With collective action, we can create a future free of plastics.

Solving plastic pollution will help us stop climate change
Earthday.org

This Week: Celebrating one of Earth’s most precious resources during National Ocean Month.

This Week: Celebrating one of Earth’s most precious resources during National Ocean Month; it’s the first assessment of wind energy potential in the Gulf of Mexico; a proposed offshore wind lease sale off New York and New Jersey could power millions of homes and generate thousands of jobs; Secretary Haaland says Interior’s projected budget increase will help foster diversity, equity, and inclusion; a new report from the National Park Service shows visitor spending continues to be a boon for local economies; a new experience awaits visitors to the newly-reopened Arlington House; and some towering purple flowers are the stars of our social media Picture of the Week! Watch the Video Secretary Haaland Cites Interior’s “Blue Portfolio” at Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2021 June is National Ocean Month, and Secretary Haaland helped celebrate with remarks during Capitol Hill Ocean Week. She talked about Interior’s “blue portfolio,” and how it’s managed by agency bureaus and offices committed to conserving and restoring coastal and ocean resources. “Each of us, has a responsibility to future generations to care for our Earth and leave behind a livable planet for our children, grandchildren, and future generations,” she said. “As we manage our ocean and its boundless resources, I am committed to working closely with Congress to ensure the President’s budget priorities for conservation, clean energy, and environmental justice are at the forefront of our work.” Watch the Video Interior Announces First Assessment of Gulf of Mexico Wind Energy Potential Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week announced the first-ever assessment of offshore wind energy potential in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s another milestone in the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs through the deployment of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.   Read More Proposed Offshore Wind Lease Sale off New York/New Jersey Elsewhere this week the Department announced another first, a proposed lease sale for offshore wind development in the New York Bight. That’s an area of shallow waters that stretches from Long Island in the north to Cape May New Jersey in the south. It could generate enough megawattage to power nearly three and a half-million homes. This would be the first offshore lease sale under Secretary Haaland’s leadership. Read More FY 2022 Budget Proposal Fosters Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at Interior Interior’s slice of the proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget may be an increase of 17% over last year, but that’s just where the story starts. Secretary Haaland says preserving our historic sites and lands for future generations is at the heart of what Interior does, and she’s committed to centering the voices, history, and stories of those who have been unrepresented and underrepresented. The Biden-Harris administration’s 2022 budget proposal also includes increases across the Department to better address diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workforce. Read More National Park Visitors Spend $28.6 Billion, Support 234K Jobs in 2020 The National Park Service this week announced visitor spending at the nation’s parks last year approached $29 billion, and supported more than a quarter-million jobs. Most of that economic impact affected communities within 60 miles of a national park, generating business sales while supporting jobs and local economies.   Read More A Reimagined Experience for Newly-Rehabilitated Arlington House The National Park Service this week announced the reopening of Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, after a complete three-year rehabilitation, and a transformation of the visitor experience. New exhibits and research allows visitors to learn the history of the Custis and Lee families, alongside that of the more than 100 enslaved people who labored on the plantation. Read More   Tweet of the Week  Secretary Deb Haaland @SecDebHaaland  Congratulations to the Tribal graduates of the Class of 2021!    You are each the keeper of our traditions, and the answer to our  ancestor’s prayers. I am so proud of you.   9 Jun   Details |  Retweet   Picture of the Week Every year a brilliantly colored bloom of purple lupine flowers draws admirers to the Bald Hills of Redwood National and State Parks in California. Photo courtesy of Doug Shearer Update subscription  |  Unsubscribe  |  Help  |  Contact Us

A late-night cruise is not only a different side of boating, it can be an enjoyable and unique experience. And by becoming familiar with night driving techniques you will never be caught without experience when the need arises. BoatBlurb offers valuable tips.

#QuickTips Boating at Night
Captain Bill Jennings

A 6,000-nautical mile circumnavigation of the eastern part of North America, the Great Loop takes cruisers through more than 15 states and provinces in two countries, transiting a wide variety of waterways ranging from narrow canals to mighty rivers, wide windswept bays, and four of the Great Lakes. Most people who take their boat on the “Great Loop” spend years, even decades, planning for it. Not Dustin Kidd from Louisville, Kentucky. It took him just two months from the day he decided to do the Great Loop in his 1989 50’ Chris-Craft Constellation, Knot Kidd’n, to casting off from the dock. Click the links below for the full story.

The Adventures of Knott Kidd’n from Highfield Adventures.

See also America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association.

For anyone headed out to Oklahoma, TopSide Marinas, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, offers boat rentals at Beavers Bend Marina on Broken Bow Lake, a beautiful lake in pristine southeast Oklahoma.

Beavers Bend Marina- Book Your Boat Rental Today!

TopSide Marinas

As part of the effort to stem the tide of plastic pollution entering the world’s oceans, the Coca-Cola Company is joining with The Ocean Cleanup to expedite the deployment of cleanup systems in fifteen rivers around the world.

Coca-Cola Joins The Ocean Cleanup in Tackling Ocean Plastic Pollution
Maritime Executive

Update: the Solar Federal Investment Tax Credit has been extended for 2 more years at 26%. Sun Powered Yachts is a CRUISERS NET SPONSOR!

This week’s lowest current marina fuel prices as of Jun 02
        Diesel Range: $2.37 to $3.89 Lowest @ Dudley’s Marina in (North Carolina)
        Gas Range: $3.00 to $4.20 Lowest @ Delegal Creek Marina in (Georgia)
Remember to always call the marina to verify the current price since prices may change at any time. Also please let us know if you find a marina’s fuel price has changed via the Submit News link.

BoatUS continues to be one of the leading advocates of boating safety and of boaters’ rights.

They Are at It Again:
Confusing and Ineffective Fuel Pump Warning Labels
Do Not Help Boaters Choose Safe Fuel

BoatUS says efforts to grow sales of higher blend 15% ethanol fuels
such as “Regular 88” and reduce or eliminate warning labels are anti-consumer

SPRINGFIELD, Va., June 1, 2021 – Efforts by the ethanol industry to create a new federal rule that would weaken or eliminate important warning labels designed to prevent boaters and consumers from misfueling with prohibited higher-ethanol fuels at roadside gas pumps has Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) concerned. The national recreational boating advocacy, services and safety group recently co-signed a letter to EPA Administrator Elizabeth Dermott addressing the proposed “E15 Fuel Dispenser Labeling and Compatibility With Underground Storage Tanks” legislation (EPA-HW-OAR-202-0448) and urging the federal regulator to side with consumers on its Misfueling Mitigation Program (MMP) to ensure transparency in the sale of fuel to consumers.

“Ethanol manufacturers are pushing to blend more ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. To accomplish that, consumers are not being fully informed at the roadside pump about the type of fuel going into their boats’ gas tanks,” said BoatUS Manager of Government Affairs David Kennedy. “New marketing schemes to brand these prohibited 15% ethanol fuels as ‘regular 88,’ promoting them as a low-cost alternative and, at the same time, attempting to drive federal rulemaking efforts to reduce and weaken warning labels at the pump is an anti-consumer one-two-three punch that should not be tolerated.”

The proposed rulemaking provides no new data on a theoretical basis to support the proposals to either decrease the stringency of the existing E15 warning label or eliminate it altogether. A 2020 Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) poll shows that only about one in five consumers know that “regular 88” — or 88 octane fuel — has more ethanol (15%) in it than 87 octane (10% ethanol) fuel.

Use of ethanol fuel blends with more than 10% ethanol, such as “regular 88,” in recreational boat engines, motorcycles, off-road vehicles and power equipment is prohibited by federal law. E15 fuels have been proven to damage engines and fuel systems, and its use in a marine engine voids the warranty.

Consumers have indicated the need for a better, more effective higher-blend ethanol fuel warning label design as well as more prominent placement of the warning label on the pump. A recent national poll shows that just 18.25% of consumers think the current E15 label used at gas pumps across the country is very effective for warning that E15 is hazardous to certain types of engines.

EPA has also worked to broaden the availability of E15 fuel in the U.S., including most recently with the 2019 repeal of summertime restrictions on its sale. These restrictions were originally implemented years ago to address concerns over the higher ethanol fuel’s contribution to ground level ozone (smog) on hot days.

“Visit a local gas station dispensing higher ethanol fuels and look for the warning label on the pump,” added Kennedy. “It’s often hidden or buried along with a mountain of promotional signage. EPA should help consumers make the right fuel choice, and efforts to weaken the Misfueling Mitigation Program, such as stripping away label elements that indicate a warning message or exclude mention of 15% ethanol altogether, only accommodate the interests of ethanol producers and harm boaters.”

About Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS):

Celebrating more than 50 years, BoatUS is the nation’s largest organization of recreational boaters with more than 800,000 members. We are the boat owners’ voice on Capitol Hill and fight for their rights. We are The Boat Owners Auto Club and help ensure a roadside trailer breakdown doesn’t end a boating or fishing trip before it begins. When boats break down on the water, TowBoatUS brings them safely back to the launch ramp or dock, 24/7. BoatUS offers GEICO boat insurance policies that give boat owners affordable, specialized coverage and superior service they need. We help keep boaters safe and our waters clean with assistance from the nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water. Visit BoatUS.com.