Salon.com > Jason Dearen

Rare San Francisco river otter stumps researchers

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:33:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A rapt crowd followed a trail of bubbles that zipped over the surface of a seaside pond in the ruins of a 19th century bath in San Francisco.

San Francisco's newest star — the first river otter seen in the city in decades — surfaced its whiskery head furtively, a mouth full of sea grass. The crowd oohed as large waves pounded rocks just offshore, a briny smell and chill in the air.

The otter ducked back under water and took the sea grass underneath a concrete remnant of the historic baths, where the animal was building a nest.

"We came here to see the baths and this was just a bonus," said Eliza Durkin, who brought her son Jonathan to the site for a school project on historic places.

Beyond tourists, the otter has mystified and delighted conservationists, who are piecing together clues to figure out how he got there. The whiskery creature was first spotted by birdwatchers in September and has since settled into the City by the Bay.

River otters once thrived in the San Francisco Bay area, but development, hunting and environmental pollution in the 19th and 20th centuries has taken its toll on the once thriving local population.

EPA issues guidelines for cutting greenhouse gases

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Increasing energy efficiency is the focus of the first-ever federal guidelines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources issued Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Among the suggestions: replacing dirty fuels used to power oil refineries with cleaner sources and requiring more efficient electricity and energy use with existing power plants to reduce emissions -- while not requiring expensive technology upgrades.

EPA's new guidance is meant to help states understand how to implement new greenhouse gas reduction requirements while mitigating costs for industry in a bad economy. Most states will use EPA's new guidelines when processing new air pollution permits for power plants, cement factories and other big pollution sources under the federal Clean Air Act.

The new guidelines go into effect Jan. 2.

They require more stringent emissions standards when air quality regulators issue the permits to industry, which has complained the new rules will stop new construction and chill economic growth by creating uncertainty among businesses over how the new regulations would affect their new permits.

Giants fans cheer San Francisco’s first Series win

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:03:27 +0000

Thousands of orange and black-clad Giants fans hugged and high-fived one other Monday night as the club clinched its first World Series title since moving west more than a half century ago.

As the final out of the 3-1 win was recorded, the thousands watching on a big-screen TV at San Francisco's Civic Center plaza leapt for joy as City Hall glowed bright orange in the background.

"I have a permanent smile on my face," said Valerie Nicklas of Berkeley, who partied at another large street gathering near the Giants' AT&T Park. "This makes all the years of suffering worth it."

Fans waving Giants flags and rally towels danced in the downtown streets near the Civic Center as car horns blared. A lone accordion player played a tune as fans swirled around him. Others surrounded a drum corps as it pounded out a rhythm.

Amy Anderson Giugliano shot a bottle of champagne into the air, dousing those nearby.

"I never thought this would happen!" the 42-year-old from San Carlos said. "I'm going to celebrate all night!"

The club last won the Series in 1954 when they were the New York Giants. They moved west four years later, but suffered World Series losses in 1962, 1989 and 2002.

Feds approve 2 California solar plants on public land

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:20:00 +0000

For the first time, federal land managers are allowing the construction of two solar installations on public land to power hundreds of thousands of homes with renewable energy.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the projects Tuesday.

One includes a square mile of solar panels near Victorville in inland Southern California, and the other covers about 10 square miles in the remote Imperial Valley, east of San Diego.

The announcement comes about five years after solar developers began asking the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for rights to develop hundreds of solar plants on federally owned desert land across the Southwest.

PG&E launches $100M fund for California blast victims

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:19:00 +0000

The president of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. says the utility is launching a $100 million fund for victims of last week's gas pipeline explosion.

PG&E president Chris Johns announced Monday in San Bruno that the money was to help victims meet their day-to-day needs and would come with no strings attached.

Johns says the company had already provided $3 million to help cover the city's expenses in battling and recovering from the blast.

Residents of homes destroyed or badly damaged in the blast were told in a private meeting they would receive $50,000 checks.

Bob Pelligrini, whose home was leveled, says residents were told the checks would not preclude them from taking further legal action against PG&E.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) -- The president of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. says the utility company is launching a $100 million fund for victims of last week's gas pipeline explosion.

Biologist: Oil flow greater than had been thought

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:45:00 +0000

A marine biologist says new estimates for the amount of oil spilling out of a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico may quadruple the harmful effects on the environment.

Researchers say new figures for the blown-out well show the amount of oil gushing out may have been up to twice as much as previously thought. That could mean 42 million gallons to more than 100 million gallons of oil have already fouled the Gulf's fragile waters.

Paul Montagna, who is a marine biologist at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, says the more oil spewing from the leaking well means it can travel over a larger distance.

He told The Associated Press on Friday that the effects of the oil spill will likely be seen for at least a decade -- and perhaps longer.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

HOUSTON (AP) -- With each new look by scientists, the oil spill just keeps looking worse.

New figures for the blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico show the amount of oil spewing may have been up to twice as much as previously thought, according to scientists consulting with the federal government.

New, 22-mile oil plume discovered in Gulf

Fri, 28 May 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Marine scientists have discovered a massive new plume of what they believe to be oil deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico, stretching 22 miles from the leaking BP wellhead northeast toward an underwater canyon whose currents feed sealife in the waters off Florida.

The discovery by researchers on the University of South Florida College of Marine Science's Weatherbird II vessel is the second significant undersea plume reported since the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20. The find was announced Thursday.

The cloud was nearing a large underwater canyon whose currents fuel the foodchain in Gulf waters off Florida and could potentially wash the tiny plants and animals that feed larger organisms in a stew of toxic chemicals, another researcher said.

Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, said the DeSoto Canyon off the Florida Panhandle sends nutrient-rich water from the deep sea up to shallower waters.

McKinney said that in a best-case scenario, oil riding the current out of the canyon would rise close enough to the surface to be broken down by sunlight. But if the plume remains relatively intact, it could sweep down the west coast of Florida as a toxic soup as far as the Keys.

New, giant sea oil plume seen in Gulf

Thu, 27 May 2010 16:25:00 +0000

Marine scientists have discovered a massive new plume of what they believe to be oil deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico, stretching 22 miles from the leaking wellhead northeast toward Mobile Bay, Alabama.

The discovery by researchers on the University of South Florida College of Marine Science's Weatherbird II vessel is the second significant undersea plume recorded since the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20.

David Hollander, associate professor of chemical oceanography at the school, says the thick plume was detected just beneath the surface down to about 3,300 feet. He says it's more than 6 miles wide.

Scientists say they are worried the undersea plumes may be from chemical dispersants used to break up the oil a mile under the surface.