[GPSCC-chat] [Fwd: Baykeeper in Action: from the SF Bay to the Gulf of Mexico]

[Tian Harter]

It was mindblowing to me that Wren said "the Deepwater Horizon gusher
spews as much as California gets from every offshore well in the State."

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Baykeeper in Action: from the SF Bay to the Gulf of Mexico
Date: 	Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:00:10 EDT
From: 	TNHarter at aol.com
To: 	tnharter at aceweb.com

> >
> > Ian Wren*
> >
> > *Baykeeper in Action: from the SF Bay to the Gulf of Mexico*
> > 
> > Ian Wren is Staff Scientist/Investigator at San Francisco Baykeeper,
> > a San Francisco based nonprofit founded in 1989 that works to
> > reverse the environmental degradation of the past and promote
> > new strategies and policies to protect the water quality of the
> > San Francisco Bay.  Its mission is to protect and enhance the water
> > quality of the San Francisco Bay for the benefit of its ecosystems
> > and human communities (visit www.baykeeper.org
> <http://www.baykeeper.org> <http://www.baykeeper.org>).
> > 
> > Prior to joining Baykeeper, Ian worked as a Habitat Restoration
> > Specialist in Southern California and a Hydrologist in London, UK,
> > and has worked with a range of public, private and non-profit
> > organizations in California and Europe on issues surrounding urban
> > water quality, coastal diffuse pollution, endangered species, and
> > wetland restoration.
> > 
> > Ian, who supports Baykeeper's litigation and advocacy efforts
> > through scientific review of issues relevant to Bay ecology and
> > chemical status, will describe Baykeepers mission and what he
> > learned from a recent visit to the oil impacted areas of the
> > Gulf of Mexico. He will also bring us up to date on the status of
> > Gulf oil spill response efforts.
> >
> Ian began by explaining a little about Baykeeper. They are a nonprofit,
> part of a river keeper network, Waterkeeper Alliance, organized by
> Robert Kennedy, Jr.
> They work with regulators to ensure that good water quality outcomes
> are achieved. They also patrol the bay looking for pollution dumping.
>
> Ian recently spent three weeks in the Gulf helping with response to the
> Deepwater Horizon spill. He showed us booms that weren't doing much,
> and stockings full of hair to absorb oil. He said those kinds of things
> probably work with much smaller spills than this one. He explained that
> the Cosco Busan spill we'd had just a few years ago was about a half hours
> worth of spill from the Deepwater Horizon. The Santa Barbara spill that
> had galvanized California back in the '70s was only two days worth of
> output from the current gusher under the Gulf of Mexico.  California's
> entire offshore oil production works out to about what is spewing from
> the Deepwater Horizon's blown well. That one spill is a huge event.
>
> Ian had a lot to say about the dispersants being used. So far BP has
> injected 1.8 million gallons of the stuff into the oil coming out of the
> well head. This has the effect of making it hover in the water column
> instead of rising to the surface as Alaskan oil did after the Valdez
> spill. 
> What does reach the surface becomes these incredibly sticky droplets
> that do wildlife no favors. This is the first time such dispersants are
> being used on a big oil spill.
>
> Dispersants are preventing the pictures of black oiled beaches that BP
> didn't want to see, but it has other effects we are still figuring out.
> So far known dead include 1800 seabirds, 444 sea turtles, and at least
>   53 dolphins and other aquatic mammals. The number of fish killed is
> unknown. More study will be needed to see if this strategy is really
> helping. Clearly the oil plume is a low oxygen environment compared
> to normal sea water.
>
> Oil seeps into the Gulf of Mexico have been an ongoing part of the
> ecosystem for so long that the water column has microbes built into it
> that eat oil. Ian thinks that maybe some fertilizing might help them.
> Since the Mississippi River already dumps a lot of nitrogen fertilizers
> from farm runoff into the area that is probably not needed. People are
> looking into ways to add phosphorous and oxygen.
>
> There was a lot of active Q&A participation:
>
> Kevin Costner's gadget is a centrifuge that separates oil and water. BP
> has bought 30 of the things, and we don't yet know how useful they are.
>
> The fishing may be back in five years but it's not clear the fishermen
> will be. Most fishing operations were delicately balanced on big debt
> service requirements, and five years of no fishing will likely bankrupt
> them.
>
> The Deepwater Horizon found this gusher about fifty miles offshore.
>
> Skimmers would work a lot better if the oil wasn't having detergent
> added to it.
>
> If you want to help out, please send donations to saveourgulf.org
> <http://saveourgulf.org>.
>
> Tian
> I've been to the top of the mountain on the California quarter.
> http://tian.greens.org



-- 
Tian
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