Crossposted from A Stick in The Mud. - GH

It’s 6:30 in the morning. I’m at the house of a stranger. The lights are off and I am trying to break in. Ten minutes go by, fifteen. I’m pounding on the door, circling the house, cussing at the door, peaking through the window, pleading with door, but it does not open.

I met Ellen the day before. I also work at Staples and I was helping her lift a box of paper into the trunk of her car. We got into a conversation about the non-profit she is running, The LEAH Advocacy Group (Staples calls this customer communication technique the Selling FunnelTM). Before long, she had hired me on to help support a bill set to hit the floor of the New Hampshire House the very next day.
For those of you who don’t know Ellen, she is a bit disorganized and, that morning, she was still asleep. It took some time, pleading with the door of my employer-to-be, but she finally came downstairs to open the door.
“Would you mind taking off your shoes?” And just as I was about to, she added, as if needing explanation, “I just don’t want you to track in any pesticides into my house.”
Boy, I thought, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

***

One hour and one green juice later, I was in the car, getting the pesticide crash course. She first talked about Pyrethroids, and 2,4-D and Dicamba and their links to cancer and asthma and endocrine dysfunction. She referred to the bill, HB495 “Healthy Kids, Healthy Lawns”, aimed at phasing out pesticides on schools lawn and playing fields in NH. Then she talked about her personal life.
Twenty years ago they started spraying at her condo complex and the surrounding area of her ski resort town, Waterville Valley, NH. Every month, in the middle of the White Mountains, when they sprayed, Ellen couldn’t breathe, her heart raced, her face felt flushed and exhaustion. After one particularly lengthy spraying, she suffered a real poisoning. She started hyperventilating and her heart started racing so fast she couldn’t lie down. She looked me in the eye and said, “I was sitting up in bed that night, praying that I would not die.”
After the first night, the symptoms morphed: muscle aches, loss of co-ordination, a persistent wheezing, memory loss, dizziness, headaches and shooting pains in her heart, rapid heart rate and exhaustion, depression for another six months. Around certain lawns breathing became labored and so she worried about going outside. She mentioned, for a moment, reproductive issues, but her voice pauses and tails off.
Ellen’s mother, Arlyne experienced some of the same symptoms, the rapid heart rate, pulse 165, hospitalization. Pesticides? Her eyes ask me to believe. “That screech that sounds like a cross between a crow and a three pack a day smoker, Camel no filters. I think pesticides…” Ellen’s mother died three years ago; it became clear that much of her money was used to fund The LEAH Advocacy Group.
We eventually reached The New Hampshire State Capitol building. Ellen stationed me by the entrance to the debate floor, to hand out “Support HB 495: Healthy Lawns, Healthy Kids” flyers to all the caucusing representatives. Duke, Kaija and Alyssa, LEAH reinforcements, all from around Middle-of-Nowhere New Hampshire arrive on the scene. People everywhere are handing out fliers. Ellen looks at the tall attractive woman and the two guys beside her with the orange “Lobbyist” emblazoned badges. “I could pay a fee and become a lobbyist, but I would still much rather be seen as a concerned citizen.” Across the hallway a middle aged woman with round glasses and a home-knit sweater hands out black and white fliers written in sensationalizing caps. Is the other end of the spectrum how she would want to be seen either?
With only 100 fewer delegates than the United States Congress, The New Hampshire General Court is the fourth largest English speaking legislative body of the world. The House of Representatives has 400 members, each representing an average of 3300 New Hampshire citizens. Although most have a genuine interest in the welfare of the state, many seem to be retired WASPs types, who can both afford the $100 annual salary and desire the exclusiveness of this whitewashed social club. One could argue that this is not the best political system for the people of New Hampshire.
This year, the house is one-third Democrat, one-third Republican, and one-third Tea Party. Highlight of the Day: ‘the bad guys aren’t registering their guns, so why punish the good guys? Let’s weaken gun laws’. House colleagues spent hours listening to a former FDA employee attempt to explain away EPA regulations. Dr. Lu’s warning, Ellen told me, that the federal government is not even halfway done compiling pesticide toxicity data on children and the elderly was quickly shut down. Dr. Lu sits on the EPA Scientific Advisory Panel.
At around one, Duke, Kaija and Alyssa left. Of course, Ellen wanted to wait around five more hours listening to gun bill after gun bill for a chance to see her bill. We heard bills disenfranchising college students; bills establishing a supermajority for future tax raises, and a bill urging Congress to drop out of the United Nations. After pointing out a particularly heinous bill which would establish a state militia, Ellen began complaining about the “tea party fanatics” that had taken over New Hampshire. Yet here we were, waiting like the nerds in their tents before the grand opening of an Apple Store. I can still hear Kaija’s ominous words, “Just give it some time. You’ll be sucked in before long.”
For awhile, it looked as if we would have to return tomorrow to see the fate of HB 495. But our bill ended up being one of the last to hit the floor. Representative Suzanne Smith, the main sponsor, went up to the podium to speak . She cited the President’s Cancer Panel report, explaining children were especially vulnerable to carcinogens. Rep. Smith laid out links to asthma, endocrine disruption, cancer, neurological defects and other diseases. She attacked the myths surrounding IPM, she clarified that the bill would not infringe on individual rights, and she provided a viable alternative to pesticide based lawn care by calling attention to the growing demand for organic turf management. Rep. Smith ended with a persuasive argument. “We in the New Hampshire legislature have erred on the side of caution where our children are concerned. We may not require adults to wear seat belts or helmets, but we do require that of our children. If we can grow good quality playing fields and grass and not put children at risk from even the possibility of short or long term health issues, what is the argument not to do something?”
“That was the best speech of the day,” Ellen enthused. And even in my unbiased opinion I had to agree. It was insightful, persuasive and well-rehearsed. It was a shame that most members of the house were twiddling with their phones or chatting through the one green bill on the floor that session. The Chair of the Environment and Agriculture Committee, Bob Haefner and our bill’s main opponent, walked to the podium. He littered his speech with “uhms” and pauses and the occasional backward glances at the invisible teleprompter by his feet. If Ellen writing this review, I would be skeptical, but you can trust me. After he finished, the speaker called for a vote, and it was voted down, as anticlimactic as that.
After a consolation dinner at a Thai Restaurant, we headed back. “Let’s not talk about pesticides anymore,” Ellen said as she turned on NPR. But the conversation invariably drifted back. “I wouldn’t be doing this,” she told me, “If I were the only person getting sick. I’ve heard so many stories…” She told me about the hundreds of studies linking pesticides to everything from childhood lymphoma to frog abnormalities. And yet she still seemed worried that she only sounded like a concerned PTA mother. A couple weeks later when I mentioned how IBT Labs fabricated data for Monsanto, she pulled aside, “look when you are giving damning evidence like that, you better cite who’s doing the investigation and how they found out, or else you’ll sound like a conspiracy theorist”.
NPR had a special on pilgrimages to Mt. Kailash. We both wanted to listen. So we listened in silence.

Originally posted on Daily Kos. Reprinted here with permission at our request. - GH

This is a follow-up to an earlier diary about the threat posed by oil spilled by a freighter that broke up off Nightingale Island, home to approximately half of the world's endangered Northern Rockhopper penguin population.

Here is a brief recap of key events. On March 16, for reasons no one has been able to determine, a fully loaded freighter containing soybeans slammed into the rocks off Nightingale Island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago (a World Heritage site) in the south Atlantic. The freighter broke in half and sank, dumping at least 1500 tons of fuel oil in the seas, which formed a heavy oil slick around the island, threatening marine life. The penguins attracted the most attention as they are a critically endangered. Because of the remote location, it took wildlife rescue teams nearly a week to reach the island by boat and set up operations. Wildlife biologists estimate that half of the 20,000 penguin colony have had some exposure to the oil and over 300 oiled penguins have already died.

One of thousands of Rockhopper penguins found oiled

"Unlike previous spills of this size, it didn't happen way out to sea and gradually approach such a vital conservation area. It struck right at the heart of the penguin colony and it's devastating to them."

- Sarah Sanders, Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds

Thanks to outreach and updates by marine biologist David Guggenheim, the difficult wildlife rescue operation is starting to get broader attention by NGOs and the media. CNN has finally covered the story.

This tragedy has been filled with unsung acts of heroism large and small. I want to sing their praises.

Shortly after the freighter ran aground, the cruise ship Prince Albert and fishing vessel Edinburgh responded to the distress signal and assisted in the difficult task of evacuating the 22 crew members of the MS Oliva (Valetta) before it broke apart and sank. A rescue team from the Prince Albert used small pontoon vessels to reach the stricken ship, navigating rough seas and rocks in the process. The crew members were brought to the Edinburgh, which was small enough to dock on the island.

The residents of the island and the wildlife rescue teams have been working around the clock to save the penguins and other marine animals affected by the oil. There are four major tasks required to save the penguin colony and other affected wildlife.

(1) Locate and retrieve oiled animals. This means using small boats in heavy seas to find the animals in the water, on rocks, and in remote coves. While plucking the penguins from the water is relatively easy, getting to the animals on sea-splashed and oil-covered rocks is quite another matter.

At last report, over 3000 oiled penguins have been rescued, along with sea birds and seals.

(2) Treat the affected animals as quickly as possible to reduce ingestion of oil. This requires washing the feathers with detergent to remove oil and then coaxing them to drink fluids, vitamins and charcoal to absorb ingested oil. It is a labor of love that means working every waking hour for the residents and several dozen wildlife rescue specialists. (Pictures of the treatment teams in action.)

Once treated the less severely affected penguins are taken to the island's swimming pool, which has been emptied, partially filled with fresh water, and cleaned frequently.

The more severely affected penguins and other sea birds are being taken to warehouses and specially built sheds. These animals require more care and observation. They also must be kept warm with heaters or infrared bulbs to prevent pneumonia. The freighter crew has been spending their time building the pens and rehabilitation sheds.

(3) Pen and house the rest of colony to prevent exposure to oil. With molting season ending, the penguins' instinct is to head for the seas to forage for food.

(4) Feed the entire colony of 20,000 penguins. A large fishing vessel has been working continuously since the crisis began to fish for the penguins. The seas have been particularly rough and island residents have emptied their freezers to feed the birds. By the way, fishing is the primary occupation among residents. When they donate the contents of their freezers, they are emptying their own larders and wallets.

The penguins may be hungry, but they are not used to being fed by humans. It is an exercise in building trust.

"We need help," said Katrine Herian, a spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds who is also apart of the ongoing rescue effort.

"The priority is to get food into the birds as they are very hungry," she said. "We are trying locally caught fish and some are starting to take small half-inch squares of the food."

CNN

The first salvage ship has now arrived. Removing the pieces of the partially sunken freighter will undoubtedly entail skill and a bit of courage. The wreckage lies in shallow and rocky waters.

Every single story I have read makes the same statement. The accident is still under investigation. Transport Malta, which regulates ships registered in Malta, is conducting the investigation. That means the final act of courage will be to tell the truth. Roger Cuthbert, one of the marine biologists on the scene put it best. "How a modern and fully-laden cargo vessel can sail straight into an island beggars belief."

For more information

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Ocean Foundation

The Tristan da Cunha principality website

The Ocean Foundation has set up a collection site to assist with the rescue efforts.

The Ocean Foundation has established the Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin and Seabird Rescue Fund and your tax-deductible donations will go directly to assist the teams at Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island working to rescue and rehabilitate endangered penguins and other seabirds. Your help is very urgently needed!

Last Friday as I sat in my apartment watching Ghost Busters an earthquake started at first it seemed like any other for about 30 seconds. Suddenly that all changed as the power of the quake increased about 100 times. Because so many of my neighbors are retried I went downstairs to check on them as my feet touched the ground it was like having instant vertigo. Its amazing just how difficult it is to keep ones balance when there is no point of reference tell which way the ground was moving.

People here are used to earthquakes so it was very strange too see them fleeing their homes and apartment blocks.

As Japan is quite well prepared for these kinds of events all trains ceased operation, all students were evacuated from their schools as well all other public buildings. After making sure my neighbors were OK I rode my bike around the area while there was some damage it was nothing like that which took place in the worst effected areas.

For the last 3 days deliveries to shoppes have been very limited with all most all the shelves completely empty. Hopefully that will change soon.

The Tsunami didn't effect us and so far we are not effected by the problems in Fukushima. At least not yet as far as the radiation is concerned. Where we are effected is that TEPCO has announced rolling blackouts in the Kanto region the first of which occurred this evening staring at 5pm.

My description of what happened doesn't even do it justice. It might impossible to do just that. One of the places I visited on Friday was the local elementary school all of them were in the school yard and the shocked look on their faces was unsettling so I stayed for a while to help comfort them.

Crikes - it's been one hell of week for Japan. Now, Shinmoedake volcano on the southern island of Kyushu has started erupting:

Hundreds of people were forced to flee when the Shinmoedake volcano on the southern island of Kyushu began spewing ash and boulders.

The explosion from the eruption could be heard miles away and an ash plume extended two miles into the sky.
[Read more]

Located 950 miles or so from the epicenter of the quake, experts are uncertain if the volcano's activity is tied to the recent quake.

Sorry for the short diary - but wanted folks to have something to add to if following relief and recovery efforts in Japan. There is nothing below the fold.

Side note: Something called 'volcano monitoring' was used by experts in recent weeks, who noted increased activity and lava buildup.