Seafood population in decline
Scientists estimate that the world's fish and seafood stocks will collapse by the year 2048 if current human consumption trends continue, said Boris Worm, lead author of the study in Science, and a professor of marine conservation biology at Dalhousie University of Halifax, Canada. Scientists performed the study over a span of four years, involving researchers from around the world who studied seafood and fish population trends in the last 1,000 years. If the high pace of harvest continues, there could be an increase in coastal flooding and reduced water quality. Worm said the trends can be reversed through sustainable fishing methods, creating marine sanctuaries and limiting pollution from coastal areas.
source: reuters news service
Russian Peninsula provides refuge for Pacific salmon
Kamchatka, an eastern Russian peninsula, is proposing seven tracts of wilderness to be designated as salmon protected areas. The proposed area, set forth by the government of Kamchatka in August, includes nine rivers and more than six million acres. The area would exceed the size of many renowned protected areas in the United States, including Adirondack Park, which is known as the largest nature reserve in the continental United States. In Kamchatka, all six native species of Pacific salmon continue to spawn, and scientists estimate that one-sixth to one-quarter of North Pacific salmon originate from the peninsula. The government of Kamchatka plans to produce the wild salmon for food, profit, recreation and scientific study, and as a genetic reserve. The approval of the protected areas would put Russia in the forefront in efforts to protect wild Pacific salmon stocks.
source: the new york times
Communication towers attract, kill birds
According to the American Bird Conservancy, up to 50 million migratory birds are killed by communication towers each year. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took note, and is currently considering making the towers safer for birds. In 2002, the conservancy, Forest Conservation Council and Friends of the Earth filed a suit against the FCC, asking the commission to mandate safety measures for the communication towers. According to the conservancy, most of the deaths occur during migratory season. Safety lights in the towers attract the birds. The conservancy released a report that found the towers kill 230 different bird species. To make the towers safer for bird migrations, the conservancy suggested putting antennas on existing structures and using red or white strobe lights instead of solid or slow pulsing lights that confuse the birds. The FCC agreed to look into the issue, and it is unclear when they will make any changes.
source: the seattle times
Activists participate in Day of Action on Global Warming
On Nov. 5, over 300 residents of southern Florida used their bodies to send a message to their congressional candidates, Ron Klein and E. Clay Shaw Jr. As part of the International Day of Action on Global Warming, the Floridians created a mass aerial art image on the beach in Dania, Fla. of flooding in the state and a drowning human with a message reading "Save Our State, Stop Global Warming!" The event coincided with the beginning of the United Nations meeting on global climate change and came only three days before midterm elections. The event was a part of Project Hot Seat, a Greenpeace project aiming to turn members of congress into advocates of global warming solutions.
source: greenpeace.org
Solar power interest heating up
Interest in solar power is increasing across the nation as a wide variety of people, from environmentalists to bankers, are gathering to discuss an economically viable source of power. Former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford is the man responsible for organizing these "solar salons" held throughout the United States. Bradford is the author of the book "Solar Revolution" in which he argues that an increased use of solar energy and a decrease in fossil fuel consumption will occur due to economic, rather than environmental reasons.
Bradford's "solar salons" serve as venues where those in the solar industry can network with business owners to discuss converting to solar energy. Meetings are generally invite-only and geared towards businesses rather than homeowners due to the fact that initial installation costs for solar power are still high.
Farmers cash in crops for carbon credits
Farms across the Midwest are taking action to fight global warming and are earning a few extra bucks in the process. Approximately 1,700 farmers have enrolled in programs that assign "carbon credits" to their crops based on their ability to absorb carbon through photosynthesis. A farm can earn about $1.50 per acre of "no-till land" and $2.50 per acre of "land seeded to grass or alfalfa". The Chicago Climate Exchange is the first and only greenhouse-gas reduction and trading system in North America to be legally binding. The exchange has approximately 200 members, from Fortune 500 companies to individual states such as New Mexico and Illinois. Farming groups across the country such as the National Farmers Union are emulating this system, and encouraging their members to sign up.
source: environmental news network
Ecologist finds one square inch of silence
Gordon Hempton found something special in Olympic National Park: the true silence of nature. Hempton, an acoustic ecologist, has found an area in the park where there is no sound of airplane traffic, campground generators or over-chatty hikers. He has taken it upon himself to set up a nonprofit organization to help pay for monitoring and protecting the site.
"I've circled the globe three times in pursuing silent places," he said. "Olympic National Park is the most sonically diverse, and is the national park that has the longest periods of natural quiet that I have observed."
His independent research project has drawn pilgrims who follow the detailed directions of his Web site, onesquareinch.org, more than three miles to the place where they sit and listen.
"Quiet is going extinct," Hempton said. "I want to find a quiet place and hang on to it and protect it."
source: seattle post-intelligencer
Seattle company provides incentive for using sustainable transport
In an effort to curb the increasing rate of car commuters, Amgen Inc. of Seattle is responsible for spending $1 million annually to encourage its employees to commute via bicycle. The company has 1,000 employees, averaging approximately $1,000 per head for the program. Amgen gives employees benefits such as showers, lockers, bike tune-ups, and gift certificates that are redeemable at local stores such as REI. This led the EPA to list Amgen and other Seattle-area employers as the best employers for commuters.
source: seattle post-intelligencer
Squalicum Mountain may be protected by federal program
Nearly 700 acres of forest land atop Squalicum Mountain is slated for development within the next year. This is much to the dismay of Squalicum Valley residents and environmental advocates who are seeking to protect the Lake Whatcom watershed from the pollution occurring as a result of development. In response to the controversy, Whatcom County Council imposed a temporary moratorium to stop development on the mountain. Now the Bellingham City Council, in collaboration with forester Bob Cannon, is in the process of applying for a grant from the Forest Legacy Program to buy the property.
This federal program was developed in 1990 and is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. According to their Web site, Forest Legacy grants are issued in order to "protect environmentally important forest lands threatened with conversion to non-forest use." If approved, the grant would pay for 75 percent of the cost of acquiring the $3 million property from the current owners, and safeguard it as protected forest land. The other 25 percent would be budgeted and paid for by the city. The application will be ready for submission in March 2007.
sources: whatcom county council minutes, forest legacy web site, the bellingham herald
Drayton Harbor road in repair
Two years ago, 2,000 feet of Drayton Harbor Road slid towards the ocean. Erosion, heavy traffic and weather caused the road to collapse. Whatcom County engineers will spend over a million dollars repairing the road running along the shoreline near Blaine. The project has experienced delays; however, reopening is expected by August 2007. Police and firefighters express concern because the road is the main connector of Blaine's upper and lower halves and inaccessibility leads to slow emergency response. The old method of piling boulders to prevent erosion will contribute to shoreline ecosystem destruction, therefore the state is searching for solutions to help restore habitat while maintaining the road.
source: the bellingham herald
"Sudden" city may become reality
The initiative to make Sudden Valley its own town is one step closer. Bill and Barbara Audley gathered 270 signatures from people who approve the idea of making Sudden Valley a city. The next step is to have a public hearing where the issue will be considered by the Whatcom County Boundary Review Board. Once the signatures are submitted, Sudden Valley will have the right to a hearing which will decide if an election will proceed.
Some Whatcom County residents are concerned that if Sudden Valley becomes urbanized the watershed's health may be compromised.
source: the bellingham herald
Salmon summit features local research
Swimming into Bellingham Nov. 2, the eleventh annual Salmon Summit featured more than 30 presentations on the status and future of local aquatic resources.
The Nooksack Recovery Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring salmon habitat in the Nooksack watershed, sponsored the conference, which focused on watershed restoration efforts in Whatcom County.
Dorie Belisle's presentation for the Whatcom County Agriculture Preservation showcased the efforts to restore Ten Mile Creek and its surrounding watershed, which is located just north of Bellingham and east of Ferndale. The project, started in 2001, was meant to create a sense of community around the watershed by getting the residents and farmers whose land the creeks ran through to participate in their restoration, which included removing invasive grasses and planting trees. The creeks can provide habitat for coho, chum and Chinook salmon, but the project is not just about the health of local fish. Healthy watersheds make for healthy people, Belisle said.
"Surface water is drinking water - it's all connected," she said
While creek restoration is important, it is essential to take into account the needs of the residents, and especially farmers whose land the creeks run through, Belisle said.
"Every landowner has their own plan," she said. "We find out what the owner needs, and what the creek needs," Belisle said.
Belisle said the project looks for win-win solutions for both farms and fish, because the farms are necessary to the future of the watershed.
"The alternative to farming is development, and development puts more pressure on resources," she said.