U.S. Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) and Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) reintroduced the Alan S. Lowenthal Blue Whales, Blue Skies Act, a bill to create a new federal program encouraging commercial shipping companies operating off the Pacific coast to reduce the speeds of their vessels in order to protect marine life and cut air pollution.
Create a federal program encouraging commercial shipping companies operating off the Pacific coast to slow their vessels to protect marine life and cut air pollution.
Occurrences
Evidence
WhaleSpotter launched in San Francisco Bay, giving mariners real-time alerts to slow down or reroute when whales are nearby.
A gray whale near Pier 80 was killed by injuries consistent with a vessel strike, and scientists point to vessel-speed reductions and communication protocols as mitigations.
Assessments
Carbajal appears to have made a serious legislative effort toward this promise, including sponsoring or reintroducing legislation aimed at protecting blue whales and reducing coastal air pollution. But the promised outcome was a federal program encouraging Pacific coast commercial shippers to slow vessels, and the available evidence still shows the vessel-slowing response operating through voluntary California or local efforts rather than an enacted federal program created by Carbajal. Because the federal program itself was not delivered, the best judgment is never, with effort credit for the attempt.