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The key to rebuilding our nation's depleted fisheries is - in principle - simple.  We need to stop 'overfishing' (for real). 

This was NRDC's principal message in their comments submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service last week after reviewing their proposed National Standard 1 Guidelines on how to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

Stopping overfishing has proved to be more difficult than it looks.

Next Wednesday, in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in Winter v NRDC, our case challenging the Navy's illegal use of sonar off the southern California coast.

Ever since last December when the Energy Independence and Security Act included a little provision that impacted high carbon fuels such as tar sands oil from Canada, the Alberta government has been busy in the halls of Washington, D.C. trying to get tar sands oil out. Section 526 ensures that federal agencies do not exacerbate global warming by entering into contracts to purchase synthetic, alternative, or nonconventional fuels with higher global warming-related emissions than conventional fuels.

This Saturday, I'm off to Barcelona where conservationists from all over the world are gathering for the World Conservation Congress. For me this will be a time to talk about a region that is often overlooked in global biodiversity discussions: the Boreal forests and wetlands that circle the Earth's northern climes. I've been working to protect North America's Boreal forest for some years now as it is under threat from logging, mining and oil and gas development - much of which is driven by how much we consume in the United States.

In the midst of grim financial news and bitter energy battles, I found a brilliant ray of hope. The Nature Conservancy announced it is securing 14,600 acres of prized Adirondack forests and wetlands that will be added to the Adirondack Forest Preserve. Yes, even in this season of turmoil, people are safeguarding the enduring values of wilderness, beauty, and refuge.

Last week my NRDC colleague Josh Mogerman wrote a rave review of the City of Chicago's new climate action plan.  Given the plan's apparent emphasis on efficient transportation, green building, and renewables, he won't get any argument from me.

Now it's time to take that thinking and apply it to the region's growth patterns, especially in Chicago's surrounding "collar counties."

Andrew Revkin in DotEarth highlights "Emptied Oceans", a short film by Randy Olson that compares the very different experiences of two adventurers sailing from California to Hawai'i on rafts.  In 1958, Don MacFarland, sailing the Lehi, caught huge fish, encountered sharks every day, and collected thick plankton to supplement his diet during the journey.  In 2008, Marcus Eriksen, aboard »

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Here is a little good news from the world of Congress in a very scary week:  Congress finally passed S. 906, the Mercury Export Ban bill.  As my colleague, Susan Keane so eloquently explained:

New York City wants to double bike commuting by 2015 and is working to make the city more bike friendly. That means it needs more bike parking.

In the Associated Press, Craig Noble discusses the benefits of California’s newest bill providing incentives encouraging communities to grow smartly and in ways that reduce their environmental impact… In New York Times’ Green Inc