'Frontier' zoning

Once established, ocean zoning could protect vital wildlife habitat and site specific areas for energy development.

Larry Crowder, a marine biology professor at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, envisions using the public trust doctrine to create a "marine special management plan" that has input from all of the relevant federal agencies. Ecosystems management would be a guiding principle.

Crowder predicts that as the debate over how to regulate uses of offshore areas matures, historically influential players – such as oil and gas producers – could exercise undue influence. Start-up industries, such as wave and tidal energy producers, may have less power.

"People still think of the oceans as a frontier," Crowder said. "When the West was a frontier, there wasn't zoning. The guy with six bullets won."

He added, "We've done this on land with comprehensive plans. You don't put a porn shop next to an elementary school."

Senior reporter Michael Burnham contributed.

Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500

3 Comments

1. 1. geewhiz 08:48 PM 4/13/09

   NO, WE SHOULD MAKE CHANNELS THROUGH EACH STATE IN THE UNITED STATES AND EACH COUNTRY IN EUROPE AND ALLOW THE SALTWATER TO FLOW THROUGH ALL COUNTRIES AND STATES WITH NETS ON EACH OCEAN END, SO ONLY SMALL FISH ENTER. SO ALL HAVE FISH FOOD AND FRESHWATER CAN BE EXTRACTED FROM THE SALTWATER, SINCE THERE'S SO MUCH OF IT. MY URL: HAS THE SOLUTIONS http://www.inventube.com/ooojay/blog/ channels should be 50 feet deep and 100 feet wide with CULD-A-SAKS FOR CHANGING TO FRESHWATER. AT THE SAME TIME IT LOWERS THE OCEAN ENOUGH FOR OUR FISHING FLEETS TO CATCH FISH FOR OUR POPULATION. HAVE A NICE DAY. MIKE

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2. 2. geewhiz 12:35 PM 4/14/09

   I STILL SAY NO. SINCE YOU WANT TO ZONE WHAT WILL BE DESTROYED BY GLOBAL WARMING. I SUGGEST YOU DELETE THE PROBLEM FIRST INSTEAD OF PLAYING IN THE WATER. BECAUSE SOON ALL SPECIES ON AND IN EARTH WONT BE. http://www.socyberty.com/Activism/First-Step-for-the-Solution-to-Global-Warming.103109 IF YOU IGNORE THIS THEN THEIR'S NO HOPE FOR OUR SPECIES. HAVE A NICE DAY. MIKE

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3. 3. geewhiz 12:38 PM 4/14/09

   WHAT PART OF NO DONT YOU UNDERSTAND? HAVE A NICE DAY. MIKE

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