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.