Environmental crises like the Gulf oil spill make scientists and citizens more aware of the importance of clean and flourishing marine ecosystems. The Florida Institute of Technology is among those institutions taking the lead in a major step toward public understanding of the ocean by joining the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) Network. Based at Indian River State College (IRSC) in Fort Pierce, the center is a collaboration of IRSC, Florida Tech, the Smithsonian Marine Station and the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA
New submarine volcanoes, a large hydrothermal field with a thriving exotic animal ecosystem and areas rich with deep-sea ocean animals are among the discoveries reported today by U.S. and Indonesian scientists who explored the largely unknown deep Sulawesi Sea last summer off the coast of Indonesia.
Two New England firms are the subject of enforcement actions by both the U.S. EPA and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for improper disposal of dredged sediments in ocean waters during recent dredging projects in Massachusetts Bay harbor communities.
The grocery chain took this important step in sustainability on September 2nd of this year after several meetings with Iemanya staff to discuss transitioning Henry’s to sustainable seafood and receiving petitions by Iemanya Oceanica supporters to discontinue selling shark meat. In a formal letter to Iemanya, Doug Veranai, the Meat and Seafood Director for Henry’s stated, “We are currently working to find alternative resources so we can start to reduce and eliminate any additional unsustainable seafood from our counters.”
Deepwater Wind today announced its plans to construct the Deepwater Wind Energy Center (DWEC), the first of the “second generation” of offshore wind farms in the United States.
“DWEC will be the first regional offshore wind energy center in the United States, with a wind farm and a transmission system serving multiple markets. The industry is maturing and becoming a major force in reshaping our national energy future for the better, and DWEC will lead this effort.”
The U.S. Senate should heed the recommendation by the staff of the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling that “Congress should direct 80 percent of civil and criminal Clean Water Act penalties” to Gulf Coast restoration, according to eight non-profit groups. While the full commission report is expected in January, the groups urged the Senate to act on this staff recommendation before the lame duck congressional session ends later this month.
In a world first, a new ‘state of the art’ climate change experimental facility has been completed at the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Heron Island Research Station.
Six artists with a shared passion for protecting the earth and ocean– Raymond Pettibon, Pam Longobardi, Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang, Dianna Cohen and Lila Roo – have generously donated five works, with proceeds to benefit the work of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
UK tidal energy company, Marine Current Turbines, is targeting 2013 to install Scotland’s first tidal energy farm. The company, which designed and deployed the world’s first commercial scale offshore tidal stream energy system in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough, is investigating the feasibility of a tidal farm in Kyle Rhea, a strait of water between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland.
We appreciate the leadership from President Obama on the importance of looking carefully at the nation’s energy program to balance exploration with environmental concerns. We are, however, concerned about the pressure this decision puts on the U.S. Arctic Ocean. If we learned anything from the Gulf, it’s that oil spill response is challenging—even in temperate waters.
Wave energy developer Aquamarine Power today announced its next-generation Oyster wave energy device is to be built in Scotland by leading fabrication contractor Burntisland Fabrications Ltd (“BiFab”). The news follows last week’s announcement of £11 million new investment in Aquamarine Power by multi-national power company ABB and existing shareholders including SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy).
REpower Systems AG (WKN 617703) and the Belgian offshore project development company C-Power have signed a contract agreeing the delivery of 48 wind energy turbines of the REpower 6M type. Existing REpower clients RWE Innogy and EDF EN both have a share in C-Power as strategic partners.
“We are trying to help citizens of our community who provided work for BP in their oil clean-up operations. They were given a job, required to sign a contract, and as the suit alleges, were not paid in full for their services.”
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas met in Paris from November 17th – 27th. Delegates from 48 Contracting Parties worked through ten days of difficult and important negotiations to try to strengthen the conservation of Atlantic bluefin tuna and other species under the organization’s responsibility
“The United States strongly opposes Iceland’s defiance of the commercial whaling ban. We urge Iceland to cease international trade of whale meat and work with the international community to safeguard whale species,” said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
The new facility, to be developed by the maritime firm Fendercare Marine Solutions, will transform Orkney’s (Scotland) former naval base into a base for offshore renewable energy services.
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