Humboldt Sentinel

New developments loom on the horizon for 2012

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

NO SURPRISE HERE: The United States lead the world in GMO (genetically modified organism) plantings with 170 million acres in 2012 that produced 95% of the nation’s sugar beets, 94% of the soybeans, 90% of the cotton and 88% of the feed corn, according to The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) and USA Today.

Worldwide, 395 million acres of farmland were planted in biotech crops in 2011, 30 million more than 2010.

The ISAAA report released February 7, 2012, said a record 16.7 million farmers in 29 countries growing biotech crops on 395 million acres represents a 94-fold increase planted since 1996, making “biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in recent history.”

The amount of land devoted to genetically engineered crops grew 8% last year, down from 10% growth in 2010. Nearly 90% of the global area planted to these crops was in just four countries – the US, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil. In contrast, less than 3% of cropland in India and China is planted almost exclusively in one crop – genetically modified cotton. Only two biotech crops are grown in the European Union: a tiny amount of its feed corn and just 245 acres of potatoes.

U.S. farmers and those in developing countries increased plantings of genetically modified crops around the globe in 2011, despite resistance from Europe and those who think such crops should carry special labels.

Genetically engineered food has had its DNA artificially altered with genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds creating desired traits in that food. Different than selective breeding or cloning, this genetic alteration is performed through experimental biotechnology and not found in nature.

BIOTECHNOLOGY’S GMO DEFENDERS AND DETRACTORS

AN INDUSTRY ADVOCATE and GMO supporter, Dr. Cathleen Enright is the Executive Vice President of Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).  In response to Tuesday’s ISAAA’s findings, Enright gave the company’s corporate line stating in a press release:

“This year’s ISAAA report further confirms what we have known all along:  that agricultural biotechnology is a key component in sustainable crop production. Biotechnology provides solutions for today’s farmers in the form of plants that yield more per acre, resist diseases and insect pests, and reduce farmers’ production costs, pesticide applications and on-farm fuel use.  History has taught us that embracing innovation and modern science can help us solve the world’s most pressing problems.  People who really want to combat hunger, to keep food costs affordable, to protect the environment and to mitigate climate change are adopting agricultural biotechnology and embracing the solutions that it provides.”

GMO advocates like Dr. Enright claim that genetic engineering boosts crop production and lowers costs. Currently the plants are often genetically modified to resist weed killers, diseases, or to generate their own insect repellent. Proponents such as Monsanto, the largest producer of GMO seeds, maintain fruits and vegetables last longer if they are genetically modified, can be stored longer and shipped farther without waste or spoilage, and be manipulated to be ‘more nutritious.’ Certain genetic modifications make plants less susceptible to common pests while drought, salt, frost and heat resistance are improved.

GMO critics, however, maintain companies like Monsanto merely desire to boost their own bottom line profits by developing these so-called ‘Frankenfoods’. Monsanto can sell more of the company’s products such as Roundup (an herbicide used in conjunction with, and specifically complementing, its ‘Roundup Ready’ GMO seeds) and control the global food supply using proprietary patents and selling its ‘terminator seeds’. Like hybrid seeds, terminator seeds saved by the farmer from a year’s previous crop will not reproduce or grow properly, forcing new seed sales from Monsanto every year. Monsanto has sued farmers who have complained that their fields were contaminated from cross-pollination by the company’s GMO plants.

Some believe GMO crops on the whole are systematically destroying food and seed biodiversity throughout the globe– and that Monsanto has been trying to monopolize the global seed market through its practices. Fears over these crops also include possible health concerns, worries about damage to traditional agricultural practices, and strong feelings that these bio-engineered foods are simply “unnatural.”

Critics point out  that government scientists have found the artificial insertion of DNA into host plants can increase the levels of known toxicants in foods, introduce new toxicants or allergens, and reduce the nutritional value of foods. The level of uncertainty surrounding the safety of genetically engineered foods has led the American Academy of Environmental Medicine to recommend that physicians prescribe a GMO-free diet to all their patients. Foods grown from genetically modified seeds have been observed to cause toxic and allergic reactions in animals consuming them, and longer term feeding studies found infertility, stunted growth, and high infant mortality in lab animals.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS: Salmon, Alfalfa, and More

TWO CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES for genetically engineered food loom on the horizon: the possibility that the Food and Drug Administration will approve in the coming year a farmed, engineered salmon species genetically designed to grow faster, and the re-introduction of genetically engineered alfalfa.

Massachusetts-based AquaBounty is seeking U.S. approval to market its engineered Atlantic salmon which contains a gene from another fish species, the Chinook salmon, to help it grow twice as fast as normal.  If approved by the FDA, it would be the first genetically altered animal for human consumption in the United States. Seeing genetically modified salmon as a potential solution to environmental concerns associated with salmon aquaculture, AquaBounty discounts fears the gene-altered salmon might accidentally escape into the wild and affect other fish because they will be sterile, all-female fish raised in land-based facilities.  AquaBounty is also developing “trout and tilapia designed to grow faster than their conventional siblings,” according to the company’s website.

Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter and two other consumer groups petitioned the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to subject the new genetically engineered salmon to a more rigorous review process than is now in place before the fish can be approved as safe to eat.  They point out the way these salmon are created substantially alters their composition and nutritional value. AquaBounty’s own study showed that genetically engineered salmon may contain increased levels of a hormone linked to breast, colon, prostate and lung cancer.

Genetically engineered salmon is a new development. “Animals are different from plants. A genetically engineered animal is a whole different thing. Not having them labeled is disturbing,“ says Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union in Yonkers, N.Y.

Genetically modified alfalfa was banned after a lawsuit in 2007, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the ban in 2010. Opposition came in part from organic farmers, fearing that genetically modified alfalfa pollen could contaminate organic alfalfa fields, making it impossible for that alfalfa to be sold as organic and marketed as organic cow feed. “That will really threaten one of the core organic products, which is organic milk,” Halloran said. 

Mark McCaslin of Forage Genetics, which helped create the alfalfa seed with Monsanto, is looking towards the future. “About 10 to 20 percent of the seed planted this year will be Roundup Ready—probably about 5 million acres. If we look out five years ahead, it’s reasonable to expect that one third to one half of all alfalfa fields could be Roundup Ready,” McCaslin said.

Future GMO crops likely to be commercialized by 2015 include rice, eggplant, potatoes, and wheat. While industry advocates say drought resistant, nutritionally enhanced, and higher yield crops are expected in the near future, critics insist the industry has fallen short of these promises in the past.

Companies are also developing genetically modified farm animals, although none have been approved by the FDA. Proponents argue that faster growing, healthier, more nutritious and disease-resistant animals would help feed the world’s growing population, but many ethical, environmental and health questions remain unanswered.

SAVING AN INDUSTRY

MEANWHILE, genetically-engineered papayas recently went on sale in Japan, according to the Voice of America news. The newly introduced “Rainbow” papayas are the only gene-altered fruit on the market today in Japan, a country with strict laws regarding GMOs including a requirement that they be labeled as such – a rule that does not exist in the United States. The papaya’s arrival in Japan comes as advocates in the United States press the government to require labels on all GMO foods.

Released in 1998, the Rainbow papaya was developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist Dennis Gonsalves and colleagues who claim the Hawaii-grown papaya is the best in the world. “Go and taste it,” Gonsalves said.

But taste wasn’t the only reason Gonsalves developed it. In the 1990s, a ring spot virus ravaged Hawaii’s papaya groves leaving the industry bordering on collapse. They engineered the papaya’s genetic makeup to produce a small piece of the virus’s outer shell in its cells, triggering the plant’s immune system.

“It’s almost like a vaccination,” Gonsalves noted, “and just like vaccinated people, the genetically-engineered plants do not get sick with the virus,” he said. Gonsalves added the piece of virus won’t harm people because tests showed it breaks down in three seconds in the harsh environment of the human stomach.

“It virtually saved the papaya industry in Hawaii,” Gonsalves said, “So now, Rainbow papaya accounts for 80 percent of Hawaii’s papaya.”

According to Gonsalves and his colleagues, fighting the virus was only half the battle. They had to convince their biggest customer – Japan – that the fruit was safe to eat. It took more than a decade of tests before Japanese regulators were satisfied. The last hurdle was labeling. Japan requires that all GMOs be labeled. That’s also the law in the European Union and many other countries, but not in the United States.

Or in California, for that matter.  But that may change.

THE 2012 CALIFORNIA LABELING INITIATIVE

AN INITITIATIVE for the November 2012 ballot called the ‘California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act’ seeks to require labeling.

Not all Californian are convinced GMOs are either safe or ethical. While the debate over GMOs and their impacts rages on, polls indicate 80% of Californians want products with GMOs labeled as such.

Initiative supporters and consumers alike believe they have the right to know what’s in their food– and whether or not they want to eat it.

In the 150 countries around the world where labeling is required–including the European Union, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and China—GMO products are in less than 5% of the food in grocery stores. In the United States, a conservative estimate by the Grocery Manufacturers Association is that GMOs are in 80% or more of the processed food eaten every day. Currently, the only way to avoid GMOs is to buy exclusively organic products. Labeling would change this.

No matter where you are in California, initiative organizers say if you want to make labeling GMOs become a reality, you should visit the state organization’s website at labelgmos.org. and contact your local group about gathering signatures.

LOCAL EFFORTS IN HUMBOLDT

LOCALLY, Southern and Northern Humboldt County organizers will be joining the statewide coalition of 150 groups gathering 800,000 signatures for the ‘Right to Know’ GMO labeling effort starting February 21.  Community members are invited to join together, meet other volunteers, watch a short film about the importance of labeling GMO foods, and receive signature gathering training, instructions, and petitions.

The Southern Humboldt branch will have a signature gathering workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 5 to 6 p.m. at Calico’s restaurant in Garberville. Call Rosa Rashall at #986-7469 for more information.

The Northern Humboldt group is hosting their signature gathering orientation at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT) on the Humboldt State University campus, 1 Harpst Street, in Arcata on Friday, February 25, at 5 p.m. The Northern Humboldt group also holds campaign initiative meetings every Sunday at 4 p.m. at Sun Yi’s Academy of Tae Kwon Do in Arcata. Call #707-223-0424 for more information.

For more details on the local campaign and how to participate, visit http://www.labelgmos.org/humboldt or find them on Facebook.

THE POSSIBILITIES of better living through science and technology are as endless as they are controversial. Perhaps many genetically modified foods introduced in the near future will prove to be safe. Will most or all of them be safe? Nobody knows.  A 2011 Canadian study indicated the blood of 93% of pregnant women sampled and 80% of their umbilical-cord blood contained a pesticide put into GMO corn by Monsanto.  Further studies are necessary  to validate these controversial and non-peer reviewed findings.

“We’ll see in 20 years, after the guinea pigs”—consumers—”have all used these products,” says George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic-farming cooperative. “I’m really disillusioned.”

Scientists and FDA regulators have concluded time and time again that labeling is unnecessary and bioengineered foods are perfectly safe. “The FDA has no basis for concluding that bioengineered foods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding,” the agency said in their 2001 guidance document.

One thing is for certain, however. The GMO advocates, their lobbyists, and food manufacturers will fight tooth and nail against California’s labeling efforts. The industry knows that if foods are labeled “genetically engineered,” the public will shy away and won’t take them. The industry’s not stupid.

They already know what Birke Baehr, an 11-year old homeschooled kid from North Carolina, thinks.

Additional Reading and Sources for this Report:

YouTube Primer: ‘What is Genetically Modified Food?‘
Why We Don’t Need GM Food
Latest GMO News, Articles, and Information
Facts About GMOs
Fun Facts About GMOs
California Initiative to Label GMOs
USA Today: ‘Genetically Modified Foods Had Bumper Year for 2011’
Voice of America: ‘Genetically-Modified Papaya Hits Shelves in Japan’
GM Crops: Top Ten Figures and Facts (a GMO pro-industry piece)
Huffington Post: ‘GMO Salmon: US Consumer Groups Petition FDA for Tougher Probe of Engineered Salmon’
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) press release: ‘More Farmers Favor Biotech Crops’
The Daily Beast: ‘Obama’s Organic Game’
NPR: ‘Politics Heating Up Over Labeling GMO Foods’
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Bioengineering Draft Guidance Report, 2001 (updated 2009)
ISAAA Executive Summary released February 7, 2012: Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops, 2011

See for yourself the future of plant and animal biotechnology: here’s the Monsanto website and the biotech seeds they sell, AquaBounty’s GM Salmon page, and ISAAA’s Genetically Modified Plant Approval Database. Looking safely from a distance is good.

Caution urged in King Salmon, other low-lying areas around Humboldt Bay

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A flood watch is in effect tomorrow in the Humboldt Bay area.

The Eureka office of the National Weather Service issued the warning due to the timing of a high tide combined with a storm surge bringing strong southerly winds, which is “expected to cause coastal flooding late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.”

The King Salmon area was particularly noted in the notice, as were other low-lying areas around Humboldt Bay. Additional flooding is also possible around high tides on Thursday and Friday mornings as astronomical tides continue to rise and southerly winds are expected to remain elevated.

Residents are urged to stay alert for later warnings, and take all precautionary actions to protect property. Moderate to heavy rains are set to start tomorrow and continue for a week straight on the North Coast of California.

For the Curiously Aware of Humboldt County

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

IT’S A MIRACLE THEIR KIDNEYS MATCHED and a great story. Kym Kemp pens a column underscoring the simple goodness of Humboldt’s people.

Kym writes, “Some people give hearts as Valentine gifts, but two days after the holiday this year, Shannon Robinson is giving a total stranger, Travis Chagolla, her kidney. The little town of Myers Flat in southern Humboldt County is the scene of a very large act of Random Kindness…”

Large it is. Read her touching story. When Kym’s passionate about something her soul flows onto the page along with the words.

Kym added:

“The operation will take several hours and (Shannon) will have to rest for 4-8 weeks afterward. She has a young daughter at home. She won’t be able to work. How will she pay the rent? Shannon’s friends have convinced her to let them hold a fundraiser to help. On February 4th, they’re throwing a benefit at Beginnings in Briceland. There is going to be a spaghetti feed, beer and wine, a raffle and music…Raffle tickets can be purchased at the Myers Flat store and cafe as well as Signature Coffee in Redway.”

KIEM-TV’s Kelly May also reported on Shannon and Travis’ story.  While we don’t solicit random acts of shill, we do acknowledge those of kindness. It’s the right thing to do.  If you’d like to help, please look at Shannon’s donation page here.

NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON:  It’s freezing outside.  Lynette’s Norcal History Blog announced that due to low temperatures the Extreme Weather Shelter will open.  Please pass this on to any who might need the information. She says,

We were ready to have a test run of Eureka’s Extreme Weather Shelter for the homeless when Mother Nature jumped the gun.   A hard freeze warning for TONIGHT prompted the opening of the Extreme Weather Shelter at the St. Vincent’s Dining Facility  at 35 West 3^rd Street, in Old Town, Eureka.

I am posting this in case someone out there sees someone who needs shelter for the night. Please send them to the Eureka Rescue Mission, 110 2nd Street in Eureka.

If the Mission is at capacity, folks will be sent to the Dining Facility–OR IF YOU FIND FOLKS WHO ARE NOT COMFORTABLE AT THE MISSION, HAVE THEM TELL THE MISSION INTAKE FOLKS AND THEY WILL SEND THEM TO ST. VINCENT’S AFTER INTAKE.

Coordinator Steve Bell is at the Dining Hall to welcome folks and between St. Vincent’s and the Rescue Mission, Eureka can provide shelter to everyone who wants to be indoors tonight. We even have donated dog kennels so folks with animals can be sure their pets are safe. Please help us to help those who need it most…

ERNIE IS ALWAYS RIGHT in his roundabout way. This time he came up with the Annoying Biggest Stories of 2011 in his column. The stories are those which have been underreported locally and without conclusive forthcoming answers. Here’s Ernie’s ‘Top 3’, in his words:

1) “‘Who pooped and peed on the bank?’ (They never did find out) I was always told that a lawyer or a news anchor-person was never supposed to ask a question unless they already knew the answer.”

2) “Sometimes I wish they would tell us things like ‘Why the Eureka officials kept the fact that Wall-Mart was coming to town such a big secret.’ That would interest the heck out of me. How does it happen that a town that knows everything and can’t keep even a small secret, keep the fact that a frickin’ Wal-Mart is coming to the Bayshore Mall. You’d think that would be important for people to know!”

3) “How many of us know that they were going to pave Garberville’s Redwood drive but our supervisor gave the money away to fix the road between Eureka and Arcata? What, you say? Garberville hasn’t been paved since the trees were planted and the power lines were under grounded. Why didn’t we know about the money giveaway until it was practically a done deal? I wouldn’t have even known about the money being given away if it weren’t for Mark Lovelace saying something like, ‘I think that we should ask the people of Garberville how they feel about this.’ Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to scream bloody murder in time, so OUR Dist 2 Supervisor Clif Clendenen gave out road money to throw on the “Safety Corridor” between Eureka and Arcata.”

“Most people don’t have the time to decide how to spend county money. They split the county into 5 supervisor districts and then elect 5 supervisors to watch-out for our interests. How the heck does giving Garberville street money to Eureka and Arcata represent us in any way!?”

“…OUR supervisor, who has the most rural roads in the whole county, voted to give road money to the most expensive nightmare in Humboldt. Plus it is Highway 101! A state highway. The state has other means of raising money. The county doesn’t. Where is the news service that explains this to us?”

Ernie added:

Redwood Drive… is crumbling. The street looks like an unmade bed.

Before the vote was taken, Mark Lovelace said that he thought something this important should be given a little more time for public input. After the delay, Clif Clendenen broke the tie and voted to give the state the funding! Now, I would expect Eureka and Arcata to vote for it, so it was no surprise when they did. But, I did not expect the supervisor from the most rural district in Humboldt Co. to give away the funding.

The other two rural districts voted against giving away the funding. I had just assumed that OUR supervisor would vote against it. I thought that it was a no-brainer! Imagine my surprise. I probably would not have even known about the vote if it hadn’t been for Mark Lovelace.

Ernie Branscomb, a voice of reason and ever so the SoHum advocate, makes a good point. We believe this is an important issue worthy of a response.

We hope Supervisor Clendenen will offer an explanation either here or at Ernie’s Place before the upcoming election. It’s a sticky sore point stuck between State monies, County road repairs, and 2nd District constituents.

Clif, your peeps are calling. Line 1, line 2, and line 3 are on hold and blinking.

SNIPPETS, RUMORS, HEARSAY MURMURS, AND THE LINKS:

HOW MUCH CAN A DOLLAR BUY: Humboldt County has imposed a $1 fee per every vehicle registered since 1992. In the past year the County raised $133,454 to tow away 3,316 abandoned vehicles—about $40 per car/bus/camper/boat littering the roadsides and public domains. Supervisor Jimmy Smith said the fee has “helped clean up many areas and has been a practical tool literally saving a lot of neighborhoods and disputes.” Unfortunately, extending the fee supporting the abatement of these environmental eyesores requires Humboldt County to place it on the June primary ballot for voter approval– costing somewhere between $15,000 and $40,000. Ouch.

WHETHER OR NOT they appreciate the President and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Ferndale nonetheless scored a cool $8.8 million  low interest loan and grant completing their state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility without rate increases for 1,500 customers, as Mary Bullwinkel reports. Soon you will only be smelling Cream City’s fresh dairy-air.

PUTTING THE RUMOR TO REST: Vegetarians unite. In-N-Out Burger is not preparing to move into the former Arctic Circle site in Eureka nor does the popular burger chain have any plans of coming to Humboldt County.  But, did we tell you that Walmart is already here? Yes, we did. But let’s leave you smiling on a happy note.

WE LOVE HUMBOLDT. The people and community. More than a unique place, Humboldt occupies a special presence of mind for all of us. We love the pride of ownership and our local products. We apparently love cheese and beer, too.

YES, IT’S BEEN DRY. Abnormally so. 10.29 inches of rain for a season that should be seeing nearly 20 inches this time of year. The rivers are low and this could have dire consequences for young fish. Fire officials say a continuing dry spell could create an early wildfire season. But it’s still early. The good news is that rain is on the way, perhaps as early as Wednesday, January 18. Keep your fingers crossed unless you’ve been enjoying the drought weather and sunny skies lately. Mow your grass and get your gardening done.

ALSO DANGEROUS FOR FISH is the North Coast fishing report, courtesy of the Times-Standard and Kenny Priest for angling aficionados.  Pray for rain.

WE HAVE CRABS Jack Durham tells us the commercial crabbing season opens Sunday.  “At almost exactly 1 second after midnight on Saturday, Cap’n Zach Rotwein will pull up the first pot of crabs. He’ll deliver them to Trinidad Pier Sunday morning and they should be cooked and ready to be sold by 11 a.m.,” Jack says.  They are reportedly “fat and sassy.”  Who knew?  Make it happen, Cap’n.

WATERSHED ADVOCACY GROUP TAPS FRESH FLESH: The Humboldt Beacon reports attorney Scott Greacen is the new Friends of the Eel River Executive Director.

LATEST OCCUPY EUREKA HAPS: Angered over a series of emails supporters say created an “unlawful government conspiracy to vilify and suppress” their demonstration, District Attorney Paul Gallegos says he had no intention of raising alarm about the group but was concerned about public safety. Covered well and fairly in Grant Scott-Goforth’s, article, County E-mails Outrage Occupy Eureka; D.A. Says Tents Posed Safety Risks, it’s an interesting twist of conspiracies depending upon whom you speak to.

RYAN BURNS AND THE JOURNAL report in this week’s piece, The Debt Divide, just how the economic crisis affects regular people compared to big corporations using bankruptcy to weather the storm like… Well, we can’t name names and spoil that surprise for you. You’ll have to see for yourself.

HANK SIMS PREDICTS Eureka’s Crazy Train will be riding off the rails after endorsement by the City Council this Tuesday.  Attorney and rail advocate Bill Barnum insists it’s merely a request investigating alternatives.   Mr. Sims has been following the developments of the proposed 125 mile East-West rail corridor requiring a $250,000 feasibility study and construction price tag of half a billion dollars, though no one really knows how much it will cost or who will pay for it.  Picking up steam, citizens may want to see what the Eureka City Council has in mind this Tuesday, January 17, at 6 p.m. following Councilmember Newman fast tracking the Phantom Train onto the calendar.  If you haven’t been filled in, the Sentinel has the back story here.

REMEMBER FUKUSHIMA? Dr. Josh Strange, writing for the Two Rivers Tribune newspaper, states in his informative article that disaster is still brewing:

“Serious health problems are already on the rise in Japan with numerous sewage plants in Tokyo testing positive for radioactive iodine-131 showing that people are consuming contaminated food and water. In the Fukushima area, a wave of serious health problems continue…

Closer to home, debris from the tsunami have recently been washing up in large clumps in British Columbia months earlier than anticipated… scores of ring seals and walruses have been coming ashore since July with hair loss, bleeding lesions, liver spots, and failing immune systems. Biologists have ruled out viruses and are now having samples tested for nuclear radiation from Fukushima, which is consistent with the symptoms being observed.

What does this mean for us here on the West Coast?” he writes.

You’ll have to read his stellar article to find out the rest of the story. Dr. Strange is a fisheries biologist working for the Yurok tribe. A graduate of Arcata High School, Josh earned his graduate and doctorate degrees from the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences before coming home to live and work. From his biography:  “Joshua became passionate about river restoration at the age of 16 when he also trained to become a professional river guide, subsequently guiding some of the most remote and challenging runs in the West. His step-father is a Yurok Tribal elder and Joshua is blessed to have been raised with a diverse cultural perspective. Joshua lives in Hoopa, the largest Tribal reservation in California, where he pursues the dream of sustainable community on a farmstead with his family.”

The Two Rivers Tribune never fails to amaze us with its fine reporting. Dr. Strange’s article is one of the best that we’ve combed through this week. A local boy who’s doing good for his environment and community– his work is certainly deserving a read by the wider audience of Humboldt.

THE WEEKEND CALENDAR:

Events, Happenings, Lectures, Walks, Music and Stuff:

We’re thinking the Pastime Silent Movie Orchestra– The Fortuna Concert Series– presenting a classic Buster Keaton silent film accompanied by a live combo on Saturday, January 14 at 7:20 p.m. at the Monday Club in Fortuna is gonna be a good time for the family.  After all, free popcorn is included!  Under the direction of Franklin Stover, Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman is accompanied by the live combo Pastime Silent Movie Orchestra.  If you think Buster Keaton was great, wait until you get a load of Franklin Stover.   Folks, you’re in for a real one-of-a-kind musical treat.   Franklin might play one of his unusually rare Prussian instruments.  Who knows?  His repertoire is vast.  And why 7:20 p.m.?

There’s all sorts of other things happening this weekend.

Arcata has it going on FRIDAY:  Arts! Arcata, everybody wang chunging to the 80s Dance Party at the Jambalaya, the March Fourth Marching Band at Humboldt Brews, and the movie Friday (a stoner comedy-drama-buddy film, if you didn’t know) at the Arcata Theatre Lounge.  Blue Lake has the Naive Melodies, a tribute cover to the Talking Heads over at the Blue Lake Casino.  If you’re in the mood and around SoHum there’s the Mateel Comedy Cabaret at the Community Center.

SATURDAY has Guitar Shorty singing the blues at the Riverwood Inn and more.

SUNDAY has more than a few pancake, waffles, and breakfast things cooking, Redwood Region Audubon Society sponsoring a field trip through the wildlife and landscape areas of Potawot Health Village early in the morning, the Congressional Candidate’s debate is sparring the Mateel Community Center at 2 p.m. along with a John Lennon life and musical tribute gig at Arcata’s Cafe Veritas in Westwood Center later in the evening.

MONDAY has the City of Arcata’s Bowl of Beans benefit honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and local youth.  Eureka will be hosting its own annual presentation at the Adorni Center.  We think. Here was last year’s Eureka event, mixed in with an proto-Occupy Arcata Plaza gig headed up by Jack Nounnan, courtesy of KGOE’s Tom Sebourn and the Sentinel:

You can also take in a rose pruning workshop or a tea ceremony.  So many choice, so little time.

See the listings below for more details:

Friday, January 13

Saturday, January 14

Sunday, January 15

There’s some good flicks playing out there, too.

Movies, times, trailers, and IMDb reviews are here.

COMING UP:

While it may be a pricey ticket ($47) at the Arkley Center on Thursday, January 19, comedian Gabriel Iglesias is worth every bit if you like laughing your fat bottom off.  If you’ve seen him perform, you know what we mean.  He’s good.  And getting richer.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, FILM, AFRICA AND SALMON:

ACCESS HUMBOLDT is kicking off 2012 with two film presentations. Travel Photography and More— Swaziland, Africa by local photographer, Gary Todoroff, is featured Thursday, January 19, at 6pm, in the Eureka High School Lecture Hall. Mr. Todoroff has a vast background in aerial, commercial, and fine art photography. His lecture documents an abandoned mining town transitioned into a self-supporting community for orphan care in Swaziland, Africa. Along with an inside look at a vibrant community, Gary will describe the techniques he used as the town’s resident photographer. He’ll also be teaching a 2-hour workshop series, beginning Wednesday, January 18, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. for photographers.

Also featured will be an environmental documentary by Thomas Dunklin Friday, January 27 at 7 p.m. Dunklin is a fisheries geo-videologist and producer of documentary videos surrounding salmon, restoration, and salmon culture. His work encompasses underwater views from the Smith and Klamath Rivers, watershed restorations projects, Klamath dam and other amazing underwater wildlife footage. Questions and answers will follow Dunklin’s selected work. Movie trivia, prizes, and a reception will follow at the adjacent Access Humboldt Community Media Center.

Each presentation is $5. All are welcome to attend.  The seats are comfortable, the people and food good, and the price is right for supporting Access Humboldt and independent media. What isn’t there to like?

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week:

You’re never more alive than when you’re almost dead. You recognize what’s valuable. Freshly, as if for the first time, you love what’s best in yourself and in the world, all that might be lost…. You find yourself studying the fine colors on the river, you feel wonder and awe at the setting of the sun, and you are filled with a hard, aching love for how the world could be and always should be, but now is not.

~Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried

We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.

~Alfred E. Newman

Cream City’s Council weighs in with their concerns over use of roads

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

Residents and ranchers alike packed the Ferndale City Hall to voice their increasing disapproval of the Shell Wind Bear River Wind Turbine Project presented by staff from HSU’s Schatz Energy Lab and Shell’s WindEnergy, Inc.

The fourth such meeting held on the controversial project, Shell WindEnergy had asked the Ferndale City Council not to make any decisions at Thursday’s council meeting. Ferndale City staff, however, had previously recommended the council direct Humboldt County officials to ‘re-scope’ the project, asking for updated information from the various agencies involved due to changes made since January’s 2010 original scoping document.

Ferndale Mayor Jeff Farley asked the public to hold back any applause and address questions and issues directly to the council. After the 4-hour meeting concluded, the Ferndale City Council voted unanimously sending two ‘letters of concern’ to the County: asking County officials to reevaluate the project’s scope, and opposing the transport of turbine equipment through Ferndale’s streets.

The council, Farley said, wants the County to take another look at the project’s impact on noise, traffic, air quality, and property values, and to obtain a more detailed evaluation of the costs of decommissioning the wind farm. Farley claims Ferndale hasn’t received answers to these questions, especially how the city will be adversely affected by the large concrete, dump, and water trucks, cranes and other vehicles transporting heavy equipment through the streets of Ferndale to the project’s site on Bear Ridge, 6 miles south of town. Shell representatives visiting the council earlier provided updated information including the potential option of using helicopters to bring in components.

The Ferndale City Council ultimately decided not to oppose the wind turbine project altogether until it reviews the information contained in the environmental impact report to be released this spring.

The Times-Standard quoted Mayor Farley summing up the city councils’ recommendation this way: “We said, ‘no, we’re not going to do that’ because the EIR isn’t out yet and we want more information. At this point, we’re not getting the answers as fast as we want. This isn’t their first rodeo for wind turbines.”

Ferndale City Manager Jay Parrish said most of the council’s concerns involve the impact of transportation, but the city is open to hearing about alternatives.  “I think the council in general approves of alternative energy systems, but when it’s in your backyard, you need to look at it real close,” Parrish said.

Shell WindEnergy Response

Pana Ratana, Business Development Advisor for Shell WindEnergy, said that “the company understands the community’s concerns and the council’s wishes to have more information, (but) it’s simply too early for the council to take a position opposing any of the project’s components,” according to the Times-Standard.

“We are disappointed that the city of Ferndale has decided to take any position on the transportation plan at this time. The city council is making a premature decision based largely on incomplete information. We will continue with our plans to host an open house in the spring to provide the latest information and updates,” Ratana said.

The Proposed Project, Plans and Merits

Shell WindEnergy’s project proposes installing approximately 25 wind turbines on private property along Bear River Ridge above Ferndale and Rio Dell, producing 50-75 megawatts of generation capacity– enough renewable electricity to power over 18,000 homes. The project’s boosters claim the wind farm will bring in millions of investment dollars from Shell Wind over the next 20 years, plus 120 full time employees during construction and six to 12 full time employees to maintain the wind farm.

The project’s equipment would be barged into Humboldt Bay, unloaded at a yet-to-be determined offloading site, and trucked down Highway 101. According to the North Coast Journal article by Keith Easthouse, Shell has analyzed five different routes: three going through or near Ferndale, and two going out of Rio Dell. All have their inherent problems. Helicoptering of components to the site is a possible option—but only in part.

It’s expected that large trucks would make 850 trips to deliver components and another 2,500 trucks would be needed for construction. 3 million gallons of water would be needed. Construction vehicles would make 60 round trips daily through Ferndale, as proposed. Five miles of new road would be built for use during construction, along with three weather towers, a power-collection system, a substation and 12 miles of new power lines. The turbine blades are 150 feet long, the towers rising nearly 260 feet tall, and each of the 3 tower pieces, shipped separately, run 85 feet in length. The housing generators at the top of the towers, called nacelles, weigh 40 tons apiece—and would be undeliverable by helicopter due to their immense weight.

Humboldt County Senior Planner John Miller said the County wants Shell to do a more detailed analysis of how the turbine components will be transported to the ridge before completing the draft environmental impact report. “The trucks are fairly long, so they need to narrow down what roads need to be improved,” he said, adding that Pacific Gas and Electric is also involved working on how power will get to the regional grid.

Blight, Environment, and Energy Concerns

Some critics of the project, including residents of Ferndale, believe the project will do nothing to enhance energy availability for Ferndale citizens– and that the presence of windmills will blight the landscape.

Then there are the environmental concerns. According to the Northcoast Environmental Center article by Sarah O’Leary, while the wind turbine generators would produce electrical power with less carbon impact on the atmosphere than fossil fuels, the blades could harm imperiled species, including bats, migrating birds, spotted owls and commuting marbled murrelets.

Jim Zoellick

Just how much renewable energy will be generated by this project and where will it be delivered is another matter to be considered.  Jim Zoellick of HSU’s Schatz Energy Center said that the answer is far more complicated than turbines simply generating power for 18,000 homes.  “The power generated locally would go into the local grid,” Zoellick said, adding that a complicated accounting process allows different entities to actually receive the credit for the renewable energy.

Zoellick gave the example of the new Blue Lake Biomass Plant, which sells its power to San Diego Gas & Electric. The power is not actually shipped to San Diego, he explained, but that company receives credit to help it meet state requirements for renewable energy generation. Zoellick said that if energy generated by renewable sources – such as wind projects, biomass and even wave energy – should exceed Humboldt County’s needs then the first plant to have output turned down would be PG&E. He noted that climate change is the biggest environmental threat of all. “More than anything, we need energy efficiency and conservation. There are no easy answers and no choices that have no impacts,” Zoellick said.

Shell WindEnergy will finish studying the transportation issues raised by the Ferndale city council and determine whether to proceed with the Bear River Turbine Project—with or without Ferndale’s approval– in the last half of 2012. The project, if given the green light and not hitting further roadblocks, could possibly be finished by 2014 depending how cooperative Ferndale’s residents and city council are in warming up to Shell’s proposed plans of allowing transportation through their town.

They admit, however, that the wind project’s approval ultimately lies within the County’s larger sphere of influence and jurisdiction– and not necessarily the little Victorian village itself.

“We’ve been doing fine since 1854 without Shell,” Ferndale Councilman Ken Mierzwa noted during Thursday’s city council session, voicing his disapproval.

(The Times-Standard, Humboldt Beacon, Ferndale Enterprise, Northcoast Environmental Center, the North Coast Journal, National Wind Watch, Humboldt County Community Services Department and the Humboldt Herald contributed to this report)

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Comments from around the local web:

“The wind technology can’t pay for itself. The turbines are subsidized by the government green scam dollars. A natural ridge line will be forever polluted by these turbines. Bird migration will be hindered too. All for a few mags of power. It is not worth the effort. But some workers will have a job and the manufacturer will reap millions in transferred wealth.”

“The wind farm will benefit its landlords. That’s about it. The county has a brand-new gas fueled plant at King Salmon – and its own supply of gas.”

“While the new power plant supplies much of electrical needs the county has (almost) NO redundancy for our electricity and gas demands. The “all our eggs in one basket” approach to energy use seems both foolish and shortsighted. We live in far too volatile and remote an area to get away with that strategy for long.”

“Aren’t these the same people who shout ‘Drill Baby Drill’ when it comes to oil?”

“Everyone that knows anything about birds knows that wind turbines kill thousands of birds. It takes an especially heavy toll on raptors.”

“Just like Walmart: if the people don’t want it, it shouldn’t be forced on them.”

“I prefer wind turbines on a ridge to oil derricks offshore. The turbines of today don’t pose the same danger to birds as the older ones did and certainly not the level of threat posed by oil spills.”

“So where will the First District Supervisor candidates (Annette De Modena and Rex Bohn) fall on this issue? This could become a very interesting discussion.”

“Labeling industrial wind-driven Electricity Generation Installations as farms is a bit misleading. Wind isn’t “farmed”.  Corn is farmed. Wind is harnessed and electricity is generated. These installations are power plants with substations. 1-2% of electricity is created from foreign oil (Search it). And to date, coal plants remain online in order to support wind-driven plants coming online with fluctuating supply (search it).”

“The Ferndale City Council Decision was MONUMENTAL. They actually listened to the people who elected them: the people who will be impacted by this project. Thousands and thousands of vehicle trips, (10,000 plus) during the middle of the summer and tourist season traversing the streets of Ferndale. Streets that have clay infrastructure pipes. And streets that certainly were not built to handle 340,000 lb nacelles being transported upon 13 axle, 72 tire, articulated vehicles that require a 40′ clear span to transport certain parts of this project. There is absolutely no benefit to the town of Ferndale except for the bribes Shell WindEnergy offers under the name of a community investment program. But for the general population there are lots of reasons why the citizens of Ferndale overwhelmingly asked its council to say NO TRANSPORTATION thru Ferndale.”

Additional Information about the Bear River Wind Turbine project can be found here:

The Schatz Energy Research Center Turbine Project 3-D Visualization Tool and Tour
The Times-Standard
The National Wind Watch website of archived articles
The Northcoast Environmental Center
The North Coast Journal
The Humboldt Herald
The County of Humboldt Community Services Department website and related links
The BRW Project proposal, Humboldt County Planning Department pdf, 2009
The US Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Report of Proposed EIR and EIS

Hank Sims and the Lost Coast Outpost have an interesting take– and reader’s comments– in their September 21 column, Shell Wind Project: Ferndale Has Plenty of Hot Air

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) striking photograph of Wind Turbines Churning the Air Over the North Sea (credit  and thanks to Ponder z)

$12,000 down, $2,500 to go for new dog, handler training

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

With Officer Bryon Franco’s K-9 partner Jimi close to retirement, the Eureka Police Department’s K-9 Unit has launched a fundraising campaign to buy another patrol dog. About $12,000 has already been raised to get a new dog and provide training for the handler, but $2,500 more is needed to buy a bullet- and knife-resistant vest to protect the dog. Anyone wishing to contribute may send a check to the EPD K-9 Fund at 604 C Street, Eureka, CA. 95501.

The Eureka Police Department continues to be amazed by the generosity and support shown by our community.  A special thanks goes out to the Eureka Police Foundation, which is funded by community support, whose purpose is to assist the Eureka Police Department in obtaining needed equipment and resources.  The Department would also like to give recognition to the Eureka Oxygen Company, The Northcoast Employer Advisory Council, and Lithia Dodge of Eureka for their most generous support.

Even individuals and businesses outside of Eureka were major contributors to this important public safety cause.  They clearly understand EPD’s K-9 teams are used all over the county to assist other local agencies and not just within the city limits of Eureka.  EPD would like to extend our sincerest gratitude toward all those whose generosity and support has made the purchase of a new police K-9 possible.

EPD is still in the fundraising mode for the purchase of a bullet and knife resistant vest to protect the K-9.  These cost about $2,500.00.  Anyone wishing to contribute may send a check to the “EPD K-9 Fund” at our address (604 C Street, Eureka, CA. 95501).

Headwaters Fund and other grants sought to pay for management plan

By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel

Humboldt County Supervisors voiced their unanimous support this morning for the creation of a Humboldt Bay Region Community Forest along the eastern border of Cutten and Myrtletown.

Although occasionally tied in with more controversial plans to turn a part of the McKay Tract of forestlands into a high-end housing and strip mall development site, the idea of a county-owned public forest has brought together the landowner, Green Diamond timber company, the Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit land conservation group, and various local stakeholders.

Along with a 2,000 acre publicly-owned forest envisioned for phases one and two, phase three would provide for a 5,500 acre conservation easement east of Ryan Creek, allowing Green Diamond to continue timber harvesting under the understanding that the land could not be subdivided and converted to non-timberland use.

The proposed Humboldt Bay Region Community Forest

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Humboldt County to provide,” Byrd Lochtie of the League of Women Voters told Supervisors. “I heartily support a community forest and I’m glad to hear that most of you do too.”

The move would triple the size of lands currently under the County Parks and Trails system managed by the Department of Public Works, but their director, Tom Mattson, claims that the acquisition wouldn’t impact the county’s General Fund.

“Public Works believes the next step is to develop a management plan that provides the framework for an economically self-sustaining community forest based on robust community engagement and input,” Mattson stated in his report to the Board.

To this end, his department has already submitted a concept proposal to the Cal-Fire Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program to develop this plan, and Supervisors also backed his move to seek support from the Headwaters Fund, whose members the Board also appoints.

As the county hasn’t completed their study to ensure that they could manage the proposed community forest in a revenue-neutral way, Mattson pointed to TPLs work with the Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc. to serve as interim owner of the 640-acre phase one of the project. RFFI already manages the 50,000 acre Usal Redwood Forest in Mendocino County, and they’ve offered to be the applicant for funding from the state River Parkways Grant Program.

While State Fish and Game was on hand to offer their full support for the community forest as a means to protect the Ryan Creek watershed and help recover populations of threatened Coho Salmon, more strident enviros sounded a note of caution as to Green Diamond’s larger agenda.

Jeremy “Farmer” Jensen from Earth First! noted that some of the proposed areas were downstream from currently operating tree sits in the McKay Tract in Cutten, put their by his “affinity group” to prevent residential and commercial development.

“There are some areas that are so significant that they need to stand on their own,” Jensen said. “I don’t feel like anybody feels like they’re giving in to preserve this forest.”

In giving the green light to the concept and the applications for outside funding, Supervisors also formed a working group with Public Works, Community Development Services, County Counsel Wendy Chatin, County Administrative Officer Phillip Smith-Hanes, the Humboldt County Forestry Review Committee and the University of California Cooperative Extension Forest Advisor’s Office.

Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace of Arcata, whose district encompasses the Myrtletown area, asked to be the direct Board representative to this working group. First District Supervisor Jimmy Smith quickly shot down this idea, as he pointed out the immediate impacts this proposal would have on development plans in the Cutten area of his district, not to mention the water and environmental quality implications downstream in Virginia Bass’ Fourth District in Eureka. The adopted motion clarified that the entire Board will liaise with the working group.

If implemented, the Forest Review Committee, made up of Community Development Director Kurt Girard, Assessor Mari Wilson and seven voting members appointed to four-year terms by the Board, would oversee management of the community forest. All seven public members are required to be registered professional foresters.

Richard Miller finally settles years-old lawsuit filed by county

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

A long-awaited settlement of an illegal dumping case is finally in the payment phase.

After 17 violations of environmental regulations and hazardous materials handling laws were discovered over the span of an eight-year investigation and lawsuit, Richard Miller, the former owner of Redwood Motorsports in Eureka, is due to pay $100,000 to settle the case.

Under the terms of the agreement reached by the office of District Attorney Paul Gallegos, Miller will additionally reimburse more than $28,000 in costs to the county, as well as complete the removal of an illegally abandoned underground storage tank.

The original investigation was initiated in 2003 by the Division of Environmental Health, an arm of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services. DEH director Melissa Martel pursued the investigation, during which her office discovered that Miller had dumped toxic materials in local storm drains. Miller was also charged with failure to provide personnel training, failure to provide required paperwork and illegal transportation of hazardous waste.

An additional investigation in 2005 revealed that Miller’s hazardous waste was being illegally stored in Carlotta in large drums which were deteriorating and leaking waste oil, solvent and gasoline into the soil. Due to these contamination issues, Miller was required in the terms of the settlement to clean up both properties.

“This case illustrates that it really doesn’t pay to disregard the rules,” deputy district attorney Christa McKimmy stated in a release. “We hope that businesses recognize this and act responsibly to protect our environment.”

Since the judgement against him was entered earlier this year, Miller has already paid $28,000 in cost recovery, along with over $13,000 towards the $100,000 penalty.

“Sadly, toxins and pollutants dumped into our sensitive waterways and ecosystems don’t simply disappear,” Gallegos stated in a release. “They linger in our environment and do untold damage for years to come. The sooner we can catch and stop perpetrators like Miller, the more effective we can be in limiting that harm.”

Martel noted that fines such as these are levied against polluters only after other efforts to obtain compliance have been exhausted.

“While local agencies work hard to educate the public about community about hazardous materials laws and regulations, sometimes fines and penalties are warranted,” she said. “We do our best to keep Humboldt healthy.”

Congressman Thompson announces new funding from USDA Bioenergy Program

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

Federal funding is set to help one local firm expand their production of advanced biofuel.

Yokayo Biofuels of Ukiah is to receive more than $24,000 in rural development funds, according to a release today from Congressman Mike Thompson (Dem. – St. Helena).

“Yokayo Biofuels is a model of how green businesses can grow our economy,” Thompson stated. “Not only are biofuels good for our environment, growing the biofuel industry will lessen our dependence on foreign oil and spur green job creation.”

Yokayo uses vegetable oil as feedstock for its biodiesel — a requirement to be eligible under the Bioenerg Program for Advanced Biofuels, which is administered by the USDA. Yokayo also landed a $110,000 grant from the USDA last month for Biodiesel Trans Esterificaiton, which is a process of transforming grease into fuel.

“2010 was a rough year for biodiesel, but thanks to increased funding from government agencies this year, including this grant from the USDA, Yokayo Biofuels has been able to increase its staff from ten to eighteen employees, and is well-positioned to continue growing.” Yokayo CEO Kumar Plocher stated.

Thompson lauded these investments to build a biofuels industry that grows a green economy and reduces the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

Upgrades made to energy efficiency and generation across tribal lands

By Paul Mann
HSU Now

As the sun rises over the mountains, a glimmer of light reflects off the Yurok Tribe building in Weitchpec, Calif. The glint of sunlight bounces off an array of new solar panels, recently installed with the help of Humboldt State’s Schatz Energy Research Center—the newest energy project in a partnership that spans over a decade.

The Yurok tribal building in Weitchpec, Calif., is adorned with a new, 15.7-kilowatt solar electric array. The array, installed by local solar experts Roger and his Merry Band of Solar Installers, is one of many projects in more than a decade of collaboration between the Tribe and HSU’s Schatz Lab.

Since 1999, Schatz Lab has worked with the Yurok Tribe on several grants, studies and energy projects to improve sustainability. Past projects have included a fuel-cell system to provide back up power to a radio repeater station, a feasibility study for hydroelectric and wind energy development and energy audits of over fifty tribal households and multiple government buildings.

Most recently, local solar experts, Roger and his Merry Band of Solar Installers, outfitted the Tribe with a solar electric system. The Tribe also performed energy efficiency upgrades in its Weitchpec tribal office and is working to install energy efficiency upgrades at its Klamath office.

“Stewardship is a huge element of tribal culture,” says Sophia Lay, a tribal planner and the project manager for this undertaking. “The key elements here were to be more sustainable and to lower our energy use.”

Funding for the projects came from the Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Originally, that funding was to be used to conduct a retro-commissioning study for the Klamath office, install a solar panel system and enact certain retrofit projects. Retro-commissioning studies are used to identify existing structures and systems that could be altered to improve energy use. However, from 2005 to 2007, the Tribe and Schatz Lab had already performed an energy-needs assessment to identify such opportunities.

“Rather than spend money on a report to identify issues, we decided to do some of the retrofits we already knew about,” Lay says. Schatz Lab worked with the Tribe to adjust the project proposal and the Department of Energy agreed to award the grant without requiring a retro-commissioning study.
Instead, that funding went to other projects. The tribal building in Weitchpec received energy efficiency upgrades to its heating and cooling systems and occupancy sensors for its lighting system.

“Small changes like this are really beneficial,” Schatz Lab engineer Richard Engel says. “They’re relatively simple. They make sure no equipment is running unnecessarily. And they save energy.”
Additionally, the building received a 15.7-kilowatt solar electric array. That system was increased from a 13.6-kilowatt system after the price of photovoltaic equipment went down.

Schatz Lab engineers also developed an interactive interpretive display for the lobby of the Weitchpec tribal building. The full-color, touch-screen display allows users to get information on the energy efficiency upgrades of the project, including the real-time energy production of the new solar array. Information from the interpretive display will also be accessible online.

“The display definitely catches your attention as soon as you walk in the door,” Lay says. “If the information doesn’t get people’s attention right away, the fact that it’s interactive will.”

Work at the tribal building in Klamath is currently underway. Those energy efficiency upgrades include weatherizing seals on doors and installation of ceiling fans to improve heating and cooling and prevent stratification. In a room with high ceilings like the Klamath building, stratification occurs when warm air rises and doesn’t circulate with the colder air near the ground. On a cold day, that means the heat has to be turned up much higher to heat the air near the ground. Ceiling fans will also help to circulate air and keep people comfortable on a hot day, without resorting to energy-sapping air conditioning.

As this project winds down, Schatz Lab and the Yurok Tribe have already submitted another grant proposal, this one to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to continue to explore and implement actions to create a more sustainable community.

“Personally,” Lay says, “I learned a lot from this project, and that will carry over into my other projects in terms of energy efficiency.”

Local Mateel Foundation seeks injunction against Disney

By Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

Finding excessive levels of lead on the brass door knobs at Minnie’s House, the handle of the Sword in Stone, stained glass windows in Cinderella’s Castle, brass chains, drinking fountains, and other items throughout Disneyland, the Eureka-based Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation is seeking a court injunction to force the theme park to remedy the problems or post health notices.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Eureka based eco-group filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court in April against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc., alleging toxic levels of lead were found.

In June and December the Mateel Justice Foundation conducted wipe testing in various places within Disneyland to mimic what happens when children touch lead-tainted items. In those tests, participants wiped their hands with a laboratory towelette and touched windows, brass chains and door knobs throughout the park.  They then wiped their hands with a second towelette to be analyzed by an independent laboratory.

“These tests found hand lead exposures at the Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan Ride and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride of 1 microgram, 9.75 micrograms and 5.82 micrograms respectively,” the Mateel Foundation said. “A wipe sample taken from a stained-glass Pinocchio window in the dining area of Village Haus restaurant found a lead exposure of 350 micrograms.”

“We are asking the court to force Disney to take steps that should have been taken when we first told them that children at Disneyland are in danger of illegal lead exposures,” said local attorney and Mateel President, William Verick.

Under state law, warnings are required if exposure for average users exceeds 0.5 micrograms per day.  Excessive levels of lead are considered toxic.  Lead attacks the nervous and reproductive systems, causes cognitive and behavioral changes and increases the risk of cancer.

Disney rejected the lawsuit allegations maintaining the park posts adequate warnings about lead-tainted fixtures and figurines, as required by state law, according to Court documents.

“We have not seen the papers that we are told are being filed, so we cannot comment specifically. However, we believe that Disneyland Resort is in full compliance with the signage requirements of state law,” Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said.

The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation, located at 424 1st Street in Eureka, is a nonprofit group that has filed dozens of environmental suits against major companies contending they violate California’s Proposition 65 toxics law.

Activists seek 2012 ballot initiative to mandate food labeling

Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel

The campaign to demand consumer awareness of genetically modified organisms in our food supply is coming to Humboldt County.

A nationwide series of solidarity marches against the failure of agribusiness conglomerates to label the presence of genetically engineered ingredients takes place this Saturday, Oct. 16 — including a walk from Old Town Eureka to the county courthouse. The “GMO Right2Know” groups springing up across California are pushing in particular for a ballot initiative they’re attempting to qualify for the November 2012 general election which would mandate the labeling of all GMO-laden food sold in the state.

Organizers were out at the Occupy Eureka encampment on the front lawn of the courthouse this morning spreading the word and making connections between their campaign and the larger movement to Occupy Wall Street, which objects to the domination of the American political economy by banking and other cartels.

Heather Young's daughter, Oceanna McKinney, joins the Occupy Humboldt protest last week at Humboldt State University in Arcata.

“Just like Bank of America, they’re attempting to dominate our lives,” Northern Humboldt Label GMOs co-leader Heather Young said in an interview. “Monsanto is attempting to change laws and suppress information in their efforts to dominate the food supply and make money at the expense of our health…it’s ultimately about the right to know what’s in my food.”

According to the campaigners, 80% of the packaged foods in the United States contain GMOs that have not been proven safe and are not labeled. They will need to gather over 700,000 valid signatures across California to qualify their initiative.

The march begins at the corner of 2nd Street and I Street in Eureka in front of the former Has Beans Cafe, and proceeds to the county courthouse at 4th Street and I Street.

For more information on their campaign, visit LabelGMOs.org or find them on Facebook. The Northern Humboldt branch of the group holds meetings every Sunday at 4 p.m. at Sun Yi’s Academy of Tae Kwon Do in Arcata.

HSU programs reach out to Dominican Republic, Nicaragua

By Ashley Ward
HSU Now

Over the summer, Humboldt State University engineering students took their resources and knowledge and put it to the test in other countries.

The HSU Dominicana Program traveled to the Dominica Republic May 30 through July 8 with Environmental Resources Engineer lecturer Lonny Grafman. Professionals and members of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Northcoast Professional Chapter collaborated with Arcata-Camoapa Sister City Project and traveled to Camoapa, Nicaragua July 31 to Aug. 6.

Grafman led engineering students, enrolled in the Dominicana Program, to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Lauren Adabie, sophomore Environmental Resources Engineering and Chemistry double major, was one of the students who worked with Grafman in the Dominicana Program. “It was a lot of fun working with Lonny. He was a great mentor and a great teacher,” she said. “He seems to be able to get everything done and there was a lot that needed to get done.”

Upon arriving in Santo Domingo, the team did not have specific tasks until the community voted for what their greatest needs were. “When we get there we have no idea what we’re building,” Grafman said. “We work with the community members to see what the needs are.”

This year, the Santo Domingo community rated their top needs for improvement as education, energy and water costs, trash and crime. With a 6-week timeline, the group managed to build an alternative classroom, install renewable energy infrastructure to help offset energy costs, a rainwater catchment system to reduce water costs by collecting their own water, conducted two solar feasibility studies and installed a solar photovoltaic learning station.

Students worked together with community members to get the most out of the available resources to complete these projects. For example, they used bicycle parts and waste product from a newspaper press to make a homemade wind-powered lighting system to light a classroom. The group also constructed a new classroom from alternative materials, including walls built in which the framing was made up of plastic bottles held in place by chicken wire and coated with concrete and cement. A full description of the project is available at Appropedia, the web’s greenest do-it-yourself guide at http://www.appropedia.org/La_Yuca_appropriate_building.

The school, Escuela Primaria Nurys Zarzuelain, had faced being shuttered because it was too small and lacked enough classrooms. “This was an experiment to see if the school could last with used materials,” Grafman said. In August, the team found out the classroom was approved as an official classroom for a new class.

“Since completing the study abroad program in the Dominican Republic, I am more aware of sustainable innovations and the beneficial impact that appropriate technologies may have on a community,” said junior Environmental Resources Engineering major Alex Bancroft.

A month after Grafman’s team returned home, four students and three professionals boarded a seven-hour flight to Camoapa, Nicaragua and worked on projects for the community. Camoapa has been Arcata’s sister city since 1986.

“Our primary goal was to investigate the installation of a well and pump to provide a source of water to the hospital,” said Tony Llanos, the project lead and instructor in the Environmental Resources Engineering Department. They spent a week investigating the area and collecting data for the electrical connection and pipeline alignment.

“The distribution system was built 10 years ago and is more than halfway full of sediment which sends a lot of deposits to treatment plants,” said Emily Wortman, senior engineering major and EWB member. Large amounts of sediment in the water can taint a community’s water supply and is currently decreasing the amount of water the community’s reservoir can hold.

Language barriers, minor food illnesses, mosquito nets, tropical heat waves and bucket showers were just some of the factors that made the Nicaragua teams trip a unique experience. “Everyone in the group rolled with it and adapted,” Llanos said. “Even when we were offered a home cooked meal of bull testicle soup, everyone tried it. Its actually pretty good!”

Megan Heintz works with the Dominican Republic team to build a classroom wall out of plastic bottles. Submitted Photo.

The Dominican Republic team experienced its own share of barriers. “All of these projects had to be built in an urban context,” Grafman said. Grafman described the roads in Santo Domingo as very narrow and difficult for two people to walk through, let alone carry tools through. “Weather and brown outs also affected our production time,” Grafman added. “No power, tropical storms, not having the right equipment and yet all the students thrived.”

Gregory Pfotenhauer, Environmental Resources Engineering major, attended the HSU Dominicana Program and said, “There was a lot of trial and error involved with the building process. We had to design for an environment that most of us weren’t used to. It was a constant necessity to re-design as things became unfeasible, or materials became unobtainable,” he said.

Pfotenhauer also faced a similar barrier the Nicaraguan team faced: language. He learned that Spanish could be expressed in different forms, dependent upon country. “The greatest cultural barriers I experienced were linguistic. Even for fluent Spanish speakers, Dominican Spanish can be a challenge,” he said. “Learning by immersion greatly boosted my confidence as a Spanish-speaker.”

Despite the challenges in Nicaragua, Sterling Wallstrum, senior Environmental Resources Engineering major and EWB president, enjoyed the whole experience. “Its definitely beneficial experience because its practical work experience and definitely motivating,” he said.

After collecting enough data and speaking to local officials, the Nicaragua team flew back to Humboldt to review their findings and begin designing a pump. As long as there is enough funding to purchase a new pump and a well gets drilled for the hospital, the team plans to head back to Nicaragua next August and help build and install the pump.

Students interested in working with Grafman’s class or Llanos’s club are encouraged to contact each via email: Lonny Grafman: lonny@humboldt.edu and Tony Llanos: all1@humboldt.edu.

Top Officials Preside Sept. 2 at HSU Schatz Center Dedication

By Paul Mann
HSU Now

Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond, Representative Mike Thompson, and Schatz Director Peter Lehman will preside at the building dedication and open house of Humboldt State University’s new Schatz Energy Research Center on Friday, Sept. 2 at 11 a.m. The new structure sits just west of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building and the dedication is open to the general public as well as the campus community.

The state-of-the-art 6,000 square foot-plus center houses an exterior laboratory, two indoor labs, a machine shop, a conference and library room, and offices for staff and graduate students.

Adhering to the sustainability principles of both Schatz and Humboldt State, the new building meets LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold equivalent standards.

“This is a watershed event for the lab,” Lehman said. “Our new facility gives us the wherewithal to develop the clean energy technology our world so desperately needs, and now we’ll be able to get even more students involved in the work.”

Funding for the $3.2 million project came from the estate of the late Dr. Louis W. Schatz, long-time benefactor of the Center, founded in 1989 when he was president of General Plastics Manufacturing Company in Tacoma, Washington.

At the founding, Schatz wrote, “I look forward to a successful research effort and hope that eventually it will solve many of the world’s energy and pollution problems.”

The Center’s mission is to promote the use of clean and renewable energy, geared to energy efficiency and hydrogen fuel cell technology. The Center’s work spans research and development, technology demonstration, project development, energy systems analysis, and education and training.

Notable Schatz Center successes during its 22-year history include the first fuel cell car licensed to drive in the U.S. and the nation’s first solar-powered hydrogen fueling station. Its fuel cell patents have been licensed to four U.S. corporations seeking to commercialize the technology. Recently, the Center designed and built a modern hydrogen fueling station on the HSU campus and it is testing a state-of-the-art Toyota fuel cell vehicle.

Most recently an HSU/Schatz team travelled to Bhutan in south Asia and wrapped up the first installation of Smart Grid devices named GridShares, with the specific purpose of enabling rural customers of hydroelectric power to manage their individual power use and curb brownouts.

Humboldt State students and faculty advisors installed 90 low-cost GridShare systems of their own design in the village of Rukubji. They collaborated with local residents on-site, teamed with the Bhutan Power Corporation, Bhutan’s Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Long-established internationally with links to Asia, Africa, Central America, Europe, Canada and Mexico, the Schatz Center also recently made its first technology transfer to the Middle East, completing an agreement to provide a test station and accompanying fuel cell to the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The initiative is aimed at jump-starting Masdar’s fuel cell research. It is a key part of Masdar’s charter as an international graduate-level research and education institution in the Persian Gulf, directed at spurring renewable energy knowledge, development, and practical applications.

As Schatz staff and students settle into their new building, researchers have a new piece of equipment as well. A torrefier is on loan from Renewable Fuel Technologies (RFT), a San Mateo start-up business. Through torrefaction, biomass, such as logging slash, is heated without oxygen to temperatures of 250-300 degrees Celsius. The result is a cleaner-burning, energy-dense renewable energy source that RFT calls “BioCoal.” The Schatz Center is performing research to assist RFT in designing a commercially-viable torrefier that is self-sustaining.

Schatz is affiliated with Humboldt State’s Environmental Resources Engineering program, enabling both undergraduate and graduate students to acquire rare hands-on experience with cutting-edge, 21st century energy technologies.

HSU alumni Help Anchor Waste Management Forum

By Paul Mann
HSU Now

Five Humboldt State University alumni will join other experts in the waste management field and luncheon presenters Assemblyman Wes Chesbro and Maggie Gainer of Gainer & Associates at a Zero Waste Innovation Forum at noon on Friday, Aug. 19, at Arcata’s D Street Neighborhood Center at 13th & D Streets.

Participating Humboldt State alums include Juliette Bohn (’10), Humboldt Waste Management Authority Program Analyst; Ed Boisson (’91) of RW Beck, a SAIC company; Mark Bowers (’80), Sunnyvale Solid Waste Program Manager; Allison Poklemba (’02), Education Manager at the Arcata Community Recycling Center and Coordinator of the North Coast California Regional Environmental Education Community; and Tedd Ward (’93), Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority Analyst/Planner.

They will team with keynoters Chesbro, Gainer and Maureen Hart, North Coast Recycling Market Development coordinator, in an afternoon-long discussion of how Humboldt County can benefit from recent innovations in integrated waste management.

The purpose of the forum, sponsored by the City of Arcata, the Humboldt Waste Management Authority and the North Coast Recycling Market Development Zone, is to generate collaborative planning ideas that will help guide the Authority in preparing a state-mandated integrated waste management plan.

Ideas include methods to help more area businesses develop end-use markets for locally-collected materials. Hart will share examples of several local businesses that have already integrated recycled feedstock into making their products.

Forum discussions will air legislative initiatives, business needs, local market development for recyclables, integrated waste management planning, creative reuse systems, new approaches to handling food waste, public recycling behavior, and domestic and international buyers.

“It is critical that Humboldt County’s integrated waste management plan, which is required by the state, is practical and useful,” said Gainer. “This forum will give us ideas for how to develop an authentic and collaborative planning process to guide the Humboldt Waste Management Authority.”

In recent years, other communities have laid considerable groundwork for strategic waste reduction that meets multiple demands—not only resource conservation, but also economic development, state-mandated landfill requirements and the impacts of climate change.

“For many citizens, recycling ends at the curb, but in fact that is only the beginning,” Gainer explained. “It is a worldwide imperative for resource and energy conservation, and it is also an initial step of the manufacturing process. That is where the term ‘recycling’ came from.”

The public is invited to the Aug. 19 forum, but seating is limited. Lunch is $15.00, payable at the door.

Humboldt State Team Scores World Energy First in Bhutan

By Paul Mann
HSU Now

A Humboldt State University team in Bhutan has completed the first installation of Smart Grid devices called GridShares with the specific purpose of enabling rural electricity users to stabilize their own electricity grids and curb damaging brownouts.

Humboldt State students and faculty advisors have put the low-cost, prototype system of their own design into operation in the village of Rukubji. They collaborated with local residents on-site, teamed with the Bhutan Power Corporation, Bhutan’s Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bhutan is a developing country in the Himalayas situated above India and below Tibet. A Smart Grid delivers electricity via digital technology, which monitors usage and enables users to adjust their consumption, conserve energy, cut their utility costs and help ensure dependable current.

Chhimi Dorji (far right), an HSU alumnus, Department of Energy engineer and GridShare team member, talks to Rukubji residents at a village gathering.

Members of Humboldt State’s Renewable Energy Student Union won a $75,000 technology design award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Bhutan project. It demonstrates the potential of smart grid technology at the village level. HSU students and faculty say it holds the promise of improving renewable energy mini-grids in thousands of communities worldwide.

“GridShare devices are useful wherever brownouts are an issue with mini-grids,” says graduate student Meg Harper, who is pursuing a second undergraduate degree in Environmental Resources Engineering as well as a master’s in Energy, Technology, and Policy. “The GridShare makes electrical power more reliable. It lets residents know when power is and isn’t available and when you can use large appliances and when you can’t. Now, Rukubji residents can avoid damaging their appliances.”

Faculty Advisor Arne Jacobson, co-director of HSU’s Schatz Energy Research Center and Professor of Environmental Resources Engineering, says, “The students and our partners in Bhutan have done a great job of developing a creative solution to a challenging problem. One key aspect of the solution is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines technical innovation with education and the social dimensions of energy use.” GridShare encourages electrical load shifting with a three-pronged concept: education, indication, and enforcement.

The education prong pinpointed why Rukubji was experiencing brownouts and assisted the village in addressing the challenge. The Humboldt State team created a series of bilingual posters and pamphlets to help Rukubji residents learn how to work with GridShares and better manage their limited electric power.

The team led a student education program in Rukubji’s fourth, fifth and sixth grades about brownouts and load shifting. It also did community outreach, briefing residents from more than 80 households and businesses about the installations, explaining the GridShare program and responding to questions and concerns.

“As we were installing the GridShares, people in Rukubji gained a broader understanding of how electricity works,” said HSU Environmental Resources Engineering alum Kyle Palmer (’07). “As we explained the system, they came to realize that brownouts are not caused by the weather. They recognized that electricity is a finite resource. It made people aware that they can’t all use a lot of electricity all at the same time.”

Both Palmer and fellow alum Tom Quetchenbach (’11, Environmental Resources Engineering master’s degree with the GridShare project) spoke highly of Rukubji residents’ willingness to cooperate and the unstinting hospitality they extend to visitors. In Palmer’s words, “There is a real spirit of social sacrifice, to pitch in and share the grid.”

As for hospitality, Quetchenbach said he was impressed by it throughout the team’s stay. “Whenever you went into a house, you were served a cup of tea. Sometimes we had more than 10 cups during the course of a day!”

GridShare’s “indication” prong literally signals the state of the grid to the consumer. A display in each resident’s kitchen activates a green LED light when enough electricity is available for high-power appliances; a red one signals that residents must limit the use of high-power appliances such as rice cookers, though they can continue to use low-power devices such as lights, radios, televisions and mobile phone chargers.In its “enforcement function,” GridShare blocks the use of large appliances during brownouts. Rukubji residents are thereby encouraged to shift their use of high-power appliances such as water boilers to periods of low demand. That helps stem disruptive brownouts during peak hours of usage.

The Humboldt State team traveled to Bhutan in June to install GridShares in each home in Rukubji. Students will continue to monitor the devices for at least six months. They will evaluate GridShares’ capacity to stabilize the electric system and also assess residents’ satisfaction with the devices.

This summer’s phase of the pilot project is one part of a multi-year effort, not only with the village of Rukubji, but also the surrounding communities of Bumiloo, Sangdo, and Tsenpokto.Chhejay Wangdi, manager of the Bhutan Power Corporation’s Electricity Service Division, says Gridshares are particularly beneficial because “rather than managing grids with rolling blackouts, all houses can now keep their lights on, even in periods of high demand. This makes our customers happy indeed.”