The entire beach was covered in a white layer of the particles, which probably numbered in the millions. The recent rains washed them from Pacifica and Daly City's streets, into the storm drains, down the "Secret Waterfall", and into the ocean. They were then washed up onto the beach during the high tide. They will all wash away in a day or two and head out to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - poisoning birds, fish, turtles and sea mammals all along the way. (http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/)
Submitted by Ian Butler
41 comments:
Why don't you go and clean it up?
Ian:
There you go again... First, you spread your propaganda at Sharp Park that unless the golf course is closed down the SFGS will go extinct. That was a scientifically baseless claim and you knew it.
Now you are claiming that the classic white foam (which looks like styrofoam) found all over coastal beaches, especially during storms and high tides, is now indeed styrofoam - in the form of nurdles. Fortunately, the informed readers of this blog will Google nurdles and look at various links and images to confirm your hyperbole.
I've got to hand it to you and Brent Plater, Ian. Never let the truth get in the way of something that you want people to believe.
The picture clearly shows plastic or solid foam chunks on the beach. Are you claiming that this picture of litter on the beach is a form of "propaganda" because you think the author called it styrofoam or nurdles in error. Does it really matter what type of plastic this trash is?
I'm sure I could find a piece/chunk of styrofoam in ANY open space area. The claim by Ian that "The entire beach was covered in a white layer of the particles [nurdles], which probably numbered in the millions..." is quite a leap from a few chunks. But hyperbole is always quite a leap. If you bothered to research nurdles, you would find that a chunk of styrofoam does not qualify as a nurdle. But you know that...
Okay. So it's not "nurdles" we see in the photo -- let's say it's Trynocolocite-345b (a made-up name). Does this change the fact that the beach is strewn with trash of some sort?
Are you claiming that the above photo depicts the typical state of things at the beach on any given day? I don't know about you, but I'm seeing more than "a few chunks" of strofoam in the picture. I'm also guessing that the entire beach is strewn with this waste as I find it hard to believe that flotsam ends up in only one 50-yard swath of beach.
You guys need to get off your butts and grab a shovel.
I had 27 Phi Beta Kappa students from City College at that site a few month ago, and several of them roped off a square and counted all the Styrofoam pellets within it - they found over 1,500 of them! Based on that, they estimated over 150,000 pellets at the mouth of the creek. I estimate that the entire beach is well over 100 times that area, hence my estimate that the particles number in the millions. It's possible that there were only about a million of them, but that's still an awful lot!
As to Kathleen's question as to why I don't clean it up: I try, in fact I have hauled 6 loads of litter up the cliffs in the last 3 days. Unfortunately, the Styrofoam particles are so small that it is very inefficient to pick them up, that is why it would be far better to prevent them from getting there in the first place.
If anyone would like me to take them to the site, I would be happy to show them. It's a real eye opener. The best time to see the litter problem is after a heavy rain. Just email me at ianbutler@netzero.net and let me know when you would like to go. (But be prepared for a strenuous hike!)
Funny thing, Ian. I don't seem to be able to locate a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at San Francisco City College. Could this be yet another example of zealots like you and Brent Plater saying whatever it takes to justify your position? Nice try though...
It's obvious what this is. Albino tar bars!
Just ask Vreeland or Petey. They're experts in tarballology.
There is a PBK at SFSU, maybe Ian is confused.
Now there has been participation by Phi THETA Kappa at City College of San Francisco . . . of course, I was a member of the JoePa Terno fraternity at Penn State . . .
I was a member of I Eta Pi sorority at Marie Callendars. They served me my cobbler in a nurdle container. That was to die for...
You conspiracy theory nuts are, well... nuts! The Phi Beta Kappa gang will be helping out with the beach cleanup at Rockaway at 9:00 on February 6th. Feel free to show up ask them for yourself what school they go to. (But bring your work gloves!)
we're nuts because we fact-checked your post and it failed? Are they a new chapter of PBK?
Ian, will they be wearing orange fluorescent jump suits? Just wondering...
Ian:
I will be bringing the gang from the San Francisco School of Snakes and Slimy Things (Phi Betya Lie Chapter) out to Sharp Park Golf Course on Saturday to look for all of those mauled SFGS carcasses that you and Brent claim the golfers are responsible for. Care to join us?
maybe the nurdles killed all those frogs. Brenty-poo saw the bodies!
who you callin a nurdle? REVENGE!
I don't play with styrofoam, so don't blame me.
All of us contribute to the Styrofoam problem whether we want to or not, everytime we buy a product that is packaged with it. It's not a matter of who to blame, but how do we fix it, and the first step is to admit that it is a problem. Apparently some at this site are in such denial that they would rather pretend it's all just make believe.
I don't mind having potshots taken at me, I have thick skin and I know that the truth will eventually win out. But I do take offense at insulting the college students who worked their tails off to help clean up the creek. They are real people, and got school credit for their hard work.
I thought cleaning up pollution is something that everyone could agree on, even the people at Fix Pacifica. I hoped to inspire some of you to want to roll up your sleeves and help out, or at least to want to learn more. That's why I bothered to post these photos here. But from the responses so far, maybe I was wasting my time.
But if anyone does care to lend a hand, you know where to find me.
I was so moved by Ian's words, and the ignoble suffering of those poor college students, and the relentless sacrifice Ian makes ever day he cleans my junk from his secret waterfall . . .that I put on my IAN belt buckle this morning.
Ian:
Personally I am more concerned with the neglect and abject failure of our City sewer system and the untold millions of gallons of waste that have been released into our environment. The responsibility for this lies squarely on the shoulders of our City officials. I was told by former public works director Scott Holmes back in the 1999 timeframe that the City sewer mains and laterals needed to be completely replaced. Unfortunately, he was only given funds for makeshift repairs by Council. Since then, our City officials have shifted responsibility for the replacement of the laterals to individual property owners. Additionally, our City officials have failed to replace sewer mains and our sewer rates and taxes continue to escalate. You and your buddies from PSD seem to be environmental opportunists rather than true environmental advocates.
Do you have any documentation to show that they're not fixing sewer lines?
Do you have any documentation to show that they're not fixing sewer lines?
grab a copy of the RWQCB report about the 7 million gallon sewer spill. They're pretty direct in criticizing the City of Pacifica for their lack of attention to the sewer infrastructure.
I'll read it. Without comment as to sufficiency, here's a little information:
Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Accomplishments
(I'm leaving out inside the plant items)
Identified and repaired several sources for reduction of inflow and infiltration
Continued sewer lateral replacement in Linda Mar Basin to reduce I&I problem
Oversaw 200+ sewer lateral replacements
Completed Rockaway Pump Station’s #3 sewer pump replacement
Continued major overhaul of Linda Mar and Sharp Park bar screens
Installed new roofs at the Linda Mar Drainage Pump Stations
From FY2008-2009
http://www.cityofpacifica.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=3241
Includes televising lines, measuring flows, lining bad joints and replacing broken pipe. And replacing more laterals in Linda Mar Basin.
A-97 has the summary of projects.
Ian,
correct me if I am wrong, but . . . nurdles are more like tiny pellets, aren't they? This debris looks more like styrofoam cooler pieces, cups, pieces of flotation devices from recreational boats, etc . . .
Identified and repaired several sources for reduction of inflow and infiltration
Continued sewer lateral replacement in Linda Mar Basin to reduce I&I problem
Oversaw 200+ sewer lateral replacements
yeah but . . . the RWQCB report says they were spending about $125,000 per year when they should have been budgeting over $1 million a year to be effective in fixing the sewer lines. To say they replaced sewer lines therefore I'm full of crap is like saying the fire department put out 1 out of every 10 fires so they're doing a heckuva job.
"Oversaw" 200 sewer laterals replacements?? You'll have to ask Smelly Mel's how involved the city was with that process . . .
Jeffrey, Jeffrey, who said you're full of crap? I offered some information without comment just because I found some information, and I agreed to read the RWQCB report. I'm holding off on deciding anything until I see more.
well you were pretty selective in the information you provided. Nothing from 2006/2007 or 2007/2008? Those were some vintage years for the WWTP.
It's what I found in the time I spent. I'm still reading, and I'll post more. Chill, dude.
Thanks, Jeffrey. Your knowledge on this subject is always insightful. For those of you scoring at home, the firing of former City Manager David Carmany was based upon his directiion to City workers to repair the lateral for a rental tenant of one of former Mayor Barbara Carr's clients. BTW, that tenant was no other than former City Council candidate Julie Weismann. The property had a serious/unsafe sewage backflow problem which was characterized as a public health hazard. At the time, the City Code clearly stated that the lateral repair was the responsibility of the City as long as the requisite cleanout was in place. In order to justify Carmany's firing (initiated by Vreeland, PSD et al) and establish precedence for future lateral repairs, City Attorney Quick perverted the interpretation of the Code. Henceforth lateral repairs were considered the home owner's problem. Very convenient for those who wanted to redirect allocated sewer funds towards other ventures.
Again, TGWNM - Thank God We're Not Montara! Right Anonymous?
http://oc180news.com/article/Government/Seal_Beach_Los_Alamitos_etc/Open_Warfare_at_the_Seal_Beach_City_Council_MeetingCity_Manager_Accused_of_Misrepresentation_and_Conflict_of_Interest/18679
in re the above article . . . who does Councilman Gary Miller sound like?
Yup, sounds like the same corrupt, lying city manager we had here.
Hey, that Anonymous isn't this Anonymous!
I don't know fix pacifica gang. I may go join Ian feb6. I can't get those nurgles out of my mind. I'm afraid they may give me nightmares. Shall I take pictures?
Kathleen:
You seem to live most of your life in fear. I have a dog who is afraid of everything too: fireworks, thunderstorms, the vet, the mailman, communists, City Councilmembers, people named Anonymous, bloggers, commenters (especially ones who live in Montara), former Public Works Directors who are making more in retirement then they did while "working", and people who call "nurdles" "nurgles", "panties" "panies", confuse Congressmen with the President and think that an ice skating rink would attract people to the the coldest city in California. But most of all, he fears dog hating environmentalists. In fact I had to pull him off of one just today. Messy, VERY MESSY!
I didn't know I had so much in common with environmentalists.
LOL!
All joking aside;
1)the "nurdles" do bother me
2)I did not mean to misspell "nurdles"
3)fear motivates me
4)My vision is very blurry since I misplaced my glasses one day while baking cookies. I still have not found them and refuse to buy another pair.
Too bad that people don't care about our world's oceans considering that 50% of the air we breathe comes from it. Check this video out. http://youtu.be/57_KdKrJKeM
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