Death by plastic

MIDWAY : trailer : a film by Chris Jordan from Midway on Vimeo.

I'd like to think that most of us now know about this particular effect of plastics pollution.  Yet the infuriating truth is how little control we have, individually, over plastics pollution.  We can use cloth shopping bags, store food in glass rather than plastic, prioritize the purchase of items with the least packaging, all of which we should do-- in fact, you can take the Plastics Promise here at 5Gyres-- but without pressure on plastics manufacturers, we'll barely make a dent.  Greenpeace has some other actions we can take at the Trash Vortex.  

Of course, the effects of plastics pollution goes far beyond seabirds.  This Discover article gives a good overview of the human threats.

Hiatus for lobsters?

The Boston Globe is reporting today that a multistate commission will be deciding whether to implement  Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will be recommending a five year ban on lobster fishing from south of Cape Cod to the southern edge of North Carolina.  The ban was recommended back in April by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.  Without such a ban, the commission says, the lobster population may go into permanent decline.

 It's not just lobsters (and those who make their living catching them) that are in trouble, though.  In 2006, the Science News Blog posted:  

Ocean Fish Depletion by 2048?

Reuters reports that a shocking study published in Science found that ocean life and seafood could be depleted by as early as 2048. The scientific data also indicates that marine biodiversity has already crashed by as much as 29% since 1960.

In an analysis of scientific data going back to the 1960s and historical records over a thousand years, the researchers found that marine biodiversity -- the variety of ocean fish, shellfish, birds, plants and micro-organisms -- has declined dramatically, with 29 percent of species already in collapse.

Extending this pattern into the future, the scientists calculated that by 2048 all species would be in collapse, which the researchers defined as having catches decline 90 percent from the maximum catch.

This applies to all species, from mussels and clams to tuna and swordfish, said Boris Worm, lead author of the study, which was published in the current edition of the journal Science.

Ocean mammals, including seals, killer whales and dolphins, are also affected.

"Whether we looked at tide pools or studies over the entire world's ocean, we saw the same picture emerging," Worm said in a statement. "In losing species we lose the productivity and stability of entire ecosystems. I was shocked and disturbed by how consistent these trends are -- beyond anything we suspected."

If you're a member of Costco, you should know that Costco sells "Red List" fish-- those fish species which are already at the depleted levels from which they can't recover.  There's a campaign to get Costco to stop this practice and to correctly label their fish so consumers know what they're getting and from where.   There's a petition top right-hand corner to ask Costco to use its massive buying power to leverage positive change in our oceans.  Please sign.

Conspiracy theories; Website tracking EPA response to BP oil "spill"

For those of you interested in the EPA take on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a new webpage at the EPA site has Q & A's,  air quality monitoring, and government actions.  Not much finger-pointing going on yet at the EPA, at least not that the agency is making public, and not much of the  real sense of catastrophe that many of us feel.  Still, it's interesting reading.

Just what are we to call this catastrophe, anyway?  Calling it a "spill" makes no sense: a spill is an overturned glass of water; a spill is a hole in the side of a leaking oil tanker; a spill is finite.  What we have here is an open faucet to the oil in our earth's crust which we will not be able to turn off for months.

Conspiracy theories:  I don't have to think too hard to figure out how this catastrophe happened, because man-made catastrophes occur whenever profit is placed before people's wellbeing.  Those catastrophes may unfold slowly, like our current recession, or all at once. But almost all could have been predicted.  The Houston Chronicle reports on the fines that BP was fighting for safety violations.  And I know I read-- but now can't find-- an article that says that equipment required in Europe for these rigs is not required in the U.S.  I did, however, find a reference to BP's attempts to avoid additional safety regulations. 

BP's Haywood  'will also be asked to explain more distant actions, including the company's resistance to Washington's attempts to introduce a new rule to make deep-sea drilling safer. A letter from BP to the US government dated 14 September 2009, made its position clear. "While BP is supportive of companies having a system in place to reduce risks, accidents, injuries and spills, we are not supportive of the extensive prescriptive regulations as proposed in this rule," the letter said.'  Independent UK.

 Remember Halliburton from the Iraq War?

Halliburton IS the War Machine: Finally, we come to the most likely culprit in all of this, and a sure sign that indeed this is an act of war. Wherever Halliburton goes, so goes the war machine, and vice versa. From no-bid and no-account contracts in Iraq (and post-Katrina New Orleans, by the way) to a massive corporate presence in the Gulf region, these folks seem to have an acute capacity for making a buck on cataclysms of all sorts. Perhaps more to the point, they appear to be at the nexus of most disaster zones, including the erstwhile Bush Presidency and now the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. As a recent article in the Huffington Post notes:

"Giant oil-services provider Halliburton may be a primary suspect in the investigation into the oil rig explosion that has devastated the Gulf Coast, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though the investigation into the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon site is still in its early stages, drilling experts agree that blame probably lies with flaws in the 'cementing' process -- that is, plugging holes in the pipeline seal by pumping cement into it from the rig. Halliburton was in charge of cementing for Deepwater Horizon."  Huffington Post.

The rest of this Huffington Post article by Randall Amster is worth a read, because apparently the conspiracy nuts are going to have a good time with the Deepwater Horizon event.  Al Gore, eco-terrorists, even North Korea, in a plot to make us use our nuclear weapons to stop the oil leak.  Get ready.  Wonder what the Tea Party folks think, or do I have to ask?

Photo: nesting pelicans on Bretton Island, containment booms behind them.  Alex Brandon, Axis of Logic.

The octopus as artist

Well, this got me in a good mood-- an octopus steals a diver's camera and takes off.  Octopuses are the smartest of all invertebrates and I've heard they like to decorate their living quarters with various baubles...

East Coast and snowed in? Take some simple, meaningful actions

Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup

Save the Date: Ocean Conservancy to release "The Rising Tide of Ocean Debris: And What We Can Do About It" in March. The report compiles the findings of the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup providing a global snapshot of the problem of trash in our ocean.

Our own health is intrinsically tied to the health of the ocean, and we each have a personal responsibility for its care. The International Coastal Cleanup, the world's largest volunteer effort for the ocean, provides a unique opportunity to make a difference in your own backyard or favorite beach and be a part of a global movement. The 24th annual International Coastal Cleanup will be held September 19th worldwide.

For questions or to receive a copy of the report contact Media Relations Manager Michele Capots.

Double Murder in Russia - Human Rights First

Last month, a leading human rights lawyer and a freelance reporter were gunned down in the middle of the afternoon in downtown Moscow. Both were returning from a press conference concerning the case of a Russian colonel charged with the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen girl.

Similar attacks have been repeatedly met with impunity. This one, in daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses, takes the danger faced by human rights defenders to a new level. Human Rights First responded quickly by sending a letter to Secretary Clinton and an appeal to President Medvedev. Thanks to those of you who joined our efforts!

HRF is pushing the new administration to take up this and other important human rights issues with Russia. Read more in our blueprint and in a recent Letter to the Editor in the Washington Times.

House Passes Act Stopping Chimps Sold as Pets - Petition at Care2

Lost in the pomp and circumstance of President Obama's non-State of the Union address on Tuesday was an important step in Congress for animal lovers. The House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act by a vote of 323 to 95.

The Captive Primate Safety Act would make it illegal to engage in interstate and foreign commerce with primates as pets - making it much more difficult for people to buy a chimp as a pet. And given the recent incident in Connecticut (which fellow Care2 blogger Sharon S. so eloquently discussed earlier), it's becoming more and more clear that some sort of regulation is necessary to ensure something like that doesn't happen again. Ask your senator to sign on.

Regulate Toxic E-Waste

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Care2

Do you want the latest and greatest technology? Before you decide, consider that over-consumption has led to 20-50 million metric tons of toxic e-waste worldwide each year. And the U.S. does not federally mandate recycling of e-waste.

Most old or unusable computers, televisions and cell phones are shipped off to Asia or West Africa where they are smashed and scrapped for precious metals. Young people seeking to earn a little money work at dumps to demolish electronics for valuable parts. But unknowingly they are exposed to poisonous chemicals like mercury, lead and cadmium, all known to cause cancer.

In an effort to prevent international dumping of e-waste 170 countries agreed to notify developing nations of incoming hazardous waste shipments. Sadly, the U.S. is the only industrialized country that would not sign the agreement.

Dumping e-waste is harmful to the poor nations where it ends up and harmful to the environment. The EPA refuses to take responsibility for international dumping of e-waste. Tell Congress that it's time to federally regulate e-waste dumping.


Photo from the Ocean Conservancy's photostream at Flickr.

Pigs and chickens help empty the oceans

We catch nearly 100 million tons of fish from our oceans each year, and an astounding one-third of that catch is fed to pigs, chickens and farm bred fish, according to a new study by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science.

Even worse, the fish in question-- sardines, anchovies and other small to medium-sized fish-- come from near the bottom of the food chain, not the top, meaning their decline impacts ocean life on every level, right up to the tunas, swordfish and ocean mammals.

A billion people a day, mostly in developing countries, depend on fish as their primary protein source. Yet in a scenario similar to the production of ethanol, three to five pounds of fish is required to produce a single pound of farm-bred fish. Given that these "forage fish" are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, it makes more sense for people to consume these fish directly, the Institute's director Ellen Pikitch says.

Fish stocks are in decline worldwide, although at least some nations-- members of the European Union, the United States and Canada-- have begun reducing their fishing fleets controlling the size of the catch. Better management in warm water countries have shown fish populations can rebound in as little as 18 months, although cold water fish take longer.

In the meantime, people who enjoy fish have yet another reason to stick to fresh-caught fish and to avoid farmed products.

Chart from the World Watch Institute

100,000 marine mammals, 1 million seabirds die

Maybe if 100,000 marine mammals ans 1 million seabirds all died on the same day every year, in a very visible way, we would start taking plastics pollution of our oceans seriously. Instead, this is the yearly toll that plastics pollution causes, and most of us don't see it. That makes it easy to ignore, easy not to take actions that would make a difference.

The NY Times has an article on efforts to clean up plastics pollution on the shores of Gore Point, Alaska. I wrote about plastic in our oceans here and here in February and April. Stop and Shop is certainly promoting re-usable bags in its grocery stores, but so far has not yet discontinued plastics. Hope they do it soon.

Last month Gov. Patrick signed the nation's first comprehensive Ocean Planning legislation.

The legislation, sponsored by Senate President Therese Murray, Senator Robert O'Leary and Senator Bruce Tarr, ends decades of ad hoc decision making by placing oversight, coordination, and planning authority of the state's ocean resources with the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. That authority will be exercised through an ocean management plan and advised by a broad-based, 17-member ocean management commission, including state agency representatives, state legislators, municipal officials, and environmental, fishing, and marine industry stakeholders. Most importantly, the legislation provides for a balanced and coordinated plan for growth. More at the Mass Ocean Campaign.

On Saturday, September 20, the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup will take place. Last year, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared six million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected. Besides better managing your own use of plastic, you can take part in this clean-up, and learn more about what we can do, by signing up here. You can send a great e-card, too. Take action!