Biden administration grants $75 million to relocate three Native tribes away from rising oceans12/2/2022
 The Department of the Interior under the Biden administration is providing three Native American tribes $75 million to relocate from coastal areas at risk of destruction, a decision that comes after tribes across the country competed for the first federal grants designed to relocate communities facing climate change threats.
 The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is pleased to announce the fifth issue of our bi-annual, marine-focused newsletter titled “Submarine Cable Protection and the Environment.” The publication—written by ICPC’s Marine Environmental Advisor, Dr Mike Clare—is a new and timely reference for all seabed users, the scientific community and general public who share the same vital goal as the ICPC—safeguarding submarine telecommunications and power cables worldwide.
 Tens of thousands of dead wild salmon scattered
long a creek bed are the latest casualty of a drought that has gripped the province of British Columbia for more than a month and left communities bracing for more devastation. Salish Sea Biological Opinion Provides Path for Nearshore Projects while Safeguarding Species7/28/2022
 NOAA Fisheries
Pending shoreline projects in the Salish Sea can now proceed under a new regulatory tool, a programmatic consultation. The tool provides for efficient Endangered Species Act reviews in nearshore habitat of the Salish Sea while also protecting some of the most important but imperiled habitat for threatened salmon and steelhead.  Continuing the momentum to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Department of the Interior today announced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will conduct an environmental review of the first proposed wind energy project offshore Maryland.
This week, the Department will publish a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by US Wind, LLC (US Wind). This is the 10th offshore wind energy COP review initiated under the Biden-Harris administration.  NPR
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations that require rigorous environmental review of major infrastructure projects such as highways, pipelines and oil wells — including likely impacts on climate change and nearby communities. The longstanding reviews were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track projects and create jobs. A rule finalized Tuesday will restore key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock environmental law designed to ensure community safeguards during reviews for a wide range of federal proposals, including roads, bridges and energy projects authorized in the $1 trillion infrastructure law Biden signed last fall, the White House said. The White House Council on Environmental Quality said the new rule, which takes effect in late May, should resolve challenges created by the Trump-era policy and restore public confidence during environmental reviews.  Wall Street Journal
Technology to harvest energy from waves and tides has been proven to work, but costs need to come down. Oceans contain energy that is both renewable and predictable—an appealing combination given the challenges posed by fluctuating wind and solar power. But the technologies for harvesting marine energy will need a boost if they are to go mainstream.  NPR
A climate extravaganza got underway in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday. President Biden showed up. So have other world leaders and a small city's worth of diplomats, business executives and activists. It's billed as a potential turning point in the struggle to avert the worst effects of climate change, and it has a curious name: COP26. Is it worth the hype? What might it accomplish? Here's what you need to know. Q. What's a COP? These climate meetings began in 1992, when countries signed a treaty promising to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and prevent dangerous changes to the climate. Almost every year since then, the parties to this agreement have met to talk about what still needs to be done. It's called a Conference of Parties, or COP. This is the 26th such meeting. So, COP26.  NOAA Fisheries
Scientists have collected genetic material from the beluga whale that was first sighted in Puget Sound in early October. It indicates that the whale is likely from a large population of beluga whales in the Beaufort Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska. The whale appears to have traveled thousands of miles south around Alaska through the Bering Sea and south to Puget Sound. It was last sighted on October 20 near Tacoma. The whale does not appear to be from the small and endangered Cook Inlet beluga population near Anchorage, Alaska. The genetic analysis involved sequencing DNA extracted from a water sample collected near the beluga whale in Puget Sound earlier this month. This material is known as environmental DNA, or eDNA, because it comes from skin, fecal, or other cellular debris found in the environment near the animal.  With snow-capped mountains, shimmering lakes and vast swathes of forest, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, does not lack for natural beauty.
In waters off its coastline, one project is attempting to harness nature’s power by testing and analyzing wave energy converters, a technology which could have an important role to play in a transition to renewables. Known as PacWave, the project is based around two locations: PacWave North, “a test-site for small-scale, prototype, and maritime market technologies,” and PacWave South, which is under development and has received grants from the Department of Energy and the State of Oregon, among others. |
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