After making strong recommendations for a landmark national ocean policy in September, President Obama’s Ocean Policy Task Force has turned its attention to “stage two” of its effort to increase federal ocean protection.

This stage proposes a framework for a process called coastal and marine spatial planning, which can...

After getting our first glimpse last week of the details of what the Obama administration is proposing for a national oceans policy (Interim Report issued 9/17) -- I'm heading to Providence, Rhode Island, this Thursday to testify at the only public hearing on the East Coast to let...

Hailing from Hawaii and Illinois, President Obama knows oceans and the Great Lakes firsthand. And before his first year is out, he could quietly revamp the way our nation manages and protects these resources, all with the stroke of a pen. Today the Administration brought us significantly closer to making...

One of the most pernicious, but least known impacts of the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere is ocean acidification. The ocean, which has absorbed about one quarter of the CO2 that's been emitted into the atmosphere, has become approximately 30 percent more acidic than it was during the pre-industrial...

There's exciting news on the environment front. President Obama has issued a Presidential Memorandum that calls for the development of a national ocean policy and implementing strategies. The memorandum will establish an interagency task force that is to recommend within 90 days:

1) A national ocean, coastal and Great Lakes...

Monday, June 8th is World Ocean's Day and in Washington, DC this entire week is Capitol Hill Oceans Week ("CHOW"). With the economy on everyone's mind, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the economic benefits that the oceans provide us.

Here are some surprising, but important ocean facts:

Today at noon I will witness the dawning of an important new council dedicated to protecting our precious and threatened Atlantic Ocean: the Governors' Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on Oceans (MARCO). Five Mid-Atlantic governors (from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia) are committing to work together to improve the...

On Thursday, five Mid-Atlantic Governors will enter a landmark agreement committing to improving the health of the Atlantic Ocean. The agreement will establish the Governors' Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on Oceans (MARCO) for New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. You will be able to watch the signing ceremony...

Today, a bi-partisan group of leading citizens called on the Obama Administration and Congress to take swift action to protect the health of our oceans. The recommendations are contained in the report Changing Oceans, Changing World: Ocean Priorities for the Obama Administration and Congress. The report was developed by...

"We are in the renewable energy business." - Interior Secretary Salazar, 3/11/09

It was more good news from the Obama Administration yesterday when Department of Interior Secretary Salazar announced the agency is forming an energy and climate change task force...

"We are in the renewable energy business." - Interior Secretary Salazar, 3/11/09

It was more good news from the Obama Administration yesterday when Department of Interior Secretary Salazar announced the agency is forming an energy and climate change task force to advance clean energy in America. This means solar...

Florida's coast and oceans got their report card today.

Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, no state is more dependent on the natural resources of its coastal waters for food, jobs and recreation. The state's huge tourism economy alone generates more than $63 billion a...

I was reminded Tuesday that there's a new administration in Washington. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made some positive announcements about the future of offshore drilling in America - though it's important to note we aren't out of the woods just yet.

Secretary Salazar announced he is going to...

For the last four years of the Bush Administration - NRDC has been on the frontlines of repeated attempts at passing a national Healthy Oceans Act.

Tuesday - the very first day of the 111th Congress and just weeks before we welcome Barack Obama to the White House -

President Bush has announced the creation of 3 new national marine monuments in the Pacific Ocean totaling 195,000 square miles -- the Marinas, Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll National Marine Monuments.

In doing this -- the President took an important and exciting step in the right direction -...