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TODAY Tuesday 31 March 1998 Each weekday. Conn Nugent on what's new in the world, on the site. |
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TODAY Tuesday 31 March 1998 Each weekday. Conn Nugent on what's new in the world, on the site. |
TODAY IN THE WORLD: Lost At Sea in the Year of the Ocean
I've decided to see "Titanic." A few months ago I called Fred Hapgood, Lib Tree's Minister of Culture, and asked him whether I should go. "Yes," he said. Fred had already seen it and every other movie that opened in America over the last 30 years. "You should go because it's a great love story. Cameron fell head over heels for the industrial machinery of the turn of the century. We'll never see anything like those boiler rooms again. And, boy, does he love steam engines and giant piston rods."
What about the anachronistic, inaccurate, sub-literate drivel of a screenplay,? I asked. "Completely contemptible," he said. "But what do you want?"
He's right, of course. I'll be going tonight. But the clincher actually came on a visit to Washington yesterday to say hello to our friends at SeaWeb . A deliveryman had just dropped off three cartons of a thick government-issue paperback entitled "Year of the Ocean: Discussion Papers March 1998. Prepared by the US Federal Agencies with ocean-related programs." Inside there was so much inspiringly good stuff that the least I can do is plunk down $8.50 for a cinematic tribute to the North Atlantic. [Order a copy from 202-482-3385; be sure to ask for the Liberty Tree corporate discount.]
The first thing to note is that the era of ocean-going ships is far from over. Business is booming; it's just that the cargo is goods, not people. Trade flows are growing faster than almost any national GDP. 41 percent of the dollar value of US foreign trade is carried on ships and a far higher percentage of the total tonnage. There are 355 commercial ports in the US, with more than 400 marine terminals. Throw in 110,000 fishing boats and 20 million (!) recreational vessels, and you've got some busy waterfronts.
This traffic brings big-time environmental consequences. Oil spills like the Exxon Valdez are dwarfed by the aggregate petroleum deposits from smaller sources like engine leaks, minor accidents, and fuel runoffs from harborside roads, rail yards, and parking lots. Much coral reef damage is caused by groundings and bottom-scrapings from boats and ships.
One of the most vexing environmental problems associated with the shipping trade is presented by the need for dredging. As hulls get bigger and harbors get siltier, dredging is required to keep port facilities competitive. But harbor bottoms tend to be loaded with toxins; once you dredge up the muck, where do you put it? There is now a federal law and a mandated tedious process for finding out: "All operations involving the transport and disposal of dredged material are evaluated, disposal sites are designated and selected to reduce environmental impacts, and monitoring programs are established by the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers to ensure unnecessary environmental degradation." You could spend a decade or two inside that sentence.
And then, of course, there's the problem of marine biodiversity, under assault from pollution, estuarine development, climate change and -- most dramatically -- fishing. In its most recent (1996) survey, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that 60 percent of commercial fish stocks are being overharvested. Only in the deepest part of the ocean are catches of most species not in decline. Though most acute outside US territorial waters, fish population crashes off New England have been depressingly and persistently severe. Over the long-term, marine animals will probably be produced for human consumption the way terrestrial animals are: through farm operations ("Salmon Farming"), which themselves will present a new order of biodiversity problems.
The happiest campers among the sprawling family of "federal agencies with ocean-related programs" appear to be found in the US Navy. Post-Cold War uncertainties "have put a premium on flexible forces that can quickly move anywhere and remain there a long time," the Navy paper says. A new enhanced role has been assigned to maritime forces, "rooted in the fundamental ability of the Navy-Marine Corps-Coast Guard Team to maneuver independently of the control of other nations and win. This is done through an ability to operate in international waters with forward deployed forces in the highest possible state of readiness."
This situation calls for a little synergy. How about James Cameron commanding an old dreadnought that blasts Spanish fishing trawlers and launches amphibian strikes against new vacation homes on the Carolina coast?
TODAY ON THE SITE
Many things oceanic here at Liberty Tree. If you want information on good websites, try our High Fives section with Vikki Spruill on Ocean, Connie Murtagh on Saltwater Fishes, Mary Miller on Coral Reefs, and Adam Markham on the Arctic.
Recent "Today" columns:
3/30: Environmentalism for Grown-Ups
3/27: Kyoto? Nice Town. Oh, You Mean the Treaty!!
3/26: Hungary
3/25: Solidarity With Counterfeiters
3/24: A Fair Price for Water
3/23: Unattractive Progress on Transportation
3/20: The Thrill of Demography
3/19: About This Global Economy Business...
3/18: Toilet Heresy
3/17: St Patrick and Your Asteroid Insurance
3/16: Rebellion in Tennessee
3/13: Good News from the Senate
3/12: Children and Cancer
3/11: Save Our Beaches!
3/10: Die Gruenen und der SDP
3/9: In Search for the Holy Grail of the Forests
3/6: My Doom, Your Gloom
3/5: The Great D. P. Moynihan
3/4: "An Earthquake in Insurance"
3/3: Salmon Farming
3/2: Our Friends the Duck Killers
2/27: Trust El Nino
2/26: That Darn Triple-A
2/25: Cutting a Deal on Endangered Species
2/24: Fire? Again?
2/23: Garbage
2/20: Population Rebellion in the Sierra Club
2/19: The Trouble With Cattle
To access more "Today" columns, click "Archives" below.