Energy and climate change in Nova Scotia
The province of Nova Scotia has released its 2009 Climate Change Action Plan and Energy Strategy. The Climate Change Action Plan has two main goals: reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and preparing for changes to climate. The Energy Strategy focuses on more renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. It also encourages growth in offshore and onshore activity. Both are available for download.
Coastal Hazards Resilience
The presentations and proceedings from the Coastal Hazards Resilience Workshop are available. The workshop, organized by the US Northeast Regional Ocean Council, was held November 19-20, 2008 in New London, Connecticut. The purpose of the workshop was to better understand how the region might work collaboratively to improve its ability to withstand both severe coastal hazard events and more gradual impacts from climate change. Presentations and proceedings are available online.
Report upgrades coastal waters
The recently released National Coastal Condition Report III (NCCRIII) indicates the overall condition of the nation’s coastal waters has improved slightly, and is now upgraded to ‘fair.’ The report is the third in a series of environmental assessments of U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters. It is a collaboration of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, coastal states and the National Estuary Program. The participants assessed America’s coastal conditions using five indicators of condition: water quality, sediment quality, benthic community condition (the health of the water’s bottom-dwelling invertebrate species), coastal habitat loss as indicated by changes in wetland areas, and fish tissue contaminants.
National Coastal Condition Report III - NCCR III (2008) - reports on progress since the 2005 report.
Factsheet: National Coastal Condition Report III (2008)
Accessing the Maine coast
Along the Maine coast, conflicts over access to and from the water are becoming more common. Now, people on the coast have a new resource to help them understand the legal background and tools available to address access concerns. Based on research conducted by the Center for Law and Innovation at the University of Maine Law School and funded by the National Sea Grant Law Center, a new website was launched by Maine Sea Grant, in partnership with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Coastal Program, and the Island Institute. It is an information resource for coastal property owners, beach and waterfront users, public and environmental interest groups, and municipal, state, and federal governments. The site offers legal tools to address the specific coastal access questions and needs of these stakeholder groups. [more information]
The Coastal Update newsletter
The Coastal Update newsletter, currently distributed to over 5300 people worldwide, has been published by the Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee (ACZISC) since 1997. This and previous issues of the e-newsletter are available online. Feedback is appreciated. Please feel free to circulate the Update among your own networks. Note that the inclusion of items does not imply endorsement by the ACZISC or its member agencies.
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