Offshore Drilling – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Hudson Canyon: a National Marine Sanctuary

David Posnett — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 15:45:40 +0000

On Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 9:02 PM Judith Weis <jweis@newark.rutgers.edu> wrote:

Hi Friends-

I just wrote to Dr. Richard Spinrad, Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to urge him to continue supporting the designation of Hudson Canyon as a National Marine Sanctuary. The protections afforded by Sanctuary status will maintain this essential ecosystem for generations to come. The nomination was made by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the organization that runs the NY Aquarium in Coney Island, as well as the zoos in the city.

Hudson Canyon, just off the coast of New York and New Jersey, is a key ecological hotspot for marine wildlife, including deep sea corals, sharks, whales and dolphins, turtles, seabirds and numerous fish species. It’s also a driver for the local economy, fueling commercial and recreational fishing, shipping, and tourism. However, this undersea treasure remains vulnerable to oil, gas, and mineral exploration and extraction, which would threaten its valuable living resources. Please write to Dr. Richard Spinrad today, thanking him for beginning the designation process and urging him to continue to support the future of Hudson Canyon:

https://secure.wcs.org/campaign/designate-hudson-canyon-as-a-national-marine-sanctuary-today?ms=M_EML_ADV_01_F04_2206-ADV-SC-Hudson-Canyon&utm_content=2022-6-9_20220609-SC-hudson-canyon&utm_medium=email&utm_source=WCS-EmailCampaign&utm_campaign=owned

Fish Doing Well

David Posnett — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 21:43:01 +0000

In the East Hampton Star 4/21/22

East Hampton
April 18, 2022

Dear David,

Much of the resistance to the South Fork Wind farm, currently being constructed 35 miles east of Montauk’s Lighthouse, has centered on the question of whether it might impact our local fishing industry. There have been numerous studies of marine species in Europe’s North Sea, probing whether their wind farms, in operation for more than 20 years, may have caused harm. They have not. Some species (like mussels) thrived, especially around the base of the wind turbines!

North America’s first offshore wind farm began operation in October 2016: The Block Island Wind Farm. Just last month (March 2022) a study was published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science examining whether the abundance of fish was affected by either construction (2014-2015) of the Block Island turbines, or operation (2016-2019) of the Block Island turbines. The study is available online as a pdf. It is a highly technical study that begs for a lay language summary.

The abundance of bottom species was assessed in the area of the Block Island Wind Farm and compared to two reference areas: to the south and to the east of Block Island. This was done both prior to, during, and after construction of the Block Island turbines, by monthly trawling. 663,970 fish, representing 61 species, were collected over 7 years. What stands out is the following.

No species were adversely affected by the construction or operation of the Block Island turbines. Black sea bass increased nearly 10-fold in the Block Island turbines area, but not in the reference areas, during operation 2016-2019.

During construction, there were surges in the frequency of spiny dogfish. One catch was too large to be brought on board! These are predators and their frequency is linked to that of their prey (Atlantic cod, herring, squid, butterfish, and mackerel). Maybe they were attracted to the wind farm because their prey was more abundant?

It is important to remember that an increase in a species may mean many different things. There could be increased food for the species. Or there may be a decrease in predators, etc.

The paper contains a ton of data not covered in this brief synopsis. The general gist, however, is that fish are doing well around the Block Island turbines.

I note that this study was authored by marine scientists of INSPIRE Environmental in Newport R.I. This is a company that performs studies commissioned and paid for by private enterprises, like Orsted, with a vested interest in wind farms. One author is an employee of Orsted. The study also relied on commercial fishing partners although these are not listed as authors.

This is a very valuable type of study. I hope it will be repeated as further wind farms are constructed all along Atlantic shores. I also hope that other entities (not only the companies building the wind farms) become involved in funding such studies.

DAVID POSNETT, M.D.

Right whale #3720

David Posnett — Wed, 26 May 2021 14:39:18 +0000

On March 18^th Chris Paparo, the manager of Stony Brook University’s Marine Sciences Center reported a sighting of a mother right whale with her calf just 300 yards off an East Hampton ocean beach! #3720, as she is called, had travelled from waters near Wassaw Island, Georgia, where she and her calf were last seen on Jan. 19^th 2021, their final destination perhaps Cape Cod bay, or as far north as the gulf of St. Lawrence.

We all know that the right whale is a critically endangered species with less than 400 individuals still alive and perhaps less than 100 reproducing females. Spotting calves with their mothers represents a glimmer of hope.

With plans to build an offshore South Fork Wind Farm 35 miles east of Montauk point and run a submarine cable coming ashore on a Wainscott beach, I could not help wonder how the developer (Ørsted) plans to safeguard these magnificent marine mammals.

Here is my lay person report.

Ørsted takes this very seriously. I spoke with Sophie Hartfield Lewis, Ørsted Head of U.S. Permitting. Safeguarding whales are clearly deer to her heart. Together with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution they are tackling issues like the correct distance between a source of submarine noise, such as pile driving, and a whale straying into the area. At what distance is there assured harm to the whale’s hearing (permanent or temporary)? At what distance do all drilling operations need to be halted? Currently that stands at 1 km depending on what marine species is involved and the type of noise emitted, including the noise frequency. F.ex. frequencies above 200 mHz are deemed safe because whales don’t hear them or because they don’t have adverse reactions to them.
I also learned about techniques used to dampen noise. (a) There is something called a ‘Big bubble curtain’ (BBC): it consists of a flexible tube fitted with special nozzle openings and installed on the seabed around the pile. Compressed air is forced through the nozzles producing a curtain of rising, expanding bubbles. These bubbles effectively attenuate noise by scattering sound on the air bubbles, absorbing sound, or reflecting sound off the air bubbles! (b) There is the Hydro-Sound Damper (HSD): it consists of a fisher net with different sized elements, laid out at various distances from each other, and encapsulating the pile. HSD elements can be foam plastic or gas-filled balloons. Noise is reduced as it crosses the HSD due to reflection and absorption. (c) There is the AdBm, Helmholz resonator: it consists of large arrays of Helmholtz resonators, or air filled containers with an opening on one side that can be set to vibrate at specific frequencies to absorb noise, deployed as a “fence” around pile driving activities. Sophie told me that if operations were to start tomorrow, they would use BBC.
I spoke with Catherine Bowes of the National Wildlife Foundation. Key recommendations include: seasonal & temporal restrictions on pile driving; real-time monitoring of science-based exclusion zones; underwater noise limits; vessel speed restrictions; and commitments to pre, during & post-construction monitoring to ensure we learn as we go, in launching this new clean energy industry. This last point is essential for informing impact mitigation strategies along the coast.

Sophie Hartfield Lewis directed me to an online pdf. Pages 100-166 directly concern mitigation strategies for the SFWF. It is titled “Protected Species Mitigation and Monitoring Plan South Fork Wind, LLC.“ I warn the reader: it gets pretty involved.

The world has seen an increasing and alarming number of extinctions in recent years. And that’s only the ones we know about. Ultimately, protecting threatened species protects us, the human species, because loss of biodiversity has health impacts among many other ill effects. Just google ’loss of biodiversity.’ Simultaneously, we are existentially threatened by climate change. Thus, we have no choice. We need to save species like the right whale and we need offshore wind energy.

Win With Wind invites you to attend a virtual seminar on

Offshore Wind Farms & Protection of Endangered Species

Q&A with 2 renowned experts:

Catherine Bowes, Program Director, National Wildlife Federation

Sophie Hartfield Lewis, Head of Environment & Marine Affairs, Ørsted

Wednesday Jun 9, 2021, 4.00 – 5:30 PM

Don’t Make Me Laugh

David Posnett — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 14:41:01 +0000

By Perry Gershon:

Lee Zeldin wants you to think he’s an environmentalist. He’s spending big bucks blasting that absurd idea across Long Island television.

Don’t make me laugh.

In his four years in Congress, Lee has voted against the environment over and over again. He’s taken tens of thousands of dollars from the oil and gas industry to prop up his campaign.

It’s no wonder Lee opposed protecting the environment on 21 out of 22 votes.

Lee opposed seven bills on air quality protections.

He opposed protections for clean water 19 different times.

He opposed protecting wildlife eight times.

And he continues to stand by a president who insists climate change is a Chinese hoax.

Get the idea? Lee Zeldin is no friend of the environment, of clear air and water, or protecting our planet for future generations.

Long Island voters have a clear choice in November.

I promise to work tirelessly to protect the environment – whether that be our clear air, clean water, clean energy production, or protecting wildlife.

Lee’s record is clear, and that’s just another reason why he has to go.

Donate $5 right now. Let’s show Zeldin we won’t stand for his hypocrisy on the environment.

Posts on R&R (since July 2018) related to Zeldin’s environmental record:

Zeldin’s Environmental Voting Record Goes from Bad to Worse

Posted on August 28, 2018 by D. Posnett MD

Lee Zeldin wants to Drill in the Ironwood Forest National Monument By Marc Rauch: Latest update: Zeldin’s Environmental Voting Record Goes from Bad to Worse in 2018 In the first 3 years of Lee Zeldin’s congressional term (2015-2017), he earned … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Executive Order, GOP, National Parks & Monuments, Trump, Uncategorized, water quality, Zeldin | Tagged Environment, lee zeldin, voting record | 2 Comments | Edit

Zeldin’s War on the Environment

Posted on August 20, 2018 by D. Posnett MD

By Perry Gershon: (Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/perry4congress/posts/?ref=page_internal) Lee Zeldin continues to support the Trump Administration’s destruction of our environmental protections. The new “plan” for coal represents one more example of the total disregard for the serious health effects of air pollution. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Environment, Trump, Uncategorized, water quality, Zeldin | Tagged car emission, clean air, clean water, pollution | 2 Comments | Edit

Is Lee Zeldin Really “Good On The Environment”?

Posted on January 19, 2018 by francescarh

A slickly produced mailer from Lee Zeldin appeared in my mailbox this week. It touted our Congressman’s supposed record in “safeguarding our environment.” Mr. Zeldin has been very adept in pulling the wool over voters’ eyes about his actual environmental … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment | Edit

Zeldin Boasting about Environment Record?

Posted on January 2, 2018 by maidstonejewelry

Recently Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus and founding member of the “Congressional Estuary Caucus”, was joined by EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Director Carrie Meek … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Paris Climate Accord, Uncategorized, Zeldin | 4 Comments | Edit

More Bad Zeldin Environmental Votes

Posted on October 12, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

By Marc Rauch and Chelsea Estevez Since our last update in late August, fourteen bills impacting the environment have come before the House of Representatives. Lee Zeldin took the anti-environment position on 12 out of 14 of these recent bills. … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Paris Climate Accord, Trump, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged environmental justice, EPA, fracking, methane, ocean, public land | Leave a comment | Edit

Complete Lee Zeldin Environmental Voting Record

Posted on July 2, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

A great resource! D Posnett Marc Rauch·Friday, June 23, 2017 Complete Lee Zeldin Environmental Voting Record (Last Updated 6/29/17) Introduction Linked here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit?usp=sharing is an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet summarizing Lee Zeldin’s complete environmental voting record in Congress. Purpose This spreadsheet … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, climate change, Environment, EPA, National Parks & Monuments, Offshore Drilling, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged energy, Environment, record, wind, Zeldin | 2 Comments | Edit

Lee Zeldin’s Duplicity on Environmental Issues

Posted on March 7, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

Marc Rauch, from Bellport, New York. had the following letter in the March 2, 2017 edition of the Long Island Advance: I was taken aback by Rep. Lee Zeldin’s “official positions” on protection of the environment, as reported last week … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged duplicity, Environment, pollution, Zeldin | 1 Comment | Edit

Zeldin & Environment?

Posted on February 19, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

My letter to editor of LI Advance was published this week- 2/16/2017 Voting to loosen standards on oil and gas industries Where is Congressman Zeldin on the environment? Two weeks ago I visited Congressman Zeldin’s office to talk with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged Environment, Zeldin | 5 Comments | Edit

Flip the House — Defeat Zeldin!

Posted on August 4, 2018 by amyturner2000

By Jacquelyn Gavron & Amy Turner, July 19, 2018 New York’s First Congressional District (NY-1), historically a swing district, is represented by Lee Zeldin (R). He was initially elected with Tea Party support and is an unwavering Trump loyalist with … Continue reading →

Posted in ACA, AHCA, economy, Environment, Guns, Health Care, Politics, Tax Reform, Uncategorized, Women, Zeldin | 3 Comments | Edit

Moral Obligation to send Zeldin packing

Posted on July 19, 2018 by D. Posnett MD

Published in the East Hampton Star – the July 10, 2018 To the Editor: Offered less than 10 days into our district’s 133-day congressional race, The Star’s advice to local Democrats (“First District Dilemma”) is not only premature, but also … Continue reading →

Posted in perry gershon, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged David Rattray, democratic, gershon, Star, turnout | Leave a comment | Edit

Talk is Cheap Mr. Zeldin

David Posnett — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 02:01:56 +0000

From James Ewing: A reminder of where Lee Zeldin stands on the environment. The Scorecard as per the League of Conservation Voters. To get the specifics on each vote go their website and click on the “vote name”: http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/lee-zeldin

Green check = pro-environment Red X = anti-environment

Zeldin on drilling: tepid

David Posnett — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:00:23 +0000

Published today in the East Hampton Star as a letter to the editor:

Just Two Sentences

Lee Zeldin released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s proposal to open United States waters to offshore oil drilling: “I support an energy strategy that secures American energy independence and drives down costs. On Long Island, however, our waterways are our way of life, and drilling off of Long Island is unacceptable and counterproductive to the well-being of our communities.”

That something as catastrophic as oil drilling off our beaches merits just two sentences from Mr. Zeldin is deeply troubling. He devotes more time to posting lengthy defenses of Trump when he says something offensive. Suggestion for Mr. Zeldin: Let someone else take on the herculean task of explaining what Trump really meant and spend your time more productively, fighting for the people of the First Congressional District.

We need a representative who is a leader, who champions our interests, and who rallies and sways the opinions of fellow representatives; we don’t need a representative who issues a tepid press release on a critical issue and then fades into the background.

CAROL DEISTLER

To LZ: please get our coast line exempted (just like Florida)! Next time the WH asks you for a favor, you know how to respond. Right? D. Posnett

Miami under Water – for Good!

David Posnett — Sat, 04 Nov 2017 13:24:16 +0000

Just heard from a friend regarding United Nations conference in Geneva (Switzerland).

Pretty devastating UN report. Even action on climate change NOW will not prevent the predicted devastation as the lag time is too great. Here is the link. You can download the entire report if you are interested. It is actually a periodic report put out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that checks the gap between commitments and actual implementation! The “Emissions, Gap Report”.

In the meantime, Trump is going his merry way, doing the very opposite of what is recommended, drilling on protected land, giving incentives to fossil fuel companies, devastating the EPA and trying to place the least qualified people in critical technical and scientific posts.

Take a look at the “three-degree world”: the numerous large cities that will be drowned by global warming, including Miami, Alexndria in Egypt, Rio in Brazil, Osaka in Japan and Shanghai in China:
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2017/nov/03/three-degree-world-cities-drowned-global-warming?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Miami post “three-degree world” Miami pre “three-degree world”

Bottom graph: predictions of global temperature change by 2100.

Shame on duplicitous Lee Zeldin for not standing up against this!

Sonic Sea

David Posnett — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 17:18:24 +0000

On Long Island we are witness to a series of beached whales and dolphins (same family as whales). This is not new. I have previously blogged about it.

There are some newer reports and many older reports. This week there was a report in the East Hampton Star: Four Dolphins Dead in 10 Days.

More often than not, the cause is unknown.

Now there is an award winning documentary about the impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life! A must see.

It tells the story of a former U.S. Navy officer who solved a tragic mystery and changed the way we understand our impact on the ocean. The film is narrated by Rachel McAdams and features Sting, in addition to the renowned ocean experts Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Paul Spong, Dr. Christopher Clark, and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

Sonic Sea was produced by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Imaginary Forces in association with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Diamond Docs.

Help bring awareness of the issue to classrooms across the country. Email allie@rocofilms.com to gift the film and its study guide to your alma mater or your children’s school.

I’m thrilled to tell you that NRDC’s (Natural Resource Defense Council) Sonic Sea just won Emmy awards for Outstanding Nature Documentary and Outstanding Music and Sound.

What a thrill — especially because these wins will help drive even more attention to the urgent plight of whales and other marine life that depend on sound for their survival.

I hope you feel as proud as I do of this groundbreaking film that simply couldn’t have been created without the support of NRDC leadership supporters like you. And I hope you’ll join us in celebrating by watching the film for free by creating a Vimeo account and applying the promo code SONICSEE.

You can learn more about the film in the message below. Thank you!

Daniel Hinerfeld

East Coast Republicans join Dems to lobby Trump against Atlantic oil exploration

David Posnett — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:04:18 +0000

McClatchyDC.com

BY TONY PUGH

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 5:15 PM

WASHINGTON

State and federal lawmakers from both parties have joined East Coast business interests to convince the Trump administration to halt its plan for fossil fuel development in the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s a surprisingly diverse collection of power players: members of Congress, dozens of lawmakers from both red and blue states, nine attorneys general, six governors and thousands of business owners from Florida through the Carolinas and up to New Jersey.

They hope that mix and their economic, not environmental, argument will sway President Donald Trump’s Interior Department as it nears a decision on testing that could open the door to oil and gas exploration, and eventually drilling, off the coast.

“The wall of opposition that has been built up to Atlantic drilling and seismic testing is amazing,” said Frank Knapp, chief executive of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce and president of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast, an organization supported by more than 41,000 businesses and 500,000 commercial fishing families on the East Coast.

Environmental groups have worked for years to stop oil and gas development, focusing on the threat it poses to coastal marine life. Lawmakers and business leaders, however, are raising concerns about the economic effect that seismic testing and drilling could have on the multi-billion dollar coastal tourism and fishing industries.

Complete Lee Zeldin Environmental Voting Record

David Posnett — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 08:20:40 +0000

A great resource! D Posnett

Marc Rauch·Friday, June 23, 2017

Complete Lee Zeldin Environmental Voting Record (Last Updated 6/29/17)

Introduction

Linked here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit?usp=sharing is an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet summarizing Lee Zeldin’s complete environmental voting record in Congress.

Purpose

This spreadsheet is intended as a resource for letter writers, op-ed writers, those who want to ask well-informed questions at town hall meetings and mobile office hours, candidates and their staffers who want to develop winning campaign positions, and, last but not least, all members of the LVLZ community who care deeply about our environment.

Sources and Updating

This spreadsheet relies heavily on information and analysis provided free to the public by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) at LCV’s “National Environmental Scorecard” website[1]. We will update this spreadsheet regularly to reflect new votes in Congress.

Format – Cover Page and Chronological Summary

The cover page of the spreadsheet includes a table showing Zeldin’s National Environmental Scorecard scores:

2015 — 14%

2016 — 8%

Lifetime – 11%

This means that Zeldin voted AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT on 86% of the pertinent House roll call votes in 2015, AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT on 92% in 2016, and AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT on 89% for his first term overall!!!

The cover page also shows the number of Zeldin’s pro-environment and anti-environment votes in the new session of Congress that began in January 2017. As of June 29, 2017 Zeldin had voted AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT on all 12 of the pertinent House roll call votes.

The second page of this spreadsheet is a chronological listing of all of Zeldin’s environment-related votes in Congress, from oldest to newest. This listing identifies the type of issue at stake in each vote and is color-coded to show whether Zeldin’s vote was pro-environment or anti-environment.

Format – How the Votes are Organized

In this spreadsheet, Zeldin’s votes on bills that impact the environment are divided into 11 categories of issues, each with its own tab:

1. Air Quality

2. Clean Energy

3. Climate Change

4. Dirty Energy

5. Drilling

6. Lands/Forests

7. Oceans

8. Other (e.g. public access)

9. Toxins

10. Water

11.Wildlife

Within each issue tab, the votes are listed individually by date (oldest to newest). Each entry identifies the roll call number of the vote, the LCV name for the vote, the formal name of the vote in the House, whether Zeldin’s vote was pro-environment or anti-environment, the importance of the vote for New York’s 1st Congressional District (high, medium, low), key words to aid in searches and the LCV’s one-paragraph description of the background, purpose and significance of the vote.

Two Ways to Search this Spreadsheet

In addition to being searchable by issue, this spreadsheet is searchable by keyword.

Conclusion

We hope you will find this spreadsheet informative and helpful. Use it wisely and well!

Marc Rauch and Chelsea Estevez

http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/lee-zeldin