Greenversations

This week we’re focusing on OSV Bold, one of EPA’s research ships. Two usually shore-based EPA staffers, Margot Perez-Sullivan and Margaret Ford, went out on the ship with the researchers a couple of weeks ago with one goal: come back and share what it’s like. They wrote and photographed each day, but had no Internet access at sea, so we’re posting their blog entries this week. And the EPA folks will read and respond to comments all week. We’ll resume our usual blog features next week: Question of the Week, Science Wednesday, and Lina’s multilingual musings. Let us know whether this kind of in-depth reporting floats your boat! — Jeffrey Levy, Greenversations editor.

Day 1 (9.5.08):
I’ve never been on a cruise. Never spent the night on a boat…at best it was a ferry here and there or the random tourist trap night cruise. When I found out I was invited to tag along and document science and research in action on the EPA’s Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) Bold, I was thrilled. And a little scared.

The EPA uses the OSV Bold to monitor coastal waters throughout the United States. This summer marks the Bold’s maiden voyage to the west coast and this is her last survey before returning to the eastern seaboard. The Bold has an enormous mission and its surveys are carefully planned to maximize monitoring and research year-round. The Bold is 224 feet long, has a full crew of 18 and can accommodate up to 19 scientists on any one survey.

Our west coast scientists are excited to have the research vessel on this side of the country and are taking every opportunity possible to get out to sea and conduct research and sampling surveys on the Pacific.

A team of nine scientists descended upon Eureka, California this September and began mobilizing for the upcoming Humboldt Open Ocean Disposal Site (HOODS) survey. HOODS is an ocean disposal site for dredged materials. West coast ports are the gateway to Asia; the Port of Los Angeles alone receives 50% of the nation’s foreign goods. These mega ships need deep ports to come into, which is where dredging and ocean disposal sites come into play. In a nut shell, sites like HOODS receive sands and sediments from local ports that need to move this material to make sure large ships can come into ports. A sediment testing program is in place to make sure that only clean, nontoxic sediments are taken to HOODS.

That said, during this survey, scientists are taking samples to determine the chemistry of HOODS’ sediments to confirm that the sediment testing is accurate, ensuring the sand and sediment material being dumped from the ports meets EPA standards, meaning it’s clean and doesn’t negatively impact the ecosystem near the site. Our scientists are also documenting the presence of benthic organisms (tiny sea critters that live on the ocean floor) in and around the HOODS disposal site. The results will be put together to make sure the HOODS site is being taken care of properly. VIDEO: Scientist Brian Ross discusses the survey plan.

For our marine biologists, the benthic samples will give them a good idea of the health of the ocean floor. There is a direct correlation between the types and health of these tiny ocean floor critters and the overall ocean floor environment.

We’ve got nine environmental scientists on this survey with over 5 decades of education combined. Our nine environmental scientists are: Allan Ota, ocean disposal site expert and co-Chief Scientist; Brian Ross, ocean disposal site expert; Amy Wagner, marine biologist; Greg Nagle, chemist; Kevin Ryan, drinking water expert; Tina Yin, watersheds expert; Eugenia McNaughton, Ph.D in algae plankton and quality assurance guru; Carolyn Yale, Ph.D. watershed planner; and Chris McArthur, Chief Scientist from our Atlanta regional office.

Margaret Ford our videographer and I are on board to document the survey.

We arrived this evening and got our room assignments, a short orientation of the survey schedule and a walk around the work areas with Allan. Often, to maximize time at sea, Bold surveys run on 24-hour operations, luckily we are only on 8 hour shifts for this survey. VIDEO: See our arrival.

We are scheduled to push off tomorrow afternoon…

What did you know about ocean research BEFORE you read this blog? Very little (63%, 94 Votes) Some (19%, 28 Votes) Quite a bit (18%, 27 Votes) Total Voters: 149  Loading ...

About the author: Mary Kemp is currently the Homeland Security Coordinator in the Dallas, TX regional office. Mary started at EPA in 1985 and has worked in the asbestos, Superfund, and air programs. She’s keeping us updated on how her office is responding to Hurricane Gustav.

Because of the limited damage from Hurricane Gustav, I have been doing less and less associated with the storm over the last couple of days. EPA has staff deployed to Louisiana to assist in public information, drinking water and wastewater assessments, and technical assistance. This work is on-going as well as reconnaissance work. So far, minimal support has been needed from EPA.

Gustav is fading . . . The next storms (Hanna, Ike, and Josephine) are coming. Hanna looks to hit the east coast sometime this weekend. We’re not sure where Ike will go. As long as we are needed, we will continue to help the states recover.

About the author: Mary Kemp is currently the Homeland Security Coordinator in the Dallas, TX regional office. Mary started at EPA in 1985 and has worked in the asbestos, Superfund, and air programs. She’s keeping us updated on how her office is responding to Hurricane Gustav.

Our first reconnaissance flights from yesterday showed no emergencies at facilities and limited damage. Our water experts will be assisting the state with assessments of drinking water and waste water infrastructure in the hurricane impacted area. They are also sharing and distributing information along the way. Our Public Information Officer is located at the Joint Field Office in Baton Rouge. He is coordinating information sharing and distribution of information too. We are continuing to work with the state. I’m on hold waiting to see if there will be an activation of the general Response Support Corps.

About the author: Mary Kemp is currently the Homeland Security Coordinator in the Dallas, TX regional office. Mary started at EPA in 1985 and has worked in the asbestos, Superfund, and air programs. She’s keeping us updated on how her office is responding to Hurricane Gustav.

Hurricane Gustav has left the Gulf Coast and moved into northern Louisiana, close to Shreveport. We have a team of individuals in the field currently conducting the Rapid Needs Assessment. We have been in touch with Louisiana today and understand that the state is planning on requesting FEMA to activate Emergency Support Function-10, which is the collection of household hazardous waste. The first picture is what a collection site for household hazardous waste might look. This picture is from Hurricane Rita.

From today’s Regional Incident Coordination Team meeting, we learned that there is wind damage in Terrebonne Parish. EPA’s Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) plane will be doing flyovers in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes. We will be conducting helicopter flyovers in other parts of the state of Louisiana later today. Some of the drinking water facilities are down due to no power. A boil water advisory will be issued by the State for some areas that were impacted. We are also working with FEMA to disseminate flyers.

One might wonder what kind of damage occurs during a hurricane. I’ve enclosed another picture from Hurricane Rita showing damage in Cameron Parish. What I remember most from hurricanes Katrina and Rita were the number of trees uprooted, the number of church steeples blown off, the golden part of the McDonald’s arches being gone, and getting lost a lot because road signs were down. I am always amazed at the kind of destruction that Mother Nature can leave behind.

About the author: Maria Pimentel is a scientist in the Office of Air and Radiation who joined EPA in 1995. Prior to that, she worked in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Lea la versión en español a continuación de esta entrada en inglés.
Some links exit EPA or have Spanish content.

Sometimes I wonder if those of us growing up in an island are especially aware of their connection with the environment and their community.

I spent my childhood somewhere between the sun and the sea in the beautiful island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. From the rich and fertile volcanic soil we harvested tropical fruits, vegetables, and grass for farm animals. The gifts from the sea were fresh seafood, life-abundant waters, rich with sea coral and beauty. Vieques is also home of the Mosquito Bioluminescent Bay, one of the most unusual live phenomena in the world.

In this small island, we had no drinking water reserves, so we learned to conserve water for drinking, until the construction of an underground pipeline from the main island. Before then, the source of drinking water was rain collected in tanks, and a desalinization plant which utilized sea water as raw material. As I look back, I realize our long history of loving this island.

The Taino Indians, the first habitants of Puerto Rico had a special connection with their environment. Together with their benevolent god Yukiyu, (who lived in the rain forest, El Yunque) and their destructive god Huracán or Hurricane, who sometimes still strikes in anger, there was a balance. Since ancient times, the community had a strong, simple, yet vital connection between survival, nature, and natural events.

Experts tell us that our early events determine our makeup in life. This is a possible explanation for my innate curiosity to understand how nature “works” and the path that my journey took when I later moved to the main island, Puerto Rico, went to college and, after several detours, continued a higher education in science.

After a productive career as an educator, researcher and health scientist at EPA, I have come full circle. My ultimate goal is still to understand, educate, and protect the environment we all live in.

I would like to invite you to go back in time and share your childhood memories related to the environment. And to do what you can to enjoy, preserve, and protect the environment around you. Your contributions will be enjoyed by all of us.

Algo para recordar

Sobre la autora: María Pimentel, científica en la Oficina de Aire y Radiación, ha estado laborando en EPA desde 1995. Con anterioridad, trabajó en el Instituto Nacional de Ciencias de Salud Ambiental.

Algunas veces me pregunto si los que viven en una isla comprenden su conexión con el medio ambiente.

Yo crecí en un lugar entre el sol y el océano en la bella isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico. Durante mi niñez, del rico suelo volcánico cosechábamos frutas tropicales, vegetales y hierba para los animales de corral. El mar nos regalaba mariscos frescos, abundante vida marina llena de arrecifes de coral y belleza. En Vieques también se encuentra la Bahía bioluminiscente de Mosquito uno de los fenómenos biológicos más raros del mundo.

En esta pequeña isla caribeña, no existen grandes reservas de agua potable. Por ende, aprendimos a conservar agua hasta que se construyó un acueducto submarino proveniente de la isla grande. Previamente, las fuentes de agua potable en la isla eran el agua de lluvia, la cual recolectábamos en cisternas, y una planta desalinizadora de agua, la cual utilizaba agua de mar como materia prima. Según voy recordando el pasado, me doy cuenta de cuan larga es nuestra historia de amar a nuestra isla.

Los indios taínos, los primeros habitantes de Puerto Rico, tenían una conexión especial con el medio ambiente. Junto al dios benevolente, Yukiyu (el cual habitaba en el busque lluvioso, El Yunque) y su dios destructor Huracán (el cual algunas veces, todavía golpea con ira) existía un balance. Desde tiempos antiguos, en la comunidad existió una fuerte, simple y, a la vez vital conexión entre la naturaleza, los eventos naturales y la supervivencia.

Los expertos coinciden que las experiencias en nuestra temprana vida determinan nuestras características adultas. Tal vez, es esta razón por mi curiosidad innata acerca de cómo la naturaleza “trabaja” y la senda que tomé cuando mi familia se mudo a la isla grande, Puerto Rico, asistí a la universidad y, luego de varios desvíos, proseguí una carrera en ciencia.

Como bióloga, he gozado de una carrera muy productiva en educación, investigación científica y ciencias de la salud en la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA por sus siglas en inglés). Sin embargo, mi objetivo sigue siendo comprender el medio ambiente en que vivimos y educar acerca de cómo protegerlo.

Ahora, quisiera invitarle a retroceder en el tiempo y compartir los recuerdos de su niñez relacionados al medio ambiente. He invitarle a disfrutar, conservar y proteger el medio ambiente que le rodea. Todos nosotros nos beneficiaremos de su contribución.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

Lea la versión en español a continuación de esta entrada en inglés.
Some links exit EPA or have Spanish content.

In my nightly Web surfing, I came across an article on the “Top 25 Things Vanishing From America.” As expected, the loss of some “old technologies” like the VCR, dial-up internet access, phone landlines, analog TV, made the list. However, what struck me enough to write about it in today’s blog was the mention of the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs and honey bees.
Maryland has been my home for nearly 28 years. The blue crab, is practically a state icon. I must note that my family and I enjoy eating crabs in many ways. In this era of going “local” in our culinary habits, you would think that living in the Free State, eating crabs is the right thing to do. Yet this Internet article has made me reflect and question—should we keep crabs off the menu for a while?

Overfishing, water pollution and excessive nutrients are threatening the blue crab and aquatic wildlife that live in and around the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. This important watershed spans six states—Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. EPA and its state partners work closely together to accelerate progress towards a healthy Bay. Through the Chesapeake Bay Program, EPA is trying to make a difference in restoring the blue crab habitat by working to improve water quality and submerged aquatic vegetation. In the meantime, the role of setting harvest regulations for the blue crab lies primarily on the states along the Bay.

Whether you’re concerned about the Chesapeake Bay or your local watershed, there are simple steps you can take in your home, school, community or the workplace to protect these precious aquatic resources. For example, conserve water! Don’t pour used motor oil down the drain! Used oil from a single oil change can ruin a million gallons of fresh water—A year’s supply for 50 people. Use greenscaping techniques in your garden. Bottom line—learn and get involved.

¿Maryland sin cangrejos?

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

En mis viajes por Internet, encontré un artículo sobre las “Principales 25 cosas que están desapareciendo de América”. Como era de esperarse, la pérdida de algunas “viejas tecnologías” como los VCR, las líneas telefónicas terrestres, la TV análoga figuraban en la lista. Sin embargo, lo que me chocó y motivó a escribir el blog de hoy fue la mención de los cangrejos azules de la Bahía de Chesapeake y las abejas de miel.

Maryland ha sido mi hogar durante casi 28 años. El cangrejo azul es casi un ícono estatal. Debo destacar que a mi familia a mí nos encanta comer cangrejos de diversas formas. En esta era de abogar por los hábitos culinarios locales, uno pensaría que viviendo en Maryland, el comer cangrejos sería aconsejable. Sin embargo, con este artículo del Internet, me he puesto a pensar–¿acaso debemos eliminar los cangrejos del menú por algún tiempo?

La pesca en exceso, la contaminación del agua, y los nutrientes excesivos están amenazando el cangrejo azul y la vida silvestre acuática en y alrededor de la Bahía Chesapeake, el estuario más grande en Estados Unidos. Esta importante cuenca fluvial abarca seis estados—Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pensilvania, Virginia Occidental, Nueva York y la capital federal, Washington, DC. EPA y sus socios estatales trabajan estrechamente para acelerar el progreso hacia una bahía saludable. Mediante el Programa de la Bahía de Chesapeake, EPA está tratando de hacer una diferencia en la restauración del hábitat del cangrejo azul al trabajar para mejorar la calidad del agua y la vegetación acuática sumergida. Entretanto, el rol de establecer las regulaciones para la cosecha del cangrejo azul recae primordialmente sobre los estados vecinos a la bahía.

Independientemente de su interés en la Bahía del Chesapeake o su cuenca fluvial local, hay pasos sencillos que puede tomar en su hogar, colegio, comunidad o lugar de trabajo para proteger estos preciados recursos acuáticos. Por ejemplo, ¡conserve agua—cada gota cuenta! ¡No eche el aceite de motor usado por la alcantarilla! El aceite usado de un simple cambio de aceite puede contaminar un millón de galones de agua fresca—el suministro de 50 personas para un año. Utilice técnicas de jardinería verde en su jardín. A fin de cuentas—aprenda y participe activamente en la protección ambiental.

About the author: John DeLashmit began his EPA career over twenty years ago in Chicago. He spent many years working in EPA’s hazardous waste cleanup programs, and now serves as Chief of the Water Quality Management Branch in EPA’s Kansas City office.

We hear its name in the halls and meeting rooms of EPA’s regions and Headquarters: Kaizen, the Japanese process improvement tool. It literally means change (kai) to become good (zen). Kaizen is used by states, feds, and major corporations, such as the Toyota Motor Company, to stay in tune with and provide a better response to changing customer needs. Some of you may wonder what it’s like to go through an Event? Is Kaizen painful, is it dignified, how do you know when it’s over? Do you wear a gi?

I worked with our four Regional states, Headquarters, and my colleagues in the Region at a Kaizen event to “lean” our water quality standard (WQS) review and approval processes in Kansas City. Our Kaizen event took place over four full days last summer. It was quite an experience; we became more enthused about our results as the week went along. The states came armed with diagrams and detailed descriptions of their processes. The Region had no prepared and polished descriptions…we described our procedures, fraught with delay and unnecessary steps, in front of all attending. An ugly process is often described as making sausage; we made our sausage in the window of the butcher shop.

We trimmed (notice that I really like the butcher shop analogy) almost 50% of the steps we’d historically used in our WQS review process, and we eliminated nearly all of the process delays. The refined process we came up with looks much better…on paper. Now, we must implement our ideas and make them work. It’s a new way of doing things, and we realize that there’ll be some frustrations (pain?) while we work to change our old habits.

At EPA, we’re very interested in expanding the use of the Kaizen tool to eliminate waste and delay. I’ll confess…we’re suckers for anything that helps us more efficiently deal with the complexities of regulation, oversight, and our fundamental responsibility to protect the environment. Our Kansas City office will soon use Kaizen to improve our water discharge permitting processes; in the near future, you’ll hear more about Kaizen events in our other regions and Headquarters. We’ll want to share stories about our success…I’ll admit that we’re more than a little proud of what we’re doing.

Just in case my 8th grade English teacher, Miss Osborne, is reading this, I’ll close with a haiku (she would be so impressed):

Kaizen leans our ways
Set a clear course forward
Never hesitate

Read more about Kaizen.

Linked to http://epa.gov/lean/admin.htm

About the author: Jeffery Robichaud is a second generation scientist with EPA who started in 1998. He serves as Chief of the Environmental Assessment and Monitoring Branch in Kansas City.

Ever heard of a guy named Lew Zealand? He was the Muppet that threw boomerang fish (I expect a cut of your winnings if you ever go on Jeopardy and this bit of trivia pays off). I thought of Lew because it is field season again and on the Missouri River we have our own airborne fish. They are Asian Carp, a particularly troubling invasive species that have infested waters and pose a potentially devastating effect to the Great Lakes. They were introduced into the catfish aquaculture business in the 1970s but during floods these “prisoners” escaped their ponds into the Mississippi River, and have been on the run ever since. YouTube has a lot of great videos of them in action.

In Region 7 we administer our Regional Ambient Fish Tissue (RAFT) program where samples are analyzed for contaminants such as mercury, pesticides, and PCBs. States use the data to post fish advisories. Our biologists (including Lorenzo pictured here) end up with nets full of carp because they often are the most abundant fish in the Missouri River. If you talk to some of the old timers fishing along the banks they will tell you the odd-looking paddlefish were more abundant in years past. Paddlefish face many challenges from human-induced changes to the river such as dams, loss of habitat due to channel straightening, and illegal harvest of eggs for use as caviar. Now they count flying fish as enemies since the more abundant carp out-compete the paddlefish for food.

As comical as the spectacle of jumping fish may be, invasive species are a serious threat. A plant may look pretty and an animal may seem cute, yet they may wreak devastating damage when introduced into a non-native setting. In 1884 a single Australian released twenty-four European rabbits on his property for hunting purposes. Within ten years those 24 had turned into over 2 million, and started the delicate ecology of Australia into a downward spiral causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage each year and bringing a $30,000 fine for anyone found harboring their own long-eared friend as a pet. For those outdoor enthusiasts among you, consider scanning your State Conservation Department’s website before you head out on vacation this summer. Find out what you can do to make sure you don’t unknowingly take home a hidden hitchhiker.

Each week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.

Most Americans have safe tap water and drink tap water fresh from the kitchen faucet. Others choose to buy more expensive bottled water. But bottling and transporting water can carry environmental costs and use energy and resources, and bottles contribute to littering if not properly disposed of.

Why do you drink bottled water or tap water?

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En español: Cada semana hacemos una pregunta relacionada al medio ambiente. Por favor comparta con nosotros sus pensamientos y comentarios. Siéntase en libertad de responder a comentarios anteriores o plantear nuevas ideas. Preguntas previas.

Muchos estadounidenses tienen agua potable sana y beben agua fresca del grifo de la cocina. Otros optan por comprar agua embotellada más cara. Sin embargo, el embotellar y transportar agua conlleva costos medioambientales y el uso de energía y recursos. Asimismo, las botellas contribuyen a los desperdicios si no se desechan adecuadamente.

¿Por qué toma agua embotellada o del grifo?

About the author: Larry Teller joined EPA’s Philadelphia office in its early months and has worked in environmental assessment, state and congressional liaison, enforcement, and communications. His 28 years with the U.S. Air Force, most as a reservist, give him a different look at government service.

I’ve worked for decades at one of the government’s largest science agencies, witnessing how information is carefully collected and rigorously used to make truly important decisions about, for example,

• health-based standards (e.g., ambient air standards),
• land and water cleanups (e.g., Allied-Signal’s extensive restoration in Baltimore Harbor), and
• long-term strategic plans.

I’ve had a hand in few, but have learned how important it is to make decisions based on well-chosen data and sound reasoning. So it’s been gratifying to see EPA’s (and especially my regional office’s) sustained interest in developing environmental indicators to guide the agency’s work. EPA defines an environmental indicator as a “numerical value that helps provide insight into the state of the environment or human health … based on quantitative measurements or statistics of environmental condition tracked over time.” Higher order indicators track, ultimately, environmental health, while lesser indicators in a multi-level hierarchy portray changes in ambient conditions and environmental protection actions.

Here are my two favorite, if unconventional, indicators; one has gained 20 years of growing popularity and validity (not mine) and one is new, unknown and possibly shaky (mine).

• Former Maryland State Senator Bernie Fowler leads annual wade-ins in streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. He and friends see how deep they can walk and still see their sneakers—as a measure of water clarity, and a great way to connect people to this great but vulnerable natural resource.
• To test how people have started adapting to expensive gas, I began a year ago to track the percent of SUVs and pickups in the parking lot during my weekly supermarket trips. (Does it kill you, too, to see a lone driver use a 6,000 pound SUV to buy groceries?) I know it takes years for the fleet to be replaced, but my year’s “findings,” it seems, are significant and encouraging.

Which low-tech indicators do you use, or propose, that can tell us something interesting about our world’s health?