The Nation : Coalition Offers Plan to Protect Ocean

Challenging the nation to clean up its ocean waters, a California-based coalition of environmental, business and civic organizations presented a 14-point plan for restoring and preserving coastal lands, estuaries and major bodies of water. The five-year plan calls for banning ocean dumping of sewage, sludge and industrial wastes and developing alternative, nontoxic sources of energy to supplement oil. It also calls for strict zoning measures to protect ecologically sensitive coastal areas, and development of a national policy for reducing production of toxic wastes by 75% before the end of the century. The Santa Monica-based coalition, American Oceans Campaign, was organized last April. It is composed of 12 groups, among them the Los Angeles League of Women Voters, the California Lodging Industry Assn., the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen and Orange County Save Our Shores.