News

Raising Awareness of Plastic Waste

8/14/11

Most people are familiar with the concept of a carbon footprint. Many may also know there is such a thing as a water footprint. But whoever heard of a plastic footprint? Well, soon, more and more people will have.

Starting in early October, hundreds of companies and institutions around the world will receive a questionnaire asking them to assess and report their use of plastic: how much they use, what processes they have for recycling and what — if any — policies they have to reduce their plastic consumption or to increase the proportion of recycled or biodegradable plastic within their organizations.

Fairly simple questions, but ones that could help to thrust the issue of plastic waste and pollution onto the radars of corporations, investors and the public in a much bigger way.

“What we’re trying to do is to have companies manage and use plastic much more wisely, and to receive recognition for doing so from both customers and investors,” said Doug Woodring, an environmental entrepreneur in Hong Kong who has a background in asset management and is the driving force behind the initiative.

“Plastic pollution is a major global phenomenon that has crept up on us over the decades, and it really requires a global and comprehensive solution that includes systemic rethinks about usage and production.”

Announced last year, and due to be introduced formally in September, the Plastic Disclosure Project is trying to provide the solution that Mr. Woodring describes, by pushing the thinking about plastic pollution far beyond beach cleanups with an attempt to change the awareness and behavior of big users of plastic, which include not only companies but also universities, hospitals and sports groups.

The concept behind the project is not new. The initiative models itself on the Carbon Disclosure Project , which has been prodding companies into monitoring and improving their carbon emissions for about a decade.

About 3,000 organizations in about 60 countries measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies through the carbon disclosure project. Last year, the project also began asking companies about their water use, with the same aim of prompting more conservative use of that resource.

Like the carbon project, the plastic disclosure initiative is backed by investors: asset managers who value information about any potential wastage or liabilities related to the use of energy, water or plastic, or, conversely, any improvements that will bolster a company’s bottom line or its image with consumers.

“Increased transparency by companies should improve the ability of sustainable investors to assess the investment risks and opportunities of companies in the global plastic value chain,” said Jeremy Higgs, managing director of Environmental Investment Services Asia , an investment management company in Hong Kong that last month became a founding sponsor of the Plastic Disclosure Project, with a $50,000 grant.

While carbon emissions and water use are pretty firmly embedded in the consciousness of most organizations, the use of plastic generally is not.

But campaigners and scientists are increasingly sounding the alarm over the amount of plastic that is used wastefully (think of single-use drink bottles and packaging), or that ends up as trash in rivers and oceans. Many say that plastic pollution has swelled into a major threat for the world’s oceans and for the global environment as a whole.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for one, has said that marine debris “has become one of the most pervasive pollution problems facing the world’s oceans and waterways .”

And in Europe, the E.U. commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries, Maria Damanaki, has said that pollution in the Mediterranean Sea has reached “alarming proportions.”

Here is why: About 300 million tons of plastic is produced globally each year. Only about 10 percent of that is recycled. Of the plastic that is simply trashed, an estimated seven million tons ends up in the sea each year.

There, it breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments over the years.

The tinier the pieces, the more easily they are swallowed by marine life. (One study found that fish in the North Pacific ingest as much as 24,000 tons of plastic debris a year).

Because much of the disintegrating mass is no longer in the form of solid chunks, it is hard to scoop it out once it gets into the ocean. And because no single nation or authority bears responsibility for the oceans, cleanup and prevention are largely left to nongovernmental organizations.

Ocean Night, Sept. 1: Focus on Whales

Whales take center stage at the next Ocean Night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, a monthly, all-ages event hosted by Humboldt Baykeeper, Humboldt Surfrider and Ocean Conservancy. The feature film is Life Among Whales, an exploration into the life and work of whale biologist and activist Roger Payne. (Note: Ocean Night is an all-ages event, but "A Life Among Whales" contains images which may disturb some people.)

The evening will also feature footage of the mother gray whale and calf that spent several weeks in the Klamath River this summer, as well as a discussion led by the biologists who spent so many days observing their unusual behavior, plus surf movies before and after.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie begins at 7 p.m. at the Arcata Theatre Lounge. Hope to see you there!

Humboldt Bay looking into oyster farming expansion

8/19/11

Humboldt Bay's oyster industry is hoping to expand on its success as a state leader in oyster farming -- by encouraging new oyster growers.

The Headwaters Fund recently awarded a $200,000 grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District for a mariculture expansion project. The project is designed to help the oyster farming industry grow within the bay by helping it conduct pre-permitting studies.

Harbor District CEO David Hull said the goal is to find a project that will result in measured expansion, avoiding negative impacts while creating local jobs and expanding a productive industry. He said the proposal was put together after a series of community meetings identified it as a need.

”The entire mariculture industry in Humboldt Bay supports this as well as the shellfish growing associations up and down the coast,” Hull said. “It's a great collaborative effort between a public agency and the shellfish industry -- it's just a great win-win kind of a thing.”

Essentially, the district would go through the permitting process for mariculture plots and then lease the “pre-permitted” property to farmers, allowing farmers to side-step a lengthy and expensive permitting process.

Coast Seafoods Co., the largest provider of oysters on the North Coast, started its permitting process in 1996 and lasted through 2005. Coast Seafoods Co. General Manager Greg Dale said he spent more than $1 million on studies and fees.

He's hoping pre-permitted plots will encourage a type of oyster business park in the district. While this could be a double-edged sword -- more plots could mean more business to buy Coast Seafoods' seeds or more competition -- Dale said he sees it as a way of economic growth. He said his company may also lease new plots and expand its business.

”We've already spent the time and the money, and the effort over the years to make good water quality,” Dale said. “If we can open up some ground, we can grow that can grow oysters. It's as simple as -- if you open up the ground, you can produce jobs.”

According to industry representatives, the oyster industry has between 56 to 65 full-time jobs with a payroll exceeding $1.4 million. Farmers currently lease 325 acres on the bay, out of the approximately 18,000 farmable acres. Industry surveys estimate that 1.2 jobs can be created for every six acres put into production.

Dawn Elsbree, Headwaters coordinator, said the project is “a perfect example” of the kind of project Headwaters wants to support. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the grant on July 26.

”A group of oyster farmers came together to discuss what they could do to remove a costly regulatory barrier to expanding their industry,” she said in a press release. “They found a public sector partner in the Harbor District and came to the Headwaters Fund with a well thought out and feasible plan that has a direct link to job creation.”

The district will set pre-approved guidelines such as the density of the cultures, the number of oysters per acre, the number of long lines per acre, technique options and limitations, Hull said.

First District Supervisor Jimmy Smith, a former harbor district commissioner, said he believes there is room to expand the industry but cautioned that it has to be done in a way that doesn't negatively impact other bay-dependent industries, recreational opportunities or wildlife.

”We just need to make sure that it's all balanced and all those uses and species get consideration, but I'm happy to see they're doing a detailed analysis of sites,” he said.

Ronald Fritzsche, a former harbor district commissioner who headed the mariculture monitoring committee set up during Coast Seafoods Co.'s permitting process, agreed and added that he hopes the studies also look at other types of mariculture, such as other shellfish or green algae.

Fritzsche said oyster farming has come a long way, and the farmers have been good stewards of the bay. He supports the proposal.

”It took a number of years working with the oyster industry to help them and get the culture methods where they are now,” he said. “It's a healthy industry, and I would support oyster farmers.”

Dale said shellfish farmers are grateful to the communities that strive for good water quality, allowing for prized oysters.

”The more people care about oysters, the more they care about water quality,” he said.

Read Original Article

A steward of California's coast retires

8/17/11

For the past quarter-century, Peter Douglas has guarded the scenic coastline that made the Golden State famous.

As executive director of the Coastal Commission, Douglas championed public access to the rocky bluffs and sandy beaches. With the muscle afforded by the state's landmark Coastal Act, he preserved natural habitat and battled developers, moguls and celebrities with visions of private beaches. And, despite making powerful enemies, he survived in a political arena as rugged as Big Sur.

Douglas, 68, is moving on to a different kind of fight. He's suffering from lung cancer and went on medical leave Monday with plans to retire in November. Few state officials have left a bigger mark than Douglas, a World War II refugee from Germany, made on his adopted home. And his departure ushers in a period of uncertainty for an agency that has roots in Sonoma County.

Douglas may have said it best when he informed the commission of his plans at a meeting last week in Watsonville: “The irony of our work is that our greatest achievements are the things you don't see. It's the wetlands that haven't been filled. It's the access that hasn't been lost. It's the agricultural lands that haven't been converted. It's the highly scenic and environmentally sensitive habitat areas that haven't been spoiled or destroyed.”

The Coastal Commission grew out of public frustration with restrictions on beach access in Southern California and growing interest in closing off swaths of the North Coast with exclusive developments such as The Sea Ranch.

Douglas has been there from the start. A longtime resident of Marin County, he co-authored Proposition 20, the 1972 ballot initiative that created the commission. As a legislative staffer, he worked on the Coastal Act, the 1976 law that made the commission permanent and empowered it to regulate development in coastal zones. He joined the agency and became its executive director in 1986.

Some of his biggest battles have been in Southern California, where the commission prevented a freeway from splitting San Onofre State Beach, and along the Central Coast, where it secured public access at Pebble Beach and San Simeon. Closer to home, it helped establish Tomales Bay State Park.

Douglas hopes that Charles Lester, his senior deputy, will succeed him. Given the political battles that have been fought over pricey coastal property, there's likely to be pressure to pick someone from the outside.

Whichever avenue the commission chooses, former Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Reilly said Douglas' influence will be felt for years to come through the policies crafted and legal precedents established during his tenure.

“Peter always said the coast is never protected, it's always being protected,” said Reilly, who served on the Coastal Commission for 12 years. “And that's going to continue to happen in large part because of the groundwork he's laid.”

That's a fitting legacy for a champion of California's coast.

Read Original Article

Sad ending for Klamath River gray whale

8/17/11

Ashley Donnell and her fellow students stood on the banks of Klamath River silently watching their professor and Yurok tribal officials inspect the body of the gray whale -- known as “MaMa” -- who died Tuesday after spending months swimming under the U.S. Highway 101 bridge to the delight of visitors and locals.

For 56 days, the undergraduate in Humboldt State University's Marine Mammal Education Research Program watched the 45-foot-long giant and her calf. Donnell was there three weeks ago when the calf separated from its mother and headed downstream. She was there when the whale took its last breath at 4:19 a.m.

”It's hard for everybody,” Donnell said. “Especially the community. They were all enamored by her.”

The whale had stationed herself near the bridge since late June, delighting throngs of motorists and tourists. Until Monday, biologists said her condition was typical of a female gray whale that had just weaned a calf. Then, the whale took a turn for the worse.

The whale was swimming in tight circles and drifting downstream when Donnell and her peers arrived at the bridge about 10 a.m. Monday. At 6:30 p.m., the whale beached herself on a sandbar about 200 yards south of the bridge. Later that evening, the whale was able to right herself and swim back up to the bridge, but she later stranded herself on the same sandbar.

HSU marine biology professor Dawn Goley was with the whale when it died, Donnell said.

On Tuesday, Goley and members of the Yurok Tribe used an excavator and other large pieces of equipment to move the whale to a shallower part of the river. Goley and biologists with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the North Coast Marine Mammal Center and the Yurok Tribe will conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of death, she said.

After weeks of monitoring the whale's behavior and condition, Goley said, scientists could see no outward signs of trauma. The necropsy will show if the whale suffered from internal trauma.

”This was one of the few opportunities we've had to see gray whales up close,” she said. “We learned more about this gray whale, and we learned a lot about the Klamath River.”

Goley said the barnacles gray whales typically have on their skin when they're in the ocean were gone from the Klamath River gray whale on Monday, and her skin was showing signs of wear.

According to Sarah Wilkin, stranding coordinator with the marine fisheries service, the Klamath River gray whale was first observed by scientists in 2001. She was included in a catalog of gray whales photographed in Baja California, Wilkin said.

”We all wanted a happy ending,” she said. “We wanted the whale to return to the sea, but she didn't. In my mind, it means there probably was something wrong with her physically or medically and this -- in some ways -- was the best ending that could happen.”