Legislation That Affects Our Oceans

The individual isn’t the only entity that can have an impact on the health of our beaches and oceans. The government has the potential to create legislation to regulate large-scale systems that affect the health of the oceans, in a way that individuals acting alone could not. Here are some recent bills that have been voted on, as well as upcoming bills that have the environment in mind.

Energy and Global Warming

• Renewable Electricity Promotion Act of 2010: This bill, proposed by New Mexico senator Jeff Bingaman and Sam Brownback of Kansas, would require all utility companies to get 15% of their electricity from green or renewable sources.
• Advanced Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2010: Introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe and Jeff Bingaman, this bill is meant to provide incentives to create energy efficient technology and investment through providing tax-credits to energy-minded companies.
• Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act of 2010: This bill outlines a program to stimulate the development of electric and natural gas vehicle production through tax credits. It would also provide grants for natural gas refueling stations, as well as allocating $100 million towards the creation of a plug-in electric vehicle program.

Oil Spill Response

• Oil Pollution Research and Development Program Reauthorization Act of 2010: This bill appropriates funding to increase research on preventing, controlling, and cleaning up oil spills. The bill would also provide greater oversight and accountability of oil companies, as well as a better federal management structure for responding to spills.
• The Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and Development Act: This bill puts funding towards preventing environmental accidents associated with drilling for oil and natural gas, as well as improving worker safety on such projects.  

State Laws

• Former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger signed many bills into law protecting the unique and lengthy California coast. The laws deal with everything from invasive species to oil spill response. 
• Maine also has a large coastal protection program, currently spearheaded by Senator Olympia Snowe.
• You can view the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s work in all coastal states here.

Sources:

U.S. Law and Policy. (2010) National Resources Defense Fund.