White House: Action needed now to slow climate change
Failure to act on climate change could cause an estimated 57,000 deaths a year in the United States from poor air quality by 2100, the Obama administration argued in a report released Monday that warns of dire effects of global warming. The report says inaction on climate change could cost billions of dollars a year in damage from rising sea levels, increased wildfires and drought, as well as higher costs for electricity to cool homes and businesses in hotter temperatures. The Environmental Protection Agency report argues that action now on climate could save billions in avoided costs for maintenance and repairs on roads and bridges made vulnerable by global warming and save the lives of an estimated 12,000 people in 49 U.S. cities who could die from extreme temperatures in 2100. The report comes as Republicans in Congress seek to undo the administration’s environmental policies, including an expected plan by the EPA to target coal-fired power plants, and days after Pope Francis issued a stern warning about global warming’s consequences, especially for the poor and underdeveloped nations. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last month was the hottest May around the globe in 136 years of global records. A global health commission organized by the prestigious British medical journal Lancet recommended on Monday that substituting cleaner energy worldwide for coal will reduce air pollution and give Earth a better chance at avoiding dangerous climate change. The panel said hundreds of thousands of lives each year are at stake and global warming “threatens to undermine the last half century of gains in development and global health.” The White House report is part of a weeklong effort to emphasize climate change to mark the two-year anniversary of a “climate action plan” announced by President Barack Obama. While the most severe effects of global warming would not be felt for decades, the Obama administration said decisions about climate change need to be made now. “Decisions are not going to wait 50 years,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters at a White House briefing. “They are today’s decisions.” McCarthy called the report “a wake-up call for some who may not be aware” of the potential damages of climate change. Obama, in an interview out Monday with comedian Marc Maron for his popular podcast, said he was acting on his own on power plants and other environmental regulations because the GOP-controlled Congress has blocked more comprehensive efforts. “We’ll get that stuff done,” Obama said, adding that “it would be a lot better, it would be a lot more helpful, if we had some cooperation from Congress, and if I didn’t have the chairman of the energy and environment committee in the Senate holding up a snowball as if that was proof that climate change wasn’t happening, that would be useful.” Obama’s comments referred to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who tossed a snowball in the Senate chamber in February to demonstrate his claim that global warming is a hoax. The EPA report says actions to slow climate change could save about $3.1 billion in expected costs from sea-level rise and storm surge in 2100, while the power sector could save as much as $34 billion by 2050 in avoided costs for additional electricity for air conditioning and other uses. An estimated $3 billion in avoided damages from poor water quality could be saved by 2100, the report said. Actions begun in the next few years could reduce droughts by at least 40 percent by 2100 and save an estimated 6 million to 8 million acres from being burned by wildfires, the report said. It said meaningful actions also could prevent the loss of about one-third of U.S. supplies of oysters, scallops and clams by 2100, as well as 35 percent of Hawaiian coral reefs. Failure to act could lead to summers in Illinois to “feel like Louisiana” today, McCarthy said, while South Dakota summers may be as hot as those in Arkansas. The Republican-controlled House is expected to vote this week on a bill to scale back the plan on coal-fired power plants, the centerpiece of Obama’s second-term push to confront climate change. The bill would allow states to opt out of the plan if the governor determines it would cause significant rate hikes for electricity or harm reliability of service in the state. The bill also would delay the rule until all court challenges are completed. The House also is expected to take up a separate spending bill that would bar the EPA from enforcing the power plant rules, cut the agency’s budget and attack other prominent EPA regulations on air and water pollution. Obama has managed to thwart GOP efforts in the past, but Republicans are renewing their efforts now that they control the Senate as well as the House. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Bill would recognize 9-mile offshore limit for 3 Gulf states
Since July 2013, Mississippi has claimed its state waters extend nine miles south into the Gulf of Mexico, but the federal government refuses to recognize the declaration. Mississippi’s senior U.S. senator is trying to change the government’s mind. The feds have been standing by a 1960 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined the offshore boundary for Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama was three miles out. The federal government also has not recognized Louisiana’s 2011 declaration of a nine-mile limit. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee, headed by Mississippi Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, wrote the nine-mile limit for all three states in a funding bill for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other federal agencies. At stake is the Gulf states’ control of lucrative fishing rights and revenue from oil and gas production in near-offshore waters. “This would give these states greater influence in regulating Gulf state fisheries. Currently, only Texas and Florida enjoy nine-mile limits, and this provision would ensure parity among all Gulf Coast states,” Cochran said in a written statement. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration. “I am all for giving the state of Mississippi authority to oversee more of its own coast and allowing those with firsthand knowledge of the region’s needs, namely Mississippians, to have more influence its future,” Cochran said. The issue dates back to 1953, when Congress passed the Submerged Lands Act. The act established a coastal boundary for each state at three miles from the shore. The federal government retained control of water bottoms farther out. The act provided that Congress could vote to extend the boundaries up to 10 miles offshore if a state could prove the existence of a law or constitutional provision that established a boundary beyond three miles before that state joined the Union. In a 1960 lawsuit brought by the federal government, the five Gulf states argued that each qualified for an exception. The U.S. Supreme Court decided Texas and Florida had produced historical documents supporting a 10-mile boundary but it ruled Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana had not. After 30 more years of litigation, the government, the Supreme Court and the states in 1992 set a legal definition of where each of the three states’ coastline began — and from there the three-mile limit would be determined. The decree did not extend the three-mile limit. Louisiana wildlife officials said the state Legislature gave authority to extend waters in 2011, but only after it was recognized by Congress or approved in litigation. The Mississippi law of 2013 mimics the Louisiana law, but without the reference to Congress. Cochran said the bill recommends funding for an independent assessment of reef fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico, which will allow for an organization other than NOAA to conduct this research. He said NOAA is directed to count fish on artificial reefs and offshore energy infrastructure. The agency would also be required to incorporate this new, more accurate count into its stock assessments, which could potentially increase the allowable catch of red snapper for private anglers. “These provisions represent a straightforward effort to try to get past some of the contentious policies that have affected fishing in the Gulf,” Cochran said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Trustees, BP announce $134m in proposed early restoration projects on BP oil spill anniversary
On Monday, the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and released of 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, federal and state Trustees, along with BP officials, announced 10 projects poised to receive funding for early restoration efforts along the Gulf of Mexico. Totaling $134 million, the proposed projects include enhancing bird and turtle nesting and habitats, improving near-shore and reef habitats, increasing recreational use of federal lands, and restoring fish in the Gulf. Four of the projects in this fourth round of funding for the Early Restoration Plan are located in Alabama: Osprey restoration project in Mobile and Baldwin counties Aimed at improving osprey nesting success, the project would establish five osprey nesting platforms. Located and designed to meet regulatory requirements and maximize project success, each platform would also include a predator guard. Five general areas have been identified for the location of these platforms: the vicinities of Portersville Bay, Dauphin Island, Fort Morgan, the Little Lagoon area in Gulf Shores and in Gulf State Park. The estimated cost for this project is $45,000. Point aux Pins “living shoreline” in Mobile County This project would reduce shoreline erosion, promote colonization of marsh vegetation, and create habitat for oysters, shrimp, crabs, fish, and other marine animals in coastal Alabama. Structures designed to reduce wave energy would be placed parallel to the shore near Bayou la Batre, at Point aux Pins, adjacent to an existing living shoreline project. The estimated cost for this project is $2,300,000. Shell Belt and Coden Belt roads “living shoreline” in Mobile County Similar to the Point aux Pins Living Shoreline project, this project would also promote colonization of marsh vegetation and create habitat for oysters, shrimp, crabs, fish, and other marine animals in coastal Alabama by placing structures designed to reduce wave energy parallel to shore near Shell Belt and Coden Belt roads in south Mobile County. The estimated cost for this project is $8,050,000. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Trail enhancement in Baldwin County Designed to address the lost recreational usage of Jeff Friend Trail at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, the project would rebuild a rapidly aging boardwalk and gravel trail and improve access from the parking area. The estimated cost for this project is $545,110. Monday’s plan is only a draft for Phase IV Early Restoration Plan, which will be released later in order to give the public the opportunity to review and comment at public meetings. As reported by AL.com “if all 10 are accepted, they will be added to the 54 projects that have already been approved and funded with the initial $1 billion allocated by BP.” According to NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration, “Early restoration allows the Trustees to jump-start restoration using up to $1 billion BP has agreed to make available for projects jointly agreed to by BP and the Trustees. In return, BP’s liability is reduced.” The full list of proposed projects and more information about the restoration program can be found here.
BP oil spill 5 years later
Here’s a look at some of the local and national news coverage on the five year anniversary of the BP oil spill: Alabama’s Attorney General, Luther Strange penned an op-ed 5 years after the Gulf oil spill, Alabama nearer to closure published at AL.Com. He wrote, “Since I first took office as Attorney General in January 2011, one of my highest priorities has been to ensure that Alabama is fairly compensated for the damages it sustained from a disaster so catastrophic that it captured the world’s attention. I am pleased to report that we are making steady progress in our pursuit of restitution.” Looking back at the spill Fox10 interviewed several local residents and the reactions were mixed. They reported that local resident April Linheart “is glad her family can enjoy the water. She doesn’t think the gulf coast is fully restored, but she’s hopeful for the future.” Fox’s Renee Dials quoted Linheart saying, “It’s hard to get oil out of the water. They’re trying they’re best. It’s not going to get out immediately, it’s going to take time.” NPR published a detailed story Monday morning. The piece 5 years after BP oil spill, effects linger and recovery is slow cited Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft. He discussed the clean and crowded beaches you’d see today saying, “Five years ago you’d see oil all over our beach and you’d see no people here. Our beaches were ruined.” Looking at the big picture he went on to say, “Economically we’re doing really well and the environment seems to be short-term looking well too,” he said. “But what we don’t know is the long-term environmental consequences of this. It just hasn’t been long enough to know.” In New Orleans, The Times-Picayune spoke with Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist who ran the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the spill. In its report, On BP oil spill anniversary, ex-NOAA director urges major changes in federal spill contingency plan, Lubchenco details steps to do before there’s another crisis. The article stresses that during the BP spill “federal responders were forced to adapt on the run. But now its time to adjust the plan to take advantage of the lessons learned during the 2010 disaster.”
