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Current News Affecting the Gulf
Corn-ethanol crops will widen
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
Copyright 2008 Environment News Service. All rights reserved.
 MADISON, Wisconsin, March 11, 2008 (ENS) -
The U.S. demand for
corn-based ethanol will add to nutrient pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and
expand the annual low oxygen "dead zone" that kills fish and other aquatic life,
a computer model run by an international team of scientists shows.
 In the first study of its kind, lead author Simon Donner of the University of
British Columbia and Chris Kucharik of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
modeled the effects of biofuel production on nutrient pollution in an aquatic
system.
The researchers looked at the estimated amounts of land and fertilizer needed
to meet future production goals for corn-based ethanol.
The new U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard, signed into law in December 2007 as
part of the revised energy bill, calls for the production of 36 billion gallons
of biofuels, mainly ethanol and biodiesel, annually by 2022.
Not all of those billions of gallons of biofuels will be ethanol made from
corn. An estimated 21 billion gallons will come from advanced biofuels, which
can be produced using a variety of new feedstocks and technologies. Of this,
roughly 16 billion gallons is expected to be from cellulosic biofuels, derived
from plant sources such as trees, grasses and agricultural waste.
Read the rest of this article online at
Environment News Service.
21 dead dolphins found on Texas Coast
Copyright 2008 Galveston County Daily News. All rights reserved.
By Mark Colette
 GALVESTON, TX, March 4, 2008 -
Twenty bottlenose dolphins were found dead on beaches in Galveston and Jefferson counties on Monday, rekindling a mystery officials said may never be solved.
Officials said another dolphin was discovered Tuesday, bringing the total to 21.
Monday’s discovery on the Bolivar Peninsula follows an unusually high number of dolphin deaths about the same time last year but may provide just as little in the way of answers.
Almost 70 dolphins washed up on Galveston County shores between Feb. 27 and March 23, 2007.
Those dolphins were badly decomposed, hampering efforts to test tissue samples. Of those tested, the results were either inconclusive or showed no abnormalities, said Blair Mase, who coordinates regional efforts involving stranded marine animals for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
The dolphins found Monday are also badly decomposed, so drawing conclusions from tissue samples could again prove difficult, Mase said. Members of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network were collecting samples Monday.
Mase did not know exactly where the dolphins were found or who reported them. Efforts to reach members of the stranding network were unsuccessful.
Read the rest of this article online at
HKOU.com.
More coastal dwellers, not more
hurricanes, hike dollar damages
Copyright 2008 Environment News Service. All rights reserved.
MIAMI, FL, February 27, 2008 (ENS) -
Hurricanes striking the United States have caused skyrocketing economic damages not because of an increase in the number or intensity of hurricanes but due
to greater population, infrastructure, and wealth
 concentrated
along U.S. coastlines, according to new research by an international team of scientists.
Economic damage from hurricanes hitting the United States has been doubling every 10 to 15 years, the study shows, and is currently at about $10 billion annually.
In their study of hurricane damage from 1900 to 2005, published in the current issue of the journal "Natural Hazards Review," the researchers warn that if more people settle along hurricane-prone shores, future economic hurricane losses may be far greater than they are today.
"We found that although some decades were quieter and less damaging in the U.S. and others had more land-falling hurricanes and more damage, the economic costs of land-falling hurricanes have steadily increased over time," said Chris Landsea, one of the researchers as well as the science and operations officer at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Read the rest of this article online at
Environment News Service.
Opinion: Sea life should not be on drugs
Copyright 2008 Herald Tribune. All rights reserved.
 SARASOTA, FL, February 24, 2008 -
Imagine a bull shark on Viagra. It could be out there in the Gulf. Scientists at Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory have already found traces of the antidepressants
Prozac and Zoloft in the blood of bull sharks caught last year near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers.
 Mote is awaiting results on tests for Viagra, the drug that boosts the male sex drive. And the phenomenon of pharmaceuticals affecting sea life reaches far beyond Southwest Florida.
Smallmouth bass in the upper reaches of the Potomac River are exhibiting both male and female traits, and scientists think they know why:
The river contains chemicals that stimulate the production of estrogen in women.
In California, a toxicologist recently reported finding an array of pharmaceuticals, beauty products and plastic additives in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego and Los Angeles.
All these chemicals, scientists say, are contained in the treated outfall from sewage plants. The tainted water is dumped into streams and bays throughout the
United States and eventually reaches the ocean.
The findings demonstrate clearly that waste-water treatment must be improved and outflow screened closely for harmful chemicals. Sewage sludge --
solids that are commonly used as farm fertilizer -- should also be closely monitored. And septic systems along waterways need more scrutiny as sources of chemical pollution.
Read the rest of this editorial online at the
Herald Tribune.
Coastal development under scrutiny
Copyright 2008 Gainesville Sun. All rights reserved.
by Nathan Crabbe.
 GAINESVILLE,
FL, Jan 12, 2008 - A controversial development on the Taylor County coast continues to be met with
objections from environmental groups and state agencies, which question the
impact of a golf course, hotel and condominiums on wetlands near the Gulf of
Mexico.
Yet Dr. J. Crayton Pruitt's project was poised to receive a critical vote of
approval this week from the Suwannee River Water Management District - until
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole personally
intervened.
Now environmental advocates are rallying opposition in advance of a rescheduled
Feb. 12 vote. They say the project could harm coastal water quality and nearby
seagrass beds, while ushering in the development of a rural area with one of the
last stretches of pristine, privately owned coastal land in the state.
"We really feel like this is Florida's last frontier," said Joe Murphy, Florida
program coordinator of the Gulf Restoration Network. "It's our last chance to
get it right in Florida."
Read the rest of this article online at the
Gainesville Sun. (scroll down to the bottom section of the article).
Research shows Gulf Stream losing
strength due to global warming
Copyright 2008 NC Beaches. All rights reserved.
 NORTH CAROLINA-
A consequence of the theory of global warming is that the polar ice caps will
melt, and scientists postulated that this would have a dramatic affect on the
Gulf Stream.
With global warming, extra freshwater from the melting ice caps and glaciers
reduces the salinity of the Arctic waters, stopping it from sinking, and
breaking the circuit of the Gulf Stream.
Scientists have always predicted that the melting of the ice caps could disrupt
the Gulf Stream, but new research suggests this process is already in play. In
fact, they have concluded that the strength of the Gulf Stream has weakened by
30 percent in just the past 12 years.
Furthermore, these studies point to a cooling of 1C (1.8F) over the next decade
or two for Britain's climate, with an even deeper freeze predicted if the Gulf
Stream system were to shut down completely.
Though most oceanographers think it is very unlikely that the Gulf Stream will
stop altogether, if it did happen, it could reduce average temperatures by
between 4C (7.2F) and 6C (10.8F) in as little as 20 years, far outweighing any
increase in temperatures predicted across the globe as a result of global
warming. Essentially, as the rest of the world heats up, Britain and the British
Isles would get much colder.
Over the same period of time, the flow of warm water that branches off the Gulf
Stream near the North Carolina coast and heads east towards Africa has increased
significantly, contributing in the decline of warm waters being carried to
Europe.
A project is currently underway to determine if these findings were an
indication of a long term, progressing problem for the Gulf Stream, or simply a
disruption that may change seasonally or annually. The currents of the Gulf
Stream will be monitored continuously for a four-year period to find the answer
to this question.
Read the rest of this article online at
North Carolina Beaches. (scroll down to the bottom section of the article).
Texas coastal wind farms
may put birds at risk
Copyright 2007 Environment News Service. All rights reserved.
HOUSTON, Texas, January 2, 2008 (ENS) - Two wind power projects under
construction in Kenedy County, Texas will pose a threat to migratory and
resident birds and bats, according to a scientific study released today by the
Coastal Habitat Alliance. The two projects, both being built on private ranch
land, will be the first wind farms in coastal south Texas.
 This portion of the
Texas coast is among the most important bird migration
corridors in North America, linking Canada and the United States with Mexico and
Central and South America, the alliance says.
Australian financial group Babcock & Brown and PPM Energy, a subsidiary of
Iberdrola's Scottish Power, are pursuing the construction of two separate wind
energy generation facilities along the Laguna Madre region of the south Texas
coast in Kenedy County.
The Texas Public Utility Commission in November 2007 approved plans for a $60
million transmission line project to be built by AEP Texas, a division of
Ohio-based American Electric Power.
Both wind farms and the transmission line are going up on the Kenedy Ranch,
the smaller neighbor of King Ranch, a member of the alliance.
The projects are supposed to be operational by late 2008 and will generate
about 388 megawatts of electricity - enough to power about 90,000 homes. In
total, the two projects would cover 60,000 acres and include more than 500 wind
turbines, each about 400 feet tall, states the new report.
Read the rest of this article online at
Environment News Service.
New guides on Gulf fish coming 'soon'
Copyright 2007 Galveston County Daily News.
All rights reserved.
By Marty Schladen, The Daily News
GALVESTON, TX, December 22, 2007 -
A spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday confirmed that his agency soon would issue new guidance about the increasing threat that certain kinds
of fish caught in the northern Gulf of Mexico could make people sick.
The agency had earlier refused to confirm its plans for the new guidance, a draft of which was obtained by The Daily News on Monday.
It appears that an increasing number of predatory reef fish in the northern Gulf have dangerous levels of ciguatera toxin.
Consuming the toxin can cause tingling, numbness, vomiting and diarrhea.
In mild cases, symptoms pass in hours or days. But in severe cases, neurological and cardiovascular effects can persist for months or even years.
They can make cold things feel hot and hot things feel cold. They also can cause other problems.
Ciguatera poisoning has long been a problem with certain fish caught in the southern Gulf, the Caribbean and elsewhere in equatorial latitudes.
But it had been exceedingly rare in the northern Gulf — until recently.
In the past year-and-a-half, almost 60 cases of Ciguatera poisoning have been traced to fish caught in the northern Gulf.
The ciguatera toxin comes from algae that grows on coral reefs, oil rigs and other hard, underwater surfaces. Fish that feed on the surfaces ingest the toxin.
But it accumulates in predatory fish that eat reef fish, such as amberjack, barracuda and red snapper.
Read the rest of this article online at
Galveston County Daily News.
Florida wetlands get reprieve
Permit allowing 2,000 acres of wetlands to be destroyed is suspended
Copyright 2007 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.
Critics say they are afraid that the new
Panama City airport, which would be built on land owned by the St. Joe Co.,
could contaminate Burnt Mill Creek north of Panama City.
ST PETERSBURG, FL, December 19, 2007 -
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken the rare step of suspending a permit allowing destruction of 2,000 acres of wetlands in the Florida Panhandle to make way for a new Panama City airport.
 The corps,
which regulates the destruction of wetlands nationwide, suspended the permit this month after learning that a federal judge had issued a temporary injunction against building the
$330-million project. The injunction was against the Federal Aviation Administration for approving the airport, the first to be built in the United States since Sept. 11.
"We're just trying to be cautious," David Hobbie, the head of the corps' regulatory division in Florida, said Tuesday.
A coalition of environmental groups have joined with fans of Panama City's current airport to sue the FAA. They say federal law on airport sites requires picking the
least environmentally damaging alternative.
In this case, that would mean leaving the airport at its current site, said Linda Young of the Clean Water Network.
A federal judge granted their request for a temporary injunction, an indication that their case has at least some merit. The case is set to go to trial next month.
The new airport is supposed to be built on 4,000 acres of land about 20 miles north of Panama City, next door to Pine Log State Forest. The land was donated by the state's biggest
private landowner, the St. Joe Co., which has plans for developing the 78,000 acres around the new airport.
Read the rest of this article online at
St. Petersburg Times.
Midwest corn boom could expand
`Dead Zone' in Gulf of Mexico
Copyright 2007 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com. All rights reserved.
 JEFFERSON, Iowa, December 17, 2007 -
Because of rising demand for ethanol, American farmers are growing more corn than at any time since the Depression. And sea life in the Gulf of Mexico is paying the price.
The nation's corn crop is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And when that nitrogen runs off fields in Corn Belt states, it makes its way to the Mississippi River and eventually pours into the Gulf, where it contributes to a growing ``dead zone'' -- a 7,900-square-mile patch so depleted of oxygen that fish, crabs and shrimp suffocate.
The dead zone was discovered in 1985 and has grown fairly steadily since then, forcing fishermen to venture farther and farther out to sea to find their catch. For decades, fertilizer has been considered the prime cause of the lifeless spot.
With demand for corn booming, some researchers fear the dead zone will expand rapidly, with devastating consequences.
``We might be coming close to a tipping point,'' said Matt Rota, director of the water resources program for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, an environmental group. ``The ecosystem might change or collapse as opposed to being just impacted.''
Environmentalists had hoped to cut nitrogen runoff by encouraging farmers to apply less fertilizer and establish buffers along waterways. But the demand for the corn-based fuel additive ethanol has driven up the price for the crop, which is selling for about $4 per bushel, up from a little more than $2 in 2002.
Read the rest of this article online at
Sun-Sentinel.
Whooping Cranes reach Texas
in record numbers
Copyright 2007 Environment News Service. All rights reserved.
AUSTIN, Texas, December 12, 2007 (ENS) -
For the fifth year in a row, a record-breaking number of
whooping cranes have completed their winter migration to the Coastal Bend area
of Texas, according to state wildlife scientists.
So far, 257 whoopers have reached Texas, breaking the previous count of 237
birds that were present last winter, and experts predict a few more are still on
the way.
"I estimate that more than 97 percent of the flock has completed the
migration so far. We know of four birds that are still in migration, so that
raises the estimated flock size to 261," said National Whooping Crane
Coordinator Tom Stehn.
At nearly five feet tall, whooping cranes are the tallest birds in North
America. They have a wingspan that measures 7.5 feet across.
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An endangered whooping crane at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy TPWD) |
Whooping cranes breed in the wetlands of Wood Buffalo National Park in
northern Canada and spend the winter on the Texas coast at Aransas National
Wildlife Refuge near Rockport.
Whooping cranes begin their fall migration south to Texas in mid-September
and begin the spring migration north to Canada in late March or early April.
In addition to increasing their numbers, whoopers have also expanded their
range, says the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, TPWD.
The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is the primary wintering home for the
cranes, but this year a record 82 cranes were documented on Matagorda Island,
and a record 13 cranes were seen on the Lamar Peninsula.
The 31 cranes at Welder Flats tie the previous record high there.
Whoopers also have settled on private lands such as San Jose Island and the
Lamar Peninsula, and private landowners are playing a role by providing flock
activity updates and observations to state wildlife scientists.
"We've passed the highest number we've seen since counts began in 1937 said
Lee Ann Johnson Linam, TPWD wildlife biologist. "The good news is that for the
last several years we've set a new record each year, so we're on the right
track."
Read the rest of this article online at
Environment News Service.
ONLINE GULF NEWS SOURCES
Gulf of Mexico Foundation - 5403 Everhart, PMB 51 - Corpus Christi, TX 78411
(800) 884-4175 toll free - (361) 882-3939 phone - (361) 882-1262 fax
e-mail: info@gulfmex.org
website:
gulfmex.org
webmaster:
Carrie Robertson
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