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Fisheries outlook remains bleak in Canada
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- Transport Canada probes spill at Canada Place
- David Rivkin Testifies At Senate Hearings Climate Change And National Security
Fisheries outlook remains bleak in CanadaIn other countries, some species showed recovery after restrictions imposed, study findsCanwest News Service, July 31, 2009, By Amy Minsky
Steps taken to curb overfishing are finally showing signs of success in many of the world's fisheries, according to a report released Thursday, but the news isn't so good in Eastern Canada, where there have been "dramatic stock collapses." The assessment report, conducted by an international team of fishery scientists, suggests that five of the 10 large marine ecosystems examined are showing improvement. None are in Canada. Recovery rates in Eastern Canada are slow or non-existent, said Boris Worm of Halifax's Dalhousie University, a co-author of the report. "We're losing entire species," Worm said. "Many are either no longer economically or ecologically viable. We're running the risk of destabilizing the entire ecosystem." Two-thirds of traditional fish resources in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have collapsed; meaning the abundance has decreased 90 per cent from its un-fished state. Because of the collapse of so many species in Eastern Canada, different fish -- many of which have no commercial value -- are now fuelling the area's fisheries. In other ecosystems, according to the study, at least some species showed recovery when the amount being fished was reduced. This was the case with haddock and scallops off New England. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, however, recovery is not occurring. Worm said that could be because of the "incredibly low level these resources are at." Researchers focused on the Atlantic fishery and collected little data from Canada's West Coast. The state of Eastern Canada's fisheries should be taken as a warning that measures to counter overfishing must be implemented, Worm said. "It demonstrates that you can't recover at just any point in time," he said. "When fisheries are depleted to 0.1 per cent of its former abundance, like the Newfoundland cod, it may become very difficult or impossible to recover that resource." The two-year study, led by Worm and Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington, assembled data from fisheries around the globe and compared the effectiveness of different management regimes. Their hope, they said, was to reveal methods to help fisheries recover and, ultimately, to help solve the overfishing crisis. The study was a followup to Worm's 2006 paper in the journal Science. That paper described an increasing collapse of seafood stocks since the 1950s and forecast if that trend continued, all commercial fisheries could be lost by 2048. One of the keys to reversing this trend, Hilborn said, is using effective management -- such as combinations of quotas and ocean zoning -- to recover species on the verge of collapse. This has been successful in several ecosystems in the U.S., Iceland and New Zealand. The assessment looked at stock assessments and survey data, and found excessive fishing pressure and below-target stocks were common in eight of the 10 ecosystems analysed. Only Alaska and New Zealand had not been subject to excessive fishing pressure and had never declined below target levels. Five of the other eight ecosystems had been overfished in the past, but the fraction harvested had since declined into the target range. "This means we now find that seven of the 10 systems are being fished responsibly," Hilborn said. "And for five of them, this represents an improvement." As for Canada, Worm said, fishermen have to be more cautious. "Refrain from fishing potentially endangered species," he said. "We have to assess situations before removing fish." Transport Canada probes spill at Canada PlaceVancouver Sun, July 30, 2009, By Mary Frances Hill
VANCOUVER — Transport Canada has launched an investigation after oil and fuel were found on the water surface near Canada Place early Thursday morning. The spill was discovered at around 5:00 a.m. Thursday close to the Oceanic cruise ship, docked at the north side of Canada Place. Even though the Oceanic has assumed responsibility for the cleanup, Transport Canada has not assigned blame for the spill, according to Dan Bate, Canadian Coast Guard spokesman. Bate could not say when the investigation will be complete. There have been no reports of harmed birds or wildlife, he said. Workers surrounded Canada Place with a boom and absorbent pads to contain the spill. The Oceanic was chartered by Peace Boat, a Japanese non-governmental organization that focuses on sustainability and education, and to "better understand and minimize our impact on the environment while linking local issues to the global context," according to its website. Senate Democrats Tie Climate Effort to National Security ClimateWire, July 31, 2009, By DARREN SAMUELSOHN Senate Democrats are increasingly relying on the connection between global warming and national security as they craft legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions. At an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing yesterday, former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) urged quick action on cap-and-trade legislation as a way to prompt a larger global response to climate change. Absent congressional action, Warner, a former secretary of the Navy, warned of more climate-induced migration and other environmental stresses that put U.S. national security at risk. "There's a building base of evidence that global warming is contributing to much of the instability of the world today," Warner said. "If we do nothing, we can be sure nothing else is going to be done of any consequence." Warner also urged the Senate Armed Services Committee, a panel he once chaired, to compile a record on climate change that Democratic leaders can use this fall as they cobble together their global warming bill for floor debate. Aides to Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) did not respond to a request for comment about Warner's suggestion. But EPW Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said she had no problems with Levin's panel weighing in on the issue. "I like that idea," Boxer told reporters. "My view is the more committees that get into this issue, the better. That's what the legislative process is ideally about." Democrats have made a theme out of the interplay between climate change and national security over the last two weeks in the Senate as they gear up for committee battles in September. Last week, Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) hosted a hearing on the same subject with Warner as the lead witness. And Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) earlier this week detailed to Boxer and Kerry the results of a recently declassified U.S. intelligence program that has collected more than a thousand satellite images of Arctic ice. The pictures, which the Interior Department made public last week, can be used by policymakers to "anticipate national security concerns," Feinstein said. "That's a value." Senate Republicans on the EPW Committee yesterday welcomed Warner back to Capitol Hill but took issue with his testimony's fundamental premise. "Most things I agree with him," said EPW Committee ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.), before ticking through a list of reasons why he says climate science is eroding. Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) went after the House-passed climate bill drafted by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that Senate Democrats plan to base their own efforts on. Bond, who will retire in January 2011, argued that the House legislation won't have any effect on global temperatures and therefore undercuts any connection to national security. "Waxman-Markey will do nothing to avoid adding tension to stable regions, nothing to prevent terrorism from worsening and nothing to avoid dragging the United States into conflicts over water and other critical resource shortages," Bond said. Carbon Reduction Supporters Link Clean Energy and National Security Kansas City infoZine, July 31, 2009 By Scott Bland After clean air and green jobs, add national security to the list of reasons supporters are touting legislation to reduce carbon emissions. Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard testimony Thursday from two retired soldiers and John Warner, a former senator and Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, who said that global warming caused by carbon emissions would destabilize the world and strain U.S. defense capabilities. "There is a building base of evidence that global warming is contributing to much of the instability in the world today," Warner, a Virginia Republican, said. "It is the men and women in uniform who will likely be called upon by the president to address adverse situations brought on by erratic climate changes." Warner co-sponsored a carbon reduction bill in 2008 that never came to a floor vote. Democrats have made a conscious effort this year to win support for reduction of carbon emissions on non-environmental grounds. The effect on the economy has taken center stage, with Democrats predicting a boom in green energy and jobs and Republicans warning about increases in energy rates. The most recent official dialogues on the subject have focused on security. Last week, Warner and others discussed the linkage between global warming and national security threats with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He and retired Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn helped bring the same message down the hall Thursday. "Climate change poses a serious threat to American national security by acting as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions in the world," McGinn said. Energy independence has long been a goal - even if little has been done to work toward it - of Republicans and Democrats eager to untangle the United States from involvement in the Middle East. Some Republicans, most notably Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., have argued that carbon reductions would derail energy independence by inhibiting the United States' ability to use its own oil and coal reserves. Now the leading edge of the energy security debate insists that fossil fuel independence, not just energy independence, is necessary because of the "threat multiplier" effect of global warming. The Center for a New American Security, a Washington national security think tank founded in 2007, last month outlined the foundation of these threats in a working paper, "Natural Security." Shortages of fresh water, desertification of agricultural land, rising sea levels, increased violent weather and other effects of global warming will "provoke humanitarian crises that will require military and other government responses," according to Sharon Burke, the center's vice president for natural security. Before the Foreign Relations Committee last week, Burke gave an example of the kind of security challenge global warming could pose. "Climate change missions may go beyond humanitarian and disaster relief, as well, with Somalia as a case in point," Burke said. "Climate-related stresses, such as drought and famine, have played a part in the disintegration of Somalia into anarchy. As part of the resulting chaos, U.S. forces have been attacking terrorist positions within the country." Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is expected to introduce a bill in September to reduce U.S. carbon emissions, after the Senate returns from its month-long recess. David Rivkin Testifies At Senate Hearings Climate Change And National SecurityFormer White House Legal Advisor says Unilateralism won't workOfficialWire.com, July 30, 2009, by David B. Rivkin Jr.WASHINGTON, D.C.-- David Rivkin announced today he is testifying before the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works in hearings on climate change and national security. Mr. Rivkin is an attorney and partner at Baker & Hostetler. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The full David Rivkin testimony before the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works in hearings on climate change and national security can be found on www.davidrivkin.com. Testimony Summary on Climate Change and National Security The EPA Administrator recently told this Committee that our unilateral adoption of a cap-and-trade program will have no impact on global climate. The question is therefore whether the Waxman-Markey bill, which reflects the Administration’s preferred approach to dealing with carbon reductions, will induce other nations – especially India and China – to follow suit. This is a matter of foreign policy, not science. India and China have both refused outright to accept mandatory emissions caps. During the last presidential campaign, we were told that if the U.S. only “set an example” through tough carbon-related mandates, other major emitting nations would swiftly follow. This “leadership by example” argument was reinforced by the claim that it would be possible to use carbon tariffs to compel such countries as might be insufficiently inspired to adopt carbon-related mandates of their own. These claims have been swiftly disproven. The results of the international climate talks in Bonn and the G8 Summit in Italy were not promising. Bilateral exchanges have not budged China and India from their adamant refusal to cap emissions. If anything, the developing world’s objections have only grown more vociferous as the U.S. commitment to impose unilateral emissions caps has become more credible. To understand why unilateral cap-and-trade will not induce emissions reductions by other countries, we may call upon experiences in more traditional diplomatic contexts. These teach that unilateral concessions are never a good idea. For example, the arms limitations agreements of the interwar and Cold War eras all rested on the principle of reciprocity. Carefully negotiated undertakings, through which the parties carefully exchange measured concessions, were the only fruitful approach. These general negotiating lessons were reflected with particular clarity in the area of nuclear arms control. The analogy to emissions reductions is an apt one for two reasons: first, because nuclear arms control was for decades one of the most pivotal aspects of American foreign and defense policy, and second, because many Americans came to believe that nuclear arms reductions were a moral obligation. There is one further irony: The previous Administration’s approach to arms control was harshly criticized for being too informal, for eschewing written agreements in favor of oral understandings. The current Administration has returned to the traditional approach: negotiating detailed written agreements with Moscow, hundreds of pages long. Yet, on the issue of carbon, we appear ready to settle for vague promises “to do something” eventually. This is not a serious way to proceed. Understanding linkage is key to success in international relations. Even if we assume that Chinese, Brazilian, or Indian interlocutors are passionately concerned about ameliorating climate change, they would be practicing deficient statecraft if they did not seek to pursue this goal in a manner benefitting their other economic, political, and military interests. Changing the world’s existing security and economic architecture, which they presently see as being unduly tilted in favor of the West in general and the United States, is a major strategic priority for the developing countries. An asymmetrical carbon reduction regime, under which the U.S. makes the greatest sacrifice and the developing countries do not do much at all, would only advance this goal. Waxman-Markey will therefore make emitter states even less willing to reduce emissions. Attempting to enforce GHG emissions reductions through trade penalties would also be highly problematic: First, carbon tariffs are very likely illegal under WTO rules. Numerous countries, as well as senior U.N. officials, have already denounced the possibility of carbon tariffs as a violation of WTO principles. Legal or not, carbon tariffs would certainly be challenged before the WTO Dispute Resolution System. Some argue that the mere threat of carbon tariffs will intimidate other countries into doing our bidding on carbon. This is not credible. Either we have the leverage to lead the rest of the world into a comprehensive global climate change accord or we don’t. This kind of naïve and unrealistic thinking permeates expectations about the Waxman-Markey Bill. It should not drive the Senate’s decision-making on one of the most important foreign policy issues of our time.
David B. Rivkin Jr., an attorney in private practice at Baker & Hostetler in Washington, D.C., has had a lengthy career distinguished by service in the White House during two presidents’ terms, in the U.S. Department of Justice, and in the U.S. Department of Energy. His extensive political commentary includes more than 350 articles and numerous guest appearances on radio, and network and cable televisions programs. David Rivkin’s editorial contributions include constitutional law, international law, defense and national security, intelligence, foreign policy, energy policy, and healthcare reform. He develops his positions on critical public and legal matters not from political ideology, but from a reasoned interpretation of the U.S. constitution, legislation, judicial rulings, and legal opinions. David Rivkin currently represents foreign governments and corporate entities on legal, political, economic, defense, and public relations matters. He contributes to bilateral and multilateral foreign policy issues with Congress and various Executive Branch entities. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Council on Foreign Relations.
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