"Imperiled whales to get federal aid; Speed limits sought for ships along Atlantic" by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press | August 26, 2008
WASHINGTON - The government yesterday recommended a speed limit for commercial ships along the Atlantic coast, where collisions with the endangered right whale threaten its existence.
About 300 to 400 of the whales are left in the wild, and they migrate annually between their southeastern Atlantic breeding grounds to feeding areas off the Massachusetts coast, intersecting busy shipping lanes.
The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the new limit, the first to be instituted on the East Coast for a marine creature, was needed to assure its survival. Boats from federal agencies would be exempt.
First, I've been on a whale watch (didn't see a thing) so I wanted to post, and second, how about this criminal government that puts itself above all laws, huh?
The SEAT of the DICKTATORSHIP, if you will.
Environmentalists said the changes were the latest to come from an administration that has consistently bucked scientific research. "What we have seen over and over again where economics and partisanship and political interests bump up against the science, science loses," said Francesca Grifo, director of the Union of Concerned Scientist's Scientific Integrity Project.
The analysis published said the lower speed limit could cost ferry operators $8.6 million in lost revenues annually, and even have an effect on the whale watching industry, which is expected to lose $1.3 million under the proposed regulation.
And if the things die off and go extinct?
How much $$$ you gonna be able to make of that?
Never mind the fact that we SHARE this planet with these sentient beings!!!! They have AS MUCH RIGHT to LIFE, LIBERTY and HAPPINESS as WE DO!!!!!
North Atlantic right whales have been protected by endangered species laws since 1970, yet despite warning systems around heavily traveled ports, aerial surveys to map whales in shipping lanes, and improvements in fishing gear, their population has yet to recover.
--more--"
HOMER, Alaska - The initiative was drafted to block the proposed Pebble Mine, a massive operation that would extract gold, copper, and molybdenum from the tundra surrounding Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska, one of the world's most lucrative wild salmon fisheries.
Opponents of the measure argue that the ballot measure could reach far beyond Pebble Mine, freezing the industry and forcing mines to close. Their lawn signs say "Pro-Mining, Pro-Alaska," and radio spots refer to the initiative as "un-Alaskan."
I mean, the fascist tyranny is here!!! This is like the McCarthy days, for chrissakes!!!!
Opponents have made much of the fact that one of the major funders of the ballot initiative, the group Americans for Job Security, is based in Washington. Proponents of the measure respond that the companies developing the mine are foreign: the London-based multinational mining giant Anglo American and Canadian company
In a state where even a roadside pizza joint advertises itself as "by Alaskans, for Alaskans," the concept of being Alaskan is crucial.
Yeah, FOOLING the American people into thinking THEIR INTERESTS are at stack is a standard ploy!
--more--"
And why the brief on this next one? Georgie burnishing his legacy?
"Bush seeks to protect 3 remote island chains
President Bush on Monday proposed protecting three remote island chains, launching a marine conservation effort that could be one of the largest in history. Bush is considering conserving parts of the Northern Mariana islands in the western Pacific, as well as eight islands and coral reef atolls and their surrounding waters in the central Pacific that are part of the Line Islands and American Samoa (AP)."
