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Humboldt County rail: Embrace the vision

3/28/13

The Times-Standard and various other publications have recently published pieces touting further investigation into the feasibility of a railroad from Humboldt County due east across the Coast Range to the Sacramento Valley floor in the Redding/Red Bluff region. One of the suggestions was that our local economy could be revived by shipping trainloads of bottled water over that route. I write to point out that these authors are missing the most important advantages that could come from a thorough examination of Humboldt's transportation planning and the creation of a new vision.

There are no doubt those who will narrowly claim that building a railroad over a mountain range will be prohibitively expensive. This is in part because they only see the railway as being used for products, bottled water, timber, perhaps gypsum board, that are not high in dollar value. Also they will claim that the difficulty of building a railway, which needs to be more or less flat, will cost many millions of dollars per mile to construct. This naively overlooks the fact that all is being called for now is a study, which can no doubt be performed for only hundreds of thousands of dollars per mile. Much more importantly it fails to comprehend the much greater economic potential available to us if only we have the fearless foresight to grasp that potential.

First, the cost of construction. If the construction methodology is limited to dynamite and diesel, few enduring benefits will accrue.

But if we expand our vision we can vastly reduce the cost of construction and foster a new industry. We must envision the building of the railway atomically. As we develop the skills and technology to use carefully controlled atomic explosives we will find we can create the entire railway virtually without any need to use antiquated machinery such as bulldozers and excavators. The development of this technology will be accompanied by massive growth in the educational infrastructure. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of high paying nuclear physicist jobs will spring up. It is also highly likely that one spinoff of this effort will be to get back on track the effort to address the too often ignored necessity for nuclear locomotives. And we should not forget that Humboldt has previous experience with nuclear power. Just think about the possibility that we will one day become a convergence of the Scandia laboratories and the Silicon Valley. Drs. Richmond and Eagles may someday soon preside over research and educational institutions rivaling and surpassing Berkeley and Stanford, perhaps justifying their current salaries. The airport will have to be expanded just to handle the importation of child care providers from Northern Europe The College of the Redwoods will be accredited. We will be rich, famous and internationally respected.

But the reality is that no matter how great the eastern demand for bottles of water, board feet of timber, crab legs and hashish, those products alone will not support the railroad. Another enterprise will, and that enterprise will contribute even more to our high tech future. It is not enough to build the railway and revitalize our port.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY MUST BECOME A SPACEPORT! Several times a week rockets carrying communication and observations satellites will be launched from the Arcata Bottom or from New Samoa, or perhaps both. With a little luck and the proper alignment of the stars the first humans to walk on Mars will have departed from behind the Redwood Curtain. The astro- and geo-physics programs at HSU will expand immensely, creating untold wealth and nearly endless demand for au pairs. There will be a huge new Land Rover dealership. Myrtletown may one day be the home of the grandest opera house in the world. We'll get a Home Depot, a Trader Joe's and a Crate and Barrel. The music department at CR will be funded. Fort Humboldt will once again be the most important military installation on the Pacific Coast. And each day sub-assemblies of spacecraft and satellites will flow both east and west on our new railway.

This is a vision that must be brought to life now. Money must immediately start to flow. It may be necessary that, for a short time, a handful of decades, institutions that supply education, law enforcement, administration of justice, perhaps even streets and sewers will have to go on a back burner, but once we get started nothing can stop us. The future is ours to take.

Roy Dahlberg resides in Arcata.

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EPA report: More than half nation’s rivers in poor shape

3/26/13

More than half of the country’s rivers and streams are in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures, according to a nationwide survey released Tuesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency sampled nearly 2,000 locations in 2008 and 2009 — from rivers as large as the Mississippi River to streams small enough for wading. The study found more than 55 percent of them in poor condition, 23 percent in fair shape, and 21 percent in good biological health.
The most widespread problem was high levels of nutrient pollution, caused by phosphorus and nitrogen washing into rivers and streams from farms, cities and sewers. High levels of phosphorus — a common ingredient in detergents and fertilizers — were found in 40 percent of rivers and streams.

Another problem detected was development. Land clearing and building along waterways increases erosion and flooding and allows more pollutants to enter waters.

“This new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure,” said Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator of the EPA’s water office. “We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers, as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities and play a critical role in the economy.”

Conditions are worse in the East, the report found. More than 70 percent of streams and rivers from the Texas coast to the New Jersey coast are in poor shape. Streams and rivers are healthiest in Western mountain areas, where only 26 percent were classified as in poor condition.

The EPA also found some potential risks for human health.

In 9 percent of rivers and streams, bacteria exceeded thresholds protective of human health. And mercury, which is toxic, was found in fish tissue along 13,000 miles of streams at levels exceeding health-based standards. Mercury occurs naturally but also can enter the environment from coal-burning power plants and from burning hazardous wastes.

The Obama administration finalized regulations to control mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants for the first time in late 2011.

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Download the EPA National Rivers and Streams Assessment report HERE

Yamuna Waterkeeper Wins Water Champion Award

3/24/13

In honor of the United Nations’ World Water Day, the World Water Monitoring Challenge (WWMC) has made announcement of the recipients of the fourth annual Water Champion awards. Minakshi Arora, Yamuna Waterkeeper, gets international recognition for her outstanding efforts and contribution to the environment.

WWMC is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies. The WWMC Water Champion Awards recognize superior levels of relevance, educational effort, support and innovation in the promotion of water quality via involvement in WWMC.

Arora initiated several educational campaigns to protect waterways and support WWMC. During the 15-day India International Trade Fair, 6,000 school students participated in quiz programs and games, and 20,000 people received information on water quality. As a result, Arora reports that her organization is being asked to provide even more in the way of water quality education.

“Even principals of various schools are asking to train their students to be environmental scientists with the easy WWMC kit,” said Arora. These activities took place October through December 2012 around Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi NCR, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and some part of Haryana adjacent to Delhi.
The intended audience was local communities surrounding the Yamuna River Basin and school students. Local residents, whose voices are too often ignored, were eager to find out more about the quality of their water. When they were informed of the simple and easy steps it took to know the quality of their water, they came with us and were eager to learn. They not only participated in the testing process but also raised awareness among their peers about the importance of clean water. They shared their stories and pictures, putting pressure on the state and national government to provide access to clean water. It got media mentions on leading websites.

“Local communities and school children were involved in the activities. First they were trained in the testing process and after getting training people from local communities came forward and offered to take this testing challenge to their local waterway,” said Arora. They also pledged to involve others by raising awareness in their areas. Around 400 people and students were involved directly, while 20,000 community members and 6,000 students were made indirectly aware of the importance of clean drinking water and the hazards of polluted water.

Ocean salmon season looks very bright; Rainfall, river flows concerns for river season

3/24/13

All signs are pointing to a great salmon ocean fishing year, a good follow-up to last year’s record salmon run.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is seeking public input on its preseason report, which lays out several options for the length of the season and other restrictions for fishing areas along the West Coast.

Council deputy director Chuck Tracy said, “It should be a good year, the forecasts are strong for both the Klamath and Sacramento rivers, which fuel fisheries in Humboldt County.” Both sport and commercial fishing seasons could begin as soon as May, according to Reel Steel Fishing Charters owner Tim Klassen. The council will meet in April to decide which option for commercial, sport and tribal fishing it will recommend to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which will finalize the season dates.

“It sounds like there’s not quite the record run like there was last year,” Klassen said, though he thinks sport fishing season will see an early May opening because fish populations are still relatively high.

Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association President Aaron Newman said the fishery council alternatives indicate a potentially long commercial fishing season.

“If you look at Horse Mountain south, which is where the guys who do it for a living go, there’s between 110 and 140 days, which is really good,” Newman said.

Newman is also an advisor to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and says he looks beyond Humboldt County waters for what helps the entire industry.

“That was our goal — to find the best salmon fishing opportunity for everyone at large,”he said.“There’s one big pie, and it’s divided up between tribes, commercial and recreational — and between the oceans and river.”

Predicted dry conditions on land could be concerning for tribes and river fishermen — though the effects of drought won’t be felt for several years on ocean fishing, Klassen said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Kathleen Lewis said rainfall is already behind normal.

“It’s expected to be below normal for precipitation, for much of the Northwest,” Lewis said. “It was a drier start to the wintertime.”

Since January, the Eureka area has seen nearly 7 inches of rain, less than half the normal value for the same period of time.

Last year’s banner salmon run coincided with higher than average rainfall — 22 inches from January through March, Lewis said.

“Last year was dry too, but it seemed like we had some good storms that caught us up to normal by the end of wintertime,” she said.

The NWS Climate Prediction Center website shows a probability of below-normal rainfall in its three-month outlook, but the weather service isn’t concerned yet.

“As far as rivers, there isn’t any alarm as far as them being too low on our end,” Lewis said.

Rainfall isn’t the only factor in river levels, and the Hoopa Tribe has already raised concerns about the Bureau of Reclamation’s release of dammed water into the Klamath River.

In a press release, the Hoopa Tribe said the bureau is seeking approval “for a controversial water plan that reduces water for salmon, even though flows had to be supplemented with Trinity River flows last year to keep salmon alive.”

The tribe seeks to avoid a repeat of low releases in the early 2000s, which they say led to the death of 60,000 salmon.

“After the fish kill, millions were invested in the Klamath and Trinity Rivers to restore salmon,” tribal chairman Leonard Masten said in the release. “These efforts made last year’s record run of salmon possible.”

Newman recommended that people with a stake in the ocean fishing season voice their opinion at a public hearing Tuesday with the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

“That’s where fishermen can go and basically tell the council how they’d like the options changed or what option they favor,” he said. “Often times, whatever is accepted by the council is a combination of alternatives.”

Whatever is chosen, ocean fishing looks to thrive for the second year in a row.

“We’re all excited after a couple of bad years five years ago,” Klassen said. “It’s nice to see things rebounded so quickly and so strongly. It gives us hope for the future.”

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First U.S. City Bans Plastic Water Bottles

3/20/13

Concord, Massachusetts has become one of the first communities in the U.S. to ban the sale of single-serving plastic water bottles.

According to the Associated Press, the plastic bottle ban resulted from a three-year campaign by local activists. The activists pushed to reduce waste and fossil fuel use.

Octogenarian Jean Hill lead the charge, telling The New York Times in a 2010 interview, "The bottled water companies are draining our aquifers and selling it back to us." She declared, “I’m going to work until I drop on this."

The campaign Ban the Bottle claims that "It takes 17 million barrels of oil per year to make all the plastic water bottles used in the U.S. alone. That's enough oil to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year." Their website also states: "In 2007, Americans consumed over 50 billion single serve bottles of water. With a recycling rate of only 23%, over 38 billion bottles end up in landfills."

According to the EPA, in 2010, the U.S. generated 31 million tons of plastic waste.

The Town of Concord's website describes the bylaw, stating "It shall be unlawful to sell non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water in single-serving polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of 1 liter (34 ounces) or less in the Town of Concord on or after January 1, 2013." There is an exemption for an "emergency adversely affecting the availability and/or quality of drinking water to Concord residents."

The first offense results in a warning, the second in a $25 fine, and the third (and each following offense) in a $50 fine. Concord's Health Division staff are in charge of enforcing the ban.