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Thursday, August 29, 2024
7pm Central Time (8pm ET, 6pm MT, 5pm PT) UTC -5
*Registration for the Zoom Link is required: click here *
Ocean and human health are inextricably linked. A variety of human-induced stressors are affecting the health of our ocean and that of all who depend on it ecologically, culturally and economically. In addition to the impacts of climate change and overfishing, pollution is a major concern that is affecting marine ecosystem health and sustainability.
The recently commenced discharge of “treated,” radioactively contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant presents concerns that are both transboundary and trans-generational. The present discharge is unnecessary and irresponsible, with better options available.
The Fukushima disaster was preventable, was not the first such incident and will not be the last. Addressing the handling of nuclear waste is a growing problem, and hence, Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency and all nations can work together to turn this tragedy into a opportunity to provide a sound legacy of vital oceans for future generations of Pacific Islanders and all of humanity.
Dr. Robert Richmond is research professor and director of Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa. He worked in the department of Radiation Biology and biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical School on the uptake of radionuclides by indicator organisms and performed his doctoral dissertation on Enewetok Atoll from 1980 to ’82, a site of the U.S. nuclear testing program.
He is a member of the expert scientific panel advising the Pacific Islands Forum leaders on the discharges of radioactively contaminated water from the Fukushima/Daiichi nuclear power plant to the Pacific Ocean. He is both an Aldo Leopold Fellow in Environmental Leadership and a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation.
His research interests include coral reef ecology, marine conservation biology, ecotoxicology, radiation biology, climate change, large scale MPAs bridging science to management and policy, and the integration of indigenous ecological knowledge with modern approaches to resource use and protection. |
