Panel to study impact of ocean acidification
Sixteen people have been named to a new state commission that will be studying ocean acidification and its impact on shellfish.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the commission, which was created by Legislature this year, includes five legislators, three state officials and eight members of the public. The commission is scheduled to meet a minimum of four times and must complete its work by Dec. 5. Its findings will be reported to the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee for consideration in crafting possible legislation to address the problem.
State Sen. Chris Johnson (D-Somerville) and Rep. Mick Devin (D-Newcastle), a marine biologist who sponsored the legislation creating the panel, will serve as co-chairmen of the commission, the newspaper reported. Other members named at a press conference on Portland’s waterfront on Friday are: Joe Payne of Friends of Casco Bay; Kathleen Leyden of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; Suzanne Miller of the Department of Environmental Protection; Jon Lewis of the Department of Marine Resources; Susie Arnold of the Island Institute; Bill Mook of Mook Sea Farm in Walpole; lobsterman Richard Nelson; Mark Green of Basket Island Oyster Co.; Meredith White of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences; oceanography Professor Larry Mayer of the University of Maine; and oceanography and biogeochemistry Professor Joseph Salisbury of the University of New Hampshire.
Lawmakers on the committee include Rep. Wayne Parry (R-Arundel) and Rep. Joan Welsh (D-Rockport). A Republican senator on the panel has yet to be named.
Earlier this month, Mainebiz reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to reduce carbon pollution from the power sector by 30% nationally and by about 14% in Maine by 2030. Maine plans to comply by using the existing Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a collaboration with eight other New England and Mid-Atlantic states. Maine's goal under the new EPA regulations is to reduce the 2012 emission rate of 437 pounds per megawatt hour to 378 pounds per megawatt hour by 2030, according to EPA figures.
Mark Green, an oceanographer from Saint Joseph's College and oyster farmer, has characterized the Gulf of Maine as “Ground Zero for ocean acidification,” which is caused by carbon dioxide dissolving into the ocean to create carbonic acid, making the ocean more acidic.
The Press Herald reported that U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, who last month introduced a bill that would require federal officials to study the effects of ocean acidification on coastal communities around the country, told those attending last Friday’s press conference that scientists don’t fully understand how acidification would affect the lobster fishery.
“We know what’s causing ocean acidification but now we need to better understand how hard it is going to hit coastal economies,” she said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Chris Johnson as a member of the Maine House of Representatives.
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