Petition: Protect Our Ocean—Don’t Let the Oil and Gas Industry Call All the Plays

takeaction.oceanconservancy.org

The Trump administration has chosen David Bernhardt to lead the Department of the Interior—the federal agency that has control over huge swaths of our ocean and all of our country’s federal offshore oil and gas resources.

Bernhardt has made clear that he intends to charge forward with vastly expanding offshore drilling—despite overwhelming bipartisan opposition from Florida to Maine, the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Please tell your Senators to vote NO and oppose Bernhardt’s nomination when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

Bernhardt’s past as an oil and gas industry lobbyist is concerning, and his tenure as both Deputy and Acting Secretary of the Interior has demonstrated that these concerns are well-founded. While Deputy and Acting Secretary, Bernhardt led the core political team that repeatedly adopted a pro-industry, anti-science approach to policy that benefited industry at the expense of a healthy environment.

When it comes to protecting our ocean and the communities that depend on it, the oil and gas industry cannot be allowed to call the plays.

Take action today.

https://takeaction.oceanconservancy.org/page/40971/action/1?ea.tracking.id=19LPDCOAXX&utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=20190405BernhardtAdvocacy&utm_content=20190405-Bernhardt-Prospects-Email1-19LPDCOAXX&ea.url.id=2520928&forwarded=true

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Center For Biological Diversity & Defenders Of Wildlife File Intent to Sue Trump Administration to Protect Atlantic Sharks & Giant Manta Rays From Lethal Longlines & Gillnets – World Animal News

By WAN –
April 3, 2019

On behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife, today Earthjustice filed a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to protect oceanic whitetip sharks and giant manta rays from being killed by longlines and huge nets used by U.S. fishermen in Atlantic fisheries.
Defenders petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the oceanic whitetip shark and giant manta ray under the Endangered Species Act in 2015. The agency listed the shark and ray as threatened last year, triggering the agency’s obligation to consider conservation measures to protect the species from federal actions when authorizing U.S. fisheries.
Today’s notice letter to the Fisheries Service says officials have not completed required consultations when authorizing fisheries managed under the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. The Endangered Species Act requires consultations to ensure that federal actions do not unduly harm protected species.
The agency has not completed these consultations on the pelagic longline (which targets tuna, swordfish and other species), shark drift gillnet or shark bottom longline fisheries — all of which harm oceanic whitetip sharks and giant manta rays and have contributed to the species’ declines.
“These sharks and rays won federal protection, but they’re still being slaughtered by reckless fishing practices,” said Catherine Kilduff, a Center attorney in a statement. “The Trump administration has to follow through by regulating the deadly Atlantic longline and gillnet fisheries. Giant manta rays and oceanic whitetip sharks will keep declining if our government doesn’t do its moral and legal duty to protect them.”
The giant manta ray, with a wingspan that can reach 29 feet, has suffered population declines of up to 95% in some places due to commercial fishing. Similarly, scientists have estimated substantial declines in oceanic whitetip sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, including an 88% decline in the Gulf of Mexico due to commercial fishing. Reducing the primary threat to these species, commercial fishing, is key to their survival and recovery.
Giant manta rays and oceanic whitetip sharks are intentionally hunted in other countries — the sharks for their large fins and the manta rays for their gills, both prized for Asian medicines and cuisine — and are often swept up as bycatch by U.S. fisheries. Gillnets have been called “walls of death” for the harm they do to a variety of marine species. Atlantic longlines can be up to 45 miles long, with hundreds of baited hooks.
“These horrific fishing practices are outdated,” Jane Davenport, a Defenders attorney, said. “We can’t keep fishing indiscriminately while sharks, manta rays and other accidental victims move toward extinction. As the agency charged with both conserving these imperiled species and managing U.S. fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service is under a double obligation to comply with the Endangered Species Act’s mandate to ensure the survival and recovery of the oceanic whitetip shark and giant manta ray.”
“The law requires these species to be given meaningful protections in the water, not just on paper,” said Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton. “NMFS can’t allow these fisheries to continue harming the oceanic whitetip and giant manta ray unchecked. It needs to put some safeguards into place.”
A peer-reviewed study by Center scientists released in January found most marine species listed under the Endangered Species Act are recovering. Listed species with critical habitat protections and those listed for more than 20 years are most likely to be rebounding. In February 2019, Defenders and the Center also sent a detailed technical letter to the agency urging it to designate critical habitat for the giant manta ray in U.S. waters.

https://worldanimalnews.com/center-for-biological-diversity-defenders-of-wildlife-file-intent-to-sue-trump-administration-to-protect-atlantic-sharks-giant-manta-rays-from-lethal-longlines-gillnets/

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Don’t feed pelicans. Fish carcasses can tear pouches, resulting in death (Florida, USA)

The ocean update

This brown pelican had a torn pouch after eating at least one fish carcass. Rehabilitators at Key West Wildlife Center fixed its pouch, but its exposed trachea resulted in pneumonia. It died 1 month later. Photo credit : Key West Wildlife Center

March 25^th, 2019. KEY WEST, Fla. – Wildlife officials in Florida and experts as far south as Key West are trying to push one message : Don’t feed pelicans.

View original post 448 more words

Plastic Found In Marine Animals At The Oceans Deepest Depths – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com
By Alex Larson

While plastics are most commonly seen in shallow ocean waters or discussion generally surrounds areas such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it’s important to not forget that plastic is literally in every part of our ocean, even the deepest depths.

A recent study published in Royal Society Open Science has found examples of microplastics in animals living in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the worlds oceans at 7 miles under the sea surface.

The team studied 90 deep-dwelling shrimp for microplastic contamination from six ocean trenches around the Pacific Rim. Unfortunately, even though these marine animals live miles under the surface from humans irresponsible habits of plastic usage, they still cannot escape.

“Half of me was expecting to find something but that is huge,” Alan Jamieson, from Newcastle University’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, said in a statement. Jamieson also added that majority of man-made items found in the shrimp were clothes fabrics such as nylon.

The research revealed that 72 percent of the shrimp tested contained at least one plastic micro particle with some containing up to eight particles. Every trench investigated had marine animals with plastic inside of them but the results did vary depending on how frequent plastic was found in the shrimp. For example, in the Mariana Trench, 100 percent of shrimp examined contained plastics while the shrimp from the New Hebrides Trench came out at a 50 percent rate.

“We are piling all our crap into the place we know least about,” Jamieson said, adding that it is hard to know how exactly it was affecting the creatures it contaminated. These particles could just pass straight through the animal, but in the animals we looked at they must be blocking them,” he continued.

While humans addiction to using plastic and continuing to dispose of it irresponsibly continues, the planets oceans will feel it the most. By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish while many marine organisms can’t distinguish common plastic items from food. Animals who eat plastic often starve because they can’t digest the plastic and it fills their stomachs, preventing them from eating real food

We need to bring this issue to the forefront of discussion and you can help do that by saying no to single-use plastics in your own life and secondly, petitioning your local businesses and governments to reduce plastic usage or promote laws that prohibit usage.

http://seavoicenews.com/2019/03/04/plastic-found-in-marine-animals-at-the-oceans-deepest-depths/

Sharkwater Extinction: This Film will Change You

The Jaguar

White Tip desktop background, retrieved from https://www.sharkwater.com/photo-gallery/.

Given that I’ve just spent a year of my life studying wildlife television, and that I consider myself a connoisseur of wildlife films and TV, I’ve decided to start reviewing nature-based films and television programs. This first review concerns Sharkwater: Extinction by the late Rob Stewart.

iTunes describes Sharkwater: Extinction as, “A thrilling action adventure journey that follows filmmaker Rob Stewart as he exposes the billion dollar illegal shark fin industry and the political corruption behind it…Stewart’s mission is to save the sharks before it’s too late.”

Here’s my take on the film:

Very General, Minimal Spoilers Synopsis

Sharkwater: Extinction picks up in Costa Rica, where the first Sharkwater left off. Accompanying Stewart is Regina Domingo and a team of filmmakers, and together they examine the political and economic structures that drive the slaughter of sharks. Things happen and the…

View original post 584 more words

Sign Petition: Sharks and Rays Are in Serious Danger Unless We Act Now

thepetitionsite.com

The global shark and ray population is in serious trouble, but, thankfully, legislators in Hawaii are currently considering doing more to protect these creatures in state waters. Currently there’s a bill that would make it a misdemeanor (with up to a $10,000 fine) for killing, capturing or abusing sharks and rays.

Sign the petition if you want this important conservation bill to become law!

Sharks and rays need full protection under the law, for their benefit and for the health of our oceans. Rep. Nicole Lowen, who chairs the House Environmental Protection and Energy Committee said, “As apex predators, sharks and rays help to keep the ocean ecosystem in balance, and protecting them from unnecessary harm is essential to the health of our coral reefs.”Beyond being good for the ocean’s ecosystem, there is also just no excuse for people killing these animals. We don’t need to do it and we shouldn’t put up with needless animal killing.

Similar legislation has cleared the state Senate before, but now it’s up to the state House to keep House Bill 808 alive. State Rep. Chris Lee, head of the House Judiciary Committee must give the legislation a hearing by the end of the week in order to keep the ocean ecosystem thriving. That’s why he and other Hawaiian legislators need to hear from us now!

Let Hawaii be an example of conservation stewardship for the world to emulate. Sign on if you want this bill to pass to protect sharks and rays fully!

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/320/911/821/tell-hawaii-to-outlaw-the-killing-of-all-sharks-and-rays/

Take Action to Help Save the Sunflower Sea Star

takeaction.oceanconservancy.org

A new study has documented that the sunflower star has been virtually eliminated along a 3,000 mile stretch of coast. A “zombie apocalypse” has been underway beneath the waves since 2013, with “sea star wasting disease” (SSWD) literally dissolving more than 20 species of sea stars into puddles of rotting flesh on the seafloor.

The publication documents how this most important of species, the sunflower star, has rapidly declined because of the combined effects of a devastating disease and climate-driven ocean heat waves. As we continue to burn fossil fuels, massive amounts of heat are being absorbed by the ocean, which is driving extreme temperature events that appear to increase the lethality of SSWD. This one-two punch is not only destroying the sunflower star—but also destroying the kelp forests that provide the foundational structure for an entire ecosystem of ocean species.

Saving what we love—including the sunflower star—will take all of us who do have a voice using it.

Congress must act on climate change. The science is clear, solutions are available here and now, and the ocean must be at the heart of climate action.

Congress must debate and move aggressive climate legislation that will ensure communities and ecosystems are spared the most devastating potential impacts from climate change, and are able to successfully adapt to those they can’t avoid.

That work must start now.

But in addition, Congress can and must take action immediately using the tools we already have. This spring Congress will take up appropriations legislation for the next fiscal year. Those bills must prioritize critical funding for the climate research, coastal resilience, and adaptation programs that are already working to tackle our climate challenges.

Take action today.

https://takeaction.oceanconservancy.org/page/38258/action/1?ea.tracking.id=19LPBCBAXX&utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=20190210ClimateAdvocacy&utm_content=20190210-ClimateAA-Prospects-Email1-19LPBCBAXX&ea.url.id=1856064&forwarded=true

Sign Petition: Octopus Are Extremely Smart, But These Countries Want to Make Them Suffer

thepetitionsite.com
by: Care2 Team
recipient: China, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Mexico, and Chile

41,715 SUPPORTERS – 45,000 GOAL

In the Disney movie “Finding Dory,” audiences fell in love with the scene-stealing octopus named Hank who helped the main character escape from an aquarium. While octopus can’t talk or drive cars, they have been known to be incredible escape artists who often leave fisherman or aquarium workers scratching their heads, wondering where their catch has gone.

That’s because the cephalopod is extremely intelligent. They are capable of figuring out complex puzzles, planning attacks, memorizing landscapes and using tools to survive. This intelligence has convinced many who study the animal that it isn’t just smart, but possibly a conscious being.

This fact has brought many to the conclusion that octopus should no longer be eaten, since eating one would be similar to eating a dolphin, parrot or chimpanzees — all smart animals in their own right.

But others have not gotten the memo. In fact, at this moment scientists in several countries are looking for ways to make underwater octopus farming a reality. If successful, hundreds of thousands if not millions of octopus a year would likely be kept in featureless tanks, without stimuli only to be slaughtered for human consumption.

In order to make any sort of octopus farming profitable, farmers would either have to keep them in small individual tanks or in large enclosures which held multiple animals. But according to a new study that analyzes the costs of the proposed project: “Octopuses are solitary, carnivorous animals badly suited to captivity. Confined in tiny cages, they suffer and die; confined together, they kill each other.” Neither way would likely be up to the humane treatment standards most nations expect their food to be raised.

But it’s not just the idea of factory farming yet another animal — and a smart one at that — that is troubling. The side effects of factory farming octopuses could be our seas as a whole. Just as we exploit thousands of acres of land to produce feed for our cows, industrial farms would require tons of wild caught shellfish and other food for their animals. So quite opposite from relieving the stress on our oceans, it could actually increase it.

Right now, scientists are encouraging nations to stop this inhumane and ecological disaster before it starts by urging them to ban octopus farming now. Doing so would kill demand and stave off an industry that will likely have serious negative effects on our planet.

Please join them, sign the petition and tell the governments of China, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Mexico, and Chile to kill this industry before it starts. Ask them to ban octopus farming.

Sign Petition

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/752/976/272/

Sign Petition: This Guy Killed a Shark Just to Use it as a Bong — All For Likes on Social Media

thepetitionsite.com
by: Care2 Team
recipient: Facebook

32,750 SUPPORTERS – 35,000 GOAL

A man identified as commercial fisherman Billy Brislane has hooked himself a big problem. The Australian, who is a member of a Facebook group called Fried Fishing, earned the wrath of most decent minded people everywhere when he uploaded a disgusting video.

In the video, the cretin grabs a deceased baby shark with a pipe sticking out of its head and another pipe coming out of its back. In another hand, he’s got lighter. Then to the sound of the kids’ song “Baby Shark” playing in the background, he leans down towards the shark and lights one of the pipes. When he corrects himself a huge puff of smoke comes billowing out of his mouth.

You read right, Mr. Brislane had just desecrated the body of a dead shark by using it as a bong. All so he could get social media likes and laughs.

Social media, however, wasn’t having it. In quick order, he received several complaints and was even visited by the police. So furious was the response that he suggested that he might even take a break from social media. Hopefully, Billy has learned that using dead animals as toys is not OK.

However, Billy isn’t the only problem. The Fried Fishing Facebook group where he felt free enough to upload the horrible clip is a cesspool of disgusting images. The site seems to be a library of videos and pictures where “fishermen” use their catches in inhumane ways as long as it gets a laugh. In another video. Billy grabs a live fish he caught, brings it up to his bare chest and lets it take a bite at his nipple.

In another — now-deleted video — another person also films himself using a shark as a bong.

This group, whose motto is “Fried fishing, stupid s**t, banter about other fishermen,” isn’t a group for fishermen to share stories about the one that got away. It’s one where they can trade videos of themselves abusing animals. And that isn’t OK.

Please Sign the Care2 Petition!

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/591/281/361/

Please sign the petition and ask Facebook to ban the Fried Fishing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/05/humans-need-do-better-an-australian-fishermans-viral-shark-bong-draws-outrage-death-threats/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3a0e64e1989

Sign Petition: These Surprise Seal Pups Must Be Protected!

by: Kelsey B.
recipient: Point Reyes National Seashore rangers

70,527 SUPPORTERS – 75,000 GOAL

During the recent government shutdown, Drake’s Beach in Northern California remained closed to visitors. But what was bad news for beachgoers and nature lovers turned out to be great news for a group of elephant seals!

60 elephant seals decided to take advantage of the empty beach and make the spot their birthing place. During those 35 days of the shutdown, about 35 seal pups were born! The problem is that now that the shutdown is over, officials want to open that beach back up.

Sign the petition if you want the beach to stay closed for good so we can give the seals their natural habitat back!

The spate of births was really quick, magical and adorable, but also very fragile. Normally the seals would have given birth elsewhere but experts are speculating that recent storms have forced them to find new places to do it. It’s critical that we don’t scare, harm or overwhelm the animals. Most of the pups are still nursing with their moms so it’s really important they are given time and space to get their pups ready to venture back into the ocean.

And what better way to give them the space they need than to shut down the beach to humans permanently!

We had a good run, but these seals have reclaimed what is rightfully theirs. Please sign the petition to close the beach for good!

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/152/394/001/these-baby-seal-must-be-protected-keep-beach-closed/

Warning Graphic Photos: Australian Fisherman Uses Dead Shark As Bong – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com
by Alex Larson →

When you think humanity can not get any worse, a shocking video has been posted on the Facebook page Fried Fishing Australia which shows a man using a dead shark as a bong.

As we do not want to promote the views gathered by the Facebook page which already has 21,000 followers, we have attached photos below that show the disturbing act.

Via: Facebook

Via: Facebook

The photos and video reveal the man on a fishing boat holding the shark which has two tubes sticking out from its head and rear with the inside of the shark hallowed out while the children song Babyshark eerily plays in the background.

The purposeful and irresponsible carelessness towards sharks is at the helm of driving worldwide numbers down. As fisherman know that the ocean depends on sharks as apex predators to sustain the health of the oceans, it would seem obvious they would be on the frontline of trying to protect sharks.

The fisherman in the video is Billy Brislane whom also made news last year after catching five large bull sharks in the Macleay River in Australia.

Source: Facebook

The amount of intentional animal abuse by anglers is frankly sick and we need all governments to start enforcing stricter laws on recreational fishing and increase marine animal protections.

http://seavoicenews.com/2019/02/05/warning-graphic-photos-australian-fisherman-uses-dead-shark-as-bong/
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600 Dead Olive Ridley Sea Turtles Wash Ashore In India After Being Caught By Fishing Trawlers And Dumped – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com
by Alex Larson →

Roughly 600 dead Olive Ridley sea turtles and two dolphins have washed ashore in the last two days on beaches for Hukitola to Eakakula in the Garirmatha marine sanctuary areas in India.

The suspected death of the turtles were result of being hit by fishing trawlers or entangled in nets out at sea. Fishing is not allowed within 20 kilometers fof the Garirmatha marine sanctuary but according to Hemant Rout, an environmentalist and secretary of Gahirmatha Marine Turtles and Mangrove Conservation Society, fishing trawlers routinely do fish there without being interrupted.

Bycatch is one of the biggest concerns to marine animals across the world, particularly sharks, sea turtles and whales whose overall numbers are sharply declining world wide.

The Olive Ridley sea turtle, which are closely related to the severely endangered Kemp’s Ridley, is considered the most abundant of sea turtles but numbers are sharply declining due to people taking eggs out of nests, the female turtles being slaughtered when they come ashore to lay eggs, and due to bycatch.

Olive Ridley sea turtles come to the Gahirmatha, India in large numbers for annual nesting. As they make their way to the shorelines, they get swept up by fishing trawlers where they drown due to not being able to reach the surface. Once aboard the vessels, the trawlers toss any unwanted catch back into the sea, dead or alive. Most likely, the sea turtles washed ashore were caught this way and were dead as the current brought them to the coastline.

Speaking to The New India Express, Forest Range Officer of Gahirmatha Srirampada Arabinda Mishra said the State Government has imposed a ban order on fishing activities inside the marine sanctuary from November 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019 to protect the sea turtles.

Forest officials have already arrested around 380 fishermen and seized 83 fishing vessels on charges of illegally fishing in Gahirmatha.

http://seavoicenews.com/2019/02/03/600-dead-olive-ridley-sea-turtles-wash-ashore-in-india-after-being-caught-by-fishing-trawlers-and-dumped/

New Study Finds MicroPlastics in Every Sea Creature Tested

firepaw.org

Published by firepawinc View all posts by firepawinc

The disturbing results from a new study revealed plastic in every sea creature tested…

A Hundred Percent of Dolphins, Whales and Seals Tested had Microplastics in their Bodies.

A team analyzed a total of 50 animals across 10 species for their research published in the journal Scientific Reports. Microplastics were defined in the study as fragments measuring up to 5 millimeters (0.2 inches).

The samples used in the study were taken from 50 animals by members of the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) and the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme. Both projects are based in the U.K.

Of the plastics found in the sea creatures, 84 percent were synthetic fibres which generally originate from products such as clothing and fishing nets. The remainder of the contaminants were what the scientists described as fragments, likely to come from food and drink packaging.

A separate piece of research by scientists at the University of Plymouth, U.K., found billions of nanoparticles contaminated shellfish exposed after six hours. The research was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Journal Reference: Nelms, S.E., et al. (2019). Microplastics in marine mammals stranded around the British coast: ubiquitous but transitory? Scientific Reports, 9, Article number: 1075.

https://firepaw.org/2019/01/31/new-study-finds-microplastics-in-every-sea-creature-tested/

Sea Turtles Have A One In Five Chance Of Dying If They Eat Just One Piece Of Plastic – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com

by Alex Larson →

For the first time, researchers have pinned down just how damaging plastic is to marine animals. In a new study conducted by researchers at CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, they have discovered that a sea turtle that has ingested just one piece of plastic has more than a one in five chance of dying after consuming just one piece of plastic

The study was conducted by analyzing nearly 1,000 sea turtles that were found dead on beaches in Australia. What the researchers discovered was that the more plastic a turtle consumes, the great the likelihiod that it will die due to plastic. While this seems obvious, this is the first time scientists have been able to specifically say that the plastic leads to the death of turtles.

Of the 246 turtles examined, 58 contained debris. The count and mass of debris ranged from a single piece to 329 pieces, weighing between <0.01 g to 10.41 g.

“We knew that turtles were consuming a lot of plastic, but we didn’t know for certain whether that plastic actually caused the turtles’ deaths, or whether the turtles just happened to have plastic in them when they died,” said Dr Chris Wilcox, Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere.

The scientists found that once a turtle had 14 plastic items in its gut there was a 50% likelihood that it would cause death. However, that’s not to say that a turtle won’t die if they consume less than 14 pieces of plastic.

Sea turtles in all seven seas are impacted by the plastic and a recent study found that in 100% of turtles tested across three ocean, plastic was found in each one of them.

Currently there is an estimated 15-51 trillion pieces of plastic already estimated to be in the ocean today, that number will only grow at a rapid pace in the future. By 2050, plastic pollution is estimated to outweigh all fish in the ocean.

“The model we’ve developed can be adapted to help us understand the impact of plastic ingestion not just on individuals, but whole populations of other endangered marine species as well.” Said Wilcox.

“The better we understand the issue, the better equipped we are to address the problem, and work towards viable, scalable solutions.”

http://seavoicenews.com/2019/01/27/sea-turtles-have-a-one-in-five-chance-of-dying-if-they-eat-just-one-piece-of-plastic/

New Bill Proposed In Florida That Would Ban The Use Of Plastic Bags And Straws – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com
by Alex Larson →

A newly proposed Florida state bill would ban the use of plastic bags and straws throughout the state. As a good majority of Florida’s borders are covered in ocean coastline, if passed this would be a huge win for marine conservationists and marine animals.

Currently there is an estimated 15-51 trillion pieces of plastic already estimated to be in the ocean today, that number will only grow at a rapid pace in the future. By 2050, plastic pollution is estimated to outweigh all fish in the ocean.

Marine life in turn eats that plastic as they believe it is a food source causing severe sickness or death for millions of animals each year. A recent study found that 100% of turtles tested across three oceans all contained microplastics inside of them.

Microplastics occur due to the salt and acidity of the oceans which breaks plastic down into small “microplastic” pieces, causing a real dilemma for the planets wildlife. While the plastic breaks into smaller pieces, it does not dissolve as it takes hundreds of years for plastic to decompose in the ocean.

The bill, Senate Bill 502, was proposed by Senator Kevin Rader and proposes to prohibit all stores and food services from using plastic bags and plastic straws.

The best thing thing Florida citizens can do right now is to call your representative and let them know that you want to see this bill passed. The more they hear from their citizens in support of the bill, the more likely they are to pass the bill.

http://seavoicenews.com/2019/01/27/new-bill-proposed-in-florida-that-would-ban-the-use-of-plastic-bags-and-straws/

Sign Petition: Tell Coastal Golf Courses to Get Their Golf Balls Out of Our Ocean

thepetitionsite.com
by: Care2 Team
recipient: The Pebble Beach Company and other coastal and riverside golf coursesmore

Pebble Beach is world-renowned for being one of the most beautiful golf courses on Earth. The golf resort is dotted with million dollar mansions and frequented by some of the wealthiest people on the planet. It truly is a golfer’s paradise.

But right off the coast, where the links turn into the sea, that paradise has been lost.

Two years ago, a young 16-year-old freediver named Alex Weber was swimming off the coast in Carmel Bay. Weber says she had been diving since she was a young child, so the underwater world was nothing new to her. But this time she saw something she didn’t expect. Instead of sand covering the seafloor, she saw nothing but golf balls — thousands and thousands of them.

Weber knew this wasn’t good. Golf balls are covered in plastic, and like any plastic material that finds its way into the sea, they degrade over time, releasing microplastics and other toxins into the ocean that marine life ingest.

Weber knew just what she had to do — with help, she initiated her own golf ball clean up effort to rid Carmel Bay of its golf ball scourge. Over the following two years, she and her helpers removed around 50,000 balls — more than 2 tons of them.

Weber said that even as they made their regular diving trips out to remove more golf balls, they could hear the “plink, plink” of more balls hitting the ocean from golfers at nearby resorts.

The Pebble Beach Company (PBC) — owner of Pebble Beach and two other courses along the coast including The Links at Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill — charge big money by offering a chance to play at this stunning course. They can charge exorbitant green fees ($525) because the links are pristine and beautiful. But management has failed to keep the entire area in equally as tip-top shape. For PBC officials, out of sight means out of mind. Over the years they have allowed thousands of golf balls to pollute California’s shore. That is unacceptable.

The PBC must take responsibility for the golf ball pollution caused by their guests and rid the sea floor of them at once. Additionally, they should take extra steps to make sure more balls don’t make their way into the sea, perhaps by erecting a net to stop stray balls.

Sign the petition to tell PBC and other coastal and river golf courses to clean up their mess. Photo credit: The Plastic Pick-Up.

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/972/407/417/tell-pebble-beach-to-get-their-golf-balls-out-of-our-ocean/

 

50 Seals Will Be Removed From The Primorksy Region Of Russia To Be Put In China Zoos – Sea Voice News

seavoicenew.com

by Alex Larson →

The Veterinary Department of Primorsky Region has issued permits for the company ‘Primorksy Dolphinarium’ to export 50 seals to Chinese Tianjin for the purpose of “maintenance.”

As first reported by the non-profit organization Friends of the Ocean whom received information that the vetenarian service has agreed to export permits. The exporter is LLC Primorsky Dolphinarium.

According to current legislation of the Russian Federation, the extraction of living marine mammals is possible for only research, education, and cultural and education purposes.

The extraction of aquatic biological resources for the purpose of “maintenance, in zoos, aquariums and other cultural organizations is carried out only for cultural and educational purposes. However, the use of aquatic biological resources, obtained for cultural and educational purposes, has the right only to a person who has been granted the right to extract or catch such aquatic biological resources, and only using property located in the territory of the Russian Federation. The right to use aquatic bioresources obtained for cultural and educational purposes is not provided by law to other persons.

Environmentalist are set to apply to the supervisory authorities with a request to verify the legitimacy of the issuance of permits.

China has become infamous for the poor conditions, quality and care to animals leading to even more concern for the future of the mammals.

http://seavoicenews.com/2019/01/21/50-seals-will-be-removed-from-the-primorksy-region-of-russia-to-be-put-in-china-zoos/

Video: Amazing Footage Of Humpback Whales Utilizing Ingenuitive Way To Catch Fish – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com
by Alex Larson →

If you had to eat 5,500 pounds of food every day , you would need to find ingenuitive ways to get food and that is exactly what millions of years of evolution has done for the humpback whale.

New footage of humpback whales off the northeaster coast of Canada’s Vancouver Island have been captured on video showing how to get food to come to them instead of wasting energy to go after the fish. The method, called trap-feeding”, is when a humpback whale suspends itself on the surface or just below the surface and opens its mouth allowing for water to pour inside. While birds above the sea circle the fish trying to catch them from the air, the fish try to escape the birds and end up in the whales mouth.

As first reported in Marine Mammal Science, the researchers first noticed this way of feeding by two whales in 2011. Now the researchers have seen 16 whales use this technique, leading to the belief that the others whales have learned from observation.

The authors note that the ability of individual whales to learn can depend on physiology, as well as their ability to respond to their external environment, like changing numbers, availability, distribution, or behavior of prey.

http://seavoicenews.com/2018/11/29/video-amazing-footage-of-humpback-whales-utilizing-ingenuitive-way-to-catch-fish/

Endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Severely Entangled By Fishing Nets – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com

by Alex Larson

With the help of technology and social media, we are starting to see just how often endangered species are being caught as a result of bycatch and the increase in reportings is very disturbing. The latest to marine animal to be found entrapped by fishing gear tossed into the sea is the severely endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle.

Reported on Facebook by Animal Rehabilitation Keep (http://seavoicenews.com/2018/09/23/photos-endangered-kemps-ridley-sea-turtle-severely-entangled-by-fishing-nets/) at UT Marine Science Institute, the group found the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle severely entangled in fishing netting. In a statement on their Facebook page the stated, “Horrible case of entanglement today of a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle entangled in shark fishing gear. Unfortunately, we see entanglement cases way too often. Please help by removing and properly disposing of all fishing line debris. Together we can make a difference!”

Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles numbers are starting to slowly increase but yet are still the most endangered in the world. The turtle only lives in the Gulf of Mexico and part of the east coast of the US. With incidents such as this becoming more frequent due to pollution from humans, it is now more important than ever to do our best to keep our beaches and oceans clean. You can do your small part by picking up any trash that you may see, you never know the impact you may have on another creatures life.

http://seavoicenews.com/2018/09/23/photos-endangered-kemps-ridley-sea-turtle-severely-entangled-by-fishing-nets/

Japan To Withdraw From International Whaling Commission And Continue Commercial Whaling – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com
by Alex Larson

In news that will greatly impact the fishing of the planets whales, Japan is set to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission and continue commercial whaling next year.

The decisions has caused a mixed reaction by different environmental groups across the world.

According to reports, Japan will inform the IWC of its decision to leave after the agency rejected their bid to resume commercial fishing just a few months ago.

Kyodo News is reporting that unnamed government officials are sourced as saying Japan will discontinue their expensive and contreversial practice of sailing to Antarctic waters and instead permit whaling fleets to operate in the countries coastal waters and exclusive economic zone.

According to The Guardian, a fisheries agency official denied the report to them stating, “Japan’s official position, that we want to resume commercial whaling as soon as possible, has not changed,” the official told the Guardian. “But reports that we will leave the IWC are incorrect.”

The IWC is responsible for setting catch limits for commercial whaling and in 1982, they decided that a commercial whaling moratorium will take place going forward due to whale populations worldwide.

Greenpeace Japan urged the Japanese government to reconsider the decision that the non-governmental organization called a “grave mistake.”

“This snub to multilateralism is unacceptable,” Sam Annesley, executive director at Greenpeace Japan, said. “We hope that Japan will reverse its decision and take its place beside the nations trying to undo the damage human activities have done to whale populations.”

But while some are arguing in against the withdrawal, Captain Paul Watson, whom is famous for leading Sea Shepherd on the front lines in fighting Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean has explained why this is actually a good move for whale conservation

In the statement on his Facebook, he writes:

“Why is this a positive Development.

1. Because Japan has never stopped commercial whaling. They have ‘hidden’ it behind the excuse of so called ‘scientific whaling’ since 1987. They have continued commercial whaling despite the International Court of Justice ruling that there is no legal justification for their so-called ‘scientific whaling.’ Now there can be no façade, Japan has joined Norway and Iceland in their open defiance of international conservation law. All three nations are pirate whaling nations.
2. With Japan out of the International Whaling Commission, the IWC can now pass the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary. The IWC can now focus on conservation instead of whaling. Japan has been the single greatest detriment to the IWC during its entire history.
3. The Japanese puppet nations will no longer be obligated to vote against conservation and without Japanese bribes, many will simply quit the IWC. Mongolia for example has absolutely no connection to whaling historically or practically.
4. The IWC can now vote to condemn industrial commercial whaling.
5. Japan will not be able to kill whales in the Southern Ocean. It is an internationally established whale sanctuary and the only reason Japan has been able to flaunt the law is by invoking the excuse of ‘scientific research whaling.” Overt commercial whaling is strictly prohibited in the Southern Ocean and Japan has indicated it will quit the Southern Ocean while expanding whaling in the North Pacific. This would mean that the current whaling season in Antarctic waters will be the last.
6. Japan will be able to withdraw from the Southern Ocean without losing face.
7. Opposition to illegal Japanese commercial whaling will be easier. Basically, we will be dealing with poachers. Japan will no longer be able to pretend that their commercial whaling is research whaling.
8. Sea Shepherd’s objective to end whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will have been met.

The last time Sea Shepherd engaged with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean was for the 2016/2017 whaling season. We sent the Ocean Warrior and the Steve Irwin. Japan countered with multi-million dollar military grade surveillance making it impossible for Sea Shepherd to close in on their operations. Sea Shepherd has been unable to compete with such a massive security investment on the part of Japan. On the positive side, Japan has been forced to expend a great deal of money on security each year to maintain this edge.

Sea Shepherd’s relentless opposition to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean since 2002 has been a major factor in undermining Japanese whaling activities. It has cost the whalers and the Japanese government tens of millions of dollars and saved the lives of over 6,000 whales.

A whaling free Southern Ocean has been our objective for two decades and if Japan moves forward with their threat to withdraw from the IWC and to resume overt commercial whaling, this objective will be realized.”

Japan joined the IWC in 1951. The entity was established in 1948 under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling to conserve whales and realize the “orderly development of the whaling industry.”

http://seavoicenews.com/2018/12/21/japan-to-withdraw-from-international-whaling-commission-and-continue-commercial-whaling/

Study Finds ‘Alarming Levels” Of Chemicals In Great Barrier Reef Sea Turtles – Sea Voice News

seavoicenews.com

by Alex Larson

In a five year study performed by WWF Australia and partners, they have found that there are “alarming” levels of chemicals in sea turtles on the Great Barrier Reef.

The research was initiated after a mass stranding of green sea turtles in 2012, when more than 100 turtles washed ashore dead or dying in Upstart Bay, south of Townsville.

The research was conducted over the five years by collecting water samples, sediment, food, and the blood and shells of turtles to test for a wide range of elements.

In coastal locations, turtles were found to have elevated levels of metals such as cobalt antimony, and manganese in their blood and food. Those turtles that were found with higher levels of chemicals were also noticeably unhealthy.

In Upstart bay, turtles there were seen with cobalt levels as much as 25 times higher than in some coastal areas with little to no human populations and this was also the highest ever recorded for any vertebrate species. Cobalt is vital for animal and human health but in high levels it can become toxic.

The turtles are being directly impacted by human as the chemicals we use on land ends up in the ocean, threatening the clean water that turtles need to survive.

Rain or water used for agricultural washes the chemicals from land, to river and eventually the ocean. Massive amounts of soil and chemicals are washed from farms during heavy rainfalls and all that sediment and excess chemical wash over the reefs. This pollutes and destroys areas of seagrass and coral, where turtles live and feed, and is most likely responsible for the mass deaths of sea turtles in 2012.

The study, known as Rivers to Reefs to Turtles, aims to identify and measure the key pollutants in rivers, the GBR and in the turtles themselves. They hope that the data collected will help them establish a baseline of where and what needs to be addressed to help protect the ocean and its living creatures.

Scientists working on the research have also recommended expanded monitoring of turtle-population health on the Great Barrier Reef “as an indicator of the health of the reef itself”.

Associate Professor Caroline Gaus, from the University of Queensland said to WWF, “There used to be a theory that the ocean was so huge it would dilute contaminants to such an extent that it remained a relatively healthy environment for marine creatures. But people should be aware that many of the chemicals we flush down the toilet, apply to our gardens, spray on crops, or use in factories can end up in turtles and we don’t yet know how it is affecting them.”

WWF’s project partners include the University of Queensland’s National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology and School of Veterinary Science, James Cook University’s Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Research, Griffith University, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Government agencies, local Traditional Owners and natural resource management groups, and community members.

http://seavoicenews.com/2018/12/18/study-finds-alarming-levels-of-chemicals-in-great-barrier-reef-sea-turtles/

Sign Petition: The U.S. Wants to Slaughter Up to 1000 Sea Lions a Year

thepetitionsite.com
by: Care2 Team
recipient: U.S. Congress

39,599 SUPPORTERS – 40,000 GOAL

In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2083, giving certain state governments and Native American tribes the right to kill up to 100 sea lions at a time. But without a similar Senate bill, these marine mammals were relatively safe.

But their reprieve may be coming to an end. Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a similar bill which brings the sea lion slaughter even closer to reality.

Why, despite the celebrated protections of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), would our government allow state and tribal governments to kill up to 1000 sea lions a year?

Well according to some “experts,” sea lions in the Columbia River basin are the principal threat to the wild salmon population in the area. Wild salmon have recently been added to the Endangered Species List. Congress, then, wants to cull the Columbia River sea lions which prey on the salmon, believing that will improve salmon stock.

In fact, the problem isn’t the seal lion population, it’s — you guessed it — us!

While Congress focuses on faulty science pointing the finger at this incredible marine mammal, most researchers place the blame squarely on humans. Because salmon are spread so far and wide, it’s impossible to name all issues, but researchers have been able to sum up their main challenges as the “Four Hs” — harvest, hatcheries, habitat and hydropower. None of those have anything to do with seal lions.

Humans are taking too many salmon in their annual harvest. Salmon fisheries are diluting the wild salmon gene pool. Their habitat is degrading due to logging, agricultural practices, dumping and oil spills all pose a threat to their survival and dams creating hydropower block their passage from spawning grounds to the sea.

It is wrong-headed and short-sighted to focus on sea lions when we are the real problem. Instead of killing thousands of the marine mammals Congress should pass legislation curtailing the problems caused by the four Hs. Anything else is irresponsible.

Sign the petition and demand that Congress drop their push to slaughter sea lions and demand they make a concerted effort to save the salmon of the Columbia River Basin.more

Sign Petition

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/270/208/757/

 

Sign Petition: Sea Lions Are Being Found Shot Dead and Decapitated

by: Care2 Team
recipient: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries)more

64,962 SUPPORTERS – 65,000 GOAL

Someone is brutally murdering sea lions in the state of Washington, and they must be found now.

Six sea lions were recently found along the Washington coast, each dead from a gunshot wound. Another sea lion was found decapitated. In total, 13 sea lions have been found dead since September, the remaining having died from acute trauma, most likely from forceful interactions with humans.

Please sign this petition demanding that NOAA Fisheries do everything they can to find whoever is responsible for these horrific deaths and file appropriate charges now.

Marine animals, like these sea lions, are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop fishermen from savagely killing these adorable creatures in order to get rid of competition for fish — which authorities believe is the case here. Similar attacks occur each year during the winter months, but sadly, most of the killers are never held accountable.

NOAA Fisheries is investigating these deaths, but we must keep pressure on them to find the killers and file charges now — before they kill again.

Sign Petition

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/674/563/189/?z00m=31115454&amp;redirectID=2785125044

 

More than 4 dozen sea turtles killed in Cape Cod cold snap

articles-masslive-com.cdn.ampproject.org
More than 4 dozen sea turtles killed in Cape Cod cold snap
By The Associated Press Close
1-2 minutes

Animal rescue volunteers say more than four dozen sea turtles have died of exposure after washing ashore in frigid conditions on Cape Cod.

The Cape Cod Times reports that low temperatures and high winds combined to kill most of the 50 turtles that washed up Thursday in Brewster, Orleans and Eastham on the lower part of the peninsula.

The Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary says about 350 sea turtles have come ashore since Oct. 22. They include Kemp’s ridley turtles, green turtles and loggerhead turtles.

Spokeswoman Jenette Kerr says most of the animals being brought to the sanctuary are dead and in some cases literally frozen.

Biologists say the turtles are stunned by the cold water in Cape Cod Bay, which shuts down their metabolisms and renders them unable to move.

https://articles-masslive-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/articles.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/11/more_than_4_dozen_sea_turtles.amp?amp_js_v=0.1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp;amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

Petition: More Animals Are Suffering at This Horrible Aquarium

by: Care2
recipient: City of Guangzhou

29,790 SUPPORTERS – 30,000 GOAL

Those of you who remember Pizza the Polar Bear might remember why he became famous. He was known as the “World’s Saddest Bear” because he was once housed at the Grandview Aquarium in Guangzhou China. A pathetic excuse for an animal park located within a shopping mall.

Well now, that same aquarium is back in the news and for an equally depressing reason. The Grandview may have let Pizza go to a better facility but they still house several animals that are living in unsuitable conditions. This menagerie includes belugas, seals and a walrus that still call the Grandview home.

The aquarium has been called a “living hell” and for good reason.

The beluga whales, which were caught in the wild and forced into a life of captivity, live in a plain tank with no stimulation. They’re only outside interaction comes from the trainers and paying customers for whom they are forced to perform.

The seven-spotted seals don’t fare much better. They also have little to no stimulus and seem to exhibit behavior that suggests the animals are utterly bored with their existence. For seals and whales, marine mammals that usually have a vast ocean to call their home, being forced to live in an empty tank in a dimly lit facility is absolute hell.

Finally, as activists point out, the aquarium further endangers these animals well-being because of its location. Defying logic, the aquarium isn’t located on the ground floor, so if there is ever a leak or worse, not only the animals but the people below could be swept away.

It is time to shut down this tragic facility. These animals deserve to live in peace in a sanctuary where they can enjoy their remaining years. Not holed away inside a shopping mall.

Sign and share this petition and ask the the city of Guangzhoe to seize Grandview’s animals, give them to a sanctuary and shut that aquarium down. more

Sign Petition

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/859/920/671/

29,790 supporters

 

“Go Inside an Antarctic ‘City’ of 400,000 King Penguins — Ep. 4 | Wildlife: Resurrection Island”

Florida’s coasts: It smells like death!

World Animals Voice

In the photo you can see what is happening on the coasts of Florida! Naples is a city on the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida. Here, tons of dead crabs were washed away!

Recently, 135 turtles and dolphins and manatees died in Sarasota, Florida.

On the weekend of September 16, 2018, beach visitors at Panama City Beach made a gruesome discovery: thousands of fish had been stranded dead. Nitrates and phosphorus together with rising temperatures are ideal conditions for algae blooms.Water has been drained from a Florida lake that was full of algal blooms, and this contaminated water got into the ocean!

More and more dead sea turtles, dolphins, manatees and fish have been washed ashore on Florida beaches since the end of July. Including a 200 kg sea turtle.
She had swum across the oceans for 100 years and her life ended on the beaches of…

View original post 152 more words

Protect Ocean-Saving Sea Cucumbers From Poachers

Sea cucumbers are the ocean’s garbage disposals and medicine men all in one, and they are the latest at-risk animals in the crosshairs of greedy poachers. Help save these ocean guardians and, in the process, help save the marine world.

Source: Protect Ocean-Saving Sea Cucumbers From Poachers

Save Remaining Orcas From Toxic Chemical Pollution

Half of all remaining killer whales may be doomed to die due to toxic pollution in the world’s oceans. Sign this petition to demand that nations commit to cleaning up banned PCB chemical waste that is causing severe harm to these animals.

Source: Save Remaining Orcas From Toxic Chemical Pollution

Petition: Oil tankers or orcas? Keep tar sand in the ground!

rainforest-rescue.org

Tankers carrying tar sand oil are a serious threat to the habitat of endangered orcas. Yet Alberta is planning the world’s largest open-pit tar sand mine. If realized, it would wipe out 292 square kilometers of forests and wetlands and be a disaster for the climate. Tell Canada to keep tar sand in the ground!

News and updates Call to action

To: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna

Teck Resources’ planned Frontier Tar Sand Mine would be an ecological disaster with a global impact. Keep tar sand in the ground.

Read letter

The pipelines needed to export tar sand oil are environmental disasters waiting to happen: the Trans Mountain Pipeline crosses the Rocky Mountains to British Columbia’s Pacific coast. Oil spills are virtually pre-programmed, and a tanker accident could devastate the coastline and the habitat of 75 endangered orcas.

Further inland, the tar sand mining industry is turning swathes of northern Alberta, Canada, into a wasteland: Forests are being felled to make way for open-pit mines. Tailing ponds contain water laden with heavy metals. Refineries pollute the air.

Tar sand oil is the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel, and extracting and refining it requires far greater amounts of energy than conventional oil. This project would make a mockery of Canada’s commitment to protect the climate – leaving it in the ground is the only sane option.

UNESCO is alarmed by the prospect of the mine: the guardians of World Heritage Sites see grave danger for Wood Buffalo National Park at the mouth of Athabasca River. The river is already polluted by existing oil sand mines and its condition would become much worse.

Local people are also impacted by the environmental destruction. The Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations reject the project and have declared the land north of Firebag River to be a no-go area. This has not stopped the mining company from running roughshod over the rights of the indigenous peoples.

There will be an official hearing for the pipeline project at the end of September. Together with our Canadian partners, we want to bring international pressure to bear against the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet. Please sign our petition: Tell the Canadian government to keep tar sand in the ground!

Back­ground
Canada’s boreal forests

Canada’s forests cover an area of 347 million hectares. Of those, 270 million hectares are boreal coniferous forests. Only Russia and Brazil have more forest. 94 percent of all forests in Canada are on public land. Politicians have a great influence over whether they are protected or open to exploitation by business.

The boreal forests of pine, spruce, fir and larch are the habitat of caribou, wolves and numerous bird species. Countless lakes, rivers and mountain ranges form a diverse mosaic of natural spaces. The forests are also a crucial bulwark against climate change, storing twice as much carbon as tropical forests.

Between 1990 and 2015, Canada’s forest area decreased by 1.2 million hectares, mainly due to logging, mining and hydropower projects. In many cases, the ecological impact is greater than the immediate physical one. For example, relatively narrow strips of land are cleared for roads, but caribou generally do not cross them and thus lose large parts of their habitat. They also keep at least 500 meters away from any disturbances of their environment. While the tar sands themselves cover an area of 475,000 hectares, their full exploitation would thus impact an area of 12,5 million hectares.
Wood Buffalo National Park in danger

At 44,807 square kilometers, Wood Buffalo National Park is Canada’s largest national park and largest UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also encompasses the world’s largest inland delta at the mouths of the Peace and Athabasca rivers.

Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922 declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

UNESCO describes the protected area as “the most ecologically complete and largest example of the entire Great Plains-Boreal grassland ecosystem of North America, the only place where the predator-prey relationship between wolves and wood bison has continued, unbroken, over time”.

The national park is also the only breeding habitat in the world for the endangered whooping crane (Grus americana). Experts estimate the population to be no more than 250 adult individuals.
Canada’s oil reserves

Canada’s tar sand deposits underlie more than 140,000 square kilometers of northeastern Alberta – an area larger than England. The country’s oil reserves are estimated at 170 billion barrels, putting it in second place after Saudi Arabia.

In 2016, Canada produced 2.8 million barrels of crude oil a day, 2.4 million of which come from tar sands. Current plans are to boost production to 5.1 million barrels a day by 2030, with 3.7 million from tar sands.
Three tons of sand – one barrel of oil

Tar sand is often called “oil sand”, a misleading term that trivializes the harmful chemical process required to extract oil from the bitumen in the sand. Two to three tons of sand are needed to obtain just one barrel of oil (159 liters). Processing the sand consumes up to five times more energy than the extraction of conventional oil. The fuel also emits 23 percent more greenhouse gases.

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), 12 billion barrels of tar sand oil have been extracted since 1967. As a result, 6.3 gigatons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere.

Strip mining tar sand not only devastates vast swathes of land, it also causes serious water pollution on a large scale. The contents of the tailing ponds, which presently cover 176 square kilometers, could bury London under a layer of toxic sludge nearly one meter deep. The muck contains heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic, as well as carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A study by the University of Toronto has shown that up to 1,000 times more toxins evaporate from the ponds than previously assumed. According to the Pembina Institute, 11 million liters of the toxic brew seep into the groundwater and pollute the Athabasca River every single day.
Athabasca River polluted

Fish in the Athabasca river and delta show striking deformations. Among the indigenous Mikisew Cree First Nation living downstream, certain cancers occur at up to seven times the national average rate. Locals in the town of Fort Chipewyan put the numerous deaths down to heavy metals in the environment. The Canadian government does not see a connection. Critics have described the government’s cavalier attitude toward the plight of the indigenous peoples as racist.

To date, the United States has been the main consumer of Canadian oil. Demand is falling, however. The U.S. has been pushing the extraction of oil and gas via fracking with the aim of becoming independent of foreign oil, a policy that has received added impetus under President Donald Trump.
Oil pipelines crossing the continent

Canada is planning major pipelines to transport the crude oil.

The Trans Mountain Expansion Project of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline has already been approved and is supported by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The pipeline links Alberta’s oil fields to the Pacific Coast. However, the provincial government of British Columbia is trying to foil the construction with proposed environmental regulations.

The Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, which will head south toward the U.S., has already been approved. The planned 2,700 km Keystone XL pipeline would also link Canada’s tar sand fields to refineries in Texas.

The oil industry has been calling for a pipeline to the east to export tar sand oil to Europe. In late 2017, however, the TransCanada group bowed to public pressure and dropped its Energy East project to the Atlantic coast.

Letter

To: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna

Dear Prime Minister,
Dear Minister McKenna,

Canada is among the countries with the most extensive forests on the planet. The old-growth rainforests of British Columbia, the maple tree forest in Quebec, and the boreal forests in the North are habitat for countless plant and animal species. The forests and wetlands store huge amounts of carbon and play an important role in mitigating climate change on a global scale.

It is crucial that Canada protect its forests – yet you have not been living up to this responsibility.

The tar sand areas in Alberta are the most horrible and obvious example of this lack of responsibility. For many years, vast forest and wetlands areas have been destroyed for open-pit mines and the production of the dirtiest fossil oil in the world. The Athabasca river has been poisoned, caribou and bear habitat has been destroyed and First Nations rights have been violated.

Teck Recourse’s proposed Frontier tar sand mine would damage Canada’s climate change commitments. From the year 2026 on, Teck plans to produce 260,000 barrels oil per day – over the course of 50 years. The approval of this new project would perpetuate the burning of fossil fuels despite the urgent need for humanity to switch to renewable energy as soon as possible to avoid further damage to the climate.

Furthermore, the tar sand mine project would be harmful to the habitat of significant plant and animal species, to the Athabasca River and other water resources, and to the Wood Buffalo National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Considering the existing and potential damage and harm, we ask you kindly to:

• stop Teck Resource’s proposed Frontier tar sand mine and tar sand exploitation in general.
• stop the construction of oil pipelines like Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain that are connected with tar sand exploitation.
• protect the Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• protect Canada’s forests, wetlands, rivers and lakes.
• respect the rights of First Nations and Métis communities who oppose tar sand mining and oil pipelines.

Your government was praised during the Bonn climate summit when announcing an end to burning coal. That pledge would be hypocritical, however, if you continue keep supporting tar sand exploitation. Canada can neither achieve its climate targets under the Paris Agreement nor its national climate plan if it exploits tar sand further.

Please live up to your responsibility to protect Canada’s forest and the global climate: keep tar sand in the ground!

Yours faithfully,

https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petitions/1128/oil-tankers-or-orcas-keep-tar-sand-in-the-ground?mtu=356307983&amp;t=3966