December, 20 2012, 03:47pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Serena Ingre, NRDC, 415-875-6155, singre@nrdc.org; Bob Keefe, NRDC, 202-289-2373 or bkeefe@nrdc.org
New Proposed Federal Protections Will Safeguard One of Most Diverse, Important Stretches of Ocean in America
NRDC: Obama Administration move shows what can be done to protect our special places
WASHINGTON
The Obama administration today announced plans to establish new protections that will ban oil drilling and other activities along more than 50 miles of Northern California coast - a move that will protect wildlife, beaches and the health of the Pacific.
After the announcement, NRDC President Frances Beinecke made the following statement:
"The Obama administration is right to recognize that this area - one of the most biologically productive, beautiful stretches of ocean and coastlines in America - must be kept off-limits to oil drilling and other potentially harmful activities.
"Coupled with the recent creation of new marine protected areas in California, this shows how states and the federal government can - and should - help protect the special places all around our country for future generations."
The proposed expanded marine area will encompass the Cordell Bank and the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary - two places that NRDC has fought to protect. The region provides breeding and feeding grounds for at least 25 endangered and threatened species and 36 marine mammals, including blue, gray and humpback whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Stellar sea lions.
For more information about how we can protect our oceans and the wildlife that depend on them, see https://www.nrdc.org/oceans/
And for more details on California's marine protected areas, see Karen Garrison's blog here: https://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kgarrison/an_ocean_legacy_to_make_califo.html and Francesca Koe's blog here: https://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fkoe/an_oceanic_gift.html.
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
(212) 727-2700LATEST NEWS
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While applauding the U.S. House of Representatives' bipartisan passage of a bill to ensure that "law enforcement and intelligence agencies can't do an end-run around the Constitution by buying information from data brokers" on Wednesday, privacy advocates highlighted that Congress is trying to extend and expand a long-abused government spying program.
The House voted 219-199 for Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA), which won support from 96 Democrats and 123 Republicans, including the lead sponsor, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). Named for the constitutional amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, H.R. 4639 would close what campaigners call the data broker loophole.
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Wednesday's vote followed the House sending the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act to the Senate. H.R. 7888 would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for warrantless spying on noncitizens abroad but also sweeps up Americans' data.
The House notably included an amendment forcing a wide range of individuals and businesses to cooperate with government spying operations but rejected an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the bill, which the Senate could vote on as soon as Thursday.
Noting those decisions on the FISA reauthorization legislation, Ruddock stressed that "today's vote is a victory but follows a recent loss and ongoing threat as that Section 702 bill moves to the Senate this week too."
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Jeramie Scott, senior counsel and director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Project on Surveillance Oversight, also praised the House's FANFSA passage on Wednesday.
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Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU, similarly said Wednesday that "the bipartisan passage of this bill is a flashing warning sign to the government that if it wants our data, it must get a warrant."
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