Who knew that punk icon John Lydon was a frustrated marine biologist … and friend of Heal the Bay? Check out this recent story in the Wall Street Journal.
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Heal the Bay Blog
Author: Matt King
Uh oh. Here we go again.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is once again recommending the complete elimination of the Beaches Grant Program, a key initiative for protecting public health at our nation’s beaches. Nearly $10 million in monitoring money is on the chopping block in the administration’s recently issued federal budget proposal for fiscal year 2014.
This is a déjà vu moment from last year, as EPA made a similar proposal for FY 2013. Luckily, program cuts were avoided then, thanks to Heal the Bay and our partner groups’advocacy and efforts from a group of 19 U.S. Senators including California’s Boxer and Feinstein.
Routine beach water monitoring, funded through the Beaches Grant Program, is essential for identifying polluted waters and promptly notifying the 90 million plus beachgoers who visit America’s beaches every year of potential waterborne illnesses such as diarrhea, nausea, ear and eye infections and skin rashes.
The majority of state beach programs are completely funded through federal grants. In California, federal money accounts for approximately one-third of the total funding of these critical programs (the state contributes about $1 million). The proposed cut is extremely concerning as states are only obligated to implement beach programs when federal funding is provided.
If implemented, these cuts will likely have a major impact on beach programs nationwide , including reduction in the number of monitoring locations, less frequent monitoring and elimination of off-season water testing programs. Reduced monitoring could compromise not only public health protection but also the ability to track chronically polluted beaches. Failure to protect public health will also endanger the coastal tourism and recreation economies that contributed over $61 billion to the GDP in 2009.
As Heal the Bay prepares for the May release of our 23rd Annual Beach Report Card, which provides annual water quality grades for approximately 650 beaches along the West Coast, we are concerned about the fate of beach water quality monitoring in the coming year.
Again, we call upon our Congressional representatives to take action against this proposal and for the public to sound their concerns. Historically, Congress has appropriated between $9.75 and $10 million to fund beach programs, and they should continue this level of funding to support our valuable coastal tourism-based economies and to protect beachgoers from getting sick from exposure to polluted water. While we understand that some cuts must be made in these difficult financial times, compromising public health is not truly a cost savings.
–– Kirsten James
Science and Policy Director, Water Quality
Visit Heal the Bay partner Surfrider Foundation to contact your representatives in D.C. and let them know that you have the right to know if a day at the beach could make you sick.
Today’s guest blogger is Sarah Sikich, Heal the Bay’s coastal resources director
California lost a coastal hero this week, but it is a life to be celebrated. After a long battle with lung cancer, Peter Douglas passed away. I found out about this loss Tuesday morning, on my way to a meeting to celebrate our new South Coast marine protected areas and to strategize on ways to make implementation of these critically needed underwater parks as successful as possible.
Driving from Los Angeles to Crystal Cove, there were signs of Peter all along the way: projects he improved through leading his staff to prioritize coastal protection; access points he helped open; and a San Onofre State Beach that would look quite different if the proposed toll road leading to it wasn’t defeated under Peter’s leadership a few years ago.
Peter’s dedication and focus on coastal protection was extraordinary. He began his early career by co-authoring a state ballot initiative, Prop. 20, that created the Coastal Commission in 1972. A few years later he helped write the Coastal Act to formally create the Coastal Commission and establish goals and means to protect coastal resources and critically evaluate development along California’s coast.
Under his decades of leadership as the executive director of the Coastal Commission, he facilitated access to hundreds of miles of coastline by opening up dozens of coastal accessways along our coast, he curtailed industrialization of Southern California’s shores by defeating projects like the Cabrillo liquefied natural gas terminal off Malibu’s coast, and affected many other proposed projects. He will long live on as an environmental leader and coastal champion.
After a day of MPA meetings, Tuesday concluded with an event at MacGillivray Freeman Films, the producers of many inspirational IMAX films about the ocean’s wonders. The evening event opened with a moment of remembrance for Peter, and everyone among the group reflected on his inspiration. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the Administrator of NOAA and another incredible ocean hero, gave a moving speech that night. She encouraged the group of California ocean advocates, researchers, and educators to continue our engagement on new and challenging issues, and tirelessly work to find innovative solutions to the problems facing our coasts and oceans. Her words are exemplary of the type of leadership Peter provided over the past several decades. In a night dedicated to Peter, I think it rang especially loud to all of us.
The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council voted April 3 to curtail a one-year pilot dog beach program. Since the pilot program was approved in February, many dog owners have descended on the newly established off-leash area near the Trump National Golf Club.
In letters and testimony submitted to the council, several local area residents and businesses complained to the city about the impacts of increased traffic and having dogs running on nearby trails. Heal the Bay sent a letter to the council urging its members to reconsider the pilot program because of concerns about potential water quality issues related to dog droppings left behind by less thoughtful owners.
Many staffers at Heal the Bay are dog owners or dog lovers, so we understand the desire for people to spend time with their pets outdoors. However, Heal the Bay and the NRDC have counseled local elected officials not to place off-leash dog parks near the shoreline or in areas where canines will impact local bird populations. We continue to work with local cities to develop solutions that will allow dog owners to enjoy the outdoors with their animals but not negatively impact public health.
Thursday was a busy day for Heal the Bay. We cleaned up – literally and figuratively – with two of our biggest supporters: The Los Angeles Lakers and Whole Foods. We divided our forces, with teams of staff and volunteers simultaneously scattering around town to do some great community outreach and raise funds to help keep our oceans clean and safe.
Fresh off a stirring win the night before against the Dallas Mavericks, All-Star center Andrew Bynum and rookie guard Andrew Goudelock led an afternoon beach cleanup at Dockweiler Beach, accompanied by five Laker Girls. Despite the drizzly marine layer, spirits were high as nearly 50 volunteers from the Lakers organization and Delta Airlines collected 188 pounds of trash. With their easy smiles and attitude, the two Andrews couldn’t have been more gracious, posing for photos and holding crying babies. Bynum let us know that Dockweiler is his local beach, while proudly showing off photos of his dogs Max and Diamond. Goudelock noted that the cleanup marked the first time he had been to the sand since arriving to L.A. from his hometown of Atlanta. Because of the NBA players’ height, our intrepid staff had to pull a “MacGyver” and use some tape and nails to jerry-rig an extension to our trash-grabbers for them.
The two Andrews got into the competitive spirit by leading their respective teams in a trash gathering contest. Bynum, with a chuckle, played the veteran card and grabbed the debris that Goudelock had collected, taking his whole bucket and claiming it as his own. In the end, Goudelock’s team still prevailed.
Meanwhile, the rest of Heal the Bay’s staff descended on Whole Foods’ three Santa Monica locations, manning tables throughout the day to engage shoppers about protecting our local beaches and watersheds. As part of their vibrant community engagement programs, the stores generously donated 5% of all net proceeds from the day to Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Receiving financial support is fantastic, but developing human capital is important too. Eveline Bravo, our cleanup manager, recruited a new member to our volunteer-training program at the 5th and Wilshire location. Raymond, who also organizes volunteer activities at a Santa Monica yoga studio, is now part of our crew.
We’d love to get your company involved in our mission. It’s great for organizational morale and you can take satisfaction in knowing you are having a direct impact on improving the health of our oceans and beaches. Learn more.
Who wouldn’t want a job that involves strolling along some of the most beautiful beaches in L.A.? It’s not a paid gig, but you get to help protect what you love – the ocean! Heal the Bay is now training volunteers to help monitor our new marine protected areas (MPAs) in Point Dume and Palos Verdes. Volunteers collect observational data on coastal uses in MPAs; data which is then used by the California Department of Fish & Game to help with management and compliance.
“Our volunteer citizen scientists come from varied backgrounds – from social workers to students – but all our volunteers have one thing in common: a passion for the sea,” says Dana Roeber Murray, Heal the Bay’s coastal scientist. Dana started the MPA Watch program in early 2011 to train local citizens on MPA monitoring and has trained over 60 volunteers to date.
“It took years of collaboration with scientists, fishermen, government, and other non-profits to see these protected areas enacted,” Dana says. “We worked hard up and down the state to make it happen. So it’s been very gratifying to see the public embracing MPAs and volunteering their time to help monitor their effectiveness.”
MPA Watch volunteers commit to attending one classroom and one field training to become citizen scientists, then go on to survey the coast at least four times a month. Heal the Bay also offers MPA Watch summer internship opportunities for people eager to get more deeply involved with Heal the Bay’s Science and Policy department. For more information, check out our MPA Watch FAQs or contact Dana.
Trainings are only offered a few times a year, so reserve your spot and sign up now.
Long Beach / AvalonMalibu / Pacific PalisadesMarina del Rey / Playa del ReyPalos Verdes PeninsulaSanta MonicaSouth BayVenice Beach
Guinness, corned beef and…clean oceans? With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, Heal the Bay offers some useful tips on how to have fun while also protecting our beaches and watersheds. Think six-pack rings and trips to the loo…
Use a Designated Driver When you carpool or take public transit to your local pub, you reduce harmful emissions that foul our oceans. If you’ve been imbibing, you also keep the roads safer.
Beware of Six-pack Rings Guinness may not use them, but plastic rings from other brewers can entangle and trap marine animals after they get in the waste stream. Cut them up before you throw them out.
Keep Your Trash to Yourself If you’re out on a night on the town, reduce your impact. Keep trash off the street and out of storm drains – lest all that parade and party debris end up in the ocean. Cigarette butts remain the No. 1 item that volunteers find at beach cleanups.
Sack the Plastic Bag Loading up on corned beef, cabbage and potatoes? Bring your own reusable shopping bag to grocery store. Plastic bags create loads of unnecessary litter and choke our waterways. (Ireland, by the way, has decreased plastic bag use by 94% since introducing a levy on plastic bags in 2002.)
Hold Onto Your Balloons All those helium-filled shamrock-shaped balloons may be cute, but they can blow away to the sea and harm animals. Always pop balloons and put them in the trash.
Don’t Be a Drip Too much green beer means more trips to the loo. Use water wisely by turning off the faucet when you don’t need it and installing low-flow toilets. Conserving water helps sewage treatments plants do a better job.
Give Back If you’ve overindulged, you can pay some penance the “morning after” by getting involved with Heal the Bay. Volunteer for a future beach cleanup, adopt an animal at the Santa Monica Bay Aquarium or download our Beach Report Card mobile device app.
Heal the Bay staff has been fielding questions lately from people who are concerned about debris from last year’s devastating tsunami in Japan. Will it was ashore here? Is it radioactive? The bottom line is that scientists believe that most of the debris from the tsunami has already sunk in the Pacific. What disaster-related debris may wash ashore in Southern California in the coming months and years will be widely dispersed. Most important, it’s unlikely to contain radiation.
Because of the high level of marine debris already in the ocean, it’s nearly impossible to determine if a particular item found on the beach did indeed come from the disaster zone in Japan. If you do find something unusual on the shoreline, we encourage you to take a picture of it and contact us. If it looks potentially dangerous, please don’t pick it up.
We’ve assembled an FAQ with more information. And remember that marine debris is a 365-day-a-year problem. If you want to help. please volunteer for one of our regular cleanups.
Heal the Bay staff has been fielding questions lately from people who are concerned about debris from last year’s devastating tsunami in Japan. Will it wash ashore here? Is it radioactive? The bottom line is that scientists believe that most of the debris from the tsunami has already sunk in the Pacific. What disaster-related debris may wash ashore in Southern California in the coming months and years will be widely dispersed. Most important, it’s unlikely to contain radiation.
Because of the high level of marine debris already in the ocean, it’s nearly impossible to determine if a particular item found on the beach did indeed come from the disaster zone in Japan. If you do discover something unusual on the shoreline, we encourage you to take a picture of it and contact us. If it looks potentially dangerous, please don’t pick it up.
We’ve assembled an FAQ with more information. The one-year anniversary of the tsunami has generated a lot of media buzz, but remember that marine debris is a 365-day-a-year problem. If you want to help please volunteer for one of our regular cleanups.
A proposal to more than double wastewater fees in Redondo Beach over the next three years has been approved by the City Council despite a mild protest.
Kudos to the city for taking the right steps to ensure that South Bay beaches remain safe and healthy for people and marine life.
As Councilmember Matt Kilroy said: “We have a tremendous responsibility to keep our water clean.”
Heal the Bay wins 2024 California Nonprofit of the Year Award!
Thanks to your generous support, Heal the Bay has accomplished award-winning successes for our coastal waters. As we continue our journey into 2025, we invite you to stand with us and help fuel our mission.
Every contribution makes a difference in preserving and protecting our precious marine environment. Join us in riding the wave of change!