Falmouth Receives OCEAN Environmental Initiative Award

Cape Cod’s water resources, specifically its estuaries and drinking water supply, are at risk to impacts of excess nutrients found in waste water and fertilizers. Effects of excess nitrogen can include human health risks from consumption and causing eutrophication in coastal embayments. It is widely understood that a majority of the additional nitrogen is generated from wastewater, but more recently the use of fertilizers was recognized another controllable source. According to Buzzards Bay Coalition, fertilizer contribution can make up 5-15% of the excess nitrogen in certain impaired watersheds on Cape Cod.[i] Due to this, the use of fertilizers and the regulation of that usage have become contentious topics around the Cape Cod community. State and local officials, industry representatives, environmental organizations, and the private property owners have all joined in on the discussion to voice their opinions and concerns about fertilizer regulations.

In an effort to spearhead water resource protection efforts, the Town of Falmouth has taken further action at reducing nitrogen loading by passing a local bylaw regulating the use of fertilizer. On November 13th, 2012, a fertilizer bylaw was passed at Falmouth Town Meeting. The purpose of the bylaw as stated in Article 7 of the November 2012 Town Meeting Warrant is to “… to conserve resources and protect our environment by regulating the outdoor application of nitrogen in order to reduce the overall amount of excess nitrogen entering the town’s Resource Areas as defined in the Wetlands Protection Bylaw (Chapter 235; Section 2) and regulations.” The bylaw prohibits application of nitrogen-containing fertilizer between October 16th and April 14th of ever year, and would ban applications during heavy rain events or within 100 feet of water resources. There are several exemptions that include application of nitrogen for agriculture and horticulture uses; application of fertilizer to golf courses, except any application within water resource areas; application to gardens; and application for the establishment of new vegetation in the first growing season or repairing of turf.[ii]

The development of the Falmouth fertilizer bylaw began with the Falmouth Water Quality Management Committee (WQMC), established in 2011 by the Falmouth Board of Selectmen. You can find more information about the committee here: http://www.falmouthmass.us/waterq/web%20site/index.html 

The WQMC consists of eight members with backgrounds in the areas of environmental science, water management, public health, natural resource management, and community planning and leadership. In the beginning stages of the bylaw development, the WMQC Technical Staff reviewed several reports and recommendations from other fertilizer studies conducted on Cape Cod. The group met with the Director of the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension for guidance and researched the Falmouth Friendly Lawns model released by the Preserve Falmouth’s Bays and Ponds community campaign.

The Water Quality Management Committee held several meetings to discuss specifics of the bylaw including how to regulate for maximum benefit of removal of nitrogen from going into estuaries. It was important for the group to gain public support and develop a bylaw that would be manageable and consistent for all parties involved. The WMQC met with all stakeholders including golf course managers, landscapers, Falmouth Association Concerned with Estuaries and Saltponds (FACES), and municipal leaders to discuss concerns for the bylaw and how it would impact each party. These discussions led to the exemptions and specific performance standards detailed in the bylaw. After working on several drafts, the WQMC voted on the final bylaw and brought it to the Falmouth Board of Selectmen who unanimously endorsed for Town Meeting vote. After the 2012 Falmouth Town Meeting, the bylaw was sent to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for approval. In May 2013, the MA Attorney General rejected the Falmouth bylaw stating that it “conflicts with a MA state law giving the MA Department of Agricultural Resources the authority to regulate fertilizer use.” [iii] Falmouth could still maintain its fertilizer bylaw if the House and Senate budget passes, as an exemption for the bylaw was included in the language.

There are other initiatives for reducing excess nitrogen by fertilizer use on Cape Cod. In September 2013, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates designated a Cape-wide Fertilizer Management District of Critical Planning Concern (DCPC) under the Cape Cod Commission Act.

You can find additional information about the DCPC here: http://www.capecodcommission.org/index.php?id=140&maincatid=131 Also, the Town of Orleans Board of Selectmen adopted a town policy to reduce fertilizer use on Town-owned land.

Thank You to OCEAN Researcher Katherine Garofoli

Herring River Restoration: Update

DER Coastal Projects Update Herring River, Wellfleet

UPDATE AUGUST 2012:

The largest proposed salt marsh restoration project on the North Atlantic Coast has just been updated. Read the excerpt from the department of environmental resources' latest newsletter posted below. Safe Harbor supports salt marsh restoration. Safe Harbor director, Gordon Peabody was chair of the Herring River Technical Committee which reviewed all previous technical information regarding the river and developed the conceptual restoration plan. More information regarding development of that plan can be found elsewhere within this post, and the Herring River category.

Herring River Estuary July 4, 2004

Aerial view (looking north) of a portion of the Herring River Estuary in Wellfleet. The dike, acting as the main source of restricting tidal flow to the estuary, is in the foreground.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report for this large-scale restoration project, which would restore tidal flow to an approximately 1,000 acre area in and along the Herring River estuary, is scheduled to be released in October, and public informational meetings about, and a comment period on, the project are expected to be scheduled shortly thereafter.  This is the largest tidal estuary restoration ever undertaken in Massachusetts and the North Atlantic coast of the United States.  DER has served as a core project partner over the past decade and has contributed substantial technical and financial resources to support project development.

“The once proud and economically supportive herring river on Cape Cod, being forced to “Breathe through a straw” with grossly undersized culverts, for 100 years. Social influences diked this 1,200 acre river system and social influences will be required to give this river back it’s voice.  ”

— Gordon Peabody, Wellfleet MA August 2012

In the meantime, the Friends of Herring River have produced Return of the Tides: The Herring River Restoration Project, a video developed to educate the public about the value of a healthy salt marsh estuary and the expected benefits or restoring the historic tidal flow of the Herring River Estuary. For thousands of years, this estuary was highly productive and provided feeding and nursery habitat for commercially important fish and shellfish, cycled nutrients and sediment to improve water quality, produced salt hay for animal fodder, and buffered storm surges. Then, throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, road and railroad dikes were built across the river’s floodplain, bisecting the salt marshes and dramatically altering natural tidal patterns.  In addition to the group’s website, Return of the Tides may also be viewed on Vimeo and (with subtitles) on an electronic bulletin board at the Beach Sticker Office in Wellfleet. [Click here and here for additional info on this project.]

Diked for 99 years, the natural resources of Wellfleet's Herring River may get a second chance.

The diked Herring River estuary in Wellfleet, Massachusetts is being considered for restoration. Nearly 100 years ago, the 1,200 acre salt marsh system was reduced to 7 acres. Upper reaches of historic Cape Cod tidelands stretch four miles North into the town of Truro. During the past 100 years, the ecological values of the salt marsh have degraded. Upland vegetation began invading the flood plain. Lack of flushing contributed to low levels of dissolved oxygen. Acidic conditions supported mosquitoes and high levels of bacteria. Fish kills and routine closures of adjacent shellfish beds eventually received attention. In August of 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between the town of Wellfleet and the Cape Cod National Seashore, detailed the process for considering restoration.

This map identifies roadway culverts we are studying, in the flood plain.

This map depicts some of the earliest records of the Herring River estuary system.

A Stakeholder Committee was appointed, to solicit local concerns about potential restoration. A Technical Committee was formed to study the existing scientific information available on the Herring River's existing conditions. The Technical Committee was also directed to respond to Stakeholder issues and make a recommendation on the feasibility of restoration to the Wellfleet Board of Selectmen. In January, 2006, the Wellfleet Board of Selectmen reviewed the Full Report of the Technical Committee.

The Technical Committee's report recommended "that tidal restoration of the Herring River Salt Marsh is feasible and will provide numerous and substantial public benefits" The recommendation continued, "....significant improvements in water quality would provide subsequent public health, recreational, environmental and economic benefits.". Specifically included was "a new structure capable of full tidal restoration....incorporating controlled gates to provide incremental increases in tidal exchange. This would allow for well thought out management, supervision, monitoring and evaluation."

A brush meadow in the diked river's flood plain. Upland vegetation has intruded into salt marsh habitat.

The expected future vista of the previous brush meadow photo. Careful management and planning will allow for removal of vegetation before it is killed by salt water. Sun light must be able to reach the marsh surface for restoration to be possible.

Related Links:

CLICK HERE FOR RESTORATION PLANNING DOCUMENTS

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW HERRING RIVER RESTORATION COMMITTEE

CLICK HERE FOR LEARNING FROM AUSTRALIA'S ESTUARIES

HRTC_CRP_COVER_LTR

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS FOR THE MOST RECENT UPDATE ON THE WELLFLEET HERRING RIVER RESTORATION:

http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20141201/NEWS/141209992/0/SEARCH

http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150204/NEWS/150209663/0/SEARCH

Want More Information?

1. Numerous additional documents are available upon request. Please contact Gordon Peabody at 508-237-3724 or click here gordonsafeharbor@yahoo.com

2. For access to most recent documents, such as agendas, draft plans, minutes and chairman's notes, go to the CURRENT DOCUMENTS page, at the very top of this page.

3. Restoration Brochure, background and general information. Just click on the link below to read the brochure.

Herring River Restoration Project Brochure

Pesticides

Bee Gathering nectar, and collecting pollen

The environmental movement has been prolific and gaining momentum in recent years. Being green and health conscience has become more than a fad in Western culture with no end in sight, and with good reason:  humans, animals and the environment are at risk. One recent finding supports this after it was found that commonly used pesticides may act as neurotoxins in developing nervous systems in people in addition to depleting an unintentional insect population.

            The European Food and Safe Authority are so concerned that they set a two year moratorium and are enforcing guidelines as to what levels of exposure are acceptable for two specific insecticides: acetamiprid and imidacloprid. Though the UK tried to appeal this decision this office represents the European Union thus enforced across the continent. These relatively new pesticides may specifically affect the development of neurons and brain structures active in learning and memory, as preliminary results showed in newborn rat studies. More data needs to be collected in order to develop appropriate thresholds, which is alarming in and of itself since these health risks have not been regulated enough prior.

            In 2002, US’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted that acetamiprid is applied on leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, pome fruits, grapes, cotton and ornamental plants and flowers to control sucking type insects, with restrictions of about half a pound per acre per season. Unfortunately under health findings it is noted to cause “generalized, nonspecific toxicity and did not appear to have specific target organ toxicity.” So though it was deemed harmful the extent was not pursued and currently acetamiprid is used on cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, peas, plums and tree nuts both national and as an export from the US. Of those, the EU refuses tree nuts and apricots from America because levels of the toxin exceed appropriate levels.

            It is also possible that the widespread uses of these neonicorticoids have contributed to the decline in bees seen in recent years.  The ongoing mysterious mass loss of bees that could have an immense domino effect globally may have an answer in these very same products. These toxins are thought to not kill the bees outright, but it is thought that they impair and disorientate them leading to their demise in mass or make them more susceptible to viruses. This year an Oregon state representative will introduce legislation to ban certain neonicotinoids, including imidacloprid, to reduce anthropogenic bee deaths.            

            There has been growing support in the United States to ban the neonicotinoid pesticides through lawsuits and legislations, and hopefully the US will follow Europe’s sustainable lead and not risk its inhabitants, big and small, soon. 

Thank you to OCEAN Researcher Brigid McKenna

More Info:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/world-on-a-plate/2014/jan/28/honeybee-neonicotinoids-pesticides-bee-summit-colony-collapse-disorder

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/131217.htm

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/10/neonicotinoids-let-virus-thrive-bees-colony-collapse-disorder

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/registration/fs_PC-099050_15-Mar-02.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25421199

Invasive Cape Cod Plants "The Dirty Dozen"

SAFE HARBOR INVASIVE PLANT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Download "Dirty Dozen 2nd Edition"

Dirty Dozen: 13 plants we need to control on Cape Cod

Native plants co-evolved with native insects and animals to transfer plant biomass inti protein biomass, which fuels ecosystems. Invasive (non-native) plants did not co-evolve with insects and animals and do not because their plant biomass rarely gets transferred to protein biomass, the presence of invasive vegetation neuters invaded ecosystems. 

Safe Harbor Intern Vida, removing Queen Ann's Lacebefore it goes to seed. This invasive plant was originally brought to this country as a wild carrot.

Invasive plants are fast growing. They easily out compete native vegetation for nutrients, sunlight and moisture. This crowds out native species and reduces native plant biodiversity. Reductions in native plant population stress native animals by reducingfood and shelter options. This overallpattern creates economic impacts. 

Large and small scale removal of invasive plants must be matched with re-planting of native species or using encouragement strategies for native plants. Otherwise the invasives will simply reappear. Large scale invasive plant removal should be done with a three year management plan, to give slower growing native vegetation the chance to become dominant. We have also developed several innovative strategies for encouraging resurgence of native vegetation.

A warning to homeowners removing invasive vegetation themselves: please DO NOTput the removed vegetation in compost piles! This will spread the seeds to dozens of other homes. Bag the removed plants and dispose of them with household trash. On Cape Cod, our trash is incinerated to produce electricity.

FREE CONSULTATIONS, 508-237-3724 GORDONPEABODY@GMAIL.COM

The Strength of Community Spirit

View Entire Publication: CHATHAM SUMMER 2011

Haiti Water Initiative: Final Report

Haiti Water Project Final Report, May 8, 2011

by Gordon Peabody, Director of Safe Harbor Environmental ,  May 2011

Belle Vue, Haiti image by Joe "Bones"

Because it has always been available to us, we rarely pause to consider how critical water is or what it would be like to live without safe drinking water. I believe drinking water may also become an ever more expensive commodity, as multi national corporations engage in efforts to control our source aquifers. One way to protect resources is through reuse and water is a perfect example. We had been researching nano technology for several months and printed an article in OCEAN Environmental newsletter on nano filters revolutionizing water purification.

When I realized how much bottled water was being shipped to Haiti and how expensive it was to ship the water, I felt that we should explore a more sustainable alternative, such as sending water filters. A gallon of water costs approximately $ 4 to ship to Haiti (in pallets of 1,700 half liter bottles). This does not reflect the costs of bottling, handling, distribution and disposal of plastic bottles or the carbon footprint of bottling, delivery and distribution. Kristyna researched the new technology for us and discovered a filter, produced by a church organization in Texas, that cost approximately $20.00.

For what it would cost to ship 5 gallons of water to Haiti, we would be able to send a filter that could produce up to 70 gallons a day, for up to a year.  Each day of use would save hundreds of dollars in shipping costs. Over the course of a year, the savings could be better spent on other relief supplies. People caught up in complex distribution efforts would now be able to build homes and schools. Sending cases of filters could provide enough savings to rebuild schools. We ordered our first case.

We needed to try and get as many filters in use as possible because cholera was beginning to make inroads. My sister Deborah offered to contact local churches and see if they would donate a few filters. The Provincetown Banner wrote an article on what we were trying to accomplish. The results were unexpected. To date we have received donations of just over $4,000.

Getting the filters safely into a chaotic region with no infrastructure and no addresses was another challenge We had a friend, working with an international aid organization, building schools and tent homes, in the areas hit by earthquake and hurricane. He advised us not to ship anything to Haiti. He was expected to return to the Cape briefly in December and offered to hand deliver filters for us. That return to Cape Cod was interrupted by riots and passport issues. He reported to us that he was barricaded in a Port au Prince schoolyard. Things were beginning to get complicated, we had cases of water filters outside our office in Wellfleet and our courier was barricaded in a schoolyard in Haiti.  I asked Kristyna Smith, the Safe Harbor researcher who had originally discovered the filters, to step in as project coordinator. Smith is an Orleans resident who was a psychology major at Framingham State. Kristyna suddenly had a lot of work.

Through Pru Sowers, the Provincetown Banner reporter who had written about our project, we were contacted by a pilot who delivered medical supplies across Haiti. The pilot gave us links to some church groups with members who regularly traveled to the Port au Prince area. This information was passed on to Kristyna, We developed some guidelines: the filters needed to go to areas suffering from both the earthquake and the hurricane. we had to locate trusted couriers; and another tricky part, the couriers, who would be mostly members of church groups around the country, had to be willing to smuggle these filters into Haiti in their luggage. This last detail was necessary to avoid a $100 luggage surcharge and avoided “complicated package inspections”. We intended to keep these filters off the black market.

Many of our filters went to schools, directly to teachers or through people building the schools. We know our filters are currently being used in approximately 17 small villages the church groups went to. Two cases of filters were delivered to the village of Belle Vue Haiti, where SASH (SASHHaiti.org) has been working, Kristyna reports that some of the couriers didn’t respond to us when they first returned to the US because they were so sick and exhausted.

Joe "Bones" Courier (Left), Gordon Peabody Director (Right)

Special thanks to our most effective courier , Joe "Bones", shown here with Safe Harbor Director Gordon Peabody.

This story wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging hundreds of Cape Cod residents, donating by mail or anonymously, in churches or at the Wellfleet Preservation Hall Holiday Festival. Cape Codders, donating water filters to strangers they may never meet. Thanks to the Churches of Provincetown and Truro for their generous support of children and families in need, in a world so very different from ours. Thank you to the others, like the family from Utah, who sent us a check at Christmas: “we have everything we need, our family wants to contribute to your Haiti Water project”.  As if that weren’t enough: A girl Scout Troop from Eastham donated their 50 cents dues for a month towards sending water filters to Haiti.

We are printing up thank you post cards for as many addresses as we have but the whole story won’t end there, it continues with the Haitian people, being a little less dependent on imported water and a little healthier. We are planning to transfer the Haiti Water Project to a local non-profit group, and have also provided information to Sean Penn's organization in Haiti.

Link below to local newspaper article

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellfleet/features/x1651493005/Water-filters-make-their-way-to-Haiti-as-part-of-Outer-Cape-fundraising-effort

TNRTA: Community Planting Begins on Ballston Beach Restoration

Students Pitch in to help prevent beach erosion

Restoration efforts were featured on Wicked Local. 

Check out the article here

Haiti Water Initiative: Personal Statement

Personal statement: Deborah Peabody, Safe Harbor Haiti Water Project Donations Coordinator, March 2011

Deborah Peabody, Donations Coordinator

I was painfully aware of the suffering in Haiti even before the devastating earthquake.  Then the storms and floods began.  When I began hearing about the cholera outbreak it was enough to make me want to turn off the news, I felt so helpless and sad.  Then my brother called.  "Isn't cholera transmitted by dirty water?" he asked.  He told me that he had found some simple, effective, affordable water filters intended for use in rustic areas.  He'd already ordered a case to be sent to Haiti and had found a way to get them there.  "Seems to be a better investment than medicine,” he said.  As we continued discussing the possibilities my hope began to return.  Gordon wondered aloud if local churches might be willing to buy more filters to send.  I contacted people I knew from each of 3 local churches and the word went out.  The first church, the first week, got donations for an entire case of filters.  From there the donations continued to grow.  It seemed that anyone who heard about the effort wanted to buy at least one filter.  I think they felt, as I did, such happiness at being able to do something so helpful for so little.  I was particularly moved at the Holiday Craft Fair in Wellfleet when people in the midst of stressful gift shopping stopped at our booth and, excited to hear about the possibility of giving such a significant gift to people they didn't know, donated generously. I have seldom been involved in a project that did so much to restore my faith in people and gave me so much joy.

Haiti Water Initiative: Personal Statement

Personal statement: Kristyna Smith, Safe Harbor Haiti Water Project Coordinator, March 2011

Kristyna Smith, Water Project Coordinator

It is amazing how our Haiti Water Project at Safe Harbor has progressed in just a few short months! When I was first introduced to the innovative new filters I never expected it to be more than just a research project, but before I knew it we had sent for our first order of filters. We were uncertain of the project;s future at this point as we hadn’t any idea whether or not we would receive donations. Uncertainty didn’t last long; generous donations began pouring in to help send these filters to Haiti. It has been so great to be a part of this. I have had the opportunity to communicate and meet with so many generous people who actively participate in the relief efforts and rebuilding of the Haitian community. By spreading knowledge of this sustainable solution I know our efforts will make a difference.

Haiti Water Initiative Follow-Up

Update: We were unprepared for the overwhelmingly generous responses, from Churches, individuals, Girl Scout Troops and families from Cape Cod and all over the country. Our filters have been making their way into the parts of Haiti that have been struck by the earthquake and then the hurricane. They have been hand carried by volunteer couriers, who have distributed them to schools and family groups. We are about to receive photos and will post them here. The letters of gratitude have been heartbreaking.....we will post some of these also this month. Communications have been sketchy and deteriorating from Haiti and we have had to be patient. Thank you to everyone who believes in sustainable solutions. The letter we wrote to the UN presented cost benefit ratios for sending filters instead of water...we will be posting that startling material as well. gordon peabody, 2/0-4/11spring 2011

Haiti Water Initiative: UPDATE

Christmas update: the first cases of filters are on their way to be distributed in Haiti, hand carried by a medical team member. A second delivery will be made by a friend who is involved in an aid organization. He will be delivering a boat to Haiti and a third delivery may be made by volunteers working for an aid agency in Miami. Thank you to the hundreds of people, organizations and churches that have supported this project. A special thank you goes out to two people, Kristyna Smith and Deborah Peabody, who work as project coordinator and fund raising coordinator, respectively.

Kristyna Smith, Haiti Water Initiative, Project Coordinator

Deborah Peabody, Haiti Water Initiative, fund raising coordinator

Thank you for supporting sustainable solutions, Gordon Peabody, Director, Safe Harbor

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

September, 2010 FINAL UPDATE:

THE OIL HAS NOT GONE AWAY...THE GULF IS FULL OF CHEMICAL DISPERSANT, THE OIL HAS MOVED UP TO 300 MILES FROM THE LEAK, OIL BLANKETS THE BOTTOM AND IS MOVING IN SUBSURFACE LAYERS UP TO 3 MILES LONG.

THE EPA (ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY) JUST CONTACTED ME TO THANK US FOR OUR EFFORTS. THEN WENT ON TO INFORM US THAT OUR PRODUCT HAD NOT BEEN REGISTERED AND THAT WE SHOULD DO THAT AND SUBMIT IT TO BP.....I TOOK A LONG MOMENT TO BREATHE...WE HAD NO PRODUCT, WE HAD DEVELOPED AN INNOVATIVE, SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM FOR PASSIVELY COLLECTING OIL BEFORE IT HIT THE COAST, USING ALL EXISTING MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE GULF...WE HAD MADE OUR SYSTEM PUBLIC DOMAIN, AVAILABLE AT NO COST TO ANYONE WHO COULD USE A BARGE, OIL BOOMS AND ANCHORS...I TOOK ANOTHER LONG BREATH...AND LET IT ALL GO.

Thank you to Maryam Wagner, from the American Educational Research Association, who has provided us with more information on the BP oil spill timeline and aftermath in the following links:

http://krilloil.com/blog/the-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-and-its-aftermath/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/bp-gulf-of-mexico-spill-from-disaster-to-trial-timeline.html

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2010/05/spil-m14.html

http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i22/Deepwater-Horizon-Disaster.html

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

May 25 Update: 

The Gulf Stream Loop Current, which did pick up a tendril of oil, periodically reconfigures itself into an isolated loop. This has just happened, which means the cut off loop may have a lower probability of transmitting oil to the Gulf Stream. An updated, May 25th image is shown directly below and an earlier image is below that.

AP photo, by Eric Gay, shows the overwhelming effort that active booming requires

Collection system being towed by two, boom dragging tugboats.

Suppose we revise this image: leave the booms connected to the collector; elongate the booms; lose the 2 tugboats; anchor the booms in a crescent, facing the wind; anchor the collector at the head of the booms. The 2 tugboats can now work where they are more needed. photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Prentice Danner, U.S. Coast Guard/Released).

An earlier image, note the counter clockwise eddy at the head of the loop current. This eddy can pick up oil.

updated, May 25th image

Overwhelming challenge for active collection. Dots on lower left are ships.

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

May 25 Update:

The link below shows an illustrated video concept, from an experienced oil worker, who simply wants his idea considered. This man's experiences are very familiar to Safe Harbor.

http://cbs11tv.com/oilspill/gulf.oil.spill.2.1704112.html

In the relative silence of many politicians, for reasons yet to be determined, Louisana Governor Bobby Jindal has emerged into a position of leadership. Our country's natural resources are held in a public trust. We are all stakeholders. When we watch an ever growing, toxic blanket being allowed to take 20,000 square miles of our fisheries and potentially hundreds of miles of coastal ecosystems, off line, we are bearing witness to a violation of that public trust which our elected officials are not protecting.

Our comments on the coastal bird rescue plan:

Species don't exist individually but within systems.

The ability of sustainable natural resource systems to adapt to an event of this magnitude are marginal. When a system is overwhelmed by stress and cannot adapt, it reaches a tipping point.  The system will collapse and reconfigure, perhaps unpredictably. The individual species can no longer be supported.

We need to consider the unthinkable, that bird, fish and animal populations previously supported by the system may be lost. Even if we could handle say, 34,000 phone calls and rescue 34,000 birds, there would be no supportive resource system to return them to and translocating that many individuals somewhere else would stress other resource systems.

Our recent concerns focused on the increasing probability of interactions between the spill shield and the Gulf Stream Loop that runs through the Gulf of Mexico. The spill shield and a developing Gulf Stream Loop eddy current were already in proximity and the spill contimnues spreading. We expect predictability to diminish with growth of the spill. http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu/~liu/oil_spill_ensemble_forecast.html

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

May 24 Update: The honeymoon is over

CBS has video of journalists being threatened with arrest:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19272

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

May 18 Update:

In Gulf Spill, BP Using Dispersants Banned in U.K. by Marian Wang, ProPublica - May 18, 2010 2:24 pm EDT

The two types of dispersants BP is spraying in the Gulf are banned for use on oil spills in the U.K. As EPA-approved products, BP has been using them in greater quantities than dispersants have ever been used in the history of US oil spills.

BP is using two products from a line of dispersants called Corexit, which EPA data appears to show is more toxic and less effective on South Louisiana crude than other available dispersants, according to Greenwire.

We learned about the U.K. ban from a mention on the New York Times' website. (The reference was cut from later versions of the article, so we can't link to the Times, but we found the piece elsewhere.) The Times flagged a letter Rep. Edward Markey, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, sent to the EPA yesterday. The letter pointed out that both the Corexit products currently being used in the Gulf were removed from a list of approved treatments for oil spills in the UK more than a decade ago.

Gordon Peabody of Safe Harbor and Congressman Markeywere interviewed live, along with a Florida island Mayor, on the Emily Rooney Show regarding the spill. Click on the link below. The interview begins with Congressman Markey, goes to the Mayor and then to Gordon about 1/4 of the way through the download. The second half of her show has a different topic.

Title: The Emily Rooney Show 5/17/10

Link: http://www.wgbh.org/programs/programDetail.cfm?programid=854&featureid=11904&rssid=4

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

May 17 Update:

The spill shield is entering the Gulf Stream Loop. Official responses have barely confirmed this but check the 4 models yourselfhttp://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100505/NEWS/5050317

From the New York Times online:

Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.

There's a shocking amount of oil in the deep water, relative to what you see in the surface water, said Samantha Joye, a researcher at the University of Georgia who is involved in one of the first scientific missions to gather details about what is happening in the gulf. There's a tremendous amount of oil in multiple layers, three or four or five layers deep in the water column.

The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes.

Dr. Joye said the oxygen had already dropped 30 (Italics by Safe Harbor) percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months, she said Saturday. That is alarming.

The plumes were discovered by scientists from several universities working aboard the research vessel Pelican, which sailed from Cocodrie, La., on May 3 and has gathered extensive samples and information about the disaster in the gulf.

From CBS 60 Minutes: 

Oil Spill Blame Game Over: 60 Minutes Uncovers Severe BP Negligence Led to Explosion (Video) : TreeH

Gulf Oil Leak and Safe Harbor

May 14 Update:

The ambitious Republican governors of Mississippi and Louisiana are a study in contrasts as an oil spill threatens coastal economies still reeling from Hurricane Katrina.

Mississippi's Haley Barbour, a well-connected former Washington lobbyist, has calmly said the oil slick looming offshore is just a sheen in most places and there's no reason for people to panic.

Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, meanwhile, has questioned oil giant BP PLC's response capability and the federal government's plans to clean up crude spewing from a well blown out by an offshore oil rig explosion April 20. He activated the Louisiana National Guard and called on coastal parish leaders to draw up their own response plans after saying he couldn't get answers from BP or the Coast Guard.

BP and government officials have pegged the leak resulting from the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster at 5,000 barrels a day, or about 200,000 gallons. But a scientist who analyzed the video of the gushing pipe said Thursday the oil flow appeared to be much greater.

Soon after the explosion three weeks ago, the government said oil and gas were flowing from the seabed at a rate of 210,000 gallons or 5,000 barrels a day. Now, after viewing the video, some scientists calculate it at 2 million gallons a day or even higher.National Public Radio reported yesterday that there could be 10 times as much oil coming out as the previous estimate of 5,000 barrels per day. Which raises some big questions about whether BP is being honest about the size of the spill.

Safe Harbor and Gulf Oil Leak

MAY 12 UPDATE:

The committee said that there were at least "four significant problems with the blowout preventer" used on the Deepwater Horizondrill rig.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said that a 2001 report by Transocean, which made the device, indicated there can be as many as 260 failure possibilities in the equipment. The device is supposed to be the final safeguard against a well blowout by clamping down and sealing a gushing oil well.

About 325,000 gallons of dispersant have been used, although scientists warn it may kill marine life

A relief well is being drilled but could take many weeks

A huge steel funnel suffered a build-up of ice-like crystals and had to be put aside

They're going to take a bunch of debris, shredded up tyres, golf balls and things like that, and under very high pressure shoot it into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop the leak," he told CBS television.However, experts have warned that any further damage to the blowout preventer - a huge valve system meant to turn the oil off - could see it shooting out at 12 times the current rate.