Healthy Oceans In the News
Search this section • RSS Feed
|
The ocean shouldn't be a garbage patch
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-07-16 |
| For the past three years, Portland has been talking about bags -- plastic bags. Why? Well, consider the problems that plastic causes in the ocean. From 500 miles off the Oregon coast to Japan, the North Pacific is filled with trash. An oceanic current known as a "gyre" slowly stirs this mess into a concentrated area called the Pacific Garbage Patch. It's an area about twice the size of Texas that's a soup of broken down bits of plastic. In this garbage patch, there's more plastic than plankton, the ocean's fundamental food source. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Portland Mayor Sam Adams Pledges Ban on Plastic Bags
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-07-15 |
| Facing five "bag monsters" and a sea of "ban the bag" T-shirts, Portland Mayor Sam Adams pledged Wednesday to eliminate ubiquitous slippery plastic bags from the city. He declined to say when a prohibition on plastic grocery bags might start, but promised details in a draft ordinance to be released Friday. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Mayor Promises to Act on Banning Plastic Bags
- The Portland Mercury (new window)
|
2010-07-14 |
| There is nowhere to sit in city hall. Blame the environmentalists. Over 150 people wearing blue "Ban the Bag" shirts are packed into city council's chambers, turned out by a coalition of green groups who are trying to get Portland, and then the state, to ban single-use plastic bags from grocery stores and corner shops. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Video: Mayor Adams Supports Ban the Bag at Today's Rally
- Natural Oregon (new window)
|
2010-07-14 |
| Where else but outside Portland City Hall will you see salmon dancing alongside garbage bag monsters? The colorful show was part rally, part celebration, as the Ban The Bag movement kicked off a season of activism they hope will bring about a statewide ban on single use plastic bags. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Portland Mayor Sam Adams says city, too, will ban plastic grocery bags
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-07-14 |
| Portland Mayor Sam Adams said today he will have a draft ordinance by the end of the week on a citywide plan to ban plastic grocery bags. State lawmakers are considering a similar prohibition for January 2012, but they don’t meet until January 2011. The statewide proposal would outlaw single-use plastic bags and tack a 5-cent fee on paper bags at all retailers. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Paper vs. plastic: Will the Choice End?
- Oregon City News (new window)
|
2010-07-10 |
| Momentum is building in Oregon City for a citywide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags at retail checkout stands, barring a city resolution in support of a statewide ban. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oceans of Petroleum
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-05-19 |
| The millions of gallons spilling in the Gulf of Mexico is a tragedy. The news seems to get worse every day – growing estimates of the amount of oil involved, solutions failing, fingers pointing. Millions of birds, fish and other marine life will likely be affected for decades. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oregon lawmakers extend moratorium on offshore drilling
- Los Angeles Times (new window)
|
2010-02-19 |
| Legislation halts oil and gas development for 10 more years, but it stops short of a permanent ban. A 10-year moratorium on offshore oil and gas development along the Oregon coast won final passage in the Legislature on Thursday, though lawmakers stopped short of adopting a permanent ban. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oregon Senate endorses 10-year off-shore drilling ban
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-02-18 |
| SALEM -- Oregon legislators took their final vote Thursday in favor of extending the state's ban on coastal oil or gas drilling for at least another decade. State officials first adopted a drilling moratorium in the 1990s, and lawmakers readopted a three-year ban in 2007. But that expired Jan. 2. The Senate voted 22-8 in favor of House Bill 3613, which would renew the ban for another 10 years. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Session Watch: Offshore Drilling Ban Passes Senate
- Natural Oregon (new window)
|
2010-02-18 |
| The environment community’s first victory of the special session is almost complete. Today the Senate voted to approve HB 3613, a ten-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in Oregon’s territorial sea. The bill now goes to Governor Kulongoski for his signature. Brock Howell of Environment Oregon says that the Governor’s staff testified in favor of the ban, so it’s likely Kulongoski will sign it. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Legislature votes to ban offshore drilling until 2020
- KVAL - Florence (new window)
|
2010-02-18 |
| On Thursday, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 3613A 22 to 8, establishing a moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling until 2020. This ten-year moratorium is four times as long as the previous moratorium passed in mid-2007 that expired this January 2, 2010. “The Oregon coast is a beautiful, majestic place,” said Brock Howell, the State Policy Advocate for Environment Oregon. “The legislature rightly protected our coastal jobs, businesses, and communities.” | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oregon Lawmakers Extend Moritoim
- The Olympian (new window)
|
2010-02-18 |
| A 10-year moratorium on offshore oil and gas development along the Oregon coast won final passage in Oregon's Legislature on Thursday, though lawmakers stopped short of adopting a permanent ban. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Drill rigs off shore?
- Eugene Weekly (new window)
|
2010-02-11 |
| Oregon's ban on offshore drilling for oil and gas expired Jan. 2 and opponents to ocean oil drilling are working to have a new moratorium put into place by the state Legislature. Oregon has jurisdiction over the first three nautical miles off the coast; after that, the federal government regulates drilling. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oregon House votes for 10-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-02-08 |
| The Oregon House voted 38 to 21 Monday to ban off-shore oil and gas drilling in Oregon's territorial waters for 10 years. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Ban on offshore drilling heads for House Vote
- Statesman Journal (new window)
|
2010-02-05 |
| A bill calling for a 10-year ban on oil and gas drilling off the Oregon Coast will go to a House vote after passing out of committee Thursday. Oregon approved a three-year ban in 2007 that expired last month. HB 3613 would extend the ban through 2020 within Oregon's coastal waters, which stretch about 3 and a half miles from shore. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Moratorium on drilling in Oregon waters expires today
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2010-01-02 |
| A three-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling in Oregon's territorial sea expires today, and environmentalists are pushing the Legislature to adopt a permanent ban when it convenes in February. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Ban on Drilling about to Expire
- Portland Tribune (new window)
|
2009-12-10 |
| Oregon’s offshore oil drilling moratorium expires Jan. 2, enabling oil companies to propose exploratory wells in the state’s coastal waters. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Harmful algae could cost coastal communities
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2009-11-16 |
| A study released Monday shows that a yearlong closure of razor clamming because of toxic algae would cost Washington state $22 million in lost revenue from lodging, gear sales, restaurant receipts and other costs. The study, by the University of Washington and NOAA, is one of the first to evaluate the economic effects of harmful algae blooms. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash
- New York Times (new window)
|
2009-11-10 |
| In this remote patch of the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles from any national boundary, the detritus of human life is collecting in a swirling current so large that it defies precise measurement. Light bulbs, bottle caps, toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks and tiny pieces of plastic, each the size of a grain of rice, inhabit the Pacific garbage patch, an area of widely dispersed trash that doubles in size every decade and is now believed to be roughly twice the size of Texas. But one research organization estimates that the garbage now actually pervades the Pacific, though most of it is caught in what oceanographers call a gyre like this one — an area of heavy currents and slack winds that keep the trash swirling in a giant whirlpool. | |
| more. . . | |
|
The Call To Expand Oregon’s Marine Reserves
- NaturalOregon.org (new window)
|
2009-11-02 |
| Saying our coast ecology is under deep stress, Environment Oregon is calling for a major expansion of the state’s system of marine reserves. Marine reserves are sort of like state parks in the ocean. They’re areas where most major commercial activity, such as fishing and energy development are banned. But recreation activities, such as diving, boating and surfing, are allowed. So far, Oregon has set aside two areas off the coast as marine reserves and four other locations are being studied. | |
| more. . . | |
|
New Report Documents The Threat Of Oil To Oregon’s Coast
- NaturalOregon.org (new window)
|
2009-10-30 |
| Allowing oil and natural gas drilling off the Oregon coast is not worth the risk, according to a new report from Environment Oregon. The environmental dangers are well known. Offshore oil spills can kill or harm marine life, fish and seabirds. They damage coastal ecosystems and can be awfully expensive to clean up. But this new report argues there’s an economic risk too. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Marine reserves meeting is Tuesday in Salem
- Statesman Journal (new window)
|
2009-10-14 |
| State officials have set up three meetings next week to take public comments on draft rules to set up, study, monitor and evaluate pilot marine reserves. The first session is 1-3 p.m. Tuesday in Salem at the State Lands Building, 775 Summer St. NE. Other meetings, both 7-9 p.m., are Wednesday in Port Orford on the south coast and Thursday in Otter Rock north of Newport, both sites for prospective reserves. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Federal scientists: Limit offshore drilling plans
- Los Angeles Times (new window)
|
2009-10-12 |
| The federal government's top ocean scientists are urging the Interior Department to drastically reduce plans to open the coast to offshore oil and gas drilling, citing threats to marine life and potentially devastating effects of oil spills in Arctic waters. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Meetings on marine reserves this month
- Curry Coastal Pilot (new window)
|
2009-10-07 |
| The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is beginning to take comment on draft rules to establish, study, monitor and evaluate pilot marine reserves at Otter Rock north of Newport and Redfish Rocks near Port Orford. Three public meetings have been set for comments, including one at the Port Orford Public Library scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 21. | |
| more. . . | |
|
'Healthy Oceans Matter' To This Administration Says NOAA Head
- OPB News (new window)
|
2009-09-18 |
| Leading federal officials from D.C. met in San Francisco Thursday and presented plans for what lies farther west. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head, Jane Lubchenco emphasized the importance of putting a new ocean council in the White House. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Obama’s ocean task force releases report
- Christian Science-Monitor (new window)
|
2009-09-17 |
| With demands on US ocean resources control growing quickly, the Obama administration today outlined a new comprehensive ocean management plan to guide federal agencies in restoring and protecting a badly stressed US coastal and ocean environment. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oregon Coast areas designated as marine reserves by lawmakers
- KGW-8 (AP) (new window)
|
2009-06-19 |
| A measure to establish Oregon's first two fishing-free marine reserves off the Oregon coast is on its way to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. The measure to help restore dwindling fishing stocks won final approval Wednesday in the Oregon Senate after supporters called it a fair compromise backed by environmentalists, fishermen and coastal groups. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Marine reserves win OK
- The World (AP) (new window)
|
2009-06-18 |
| All that's preventing Oregon from setting up the state's first two fishing-free marine reserves off the coast is Gov. Ted Kulongoski's signature. Talk to anyone involved in the process and all indications are these two reserves will sail into existence on a wave of support from the governor. | |
| more. . . | |
|
OR Lawmakers Approve Three Environmental Bills
- NaturalOregon.org (new window)
|
2009-06-18 |
| With time running out on this year’s legislative session, work is accelerating on bills that are central to the environmental agenda in Oregon. The Senate approved two bills and the House passed one, including a flame retardant ban, marine reserve designation, and energy efficiency upgrade to the state building code. | |
| more. . . | |
|
Oregon Senate approves state's first marine reserves
- The Oregonian (new window)
|
2009-06-17 |
| The Oregon Senate approved a bill this afternoon that authorizes the state's first two fishing-free marine reserves and requires study of four other areas. The bill, approved earlier by the House, now goes to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. The reserve system included in House Bill 3013A is smaller than originally proposed by Kulongoski. But environmental groups applauded the 24-3 vote, saying it marks an important start. | |
| more. . . | |
«Previous Page · 1 2 · Next Page»
