23 votes

‘We felt so betrayed’: Indigenous tribe continues activism after decision excluding Morro Bay from US marine sanctuary

Posted by boxer_dogs_dance
Tags: energy.renewable, usa.ca, wind power.offshore, indigenous peoples, native americans, coastlines, ecosystems, sanctuaries, biology.marine, morro bay, government.local, author.lucy sherriff, source.the guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/01/morro-bay-indigenous-tribes-excluded-marine-sanctuary-noaa-california

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Authors
Lucy Sherriff
Published
Oct 1 2023
Word count
1326 words

6 comments

  1. [6]
    boxer_dogs_dance
    Link

    The tribe has been tirelessly campaigning for the central coast to be designated as a marine sanctuary – a fight Walker’s father, Fred Collins, started more than five decades ago – and was confident the sanctuary would go ahead after a successful public comment period last year drew 10,000 supporting signatures.

    But then, last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) released a draft management plan for the sanctuary that left the tribe reeling. The stretch of coast they had advocated for – from Cambria to Morro Bay – had been left out. Instead, Noaa’s proposed sanctuary would start just south of Morro Bay, stretching down to Gaviota. The reason, Noaa told the Guardian, is because a marine sanctuary is not compatible with offshore wind – and Morro Bay is set to be the hub of the country’s biggest offshore wind development project.

    5 votes
    1. [5]
      AugustusFerdinand
      Link Parent
      Does anyone have details on how they (or anyone) define feasible "responsible way" for handling offshore wind/cabling?

      The tribe isn’t opposed to offshore wind, they just want to see it done in a responsible way, rather than becoming the next oil and wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems.

      Does anyone have details on how they (or anyone) define feasible "responsible way" for handling offshore wind/cabling?

      5 votes
      1. [4]
        lackofaname
        Link Parent
        My immediate thought was: new technologies are often adopted before fully understanding the potential impacts. A 2022 Nature review on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms more or less...

        My immediate thought was: new technologies are often adopted before fully understanding the potential impacts.

        A 2022 Nature review on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms more or less confirms that many knowledge gaps remain and monitoring is essential to track impacts:

        When developing plans for a new industry such as offshore renewables, there may be interactions between devices and marine species or habitats that regulators and stakeholders perceive as risky, as there are still considerable gaps in scientific knowledge about the ecological impacts of wind turbines.

        [...]

        The ecological risks derived from the negative impacts of wind energy devices can vary biogeographically, depending on the environmental characteristics and vulnerability of the affected area (e.g., presence of migrating bird species especially sensitive to wind turbines).

        [...]

        The acquisition of new data through dedicated monitoring activities around OWE developments is, therefore, highly relevant to overcome scientific knowledge gaps[...] Monitoring processes need to focus on pressures and impacts on specific ecosystem elements (including protected and vulnerable habitats and species) for which higher uncertainty has been identified[...] A future perspective on this topic includes using integrative approaches to gather relevant information, thereby providing a holistic view of the positive and negative impacts, and of the trade-offs between different management options.

        More specifically, this 2019 PLOS ONE assessment on minimizing impacts of wind farms on birds and cetaceans highlights the importance of location selection (for birds) and timing of pre-operational activities (for cetaceans):

        The framework highlights sites on a map that are the most profitable and least sensitive to seabirds.

        [...]

        For a given site, pre-operational activities (e.g. pile driving and seismic air gun surveying) are advised by cetacean sensitivity across months of the year that minimize impacts on migratory cetaceans, particularly those of highest conservation concern such as the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena Glacialis).

        I've hit my limit on spending time poking into the literature on this, and it's by no means comprehensive, but hope that satiates some of your curiosity (as it did mine).

        7 votes
        1. [3]
          AugustusFerdinand
          Link Parent
          Thank you very much for that, was one of the topics I wasn't sure how to start checking on as my initial searches didn't give anything helpful to go on, just the same source-less, cherry picked...

          Thank you very much for that, was one of the topics I wasn't sure how to start checking on as my initial searches didn't give anything helpful to go on, just the same source-less, cherry picked points to suit various author's sides of the arguments. My initial thoughts said it reeked of NIMBY-ism, but I could just be in that frame of mind at the moment since I'm knee deep in real estate shopping.

          3 votes
          1. [2]
            sparksbet
            Link Parent
            I would be extremely hesitant to accuse Native Americans of NIMBY-ism over things like this unless you have an extremely deep understanding of the particular issue. The term NIMBY was coined to...

            I would be extremely hesitant to accuse Native Americans of NIMBY-ism over things like this unless you have an extremely deep understanding of the particular issue. The term NIMBY was coined to describe behavior in a particular context and it's not a context that generalizes well to a people like the Chumash, whose land was stolen from them violently by Americans in the California genocide.

            1 vote
            1. AugustusFerdinand
              Link Parent
              Which I didn't do. I just said it reeked of such, the mention of Greenpeace, plus the fact that the area is an extremely real estate rich (average house prices hover around $1M, none of which is...

              Which I didn't do. I just said it reeked of such, the mention of Greenpeace, plus the fact that the area is an extremely real estate rich (average house prices hover around $1M, none of which is going to the Native Americans) are red flags as it wouldn't be the first time that some rich white people latched onto an Indigenous people's cause for their own gain. In this case they'd just be screaming "Won't somebody think of the children Native Americans." - in their attempts to not "ruin" their ocean view property.

              5 votes