This Time, The Whales Win

A new court ruling, in an ongoing battle between the US Navy and marine wildlife advocates, has come down in favour of marine mammals that're affected by navy sonar.

Sonar, which involves detecting underwater objects using sound waves, is used by whales and dolphins to locate prey or members of their pod. But the human-developed sonar can be harmful to marine mammals and their feeding and mating patterns.
An Appeals Court in California has found a 2012 decision - to allow naval use of low-frequency sonar for training, testing, and operations - was contrary to the US Marine Mammal Protection Act, which states peacetime oceanic programmes must have "the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammals."
Environmentalists have claimed 155 whales and dolphins in certain parts of Southern California and the Hawaiian islands were killed by the US Navy's mid-frequency active sonar and explosives, with estimates for serious injuries in the range of 2,000.
The use of sonar has been shown to cause whales to swim hundreds of miles to escape, change depth so fast that injury is caused, or beach themselves in order to avoid rolling walls of noise that're nearly twice the volume of the loudest rock concert.
This lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defence Council is part of a larger campaign to limit man-made oceanic noises impacting the health, feeding, and breeding patterns for marine mammals. Other examples include sounds caused by shipping vessels and seismic oil and gas drilling.

US Nuke Spanish Clean-up

The good ol' US of A has finally agreed to clean up its own mess... namely a nuclear spill!
The southern Spanish coastal resort of Palomares was the scene of the worst nuclear accident in US military history nearly 50 years ago.

Death from above

On 17 Jan.1966, a B52 bomber with four nuclear bombs collided with a refuelling aircraft in mid-air. Three bombs fell near Palomares, failing to explode but contaminating the soil with radioactive material, and the 4th fell into the sea, lieing undiscovered for more than 2mths.
USA and Spain said last week they 'intended to...clean up the Palomares site and organise the storage of the contaminated soil at an appropriate site in the United States.' The contaminated soil is expected to be buried in a secure area in the Las Vegas desert in an 2yr.operation. A Spanish Govt spokesman said the agreement was a "...symbol of friendship between the two countries, who are allies and partners who trust one another and have lots of things to do together." What - even it takes 50 years???

The mayor of the nuked area claims he's not been told a damn thing about the deal: "I'm annoyed we haven't been officially informed. We're the victims, the ones who've suffered this for the last half-century and the ones who now have to suffer the clean-up." He said he'd continue to fight for proper compensation, and funding for a tourism campaign to protect its image while lorries carrying radioactive material warnings roll through the area.
The area where the bombs fell, in the province of Almeria, SE Spain, has been dubbed the Costa del Armageddon. In the aftermath of the crash, the US and Spanish tried to convince the world there was no danger. US Ambassador Biddie Duke even joined a Spanish minister for a swim off Palomares in front of cameras, saying: "If this is radioactivity, I love it!"
Environmentalists have accused the two govts of secrecy about residents' health checks. The Spanish govt claims only small levels of radiation have been detected, though in several cases plutonium has reportedly attached itself to bones.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Back In The Water...

A fishing blog in Russia has got anglers scrambling to catch giant mutant catfish...said to be growing near the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster site!
The blog has even featured a picture of one catfish which locals reckon is over 2m long!

Because of the risk of radiation poisoning, access is limited to the area, and all fishing for food purposes has stopped. But now there's renewed interest from sporting fishermen keen to land the catch of their lives - regardless of whether it'll cost them their lives!
The Pripyat River is polluted with radionuclides, but anglers say there're giant fish to be caught, in parts of the river near but outside the exclusion zone. Riiigghhtt - like the fish can't be irradiated near Chernobyl, and then swim into a "safe zone"???
One local fisherman says: "I reckon radiation is more likely to give them extra eyeballs and two heads rather than simply making them enormous in size." Been watching too much sci-fi? "The bottom line is that nobody is fishing these waters," (really? Ask yourself WHY!!) "...and that's meant with no natural predator, the catfish has been able to grow to an enormous size."
Scientists are testing to see if they have excessive radiation levels which could be responsible for their large size.
Meantime, if you fancy a dinner that glows in the dark, go fishing for giant catfish near Chernobyl!

First Ad On The Moon?

It's set to be the first advert on the Moon.
It'll also be the first time a soft drink can has been abandoned on the lunar surface!
The Japanese makers of the Pocari Sweat drink are planning to send a specially-designed titanium can engraved with messages to the Big

Cheese next year.
The handwritten messages, from Japanese children and internet users, will be stored as data in 120 titanium plates packaged in the 1kg 'dream capsule'. The capsule's being specially developed to withstand temperatures from -170 to +110.
It will launch on a Falcon 9 (designed by Elon Musk's SpaceX to be a reusable means of space travel). The Falcon 9 has already made three successful supply runs to the International Space Station. However, this planned mission in October 2015 would be the first time one of its rockets has provided propulsion to the moon.
After the rocket has completed it's 4½ day journey, the branded canister will be deposited on the surface by private company Astrobotic Technology's Griffin lander.
Astrobotic is developing the lander to try and win Google's Lunar-X $20million prize, for the first company to land a device on the moon that can both travel 500m on the surface and transmit high-definition pictures back to Earth.
Oh, great! $20million...for leaving rubbish on the Moon!!!
Mind you, NASA has set a precedent...
What could be next: Pink Floyd on The Dark Side???

Big Apple Bans Big Pollutant

New York City Council has voted unanimously to ban the use of styrofoam, making it the largest US city to do so.
Polystyrene foam is a devastating pollutant infecting our parks and waterways which never biodegrades, and has been classified as a carcinogenic health hazard by the US National Institute of Health.
Statistics show New Yorkers throw away 23,000 tons of styrofoam a year. When you consider the light weight of styrofoam, 23K tons must be a veritable MOUNTAIN of the stuff!
Most styrofoam ends up in landfills where it sits for literally 500 years or longer. It's the only thing in the world that lives longer than cockroaches...or Cher.
Portland in Oregon had the first ban (enacted in the late 1980s) and, in following years, over 100 US cities either have a law in place or are working on one. Other major cities include LA, Oakland, Santa Monica, Seattle, and San Francisco. Philadelphia is working on one currently.
The NY ban takes effect in a year, unless it's proved that styrofoam is recyclable... which isn't likely.
Here's a link to a growing list of US cities and counties that have banned styro...
In NZ, we use styrofoam in everything from home insulation to food packaging, drinking cups to toys...isn't it time we too decided to find a recyclable alternative?

Fonterra Fucked Up

As serious questions are raised over Fonterra's botulism balls-up, it transpires that the laboratories used by Fonterra were not accredited to carry out botulism tests!
Fonterra asked AgResearch to test whey samples for the clostridium botulinum toxin: it came back positive. So Fonterra issued a statement sparking global recalls of its product, a firestorm of consumer panic and criticism of the dairy giant. But the organisation in charge of accreditation of laboratories says the crown research laboratories were never qualified to carry out the tests: in fact NO NZ labs are accredited!
When Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) was finally notified by Fonterra, it sent samples to four overseas labs - all accredited - and had results back in 3½ weeks…confirming the contamination was a harmless strain of clostridium sporogenes.
Fonterra says it used AgResearch because it is one of only two research facilities in NZ capable of carrying out the test. AgResearch acknowledges it's not accredited, but claims it has the necessary experience and facilities to test for botulism. It agreed to carry out the botulism tests as a researcher, not as an accredited lab. It says when it advised Fonterra of the positive result, it said to also seek further testing. However, Fonterra claims it had no choice at that time but to go public that there was potential contamination.
So…panic reigned, orders were cancelled, reputations damaged… simply (it seems) because Fonterra didn't do the correct thing initially and go to an accredited lab!
Note to Fonterra: update your systems, for crissake! ONLY use accredited labs, establish clear lines of communication, traceability systems, specialised audits, more stringent quality controls… ANYTHING to avoid a repeat of what was – by ANY definition – a total FUCK-UP!!!

OMG!!! Non-Lethal Whale Research!!!

Ocean Alliance researchers are completing the third year of a sperm whale study, Operation Toxic Gulf, in the Gulf of Mexico.
They've found sperm whales there show significantly higher levels of heavy metals, including nickel and chromium, than sperm whales elsewhere. The team is studying Gulf sperm whales, by using a biopsy dart to collect a small skin and blubber sample from them. The cells are cultured on board the research vessel for further tests, and Ocean Alliance CEO Iain Kerr says "...the signs suggest these may be some of the most polluted whales in the world."
While both nickel and chromium are found in crude oil, Kerr says there's no direct evidence to prove the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was responsible for the heavy metal contamination. He says the spill was the most obvious potential source, but the Gulf has many potential sources of pollution, including the Mississippi River. Kerr is also concerned about the 1.8 million gallons of dispersants used to clean up the spill: "I think (using the dispersants) was very good politically, because the oil was 'out of sight, out of mind'. It was not a good use ecologically."
Kerr cited a study conducted on microscopic marine animals, that showed oil and the Corexit dispersant 9500A used separately had similar toxicity. However, when the two were mixed, toxicity increased up to 52-fold. He says the dispersant may actually make the oil more easily absorbed by Gulf wildlife: "When oil is on the surface, it's very bad for birds, turtles and the marshes, but what it's done is disperse it through the whole food chain." Sperm whales are a good test subject because they're an apex predator, and toxicity accumulates up the food chain.
The current study runs until at least 2014, gaining valuable details about Gulf pollution and the effect on wildlife.
Wouldn't it be great if the Japanese could gain as much information from their own so-called 'research' programmes without having to kill any whales!!! Riiiiiigghhtt...

The Idea that Won't Flush Away

Singapore's charge d'affaires at the United Nations is flushed with success.
Mark Neo's proposal to have Nov.19th declared as World Toilet Day has been wholeheartedly supported by the UN!
Before you start thinking of any amount of toilet humour, Neo says he doesn't care if jokes are made...as long as the message gets across: "I'm sure there'll be laughter among the press and the public when it is reported that the UN is declaring a World Toilet Day. That's ok, especially if they recognise the prevailing and unhealthy taboo, that prevents an open and serious discussion of the problems of sanitation and toilets globally."
He then went on to stress that 2.5 billion people around the world do not have proper sanitation, that 1.1 billion people poo in the open, and that providing toilets could save the lives of more than 200,000 children each year. The 193-member UN assembly voted unanimously in favour of declaring a World Toilet Day.
Singapore took up the toilet cause because of the efforts of one of its citizens, Jack Sim, who is known as 'Mr Toilet' because of his efforts to improve sanition around the world. He was named one of the Heroes of the Environment for 2008 by Time Magazine. He's even persuaded the Gates Foundation to switch its global focus from water to sanitation.
So joke about World Toilet Day as much as you like - it all helps to increase awareness of the problem.

Rena: The Removal Continues

One of history's most expensive salvage jobs is getting even more costly.
The owners and insurers of the sunken container ship Rena plan to remove the submerged four-storey accommodation block from the wreck.
No cost estimates revealed yet, but the bill keeps climbing. A new Lloyd's of London report says the world's two most expensive salvages to date are the Costa Concordia (which has not yet been moved), and the Rena - currently standing at $300million.
This latest project begins in October, two years after the ship struck the Astrolabe Reef and spilled 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the Bay of Plenty. It follows concerns that the block, which housed the ship's bridge, crew quarters, offices and galley, could collapse and send more debris towards the shore. The job is scheduled for 80 days - half of that time allows for bad weather and sea conditions - and will begin once a special crane barge arrives from Singapore.
Rena's owners wanted to leave part of the wreck on the reef after properly containing the site. Their initial plan was to leave the accommodation block as a diving attraction, but changed their minds in light of wave action and currents potentially battering it into a

hazard.
US salvors Resolve will cut away sections and lift them onto a barge to transport to the Port of Tauranga and the scrapyard. A team of smaller craft will prevent debris reaching the shore.
But for now, salvors continue to cut Rena's bow to 1m below the lowest tide mark, removing container wreckage from damaged holds and clearing hundreds of tonnes of debris from the sea floor.
The entire operation has been a logistical nightmare, which involved a race to empty out fuel holds, and cranes dramatically removing containers stacked in high leaning towers. It has now reached the point where nothing of Rena is visible from above the water.

PS: 02 July 2013 - $11million compensation for businesses hurt by Rena grounding.

ICR In Desperation Mode

No-one seems to know the exact size of Japan's national stockpile of unwanted whale meat.
Current estimates put the figure at around 5,000-6,000 tons of unsold whale meat sitting in the ICR's freezers. And more is on the way, with imports of endangered fin meat from Iceland...

Japanese health food shop?

Roughly 75% of Japan's own 2012-2013 catch (er..."research by-product") went unsold, and the ICR (Institute of Cetacean Research) is struggling with significant financial losses.
Though the public desire to eat toxic-laden whale meat is in steady decline, Japan refuses to abandon its annual hunts, spending millions of public dollars on equipment, fuel and repairs. So the ICR is desperately trying to pull out of it's nosedive, by advertising whale meat as 'a nutritious food that enhances physical strength and reduces fatigue.'
While whale meat used to be a staple of Japanese school lunches post-WWII, today's younger generations rarely consider eating it. The ICR is now aiming to promote the meat as a large source of
balenine, a substance believed to enhance energy and physical health. Balenine (or ophidine) is found in the muscles of several species of mammal (including man), and chicken...but it's nothing new. It's been touted as a performance enhancer for athletes for quite some time. But is the health gain also worth the risk of imbibing toxic pollutants?
The campaign's trying to sell whale meat to Japan's Self-Defence Forces too, as a way of improving servicemen's health and strength. The ICR will also distribute 7,000 brochures, meant to make the food more appealing by including recipes for dishes like whale meat sashimi and whale cooked with Chinese chives. Yum

Toxins for dinner, anyone?

yum...yeah, right.
Still, no-one can say the Japanese aren't very clever! This latest ploy sees the govt literally selling the whale meat back to itself! Tax money from the fisheries budget's spent on whaling...then tax money from the tsunami reconstruction budget's spent on whaling...and when the govt can't manage to get the whale meat auctioned off, tax money from the education budget's spent to buy whale meat...and now tax money from the defence budget's also spent to buy more whale meat...all to justify more whaling.
It's a self-sustaining loop spreading the 'whale debt' across four separate ministries of government!

"We Knocked The Bastard Off!"

"It's not the mountain we conquer but ourselves" 

- Edmund Percival Hillary 1919-2008

Sixty years ago, a beekeeper from New Zealand, Edmund Hillary, and a Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of the world's highest peak.
After climbing with British teams in the Himalayas in the early 1950s, Hillary and another New Zealander, George Lowe, had joined John Hunt's 1953 British Everest Expedition. Today in history, at 11.30am on 29 May 1953 – four days before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – the chosen pair of Hillary and the experienced Tenzing, reached the 8848m.high summit of Mt Everest via the south-east ridge.
From the moment Hillary advised Lowe that they'd "knocked the bastard off", his life was public property. He was knighted and fêted around the world, and went on to become the most famous NZer ever to have lived...

The men and the mountain

Sir Ed got his first taste of the mountains while on a school ski trip to Mt Ruapehu. After graduating, he worked in the family beekeeping business. He joined the RNZAF in 1944, and began mountaineering, ascending 16 of NZ's tallest peaks. In 1950 he toured Europe and climbed peaks in the Alps.
The following year Hillary was in the first all-NZ expedition to the Himalayas. He then joined British expeditions in 1952 and 1953. Although they explored several Himalayan mountains, Everest was the goal. During the 1953 expedition, Hillary and Tenzing Norgay formed a tight team: as other mountaineers fell back, these two forged on. They reached the summit on 29 May, gaining worldwide fame...

Harping On About Rena

When will the impact from the Rena stranding subside?
We hear little in national news any more but, for Bay Of Plenty locals, Rena's presence is still evident...in the form of tiny 2.5mm plastic beads.
These beads still wash ashore from the Rena container shipwreck, a year and a half after the stranding on Astrolabe Reef, 12nm off the Tauranga coast. Changing currents and wind conditions have been spreading them along the coastline over the last fortnight.
The hunt for these annoying and non-biodegradable plastic pests will be intensified this week with the addition of a 'beach harp'. This giant sieve enables beads to be separated from large amounts of sand. Modifications will also be made to allow it to work effectively in both wet and dry conditions.
Rena project spokesman Hugo Shanahan reports the 24hr operation continues to make an impact, helping clear much of the seaweed deposits mixed with plastic beads between Mount Maunganui and the Kaituna Cut.
On the weekend, a 50-strong team focused on the ongoing clean-up along Papamoa Beach, while specialist teams worked on Motiti Island recovering light to heavy concentrations of beads. Specialist vacuum cleaners capable of working in sandy environments are also being used in areas where there're concentrations of bead deposits.
Last Sunday, divers from the US salvage company Resolve were able to re-enter Rena's No.4 cargo hold in the sunken rear section of the ship, and start removing debris from the partially-intact bead container, located before severe weather hit. Very brave!

Faroese Ferry Food Fraudulent

Recently, tales of woe from the UK about horsemeat found in products labelled 'beef'... now THIS!
Over the past few weeks, Faroe Islands pilot whale blubber has been served on the ferry Norrona, on the crossing between Denmark and Iceland. And travellers were not told what they were eating!

Lunch, anyone?

Andreas Morlok, CEO of the European dolphin and whale protection organisation ProWal is disgusted: "The pilot whale blubber is not labelled, guests have no idea what's being offered. The chef only gives information verbally when asked, that the dish is actually pilot whale blubber. This was confirmed by a scientist from the Faroe Islands. Furthermore, there's no warning sign that pilot whale blubber is highly contaminated with environmental poisons as PCBs and methyl-mercury, which can be very dangerous to human health."
Scientists have proved that Faroese children have high levels of learning deficiencies, as well as disorders in the development of motor skills and the central nervous system, because of their consumption of pilot whale meat. As infants, they already absorb PCB poisons through their mothers' milk, which is showing the highest toxic saturation worldwide. The percentage of Faroese afflicted with the nervous disorder Parkinsons Disease is double that on the Danish mainland, and the quality of male semen is also heavily affected by these toxins. It is not surprising that the World Health Organization (WHO) is urgently trying to dissuade people from consuming whale products. In the EU, these products are regarded as 'hazardous material'.
The Faroese shipping company Smyril-Line's ferry Norrona sails regularly between the Danish harbour town Hirtshals and Thorshaven, capital of the Faroe Islands. Hirtshals and its surrounding waters fall under the jurisdiction of Denmark, an EU member. The importation and commercial marketing of dolphin and whale products is strictly forbidden in the EU.
ProWal has denounced Smyril-Line to the Danish authorities, who were urged to confiscate any remaining pilot whale product at the ferry's next arrival, to denounce Smyril-Line for violations against European laws and to start legal action. Danish animal rights organisations have informed the Danish FDA and the EU Commission, and urged them to hold Smyril-Line accountable.
The Faroes pilot whale hunt not only supplies the islanders but has an obvious commercial aspect, a fact denied by the Faroe Islands and Denmark: "Oh, it's just traditional hunting..." and "We only take enough to sustain our families..." Really??!!
One wonders where else that blubber is being sent. What's to stop this toxic crap being added to beef products too?

A Tangled Web We Weave

Specially trained rescuers recently freed a humpback whale swimming off Hawaii, from a life-threatening tangle of rope.
A tour vessel and a US Coast Guard aircraft initially spotted the whale. The animal had small-gauge line cutting into its tail. Observers found the whale in the waters of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, where humpbacks migrate each winter to mate, calve and nurse their young.
The rescuers worked from vessels to cut away 12m (40ft) of trailing line, but couldn't completely free the whale. However, they attached a satellite-tag buoy to the whale and relocated it later, when they were able to remove the rest of the tangle.
Altogether, rescuers removed more than 61m (200ft) of line and two buoys from around the whale! Neither of those two buoys identify where the gear came from, so the source won't ever be known.
Getting entangled in fishing gear can kill a whale by causing it to drown or starve, by getting caught in its mouth, by exhausting the animal as the creature drags gear behind it, or by causing injuries that lead to infection or blood loss.
So far, only three humpback whales have been found entangled this season around Hawaii, about a third of the typical number of reports by this stage. This effort was the first successful rescue of the season - well done to all those concerned!

Clean And Green Keeps Ken And Barbie Happy

An interesting story from USA this week:
"Neighbors (sic) feel safer with green empty lots"
A University of Pennsylvania study has found that clean green vacant lots make neighbourhoods feel safer and may be associated with reductions in certain gun crimes.
The theory is that turning empty sections from a space overgrown with vegetation and filled with rubbish, to a clean green space may make it difficult for people to hide illegal guns and conduct other illegal activities such as drug use in that area. Additionally, green space may encourage community cohesion.
The study randomly selected two clusters of vacant lot - one which was later greened, and one control cluster which was not. Nearby residents were interviewed before and after the greening. Results showed that residents living near the greened vacant lots felt significantly safer after 3mths compared to those near the control site. And total crime (as well as assaults with and without a gun) was less after the clean-up/green-up.
This study is part of an experimental, decade-long comparison of thousands of greened and non-greened vacant sites, and documented significant before/after reductions in gun assaults around vacant lots that were greened compared with those which were not. It provides statistical evidence needed by urban planners and city officials interested in greening as a strategy to prevent violence and encourage safety. A significantly larger randomised controlled trial examining hundreds of vacant lots is currently under way.
All good...but it's so far taken a DECADE to figure this out??!!

Rena Ram: Soft Sentence

Last week, justice time for the ill-fated container ship Rena's skipper and navigation officer.
Maritime NZ brought six charges against Capt.Mauro Balomaga and five against Leonil Relon after they ran Rena aground, causing one of our worst maritime accidents. The men were heavily criticised for their incompetence and for deliberately trying to deceive officials - NZHerald documents the onboard cover-up. Both were charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by altering the ship's documents, a charge carrying a max.7yr.prison sentence. They pleaded guilty, and got 7mths. WTF???!!!
Judge Robert Wolff said some may think that's too light (no shit, Sherlock!), but bore in mind that both men had been vilified in the community, plus they'd be serving their sentences away from home, here in NZ: "It would be a mistake not to recognise that, as foreign nationals, whatever sentence you serve here would be harder than on any resident in this country to serve."
Maritime NZ is happy with the outcome. But is the general public, esp. those affected by the spills? After all, these two pillicks get out after only 15 weeks. That's right, less then four months behind bars and then home they go. Not bad (for them), when you consider the impact on NZ; the 7-YEAR bullet they dodged; the cost to Rena's owners; and what of the clean-up bill? THAT particular subject has been absent from the spotlight of late.
Judge Wolff took into account in sentencing, the mens' vilification in NZ and that they'd be locked up here rather than at home. Awwww, precious!!! He seems to forget the luxury of OUR prisons compared to ones in the Philippines! And being isolated from public contact in jail nullifies the impact of any vilification: I suggest the guilty men have scant regard for what we kiwis actually think of them!
Judge Wolff has delivered a limp-dick sentence, the like of which is becoming far too common-place. Why NOT hit 'em with the maximum sentence? It's well-deserved.

Rena: NOW She's Split

The storm and huge 7m waves that slammed Rena overnight finally accomplished what over-eager journalists could not: the container ship is now in two pieces. NOW.
Last weekend journos hungrily jumped the gun, reporting the vessel had broken apart (even as late as this afternoon, NZ Herald was still reporting she'd broken into two pieces "just last week"!). 
While Maritime NZ was quick to correct the earlier ever-so-slight journalistic cock-up, it was obvious the ship's end was nigh...
Overnight the internal organs holding the two halves together finally gave up the ghost, with fore and aft sections now about 25-30m apart.
The forward section is in its original position on Astrolabe Reef but the stern has broken away, moving significantly but still on the reef. The tug Go Canopus is connected to the aft section and keeping an eye on developments.
A large amount of debris is in the water, including containers, timber and bags of milk powder, and will be washing up on Bay of Plenty beaches over the following days. MNZ says somewhere between 200-300 containers have been washed away today (as of last Friday, 881 containers were still aboard while 389 had been removed and around 98 had been lost overboard).
Today's NZH story with - sensational headline "Coast under threat as Rena splits up" - doesn't actually give any details about anything coming from Rena that is threatening the coast, apart from debris... hardly a *shock*horror*probe* threat, NZH!).
Weather is expected to be poor for the next 3-4 days. 
PS: 10 Jan.2012 - Most of Rena's rear section has now slipped off the reef and is sinking. 
PS: 29 Feb.2012 - Rena's captain and navigator plead guilty in court.
PS: 28 May 2012 - Soft sentence for Rena officers!

Fuel Of The Future?

Many NZ waterways suffer from nutrient-rich farm effluent run-off.
Because cows produce an awful lot of poo, many farmers spray it as fertiliser. Those poo nutrients leach into streams, rivers and lakes. The water becomes nutrient-rich, whereas most water plants have adapted themselves to nutrient-poor waters. So other plant species start to develop and the original plant species die. The water becomes foggy, which leads to a lower oxygen production in the water and the fish die, all due to effluent run-off.
Here in NZ, duckweed is being used for wastewater treatment, as it's able to digest nutrients at tremendous speeds, but overseas research indicates it can then be harvested for biofuel processing. Duckweed can store at least four times more starch per surface unit then regular crops, thus making it a good candidate for biofuel.
Biofuels have grown in popularity over the last few years with viable options now in production. However they're also surrounded by some controversy, because the biofuel crops are grown on land that could be producing food. This wouldn’t occur with duckweed, coz it grows on water and it’s four times more efficient!
University of North Carolina researchers have conducted lab-scale tests to convert duckweed starch to ethanol, using the technologies used for corn ethanol. They're now moving to a pilot-scale operation on a commercial farm.
Of course, there's still the issue of duckweed blocking sunlight to the water below. But if that can be resolved, perhaps by cropping duckweed in commercial-scale ponds on non-productive land, it may be a viable part of our fuel future.
For more info: [1], [2], [3].

Rena: A Cash Cow?

So Rena is still alive...
Despite the doom-and-gloom predictions two weeks ago that she was very likely to break up 'soon', she still creaks and groans on Astrolabe Reef with obvious structural damage (and probably more than what we've been told).
The oil removal work is virtually finished - much slower than we were promised. Now begins the removal of the containers - this too will be an extraordinarily slow job. In fact, so slow that if you extrapolate the supposedly wildly optimistic "maximum of three per day" figure released, it will be MONTHS before the 1200+ containers are gone! MONTHS! WTF??? Can they be serious?

Crane barge Sea Tow 60 is moored by Rena now, but the salvors are taking time to ensure all the equipment and systems are ready and working properly before commencing operations. And how many months have they had so far to do all this checking? Ahhh, but we're told the salvors on ST60 had to design a system for decoupling the containers, and each set of containers presents its unique challenges. Riiiiiiiiiight.
Meanwhile, another crane barge with a longer reach, Smit Borneo from Singapore, is en route and due to arrive in Tauranga by early December. Again, we've had MONTHS to get Smit Borneo here, get systems designed and tested...hmmmmmmm.
NZers have been incredibly tolerant of this situation to date. But I can't help feeling the public purse paying for all this is being viewed by some as a 'cash cow'. Certainly the speed of parts of this operation hints at that.
I find it 'very interesting' that someone on the salvor team, blogging daily about the sluggish efforts, has been shut down by legal beagles! Surely this wouldn't have been done if there was zip to hide...
Safety and caution are one thing.
Dragging heels and/or taking a long time to make decisions (perhaps intentially?) is quite another.

The Answer Is Glowin’ In The Wind

Recent tests in eastern Japan have found more than half of all seafood sold there is radioactive!
Greenpeace analysed 60 seafood samples from Japanese grocery stores and supermarkets throughout eastern Japan, and found 34 were contaminated with radioactive cesium-134 and cesium-137, and some at levels up to 88 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg).
While the samples are well below the 500 Bq/kg limit set by the Nippon authorities, the contaminated seafood still represents a health risk, especially to pregnant women and children. It should be noted that this 500 Bq/kg radiation threshold is set extremely high – over three times the 150 Bq/kg limit imposed by the Ukraine govt after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986!! (A 1972 experiment with dogs showed a single dose of 140 Bq/kg was lethal within three weeks.)
Because there's no mandatory labeling of food that's screened for radiation, the Japanese consumers have no idea if the food they're eating is safe. Greenpeace is urging the Japanese govt to work with the retail industry, to indicate whether food products have been tested for Fukushima radiation and, if they have, to label the results. It believes that doing so will not only help to improve consumer confidence in the food supply, but also boost the fishing industry. Of course, those selling contaminated food may not be so positively inclined towards mandatory labeling...
It was also recently reported that radiation levels emitted from the Fukushima plant were actually twice as high as government estimates had originally assumed. And one of the radioactive elements found in much higher quantities was cesium-137, the same substance Greenpeace detected on seafood.