BAY WATCH

I just learned about two new books for summer reading.  Both address environmental issues, but in vastly different manners.  I first learned about Four Fish by Paul Greenberg when Kyle Rabin (former Executive Director of Friends of the Bay, and now a Director at the Network for New Energy Choices) sent me a link to an online interview on National Public Radio.  The book is reviewed in the New York Times Book Review and it sounds like a must read for anyone concerned with the sustainability of the global fisheries market, and the health of the oceans themselves.  Greenberg, who is a dedicated fisherman who grew up in Connecticut and fishes Long Island Sound, examines the relationship humans have with tuna, cod, sea bass and salmon.

In an excerpt posted online at npr.org Greenberg explains why he chose these four fish – “The more I thought of it, the more I realized that the four fish that are coming to dominate the modern seafood market are visible footprints, marking four discrete steps humanity has taken in its attempts to master the sea. Each fish is an archive of a particular, epochal shift. Salmon, a beautiful silvery animal with succulent pink flesh, is dependent upon clean, free-flowing freshwater rivers. It is representative of the first wave of human exploitation, the species that marks the point at which humans and fish first had large-scale environmental problems and where domestication had to be launched to head off extinction. Sea bass, a name applied to many fish but which increasingly refers to a single white, meaty-fleshed animal called the European sea bass, represents the near-shore shallow waters of our coasts, the place where Europeans first learned how to fish in the sea and where we also found ourselves outstripping the resources of nature and turning to an even more sophisticated form of domestication to maintain fish supplies. Cod, a white, flaky-fleshed animal that once congregated in astronomical numbers around the slopes of the continental shelves many miles offshore, heralded the era of industrial fishing, an era where mammoth factory ships were created to match cod’s seemingly irrepressible abundance and turn its easily processed flesh into a cheap commoner’s staple. And finally tuna, a family of lightning-fast, sometimes thousand-pound animals with red, steaklike flesh that frequent the distant deepwater zones beyond the continental slope. Some tuna cross the breadth of the oceans, and nearly all tuna species range across waters that belong to multiple nations or no nation at all. Tuna are thus stateless fish, difficult to regulate and subject to the last great gold rush of wild food — a sushi binge that is now pushing us into a realm of science-fiction-level fish-farming research and challenging us to reevaluate whether fish are at their root expendable seafood or wildlife desperately in need of our compassion.” 

It sounds like a beautifully written book about a very important topic – the sustainability of the fish harvest and the protection of endangered ocean going species like tuna.  These are difficult problem that has to be solved by a cooperative effort of maritime nations, and have no easy answers.  Sustainable aquaculture, such as the clam and oyster farming conducted in Oyster Bay, may be the answer for some species. 

Star Island is Carl Hiaasen’s new book.  Hiaasen writes outrageous murder mysteries, which usually skewer corrupt politicians, developers and others who seek to damage the environment.  In this book, he takes on the cult of celebrity and paparazzis, but from the reviews I have read he manages to involve the environment by having Skink (an ex-governor of Florida who now lives in the mangrove swamps and lives on roadkill – I told you these books are outrageous) enlist a celebrity stand in to assault a tour bus full of real-estate speculators.  The book sounds like it will be full of Hiaasen’s trademark chaos.  It sounds like a great late summer beach read.

Volunteers and staff from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, and Friends of the Bay have been working diligently this season to remove water chestnuts from the Mill Pond.   Water Chestnut is a rooted, annual aquatic plant with both floating and submersed leaves.  The plant stems are long and cord like, and can reach lengths of 16 feet.  The vegetation forms a very dense mat, which blocks light and inhibits photosynthesis.  The long roots clog the pond and make it difficult for fish to swim through. 

So far volunteers have put in three full days of work with another scheduled for July 21.  Their hard work has resulted in the removal of 15,800 POUNDS of these noxious weeds.   What makes this invasive species so difficult to eradicate is that the seeds have a very long life cycle – they can remain viable for five or more years.  The seeds have sharp horns, which may act as anchors to keep them in suitable depths of water.  They also hurt when you are pulling them, which I know all too well from my time spent on the Mill Pond. 

One of the volunteers, Stella Miller, President of the Huntington Oyster Bay Audubon Society, explained her willingness to come and help – “Water Chestnut chokes out native species and reduces oxygen in the water.  Because of this, it has little to no ecological value.  These water chestnut pulls are a way to pitch in to help out the local ecosystem, while having a messy, muddy and fun time!”  all the people who came together to help the Mill Pond walked away quite messy and dirty, but knowing that they helped to make a difference to the pond. 

As the old saying goes “be careful what you wish for.”  Back in the winter that felt like it would never end, I could not wait for the warm summer weather….boy oh boy did I get my wish!  These record setting temperatures have been incredible.  As soon as I fill my bird bath, the robins and sparrows are in it.  My dog is kept inside in the air conditioning (as all pets should be in this weather) and when I do let her out she goes joyfully into her backyard.  All of a sudden, Kelly will stop and get a look on her face that says “Seriously?  You expect me to be out in this?  You’re kidding me right?”  She does what is necessary, and heads back in.  Not a stupid dog.   I really have to express my thanks to the volunteers who came out on Monday to do the water quality monitoring – Carla and Jack Panetta, and Clint Smith.  When we got back to the dock the temperature was 103.  It takes real dedication to volunteer to come out in weather extremes to ensure that our data collection continues.

It’s just the beginning of the period considered to be the “dog days” of summer.  The ancient Romans called the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog) Sirius.  Originally, the dog days were when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise.  They were considered to be an evil time – the seas boiled, wine turned sour, and dogs grew mad.  According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Dog Days begin on July 3 and end 40 days later on August 11.  Lets hope that the worst of the heat of the dog days have already come and gone. 

I was recently sent this story in an email from one of the Bay Constables.  Its important information that anyone who goes near pools or water should know.  Please take a minute to read this!

The new captain jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the owners who were swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he

sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this Captain know, from fifty feet away, what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D.,  is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water.  And it does not look like most people expect.  There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind.  To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this:  It is the number two cause of  ccidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750

children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult.  In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC).  Drowning does not look like drowning – Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this: <http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif>

1.      Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.

2.      Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

3.      Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

4.      Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a

rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

5.      From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.

This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble – they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long – but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own

rescue.  They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are n the water:

*       Head low in the water, mouth at water level

*       Head tilted back with mouth open

*       Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus

*       Eyes closed

*       Hair over forehead or eyes

*       Not using legs – Vertical

*       Hyperventilating or gasping

*       Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway

*       Trying to roll over on the back

*       Ladder climb, rarely out of the water.

So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks O.K. – don’t be too sure.  Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning.  They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck.  One  way to be sure?  Ask them:

“Are you alright?” If they can answer at all – they probably are.  If they return  a blank stare – you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents: children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why!

As the old saying goes “be careful what you wish for.”  Back in the winter that felt like it would never end, I could not wait for the warm summer weather….boy oh boy did I get my wish!  These record setting temperatures have been incredible.  As soon as I fill my bird bath, the robins and sparrows are in it.  My dog is kept inside in the air conditioning (as all pets should be in this weather) and when I do let her out she goes joyfully into her backyard.  All of a sudden, Kelly will stop and get a look on her face that says “Seriously?  You expect me to be out in this?  You’re kidding me right?”  She does what is necessary, and heads back in.  Not a stupid dog.   I really have to express my thanks to the volunteers who came out on Monday to do the water quality monitoring – Carla and Jack Panetta, and Clint Smith.  When we got back to the dock the temperature was 103.  It takes real dedication to volunteer to come out in weather extremes to ensure that our data collection continues.

It’s just the beginning of the period considered to be the “dog days” of summer.  The ancient Romans called the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog) Sirius.  Originally, the dog days were when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise.  They were considered to be an evil time – the seas boiled, wine turned sour, and dogs grew mad.  According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Dog Days begin on July 3 and end 40 days later on August 11.  Lets hope that the worst of the heat of the dog days have already come and gone. 

This Week’s Results  .

The seas on Monday were not boiling, although they were certainly warm.  The lowest temperature we recorded was 68.99 in the deep waters off of Plum Point, and the highest was 80.47 in Mill Neck Creek, near Beaver Dam.  Despite the warmth of the water, the dissolved oxygen levels were still good, possibly because of the wind over the weekend.  The lowest level recorded by FOB volunteers was 3.42 mg/L of dissolved oxygen at the far end of the marina in Bayville.  Levels at 5.0 mg/L of DO are considered to be healthy for all marine organisms. 

70% of the Earth’s surface is water.  Very little of it is protected from pressure from industrial fishing, pollution, climate change and other human activities.   5.8 percent of land habitats have been designated as preserves to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems, yet only .4  percent of the world’s oceans are protected.  Global Ocean Legacy, a project of the Pew Environment Group has called for the identification and protection of a small number of very large marine ecosystems over five years in areas which have historically not been fished intensively, are still relatively intact and are within political jurisdictions of nations with the capability to monitor and enforce protection. 

Large marine reserves, where ecological processes and functions can operate as they have for millennia,

are essential for the protection of wide-ranging species.  Most of the marine preserves currently in existence are small, inshore areas providing local conservation benefits in regions already heavily fished and used.  Market demands for ever more inaccessible fish stocks means that even isolated and remote locations are no longer safe from harvesting.  Creating a system of very large marine no-take areas is an essential contribution to stewardship of the marine environment. 

There are some large marine preserves currently in existence.  The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was re-zoned in 2004 to make one-third of the 344,400 square kilometer park a no-take area, a 362,000 square kilometer park in the northwestern Hawaiian islands became fully no-take in 2010 and the 408,000 square kilometer Phoenix Islands Protected Area in the Republic of Kiribati is partially no-take.  George Bush established three new Marine National Monuments in the Pacific covering 505,000 square kilometers, with 60 percent being no-take. 

The goal of Global Ocean Legacy is to identify and secure protection for additional large marine ecosystems before significant environmental degradation can occur.  The expected benefits are:

1.  Ensuring that top predators such as sharks, swordfish and marine mammals remain abundant.

2.  Providing reference sites for future scientific research and public education.

3.  Matching the scale of management to the scale of important ecosystem processes, such as dispersal and migration of many species.

4.  Improving resilience to the accelerating impacts of climate change.

5.  Ensuring the long-term recovery, conservation and maintenance of populations of highly mobile and migratory species.

6.   Ensuring protection whilst minimizing social and economic costs.

7.  Enhancing the global reputations of managing nations.  

This Week’s Results  .

It was a very warm Monday on the boat.  The dissolved in the southern end of Cold Spring Harbor were down to levels between 3.25 and 3.58 milligrams per liter of dissolved oxygen.  Readings in the rest of Oyster Bay and the West Harbor ranged from 6.00mg/L of dissolved oxygen to 7.97 mg/L of dissolved oxygen.  Levels at 5.0 mg/L of DO are considered to be healthy for all marine organisms.  Because of tidal conditions, the Friends of the Bay boat was unable to go into Mill Neck Creek to conduct sampling.

I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony at Planting Fields this morning to celebrate the re-opening of the Italian Gardens at Planting Fields.   Planting Fields is one of my favorite places on earth, and it is delightful to see the Gardens so beautifully restored.  Nature cooperated with one of the “ten best days of summer” to make the flowers more vibrant, and the shade more appreciated.  We are fortunate to have Planting Fields, the Bailey Arboretum and the Humes Stroll Gardens so close by.  Each presents an opportunity to commune with nature and be inspired by master gardeners. 

How many of us don’t take advantage of all the recreational and cultural opportunities right here in our own backyard?  So here are some suggestions, in no particular order:

1.   Planting Fields – there is always something blooming, and miles of trails to be explored.

2.   Bailey Arboretum – the main house has just been restored, and the gardens are beautiful.

3.   Humes Stroll Garden – a beautiful place for quiet contemplation.

4.   North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary – a natural environment, with great birdwatching opportunities

5.   Sagamore Hill – please don’t be one of those local people who never visits here!  Every time I go here I learn something new.  The marshes by the beach in Cold Spring Harbor almost always have an egret or some other shorebird in them.  Also a great place to find horseshoe crabs.

6.   Theodore Roosevelt Audubon Sanctuary – a perfect place to introduce a child to birdwatching.

7.   Cold Spring Harbor Library – there is a million dollar view from the porch.

8.   A sunset cruise on the Christeen – an historic sailboat, sunset, and Oyster Bay Harbor…need I say more?

9.   First Thursdays of the month in Oyster Bay – come down for ArtWalk.  The galleries are open and it’s so pleasant to stroll from one to another.  Last month Christ Church featured the art of Oyster Bay High School students.   The student work was extraordinary, the church and the grounds are lovely. The concerts put on by the church are outstanding.  Visit the church website for upcoming concert information – www.christchurchoysterbay.org

10.  Theodore Roosevelt Park – a very pleasant place to walk in, sit on the beach and read, or watch the boats coming and going in the harbor.

This Week’s Results  .

The dissolved oxygen levels have begun to lower a bit, with readings of as low as 3.04 at .5 meters off the bottom recorded in the southern end of Cold Spring Harbor.  Readings in the rest of Oyster Bay and the West Harbor ranged from 6.00mg/L of dissolved oxygen to 7.97 mg/L of dissolved oxygen.  Levels at 5.0 mg/L of DO are considered to be healthy for all marine organisms.  The water temperature is rising, with temperatures over 19.00 degrees centigrade.

The weather is feeling more and more summer like and the beach is calling.  And what is the beach without a good book to read?  I like to read a mix of educational and thoughtful books, and completely escapist novels.   But for this column, I thought I would borrow a list of the Top Ten Books on the Evironment from the Booklist Online.  Here are their recommendations:

Eearth:  Making a Life on a Tough New Planet by Bill McKibben.   He believes that our hotter and more chaotic planet deserves a new name “Eearth” and new solutions to humankind’s food and energy needs.

Ecological Intelligence:  How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything by Daniel Goleman.  This book seeks to develop our “ecological intelligence” and inspires us to demand environmentally safe merchandise.

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.   This novelist investigates the role food plays in environmental degradation in an investigation into factory farming.

Our Choice:  A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis by Al Gore.  Al Gore explains how the harnessing of renewable energy sources will solve a matrix of global traumas.

A Paradise Built in Hell:  The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit.  Five major catastrophes are examined and used to demonstrate the human ability to rise from the rubble and create better worlds.

Slow Death by Rubber Duck:  The Secret Danger of Everyday Things by Rick Smith.  This expose reveals that the ubiquitous rubber duck carries a toxic mix of phthalates that “permeate the environment and humans” as do many other manufactured products and foods.

Storms of my Grandchildren:  the Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity by James Hansen.  Hansen is a NASA climatologist who believes the government is conducting “greenwashing” and closes the gap between “public perception and scientific reality” in this call to prevent climate change.

Water:  the Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization by Steven Solomon.  This is an inquiry into the history, science and politics of water use, and the need to place a higher value on water and its preservation.

The Wild Marsh:  Four Seasons at Home in Montana by Rick Bass.  Bass is an wilderness writer and advocate who chronicles a life in the Yaak Valley.

The Wilderness Warrior:  Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley.  Douglas Brinkley documents the role Theodore Roosevelt played in the creation our national parks, and the influences which contributed to Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation ethic. 

Another book not on this list, but which comes highly recommended is The Climate War by Eric Pooley.  Pooley   According to the book’s website,  “In The Climate War, Eric Pooley, deputy editor of Bloomberg Businessweek, takes us behind the scenes and into the minds of the most important players in the struggle to cap global warming pollution—an American civil war in which trillions of dollars and the fate of the planet are at stake. To write this book, Pooley, the former managing editor of Fortune and chief political correspondent for Time, spent three years embedded with an extraordinary cast of characters on all sides of the fight. The result is an epic narrative, a searing exposé, and an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the most important argument in America.  

It is difficult to make environmentally responsible choices when shopping for consumer products and services.  There are many conflicting labels, all making claims to be “green” “eco-friendly” or “environmentally friendly.”  It can be very frustrating and confusing.  I recently learned of an organization that addresses this issue.  Green Seal was founded in 1989, and provides science-based environmental certification standards.  Green Seal standards meet the criteria set by the International Organization for Standardization, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s criteria for third-party certifiers of environmentally preferable products; and the criteria for bona fide ecolabeling bodies of the Global Ecolabeling Network.  The EPA has specific criteria which specify that a third party certifier has to have an open, public process in developing its standards; award criteria, assumptions, methods and data used to evaluate the product or product categories that are publicly available, easily accessed and understandable to the lay person; a system of data verification and data quality; a peer review process; an outreach program to educate the consumer, among others. 

The website lists many products and services that have been certified to fulfill Green Seal requirements, with links to the manufacturer’s website.  Green Seal publishes a series of reports on commonly used products, giving the pros and cons of different options.  I looked up the report on bathroom tissue and paper towels.   The trash in landfills is 40% paper products, and 30% of the timber consumed in the US is used to make paper products.  Bathroom tissues and paper towels are short – lived items, obviously they cannot be recycled.  To minimize the impact on the environment, the purchase of tissue and towels containing 100% recycled material and as much postconsumer waste as possible should be considered.  The impact can be enormous.  According to the Green Seal website, every ton of 100% recycled paper saves an estimated 4,100 killowatt-hours of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, and 60 pounds of air pollutants.  If all paper towels were made with recycled paper, approximately 1 million tons of used paper would be kept out of the waste stream. 

What was also interesting to learn is that there recycled materials are categorized two different ways.  Postconsumer materials include any items that have already been used by consumers or businesses and would otherwise be sent to landfills or incinerators, like food containers, newspapers, old cardboard boxes, or any paper materials set out for recycling.  Purchasing products with the highest percentage of postconsumer materials will channel the greatest amount of waste from our landfills. Recovered paper materials include paper waste generated after the completion of a paper making process, such as bindery trimmings, obsolete inventories and rejected, unused stock. 

I also learned about the processes involved in removing inks from paper towels, and the impact that removal process can have, and whether roll towels or flat folded towels are better to purchase.  It was a very interesting report, and written well in terms understandable to a  layperson.  There are reports on the purchase of office supplies, furniture, carpet, etc.  It is a worthwhile site to visit – www.greenseal.org

Oyster Bay’s beaches and harbors are much cleaner, thanks to an incredible effort by a crew of hard working volunteers.  The event was coordinated by the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association, Town of Oyster Bay, and Friends of the Bay.  Volunteers literally came by the busload to celebrate Earth Day by removing tons of garbage and litter that had accumulated over the winter months.  In all 20 tons of garbage were removed, filling four container loads.  When you think of how small some of that material is – cigarette butts, bottle caps, it is just astonishing.  The Town of Oyster Bay workers are to be commended – I don’t think they stopped the whole day, whether helping to offload the debris that was brought in by the baymen and volunteers who went out to clean the beaches or collecting the litter that was picked up on the shoreline.  As fast as the boats came in, laden with debris, they were there to offload it.  I  was watching the payloaders scooping up the materials that were brought in and I could not help but wish that more people were there to see it – the variety and amount of material brought in was astounding. I only think of my sons, who would have loved to watch the big trucks.   Richard Sack, a very talented photographer, recorded the day on his blog at Harbor clean up 2010.

A tally sheet used at the International Coastal Cleanup was given to volunteers to fill out regarding the amount and type of debris collected.  The results are not scientific, but do closely mirror the results in the International Coastal Cleanup.  The number one item was cigarette butts at 38% of the debris and followed closely by caps, lids, glass and plastic bottles.  This is all entirely preventable! 

I think that Mitch Kramer of Tow Boat US won the prize for the most heavily laden boat – he had an amazing assortment of material on his boat.  The Town of Oyster Bay marine services units pulled out heavy pilings and large materials.  The Friends of the Bay crew found a tire, and met a couple of playful golden retrievers on Centre Island beach.  We cleared off the tire and quite a few bags of debris and threw tennis balls for the dogs.  It was very satisfying for all. 

The North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association hosted a barbecue which was very much enjoyed by all.  Fresh Oyster Bay clams on the half shell – how can you beat it!   The next harbor cleanup is scheduled for September 25.  It will be a very special date, since it is the 25^th anniversary of the International Coastal Cleanup.  Mark the date, and plan to come down.  Every individual’s efforts really make a difference – and it is deeply appreciated.