Sea levels are rising 3-4 times faster along the east coast, from North Carolina to Massachusetts, than the global average, says a new study by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This “hot spot” of rising water puts us at unique risk from the changes that are happening to our ocean and will “increase the vulnerability of coastal cities to flooding, and beaches and wetlands to deterioration,” according to the report. The reasons for our higher than average sea level rise are complex and involve changes in ocean circulation, temperature, and salinity, among other things (read the full report here if you want all the details). But you don’t need to understand why it’s happening to know that this is a problem we need to figure out how to manage. read more…

This week on Talking Fish: the first installment of a new series on local summer fisheries in New England, and an assortment of fish stories in the news. Also be sure to check out the interview and pictures from photographer Brian Skerry's dive on Cashes Ledge! read more..

Northern Pass’s developer has a long track record of public statements attributing the deep New Hampshire opposition to the current proposal to the go-to developer bogeyman – “not in my backyard” obstructionism. Accusing critics of short-sighted “NIMBYism” is even part of Northern Pass’s expensive marketing campaign (which suffers from other deliberately false and misleading claims). Continuing this tradition, the CEO of the developer’s parent company recently derided opponents as “special interests.” This is loaded, derogatory rhetoric, and exactly the wrong frame for having any constructive dialogue with the New Hampshire communities that face living with the project’s major new infrastructure, as I argued on NHPR last year. And on a personal level, after nearly a year and a half of advocacy on the Northern Pass project, I can say with certainty that the New Hampshire opponents of the read more…

Here they are! Some of Brian’s first ever pictures of Cashes Ledge. Every picture tells a story - but we are lucky enough to have some real stories to tell about these awesome pictures. We caught up with Brian shortly after he visited Cashes Ledge and asked him about the dive. Brian filled us in on some of the exciting details of this bona fide ocean odyssey: read more..

Since assuming the role of Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper six months ago, I have devoted all my time and effort to protecting the Great Bay estuary – a remarkable resource that is threatened by pollution from aging wastewater treatment plants and untreated stormwater.  What I said then holds true today – the threats to the Bay have never been clearer, and the opportunity to fix them never greater. To create a stronger voice for Great Bay, I am pleased to announce that a coalition of organizations, including a business and a municipality, has come together under the name Rescue Great Bay to demand immediate solutions to clean up the estuary. Rescue Great Bay’s founding members are the New Hampshire Coastal Protection Partnership, EcoMovement, Winnicut River Watershed Coalition, Trout Unlimited-Great Bay Chapter, read more…

When Vermont’s Governor Shumlin announced last year that the outdated, expensive and ill-conceived Circ Highway would not be built as planned, it opened the door for lower cost and less polluting solutions that would actually help folks get around and not just pave over farmland, forests, and wetlands. In the first round a number of good solutions are advancing, including the Crescent Connector in Essex Junction which transforms a small downtown with thoughtful design, making it easier and more pleasant to walk, shop, get around and not simply drive in traffic. Unfortunately, for the next phase, some officials still seem stuck in the dark ages. When presented with an evaluation by the County’s transportation planning officials that building portions of the old highway would be expensive, have the same environmental problems read more…

Innovation – a word commonly used, and commonly associated with big money and big business. But as 15 year old Jack Thomas Andraka, recent winner of an Intel prize for his cancer detection technology, demonstrated: innovation is unfolding in unlikely places. We should nurture these innovations, and we must do more to leverage these breakthroughs. read more..

Most people don’t realize that oysters are only found in estuaries. At one time, oysters thrived throughout the Great Bay estuary and were highly desired for human consumption. Because oysters filter the water to feed, they also help to remove pollutants and nutrients and play an important role in keeping our estuaries clean. Unfortunately, it is increasingly difficult to find oysters in the Great Bay estuary due to disease and siltation. In the mid-1990s, the introduction of two parasitic protozoans – Dermo and MSX – caused a large-scale die-off of adult oysters.  Since then habitat changes due to excess siltation from numerous storm events – an impact of Climate Change – has furthered reduced populations. Forty years ago, there were approximately one thousand acres of oysters in the estuary; today, read more…

This Week on TalkingFish.org: Peter Baker writes about the need for stricter regulations on New England's industrial Atlantic herring fishery, and our weekly collection of fish stories in the news. read more..

Last week I stood in front of a group of young, energetic and extremely well qualified people and welcomed them as CLF’s 2012 summer interns – an act being repeated thousands of times around the country this summer. As I looked across the room at this highly talented group of young people, two thoughts occurred to me: among them are our future leaders, and our movement – the environmental movement – will be very different when they are standing in my position, welcoming interns to their organizations in the years ahead. read more..