Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches
Ocean acidification is often referred to as climate change’s “evil twin.” As the global ocean continually absorbs much of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide produced through the burning of fossil fuels, its pH is dropping, causing a plethora of chemical, biological, and ecological impacts. These impac...
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ftuwashingtonsl:oai:digitalcommons.law.uw.edu:wjelp-1059 2023-05-15T17:48:55+02:00 Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches Craig, Robin Kundis 2016-07-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol6/iss2/7 https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=wjelp unknown UW Law Digital Commons https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol6/iss2/7 https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=wjelp Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy Environmental Law Water Law text 2016 ftuwashingtonsl 2022-05-30T16:18:41Z Ocean acidification is often referred to as climate change’s “evil twin.” As the global ocean continually absorbs much of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide produced through the burning of fossil fuels, its pH is dropping, causing a plethora of chemical, biological, and ecological impacts. These impacts immediately threaten local and regional fisheries and marine aquaculture; over the long term, they pose the risk of a global mass extinction event. As with climate change itself, the ultimate solution to ocean acidification is a worldwide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. In the interim, however, environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity have worked to apply the federal Clean Water Act to ocean acidification, while states and coastal regions are increasingly pursuing more broadly focused responses to ocean acidification’s local and regional impacts. This Article provides a first assessment of these relatively nascent legal efforts to address ocean acidification. It concludes first that ocean acidification should prompt renewed Clean Water Act attention to stormwater runoff and nutrient pollution. However, this Article also demonstrates that improved implementation of the Clean Water Act will not be enough. The realities of ocean acidification require more comprehensive legal and policy innovations so that coastal states and regions can adapt to its impacts now and into the future. Text Ocean acidification UW Law Digital Commons (University of Washington) |
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Environmental Law Water Law |
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Environmental Law Water Law Craig, Robin Kundis Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches |
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Environmental Law Water Law |
description |
Ocean acidification is often referred to as climate change’s “evil twin.” As the global ocean continually absorbs much of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide produced through the burning of fossil fuels, its pH is dropping, causing a plethora of chemical, biological, and ecological impacts. These impacts immediately threaten local and regional fisheries and marine aquaculture; over the long term, they pose the risk of a global mass extinction event. As with climate change itself, the ultimate solution to ocean acidification is a worldwide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. In the interim, however, environmental groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity have worked to apply the federal Clean Water Act to ocean acidification, while states and coastal regions are increasingly pursuing more broadly focused responses to ocean acidification’s local and regional impacts. This Article provides a first assessment of these relatively nascent legal efforts to address ocean acidification. It concludes first that ocean acidification should prompt renewed Clean Water Act attention to stormwater runoff and nutrient pollution. However, this Article also demonstrates that improved implementation of the Clean Water Act will not be enough. The realities of ocean acidification require more comprehensive legal and policy innovations so that coastal states and regions can adapt to its impacts now and into the future. |
format |
Text |
author |
Craig, Robin Kundis |
author_facet |
Craig, Robin Kundis |
author_sort |
Craig, Robin Kundis |
title |
Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches |
title_short |
Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches |
title_full |
Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches |
title_fullStr |
Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dealing with Ocean Acidification: The Problem, the Clean Water Act, and State and Regional Approaches |
title_sort |
dealing with ocean acidification: the problem, the clean water act, and state and regional approaches |
publisher |
UW Law Digital Commons |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol6/iss2/7 https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=wjelp |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjelp/vol6/iss2/7 https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=wjelp |
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1766155085803421696 |