The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

From GRACE:

Take Action!
Historic Opportunity to Protect Our Oceans

Our oceans are in trouble. Fisheries are collapsing, runoff is polluting coastal waters and coral reefs are dying. But we can help reverse this decline. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, a panel of oceans experts, will soon issue recommendations on new policies to help heal our oceans. Your governor will have an opportunity to comment on this draft report before a final version is officially released to the President and Congress.

Go to Environmental Defense to send a letter to your Governor, asking for the strongest possible protections in the Ocean Commission's final report.

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/ocean_commission1?rk=ddzAes71_Q4HW

More Information:

State of Our Oceans: Our oceans were once thought to be an inexhaustible resource. But habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing and poorly managed fish farms have put our oceans and coastal areas at risk.

The Tragic Facts:

- Over the last fifty years, some 90% of swordfish, marlin and sharks have been fished out by large-scale commercial fishing, according to a recent analysis published in the journal Nature.
- Much of the Grand Banks off eastern North America, once considered the world's most productive fishing area, has been closed because of dwindling fish populations.
- On the West Coast, plummeting Pacific rockfish populations have forced fishery closures to staunch the steep declines.
- The recent explosion in fish farming threatens our coastal waters with fish waste, antibiotic byproducts and other pollutants.
- And in the Gulf of Mexico, fertilizer and pesticide runoff from farms have created a veritable Dead Zone, where few life forms survive. But with the right tools, we can reverse this decline and heal our oceans.

U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy: In 2000, Congress passed the Oceans Policy Act, which established the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. This esteemed panel of scientists and oceans experts is charged with studying the decline of the world's oceans and issuing recommendations to the President and Congress on a coordinated and comprehensive new policy to help heal our oceans.

Governors Can Strengthen This Report: Governors will have a chance to comment on the Ocean Commission's recommendations before the report is finalized. This gives us a great opportunity to influence the final report and ensure that it calls for the strongest protections and programs.

Strong Protections to Save Our Oceans: With our oceans in such dire straits, only the most aggressive protections and policies can bring them back to health. Environmental Defense has recommended that the Commission report call for strong policies that will:

- Protect fragile ocean habitats through the use of protected areas and other tools;
- Transform failing fisheries into sustainable ones to guarantee safe and abundant seafood;
- Reduce dead zones by curbing polluted runoff that creates lack of oxygen and kills marine life;
- Enforce conservation laws to protect ocean wildlife and essential ecosystems;
- Protect our shores from oil by maintaining a moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling;
- Explore ocean ecosystems by doubling federal investment in ocean science, exploration and education over the next 5 years;
- Reform ocean management by coordinating the hodgepodge of laws and agencies responsible for ocean protection; and
- Enact adequate safeguards on aquaculture sites to protect marine ecosystems.

TAKE ACTION: As your governor reviews the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's draft report, we have an important opportunity to influence new ocean policies. Send a message urging your Governor to review the draft carefully, and to recommend that the final report to the President and Congress calls for strong, proactive measures to protect our oceans.

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/ocean_commission1?rk=ddzAes71_Q4HW


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For more Factory Farming action alerts, go to: http://www.gracepublicfund.org/farming/