its protection of critical habitat, Columbia receives some relief from its debt to the US.

GreenNewToday.org

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. 22 (GNT) — While President Barrack Obama was whisked from ceremony to celebration on inauguration day, his cabinet had already gotten down to business, freezing last-minute Bush administration federal policy changes that have not yet made it into the Federal Register. Among those midnight rulings was the changed endangered species status for the gray wolf.

Federal protection of the grey wolf will continue, for now, under an Obama order. Photo courtesy of US FWS.

The freeze, issued in a memorandum by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, is a temporary measure that will allow the new administration time to review last minute Bush decrees, and move forward with or abandon them on a case-by-case basis.

“We are grateful the Obama administration has taken this important first step towards undoing the numerous midnight regulations advanced by the Bush administration,” said Noah Greenwald, biodiversity program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The CBD was one of over a dozen environmental groups that voiced strong criticism of the last-minute delisting of the grey wolf.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service had announced on Jan. 14 the removal of the gray wolf from federal endangered species protection in all Midwest and Northern Rocky Mountain areas excepting Wyoming.

Environmentalists contended that the wolf population had not reached a suitable size to ensure the survival of the population in many areas. They point out wolves in Idaho and Montana were set to be removed from federal protection even though those states house only 75 breeding pairs of wolves.

“Wolves should not be removed from protection until they are secure and recovered in a larger and more viable portion of their range,” said Michael Robinson of the CBD.

Gray wolves are gone from over 95 percent of their historic range. Gray wolves were extirpated in the western portion of the lower 48 states, and were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho 1995 and 1996.

It will now be up to incoming Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to review and approve or decline endangered species protection changes for the gray wolf.

GreenNewsToday.org

By Shawn Gaynor

Jan. 14 (GNT) — Seventeen members of Everglades Earth First! were arrested on charges including trespassing and resisting arrest during a Jan. 11 protest near Florida Power & Light’s Martin County power plant.

Earth First! activists protest Florida Power and Lights closure of the Barley Barber swamp. Greennewstoday.org

Following a weeklong protest demanding FP&L reopen the Barley Barber Swamp to public use and independent scientific study, six activists entered the closed swamp and chained themselves to its massive old-growth cypress trees.

Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested the six, as well as an additional 11 activists who were among those protesting from an adjacent property.

Everglades EF! expressed its concern that FP&L has not lived up to its obligation of preserving the health of the area’s old-growth cypress forests, by failing to maintain healthy water levels in the area. The environmental activists have also accused FP&L officials of breaking their promise to reopen the area to the public and scientists.

“I do not want to be arrested, but I will take the risk in order to raise
awareness about the slow death that is occurring in the Barley Barber Swamp,” said Stevie Lowe, one of the activists arrested in the closed swamp. “When FP&L took ownership of this landmark, they promised to preserve the old growth. They have not. They have expanded their power-plant facility, which has drained the swamp of its water and is causing it to die.”

In response, FP&L maintains that the claims regarding inadequate hydration of Barley Barber Swamp are completely false.

“FPL entered into an agreement in 1983 with the South Florida Water Management District under which we committed to maintain appropriate water levels in the Barley Barber Swamp,” said Jackie Anderson, a FPL spokeswoman contacted by Green News Today. “We have maintained hydration and report our monitoring results monthly to SFWMD as part of our fulfillment of the agreement.”

But some scientists, including Dr. Sydney Bacchus, a hydroecologist familiar with the area, have expressed concerns that the proximity of the area to the FPL plants massive cooling ponds, combined with poor water management, are destroying the rare old-growth forest.

The Martin County power plant. Photo courtesy of FPL.

“Monitoring water levels once a month is grossly inadequate, even by hydrologic standards and it provides absolutely no information about impacts to surrounding wetlands,” said Dr. Bacchus.

A statement by Everglades EF! noted that the activists launched the protest because “the Barley Barber Swamp is one of the few remaining old growth cypress swamps in the Southeast. Several of the bald cypress trees in Barley Barber are over a thousand years old. They are the oldest in Florida and the entire Southeast region.”

Dr. Bacchus agreed with the activists about the area’s significance.

“I believe that Barley Barber Swamp historically was one of the most significant forested wetland ecosystems in the northern Everglades,” said Dr. Bacchus. “I’m only aware of one other stand of old-growth cypress similar to this one. It’s in (Southwest) Florida and is being destroyed by surrounding mines.”

An old growth cypress tree in the Barley Barber swamp. Greennewstoday.org

Even FP&L characterized the area as “unique,” and “one of the finest remaining cypress swamps in Florida,” pointing out that it was their company that had voluntarily preserved the swamp more than 30 years ago. Up until 2001, FP&L allowed public access to the area and maintained a boardwalk through the swamp among its towering cypress trees.

The area was closed in September of 2001 as a precaution, due to its proximity to the Martin Country power plant — a massive 3,750 megawatt plant providing energy to more than half a million Florida residents.

Dr. Bacchus expressed skepticism over the closure. “I saw absolutely no support for FP&L’s claims that public access to the wetlands were prohibited for security reasons. If those claims were true, that would ensure that the public lands associated with its proposed new fossil fuel facility in the adjacent county also would be closed for security reasons.”

FP&L officials said last year that they are committed to reopening the area to the public, but have yet to announce a timetable for doing so.

In the meantime, the lonely boardwalk that once carried scientists and marveling nature lovers into this rare old-growth area remains closed. And little can be done to determine, let alone insure, the health of the area while the closure remains in place.

Source: GreenNewsToday.org