Calif. city turns to birds of prey to solve problems
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Category Archives: Catalina / Channel Islands
Tropical Storm Octave strengthens off Mexico’s Baja Calif. coast
Reuters - Reporting by Elinor Comlay; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Leslie Gevirtz
The storm, about 315 miles south of the peninsula's tip, was traveling north-northwest at about 13 miles per hour (20 kmph), Miami's National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Octave had maximum sustained wind speeds of up to 65 miles per hour (100 kmph) and its strength was expected to fluctuate overnight before gradually weakening on Monday, the NHC said.
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Despite Fukushima, Scientists Say Eating West Coast Fish is Safe
David Suzuki - The Huffington Post
Following Japan's devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, fear spread about risks of leaked radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant -- for the health of those living in or near Fukushima or involved in cleanup efforts, and for the planet and the potential impacts on our complex marine food web.
Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, told reportersradioactive water has likely been leaking into the Pacific Ocean since the disaster hit. It's the largest single contribution of radionuclides to the marine environment ever observed, according to one report. With 300 tonnes of contaminated water pouring into the sea every day, Japan's government finally acknowledged the urgency of the situation in September.
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Despite Fukushima, scientists say eating West Coast fish is safe
BY
Following Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, fear spread about risks of leaked radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant – for the health of those living in or near Fukushima or involved in cleanup efforts, and for the planet and the potential impacts on our complex marine food web.
Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority, told reporters radioactive water has likely been leaking into the Pacific Ocean since the disaster hit. It’s the largest single contribution of radionuclides to the marine environment ever observed, according to one report. With 300 tonnes of contaminated water pouring into the sea every day, Japan’s government finally acknowledged the urgency of the situation in September.
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... DAVID SUZUKI - Rabble.ca
“First Flush” Rain Poses Serious Threat to Los Angeles Water Quality
SurfLine.com
After nearly 7 months of no rain, today is LA's "first flush", which is cause for dangerously high levels of pollution in the Santa Monica and San Pedro Bays. A major threat to human health and marine life, the first rain of the season is also an opportune time for Los Angeles Waterkeeper to collect storm water samples at the most polluted industrial facilities in LA County.
Storm water is the main source of pollution to Santa Monica and San Pedro Bays, endangering aquatic life, public health and negatively impacting our tourist economy. This type of urban runoff carries contaminants such as fecal bacteria, oil, grease, metals, pesticides, litter and other toxic chemicals that have accumulated on the surface over several months of dry weather. Carried through the 5,000 mile-long storm drain system, storm water receives no treatment and flows directly from the streets of LA into the ocean when it rains.
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Local Color
Capt. John, Afishinados Charters
AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND - One of the great things about living on Catalina Island is that you meet some very interesting people who have decided to make this rock their home. You can’t spot them by the cars they drive or the shoes they wear, or even by their choice of tie. Since we all tend to run around in our flip-flops and shorts with our Catalina shirts, it is sometimes difficult to get a read on the people you meet, which means you have to talk with them to get to know them. That is kind of novel in today’s world.
Sometimes we meet these folks because our friends just know that we would get along, sometimes we meet them at mixers, or meetings, and sometimes it is just by chance. In a town this small, it is always amazing to me how many new people I come across in the course of a season....
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New project gives ‘snapshot’ of CA’s wild salmon populations
By Alessandra Bergamin - baynature.org
California’s salmon serve as an indicator of the health of watershed and coastal ecosystems. But since peaking in the early 20th century, wild populations have been in decline with seven out of 10 of California’s coastal salmon and steelhead species now federally threatened or endangered.
One of the first steps in fish recovery is simply figuring out how many are left and where they are — which is the goal of a new project by the The Nature Conservancy.
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