April, 17 2013, 02:33pm EDT
EPA Urged to Toughen Standards to Protect Marine Life From Ocean Acidification
SAN FRANCISCO
In a legal petition to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Biological Diversity today sought better, more effective standards to protect shellfish, corals and other marine life from the corrosive and deadly effects of ocean acidification. The state of Washington recently stated it hoped EPA would set such standards, in order to help shellfish hatcheries avoid future oyster die-offs. The petition also asks that the EPA publish guidance to help states effectively monitor and protect their coastal waters from ocean acidification.
"The science is clear: Our oceans are facing an unprecedented crisis," said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "If we're going to avoid passing a point of no return, we need to do whatever we can to track this corrosive seawater and reduce pollution that's transforming life in our oceans."
The world's oceans have already become about 30 percent more acidic since the Industrial Revolution as a result of a chemical change in seawater that happens when ocean waters absorb CO2 pollution from cars, factories and other sources. This rate of change in ocean chemistry has no precedent in geologic time; the last time seawater was so acidic, about 55 million years ago, there were massive species extinctions.
Today ocean acidification is making it hard for animals such as corals and oysters to grow and survive. It's also eroding the shells of tiny plankton that form the basis of the marine food web, which may result in large-scale problems up the food chain for sea stars, salmon, sea otters, whales and ultimately humans.
"I don't want to live in a world without coral reefs teeming with colorful fish or tidepools alive with anemones, shellfish and hermit crabs," said Sakashita. "The only way we're going to save our oceans is if we use all the tools we have -- including the Clean Water Act."
Current national water-quality criteria under the Clean Water Act require that pH, a measure of acidity, remain within 0.2 units of historic levels. A 0.2 decline in pH corresponds to a 60 percent increase in acidity. Today's petition requests that the EPA use additional water-quality standards that, when used together with pH, will more effectively monitor and detect ocean acidification. The petition also asks the agency to publish guidance that will help states in their water-quality assessments and when they are determining which waters are impaired by ocean acidification.
To learn more, go to EndangeredOceans.org.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
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Booze Hound! Lina Khan, Not Done Yet, Targets Nation's Largest Alcohol Seller
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The FTC said its complaint details how the Florida-based company "is engaged in anticompetitive and unlawful price discrimination" by "selling wine and spirits to small, independent 'mom-and-pop' businesses at prices that are drastically higher" than what it charges large chain retailers, "with dramatic price differences that provide insurmountable advantages that far exceed any real cost efficiencies for the same bottles of wine and spirits."
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"By suing Southern Glazer under the Robinson-Patman Act, a law that has gone unenforced for decades, the FTC is doing what our government should be doing: using every tool possible to make life better for everyday Americans," she added.
According to the FTC:
Under the Robinson-Patman Act, it is generally illegal for sellers to engage in price discrimination that harms competition by charging higher prices to disfavored retailers that purchase similar goods. The FTC's case filed today seeks to ensure that businesses of all sizes compete on a level playing field with equivalent access to discounts and rebates, which means increased consumer choice and the ability to pass on lower prices to consumers shopping across independent retailers.
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Southern Glazer's published a statement calling the FTC lawsuit "misguided and legally flawed" and claiming it has not violated the Robinson-Patman Act.
"Operating in the highly competitive alcohol distribution business, we offer different levels of discounts based on the cost we incur to sell different quantities to customers and make all discount levels available to all eligible retailers, including chain stores and small businesses alike," the company said.
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As Common Dreams reported last month, more than half of the department's annual budget now goes to military contractors that consistently overcharge the government, contributing to the Pentagon's inability to fully account for trillions of taxpayer dollars.
The $883.7 billion legislation that was advanced by the House on Wednesday would pour more money into the Pentagon's coffers. The package includes more than $500 million in Israeli military aid and two $357 million nuclear-powered attack submarine despite the Pentagon requesting only one, and would cut more than $621 million from President Joe Biden's budget request for climate action initiatives.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that the legislation "has some very good things we Democrats wanted in it, it has some bad things we wouldn't have put in there, and some things that were left out," and indicated that he had filed cloture for the first procedural vote on the NDAA.
The vote is expected to take place early next week, and 60 votes are needed to begin debate on the package.
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Two Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden Thursday, urging him to place more checks on potential nuclear weapons use by mandating that a president must obtain authorization from Congress before initiating a nuclear first strike.
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