HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0352.001 2010-2012U.N. reports growing number of ocean `dead zones'
By JOHN HEILPRIN Virginia's College of William crt• ;Inure, Iha1 Isv1n1 fain rnrndl
Assocmtetl Press and Mary, said they round new can usually escape
dead
\VM\ IIINGT()N Sei
rousts hart 101111,1 2011 • deal
/ones' in the world's ocean,
— place, when pollution
Ihrcaient lisp Mlirr marine lilt•
and the people who depend on
them
The United Nato/ it report
— TLund:n' showed a 1.f percen
lump 01 the number of such
/011t, Irmo nisi Iwo rear, ago.
Pollurion.led algae, which
deprive, iiitier Irvin' marine
Ile ul OX YCen, is the cause Cr!
1110,10f Ihc wuald\ dead tunes
0101 Inver fens ul Ihnus:mds
HI square miles ul waterways.
Snrnus1s chiefly blame krill -
I/cl and Mhe, farm riotous
sewage and fossil fuel hum-
zones at Mr Archipelago Ihr Ming, Mai :to' IeU
Sea in f i rl•naf l'ottit Lagoon hehind ale Me 1,111, dr•n i su
m CArana • Pearl 121yrr eslMary 111 \' t.111 1 st211'1,.... slut said
and C,hui 1tn00 liner m Chi When tml tlnsicier Ole si ze
mr and M rsey I?iver estuary td rut lhesr ;treat, ti's
in Britain. tenon iris' what , cuiuid(.n•d
Usher new /tines round the csx•wal hahillt lin fishes
were at the Elelsls flay and and criilacrans.'.
— AegeanSea . In Greece'. J'araca ___ol mr—u-N: sclrnh he hod.
Bay in Pero, Muniter' 12 rvrr
n I'unug :d , Mnnlevldrn Ha)
m lJnigu;p', and 111111e w'esiern
Indian Ocean.
The Untied Nations marine
e.xperls .said the number and
slue nl ixvgen -teprl ved tunes
has grown each decade tome
the 1970,
NM all Ihr deal /one, per
list yrlr..round. t010e 10 111111
srasunal lv. dtprndi rig 1111
win'', ihai bring ninnrnl -rich
water In the surface '
"II scent like a big pump in
trvu years,' said N, rut' 101011-
:11S, caccinive dirccut ni Ihc
1 iruhi;mn Univllsnle, 'urine
( rr1t11r1111111, ,l'1111 ,A0 1101 0:01
nl Ihc ll N le,carch She said
l important factor has been
the Imp, increase In pollution
I root Iasi - developing Inrtn-
Iflt't
12abalms. who 11;1, s otIted
the Gull ul hletieu's massive
Ilrad runt' 111.1 Is now rile svt
ill New Jersey, said marine
"I hnsr (nncun an excess of
nwnrnts. parlilulari■ phus-
pbuonus and ntiny•r n, Ihai
cull expo utile 10 0000 of 1111)
11111111, kI10,111 As 1111)11001:111k-
11111 AVat 11 rile) Ihc. Ihev sink
In P11' h0I10111 0,1 lyre Illt•\ are
t•a1r'o Ins- /cart' /ern 111:11 use up
Ihr usyprn it, the \valet.
. "Iry our levri, nl nsyl'eu
ro li,• wan'I make a dlliieull
Inl lisp lrvstelt and 00110
111.111111 Ire :lout, lu survive a,
\)•11 11, unporlun WO/0M, such
grass beds" U.N viii.
( a tats ,:rid. - flies,. wrens are last
het rni l c mujul 'lures' lit 11,11
.lucks and Ilan lo the people
,chi depend I pan fisheries por
I■l,d .1111 IIr11 bon 1
II> :11111 Ihc woi ld , livers
will pump I -I perxem more
Illropen inn ,e , ',
.1110 1 1111,
01: 111:11 1011110
111 111C 1110d-
1911115 ucc'ura i}; nr veil Ii N.
research eel coal ail nneil
111 Iteti
I■esear cher, , led by Rub -
e•rl Ilia,., a marine scierrirsl at
Hastings said he called
the oversight hearing be-
cause President Barack
Obama acted without con-
gressional approval when
he created a task force to
come up with new policies
to manage the oceans and
the nation's coastlines.
Most alarming, Hastings
said, is "the mandatory
ocean zoning ordered to be
imposed."
Disguised with the label
of. eaastahmarinespatiat .r.' -•.
planning,ocean•zoning-
could place huge sections -°`
oftthe ocean off ii itsito,ac
tivit es not zoned as .govern-
merit approved"Blastings`
said.
Markey accused oppo-
nents of using "scare tat'
tics" by suggestingtheplan
would lead-to fewer jobs. He
saidtthe word" "plan" is-nota
dirty word and that making
plans on howto best use
ocean space wouldpromote
both commerce and comity,,
in some cases even allowing
development to move more
quiclilybecause'rules
would already be in place.
Jim Lanard, president of
the Offshore Wind Develop -'
ment Coalition, said it only
makes sense.tohave better
planning, addingthat it's im-
portant for everyone to
know where development
cannot take place in the
oceans,,
it's getting busier, "he
inns fete :i,cd'llmrstlav, lit Ave,
r.
et' raised hop Ire Ihr 0,01, -
err I 1.1:1111:112A111 IItIi r Is
whir 'I t , a, Ihr ,reel
1(•01e II Iuund that reel,
hleadled 10 (Ile late 19'10, by
In_II surhrct SASI temper:lnres
ale al letted hr how polluted
the %van•rs art'
-Coral reef, reruverinit last
'. are genet alp Ihuse living
in marine protected areas and
curl ltl waters when• the 1,,,-
1:15 t I pollution, dredging :Ind
other kinds of human - induced
distorh,nee are considered
lots;' the tI N;,aid.
!ho lilt' l,urWI'
U.N. report lrup : / /e•tet
unrp.ter(' /hengrlpr /llr /il;.).- r-
pormp;.plq,
1102 6 1 130 a +pa 'day
f " . O, p ..ad'Oi 'Pa
. ZSg ' °N "U".
"For example," he said, "a
farmer working hundreds of
miles from the coastline
could be atrisk of anew
layer of regulatory review
based on the ocean? `
At committee hearing
Tuesday called by Hastings,
business groups assailed
the. proposal, and an official
with the U.S.-Chamber of
lb Comterce7accusedth
'Whtte'F?ouse'of °trying to
p ornote-theplanlwlttFhittle
' fanfare even'ttionetii
could 'have a big impact.
"Fromriiip aritagepoint,
-the national' oc'ean`policy is
the most siguticant.issref
fading irnegy~secuiitylob ar
creation -and economic
. growth .thatno- ene.haa F,
heard about," said Christo -'
pherGuith,the chamber s-"
vice president forpolicy
-' :Urging/ i"e-White-HOuse
to back, awayfroththeplan„ ,
Guithsaidlhe proposal
would add "yet another
maze areal or de facto reg-
oration for':businesses >to at-
tempt-to navigate ?' , t
Rep.'Sam ;Farr, D-Calif.,
said the U.S. must do better
planningor its waters-to re-
verse its "current destruc-
tive path." He called"the
current situation "a bureau-
cratic mess," noting that
more than 140 federal -laws
and- dozens of agencies
have jurisdiction over
oceaa space.
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