Ocean Zone News Blog

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–August 3, 2010.  National Marine Sanctuaries have helped facilitate ecosystem-based management practices in U.S. waters by developing tools that balance marine conservation goals while minimizing conflicts between diverse marine interests, according to a new NOAA report.

The National Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series report, “Examples of Ecosystem-based Management in National Marine Sanctuaries: From Theory to Practice,” found that across the sanctuary system, managers used various approaches to encourage stakeholder engagement and guide protection of marine habitats and biodiversity. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries manages 14 marine protected areas covering more than 150,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters.

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Planning. You can’t build a community without it. Zoning laws, codes, permit processes – they turn chaos into order.

So why should the ocean be any different? Shouldn’t we apply the same principles to our coastal waters?

With the stroke of a pen, President Barack Obama on Monday set into motion such a planning process by creating a National Ocean Policy and an accompanying National Ocean Council, a body of scientists and administration officials charged with overseeing activities such as drilling, fishing and shipping along the nation’s ocean shores.

Battle Creek Enquirer

New ocean policy includes Great Lakes

Gloucester Times

By Richard Gaines Staff Writer

By executive order, President Obama has hit the go button for the creation of a political system for writing ocean and Great Lakes usage plans overseen by a new National Ocean Council.

The ideas involved including “marine spatial planning” and “ecosystem based management” have had a champion for years in Jane Lubchenco, a leading academic scientist before her nomination to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

05 de julio de 2010

Offshore wind energy development in the European Union is accelerating and could potentially supply 12-16% of the EU’s electricity by 2030, the equivalent of 25,000 wind turbines, the IUCN says.

As the stories previously reported will tell you, the world is beginning to make changes towards a low carbon economy, and, the potential of offshore wind power in driving this change in the energy sector is now being realised.

Offshore wind power, key in fighting climate change, does have an impact on marine environments – something which researchers and offshore wind farm developers are aware of and are developing their knowledge.