Join the National Twitter Day of Action to #makeBPpay

Greetings!

Our national #makeBPpay Twitter Day of Action is finally here! All day long, we’re asking people to send tweets to @BP_America demanding they pay the maximum fines for which they are liable for the 2010 gulf oil spill.

Despite BP’s advertising campaigns to the contrary, the gulf is still suffering from the spill. Last week, it was announced that 565,000 pounds of oil had washed ashore during Hurricane Isaac. And earlier this month, a three-mile long sheen of oil appeared in the gulf near the Macondo well. And some reports are suggesting that BP is negotiating a settlement offer that is significantly less than half of what they would face at trial. We can’t let that happen.

Join us in sending a strong message to BP that it’s time they pay the maximum fines for the oil spill. Simply visit our blog post and click on one of the sample tweets to get started. There are many messages to choose from so please feel free to send out multiple tweets throughout the day. And you can follow the conversation all day long by following the hashtag #makeBPpay on Twitter. Thanks for your support – now let’s #makeBPpay!

Robyn Fischer
Restoration and Water Resources Associate
National Wildlife Federation

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It’s Not Too Late for Coral Reefs, Experts Say

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2012) — Coral reefs — ecosystems of incredible environmental and economic value — are showing evidence of significant degradation, but do not have to be doomed. We can make a difference.

From Left to Right: back row – Richard E. Dodge, Ph.D.; dean of Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center and executive director of NSU’s National Coral Reef Institute; Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore; and NSU President George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.. Front row – NSU Oceanographic Center graduate students demonstrate how NSU’s onshore coral reef nurseries work (Credit: Nova Southeastern University)

Once plentiful, coral reefs worldwide and locally have been ravaged by a number of stresses, including global threats like rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification, and local threats like pollution, overfishing and coastal development. An estimated 25-30 percent of the world’s coral reefs are already severely degraded or lost, and another very high percentage are in danger of greater impact or worse. Some even predict reefs could be essentially wiped out within a human generation unless action is taken.

The coral reef issue is not only an environmental problem, but an economic one. The United Nations estimates globally, coral reefs generate over $172 billion per year from the services they provide including tourism, recreation and fisheries. In South Florida alone, where 84 percent of the nation’s reefs are located, reef ecosystems have been shown to generate over $6 billion in annual economic contributions and more than 71,000 jobs.

In July, hundreds of scientists joined in a consensus statement written at the recently held 12th International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns Australia, stating: “Across the globe, these problems cause a loss of reef resources of enormous economic and cultural value. A concerted effort to preserve reefs for the future demands action at global levels, but also will benefit hugely from continued local protection.”

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Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals since 1985, new study says

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985, according to a new study published Monday. The loss has been spurred by a combination of factors including hurricanes, coral-eating starfish and coral bleaching.The paper, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the most comprehensive survey of a reef system over such a long period. The researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that reef cover fell from 28 percent to 13.8 percent over the past 27 years, with two-thirds of the decline occurring since 1998.

The sobering findings highlighted how even the world’s most protected marine areas are under assault from natural forces and causes linked to the human activity that is resulting in climate change. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, featuring nearly 3,000 individual reefs within 133,205 square miles. A third of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is off-limits to fishing and collecting.

“We are basically losing an ecosystem that is so iconic for Australia and the rest of the world,” said institute scientist Katharina E. Fabricius, one of the paper’s authors.

Storm damage accounted for 48 percent of the decline, scientists said, while crown-of-horns starfish contributed 42 percent. Coral bleaching, caused by warmer water, accounted for 10 percent of coral loss. Read more

 

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Gateway pipeline faces endangered species legal action

Several environmental groups are heading to federal court in an attempt to use the Species At Risk Act to block the construction of the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Wilderness Committee policy director Gwen Barlee says the planned pipeline and shipping route would jeopardize Pacific humpback whales, Nechako white sturgeon, marbled murrelets and southern mountain caribou.

“So we’re just asking the federal government to do the right thing and fully implement the species at risk legislation that is supposed to protect these species,” said Barlee.

The legal action is being handled by EcoJustice on behalf of the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club B.C., Wilderness Committee and Wildsight.  Read more

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Crown of Thorns is a symptom of reef decline: let’s address the cause

Terry Hughes, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University. 3 October 2012, http://theconversation.edu.au/

A recent report on coral loss from the Great Barrier Reef has pointed the finger at cyclones and Crown of Thorns starfish. The real culprit is human activity, and until we reduce port activity and pollution, coral will be unable to bounce back.

Three recent studies, published in 2004, 2007 and this week, have shown that at least 50% of the corals on the Great Barrier Reef have disappeared in recent decades.

Last year, another report claimed the declines were more modest and the result of a natural cycle. But the latest report, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, confirms earlier studies – the Great Barrier Reef is in trouble.

Corals are the backbone of the reef, providing habitat for many other species. Measuring coral cover on a reef is the simplest way to monitor its condition. But other metrics – like counts of sharks, dugongs and turtles – also show alarming downward trajectories. The decline in coral cover highlights UNESCO’s concerns about the dwindling Universal Heritage Values of the Barrier Reef.     Read more

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Drilling Report, December 9

The drilling report was produced with data from the Texas Railroad Commission, from November 25 to December 1. The following counties were searched: Anderson, Angelina, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Kaufman, Leon, Limestone, Marion, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Panola, Rains, Robertson, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood. For information contact Business Editor Casey Murphy at cmurphy@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6289.

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Drilling Report, December 2

The drilling report was produced with data from the Texas Railroad Commission, from November 18 to 24. The following counties were searched: Anderson, Angelina, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Kaufman, Leon, Limestone, Marion, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Panola, Rains, Robertson, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood. For information contact Business Editor Casey Murphy at cmurphy@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6289.

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