In his second term, Obama becomes bolder on the environment
By Juliet Eilperin, August 10, 2013
President Obama’s environmental policies are likely to play a prominent role in defining his second term, even as the budget, immigration and health care still dominate the current political debate.
“He sees this as a necessary part of his legacy,” she said in a recent interview.
Cutting carbon emissions and preparing for the impacts of climate change are the biggest environmental policies the president is pursuing, but they are not the only ones. His deputies are laying the groundwork to manage public lands across broad regions, drawing on high-tech mapping to balance energy interests against conservation needs. They also are preparing to weigh in on a controversial mining proposal in Alaska.
In the administration’s first term, it framed climate initiatives as ways to promote energy independence or cut consumer costs [ http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-07-03/national/35237836_1_climate-change-trucks-vehicles ]. It also made modest concessions to business interests — such as rejecting a controversial smog rule, which would have affected a broad swath of industries, and delaying other regulations.
Agency heads were given very different guideposts for the second term as Obama deputized a new team of Cabinet members to enact a series of rules and policies aimed at tackling global warming.
In his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, Obama has a policy manager who has written and contributed to several pieces on climate change as a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress [ http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-17/national/37149732_1_energy-policy-energy-secretary-climate-change ] think tank in 2006 and 2007. He is a sharp contrast to former Obama chiefs of staff William Daley and Rahm Emanuel, who both privately saw global warming as a political liability for the president.
While Manchin called the nearly hour-long session “very respectful and productive,” he also said it exposed the “deep differences” between politicians like himself and Obama.
“You cannot describe this any differently than as a war on coal, and not just in West Virginia or the U.S. but on a global scale,” he said. “They’re using every tool they have to destroy the most abundant, reliable and affordable resource that we have.”
“It does not appear to be ‘just make a speech and walk away,’?” he said in an interview. “It appears to be a lasting and real policy shift.”
The Office of Management and Budget — which has delayed finalizing decisions on issues including what constitutes a wetland, tighter energy efficiency standards for commercial walk-in coolers and freezers, and which substances should make the EPA’s “chemicals of concern” list — has agreed to speed up its process and to brief lawmakers quarterly on the progress it is making.
Under Secretary Ernest Moniz, the Energy Department is emerging as a more powerful policy driver. Moniz has launched a Quadrennial Energy Review, aimed at analyzing the nation’s energy infrastructure. Moniz also is collaborating with McCarthy and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to craft a national strategy to address methane, a potent greenhouse gas that leaks from natural gas operations, and he will continue to draft new efficiency standards for buildings and commercial products.
In an agency-wide address to employees Aug. 1, Jewell took the unusual step of suggesting that no one working for her should challenge the idea that human activity is driving recent warming. “I hope there are no climate-change deniers in the Department of Interior,” she said.
Still, the center of the president’s climate plan lies with the EPA and its plan to finalize rules in the next two years to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from new and existing plants. In an interview, McCarthy said she and other administration officials still see coal plants as part of the nation’s energy mix “for the next 40 years” but said she was determined “to bend the curve on climate” by setting standards that will require utilities to build more efficient plants.
“The key is not to stay where we are for the next 40 years,” she said.
While White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors is coordinating the climate action plan as part of his job overseeing top presidential priorities, McDonough has convened key meetings with both environmental groups and agency officials.
The challenge for business groups is to decide whether to cooperate with the administration as it presses ahead with climate rules for power plants and other new regulations or to try to fight it.
Other industries that will be next in line for carbon restrictions, such as refiners and steel and cement producers, are concerned the administration’s power plant rules will set a dangerous precedent.
While the administration has confronted the oil industry as well — Obama recently questioned the economic benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/07/28/obamas-keystone-comments-give-opponents-reason-for-hope/ ], which would ship crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast — the president is far friendlier to natural gas. Obama highlighted it in his June climate speech, and even in private discussions with donors, he touts its economic, environmental and geopolitical benefits.
Bruce Babbitt, who served as interior secretary for the eight years President Bill Clinton was in office, said that in contrast to the Clinton administration, “There doesn’t seem to be layers and layers of people who care about this issue.”
The administration has been too cautious in putting land off-limits, he argued. “They seem to have fallen back to the idea that unless there’s a hundred percent consensus, they’re not going to use the Antiquities Act in terms of land conservation.”
In a private April 9 meeting with environmental leaders, Jewell said she expected activists to try as hard as possible to get wilderness bills passed in Congress before pressing the administration to declare national monuments. “We’re a last resort, not a first resort” is how Whit Fosburgh, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, described Jewell’s message.
Ironically, EPA could deliver conservationists one of their biggest wins this term: A coalition of tribes, fishing operators and environmentalists are pushing agency officials to invoke its authority under the Clean Water Act to block the proposed Pebble Mine [ http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-06-01/politics/39672296_1_gold-mine-epa-region-kvichak ] in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed.
"Fin whale carcass the bears have been feeding on for the past year (sic). The next BBC documentary you see with polar bears will without question have footage from this spot!" the photographer wrote on Flickr.
The polar bears seem to have missed this particular photo op, but they're pretty fond of fin whale meat, as you can see in this video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FttDr1kdyvo (next below)]:
By Daniel Sandford BBC News, Taimyr Peninsula, Russia 26 August 2013 Last updated at 07:47 GMT
[ VIDEO ] Scientists warn that the Laptev Sea is home to important and possibly rare species
Russia is planning huge oil and gas developments in the Arctic Ocean off its northern coast - drilling that could threaten pristine wildlife habitats.
Large-scale production could begin in the next two decades, if the price of oil rises high enough.
Preliminary exploration has already begun, including in the Laptev Sea.
But scientists say the region is home to important, thriving populations of walrus and polar bears, which could be put at risk.
The early retreat of ice makes life harder for the polar bear and walrus
Biologists on the 2013 Laptev Expedition this summer have been trying to establish if the walruses and polar bears there are a unique group, in need of special protection. BBC journalists went with them to investigate the issue.
We flew to Khatanga, one of the most northerly towns in Siberia, and there we boarded a small boat, the Taimyr.
From Khatanga it was a two-day, 500km (310-mile) journey almost due north.
Polar bears
After the first day it became clear we had entered the domain of the polar bear. First we saw a mother with two five-month-old cubs on Maliy Begichev Island.
Then we saw a big "haul-out" of walrus at Cape Tsvetkov - perhaps 400-600 there, resting on the beach. Towering above them on the last large lump of ice was a large polar bear.
But our destination was Maria Pronchishcheva Bay, half-way up the Taimyr Peninsula. It is the most northerly bit of land in the world still attached to a continent.
"The oil companies are coming here with exploration projects already, and there are ongoing seismic explorations," said Igor Chestin, chief executive of the environmental group WWF Russia.
"So before the real oil and gas projects develop in the area we need to know that there is sufficient knowledge of the conservation needs here, which would allow us to put in the necessary protection if this development ever happens."
From satellite photographs taken a week earlier, the scientists on the expedition knew there had also been a large walrus "haul-out" there previously. By the time we sailed into the bay the number had dropped to around 60. But it was still enough for the crucial scientific work of the expedition - collecting DNA from the Laptev walrus.
Peninsula Researchers want to find out more about the Laptev walrus
Collecting samples
Walrus expert Anatoly Kochnev of ChukotTINRO, a marine biology group, was despatched to the pebbly spit where the animals were resting.
We watched as he fired crossbow darts into the sides of the walrus, which he then retrieved with a thin piece of line attached to each dart. At the head of each dart was a biopsy punch, which pulled out a piece of walrus skin and fat as it was retrieved.
The samples will be sent to labs in Moscow and Denmark for DNA analysis. The plan is to end a long scientific dispute over whether the Laptev walrus is a unique sub-species in need of special protection, genetically different from the Pacific walrus and the Atlantic walrus.
Darts are used to collect vital samples from the walrus
Just one hour after Anatoly Kochnev's third trip out to the spit, a huge male polar bear appeared in the exact spot where he had been kneeling to fire the crossbow. The bear tried to kill one of the walrus, but was unsuccessful - this time.
Polar bear expert Geoff York of WWF's Global Arctic Programme is collecting samples - faeces and hair - which will also be sent for DNA analysis. Again there is a concern that the polar bears of the Laptev Sea may be unique and in need of special protection.
"If that is true then in most countries you would need to identify the habitat being used by bears," Geoff York said.
"Are they making dens onshore? How are they using the land in summer? Then you would protect those habitats at least in the relevant seasons. If you do indeed have two unique sub-populations of marine mammals here you might consider that this should be a Marine Protected Area, and you might exclude any industrial development."
Ice retreating
The concern about the large marine mammals of the Laptev Sea has increased in the last decade for two reasons.
Firstly, climate change has led to a dramatic shrinking of the Arctic ice cap in recent summers. This has meant that in order to stay close to their feeding grounds the walruses have had to come ashore in much larger numbers, instead of staying on the ice where they feel more comfortable.
Polar bears are also being forced ashore, where they find it much harder to feed. Their preferred meal, the ringed seal, is not available onshore and they often are reduced to going after the much more dangerous walrus.
Secondly, there are plans to develop the Laptev Sea for oil and gas production. The water here is shallow, which makes it easier to drill, and there are believed to be large deposits of hydrocarbons. This exploration work may frighten the nervous bear and walruses, and could disrupt their food supply.
Conservationists think the arrival of much greater numbers of humans could also increase hunting, further disrupting the delicate balance of nature here. They say that nobody has yet worked out how to control an oil spill in seas that are close to freezing.
The Laptev Sea is now a target for large-scale energy exploration
The Russian government says the country's future wealth depends on exploiting the deposits here and in other parts of the Arctic. The deposits will not be easy to extract, but they are almost certainly there.
"Most of the estimates give more than 20% of global undiscovered oil deposits to Russian Arctic seas," said Alexev Piskarev, author of Energy Potential of the Russian Arctic Seas.
Shipping route
The melting sea ice has also opened up new shipping routes. Russia is now advertising the Northern Sea Route, which cuts the journey time from China to Europe by up to two weeks.
"You save time and you save fuel. It is much more economical," said Alexander Olshevsky, head of the Northern Sea Route Administration. "Though you will need to pay for a nuclear-powered icebreaker, and of course you will need a boat that can deal with these conditions."
But again, opening up the Northern Sea Route could disrupt the fragile ecosystem. More than 400 ships will make the journey this year - yet in 2010 it was only four.
On our brief, two-week trip we have seen extraordinary fire-red Arctic skies, gleaming snowy owls and grumpy musk ox, and an almost untouched landscape of thin yellow tundra covering the permafrost. The temperature has barely risen above 10C and has often been closer to freezing.
It is one of the last wildernesses of the world, a place few people even know exists, but modern industry is already starting to encroach on it.
(BBC Moscow correspondent Daniel Sandford went on the 2013 Laptev Expedition with BBC cameraman Anton Chicherov and producer Emma Wells.)
The Arctic is the biggest prize in climate adaptation exploitation. As the melting sea ice opens frozen shipping lanes, nations are gearing up for the 21st century version of the Gold Rush, and the United States is determined to stake its claim.
----- The dense, multi-year ice is giving way to thin layers of seasonal ice, making more of the region navigable year-round. Scientific estimates of technically recoverable conventional oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle total approximately 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas deposits, as well as vast quantities of mineral resources, including rare earth elements, iron ore, and nickel . . . As portions of the Arctic Ocean become more navigable, there is increasing interest in the viability of the Northern Sea Route and other potential routes, including the Northwest Passage, as well as in development of Arctic resources. -----
There is a history of international cooperation in the Arctic, characterized by the Arctic Council .. http://www.arctic-council.org/index.php/en/ .. (Canada, Denmark [including Greenland and the Faroe Islands], Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States), cooperative research programs, and various Arctic treaties and agreements. But that could change. From a resource exploitation perspective, the stakes have never been higher, the international competition fiercer, or the environmental liabilities greater. Sadly, in the absence of international environmental leadership, the US is not stepping into the breach.
----- The assertion of national defense, and air and water rights was meant to send a message that the US role as an aggressive competitor in the Arctic race would not be hindered. -----
With 1.1 million square miles of international waters, the Arctic Ocean is up for grabs. Though the US stands as the lone Arctic nation holdout to the Law of the Sea Treaty .. http://www.unlawoftheseatreaty.org/ .. (more on LOST below), the White House strategy puts a calm face on the state of Arctic relations, while striking a hard line about US rights.
The calm face:
----- The Arctic region is peaceful, stable, and free of conflict. The United States and its Arctic allies and partners seek to sustain this spirit of trust, cooperation and collaboration, both internationally and domestically. -----
The hard line:
----- We will enable our vessels and aircraft to operate, consistent with international law, through, under, and over the airspace and waters of the Arctic, support lawful commerce, achieve a greater awareness of activity in the region, and intelligently evolve our Arctic infrastructure and capabilities, including ice-capable platforms as needed. U.S. security in the Arctic encompasses a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from those supporting safe commercial and scientific operations to national defense. -----
This assertion of national defense and air and water rights came just two days before the May 15 meeting of the Arctic Council. It was meant to send a message that the US role as an aggressive competitor in the Arctic race would not be hindered by the faltering LOST, an administration priority.
An unlikely alliance advocates for the treaty. It includes oil, gas, mineral, telecommunications, environmental, commerce, trade and business interests. Organizations as divergent as the Natural Resources Defense Council .. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lspeer/the_us_should_sign_the_law_of.html .. and the US Chamber of Commerce .. http://www.uschamber.com/issues/letters/2012/letter-support-law-sea-treaty .. have called for Senate approval. All Secretaries of State dating to President Ronald Reagan say ratifying the Treaty will gain the US a guaranteed, peaceful right to a large swath of the mineral-rich Arctic seabed, the deep oil reserves, and expanding sea lanes.
But the issue of ratification of LOST has upset normally solid alliances in conservative politics, just enough to obstruct Senate ratification. It is opposed by the Heritage Foundation .. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/07/law-of-the-sea-treaty-bad-for-american-energy-policy , and has divided Republican Senators, with a key group saying it will undermine American sovereignty, subject the US to the environmental laws of other nations, and interfere with our inherent right to navigate and explore oceans freely.
Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Kelly Ayote (R-NH) headlined a July 16, 2012 news release .. http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=a886f01e-1b08-4c51-bf7e-4bad33194c0b : “Senators Portman and Ayotte Sink Law of the Sea Treaty.” Their votes were necessary to reach the 2/3 majority to ratify the treaty. The release also announced a letter to Senate Majority leader Harry Reid that read in part:
----- No international organization owns the seas, and we are confident that our country will continue to protect its navigational freedom, valid territorial claims, and other maritime rights. -----
----- [T]he Law of the Sea Treaty affords each of the five countries that surround [the Arctic Ocean] an exclusive economic zone out to 200 nautical miles from shore. The natural resources within a nation’s zone belong to that nation alone. Parties to the treaty can also lay claim to an extended area out to 350 nautical miles. If the US Senate were to ratify the treaty – and the US is the only Arctic nation that has not ratified – America could lay claim to an area of the Arctic twice the size of California. Ownership in the Arctic is becoming increasingly important as more and more nations look to the region to meet their energy and economic needs, and as a viable shipping route. -----
----- As the Arctic warms and frees up shipping routes it is more important that we put our navigational rights on a treaty footing and have a larger voice in the interpretation and development of the rules because it won’t just be the five Arctic nations, you will see China, India, Brazil, you name it, all vying for navigational rights and routes through the Arctic. -----
After a cold reception from key members, Kerry postponed a committee vote to keep it “out of the hurly-burly of presidential politics.” There has been no progress since. He later wrote in Politico .. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76628.html :
----- We’ve dealt ourselves out of the game that’s unfolding right before us. . . [LOST] can strengthen our hand against China and others, which are staking out claims in the Pacific, the Arctic or elsewhere. It is designed to give our oil and gas companies the certainty they need to make crucial investments to secure our energy future. It puts our telecommunications companies on equal footing with foreign competitors. And it will help secure access to rare earth minerals, which we need for computers, cellphones and weapons systems that allow us to live and work day in and day out. -----
The current position of the Obama administration, now with Kerry as Secretary of State, is no less adamant. The focus is firmly on economic development. It could have been written by the US Chamber of Commerce, which said of LOST:
----- The treaty provides certainty in accessing resources in the Arctic and Antarctic and could ultimately enable American businesses to explore the vast natural resources contained in the seabeds in those areas. -----
The persistent drumbeat on economic exploitation of the Arctic by the US and other Arctic nations has rightfully worried environmentalists. When China, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea were admitted as observers to the Arctic Council last May, worry escalated that “a paradigm shift in geopolitics is taking place in the region,” according to Yale ‘s Environment 360 .. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/chinas_new_arctic_presence_signals_future_development/2658/ . China has significantly stepped up its interest, announcing in June the creation of a China-Nordic Arctic Research Center .. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-06/06/content_16573293.htm .. and convening a conference in Shanghai .. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-06/06/content_16573293.htm .. on “China-Nordic Cooperation for Sustainable Development in the Arctic: Human Activity and Environmental Change.”
Economic development almost always trumps environmental policy these days, and the Arctic, for all its romance and images of pristine nature, is no exception.
Vagueness about environmental policy is a consistent thread throughout the plans of nations with Arctic interests. Details are certainly absent from the White House strategy. While the US rhetoric may be effective on national defense and navigation rights, it reads like tired, naive platitudes when applied to the environment:
----- Responsible stewardship requires active conservation of resources, balanced management, and the application of scientific and traditional knowledge of physical and living environments. As Arctic environments change, increased human activity demands precaution, as well as greater knowledge to inform responsible decisions. Together, Arctic nations can responsibly meet new demands – including maintaining open sea lanes for global commerce and scientific research, charting and mapping, providing search-and- rescue services, and developing capabilities to prevent, contain, and respond to oil spills and accidents. -----
----- Conditions in the Arctic are extreme, making the hope of a timely or adequate response to an oil spill unrealistic. The ocean is completely iced over for much of the year. In the summer, week-long storms and 20-foot seas with gale-force winds and thick fog are common. In addition to endangering the lives of cleanup crews, these conditions are likely to render response technology useless—oil booms can’t be deployed or won’t work in stormy seas; skimmer boats and equipment are similarly unusable. -----
Commercial fishing in the Arctic is also a concern. A FAQ .. http://oceansnorth.org/faq .. created by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Oceans North International .. http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_detail.aspx?id=606 .. campaign describes the threats that would be posed by international fleets to a newly opened Central Arctic Ocean, 92% of which has no regulations or international agreements governing fishing. Add the profound disturbances associated with mining the ocean floor, the potential damage caused by regular shipping, and the complexities of joint governance by more than a dozen, sometimes mutually hostile, nations. The environmental future of the Arctic is assuredly in question.
Economic development almost always trumps environmental policy these days, and the Arctic, for all its romance and images of pristine nature, is no exception. Emblematic was Hillary Clinton’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last year. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) expressed concern that LOST may obligate the US to reduce carbon emissions. She assured him that the treaty would do no such thing and took pains to list the ways it would be “no backdoor Kyoto Protocol.”
----- There is nothing in the convention that commits the United States to implement any commitment on greenhouse gasses under any regime. And it contains no obligations to implement any particular climate change policies. It doesn’t require adherence to any specific emission policies. -----
The Nunavik sets sail September 19, 2014 Longitude: -74.691313 Latitude: 62.140769
The Nunavik, Fednav’s most modern icebreaking ship will soon undertake a historic voyage. It will be the first vessel to carry a cargo of Arctic origins the full length of Canada’s Northwest Passage. The ship is loading a cargo of nickel concentrate from Nunavik’s Deception Bay destined for northern China. With its Polar Class designation, the Nunavik is capable of independent operations in harsh arctic conditions. For those interested, follow the Nunavik as it traces a line across the top of the world!
.. inside, that one is bottom .. now top of an interesting read ..
October 17, 2014
ARRIVAL AT DESTINATION
The MV Nunavik recently completed its historic voyage through the Northwest Passage.
We wish to thank: Captain Randy Rose and his crew for their safe and efficient navigation; Tim Keane and Gary Bishop for eloquently sharing this adventure with us; valued customer, Canadian Royalties; our Fednav Arctic team in Montreal; and our faithful readers.
This project has been a memorable one for us all, thank you for following our journey.
While we are there this video is a very pleasant, relaxed and interesting one, with stunning views and particularly beautifully chosen music keeping you company throughout the journey. Enjoy your trip.
Sailing the Northwest Passage
Published on Sep 20, 2013
Note: Scenes from this video were used in TVO's 2014 'The Polar Sea' series. Apart from TV, 'The Polar Sea' series is available online at http://tvo.org/story/polar-sea-unprec....
This is the record of a voyage through the Canadian Arctic along the Northwest Passage.
This Northwest Passage adventure starts from Greenland with visits to Kangerlussuaq on the Sondre Stromfjord, Sisiumiut and Ilulissat on Disko Bay where the Jacobshavn Icefjord spewing out massive icebergs.
Departing Greenland and sailing across the Davis Strait into Baffin Bay, the ship enters the Canadian Arctic and includes:
- Pond Inlet on Baffin Island - kayaking at Dundas Harbour on Devon Island - the Marine Bird Sanctuary on Prince Leopold Island - the Franklin Expedition gravesites on Beechey Island - passage through Bellot Strait - an escort through the Franklin Strait by an icebreaker (CCGS Henry Larsen) - Victory Point on King William Island - Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island
Along the route there are sightings of humpback whales; pilot whales; harp seals; and polar bears on land, swimming in the ocean and on ice floes. __________________________________________________________________
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