Another beauty by Bruce Kerwin. Used by permission. Taken off the Rock Pile in Port Angeles Harbor. This is the area that is slated for demolition by the Navy.
Filed under: Puget Sound, Rockfish | Tagged: Port Angeles | Comments Off on Photo of the Day – Tiger Rockfish
It apparently is already in.
The Polar Pioneer oil rig, which is headed for Port Angeles Harbor, was near the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Tuesday afternoon. The 355-foot-tall oil drilling platform was headed east at over 6 knots. The floating platform’s tugs, Ocean Wind and Ocean Wave, were expected to arrive with the platform sometime after 2 a.m. today, according to a vessel tracking website, www.marinetraffic.com. (Peninsula Daily News)
Filed under: Around the Sound | Tagged: oil spill prevention, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Oil platform headed for Port Angeles near mouth of Strait – PDN
The visible symbol of our collective destruction of the arctic ecosystem will be on display in PA harbor soon. Don’t blame the oil rig folks, it’s like saying that the needle is the cause of the addiction. Getting rid of the drill doesn’t change our need for the oil, only your personal choices will do that. And government policies to help you make that choice. Don’t look for those policies in Port Angeles. The County Commissioners would need a significant change of stripe to help them see that they are part of the problem, not the solution.
The Polar Pioneer oil rig will once again loom over the waters of Port Angeles Harbor. The 355-foot-tall rig was in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Monday for a brief stopover with the Noble Discoverer rig after exiting the Alaskan Arctic and before heading farther south, Shell Oil Co. spokeswoman Megan Baldino said Monday. The Noble Discoverer will make its way to the Port of Everett. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: oil spill prevention, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Polar Pioneer oil rig set to make return to Port Angeles Harbor, though arrival date is uncertain – PDN
Our next OCA meeting will be this Sunday, May 3, from 3-5 pm at the Clallam County Courthouse “After-Hours” entrance on 4th St. to the west of the flagpoles. Current and planned actions will be discussed.
“NICKNAME THE RIG” CONTEST: And the winner is…No-Solar Profiteer! Submitted by OCA member Adrian Hoban, who also submitted the first runner-up: Drill Maybe Spill…congratulations, Adrian! Second runner-up was OCA member Shelley Lesh for her entry “Earth Bleed”. Adrian wins a $10 gift certificate to the Port Angeles Farmers Market, where he can buy a variety of locally-produced low-carbon products.
Speaking of the Profiteer, we’ve been invited by the Clallam County Democrats to speak about the rig and the dangers it poses to the Arctic and the world, May 13 at 6 pm. More detailed press release to follow from the CCD’s.
Ed Chadd
Citizens addressing the threat of climate change on the Olympic Peninsula
Clallam County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: arctic drilling, OCA, Port Angeles, protest | Comments Off on Olympic Climate Action Meeting – May 3 – 3 to 5 in PA
Ed Chadd has sent this out and I thought I would share it with our readers. Please help save this great program that is educating kids in our natural resources.
—————————————
Dear supporters of the NOPSC Natural Resources program,
It appears that there will be one final and very reasonable chance to save the Skills Center Natural Resources program at the upcoming NOPSC Administrative Council meeting:
Tuesday, April 28 at 9 am at the Skills Center (905 W. 9th St., Port Angeles)
You can do any or all of the following:
1. Attend the meeting and invite as many other people as you can.
If you have any questions or time to contribute in ways beyond the items listed above, please respond.
Some interesting recent developments include these:
* The State AG’s office has informed PASD and NOSPC that the Administrative Council meetings should but have not been following the Open Public Meetings Act. One penalty is that all actions taken at out-of-compliance meetings are null and void.
* This upcoming week, PASD’s Business and Finance Director plans to produce the official Natural Resources program financial report and have it available at the 4/23 PASD School Board meeting in case any School Board members ask to see it (she has never been asked to create a financial report for the NR program).
* A very reasonable solution that could be pursued, if decision makers are willing, is to run the NR program as “CTE Instructional Worksite Learning” instead of “Alternative Learning Experience (ALE).” The current program structure fits both of these sets of state rules, but in 2010, NOPSC decided to run the NR Options and NR 2 classes through the ALE rules. Changing to CTE would address a concern about ALE, namely that CTE is funded at a higher rate than ALE, and it would allow all parties to compromise while still offering this valuable program.
Thanks, Ed Chadd
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: education, North Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Skills Center, Teens | Comments Off on Working to save the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center Natural Resources Program
The Peninsula Daily News is reporting that a small farm outside of PA has had it’s chickens destroyed after finding avian flu in the birds. A quarantine is being setup near PA for farm animals. If you happen to see a dead bird in your yard, use gloves to bag it and bring it into the county health department, noting where you found it. If you don’t do that, then throw it in the garbage.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: bird flue, Chickens, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Avian bird flu found in chickens near Port Angeles – PDN
Received from Anne Schaeffer of the Coastal Watershed Institute:
On Tuesday, 12 August 2014, Jamie Michel, CWI nearshore biologist and Kathryn Neal, City of Port Angeles, updated NOAA, DFW, and DNR management on key priorities for the Elwha nearshore and the City of Port Angeles. The city, after literally a decade of urging by the local citizens, local and regional scientists and managers, has taken the first step to solve the problem of the City of Port Angeles landfill.
If done well part of this solution will optimize upcoming sediment delivery from Elwha dam removals, reverse 100 years of sediment starvation, and protect/restore critical nearshore of the feeder bluffs of the Elwha nearshore.
CWI continues to lead this dialog and is dedicated to collaboratively realizing solutions that benefit the community and the Elwha nearshore-and the national resources it supports. It’s been a surprisingly challenging effort to get these world class nearshore management issues and restoration opportunities onto the action radar of a few of our state and federal management agencies. Thankfully WDFW, DNR, DoE, the CoE, and EPA are helping. And with leadership from Sissi Bruch, Dan McKeen, and Craig Fulton we are now making headway.
Pictures and details on our blog:http://www.coastalwatershedinstitute.org/blog/.
Anne Shaffer
Coastal Watershed Institute
P.O.Box 2263
Port Angeles, Washington 98362
anne.shaffer@coastalwatershedinstitute.org
www.coastalwatershedinstitute.org
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: elwha river, Landfill, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Port Angeles Begins Work on Landfill Nearshore Restoration
Visitors to the North Olympic Peninsula’s two major marine science centers are likely to see few sea stars. Sea star wasting disease, which has decimated wild populations, also is tearing through captive collections. The disease has accelerated this summer, said staff members at both the Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles and the Port Townsend Marine Life Center. Arwyn Rice reports. (Peninsula Daily News)
Read the rest of the story at the Peninsula Daily News. Subscribe and support local journalism.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Feiro, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, sea star wasting disease | Comments Off on Peninsula marine life centers losing sea stars to mysterious disease – PDN
Looks like the Feiro might be expanding and moving. Good news!
… The 1.96-acre waterfront site — a former log yard — could be the new home for the Feiro Marine Life Center and a 5,800-square-foot shared conference center, said Deborah Moriarty, director of the center now housed in a city-owned building on City Pier. Paul Gottlieb and Arwyn Rice report.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Feiro, Port Angeles | 1 Comment »
Here’s a great way to start the year. A new job!
Position Open – Education and Volunteer Director
Feiro Marine Life Center is a public, non-profit marine education facility located on the Port Angeles City Pier. The facility houses a hands-on marine exhibit with local near shore species, a classroom and an equipped laboratory. Feiro Marine Life Center has over 20,000 visitors annually and provides programs for over 3,000 school students. Feiro is growing both in programs and in size and is planning to build a new facility over the next few years.
Visit http://www.feiromarinelifecenter.org to learn more about the organization.
Position Available: Education and Volunteer Director
Description: Feiro Marine Life Center is looking for a full-time Education and Volunteer Director to lead marine science education programs and coordinate the volunteer program at a small, but growing, marine life center. The individual would work with numerous community partners in program development and implementation. The applicant would also work with interns and/or volunteers to assist with teaching and to provide training to enhance programs. Programs are generally focused on marine and ocean life, but may include additional components including underwater remotely operated vehicles, solar and wind or stormwater education.
Required background or experience: Extensive professional experience planning, implementing and delivering educational programs, preferably some of which is in non-traditional settings (i.e. outside of the classroom). A degree in marine biology or demonstrated equivalent experience or expertise and experience building and maintaining partnerships is essential.
Preferred background: Familiarity in state learning standards and relevant national standards. Experience managing volunteers and/or volunteer docents. Experience with web work, social media, and grant writing. Must be outgoing, organized and able to work independently, and as a part of a team.
Salary: $35,000-$40,000 DOE
To Apply:
Please send resume and cover letter (including two references) to:
Deborah Moriarty
Feiro Marine Life Center
PO Box 625
Port Angeles, WA
98362
Deadline for applications: January 15, 2014
Or electronically to deborahm@feiromarinelifecenter.org
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: clallam county, Feiro, jobs, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Job Opening – Feiro Marine Life Center in PA
The Quarterly meeting of the Strait Environmental Recovery Network (ERN) met on Friday in Port Angeles. The ERN is chartered by the Puget Sound Partnership to get organizations together to prioritize work on recovery projects along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This month, we had David Batker, chief economist and Executive Director, of Earth Economics report on their work done for Clallam County. EE created a report called “Policy Implications of the Economic Benefits of Feeder Bluffs and 12 other Ecosystems” as part of the SMP. Sound boring? Think again…
EE has formed some new models to help understand the economic benefits of these ecosystems and their recovery. This is really revolutionary analysis. Constantly, opposition to environmental programs rail about how fixing the environment is “too expensive” and “costs jobs”. This analysis turns that on it’s head. It makes it very hard to argue that it isn’t the *right thing* to fix the environment, from a purely economic perspective.
EE has done work around the world, and this is really ground breaking stuff. You can find more about them at http://www.eartheconomics.org.
The entire talk can be downloaded or listened to at:
Filed under: Events, Government, Jobs, legislation, Puget Sound | Tagged: Earth Economics, ecosystem, Port Angeles, Puget Sound Partnership, recovery, Strait ERN | Comments Off on Earth Economics – A new way of valuing ecosystems
Olympic Climate Action is joining with Peninsula College and the Elwha Klallam Heritage Center to offer three free programs on climate change in October.
October 10
Jon Riedel (speaker) “Vanishing Ice: What Happens to the Olympic Peninsula Water Supply as Glaciers Retreat?”
12:30pm to 1:30pm, Peninsula College Little Theater (Studium Generale series)
Check out these and more at the blog:
http://olyclimate.org/events/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: climate change, event, glaciers, movie, peninsula college, Port Angeles, speaker | Comments Off on Climate Change Events Scheduled for OCT. 10-11
A mystery kelp found during a survey of Clallam County offshore sea life has been positively identified as a regionally native but rare growth known as Laminaria ephemera…. Read the rest of the story at the PDN link below.
Arwyn Rice reports.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130923/news/309239979/mystery-solved-kelp-off-elwha-river-mouth-a-rare-spring-variety
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: elwha dam, elwha river, kelp, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Mystery solved: Kelp off Elwha River mouth a rare spring variety found in late summer – Peninsula Daily News
Want a chance to get outside and do some good for your ‘hood? Here you go.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Feiro, peabody creek, Port Angeles, restoration, watershed | Comments Off on EVENT: Sept 21st in PA – Peabody Creek Restoration
From our friend Jac at NOSC. A person who never seems to be without a smile. You’ll enjoy the day. A great way to learn about your local watershed.
***MULTIPLE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED***
WHAT: Stream Surveys with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition
WHERE: Morse Creek, just east of PA
WHEN: Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from Aug 29th to Sept 30th
9am-1pm and/or 1-4pm. Volunteer for a partial day, full day or multiple days
WHY: NOSC will be collecting post-project monitoring data for the 3rd consective year after the Morse Creek Re-meander Project
NOSC will be measuring different stream characteristics and habitat features such as pool and riffle lengths, large woody debris, stream depths and pebble sizes. No experience necessary, training will be provided. Volunteers need to be comfortable working in water for an extended period of time. Visit www.nosc.org for more information.
RSVP: Email Jac at volunteer@nosc.org or call (360) 379-8051 to get involved and scheduled.
PLEASE BRING: Chest waders and boots (NOSC can provide some). Please bring plenty of water, snacks and warm clothes.
DIRECTIONS: We will meet at 651 Cottonwood Lane, Port Angeles. or click to see map: http://mapq.st/oB2MW7.
DAY OF EVENT CONTACT: Jac at (518) 312-2658.
Volunteers can either join us for a morning shift (9-1pm), afternoon shift (1pm-4pm) or all day (9am-4pm). It those times don’t work, let us know we are flexible. We need at least 4 volunteers each day. It is extremely helpful if you are able to volunteer on multiple occasions. This is one of my favorite events all year – great excuse to spend all day in a beautiful stream!
Thanks – Hope to see at Morse Creek
Jac
Filed under: Clallam County, Morse Creek, Port Angeles | Tagged: environmental, morse creek, Port Angeles, stream monitoring | Comments Off on Stream Survey Volunteers Needed – Morse Creek near PA
Another reason all our work on getting rescue tugs and others involved in the protection of the Strait was a good idea. This time the rescue tug was not needed, but another tug from PA came to the rescue. I’ll update this story if there is reason to.
A cargo ship lost steering off Port Angeles just after midnight Wednesday and was towed into the Port Angeles Harbor for repair. The state Department of Ecology received a report from the state Emergency Management Division that the Grand Quest lost steering 6 nautical miles northwest of Port Angeles in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just after 12:15 a.m. The Grand Quest is a 587-foot Panama-flagged auto carrier that left Astoria, Ore., at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, and was on its way to Tacoma, according to the ship’s GPS locator beacon. The Brian S., a Port Angeles-based tug, towed the ship to anchor in Port Angeles at about 3 a.m., said Petty Officer Katelyn Tyson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Cargo ship loses steering, towed to Port Angeles for repairs http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130704/NEWS/307049991/cargo-ship-loses-steering-towed-to-port-angeles-for-repairs
Filed under: Clallam County, Oil Spills, Port Angeles | Tagged: oil spill, Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Rescue Tug, state, Washington | 2 Comments »
This is extremely good news to a start on finding out what kinds of pollution we are breathing and if the new biomass plants are actually doing something that needs cleaning up. That is, if they are built, which seems not a sure thing at this point in time, due to economics, not environmental concerns, unfortunately.
___________________________________________
The Olympic Clean Air Agency and the University of Washington propose to jointly study air quality in Jefferson and Clallam Counties. This project will evaluate possible air quality changes associated with new biomass co-generation facilities in Port Townsend and Port Angeles and changes in ultra-fine particle concentrations associated with both facilities. The project will support state of the art measurements of ultra-fine particles and will respond directly to concerns of the two communities around health effects and industrial development.
Background
Concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions and climate change have encouraged the development of biomass fueled power stations, i.e. biomass cogeneration plants. The biomass fuel varies for each region and can include sugar-cane stalk, corn and rice straw, and palm and woody debris to name a few. This form of power generation is controversial within the “green” community. Proponents claim that burning biomass contributes a net zero addition to atmospheric carbon dioxide compared to fossil fuel combustion [Taylor, 2010]. The carbon released during biomass combustion will be re-used in plant material for the next cycle of energy generation, while fossil fuels represent carbon that has been stored for millennia. Since new co-generation plants are required to use Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to prevent degradation of air quality, supporters further argue that burning biomatter in the plant is cleaner than slash burning outdoors and actually helps improve air quality. Furthermore, industry has been burning biomass waste for years without converting it to usable power, and therefore claim a net gain in power produced vs. carbon released [Taylor, 2010]. The US Department of Energy recognizes biomass co-generation plants as a renewable energy source and has awarded grants to finance their design and operation. (http://www.srs.gov/general/news/releases/nr12_doe-biomass-startup.pdf)
Opponents of biomass fueled co-generation are primarily concerned about subsequent environmental damage and the cleanliness of the technology. They claim that burning biomass will endanger forest land by increasing logging operations and argue that slash should be left to decompose on the forest floor. The primary concern regarding biomass fueled power centers on the release of harmful toxins and fine particulate that can negatively impact the health of residents living near the co-generation plants. Specifically, activists are concerned about ultrafine particles –diameters less than 100 nm – that are not detected by standard air monitoring instruments [Keywooda et al., 1999] and to which recent research ascribes significant health impacts [Keywooda et al., 1999; Morawska et al., 2004].
Recently two new biomass cogeneration plants were approved for installation on the Olympic Peninsula, one at Nippon Paper Industries in Port Angeles and the other at Port Townsend Paper Company in Port Townsend. Both mills have been burning woody biomass as waste for several decades. Construction of these co-generation plants requires installation of emission control technology predicted to decrease the total PM2.5 emitted, despite increasing the mass of fuel burned by a factor of three. PM2.5 is the mass concentration of atmospheric particles with diameters less than 2.5 microns. Other gaseous emissions such as Volatile Organic Compounds and NOx will roughly increase by 35 and 18 tons per year respectively. Despite these pollution controls, and maybe because of them, there is concern that although PM2.5 will decrease, the number of ultrafine particles, which may be more hazardous to respiratory and cardio health, will increase. Research has shown that when PM2.5 decreases, co-emitted gases like SO2 and NOx have less surface area on which to condense and are thus more likely to homogeneously nucleate ultrafine particles downwind of the emission site [Weber et al., 1997]. Despite these concerns, there is very little data that show the impact of biomass cogeneration plants on local and regional air quality, including PM2.5 and ultrafine particulate.
Proposed Study
Port Angeles and Port Townsend are ideal locations to conduct a study focusing on the impacts of biomass fueled cogeneration facilities on air quality downwind of the cogeneration plants. Both towns have similar meteorology and environmental conditions. There are no other large industrial sources or major freeways to obscure ultrafine and fine particulate emissions from the biomass cogeneration plants, although emissions from residential burning in the winter constitute a large fraction of the observed PM2.5 in bothcities. Currently the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) maintains a permanent air monitoring site for PM2.5 in both Port Angeles and Port Townsend. Data on background concentrations of PM2.5, SO2, NOx, CO, and ozone are also available from Cheeka Peak, an NCore site located west of Port Angeles on the northwestern tip of the peninsula and measuring some of the cleanest air in the country. In addition to the permanent monitors, ORCAA will also install four optical particle counters (OPC) that provide data on the number concentration of particles larger than 0.3 microns at three locations in Port Angeles and at one location in Sequim. The OPCs will operate between January 2013 and December 2013. These monitors will move to Port Townsend in 2014. In both Port Angeles and Port Townsend, one of the OPCs will be collocated with the permanent air monitor, a nephelometer. ORCAA also has two aethalometers that measure black carbon concentration and can be used to differentiate between wood combustion and diesel combustion. One aethalometer will be installed at the permanent monitoring location and the other will be installed along with an OPC at one of the other temporary sites. The existence of these monitoring locations creates an infrastructure that will facilitate a study of ultrafine particles and source types of air pollution in the region.
In addition to ambient monitoring that already occurs in Clallam and Jefferson Counties the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency, in collaboration with the University of Washington, proposes to conduct an additional study to examine the concentration, sources, and lifetimes of ultrafine particulate in Port Angeles and Port Townsend.
The scientific questions to be addressed are:
1) 2) 3)
4) 5) 6) 7)
Experiment
For this project we will establish two master research sites on the Olympic Peninsula. One will be located near residential areas of Port Townsend and the Port Townsend Paper Corp. The second site will be in Port Angeles near to the Nippon Paper Industries facility. At each site we will ideally conduct a series of pre/post-expansion intensive measurements that can complement the existing measurements using nephelometers, optical particle counters, and aethalometers. The Nippon co-generation plant, located in Port Angeles, expects to begin operating in September or October, 2013 and therefore baseline, winter measurements of ultrafine particles before operations commence may not be possible. To work around this issue, meteorology and plume dispersion modeling will allow data to be segregated to times when emissions from Nippon could affect measurements at the site and those times when they would not.
How will air quality respond to the change in emissions from the facility?
What is the distribution of PM2.5 in residential areas of both communities?
Is there evidence of an increase in ultrafine particulate matter from the expanded facilities?
What is the cause of the odors in the Port Townsend area and what can be done about these?
What are the source contributions to fine and ultrafine particulate in these two areas?
How does this change between winter and summer?
Which neighborhoods are most impacted by these facilities? Are the concentrations
reasonably modeled by a Gaussian plume distribution?
How do ultrafine particulate emissions from the facilities change in the winter relative to the summer?
Measurements of PM2.5, number concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles (diameter < 100 nanometers), particle chemical speciation, and carbon monoxide will be made at both the Port Angeles and the Port Townsend sites. Continuous stack emission measurements at the facilities will complement the ambient measurements to determine their potential influence on the ambient air quality.
A proposed schedule for this work is as follows:
Summer 2013: 6-week experiment prior to facility modifications and expansion
Winter 2013: 6-week experiment prior to facility modifications and expansion (Port Townsend) Summer 2014: 6-week experiment after facility modifications and expansion
Winter 2014: 6-week experiment after facility modifications and expansion
Instruments and measurements that will be made in addition to those already made by ORCAA:
|
Instrument |
What it measures |
|
Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), TSI 3936 |
Ultrafine particle size distribution |
|
Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) |
Aerosol chemical composition |
|
Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (CIMS) |
Aerosol chemical composition |
|
TECO 48CTL |
Carbon Monoxide |
|
Dusttrak DRX 8543 |
Particulate matter |
Filed under: Air Pollution, Biomass Cogeneration, Clallam County, Government, Jefferson County, legislation, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Projects | Tagged: air pollution, biomass, legislature, Port Angeles | 4 Comments »
The ongoing cleanup of the Rayonier plant superfund site continues. Background: The bill to the citizens of the State and Federal Government (meaning all of us) continues to rise for decades of allowing unregulated dumping of chemicals into the Bay. We look forward to a future without these toxic, cancer causing pollutants affecting our fish and waters.
The (Port Angeles) City Council has put its stamp of approval on two documents necessary for the cleanup of the western portion of Port Angeles Harbor. The agreed order and work plan for the cleanup process, approved Tuesday night by a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Max Mania opposed and Councilwoman Sissi Bruch recusing herself, formalizes how the city will work with four partners to develop a plan for studying and cleaning up industrial toxins from the bottom of the harbor’s west portion, City Attorney Bill Bloor said. The state Department of Ecology has named the city, the Port of Port Angeles, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Nippon Paper Industries USA and forest services company Merrill & Ring as at least partially responsible for cleaning up such contaminants as heavy metals that were found in the harbor during a 2008 Ecology study. Jeremy Schwartz reports.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Port Angeles, Rayonier | Comments Off on Port Angeles City Council puts stamp of approval on harbor cleanup plans – PDN
Clallam MRC will sponsor a community forum on Ocean Acidification (OA) April 15 from 6-8 pm at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 7th Street in Port Angeles. Members of Washington State’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification will highlight effects of and local solutions to an acidifying ocean.
Ocean acidification can have a profound effect on the state economy and quality of life: effects of OA were apparent to shellfish growers between 2007 and 2009, when oyster larvae succumbed to the more corrosive water. Details may be found in the press release.
OCEAN ACIDIFICATION COMMUNITY FORUM SET FOR PORT ANGELES
PORT ANGELES — Ocean acidification, its effects and local solutions will be
highlighted at a community forum featuring speakers from the Washington State Blue
Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. North Olympic Peninsula residents and others are
invited to attend the community forum, April 15 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Port Angeles
Senior Center, 328 East 7th Street, Port Angeles. Clallam County Commissioner Mike
Doherty will welcome the panel and attendees.
Between 2007 and 2009, up to 80 percent of the oyster larvae in some Washington
state hatcheries were killed by ocean acidification. As the nation’s leading supplier of
farmed shellfish, and with 42,000 jobs dependent on seafood, Washington has much to
lose from the effects of an acidifying ocean.
Ocean Acidification, also known as OA, results primarily from CO2 emissions being
absorbed from the atmosphere into seawater. The new mixture forms carbonic acid,
which alters ocean chemistry, reduces the chemical building blocks needed by many
marine species and endangers sea life.
The community forum, hosted by the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee
(MRC), will feature three speakers. Eric Swenson, Communications and Outreach
Director for the Global Ocean Health Program, will explain “The Science of Ocean
Acidification;” Betsy Peabody, founder of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, will
describe “Local Impacts, Local Solutions” and Brad Warren, Director for the Global
Ocean Health Program, will summarize the panel’s work and present
“Recommendations, Partnerships and Actions.” Peabody and Warren served as
members of Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. Swenson was
an alternate member.
Clallam County MRC member Ed Bowlby, who also coordinates research for the
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary said, “We have to build consensus to reduce
the global emissions of CO2. When possible, we also need to act locally to mitigate,
remediate, or adapt to acidification. We can start by minimizing land-based contributions
within the watershed. Stormwater runoff, for instance, can contribute to ocean
acidification at the local scale.”
To address the threat of increasingly corrosive marine waters, former Governor
Christine Gregoire appointed the 28-member Panel on Ocean Acidification in February
2012. Co-chaired by Bill Ruckelshaus, the first administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, and Jay Manning, former director of the Washington Department of
Ecology, the panel presented its findings and 42 recommendations November 27 in
Seattle. (Learn more at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/water/marine/oceanacidification.html.)
In addition to the Clallam County MRC, the event is sponsored by the Northwest Straits
Commission, Puget Sound Partnership, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, National
Fisheries Conservation Center and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: forum, ocean acidification, Port Angeles | Comments Off on Monday April 15- Ocean Acidification Forum
It would seem that the answer to this problem would be to remove the soil and cliffs from the shoreline, tiering them back away from the bluff. Maybe not feasible, maybe not practical,but I can’t foresee any other realistic way to stop this and protect the Straits from the leakage of pollution from the old PA landfill.
Immediate efforts to deal with a failing bluff abutting Port Angeles’ landfill will not include the removal of a seawall at its base, though the structure’s years may be numbered. Several members of the City Council and the public made clear during discussions about the city’s landfill bluff-stabilization project at Tuesday’s council meeting that they thought the 7-year-old concrete structure eventually should be torn out. Jeremy Schwartz reports.
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Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Port Angeles, seawall | 1 Comment »
