- Environmental News -
Court Rules Ships Can No Longer Dump Ballast Water -
A Federal Court ruled recently that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
must repeal its ballast water exemption under the Clean Water Act. Every year,
over 21 billion gallons of ballast water containing non-native or alien species
is brought into U.S. waters from international ports.
The decision comes in response to a suit brought by The Ocean Conservancy
and partners concerned about the economic and ecological consequences of invasive
species arriving in U.S. waters through the unregulated ballast water. The
groups first petitioned EPA to regulate ships' ballast water discharges over
six years ago. The Chinese mitten crab invaded San Francisco Bay in 1993.
Kyoto Treaty - Now adopted into law by all participating
countries EXCEPT THE US! Scientists state that we are fast approaching the
point of no return- 1 degree rise in temperature will put our planet over
the edge.
Invasive Species - Lionfish discovered in US waters…Red Lionfish,
native to Malaysia and Australia have been found in the coastal waters of Georgia
and North Carolina. A spearfisherman's catch finally confirmed the decade long
rumor of a species of Lionfish in these waters.
Zebra Mussels - Introduced into the US waters by foreign ships emptying
ballast water from their foreign filled ballast tanks into the Great Lakes.
These thumb nail sized bivalves are crowded our native species and are reaching
densities high enough to clog water intake pipes.
MTBE - (Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether) - Is an oxygenate, a by-product of the refining process used to replace lead in high-octane gasoline. It is now being added to nearly all gasoline. The gasoline industry knew there were problems as early as 1984. An Exxon internal memo acknowledged "we have ethical and environmental concerns about using MTBE.
Global Warming - April 17th 2002 New Heat Record! It was warmer in NY
than it was in the Bahamas…
NYC 93 degrees, Bahamas 81degrees…Water temp March 2004 in Bahamas was
73 degrees...
Ozone Layer Depletion - Australian animals going blind from loss of ozone
protection from the sun's harmful UV rays…
El Nino's Back - Warmer than normal water temperatures expected this
year…
Endangered habitats - "Wetlands under Siege" www.wetlands.org,
www.mangrove.com, www.earthisland.org,
Recommended Reading - "Crimes Against Nature" / Robert F.Kennedy,
Jr. Harper-Collins Publishing.
Noteworthy - Gone But Not Forgotten - Champion
Undersea Diver Commits Suicide