Ocean Champions is the only political voice for ocean health. We take a non-partisan approach in working with
the U.S. Congress to ensure ocean health through electoral and legislative action.

Put on Your Rally Cap (& Trade), the Climate Bill Passes the House!

Ocean Champions was working hard on Capitol Hill Thursday. We heard first hand how President Obama and Rahm Emanuel were twisting arms, Speaker Pelosi was exerting her influence, and Democratic leadership was applying a full court press on the members of its party, all intended to move a little bill called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (better known as Waxman-Markey). [...]

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Ocean Champions was working hard on Capitol Hill Thursday. We heard first hand how President Obama and Rahm Emanuel were twisting arms, Speaker Pelosi was exerting her influence, and Democratic leadership was applying a full court press on the members of its party, all intended to move a little bill called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (better known as Waxman-Markey). The outcome was unclear then and remained that way until the final result.

Late today, however, the House of Representatives was able to pass this historic legislation by a vote of 219 to 212. This represents a sea change in our national approach to energy and climate change, and gets us moving forward in the right direction. The bill has many moving parts, but above all else, it establishes a cap on carbon emissions and a cap and trade approach to lowering them over time.

Carbon emissions are causing some of the biggest problems facing our oceans. Ocean acidification, which poses a massive threat to ocean habitats, marine food webs, and fish stocks, is a direct result of carbon dioxide dissolving in seawater. Sea level rise is a secondary result of global warming, also caused by atmospheric carbon. By imposing a cap on emissions and a market-based system for reducing them, this bill provides hope that we can finally begin to address these serious ocean problems. So tonight, Ocean Champions thanks the Congressmen and women who worked so hard to deliver the victory.

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26 June 2009, 8:00 pm

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Ecological time bomb is ticking…

The largest dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has been predicted for this summer.  On June 18th, aquatic ecologists supported by NOAA released a forecast, predicting 7,450-8,476 square miles of dead zone to occur in the Gulf of Mexico.  The forecast is a result of the above normal flows in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya [...]

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The largest dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has been predicted for this summer.  On June 18th, aquatic ecologists supported by NOAA released a forecast, predicting 7,450-8,476 square miles of dead zone to occur in the Gulf of Mexico.  The forecast is a result of the above normal flows in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers, about 11% more than average.  Nutrient runoff from these rivers contain high nitrogen levels, resulting in oxygen starvation, excessive harmful algal blooms (HABs) and dead zones.

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Photo courtesy of N. Rabalais:  Mississippi River plume meets Gulf of Mexico at Southwest Pass

The Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Watch Task Force will announce the official size of the dead zone after surveys are conducted by the Louisiana University Marine Consortium mid to end of July.  You can check out near real time data from SEAMAP’s (South East Monitoring and Assessment Program) cruise in the northwest and north-central Gulf of Mexico.

For more info. on the Gulf of Mexico dead zone and other dead zones in the states and around the world:

For more on recent HABs outbreaks, check out our HABs web page.  To help us pass the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2009, contact your Senators and ask them to support the bill.

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