Hands Across the Sand at Neptune State Park. Photo by Gus Gates, Oregon Surfrider.

If you missed the weekend protest against offshore oil and gas drilling, here’s a way to experience it on your computer.

We’re getting video and photos from some of the Hands Across the Sand events in Oregon. There were 17 of these gatherings in Oregon on Saturday, part of a national movement to draw attention to the dangers of offshore drilling, and to promote clean and renewable energy.

Oregon Surfrider says about 100 people took part in the Hands Across the Sand event at Neptune State Park near Yachats. Gus Gates says they saw whales spouting off the beach, a timely reminder of what’s at stake in this debate.

“The message of the event was clear, NO to offshore oil drilling, YES to clean energy renewables. Oregon’s ocean, waves and beaches are one of our greatest natural resources, one that contributes significantly to our coastal and state economy through recreation, tourism, fishing, and scenic enjoyment,” says Gates.

Meanwhile, we’re getting reports that about three dozen people showed up at the Corvallis event, and that several dozen lined up along the Columbia River in Vancouver.

Video: Hands Across the Sand at Neptune State Park near Yachats, from Kristi Gott.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYpvvkfphLU

Slideshow: Hands Across the Sand events in Oregon, from Flickr.

It’s called Hands Across The Sand. More than a dozen events are planned across the state.

What’s this all about?

The idea is pretty simple.

Starting about Noon on Saturday, people will hold hands, face the ocean and form long lines on the beach. It’s a symbolic “line in the sand” against offshore oil and gas drilling. The event will last about 15 minutes and if enough people show up, should be an amazing site.

Organizers will form lines at ten locations all along the Oregon coast. Another seven “solidarity events” will be held in the Willamette Valley, from Eugene to Portland.

The idea kicked off earlier this year in Florida when thousands of people came together to make a statement against offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf.  This was long before the BP fiasco near Louisiana.

Tomorrow, the event goes national. Here along the West Coast, something like two dozen events are planned in Washington. And I can’t even count how many there will be along the California coast.

What’s The Status of Offshore Drilling In Oregon?

There’s not much of a threat here in Oregon.

Several months ago, the legislature passed a law banning offshore drilling in Oregon’s territorial waters for ten years. It was one of the few environmental victories of the special session. The law only protects the first three miles of ocean off our coast. Beyond that, the federal government is in charge.

Even before the spill in the Gulf, the feds were not planning on issuing offshore drilling leases in Oregon and Washington. The last auction was in 1964. There’s so little gas and oil off our coasts that the feds say they’re not going to bother to try again, at least not for the “foreseeable future.”

Environment Oregon has told me that having a state ban in place sends a message to the federal government that offshore drilling isn’t welcome here, and that the are paying attention. Getting thousands of Oregonians to line up on the beach will put some power behind that message.

For More Information:

Hands Across The Sand, Oregon webpage

Hands Across The Sand, Oregon Facebook page

Video: Hands Across The Sand In Destin, Florida from February, 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r54kRnZ1b2k

As for people, news stories at the time said there was no danger to human health, despite a handful of reports about surfers and kayakers possibly getting sick.

Now, a group of health officials and other scientists are in the very early stages of studying the issue. Can these events harm people who are playing in the water or walking along the shore? To answer the question, they’re asking for help from surfers.

One of the people involved in the research is Vera Trainer with NOAA. She’s an oceanographer with the Northwest Fishery Science Center.

She says all this started in mid-November, during a conference on harmful algae blooms in Ocean Shores, Washington. One of the participants mentioned surfing in the algae bloom a month earlier, but was still congested and sniffling. Another participant had conducted necropsies on some of the dead birds. She noticed the birds had unusually low levels of bacteria in their stomachs.

That’s about the time they realized they might be on to something. “We decided it was worth studying,” says Trainer. “Are people at risk here? What can we tell the public about this?”

Within days they went to Half Moon Bay near Westport, Washington and collected data from 20 surfers. The surfers answered questions about their health and possible symptoms before and after going in the ocean. The team also collected nasal samples from the surfers. Those tests have yet to be analyzed.

Now they’re asking for even more information from the surfing community. Working with Surfrider chapters in Oregon and Washington, the team wants members to fill out an online survey about how they may have been affected while surfing during the algae bloom. Dr. Myduc Ta with the Washington Department of Health says it’s important to collect more information from a larger group of surfers. She hopes this will tell them if there’s enough evidence to continue with the studies.

If nothing else, Ta says they’ll be better prepared to respond if a major bloom returns next fall.

“Everything is under control,” adds Trainer. “There’s no need for alert or alarm. But we want to have all the information so we can understand this.”

In addition to NOAA, Washington Deparment of Health and Surfrider, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention are also involved in the resesarch.

It’s worth a reminder that toxins produced by algae blooms can seriously sicken people who eat shellfish. In Oregon, the Agriculture Department routinely closes areas of the beach to commercial and recreational harvesting when levels of marine toxins get too high. Currently, the Northern Oregon Coast is closed for recreational and commercial razor clam harvesting.

For more information see: Oregon Department of Agriculture Shellfish Safety Closures.

In Washington, several beaches remain closed to various types of shellfish harvesting. That information is put out by the Health Department. You can find out more on the the Emergency Closures web page.

Marine reserves are sort of like state parks in the ocean. They’re designed to protect marine life and make the areas available for scientific research. While banning activities like fishing and hunting, people will still be able to enjoy other kinds of recreation that don’t involve removing marine life. Crabbers will be allowed in to remove crab pots that have drifted into the areas.

And that’s what makes them so controversial.

The reserves at Otter Rock and Redfish Rocks are small, only a couple of acres in size. But the fishing industry is concerned about losing access to areas off the coast. The state is looking at creating more marine reserves at Cape Falcon, Cascade Head, Cape Perpetua and Cape Arago. Fishermen may also lose access to parts of the ocean for wave energy projects and offshore wind farms.

Supporters say closing off Marine Reserves will help fish and wildlife in nearby areas rebound, so eventually they say, fishermen will be better off.

California Sea Lion pup. Photo from NOAA.

It’s not as if California Sea Lions are strangers to the Oregon Coast, but this winter they’re showing up in unusually large numbers.

Wildlife officials think the reason is El Nino, the every-so-often warming of the waters of the Pacific Ocean near South and Central America. They say during an El Nino, the prey that sea lions eat are carried northward by changes in ocean currents. So the sea lions are simply following the food.

See the story from the Eugene Register Guard: Surplus of sea lions

An OSU wave energy prototype being tested in 2007. Photo from OSU.

I love stories that challenge conventional wisdom. This is one of them.

Take a guess at what kind of Oregonians are most likely to support wave energy. If you think it’s people who hold strong pro-environment views and love nature, you’d be wrong.

New research from Oregon State University paints a very different picture. The most reliable supporters of wave energy are older, conservative, white males. Generally speaking, they don’t concern themselves too much with the environment and are opposed to government regulations to protect it.

The results were very surprising to Maria Stefanovich, an OSU graduate student in Environmental Science. Stefanovich was part of a team that studied the attitudes of Oregonians towards wave energy.

See our earlier story: Oregonians Unsure About Wave Energy

She says conservatives are lining up behind wave energy because they believe it will help drive economic growth and create jobs for the state. They see wave energy as a way to harness nature to serve the needs of people, but don’t care that it reduces carbon and helps in the fight against global warming.

There’s a lesson here for policy makers, according to Stefanovich. She says if they really want to convince people about the need to switch to renewable energy, they need to stress the economic benefits as well as the environmental ones.

In a recent editorial for Sea Technology Magazine she writes:

“These findings have important policy implications, because they suggest that our current methods of conveying the urgency of transitioning to renewable energy are off base. This survey indicates that policymakers may be more effective in getting the public to adopt renewable energy more quickly if they leverage the public’s economic bias and stress the socioeconomic benefits that wave energy could provide, rather than issues like climate change and the depletion of traditional energy sources.”

An OSU wave energy prototype being tested in 2007. Photo from OSU.

The drive to develop wave energy off the Oregon coast may be moving too quickly for many people in the state.

A new survey by Oregon State University shows that while a lot of Oregonians like the idea of wave energy, they’re also concerned about impacts on the coastal environment and commercial fishing.

One of the authors of the study is OSU sociology professor Flaxen Conway. Conway has been working for years with coastal residents, helping them try to understand the effects of wave energy and other demands being placed on the coast.

“Some state officials are pushing this pretty hard, maybe too hard for some people’s taste.” she says. “Many coastal residents and others want to be heard, like all of us they are often skeptical of change, and in some pretty crowded community meetings it’s clear they want answers to their questions before going to commercial scale. They recognize the value of space and place in the ocean. And there are a lot of concerned people in the fishing industry who don’t want this to be just one more thing working against them.”

How quickly are things moving along? As Conway notes, wave energy wasn’t an issue only a decade ago. But with Oregon trying to meet state goals to get 25% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025, the pressure is building.

One of the recommendations from the study is for government, industry and academic leaders to work closely with coastal residents and listen to their concerns before choosing wave energy sites. The study predicts some of the biggest battles will take place over where wave projects are located. Listening and collaboration should help avoid some of those fights.

Conway says leaders need to pay attention to the “human dimension” of wave energy.

“It’s not just a case of developing technologies that work and finding industrial partners who want to develop them,” says Conway. “People care about the environment, they care about existing uses of the ocean, they care about their concerns being addressed, they care about the ocean view from their porch. All of these things matter.”

Other findings include:

• Strong support exists for both technological and environmental research to be completed before large scale commercial projects are allowed.
• The biggest supporters of wave energy are conservative, better-educated males, but the general level of knowledge about energy issues in the state is fairly high across the board.
• Truly sustainable energy sources have to consider all economic, environmental and social dimensions.
• Significant work is needed in mapping the ocean floor. This will help avoid conflicts over wave energy farms and other uses, such as commercial fishing grounds.

Cascade Head near Lincoln City. Photo by NOAA Commander Bruce Hillard.

Saying our coast ecology is under deep stress, Environment Oregon is calling for a major expansion of the state’s system of marine reserves.

Marine reserves are sort of like state parks in the ocean.  They’re areas where most major commercial activity, such as fishing and energy development are banned. But recreation activities, such as diving, boating and surfing, are allowed. So far, Oregon has set aside two areas off the coast as marine reserves and four other locations are being studied.

But Environment Oregon argues that much more needs to be done. It says establishing a larger system of marine reserves will help coastal areas recover faster from overfishing, climate change, and the impact of those summer “dead zones”.  The group says that in other parts of the world, marine reserves have a proven record of increasing the population of marine plants, fish and animals.

Here’s a look at what Environment Oregon wants to see happen.

It says the legislature should move forward to establish marine reserves at the four areas still being studied.  This includes Cape Falcon south of Cannon Beach, Cascade Head near Lincoln City, Cape Perpetua south of Yachats, and Cape Arago – Seven Devils near Coos Bay.

Then it suggests three other areas as future marine reserves.  On that list is Three Arch Rocks, home to a colony of tufted puffins.  Next is Orford Reef, where a large kelp forests provides habitat for the red sea urchin.  Finally, it wants to include Mack Reef, home to a wide variety of marine species including almost a dozen types of seabirds.

Marine reserves have been a tough sell on the coast.  Commercial fishermen are worried about being locked out of prime fishing grounds as more ocean territory is set aside for reserves, and offshore energy projects such as wave and tidal energy and offshore wind farms.

For more information see Environment Oregon’s report, Oregon’s Marine Treasures: The Case For Conservation.

Three Arches Rock. Photo from Environment Oregon.

Allowing oil and natural gas drilling off the Oregon coast is not worth the risk, according to a new report from Environment Oregon.

The environmental dangers are well known. Offshore oil spills can kill or harm marine life, fish and seabirds. They damage coastal ecosystems and can be awfully expensive to clean up.

But this new report argues there’s an economic risk too. The coastal economy depends on a healthy coastal environment, says Nicole Forbes with Environment Oregon. “Our clean beaches and ocean enable coast business and jobs from tourism, commercial fishing and recreational fishing.” The group puts a price tag on this economic activity at about $1.2 billion annually.

So how does this compare to how much oil and gas there is off our shore?

It’s hard to make a precise comparison. This information about Oregon is part of a much bigger nationwide report released by Environment America and the Sierra Club. But here’s what it tells us.

Along the Pacific Coast, there’s an estimated $23.1 billion worth of oil and natural gas to be extracted on a yearly basis. That’s based on energy prices as of Spring 2009 and a production life of about 25 years. But the value of coastal tourism, recreation and fishing is almost three times more, at $65.5 billion per year.

But since most of the West Coast energy is off California, that difference grows when you look at just Oregon and Washington. For these two states, the value of tourism, recreation and fishing is about ten times bigger than the value of oil and natural gas.

Which is one of the reasons why State Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland) also appeared at the news conference where this information was announced.  He wants to see oil and natural gas exploration permanently banned from Oregon territorial waters which extend about three miles offshore.  Cannon will introduce this legislation during February’s special session.  Meanwhile, the current ban runs out in early January.

While there may not be any current interest in exploring Oregon’s coast for oil and natural gas, Cannon believes that if a permanent ban becomes law, it sends an important message.  He says it tells federal regulators, and the oil and gas industry, that Oregonians don’t want offshore drilling in state or federal waters.  ”Oil and gas are very successful at opening new areas,” he says.  ”But there’s not enough of it (off Oregon) to make it worth the cost.”

The news comes as the Interior Department gets closer to making a decision about allowing more exploration for offshore oil and natural gas. The public comment period on the plan was closed about a month ago.

Here’s a look at each of them:

Flame Retardant Ban

The House voted 39-19 to approve a bill that phases out Deca-PBDE, a flame retardant used in a variety of consumer products such as carpeting, furniture, mattresses, computers, and televisions. The ban takes effect January 1, 2011.  It’s similar to a ban passed by the Washington legislature earlier this year.

PBDEs have been in the news a lot, with growing evidence about the damage they do to the environment.  In January, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report that PBDE levels are increasing in the Columbia River Basin, especially in bass, trout and walleye.  In April, a report from NOAA says they’re increasing in coastal areas too, including six test locations along the Oregon Coast.

How do PBDEs harm wildlife? They accumulate over time in fish, birds and bird eggs.  A 2008 study found high levels of PBDEs in Peregrine Falcons.  PBDEs cause neurological and behavioral problems that can interfere with a bird’s ability to reproduce. In high doses, they can even lead to cancer in animals. The EPA says there’s no direct evidence, so far, that people can be affected in the same way.

Senate Bill 596-A now goes to Governor Kulongoski for his signature.

Marine Reserves

One of Governor K’s long sought environmental goals will become law thanks to today’s vote in the Senate.  On a 24-3 vote, Senators approved House Bill 3013A that establishes two marine reserves on the coast, one near Depoe Bay and the other near Port Orford.  It also creates four study areas where reserves could be established in the future.  Marine reserves are areas in the ocean where aquatic life is protected and where scientists can conduct research.  Commercial harvesting, such as fishing, would be banned in these areas.

Kulongoski originally wanted a much larger system.  But opposition led by commercial fishermen convinced the Ocean Policy Advisory Committee to propose this system of two reserves and four study areas.

The House has already approved the bill.

Greener Building Codes

New buildings in Oregon will have to be more energy efficient if Senate Bill 79A become law.  The bill tells the Department of Consumer and Business Services to write up new building codes that will increase energy efficiency by 10% – 15% for residences and 15% – 25% for other buildings.  The Oregon League of Conservation Voters says the new standards will have people and companies millions of dollars by spending less on energy to cool and heat buildings.

The bill now goes to the House.

Thanks to the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Oceana, and the Senate Democratic Caucus for updates on these bills.