207 



an American corporation. The United States' commitment to preservation of its 

 own coastal and marine environment — a commitment expressed in numerous 

 recent pieces of legislation, including the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, the 

 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act and the 

 Marine Protection. Research and Sanctuaries Act, to name a few — is contingent 

 to a substantial degree upon worldwide commitment to the same goals. Even 

 if the right unilateral regulation of our waters is retained, we will suffer 

 if there are not strong international standards. Every effort must therefore 

 be made to ensure that the October conference results in complete, enforceable 

 and meaningful regulations for the control of ship-generated pollution. 

 Thank-you. 



Passed by International Committee. April 7-8, 1973; Passed by Board of 



Directors, May 5-6, 1973 



Whereas the oceans are an integral part of the earth's biosphere and react 

 with the atmosphere, regenerating a substantial portion (70%) of the earth's 

 oxygen by the photosynthetic process with plankton on or near the surface of 

 the oceans ; and 



Whereas the oceans are important to man as a source of food and protein, 

 and for recreational, aesthetic, ecological scientific and other values ; and 



Whereas man's information, data, and understanding of the oecans is incom- 

 plete, and much is unknown about the conditions and processes of the oceans, 

 marine life, the marine environment, and the effect of pollution on these, and 

 therefore development of ocean resources should proceed slowly and with care; 

 and 



Whereas the oceans are acutely afflicted with pollution from a multitude of 

 contaminants which emanate from a variety of sources, both land based and 

 marine, and whereas this pollution is global in nature affecting the entire marine 

 environment ; and 



Whereas oceanographers and U.N. reports warn that marine pollution, if i* 

 continues unabated, seriously endangers the viability of life within the oceans and 

 may result in the death of seas or large oceanic areas thereby endangering the 

 survival of terrestrial species including man ; and 



Whereas the oceans' environmental quality has deteriorated from overfish- 

 ing of ocean living resources, and it may further deteriorate with the explora- 

 tion, exploitation, or development of marine mineral resources, such as oil, gas, 

 and hard minerals ; and 



Whereas the existing law of the sea is based upon a fragmented, piecemeal 

 approach to the control of pollution and the preservation of the marine environ- 

 ment, and there are inadequate provisions in international law for the control 

 of marine pollution. 



Whereas the United Nations will hold a general Conference on the Law of the 

 Sea commencing in New York in November, 1973, which shall consider ; inter 

 alia, international law governing pollution of the oceans, the preservation of the 

 marine environment, and the creation of new laws concerning the development 

 of marine mineral resources : and 



Whereas the Sierra Club's International Committee, and its Task Force on 

 the Oceans, has considered the problems of the law of the sea with respect to 

 pollution and the preservation of the marine environment, and has accepted a 

 written report on these matters, now, therefore, fee it 



Remlred, that the Sierra Club favors international approaches, through bilat- 

 eral, regional, or multilateral conventions and other international arrangements, 

 to control pollution of the world's oceans.and to preserve the marine environment. 

 It favors a strong international regime over the seas covering the maximum 

 area of the ocean with comprehensive environmental controls and standards 

 relating, among others, to marine pollution and overfishing, effective enforce- 

 ment provisions and an equitable distribution of resources, which regime in- 

 volves all the nations of the world. However, it favors such international con- 

 trols to the extent they are not le.ss stringent than the environmental laws or 

 regulations of the United States or other countries, when the U.S. or other coun- 

 tries have jurisdiction under international law to validly enact and enforce 

 environmental laws and regulations in excess of those in international law. 



Resolved, Further, That the Sierra Clnl) generally opposes unilateral claims 

 over the oceans for environmental purposes as an ineffective method of control- 

 ling pollution and preserving the marine environment, except that such unilateral 

 claims may be permissible only in exceptional emergency circiimstances, provided 



