5th Annual City of Water Day Festival -- NYC

5th Annual City of Water Day Festival is a FREE day-long event sponsored by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance celebrating the potential of the NY-NJ harbor and waterways hosted by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. This year’s festival will take place on Saturday, July 14 on both Governors Island and at Liberty State Park.

Activities inlcude: 

■Fun and FREE boat tours for thousands on historic and educational vessels


■A spectacular flotilla of hundreds of kayakers, canoers, and sailors

■Free kayaking, rowing, and fishing opportunities

■Dozens of arts, crafts, games, and activities just for kids

■Catch a FREE ferry between Governors Island & Liberty State Park to enjoy all the activities

■The Waterfront Activity Fair

■Car-free waterfront biking

■Special on-water Launch & Press Event

■Delicious food, live music, and much more!!!

Symposium on Legal Challenges and Opportunities for Offshore Wind and Hydrokinetic Energy Development in the Northeast -- Pace Law School

Symposium on Legal Challenges and Opportunities for Offshore Wind and Hydrokinetic Energy Development in the Northeast

The Symposium will be held on Friday, March 2, 2012 at the New York State Judicial Institute, on the campus of Pace Law School in White Plains, NY.

Topic:

"President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address outlined a target of meeting eighty percent of the United States’ electricity demand with clean energy sources by 2035. The Northeast is home to large centers of energy demand, as well as abundant offshore renewable energy resources and the region has a critical role to play in meeting the nation’s clean energy goals. The federal government and individual states are developing policy frameworks to foster greater offshore renewable energy development and private companies are moving forward with projects to capture wind and hydrokinetic energy in numerous areas along the Northeast coast. This one-day Symposium will focus on how federal and state legal frameworks regulate the development of offshore wind and hydrokinetic energy resources in the Northeast. Keynote speakers and panelists have been drawn from federal and state government agencies involved in policy making and permitting processes, environmental organizations, industry groups, legal practitioners, and academics with extensive expertise in these areas. Symposium attendees will be treated to in-depth discussions surrounding existing laws and proposed revisions to legal frameworks and policies that are driving and/or hindering the development of offshore wind and hydrokinetic facilities in the Northeast United States."

For more information about the Symposium, speakers and panelists, and to register, please visit: http://www.pace.edu/school-of-law/news-events/symposium-offshore-wind-and-hydrokinetic-energy-development.
4 CLE Practice Credits will be available at no charge (pending approval by the New York State Bar Association).

Protecting Our Chesapeake, Protecting Our National Parks -- NPCA

Protecting Our Chesapeake, Protecting Our National Parks is a report, dated November 17, 2011 by the Natinal Parks Conservation Association.

Abstract
"The health of our national parks depends on the health of the landscapes that surround them; therefore, the parks around the Chesapeake face many of the same threats that the Chesapeake and its rivers face.
“Protecting Our Chesapeake, Protecting Our National Parks” explores two historical parks in the Chesapeake watershed, Colonial National Historical Park on the James and York rivers and Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine on the Patapsco River. It recounts what the rivers looked like before significant agricultural practices, oyster harvesting, and extensive human development. It recommends options to restore the Chesapeake Bay and their national parks to a highly productive ecosystem with cleaner water, fewer toxic contaminants, and more abundant aquatic and terrestrial life. Our national parks help us recognize what has been lost and so help us see what we have the opportunity to regain."

A National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Energy Industry in the United States -- DOE

This report (DOE/GO-102011 -2988), dated February 2011, was prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Wind and Water Power Program to outline the actions it will pursue to support the development of a world‐class offshore wind industry in the United States.

This National Offshore Wind Strategy will guide DOE as it expands its ongoing efforts through the Offshore Wind Innovation and Demonstration (OSWInD) initiative to promote and accelerate responsible commercial offshore wind development in the U.S. in both federal and state waters.

Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States: Assessment of Opportunities and Barriers

This Report from the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), dated, September 2010, (NREL/TP-500-40745) comprehensively analyzes the key factors impacting the deployment of offshore wind power in the United States and includes a detailed assessment of the nation's offshore wind resources and offshore wind industry, including future job growth potential. The report also analyzes the technology challenges, economics, permitting procedures, and the potential risks and benefits of offshore wind power deployment in U.S. waters.

25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup

Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup engages people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris, and change the behaviors that cause marine debris in the first place. Join us this September 25: Sign up for a Cleanup near you and get involved today!

Scientific Assessment of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters

This Report dated September 2010 and prepared by the Interagency Working Group
on Harmful Algal Blooms, Hypoxia, and Human Health finds that Hypoxia is a major contributor to the decline of coastal water quality observed in recent decades,
and its extent has been expanding.

It is part of the broader issue of nutrient-driven eutrophication. Eutrophication is also linked to increased HABs, loss of seagrasses, and other impacts on coastal ecosystems. For eutrophic ecosystems, concerted and coupled research and management efforts, along with stakeholder support, will be needed to rigorously identify, quantify, and implement nutrient reduction strategies that are effective and achievable. Knowledge gained will be important for developing forecasts of the extent and severity of low dissolved oxygen, which will help managers mitigate the impacts of hypoxia.

Executive Order--Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes

This Executive Order (dated July 19, 2010) adopts the recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, except where otherwise provided in this order, and directs executive agencies to implement those recommendations under the guidance of a National Ocean Council. It revokes Executive Order 13366 of December 17, 2004.

Final Recommendations Of The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force

The White House Council on Environmental Quality issued its Final Recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force on July 19, 2010, which would establish a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes (National Policy) and create a National Ocean Council (NOC) to strengthen ocean governance and coordination.

The Final Recommendations prioritize actions for the NOC to pursue, and call for a flexible framework for coastal and marine spatial planning to address conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes. The NOC would coordinate across the Federal Government to implement the National Policy. The Final Recommendations also call for the establishment of a Governance Coordinating Committee to formally engage with state, tribal, and local authorities, The Final Recommendations [have been] adopted into an Executive Order by President Obama."

Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities

The Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with NOAA, Rhode Island Sea Grant, and the International City/County Management Association, EPA has released Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities. This interagency guide builds on existing smart growth principles to offer 10 specific development guidelines for coastal and waterfront communities.

Testing the Waters 2009: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches

This annual report on beachwater quality is produced by the National Resources Defense Council. NRDC used a five-star system to rate a selection of popular beaches across the country. NRDC evaluated 200 popular beaches, some with multiple segments that are monitored separately. In total, 344 beach water quality sampling points from these 200 beaches are rated.

Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), produced this report that discusses the impacts of sea-level rise on the physical characteristics of the coast, on coastal communities, and the habitats that depend on them. The report also examines multiple opportunities for governments and coastal communities to plan for and adapt to rising sea levels.

Sound Health 2008

This report by Long Island Sound Study informs the public on the environmental issues affecting Long Island Sound. It provides information on water quality, the abundance of animal and plant life in the Sound, and trends in land use along the shore.

Strategic Plan: The Coastal Program

This Report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes the Services approach to coastal conservation through the year 2010 with the goals of: conserving habitat, strengthening partnerships, improving communication, enhancing its workforce, and increasing accountability.

Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches (18th ed. 2008)

This Report by the Natural Resources Defense Council describes the many threats to our recreational beaches and surveys the current state of popular beaches nationwide.