Play Video AP  – Raw Video: Oil leak threatens Great Barrier Reef

 

Reuters – Oil is seen next to the 230-metre (754-ft) bulk coal carrier Shen Neng I about 70 km (43 miles) east …

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A stranded Chinese coal ship leaking oil onto Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an environmental time bomb with the potential to devastate large protected areas of the reef, activists said on Monday.

The ship was a “ticking environmental time bomb,” Gilly Llewellyn, director of conservation for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Australia, told Reuters.

She said this was the third major international incident involving its owners in four years.

Australian government officials say the stricken Shen Neng I belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, better known by its acronym COSCO.

In 2007, COSCO was linked to a major oil spill in San Francisco bay, while last year it was tied to another in Norway, both of which damaged environmentally sensitive areas.

“We are seeing a concerning pattern potentially associated with this company,” Llewellyn told Reuters.

COSCO officials in Australia could not be contacted for comment on Monday.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches along Australia’s northeastern coast and is the only living structure on Earth visible from space. It is the world’s largest coral reef and a major tourist draw.

As salvagers struggled on Monday to stop the ship breaking up and spilling hundreds of tons of oil and thousands of tons of coal, environmentalists told Reuters tighter controls on shipping were needed to protect the reef as Australia’s energy industry expands.

SHIP NEEDS HELP

Although only a small amount of the 975 tons of fuel oil on board has so far leaked, Australian officials have warned the ship is unable to move off the shoal unaided, as its engine and rudder were damaged.

International salvage firm Svitzer has been engaged and has attempted to use tugs to stabilize the vessel, but the head of the government agency overseeing the operation said on Monday the ship was still moving on the reef.

The 230-meter (754-ft) ship was carrying 65,000 tons of coal to China when it ran aground on Saturday with 975 tons of heavy fuel oil on board, a type of oil environmentalists say is particularly sticky and damaging to marine organisms.

The ship was off-course and traveling at full speed when it hit, Australian officials have said. If it broke up as feared, environmentalists said the effects could be devastating.

“We would potentially be looking at an environmental disaster,” Llewellyn said.” It would be an extremely large spill.”

Among the animals affected would be protected species of turtles, dugongs, and marine birds, as well as the sensitive corals, she said.

Chris Smyth, an ocean campaigner with the Australian Conservation Foundation, said with Australia planning to expand its energy industry, its government needs to consider whether ships should be traveling through the reef at all.

“It is going to actually increase shipping traffic substantially and the likelihood of these kinds of incidents occurring in the future,” he told Reuters.

This is Australia’s third such recent disaster, he said, following two last year, another oil spill off the Queensland coast and a major oil well blowout in the Timor Sea.

It should be clearer within the next few days what the likely scale of this disaster may be, Smyth said. In a worst case scenario, the spilled oil could reach protected areas on the Australian mainland, he said.

On Monday, Queensland state premier Anna Bligh called for tough legal action against the shipowners, saying they could face fines of up to A$1 million ($920,000), with the captain facing a further fine of up to A$220,000.

Investigations are underway by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

A spokeswoman for AMSA told Reuters its investigation would be “exploring breaches and possible offences” under Australian law. Some 23 crew who were on board the vessel when it ran aground so far appeared to be safe, she said.

Rescue officials have said the ship will require a long and careful salvage operation, expected to take weeks.

(A$1=$0.92)

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

(Sydney Newsroom +612 6273 2730)

Senator Sanders Letter to Senator Kerry[1]

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10201140

Death of Coral Reefs Could Devastate Nations
The disappearance of coral reefs could mean more hunger, poverty, political instability
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.
Coral reefs are dying, and scientists and governments around the world are contemplating what will happen if they disappear altogether.
The idea positively scares them.
Coral reefs are part of the foundation of the ocean food chain. Nearly half the fish the world eats make their homes around them. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide — by some estimates, 1 billion across Asia alone — depend on them for their food and their livelihoods.
If the reefs vanished, experts say, hunger, poverty and political instability could ensue.
“Whole nations will be threatened in terms of their existence,” said Carl Gustaf Lundin of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Numerous studies predict coral reefs are headed for extinction worldwide, largely because of global warming, pollution and coastal development, but also because of damage from bottom-dragging fishing boats and the international trade in jewelry and souvenirs made of coral.
At least 19 percent of the world’s coral reefs are already gone, including some 50 percent of those in the Caribbean. An additional 15 percent could be dead within 20 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Old Dominion University professor Kent Carpenter, director of a worldwide census of marine species, warned that if global warming continues unchecked, all corals could be extinct within 100 years.
“You could argue that a complete collapse of the marine ecosystem would be one of the consequences of losing corals,” Carpenter said. “You’re going to have a tremendous cascade effect for all life in the oceans.”
Exotic and colorful, coral reefs aren’t lifeless rocks; they are made up of living creatures that excrete a hard calcium carbonate exoskeleton. Once the animals die, the rocky structures erode, depriving fish of vital spawning and feeding grounds.
Experts say cutting back on carbon emissions to arrest rising sea temperatures and acidification of the water, declaring some reefs off limits to fishing and diving, and controlling coastal development and pollution could help reverse, or at least stall, the tide.
Florida, for instance, has the largest unbroken “no-take” zone in the continental U.S. — about 140 square miles off limits to fishing in and around Dry Tortugas National Park, a cluster of islands and reefs teeming with marine life about 70 miles off Key West.
Many fishermen oppose such restrictions. And other environmental measures have run into resistance at the state, local, national and international level. On Sunday, during a gathering of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, restrictions proposed by the U.S. and Sweden on the trade of some coral species were rejected.
If reefs were to disappear, commonly consumed species of grouper and snapper could become just memories. Oysters, clams and other creatures that are vital to many people’s diets would also suffer. And experts say commercial fisheries would fail miserably at meeting demand for seafood.
“Fish will become a luxury good,” said Cassandra deYoung of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. “You already have a billion people who are facing hunger, and this is just going to aggravate the situation,” she added. “We will not be able to maintain food security around the world.”
The economic damage could be enormous. Ocean fisheries provide direct employment to at least 38 million people worldwide, with an additional 162 million people indirectly involved in the industry, according to the U.N.
Coral reefs draw scuba divers, snorkelers and other tourists to seaside resorts in Florida, Hawaii, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean and help maintain some of the world’s finest sandy beaches by absorbing energy from waves. Without the reefs, hotels, restaurants and other businesses that cater to tourists could suffer financially.
Many Caribbean countries get nearly half their gross national product from visitors seeking tropical underwater experiences.
People all over the world could pay the price if reefs were to disappear, since some types of coral and marine species that rely on reefs are being used by the pharmaceutical industry to develop possible cures for cancer, arthritis and viruses.
“A world without coral reefs is unimaginable,” said Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist who heads NOAA. “Reefs are precious sources of food, medicine and livelihoods for hundreds of thousands around the world. They are also special places of renewal and recreation for thousands more. Their exotic beauty and diverse bounty are global treasures.”
———
Associated Press Science Writer Seth Borenstein contributed to this report from Washington.

Special thanks to Angel Braestrup

http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja10/

2010 The Meeting of the Americas

8–13 August
Rafain Hotel and Convention Center
Av. Olímpio Rafagnin, 2357
Foz do Iguaçu – PR, 85862–210, Brazil

Welcome!

The Meeting of the Americas is being held in Foz do Iguaçu, 08–13 August 2010. The Program Committee will develop a Union-wide science program that will cover topics in all areas of geophysical sciences. With its majestic beauty, rich history, and tropical grandeur, the cosmopolitan city of Foz de Iguassu is an ideal venue for a productive meeting and a memorable experience.

Abstract Submissions

Abstract Submissions are now open. The detailed session search is now available.

Travel Information

Visit the travel and visa information web site for more details.

Student Travel Grants

Limited number of grants for partial funding for students who are first authors and presenters of a poster or oral presentation. Support is primarily provided by donation from AGU members. Read requirements and fill out an application.

Sponsors

AAGG, ABC, ABEQUA, ABRH, ALAGE, AOCEANO, CERESIS, IASPEI, IGEO, LATINMAG SBC, SBGeo, SBGf, SBGq, SBMet, SEG, SGC, SUG, UGM, AGU