Redwood Reader

BBC reporter Jonathan Fildes ran a story on February 17 (http://news.bbc.co.uk.2/hi/science/nature/6370905.stm, "Winds Devastate Ocean Life" about shifts in the winds that cause upwelling, which stirs up nutrients from the deep into the food chain for all marine animals. For the last five years the annual cycle has acted erratically, providing no food when it is needed and too much when it is not. The excess food decays and uses all available oxygen in the water causing death to all who cannot flee. Dead zones have also been found off Chile, Namibia and South Africa.
U.S. scientists on the West Coast think the timing and intensity of the upwelling are being disrupted. A late season in 2005 meant there was no food for migrating salmon. A massive but late bloom in 2006 triggered a dead zone from decomposition of unused nutrients. There were massive bird die offs from lack of food in some areas.
On February 20 John Driscoll of the Times-Standard wrote "When Come the Winds" (http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5264766). He provided more local information, explaining we need northwest winds in March and April, which have come in July the last two years, mentioned that Cassins auklet and rockfish have been seriously depleted by the variations from the norm. Fog and redwood trees are also mentioned as an effect of upwelling by Troy Nicolini of the National Weather Service in Eureka. A result of this has been the coming together of different scientific disicplines learning to forecast these events and make predictions about abundance, similar to the way agriculture does it now.
Al Gore seems to have convinced people global warming has arrived. Many people are now trying to battle the problem on every level from giant corporations to local town meetings. Still no mention of restoring the soil by using fungi to store carbon dioxide in the soil, or to recognize the importance of large trees as the true absorbers of carbon dioxide, or that it is a resource that should be hoarded by landowners. In fact failed carbon credit schemes and calls for short rotation logging show a deep ignorance of the basic workings of the landscape, as does mowing grass instead of growing woody perrenials. W3e would like to see more emphasis on restoring the landscape and creating natural. It will take a big load off the need for technological solutions, as called for by Richard Bransons 25 million dollar prize, and contribute to a profitable and stable landscape as well. "Branson Launches $25 million Climate Bid". (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6345557.stm). The prize is for capturing at least one billion tons of CO2 per year. While several schemes for capturing and storing CO2 are mentioned there is no mention of capture for further use, either.

Labels: Gore Branson, salmon, upwelling