scooter
04-28-2008, 12:29 PM
PUBLICATION: Brantford Expositor (ON)
DATE: 2008.03.20
SECTION: Local News
PAGE: A3
SOURCE: SUN MEDIA
BYLINE: Daniel Pearce
DATELINE: Simcoe
WORD COUNT: 371
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Zebra mussel anniversary marked by new warnings
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Conservationists are warning of environmental "catastrophe" in the Great Lakes unless governments crack down on what ocean-going ships discharge into North American waters.
Restrictions on what's flushed out of their ballast tanks are needed to prevent invasive species from taking over fresh water systems the same way the destructive zebra mussel did 20 years ago, conservationists say.
"The technology is there," said Andy Buchsbaum of the National Wildlife Federation in the United States. "Will a government require ships to put them on their ballasts? It's not rocket science. Congress can fix the problem."
The call was made Wednesday by a number of environmental organizations on both sides of the border to mark the spring opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway - and the 20th anniversary of the zebra mussel coming to the Great Lakes in the ballast of a ship.
Since then, the mussel has spread and wreaked havoc at an estimated cost of between $1 billion and $5 billion a year.
It disrupts the food chain fish depend on, helps create the conditions for annual die-offs of birds and fish, and clogs the pipes of water and generating plants.
The mussel has spread to inland waterways across Canada and the U.S., and has been found as far west as Oklahoma and California.
Of concern, say conservationists, is the lack of government action in light of the zebra mussel experience.
"Twenty years later our governments do not have protection in place," said Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United, a coalition of environmental groups. "Our governments are inviting another catastrophe on our shores.
"Each year (the seaway) opens without adequate protection, it risks it happening again."
Right now, ocean-going ships flush out their ballast tanks with salt water before entering the seaway.
While the method kills about 95 per cent of what's in the tank, it's not enough to prevent disaster, conservationists warned in a telephone conference call with reporters.
"That five per cent (that survives) can blow up and take over an ecosystem," said Buchsbaum.
Water in the ballast tanks can be treated to get what remains alive in the discharge down even further, he said.
Some of the technologies that could be used, said Nalbone, include filters and UV radiation.
Right now, a bill before the House of Representatives and the Senate in the U.S. will, if passed, set new standards for the discharge from ballast tanks.
It calls for "very, very low levels" of living organisms to be flushed out, Buchsbaum said.
In Canada, ballast discharges are covered by the Canada Shipping Act, but its regulations are not enforced, said Nalbone. "Unfortunately, it's nothing more than a paper exercise/"
Buchsbaum warned of "devastating and irreversible damage" if action is not taken by governments.
A new invasive species is introduced to the Great Lakes on average once every 28 days, the teleconference was told.
DATE: 2008.03.20
SECTION: Local News
PAGE: A3
SOURCE: SUN MEDIA
BYLINE: Daniel Pearce
DATELINE: Simcoe
WORD COUNT: 371
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zebra mussel anniversary marked by new warnings
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conservationists are warning of environmental "catastrophe" in the Great Lakes unless governments crack down on what ocean-going ships discharge into North American waters.
Restrictions on what's flushed out of their ballast tanks are needed to prevent invasive species from taking over fresh water systems the same way the destructive zebra mussel did 20 years ago, conservationists say.
"The technology is there," said Andy Buchsbaum of the National Wildlife Federation in the United States. "Will a government require ships to put them on their ballasts? It's not rocket science. Congress can fix the problem."
The call was made Wednesday by a number of environmental organizations on both sides of the border to mark the spring opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway - and the 20th anniversary of the zebra mussel coming to the Great Lakes in the ballast of a ship.
Since then, the mussel has spread and wreaked havoc at an estimated cost of between $1 billion and $5 billion a year.
It disrupts the food chain fish depend on, helps create the conditions for annual die-offs of birds and fish, and clogs the pipes of water and generating plants.
The mussel has spread to inland waterways across Canada and the U.S., and has been found as far west as Oklahoma and California.
Of concern, say conservationists, is the lack of government action in light of the zebra mussel experience.
"Twenty years later our governments do not have protection in place," said Jennifer Nalbone of Great Lakes United, a coalition of environmental groups. "Our governments are inviting another catastrophe on our shores.
"Each year (the seaway) opens without adequate protection, it risks it happening again."
Right now, ocean-going ships flush out their ballast tanks with salt water before entering the seaway.
While the method kills about 95 per cent of what's in the tank, it's not enough to prevent disaster, conservationists warned in a telephone conference call with reporters.
"That five per cent (that survives) can blow up and take over an ecosystem," said Buchsbaum.
Water in the ballast tanks can be treated to get what remains alive in the discharge down even further, he said.
Some of the technologies that could be used, said Nalbone, include filters and UV radiation.
Right now, a bill before the House of Representatives and the Senate in the U.S. will, if passed, set new standards for the discharge from ballast tanks.
It calls for "very, very low levels" of living organisms to be flushed out, Buchsbaum said.
In Canada, ballast discharges are covered by the Canada Shipping Act, but its regulations are not enforced, said Nalbone. "Unfortunately, it's nothing more than a paper exercise/"
Buchsbaum warned of "devastating and irreversible damage" if action is not taken by governments.
A new invasive species is introduced to the Great Lakes on average once every 28 days, the teleconference was told.