Author Archives: Alexis Sadoti

How seafood markets can help save Antarctica’s Ross Sea

Posted on by

This post comes from our friends at Greenpeace International

Let your imagination take you to the Antarctic: a cold, windy and inhospitable region inhabited by some of our planet’s most unique and spectacular living creatures.

The Antarctic region’s Southern Ocean is one of the most pristine marine environments on Earth. This last wilderness could soon become only a memory if the fishing industry has its way. It’s not too late, though – today, Greenpeace is renewing its call to retailers to play a part in saving our oceans, by not sourcing Ross Sea toothfish.

While very remote, the ocean wilderness of the Southern Ocean is under threat from industrial fishing fleets. Having already plundered too many fish from other oceans, vessels are now heading for the Southern Ocean’s icy Ross Sea, where toothfish have thrived miles away from the nets and trawlers. Increasingly, fishing vessels head to Antarctica and put our last remaining largely pristine oceans at risk to satisfy foreign demand for toothfish and seabass.

© Greenpeace / Daniel Beltrá

The Antarctic is under threat

The Antarctic is our planet’s last remaining wilderness. Even though the Ross Sea is thousands of kilometres from human life, it still feels the impacts of humankind. This wild area is being threatened by climate change, ocean acidification, reckless and unnecessary whaling and now, industrial fishing. By ensuring that Antarctica remains a place of peace and science (which is what the Antarctic Treaty established), and by protecting the waters surrounding this continent, we can take steps towards creating healthy oceans for future generations.

The Ross Sea – The last frontier

The Ross Sea, a deep bay of the Southern Ocean, has remained relatively untouched, but a fishing industry hungry for profits has for years taken advantage of the sea’s remoteness by fishing– perhaps forever altering these wild waters.

Fishing in the Ross Sea began in 1998, when vessels from New Zealand headed to the area, and it has since become a fishing ground for longline vessels in search of Antarctic toothfish. Twelve countries have legally sent vessels to this ‘exploratory’ fishery since 2000. In 2010 alone, 18 vessels from seven countries were catching toothfish in this largely untouched ocean wilderness.

Legal fishing is only one part of the problem: illegal vessels not operating under any regulations use destructive fishing techniques like longlining or deep-water gillnets to catch toothfish, often resulting in accidental bycatch of other species like albatrosses and petrels.

The Antarctic toothfish needs urgent protection

The Antarctic toothfish is an important part of the Ross Sea ecosystem, so any changes to the toothfish population can impact the larger ecosystem. We may never fully understand the long-term impacts of fishing in the Ross Sea, but we do already know that killer whale populations, which feed on toothfish, are in decline – due to overfishing.

Toothfish is an expensive and unusual delicacy that tends to be sold only in high-end, exclusive seafood restaurants, as well as speciality seafood shops and seafood markets. It is uncommon on European plates, but in the United States many supermarket chains sell it.

Fortunately, retailers around the world are joining the growing sustainable seafood movement and are implementing polices to source sustainable seafood, and toothfish is now disappearing from many supermarket shelves. Famous chefs like Hosea Rosenberg and Kin Lui refuse to serve it in their restaurants and supermarket chains like Waitrose, Loblaw, Safeway and Overwaitea have either removed it from their shelves, or committed to not buy it.

A Call to action to protect the Ross Sea and toothfish

To protect the Ross Sea, Greenpeace is calling on seafood buyers, restaurant owners and chefs to not buy any toothfish and to support efforts to keep the Ross Sea off limits to fishing and industrial activity, by making it a marine reserve.

Also, public support is key to put pressure on politicians and to ensure that the Ross Sea is designated as a marine reserve now. Please support the Greenpeace campaign for a global network of marine reserves to cover 40% of the world’s oceans, including the Ross Sea, to keep our oceans alive. You can also make a public commitment not to buy, sell or serve any toothfish, certified or otherwise, by publishing it on your website with a link to this page.

Read our report “Defending the last Ocean: How Seafood Markets Can Help Save Antarctica’s Ross Sea”

Oil Lobby Almost Down 1, Climate Still Losing

Posted on by

This was orginally written by Kyle Ash.

Given that global warming pollution has officially fallen from the agenda of the Senate, legislative proposals on the table to reduce the political, economic, and environmental impact of the oil industry provide an opportunity for Congress to slightly vindicate itself. On Friday the House passed legislation that finally removes special protections that oil companies have received for decades, such as limitation on liability for the damage caused by oil spills, exemptions from environmental review, and the ability to avoid US safety standards altogether. In light of the BP oil disaster, passage of these policies should be a forgone conclusion.

The Senate is expected to vote soon, maybe tomorrow, on it’s own package of policies in response to the Gulf disaster. The House passed the bill 209 to 193. With an astounding 30 Reps not voting, including 21 GOP, it is possibly a good sign for the Senate vote this week, as it may mean many conservative Representatives felt it politically impossible to vote no.

At the same time, it was not a disappointment, but a relief, that the Senate Majority Leader concluded the Senate should take a break from proposals to cap global warming pollution. It is shocking that this announcement to end the effort to solve the world’s most dire and pressing problem comes with five months left in 2010. However, the Senate level of ambition to pass effective climate policy has waned from weak to damaging. With the gluts of industry giveaways, the latest bill drafts proposing a carbon cap exemplify that the legislative effort is carjacked by polluting industry lobbyists. If they have truly stopped trying for now, Congress must not think that they can simply pick up where they left off, because they are nowhere near producing legislation to overhaul America’s economy to become modern, competitive, and sustainable.

This election season, members of Congress owe it to their children’s future to use their campaigns to build momentum for energy policy that keeps the planet livable. What this Congress will have failed to produce is a set of policies that contains three broad elements that dissipated from legislative proposals in the Senate.

First, Congress must campaign for slashing global warming pollution in a manner that is fast and furious. We need to do whatever it takes. This is not about balancing the required efforts and bail outs of polluting industry. It is about taking deadly serious the pollution that made 2010 the hottest year on record. It is about stopping perverse subsidies that provide seven times more public funding for coal, oil, and gas than for renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal.

Second, Congress must campaign for significant financial assistance to help poor countries adapt to the devastating climate changes occurring already, and to develop cleanly, so that our efforts at home to protect the planet are not in vain. International climate financing is part of a fair and reasonable commitment from the United States, a wealthy country with the greatest historical share of global warming pollution, and is vitally necessary for achieving an effective global climate change agreement.

Third, Congress must campaign to protect and encourage the use of all existing tools for reducing global warming pollution, which includes laws they passed decades ago like the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act is the reason why the administration can now require long-overdue pollution abatement technologies for the nation’s dirtiest smokestacks, and why efficiency standards for America’s cars will not be pitifully behind requirements in China. Members of Congress who are serious about stopping climate catastrophe will provide encouragement and support for other public officials, such as in state legislatures, the EPA, and the White House, to act quickly on this global emergency.

Greenpeace Submits Twenty Nine Inquiries on BP Oil Disaster

Posted on by

This was originally written by Kert Davies.

While some news reports attempt to downplay the amount of damage that has been done, it’s clear that the Gulf oil disaster is one of the worst environmental tragedies in US history. This catastrophe has also further revealed the extraordinary extent of the oil industry’s influence on our government. Many questions remain unanswered about government communications with BP and other oil companies, underwater oil plumes, impacts to marine wildlife, chemical dispersants, oil drilling safety regulation, and more.

We’ve submitted 27 Freedom of Information Act requests to multiple government agencies and two Public Records Act Requests to the offices of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The scope of these FOIA requests were derived from our ongoing field research as well as tips from local activists and reporters.  

The following is a list of the requests we’ve filed. In parentheses after each item is the agency with whom the request was filed (click on any of the agencies to view a PDF of the request).

Wildlife Impacts

  • Details of any and all mammal spotter flights conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Gulf region (USFSW)
  • Any and all chain of custody forms for deceased wildlife in the Gulf region (USFWS)
  • Details regarding turtles being killed in controlled oil burns in the Gulf region (USCG, NOAA, USFWS)
  • Details of U.S. Navy flights contracted for whale and dolphin sightings in the Gulf region (Navy)
  • Details of any and all communications or information regarding any of 23 endangered or threatened species of concern in the Gulf region including sperm whales and sea turtles (NOAA, USCG)
  • Details of any communications about “carcass collection facilities” in the Gulf region (USFWS)
  • Details of any communications between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and BP concerning dead mammals or marine life in the Gulf region (USFWS)
  • Details of Natural Resource Damage Assessment flights (USFWS)

Oil drilling safety regulation

  • Details of communication between the United States Coast Guard and ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, and/or ConocoPhillips concerning the safety of oil rigs in the Gulf and/or the term  “blowout preventers” (USCG)
  • Details of communications between the Minerals Management Service and the Offshore Operators Committee Deep Spills Working Group. (BOEMRE)
  • Details of any information concerning the 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf (BOEMRE)
  • Details of all internal communications regarding the 23 blowouts that have occurred on oil rigs in the Gulf since 2006. (BOEMRE)
  • Details of all communications between MMS staffers K. Stauffer and J. McCarroll who contributed to deepwater environmental assessments (BOEMRE)
  • Communications with USGS staff member Keith A. Kvenvolden concerning natural oil seeps (USGS)
  • Details of violations and inspections and the certification process of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port facility (USCG)|

Chemical dispersants

  • Internal communications within and between the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard and BP concerning directives on dispersant use and exemptions granted to BP by the Coast Guard (EPA, USCG)
  • Details of the effectiveness of sub-sea dispersant application, how the Environmental Protection Agency has monitored BP’s use of dispersants, and the point at which dispersants have a greater environmental impact than leaked oil (EPA)
  • Flight records of C-130 aircraft carrying chemical dispersants (FAA, USCG)
  • Records of dispersant-carrying aircraft with specific call signs flying out of Stennis International Airport (FAA)

Cleanup operations

  • Details of communications regarding BP employees or contractors and their authority or ability to police public lands (USCG)

Underwater oil plumes

 

  • Internal communications from NOAA missions to search for underwater oil plumes (NOAA)
  • Details of all meetings and correspondence between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and BP regarding underwater oil plumes (NOAA)

Communication Between Oil Companies and State Offices

  • Details of any and all internal and external communications between Governor Bobby Jindal or any of his staff and the following companies: BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and/or the American Petroleum Institute (Office of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal)
  • Details of any and all internal and external communications between Governor Haley Barbour or any of his staff and the following companies: BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and/or the American Petroleum Institute (Office of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour)

“Beyond Petroleum?” or “British Polluter”?

Posted on by

It’s been a month since the BP oil disaster in the Gulf and over 6 million gallons of oil has already spilled and is showing no sign of letting up. A WHOLE MONTH has gone by and the situation only seems to be getting worse! And yet BP is rebranding themselves as “beyond petroleum” claiming that it sums up their brand as a company that is moving towards a “lower carbon future”?

On BP’s website they claim that they are a company that is “exploring, developing and producing more fossil fuel resources to meet growing demand”. But how exactly can you develop and produce more fossil fuels when it’s not a renewable resource and is made from the organic remnants of prehistoric life. BP claims they are trying to “meet the challenges of our time in a sustainable way”, but our resources are being depleted fast and once they’re gone, they’re gone…

So I guess when BP says they are “exploring, developing and producing more fossil fuel”, they actually mean they are about to make a decision on whether to invest billions of dollars into the Canadian tar sands – the dirtiest oil currently being produced. The tar sands of Canada are roughly the size of Belgium and are currently the biggest industrial development and opencast mining operation on the face of the Earth. They are natural deposits of heavy oil mixed with clay and sand that lay beneath the wilderness of Canada for which the only access is clearcutting the Boreal Forest. To produce one barrel of oil, two tons of land must be unearthed and when the pits are producing 1.82 million barrels a day, habitats are destroyed and many species are being driven to the brink of extinction. Sounds sustainable, right?

If they are supposedly trying to use more sustainable approaches, is there any rational reason as to why they would choose to invest in the tar sands which produce about three times the emissions per barrel of oil than you would get from normal crude? The projections of oil in the tar sands will create enough carbon emmissions by the end of the century to raise the global temperature by six degrees. As I said before; sounds sustainable, right?

Greenpeace agrees. This morning our climbers scaled the corporate headquarters of BP in London to give them their own rebranding makeover that better suits their dirty business. BP, now aptly known as “British Polluters” for their investment in the dirtiest oil on the planet, needs something else than a nice shiny green flower as their brand identity.

Take action today and tell Congress that it’s time that we end our addiction to fossil fuels. It’s time to invest more in sustainable energy unless we are prepared for more loss of life, more ecological catastrophe, and more economic ruin.