Greenversations

Each dive in Palau was magnificent. It’s not every day you come eyeball to eyeball with creatures appearing to wonder; ‘just what are you doing with that funny contraption on your back?’ Such was the case when my dive instructor signaled me to turn around on our safety stop. To my surprise and glee, there was an enormous manta ray staring right at me. I could have touched him, but out of respect I held back as we gazed at one another. That is, after spinning my head around motioning and gurgling “HOLY MOLY!” My instructor proved that you can in fact laugh while scuba diving. I’m hooked.

The biodiversity above and underwater was captivating. Kayaking was a perfect way to catch both along the craggy limestone. Before departing on our carefully planned, 7 night kayaking, camping expedition, we took a day to paddle out for some snorkeling, and practice navigating with the waterproof expedition maps that Planet Blue provided. With countless, similar-looking, uninhabited islands you would too!

Putting our kayaks into the deep turquoise water, surrounded by jungly trees and mangroves, it occurred to me that if I were a salt water crocodile, this would be top notch. So I asked our friend who helped us launch, ‘just out of curiosity – should we keep an eye out for those wily reptiles?’ He grinned, “In Palau? Always Crocodile!”

Super!

Vines swooping to the water provided kayak parking as we snorkeled, and I looked behind, below, all around us for croc eyeballs – at which point it would be too late anyway, so why bother? The corals were a vast array of colors, shapes and textures appearing preserved since the dawn of time.

I’ll never forget though, the eerie feeling that also hung in the air that day. It was especially prominent, listening as our paddles interrupted the buzzing, ringing sounds of the birds and insects. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like for soldiers surviving in hiding for years, or decades in the caves. What it must have been like not knowing if the war was over, if it was safe to come out at all. How explosions must have shattered the stillness that now hung in the air. You could feel it, you could just feel the suffering and fear that had once dominated this beautiful place.

About the author: Jeanethe Falvey, EPA New England, on detail, EPA’s Office of Web Communications.

Most trek to Palau to behold beneath its sea. Become a certified diver? Check. My EPA dive team colleagues warned it would be hard to top, until I’m diving off Massachusetts this summer I can’t say, but I’ve likely been completely spoiled.

I started caring about animals far earlier than usual. Natural instincts were supplemented by growing up outside catching pollywogs, and when indoors, watching a 1980s, taped, National Geographic special on whales and sharks, incessantly… (Where scientists test which wetsuit colors attract Jaws the most, I think it was a tie, and divers caress sleeping Tiger sharks?!) While Palau didn’t have whales, it is the first country to create a shark sanctuary throughout its marine territory; and thank goodness.

We probably saw 50 sharks on the trip, I lost count. White tip, black tip, grey reef! I never felt threatened as they gently swam by. Diving Blue Corner, seeing these beautiful creatures, catching a glimpse into their behavior, just feet away took my breath away. I wanted to dive deeper and watch them for hours.

I heard of shark finning, seen atrocious images, but it really hit me there. How unnecessary to destroy these fascinating animals? Palau’s shark population and diversity had been devastated by foreign vessels, but heroic efforts in the community over the past decade helped the government enact some of the toughest shark protection legislation in the world.

Concerned Palauans had Ron Leidich’s help (told you he knows his stuff) along with Noah Idechong, Delegate to Palau’s National Congress and founding member of the Palau Conservation Society. Local efforts were aided by the help of Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week.” Both Ron and marine biologist Ethan Daniels helped the film crew capture the plight of Palau’s threatened shark population by surprising a foreign vessel with holds full of shark carcasses and fins. While it wasn’t yet illegal, the ship falsely declared the cargo as “tuna and other permitted catch” to Palau Customs officials. This captured for the world to see, caused international outcry and support to protect Palau’s top, living, attraction. Dermot Keane, another friendly face at Sam’s Tours, who we met after diving went on to launch the Palau Shark Sanctuary in November 2001, to continue the fight to end shark finning in Palau and around the world.

About the author: Jeanethe Falvey, EPA New England, on detail, EPA’s Office of Web Communications.

Last month I wrote a blog on how companies are using technology to green their products.  In that blog, I was raving about the green virtues of “100% compostable packaging.” The blog generated some interest. However, one of the commenters, Alexa, posed some interesting questions regarding the ability of this packaging to actually decompose if it ended up in a landfill instead of a composter. “Without the regular turning of soil and a heated environment that composting provides, will it break down?”

Well, I didn’t have the answer to her question. So I contacted my friends in EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery. I was surprised to find out that the fact that a product is classified as “biodegradable or compostable” doesn’t make it 100% green. These so-called compostable or biodegradable products “are only good for the environment when composted” emphasized my colleagues. By sending these materials to a landfill, they will not automatically breakdown. The right conditions have to exist for them to decompose. In fact, the very nature of landfills prevents the vast majority of compostable products from decomposing. The reality is that these landfills are virtually “dry tombs” and they are designed specifically to protect the materials deposited in them from coming in contact with air, water, ground water and sunlight. If these compostable products start to break down and decompose in a landfill, they will remain trapped in place possibly producing methane gas and leachate. They will not magically disappear.

So, for those individuals interested in making these compostable materials live up to their green name, I would recommend visiting the following websites on reducing and recycling organic waste and composting for additional ways to make them truly green.

So, while green packaging still has benefits, the best thing to do for the environment is to not create the waste in the first place. In spite of our best efforts, when waste is created, the next best options for our finances and the environment will be to reuse it, recycle it or compost it! Have a green day.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

Michelle Oakes has developed a new instrument to more accurately measure a dangerous air pollutant: Iron (II).
Oakes, an EPA STAR grantee and scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, presented the new instrument Monday at the 2010 AAAR conference on air pollution and health.

Iron (II) is commonly emitted by sources like biomass burning and coal-fired power plants and is associated with the production of harmful reactive oxygen species in the body. Oakes’ device, called a Particle-to-Liquid Sampler, measures the dangerous trace metal significantly better than previous methods ever have.

“People usually use a filter that works over 24 hours to measure Iron (II),” Oakes explained.
“But what we found is that the filters underestimate Iron (II) by a lot.”

She reported that in some cases, the Particle-to-Liquid Sampler measured Iron (II) levels twice as high as those measured by the filters—a very significant difference.

Because the Sampler conducts automated measurements every 12 minutes, it does a better job than 24-hour filters at capturing changes in Iron (II) levels throughout the day.

As wind speeds change, it is common for Iron (II) levels to fluctuate, producing what Oakes calls “transient events,” or periods of time where iron levels oscillate strongly from high to low.

The average daily Iron (II) measurements produced from the filters tend to mask these fluctuations.
Oakes explained that her device and its ability to more accurately reflect Iron (II) variations over time could significantly benefit the public health community.

“From a health standpoint,” Oakes said, “you need something that’s reliable…you want to be able to see the times of day when it’s most dangerous for people to be outdoors.”

But there are additional advantages to the “totally new” device.
“Not only does it do a better job measuring variations, but it’s also much less labor intensive than using filters which require lots of hours and work,” Oakes pointed out.

Once adapted to become more easily deployable, the sampler could potentially help States measure trace metals more easily.
Oakes presented the work during Monday’s AAAR poster session and seemed pleased to share the new technology.
“I really enjoy working on this,” Oakes said smiling, “it’s a way to do chemistry, be outdoors, and make an impact.”

About the Author: Becky Fried is a science writer with EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research. Her OnAir posts are a regular “Science Wednesday” feature.

Paradise greeted us at 4 a.m. with the sound of roosters serenading outside our window. Friends we made later on told us we’d eventually just stop hearing them. We had no idea how true that was (amusing story… part IV).

Day 1 was spent walking Koror to get the lay of the land. Got breakfast – chicken stir fry, (we offered a nearby rooster) and a cheese/egg burger for me. It was indeed an egg on a burger. We started following the locals to dine shortly thereafter.

For the ‘main drag,’ Koror was quiet. The speed limit gave dogs and chickens ample time to go about their days crossing The road that went through town. We sought out the Palau Conservation Society (PCS) to meet a friend of a friend – missed him, so we snorkeled across the street. (Yep, it was clean enough.) Still blister-free, we continued onto what would become our second home there: Sam’s Tours to plan finishing up my diving certification!

Later that night at Kramer’s (go if you’re there!), we met up with our friend Scott (PCS), for the first time in person. As we came in he said; “I KNEW I drove by you guys three times today!” I guess we slightly stuck out… small place. Talking that night, it already began to feel like we were home away from home.

The next day we explored the island of Ulong (where contestants ‘roughed it’ on Survivor) with Scott’s family, and other new friends including Ron Leidich, a biologist and founder of Planet Blue Kayak Tours. Talking with Ron was like being back at camp, only way cooler. We were learning (alongside the actual kids there with us) how some of Palau’s plants were pollinated, and which ones wouldn’t kill you, should you ever get sick of coconuts. Helpful, since we were scheming to kayak and camp on the Rock Islands and beyond for a week on our own.

Watching a stunning sunset on the boat ride back that day it hit us: one trip, a few weeks, would never be enough.

About the author: Jeanethe lives in Boston, working for EPA’s New England Office as a Public Affairs Specialist, and a Superfund Community Involvement Coordinator. Currently Jeanethe is also working on web and social media outreach for EPA’s Office of Web Communications in Washington D.C.

I’m a 20 year EPA staffer and Computer Specialist doing much more than computers these days. One of my tasks is to help moderate comments that come in to the EPA’s Open Government discussion forum.

I’ve quickly come to realize that moderating comments in the public arena, especially in these sometimes politically-charged times, requires a curious mixture of patience, firmness and humor.

• Patience: Like our favorite teachers and professors from education, sometimes we have to let folks submit their opinions about issues that are important to them, even when they are off the topic of discussion. It’s very important to guide them toward translating that energy into ‘do-able’ suggestions so that we can include them in our Open Government Plan, if possible. Early on, we decided to allow some latitude to ensure transparency and participation in the process.
• Firmness: When we encountered wrong information, not just opinion, we tried to provide correct information, and this was mostly well received. The forum has published Terms of Participation, and the only times we’ve moved ideas to the “off topic” area, or removed comments from the forum, was most likely because of this. We recorded all of these actions to preserve all input.
• Humor: Occasionally I come across a comment that is “strongly worded” against government (or some other group or issue), and I am reminded about what my mother always told me: That arguing with anyone — usually about politics, sports or religion — when it was obvious that there would never be movement to the middle, was useless. “Don’t engage,” she said. “Keep it light and polite.” That seemed to be a very prudent credo. Anyone with a background in customer service, or who has spent time answering a help desk phone also knows this.

We are now into the last few days of the project, and the response has been very good. I encourage you all to visit the OpenEPA page to find out what the EPA is doing to promote transparency, participation and collaboration. Also, visit our discussion forum site to suggest ideas for our Open Government Plan. To date, there have been 150 ideas, 317 comments, 3,080 votes, and 707 users. Please join us in the discussion, vote for one of the 150 ideas or share your own.

About the author: Barry Everett is one of EPA’s OpenEPA Moderators, who is currently on temporary assignment from the EPA’s Dallas office to the Agency’s Washington, D.C. Headquarters office. This blog is part of an ongoing series about the EPA’s efforts toward the Open Government Directive that lays out the Obama Administration’s commitment to Open Government and the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration.

Following up on last week’s blog post, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of comments sent in favor of the “catch and release” school when it comes to eliminating rodents. Since my last blog, I’m pleased to report that we have not had any other unwanted visitors of the rodent family. It’s obvious that the pesky creature found its way into the house when I left the garage and kitchen doors open.

That leads me to today’s issue—how to control pests without poisons. Among the do’s and don’ts of pest control, create physical barriers that will prevent these pests from entering the homes. It’s obvious that they do not need an invitation to come into your home nor will they always choose to come in through the front door. To create these physical barriers, it’s important to close off entryways and hiding places for these pests. You should caulk cracks and crevices around cabinets and baseboards. Use wire mesh to fill holes around where pipes go through the wall, ceiling or floor. Although they might seem like very small spaces, openings along pipes serve as excellent pathways for these unwanted creatures.

Since National Poison Prevention Week is fast approaching, I wanted to share additional information on preventing poisonings in your home.  These accidental poisonings can be prevented if we store household pesticide products away from the reach of children and pets. By using pesticides properly, we can keep our family and pets safe.

And for those of you who were asking about my cats last week, here’s an update. After the raucous created from capturing the small mouse in the toy box and dumping everything on the deck, the three cats made their appearance flexing there muscles. Where were they when we needed them the most? It really was a comical scene.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

Hi everyone. If you’re looking for the question of the week, it’ll be back next Monday. Our offices are closed Monday and Tuesday because of record-breaking snow, so our team wasn’t able to post it. And we’re expecting another several inches Tuesday night into Wednesday.

I’m sitting here in my dining room trying to get at least a little work done, though.  Looking around my house, I remember all the green building decisions we made when we renovated last year.  Right from the beginning, we did our best to reduce, reuse, and recycle (thanks for your good comments on that post!). Some of these choices might save us money over time, but our main motivation was that green building and home location is just the way it should be done:

• zero-VOC paint and low-VOC caulks and adhesives
• a high-efficiency Energy Star furnace (and air conditioning, for when summer returns), plus an Energy Star dishwasher to replace the original that died a month after moving in.  We kept the other appliances, and will replace them with Energy Star units as they stop working.
• Energy Star double-paned windows and doors
• light-colored roof shingles to reflect the hot summer sun
• compact fluorescent light bulbs (other than on my youngest child’s night table because she keeps breaking them)
• bamboo floors where the old floors couldn’t be saved, and refinished hardwood and parquet that could (like the appliances, why throw out stuff that works?)
• kitchen countertops made of recycled glass and bamboo
• Watersense water-efficient sinks, toilets, and showerheads
• blown foam insulation that’s keeping us nice and toasty.

We also put the old kitchen cabinets in our laundry room and basement, and donated a lot of extra materials and fixtures to a local organization that sells them again.

The house’s location is also pretty green, since I can easily walk or bike to the subway.  Our kids ride the bus and walk to school, and we’re a 10-minute walk to the library and a small commercial district with several restaurants, a drug store, and our favorite: a local ice cream shop.

Of course, sometimes it’s hard to find a home near public transit, and not every building option is available or affordable.  For example, while wood and other materials were greener, they were too expensive compared with vinyl windows.  But we did as much as we could.

We’re happy with our choices, but we enjoy discussing them, too.  What’s your favorite green feature of your home?

About the author: Jeffrey Levy is EPA’s Director of Web Communications.

For the last three weeks, I’ve been having a greenversation with my colleagues in the blogosphere on the disposal of cadmium/lead-laced toy jewelry. I was glad to see the exchange that has developed over time. The comments have compelled me to write a third blog on this issue. I’m very happy to report that since we started this conversation on the toxic toy jewelry and metal trinkets, CPSC has actually recalled some items due to their cadmium and lead content. Those are great news! Just helping to get the word out to parents so they will keep these toxic items away from their children.

However, this greenversation points to the need to further address the proper disposal of other household items that may have hazardous content—batteries, electronics, even cell phones, to name a few. The title of my blogs, “When in doubt, throw it out,” was not meant as a blanket statement for all solid waste management. There are guidelines for the proper disposal and recycling of items with hazardous waste. So, I recommend that you visit the following Web pages to obtain additional information on the important issues you mentioned so we can all work to protect the environment where we live, work, learn and play.

Here are some useful Websites for the disposal and recycling of the following products:
batteries; mercury-containing light bulb recycling; electronics; cell phones; used oil; and general household hazardous waste.

Thank you for your input. Keep it coming.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Bentley, a pilot-biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last summer during a visit to EPA’s Western Ecology Division in Corvallis, Oregon, when he took me, photographer Eric Vance, and scientists Steven Klein and Scott Leibowitz on two flights to photograph and document ongoing EPA research from the air (I blogged about one of the flights for the August, 26 “Science Wednesday”)

Thanks to the skill, professionalism, and patience of our pilot, we landed with a portfolio of several hundred stunning aerial photographs to support science and outreach efforts, a far better understanding of EPA ecosystem services research, and a deeper appreciation for the spirit of collaboration between EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Thanks to Ray’s quick smile and generous spirit, the trip was both fruitful and fun.

Last week, I learned the tragic news that Ray, along with his passenger biologist David Pitkin, died on January 17 when their plane went down in a wooded area west of Philomath, OR. The two were returning from a day spent flying over estuaries along the Oregon coast, counting ducks, geese, and swans for an annual mid-winter waterfowl survey.

Even though I only spent the better part of an afternoon with Ray, he made a big impression. His love of flying and wildlife were evident. As a wildlife aficionado and former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee myself, I loved hearing his tales of survey flights over wilderness areas and National Wildlife Refuges from Chesapeake Bay to Alaska. He even extended our first flight a few minutes to see if he could find a grey whale to show us off the coast of Newport. (No such luck.)

One of the best parts of my job is getting to work with people—scientists, photographers, and pilot-biologists included—who clearly love what they do. Ray’s passion for flying and wildlife conservation were obvious, and infectious. The flights he took us on were the highlight of a great week, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.

I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families, and many friends and colleagues of Ray Bentley and David Pitkin.

About the Author: Aaron Ferster is the lead science writer-editor for EPA’s Office of Research and Development.