Ocean Summit (Fwd)

[Ray Keefer <Ray.Keefer@eng.Sun.COM>]

Hi,

If you are into this kind of stuff.

Regards,
Ray

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Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 21:28:34 -0800
From: "Steve Campi" <scampi@dnai.com>
Subject: Ocean Summit
To: ba_diving@lists.best.com

This was in today's newspaper and contains some interesting facts.

<start>
Monterey will be host of forum on Coast issues
By Paul Rogers
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

The Clinton administration has chosen Monterey as the location for a
national summit this summer on ocean and coastal issues, a high-level
gathering that could feature visits by President Clinton and Vice President
Al Gore.

The event, which will draw Cabinet secretaries, scientists, environmerttal
leaders, fishing interests and others, is tentatively set for June 8 at the
Naval Postgraduate School, Rep. Sam Farr, D-Camel, has announced.

Farr, whose district includes the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary,
the nation's largest protected ocean area, said Saturday the event will
offer a rare chance to focus national attention on ocean issues - both in
the national media and in the halls of federal power. Chief among them:
overfishing, pollution from toxic runoff, global warming and the need for
more federal research on coastal and ocean problems, he said.

"We have an incredible opportunity," said Farr. "The Central Coast is at
the right place at the right time with the right issue."

Swirling rumors

Rumors of the event have swirled for weeks. But Saturday was the first
confirmation by White House officials that they have chosen Monterey.

Farr made comparisons with the White House's Lake Tahoe Summit, held last
July. At that two-day gathering, Clinton and Gore toured the lake, held
discussions with scientists and promised a $50 million federal package to
help improve Lake Tahoe's water quality and restore the health of its dying
forests.

Administration officials said Saturday that Clinton and Gore have not yet
confirmed but hope to attend.

"There's strong support from the White House," said Elliot Diringer, a
spokesman for the White House's Council on Environmental Quality. "The
president and the vice president are both very enthused about the
conference, but it's too early to know if their schedules will allow them
to be there."

The conference will probably last one or two days.

It is being organized by the Department of Commerce, which oversees the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the Navy, with
help from other agencies.

As with many White House events, the Monterey summit could have political
overtones.

Heat on Boxer

By mid-June, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., will be in the heat of a
difficult re-election campaign. At the same time, the governor's race will
be in full swing. Clinton and other Democratic leaders consider victories
in both races critical and will be looking for ways to help Boxer and other
Democratic candidates. Aware that environmental issues are popular with
California voters, the president may find it difficult to turn down a trip
to Monterey, with its rolling waves, sea gulls and sea otters as a backdrop
for CNN, the New York Times and dozens of other media outlets.

Lori Arguelies, public affairs director for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, said Monterey has been near the top of her
agency's list ever since Commerce Secretary William Daley announced Jan. 28
that there would be a U.S. ocean summit as part of 1998's designation as
The Year of the Ocean by Congress, Clinton and the United Nations.

"Monterey is an ideal site," said Arguelles. "It's right on the ocean. It
has one of the largest concentrations of ocean research institutions
anywhere, and it also has a lot of hotels and the Monterey Bay Aquarium."

The summit will focus on four issues, she said: scientific research,
commercial uses of ocean such as tourism and fishing, environmental issues
and global security issues.

Monterey Bay is fast becoming a world center of ocean research. There are
18 scientific institutions along its shore, including Stanford University's
Hopkins Marine Lab, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Research Institute and others.

In addition, tourism is a $1.5 billion industry in the region.

Focus of new millennium

"The ocean is the environmental issue of the 21st century," said Ken
Peterson, a spokesman for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "It's been ignored
because most people don't see below the surface. Having a major national
conference is going to be a big step forward."

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary stretches from San Francisco to
the Hearst Castle. Authorized by President Bush in 1992, it bans all
offshore oil and gas drilling and sets other strict rules for ecological
protection.

Yet the sanctuary -- four times the size of Yosemite National Park -- has a
staff of only seven people, one patrol boat and an annual budget of only
$970,000, or 5 percent of Yosemite's.
<end>

I would like to ask a question.  Was the establishment of the MBNMS a
benefit for recreational divers?

I ask because recreational divers backed the formation of the Sanctuary in
order ban all offshore oil and gas drilling and protect the environment
within its borders.  As recreation divers:
1) We have had to fight to re-open Jade Cove.
2) The Jade Cove fight has made NOAA realize that they want a "yes-man"
Sanctuary Advisory Committee.  We may not have a forceful divers advocate
anymore (please prove me wrong Ken).
3) NOAA has proposed user fees.
4) NOAA has sponsored a "scientific" study that was set up to "document"
that divers are harmful to the underwater environment.

Do you feel that the congress would never pass a law to allow offshore oil
and gas drilling in the Sanctuary even though it would be a major source of
revenue, create jobs, help avoid dependence on foreign oil and increase
their campaign coffers?

Would you tell recreational divers in Hawaii to endorse the proposed
Sanctuary in their state?

Steve Campi
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