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Written by asap
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Wednesday, 10 May 2006 |
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The American frontier has been conquered. Sure, there are a few wild pockets, but there isn’t much left unexplored in our vast land.
The oceans are another story.
Since the 1980s, the United States has been probing the seas relentlessly, hunting for oil, mining and fishing.
As a result, Marine scientists attached to an independent commission say, the oceans are in crisis: Coral reefs are dying off and populations are overfished and diminishing. They say major changes are needed to protect and restore the world’s largest natural resource.
David Helvarg agrees. The journalist-turned-advocate is leading a “seaweed rebellion,” gathering local and regional ocean conservation groups to highlight the crisis.
“People still think the environment ends at the shore’s edge,” Helvarg said. “Most of the Earth is covered in water, but since we’re mostly looking at it from the shores, we don’t think about it in the same way we think about forests and mountains.”
Helvarg has written two books on the subject. “Blue Frontier,” a comprehensive look at mining America’s oceans, and “50 Ways to Save the Ocean.” He hopes Congress will eventually pass an ocean conservation act, much like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. And he’s hoping to inspire people to learn more about what he calls “America’s last frontier.”
The ocean is in his blood: Helvarg grew up on the Long Island Sound, poking around the cattails and beaches. For much of his adulthood, he lived a double life in San Diego — half surfer dude and half war reporter, covering conflict, illness and politics. After the death of his girlfriend and a chance meeting with Ralph Nader, he re-evaluated.
OCEAN STUDY
The independent Pew Oceans Commission released the results of a wide-ranging study in 2003, indicating the oceans and marine animals face serious environmental threats. The 18-member commission — including top marine experts, commercial fishermen and elected officials — was the first to complete a review of U.S. ocean policy in three decades.
The report suggested using marine reserves, where no living organisms or mineral extractionare allowed, to help areas rebuild their ecosystems, including fish populations.
In 1969, the Stratton Commission defined American waters as immense, inexhaustible and impervious to human impact, though it worried about foreign fishing fleets operating close to U.S. coasts. Its recommendations to Congress led to the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — NOAA — and coastal zone management and fishery conservation laws.
SWIMMING IN TROUBLE
In 2004, President Bush created a White House panel to oversee the nation’s ocean policies, with plans to improve research, manage fisheries better and regulate pollution.
But in February, the Pew commission and a presidential panel jointly gave Congress, the Bush administration and governors a “D+” for effort for not moving quickly enough to address hundreds of its ocean recommendations.
The presidential panel, chaired by retired Navy admiral and former Energy Secretary James Watkins, issued the first federal review of ocean policy in 35 years. Among its 212 recommendations: creating a new trust fund, boosting research, improving fisheries management and consolidating federal oversight. | Only registered users can write comments.
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