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Hello, thanks for reading my blog. Eye on Ecology is now up and running ... and will soon be expanding. I am working on a new Website, which will be bigger and better, with more of a local angle, more diversity, interactive functions and even advertising. If you have any suggestions for the future of this blog please let me know. And thank you.

Discovery lands at Space Station

The Discovery space shuttle just landed at the International Space Station, according to KFI AM.
The space craft is carrying veteran commander astronaut Rick "C.J." Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John "Danny" Olivas and Sweden's Christer Fuglesang, and Nicole Stott, who will be replace Tim Kopra at the International Space Station.
Space shuttle Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station during the mission.
Also, the STS-128 mission crew will deliver refrigerator-sized racks full of equipment, including the COLBERT treadmill, an exercise device named after comedian Stephen Colbert.
NASA TV provides a live video feed, for the public to see the liftoff from the comfort of their own computers, via the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Birds, animals on the tarmac at LAX

Red-tailed hawks, kestrels and peregrine falcons can be seen all over landscapes of Southern California as magnificent winged-creatures that co-exist with humans, sometimes seen as black shadows hovering over freeway overpasses or peering down rocky mountainsides.
To LAX, they seem to be considered deadly pests that can cause dangerous conditions for airliners, sometimes called "bullets with wings."
The LA Times recently reported how the rare birds are captured or sometimes scared away from the airport by a federal government mandated program since the 1990s. More than 940 animal strikes involving commercial aircraft were reported in the last decade, the Times reports. About 4 percent of the collisions caused substantial damage to engines, wings and fuselages.
Birds were reportedly the cause of the U.S. Airways Flight out of LaGuardia that crashed, but successfully landed into the Hudson River in January.
Above is a picture I took a couple years ago of a Cooper's Hawk in Bolsa Chica.

Cash for blowers this week

Cash for clunkers? Try cash for blowers.
Professional gardeners can start exchanging their old noisy diesel-spewing backpack leaf blowers for newer quieter low-emission units this week through an incentive program.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District began registration Aug. 18 to replace up to 1,500 of the polluting leaf blowers until the program is sold out.
It’s the forth year in a row the SCAQMD has initiated the program with hopes to cut down on smog pollution the backpack blowers produce
The new blowers will be sold for $200 plus tax, representing a $270 discount from the retail price of $470. The old blowers will be scrapped.
The old blowers will be replaced by the STIHL BR 500 models, which is nearly four times cleaner than the California Air Resources Board’s standard for new blowers and it is one the of quietest models available, according to the SCAQMD web site.
The state agency hopes the incentive will protect public health by reducing an additional 21 tons of smog-forming pollution a year.
To qualify for the leaf blower exchange, participants must register by calling (888) 425-6247. The first exchange occurs on Thursday, Aug. 27 at Simon’s Power Equipment at Valley Plaza Park at 12240 Archwood St. in North Hollywood.

Update meeting on Los Cerritos Wetlands

As news continues to shift and turn as much as the tide regarding the controversial future of the Los Cerritos Wetlands, its land trust is holding a “informal wetlands update” on Sept. 2. The meeting will address such issues as the proposed land swap, the proposed 2nd and PCH development project and follow-up on the illegal scraping at Loynes and Studebaker.
“Because of all this activity surrounding the wetlands, it has been suggested, and we agree, that we need to meet more often to share information and to plan and organize to address the issues and challenges that face Los Cerritos Wetlands,” according to the land trust website.
For the latest on the controversy surrounding a proposed land swap deal that was delayed and then eventually approved by the Long Beach City Council on Aug. 4, read the press-telegram here or the district weekly's pre-story here.
Coffee and cookies will be available.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at the Belmont Mobile Estates Clubhouse located at 6230 E Marina View Drive in Long Beach.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Elizabeth at ejlambe@verizon.net.

Documentary: no more seafood by 2048

Documentary filmmaker Rupert Murrey was interviewed on Coast-to-Coast tonight, giving a glimpse into his new film "The End of the Line," which focuses on the global effects of overfishing. In his report, he said fisheries are catching fish about 5 times more than scientists are recommending to sustain a healthy habitat, while oddly enough depleting the very fish populations that the industry depends on. In China, investigations have discovered that fish catch reports have been overstated for more than 20 years in order to project bigger numbers than what they actually catch. True numbers show a downward trend. Meanwhile, salmon has been largely scarce and there have been reports that worms from farm raised fish have begun to affect the natural spawns. As far as seafood? Scientists say if the fishing industry continues as the way it is than we can count on not being able to order it by 2048.

Lawsuit to block clean trucks at ports dropped

Here's the latest on the controversial clean trucks initiative in LB and LA Ports:The Federal Maritime Commission announced Tuesday, June 16 that it is withdrawing its lawsuit that had sought to block clean trucks initiatives at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles, according to a press release from the Port of Long Beach.
The move eliminates a challenge to the Port of Long Beach’s landmark Clean Trucks Program that already has gone a long way to reduce pollution from area trucks.
“We are pleased that the Federal Maritime Commission has decided to drop its challenge against a key component of our important environmental efforts,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard D. Steinke. “Today’s decision by the commission helps ensure that the Clean Trucks Program will continue to improve air quality in the Long Beach community.”
In a motion filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., the FMC asked to withdraw the lawsuit.
The FMC sued in October 2008, challenging certain aspects of the ports’ clean trucks concession agreements. In April, the judge in the case denied the FMC’s request for a preliminary injunction.

Study says green jobs in US grew by 9 percent

The number of environment-related, or green, jobs across the nation grew 9 percent from 1998 to 2007, which is more than 2 percent higher than the rate of the overall workforce, according to the Los Angeles Times that reported a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
California led the way with the most growth in the country, with the opening of 10,209 green businesses and 125,390 jobs in 2007 alone.

New source of methylmercury: groundwater

As many people have taken seafood out of their diets, especially fish, because of the mercury poisoning associated with it, scientists believe they have discovered a new source of where highly toxic mercury could be coming from.
For the first time, scientists have detected mercury in groundwater flows at two coastal sites in California according to a press release from the NOAA California Sea Grant program.
What's interesting is that the type of mercury discovered in these submarine groundwater flows, found underneath the ocean floor, appears to be methylmercury, the highly toxic form of mercury that accumulates in the marine food chain. Methylmercury, also often found in dental fillings, poses a public health problem in most regions of the world, according to the Madison Conference Declaration on Mercury Pollution.
The UC Santa Cruz researchers, who led the NOAA project, believe these groundwater flows represent a “significant and previously overlooked source of mercury in the nearshore marine environment.”
In an article to appear in Environmental Science and Technology, scientists report that these groundwater flows at Stinson Beach in Marin County and Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County inject about as much total mercury into coastal waters as that falling out of the sky, locally through atmospheric deposition.
But, for the most part, scientists aren’t sure how the mercury got there and why it is accumulating in high volumes.
There are a few theories though.
Frank Black, a former doctoral student at UC Santa Cruz, now a postdoctoral researcher in biogeochemistry at Princeton University and the paper’s lead author, believes that some of the inorganic mercury is coming from natural processes such as weathering of local mercury-containing rocks.
Mining and other “human activities” are also sources of mercury in soils and sediments.
Methylmercury, Black believes has come from septic tanks in the vicinity of Stinson Beach, because they provide nutrients to methylmercury bacteria, may be contributing to its formation. At Elkhorn Slough, the leading theory is that groundwater is flushing out methylmercury from sediments where it is being produced.
Previous studies documented the presence of methylmercury in terrestrial groundwater. Few have observed methylmercury in coastal waters, however, the press release states.
On a global average, the amount of mercury falling out of the sky has tripled since the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, due primarily to the burning of fossil fuels. This mercury is converted into methylmercury by sulfur- and iron- reducing bacteria, which reside in wet, low-oxygen soils and sediments.

Above is a picture of a calico bass I caught in Catalina about a year ago.

What "green bubble"?

With the economic downturn sending many jobless, whether they be white collar or blue collar workers, the greening of America could be what businesses are looking for.
At least that was the consensus during a conference about the new "green collar" workforce at the Long Beach Convention Center last week.
The event was hailed as the biggest conference to address such advancements in the business market. Rightly so, since Long Beach is a highly productive heavily-polluted area that suffers from bad air quality because of one of the nation's largest ports. The city also suffers from a large unemployment rate, much like other cities across the nation right now.
The conference spoke about diversity in the workforce as well, as government officials and green business owners talked about how environmental efforts will "bring back the middle class...and help protect Mother Earth" all at the same time.
The problem is though, that the State of California, and the nation, as a whole, are suffering financially right now, keeping manufacturers of these new technologies, i.e., wind, solar and other green energies, on hold until further notice. The other problem is the funding to teach people about how to work in the fields of these new green technologies, whether its building green infrastructure or green tech jobs, is near non-existent.
So the answer from experts in the field was pretty much, "Be patient." And whether the green trend will create another "green bubble" much like the tech bubble in 2000 and then the mortgage bubble we all are so familiar with the answer was, "We will always have the sun and wind."
To read more here is my article in the Press-Telegram.

Avalon Harbor top 'beach bummer' for sixth year

Heal the Bay released its 19th annual Beach Report Card for 2008-09 on May 20, with most California beaches receiving “very good” water quality this past year.
The non-profit water monitoring organization also released its yearly “beach bummer” list of the beaches with the worst water quality.
At the top of the list was Avalon Harbor Beach on Catalina Island, which has been the statewide Bummer for six years running.
Two years ago a $4.5 million swimmer health effects study added Avalon Beach as a research location due to its perpetually poor water quality.
Coming in at No. 2 was Cabrillo Beach harborside and No. 6 was the LA River outlet in Long Beach.
Overall, 276 of 324 (85 percent) locations received very good to excellent (A and B) grades for the year during dry weather.
Heal the Bay analysts assigned A-to-F letter grades to 502 beaches along the California coast, based on levels of weekly bacterial pollution reported from April 2008 through March 2009.
During the high-traffic 2008 summer season, 91 percent of beaches statewide received A or B grades, meaning very good to excellent water quality. That figure marks a slight 2 percent dip from last summer, which earned the best grades ever issued by Heal the Bay.
Overall, only 32 of the beaches (6 percent) monitored statewide received D or F grades last summer.
High bacteria counts at these sites are linked to such potential illnesses as stomach flu, ear infections and major skin rashes.

So Cal all shook up

Looks like Mother Earth isn't finished rocking and rolling from Sunday.
Today at around 3:45 p.m. and then again at about 3:51 p.m. there were two aftershocks that shook Southern California following the 4.7 that hit on Sunday from the Newport-Inglewood fault line.
The shocks epicenter appear to be from Hawthorne and El Sgundo area.
The 4.1 and 2.5 aftershocks today jostles my Long Beach apartment around a bit, but nothing big. To see up-to-the-second quake info for the So Cal region click here: http://www.data.scec.org/recenteqs/Quakes/quakes0.html

Intermediate I run at Irvine Ranch Conservancy

Now is a perfect time to get some exercise– the weather is nice and summer is coming.
So, why not experience the hidden valleys of Orange County while you're at it.
The Irvine Ranch Conservancy, 50,000 acres of lush wild flowers and sprawling wild life, offers monthly events to view a wonderland of vast Natural Landmarks.
One of them will be a guided trail run on June 6 at 7 a.m. to the Sinks, an erosional formation similar to the Grand Canyon. On the trail, you will run through burn areas from the October 2007 Santiago Fire and pass through indigenous and recovering habitats of coastal sage scrub, grasslands, and oak woodlands.
This Intermediate I run is shorter than the Intermediate II runs but the pace will be the same, so you'll have to keep up.
The run includes multiple steep climbs and descents with very limited stops and is very strenuous. The run is intended for new and experienced trail runners who are in great cardio shape and have experience running continuously for 8 miles or more. Guests are required to carry their own water.

Earth Day 2009: big fundraiser for Bolsa Chica

Earth Day, officially held on April 22, might become the biggest fundraiser in Bolsa Chica history.
Making a difference in the environment will not only mean picking up trash and replanting native vegetation, but also helping to pay for it.
The Bolsa Chica Land Trust is organizing a massive single-day donation to help preserve and restore the Bolsa Chica this Earth Day. This will be the largest single-day donation to help save and restore an ecosystem in U.S. history, the organization states, also saying that 95 percent of the coastal wetlands in California have been destroyed.
"Maybe we can't undo all the injustice we have done to this earth, but we can start here in our community. We can show others as well that they, too, have the power to help preserve, maintain and restore our earth," the Land Trust says.
The trust is asking 100,000 people to donate at least $50 or more on April 22 to reach a goal of $5 million in one day.
"Achieving this goal will help us further restore this salt marsh ecosystem and fund the Bolsa Chica Project. It will launch us on the path towards funding the complete restoration and protection of Bolsa Chica, which has been estimated at 50 million dollars.
After the Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed in 1992, the trust embarked on a campaign to save the wetlands from development, 4,884 houses and a four-lane highway across the wetlands, with 900 houses on the wetlands themselves, the trust says. Now the trust is "fully committed to preserving and restoring the entire 1,700 acre Bolsa Chica."
Volunteers are expected to also attend a clean up day on April 18 at the Bolsa Chica State Beach park from 9 a.m. to noon.
Meanwhile, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy held their Earth Day 2009 festival at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands sponsored by the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, attracting nearly 800 participants.
Engaging booths that provided a diverse variety of information that engaged the young and not-so-young to learn about the many aspects of the wetlands. From birds of prey to reptiles and marine animals, children and adults participated at the Earth Day 2009 festival that allowed them a chance to experience the wonder that is Bolsa Chica.
Congressman Rohrabacher and his children came to join the crowd at the wetlands that were amazed at seeing birds of prey and reptiles up close and personal. The Acjachemen tribe was also represented by educating the public about their history at the wetlands. Conservancy staff talked about animals and critters, while the Amigos helped children count birds and the Colorado Lagoon staff and volunteers taught the public about native plant restoration.

Bolsa Chica to get new interpretive center

This just in from the Bolsa Chica Conservancy—

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved an option agreement and lease during a March 17 meeting for an interpretive center at the Bolsa Chica wetlands. The Conservancy announced its plans to develop and construct a permanent interpretive center at the Harriett M. Wieder Regional Park in conjunction with the agreement.
The new center will provide enhanced interpretice educational facilities to the public, including multi-purpose exhibit halls, classrooms, laboratories for hans-on science activities, viewing docks for birding and wildlife, restoration and native discover gardens.
The park is located at the eastern edge of the Bolsa Chica wetlands overlooking the recently completed wetlands resotoration project and the new ocean inlet.
The county's General Development Plan and Resource management Plan for the park include a proposed center on land adjacent to the 4-acre playgorund, including trails linking Huntington Beach Central Park and Bolsa Chica State Beach.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Conservancy will leases 5.3 acres at the Harriet M. Wieder Regional Park to construct the center and ancillary improvement such as outdoor eduational and restoration areas, parking and landscaping. The building is expected to be about 8,000 square feet with space for lectures, classroom instruction.

Public invited to Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust meeting

The public is invited to attend the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust General Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Shores Mobile Estates Community Center.
The special guest speaker will be Long Beach Councilmember Patrick O'Donnell.
O'Donnell will talk about the importance of protecting the Los Cerritos wetlands and the role that theLo San Gabriel River plays in the health and well being of our local wetlands.
The state budget crisis has thwarted any new construction or restoration efforts at the wetlands that were recently proposed by several potential purchases.
Negotiations to acquire the wetlands, which encompass three landmasses that fall on both Long Beach and Seal Beach territories, have stalled since the state Department of Finance ordered all state agencies stop work on grants and contracts funded with state bonds, according to the Long Beach Gazette newspaper.
“Essentially all our funds are frozen,” said Belinda Faustinos, executive director for both agencies. “We had hoped to look at a comprehensive restoration plan this year, and there will be no money.… It has definitely impacted our negotiations for the Hellman property (in Seal Beach). We won’t be able to complete that now. We have no money.”
In November, the City of Long Beach announced a deal that could move a portion of wetlands into public domain, according to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, a joint powers agreement, adopted among several agencies and cities to purchase and protect the land.
The deal would include Long Beach swapping city properties for the 175 acre piece of land formerly owned by the Bixby Company, now owned by developer Tom Dean, the authority states.
That deal, according to Councilman Gary Delong will not be affected by the state’s freeze on funds, the Gazette reports.
Long Beach City Hall would sell the wetlands property to the LCWA for a sum currently estimated at $25 million, the authority states.
City management plans to use the money from that sale to support efforts to acquire, restore and develop the 19-acre Wrigley Heights "oil operators" property as open space and develop 18 acres of open space at the “Hilltop Property.”

The "natural world" of Bolsa Chica Wetlands

The Bolsa Chica Conservancy will present a series of tours and training sessions for volunteers this year, including a chance to sharpen your awareness skills on the "natural world" of the wetlands.
To kick off the training series for 2009, the Conservancy is presenting a session called "Developing Our Awareness Skills in the Natural World," with Dick Newell, one of Orange County's premier naturalists, who will lead the session.
The session will be held on Thursday, Jan. 29, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
People will learn how to identify animal tracks, bird calls, medicinal and edible plants of the wetlands and much more.
"Sharpen and increase your awareness skills to help make a child's learning adventure memorable and fun!"
To participate, please reserve a spot as seats are limited. Send an email to Diana Ortiz at diana@bolsachica.org.

Black abalone gets endangered species status

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service determined black abalone, an edible marine mollusk, should be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, according to a news release today, Jan. 14.
The ruling takes effect on Feb. 13, and comes one year after the fisheries service proposed to list the species.
Once harvested for food, black abalone were plentiful in intertidal waters along the Pacific coast.
The species was harvested early in California’s history by native Americans and peaked as a commercial fishery in the state in the 1970s. The state of California closed commercial and recreational harvesting of black abalone in 1993.
Since the 1980s, black abalone abundance has plummeted primarily from a bacterial disease known as withering foot syndrome. The spread of the disease may have been exacerbated by warmer coastal waters caused by factors such as long- and short-term changes in climate or from the warm water effluent of power plants. Other factors that may have led to the rapid population decline are historical overfishing, and poaching.
Coupled with the listing decision, NOAA’s Fisheries Service is also soliciting comments and information relevant to the designation of critical habitat for black abalone.
According the LA Times, "The final decision, expected after a year of further study, would not have an immediate impact on the hunting of black abalone in California, which has been illegal here since 1993. But the listing could bring in federal money to help restore populations of the species, set aside critical habitat and impose criminal penalties for importing the mollusk from Mexico."
Decades ago, black abalone was known as the most abundant species of abalone from Northern Baja California, Mexico, to Monterey, Calif.
But "the scientific review team reported major declines in the population of black abalone, especially in the areas around the Channel Islands off Southern California," said Rod McInnis, Southwest Regional Administrator for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. “These proposed regulations seek federal protection for black abalone and requests input from the public in determining what areas might be included as critical habitat for the species.”
Withering syndrome is a bacterium that affects the digestive system and causes the abalone to shrink. The bacterium increases in warmer waters (that reach 65 degrees Fahrenheit) that can be attributed to warm water currents such as from El Nino, which some say are early signs of the effects of global warming, according to an article published by National Geographic.
Other causes of the rapid population decline are likely due to historical overfishing, poaching and natural predation. NMFS has considered recent preliminary evidence, which suggests a small disease resistant population may exist at San Nicolas Island. Even with this possibility, the likelihood that black abalone populations will continue to decline towards extinction (within the next 30 years) is very high.
If the listing under the ESA is passed this year, the black abalone would join the white abalone, which was placed on the endangered-species list by the National Marine Fisheries Service in May 2001.
"Estimates of where the white-abalone population stood 30 years ago run from 2.2 million to 4.2 million, but recently their population along the coast was estimated at just a couple thousand."

Aquarium offers "Whale Watch Combo" rides

They're back!
Gray whales have been spotted off the coast of Long Beach and the Aquarium of the Pacific staff and Harbor Breeze Cruises set sail for a chance to see these gentle giants and find out how the public can help these whales and other marine mammals in Southland waters today.
Members of the media embarked aboard a specialized whale watching, high-speed catamaran docked next to the Aquarium. Whale experts and Spanish spokespeople will be on-board for interviews regarding whales and conservation issues.
In attendance was Michele Sousa, senior marine mammal biologist, Aquarium of the Pacific, Dan Salas, captain & CEO, Harbor Breeze Cruises, Alicia Archer, biologist & boat program coordinator, Aquarium of the Pacific and Marilyn Padilla, Spanish spokesperson, Aquarium of the Pacific.
The public is invited to embark on an educational whale adventure through the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Whale Watch Combo. Adventurers will explore the nearby seas aboard the specialized Harbor Breeze Cruises whale-watching boat, the Christopher, to seek out such travelers as gray, fin, blue, and Minke whales, various dolphin species, sea lions, and a host of migratory sea birds.
Aquarium experts will be on board to answer questions and discuss tips for helping whales and other animals inhabiting local waters. Included in the adventure is a visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific to meet over 12,500 ocean animals and to learn more about whales through the award-winning Whales: Voices in the Sea kiosk exhibit and the Whales: A Journey with Giants film. The Whale Watch Cruise combo ticket is available for purchase on-site at Aquarium of the Pacific and may be purchased in advance by calling 562-590-3100. Prices are $42.95, per adult (12+); $28.95 per child (3-11); $39.95 per Senior (62+); and free for children under age three / all tickets include Aquarium admission. The two and a half hour whale watch excursion with Aquarium experts is available daily at Noon & 3:00 p.m. For more information, the public can visit www.aquariumofpacific.org.