CommonFutureatl

CommonFutureatl

Category: Environment

Wind turbine plans advance as GAO announces impact study

By David Pendered ST. ANDREWS, Fl., Aug. 6 — In the Gulf of Mexico, the Biden administration is fast-tracking offshore wind lease sales even as a federal agency has announced its upcoming study of potential harm offshore wind turbines could cause to wildlife, people and military training missions along the Northeast coast. The federal Bureau […]

UN to adopt first treaty to protect biodiversity in high seas

By David Pendered June 4 – The United Nations remains on track to formally adopt this month an historic treaty to protect oceans around the world. The treaty represents the UN’s first-ever attempt to establish an international agreement to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas, the term for the unregulated sections of the world’s oceans […]

Historic American shad: Dams hamper rebound

By David Pendered BEAUFORT, N.C. – The downward spiral of the once-abundant American shad can be traced to an era of aggressive fishing techniques that arose after War of 1812, according to one of the latest programs at the North Carolina Maritime Museum. By the 1840s, competition for shad was so intense that fisher folks […]

EPA questions NY offshore wind farm

By David Pendered The EPA has cited a shortage of details in a draft federal statement regarding a planned wind farm off the New York coast as debate emerges over the use of the ocean to address climate change. Meantime, four agencies of the state of New York have issued their responses to the federal […]

Good for tortoises at Okefenokee, good for development

By David Pendered Jan. 25 – The end of potential federal protection for the gopher tortoise did not escape the attention of the company that wants to extract valuable minerals from land near the Okefenokee Swamp. Until Oct, 11, 2022 the gopher tortoise had been a candidate for listing as a federally protected endangered species. […]

Whale deaths spur call to halt offshore wind farms

By David Pendered Jan. 14 – The deaths of six whales in the past month that washed ashore in the New York/New Jersey area have prompted some conservationists to call on the Biden administration to halt development of offshore wind farms in the region. New Jersey-based Clean Ocean Action wrote in a Jan. 9 letter […]

Wind farms, sea life – Feds seek to strike balance

By David Pendered (Note to readers: The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 1: Soaring Costs Threaten U.S. Offshore-wind buildout.) Dec. 30 – Wind farms to be built in U.S. coastal waters have prompted a coordinated federal examination of how to protect North American right whales and other sea life from the energy systems. On Dec. […]

New shark fin penalty could hit $100,000 per fin

By David Pendered Dec. 16 – Sharks are soon to be granted major protection by the annual defense bill awaiting President Biden’s signature. The legislation makes shark fins illegal to buy, sell, transport or possess in the United States. The federal civil penalty for each violation is up to $100,000. The boat used to cut […]

Distracted ship pilots threaten right whales, too

By David Pendered Dec. 11 –A ship’s pilot distracted by his cell phone grounded a container ship on a sandbar in the Chesapeake Bay. The incident shows how human error adds to the vulnerability of North American right whales in busy shipping areas such as Savannah. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Findings of Concern released Dec. 6 […]