Cape & Islands News

"Brewster in Gloom" rains on our Pols

Cape Cod politicians are a hardy lot

The steady rain on Sunday afternoon may have chased off a few of the floats and some marchers, but a hardy band of politicos showed up happy but wet for this annual Spring event. Top row from left:  Barack Obama supporters and Jeff Beatty of Harwich who is running for the Republican nomination for US Senator to oppose Ted Kennedy.  Bottom row from left:  the three candidates running for the Barnstable Registrar position, Rep. Eric Turkington with his top adviser Jake, and both of his possible GOP opponents Priscilla Young and Anastasia Welsh Perrino.

Text and photos by Walter Brooks

The bad news is that it rained on our parade. The good news is that those who hung in there got a lot of free candy.The parade always goes on in Brewster... regardless. This year was no exception, although anyone reading this can probably recall the torrential downpour which walloped the Cape from mid-morning until after 2 or 3 PM.

It may have been a bit soggy at the "Closest to the Pin Contest" held between 7:30 am and noon at Captains Golf Course, and the Antiques & Collectibles Fair at the Drummer Boy Park was probably not everyone's favorite this year.

We never found out about the Juried Fine Arts & Crafts Show at the Cape Cod Sea Camp, and we hope the live music by CrabGrass Blues Band scheduled for 12 pm-4 pm at the Drummer Boy Park went on at some time later and dryer today, but the Brewster in Bloom Parade which was planned to begin at 1pm at Underpass Road went on even through it started a half hour later while the rain was still coming down pretty heavy.

By the time the marchers got to the Country Store at Route 124  the rain had stopped, but little more than a couple hundred loyal parade watchers remained to cheer them on.

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Cape Company Joins ‘Green’ Revolution

EOS a pioneer in safe, environmentally sound treatment of wastewater plants
Already at work at  the Atria-Woodbriar assisted living facility in Falmouth

By Peter Gwynne for cctoday

A small Cape technology firm is playing a key role in the 21st century green revolution. In the process, it’s generating plenty of green for itself.  Environmental Operating Solutions (EOS), a privately held firm founded in 2003, has emerged as a pioneer in safe, environmentally sound treatment of wastewater plants. Its products reduce nitrogen in wastewater by converting it to water and harmless gases. They do so more safely and a lower cost than the traditional substance used for the purpose.

EOS President to address Cape Technology Council tomorrow
"Saving the plant and making money"

The products have given the Bourne-based an increasingly important profile in wastewater treatment. In September 2005, the Mattabasssett Water Pollution Control Facility in Cromwell, Connecticut (on right with an inset of EOS President Eric Stoermer) became the first municipal customer to use EOS’s products.

At Friday meeting tof the Cape Cod Technology Council, EOS President Eric Stoermer will speak about on "Saving the planet and making money" and how a local
CEO and his company use technology to address a
huge regional issue and after 5 years, with the recent infusion of capital, is poised for growth mode.

Since then, several other municipalities and industrial clients, such as sewage treatment plants and slaughterhouses, have become clients of the firm. The technology works on the small scale as well. For example it removes nitrogen from water discharged by the Atria-Woodbriar assisted living facility in Falmouth.

The financial world notices EOS

The financial world has also noticed EOS. In March, the company announced that it had obtained $2.5 million in venture capital funds from Stuart Mill Venture Partners of Northern Virginia. “That will allow us to offer our products nationally; at present we sell in 25 states,” says Eric Stoermer, EOS’s president and CEO. The company will also use the funds to improve its products, to hire more people, and to line up new centers to manufacture EOS’s products beyond the two it now uses in Boston and Baltimore, Stoermer adds.

The problem that EOS’s technology addresses isn’t new. If you’ve seen a green or yellow algal bloom on a pond, you’ve seen the result of oxygen depletion in water caused by excess nitrogen. Two factors have brought the issue into greater prominence. The amount of nitrogen in wastewater is increasing, particularly in highly populated areas. And the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state regulatory authorities have started to insist on more – and more effective – nitrogen removal. “It’s becoming a problem in coastal areas, such as bays and estuaries,” Stoermer says. “It’s a national and an international problem, particularly in the East coast of the United States, Japan, and Europe.” It’s also an issue on Cape Cod. Wastewater that leaches out of septic systems can cause particular damage to the environment.

How they do it

“We’ve created a product that has the optimal characteristics in terms of freezing point, pumpability, shelf life, and safety.” - Eric StoermerRemoving nitrogen from wastewater requires the element carbon. Until recently, methanol – a close chemical relative of ethanol, which provides the physical buzz of alcoholic beverages and the political buzz of a growing source of energy – was the most commonly used source of that carbon. But methanol has several disadvantages. Its cost has soared from 35 cents per gallon in 2002 to about $2.50 today. Its manufacture involves a great deal of non-renewable energy, in the form of natural gas. It is poisonous. And it is flammable; a methanol explosion at a wastewater treatment plant in Daytona Beach, Florida in 2006 killed two workers.

EOS’s first product, called MicroC, is a carbohydrate derived mainly from renewable agricultural products. Patented technology developed by the company has overcome typical problems of carbohydrates such as their high viscosity and their tendency to degrade over time. “We’ve created a product that has the optimal characteristics in terms of freezing point, pumpability, shelf life, and safety,” Stoermer says. Formal studies have shown that the chemical removes nitrogen from wastewater as effectively as methanol.

One issue remains: Because it contains 5-1/2 percent of methanol, MicroC is not entirely green in an environmental sense. In response to customers’ requests, EOS developed MicroC G (for green), consisting entirely of renewable components. The company started field tests of MicroC G in December 2005. Now, Stoermer says, “We’ve integrated most of our product sales to it.”

The new product has one disadvantage. Because it freezes at a higher temperature than MicroC, it is not recommended for use in cold regions or areas in which it will be stored outdoors. For that reason, EOS still sells MicroC.

Meanwhile, Stoermer says, “We’re always looking at new products and improvements to existing products.” One line of inquiry: using byproducts such as biodiesel, brewery, and dairy wastes as the bases of new products. “That,” Stoermer declares, “would be the next step in making us a green company.”

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Nantucket gas prices skyrocket 60 cents overnight

Nantucket gas prices go through the roof

Story & photo by Peter Sutters, Nantucket Independent

Tom Kondel fills up his tank at D&B Gas Thursday morning following a $.60 increase in prices at the pump.Rumors swirled around the island last night about a dramatic increase in gas prices at three of the island's four gas stations causing lines to grow at the pumps as divers sought to get one last tank full of sub-four dollar a gallon gas.

All three of the stations which saw increases are supplied with fuel by Harbor Fuel, which barges it into Nantucket Harbor. On Island Gas gets its fuel delivered by tanker truck, which comes over on the ferry.

This morning On Island Gas on Sparks Ave. was still pumping at below $4 a gallon and the line of cars was spilling out on the street.

"I've got two kids with me and I'm still waiting to fill up before the price increases," said Mary Graves while she waited in line. "I guess i'll be doing a lot of walking from now on."

An attendant at On Island Gas said business was brisk, but offered no other comment.

Hatch's, D&B and Airport Gas all saw increases, with Hatch's at $4.50 for regular, D&B is selling regular for $4.59 and Airport Gas tops the list at $4.64. There was plenty of open pumps at all three of those stations.

Tom Kondel was filling his tank at D&B and after being told of the increase, figured out why the line was so long for gas across the street.

"It's just a matter of time," he said.

Meanwhile on that "other island" price were over $4 last week

An Edgartown station where the owner said "You know its bad when the guy delivering your fuel complains about the cost to fill his truck."A month earlier gas prices here reached $4 a gallon.

On Martha's Vineyard the average price of gasoline on is nearly $4 a gallon.

A recent survey of Martha's Vineyard pumps reveals a range of nearly 25-cents a gallon when it comes to regular self or full serve gasoline.

The lowest price surveyed was $3.85 and the highest was $4.09, see story here.

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Coast Guard offer help to save paddler's lives this summer

Coast Guard launches Operation Paddle Smart

58 died  last year in Northeast- 15 canoers and 8 kayakers

The First Coast Guard District is launching Operation Paddle Smart today to bring greater awareness to paddlesport safety in the Northeast.

"We've designed Operation Paddle Smart to be a focal point for organizations and retailers to work together to promote paddlesport safety, and as an information source for all paddlers and small boaters"    - Cdr. Tom MillerThe district suffered the loss of 58 recreational boaters and paddlers in 2007; 15 canoe and eight kayak fatalities accounted for 40 percent of the total. Since 1998 when the First Coast Guard District began tracking area-specific recreational fatalities, canoe and kayak fatalities have averaged 30 percent of yearly totals - more than double the national average.

Operation Paddle Smart, though it is an ongoing program, officially runs from May 1 to June 30. The operation is a multi-partnered endeavor developed by the First Coast Guard District, Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadrons to generate greater safety awareness among paddlers and small boat operators. The primary goals are to promote the life-saving benefit of wearing a life jacket, to highlight the immediate danger of sudden cold water immersion, to encourage boater and paddler education, and to stress the importance of being a responsible and prudent mariner.

"We've designed Operation Paddle Smart to be a focal point for organizations and retailers to work together to promote paddlesport safety, and as an information source for all paddlers and small boaters," said Cdr. Tom Miller, Deputy Chief of the First Coast Guard District Prevention Division.

Operation Paddle Smart members, over the next two months, will be distributing paddlesport safety packets throughout the Northeast. Data will also be collected to determine what efforts worked best and to solicit feedback from paddlers on how the operation can be improved or how it has benefited them.

"The waters of the Northeast are extremely inviting but they temperamental and can be mercilessly unforgiving to unsuspecting and ill-prepared boaters and paddlers," said Al Johnson, First Coast Guard District recreational boating specialist. "Operation Paddle Smart is a multi-partnered effort to educate and remind new, casual, and experienced paddlers to assess the risks, envision the consequences, and use our waters safely and be properly prepared for what can go wrong. Remember, when you're on the water, you're in command, and your personal safety and that of your passengers or paddling partners is paramount and your responsibility."

Paddlers on the waters of Massachusetts are required to wear a life jacket while underway through May 15, 2008.  Organizations, retailers and others interested in joining the Operation Paddle Smart partnership or paddlers seeking additional information may contact the Operation Paddle Smart hotline at 617-223-8619.

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WHOI helps whales swim safely through our waters

New whale detection buoys will help ships take the right way

Collaboration between researchers, regulators, and industry will aid in the protection of an endangered species

Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Bioacoustics Research Program (BRP) at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have teamed up with an international energy company and federal regulators to listen for and help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales in New England waters.

Working in the recently renovated Coastal Research Laboratory at WHOI, engineering assistant Paul Fraser puts finishing touches on a surface buoy for the right whale autodetection system. Click the photo above to see how the system works. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)Building on advances in ocean mooring design, underwater acoustic systems, and telecommunications, the team built and installed ten "auto-detection buoys" to listen for the calls of right whales along the main shipping lanes into Massachusetts Bay and Boston Harbor.

The array of instruments-conceived by biologist and engineer Christopher W. Clark of the Cornell Lab and engineer John Kemp of WHOI-was largely funded by Excelerate Energy, L.L.C., as part of its environmental compliance associated with its Northeast Gateway deepwater port for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The import facility is set to begin operations in spring 2008.

The new listening system allows researchers to detect the location of whales in real time and alert ship operators and coastal resource managers to their presence. With advance warning, ships can be slowed or re-routed to prevent collisions, which is the most common cause of death for the iconic New England whale.

Saving the few and the mighty

Marine biologists estimate that only 350 to 400 right whales remain in the North Atlantic.

"North Atlantic right whales migrate through a highly industrialized part of the coastline, and we need creative solutions to help them survive," said Kemp, an engineer in WHOI's Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering. "The challenge was to develop a mooring that could stand up to the stresses of harsh New England waters while keeping an acoustically quiet environment for the hydrophones."

Mandated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the whale-detection system was installed along a 55 nautical mile segment of the Boston Traffic Separation Scheme (primary shipping lanes) leading to Boston Harbor.

The Northeast Gateway is located approximately 13 nautical miles south southeast of Gloucester, Mass., and 1.8 nautical miles from the western border of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (which is managed by NOAA).

Since the route to the LNG terminal takes vessels through prime whale habitat, researchers and regulators from the sanctuary and NOAA Fisheries worked with the Port's licensing agencies (the US Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration) and Excelerate Energy to develop a plan to keep whales and LNG ships out of each other's way in Massachusetts Bay.

Excelerate Energy then entered into a partnership with the Cornell Lab and WHOI to develop the remote auto-detection system. To further reduce the operational risk of ship strikes, Excelerate Energy has trained its crew members to watch for marine mammals and sea turtles as their vessels travel to and from the port.

"Can you hear me now, Moby Dick?"

Each auto-detection buoy is instrumented with an underwater microphone-or hydrophone-to carry underwater sounds to the surface via specially designed cable that WHOI technicians playfully call it the "Gumby hose." The stretchy, hose-like cable has data-conducting wires woven into its walls.

More importantly, the Gumby hose can stretch to at least twice its normal length, a special mooring design created at WHOI to overcome harsh sea states and keep the buoy above water. In typical winter storm conditions in the North Atlantic, wave heights in coastal waters can swell to 10 meters (33 feet), putting dangerous strain on traditional mooring lines and creating excessive noise that would make whale detection nearly impossible.

Data from the hydrophones are relayed through the Gumby hose to customized computers on the surface buoy, which continuously analyze underwater sounds to detect possible right whale calls. Every 20 minutes, these acoustic detections are sent by cellular or satellite phone to a server at Clark's lab, where they are validated by whale call experts.

In the process, researchers can determine whether right whales have been detected within range of each buoy and then alert Excelerate Energy and, perhaps eventually, other ships using maritime telecommunications networks.

"Thanks to these efforts, for the first time, ship captains can receive continuous information on where the whales are so they can slow down and avoid tragic collisions," said Clark, lead scientist on the project. "Scientific studies indicate that the death of just one or two breeding females a year will lead to the population's extinction. Slowing down for whales will make a big difference."

The WHOI Mooring Operations, Engineering, and Field Support Group has been designing, building, and deploying scientific instruments in the sea for decades, making dozens of installations around the world each year for researchers from WHOI and many other institutions and companies.

Kemp and Clark have been working together on the whale-detection system since 2003, testing several different hydrophones and mooring designs. The team recently deployed three whale detection buoys in Cape Cod Bay for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and two off the coasts of Georgia and Florida.

The effort to detect and protect whales in Massachusetts Bay is part of a larger effort by scientists and personnel from the New England Aquarium, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, WHOI, and other members of the Right Whale Consortium.

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Peace Protestors ask for trial - Won't be prosecuted

Rifkin, Thacher, Turco, Risch had waived pre-trial conference, opted for trial

A large group of peace protesters gathered outside Barnstable District Court today as the four defendants were about to enter for a pre-trial conference on a civil disobedience charge. Paul Rifkin photo.

Charge of civil disobedience won't be prosecuted by DA

By Tr0y Clarkson, Special to Cape Cod TODAY

Local peace activists Sarah Thacher, Diane Turco, Mike Risch and Paul Rifkin  from a March 20 arrest for trespassing in the office of U.S. Rep. William Delahunt made an appearance in Barnstable District Court this morning.

Defendants Rifkin (with his ubiquitous "V" for victory finger sign), Turco, Thacher and Risch, await the decision from Judge O'Neill, but the DA chose caution over valor, or no bad press over the opposite, and decided not to prosecute.Appearing before Judge W.J. O'Neill, the four co-defendants opted to waive the pre-trial conference to negotiate a settlement and opted to schedule a trial for their civil disobedience.

"Nolo prosequi" - DA elects to skip the publicity

Likely aided by an effort to avoid the publicity of a trial, the wheels of justice then began to spin swiftly. Local attorney Arthur Riley stepped in to provide pro-bono services and the District Attorney's Office offered a declaration of "nolo prosequi," meaning the DA declined to prosecute further. Paul and his co-defendants were free to go, ending their journey to peace and public awareness without any courtroom theater.

Before the court appearance, the four peacefully protested outside the courthouse with 30 anti-war activists, including many who regularly attend the Saturday morning peace vigils in Falmouth and other supporters from as far away as Boston and Provincetown. After the day's events, Rifkin lamented the disposition, as he was looking forward to the opportunity for the trial to provide a wide venue for his anti-war message.

Defendent disappointed, Debate to follow in Falmouth
"They pulled the rug right from under us" Paul Rifkin

Rifkin said his next step in pursuit of peace will be to follow the next supplemental war appropriation as it ambles its way through Congress. In addition, he is organizing a public forum and debate on the war on terror and has enlisted a hawkish adversary, the writer of this piece and former Falmouth Selectman Troy Clarkson,  to offer an alternative viewpoint."

Read the story about their arrest in the congressman's office here.

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Big Red Tide Coming

In Computer Models and Seafloor Observations, Researchers See Potential for Significant 2008 “Red Tide” Season

WHOI biologist Don Anderson (left) and oceanographer Dennis McGillicuddy review the results of a computer simulation of the upcoming harmful algae season in New England waters. On right; Stained with primulin dye and viewed under a microscope, cysts of Alexandrium fundyense and Alexandrium tamarense stand out in yellow and bright green from organic matter and sediments collected from the Gulf of Maine. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Conditions are ripe for another large bloom in New England waters;
weather and current patterns will determine outcome

The end of April usually brings the first signs of harmful algae in New England waters, and this year, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and North Carolina State University (NC State) are preparing for a potentially big bloom.

These panels show the results of four different runs of a computer simulation of the cell concentrations of Alexandrium fundyense under four different weather scenarios. All four scenarios were initiated from the cyst map obtained in late 2007; the differences in predicted bloom patterns are determined by the weather and ocean conditions observed in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Those years provide a range of conditions from major blooms to intermediate levels to very week blooms. Note that in all cases, the Alexandrium cells are abundant on a regional basis, but not necessarily close to the shoreline. (Graphic by Dennis McGillicuddy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Ruoying He, North Carolina State University)A combination of abundant beds of algal seeds and excess winter precipitation have set the stage for a harmful algal bloom similar to the historic “red tide” of 2005, according to researchers from WHOI and NC State. The 2005 bloom shut down shellfish beds from the Bay of Fundy to Martha’s Vineyard for several months and caused an estimated $50 million in losses to the Massachusetts shellfish industry alone. The weather patterns over the next few weeks will determine whether this year’s algal growth approaches the troubles of 2005.

The research team—led by WHOI senior scientists Don Anderson and Dennis McGillicuddy and physical oceanographer Ruoying He of NC State—is several years into the development of a computer model to predict the intensity and location of blooms the toxic algae Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine. Though the scientists are reluctant to make an official “forecast” until they can further test their models, colleagues in coastal management and fisheries believe the seasonal forecasting model can already serve as a useful tool for preparing the seafood industry for contingencies.

“With advance warning of a potentially troublesome year for algae, shellfish farmers and fishermen might shift the timing of their harvest or postpone plans for expansion of aquaculture beds,” said Anderson, director of the WHOI Coastal Ocean Institute. “Restaurants might make contingency plans for supplies of seafood during the summer, and state agencies can ensure they have adequate staff for the significant monitoring efforts that might be required to protect public health and the shellfish industry.”

Seeds or “cysts” of A. fundyense naturally germinate and turn into swimming cells that rise from the seafloor around April 1 of each year. By the end of April, cells usually begin to appear in large numbers in the waters off coastal Maine. The algae are notorious for producing a toxin that accumulates in clams, mussels, and other shellfish and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans who consume them.

According to a seafloor survey conducted in the fall of 2007 by Anderson’s team, the number of Alexandrium cysts—the dormant, seed-like stage of the algae’s life-cycle—is more than 30 percent higher than what was observed in the sediments prior to the historic bloom of 2005. The seed beds were especially rich in mid-coast Maine, origin of many of the cells that affect western Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Other environmental factors then determine the extent to which the blooms spread down the New England coast. Much of the Northeastern United States was hit with record- or above-average rain and snowfall this winter, which will provide an extra pulse of fresh water and nutrients into coastal waters this spring. The blend of nutrients and fresh water into salty sea water can improve growing conditions for the algae.

“Our hypothesis is that cyst abundance and the weather determines the bloom season,” said McGillicuddy, a biological oceanographer in the WHOI Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering. “Will the conditions this spring lead to an extensive bloom along the New England coast? The wind patterns of the next few weeks will determine that.”

The research team has run its computer model through four scenarios, using the predominant wind patterns from each year since 2004. Toxicity levels during those years have ranged from little to nothing in the western Gulf of Maine (2004 and 2007), to extremely high levels (2005 and 2006). Blooms were worst for scenarios in which the spring weather was dominated by strong northeast winds, which tend to drive Alexandrium cells toward the southern New England coast. When southwesterlies dominated, the algae tend to stay offshore. Even when there are a lot of cells and toxicity, the effect can be confined to offshore waters.  

Anderson, McGillicuddy and He distribute observations and data-driven models once per week with more than 80 coastal resource and fisheries managers in six states and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration (which oversees food safety).

McGillicuddy and more than a dozen students, technicians, and biologists will depart from Woods Hole on April 28 on the research vessel Oceanus on the first of four expeditions to take stock of this year’s bloom and to study the causes of several recent blooms in the historically fertile fishing grounds around Georges Bank. Biologists and oceanographers were surprised by the substantial scale and persistence of Alexandrium blooms discovered on Georges Bank last year.

The research into harmful algal blooms is supported by NOAA’s Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research, and the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation (through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health). Additional work examining other species of toxic algae in the Gulf and on Georges Bank is supported by the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative (OHHI).  

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the oceans’ role in the changing global environment.

Related Links

• Building a Computer Model to Forecast Red Tides
• GOMTOX
• NOAA Harmful Algal Blooms page
• WHOI Harmful Algae: Red Tide page
• Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research
• Who is Don Anderson?
• Who is Dennis McGillicuddy?
• Seeing Red in New England Waters

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Hawaii's got nothing on the Vineyard

Regular gas on the island passes $4 a gallon
MOBIL should probably charge their motto

An Edgartown station where the owner said "You know its bad when the guy delivering your fuel complains about the cost to fill his truck."MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA - The average price of gasoline on the Vineyard is nearly $4 a gallon. A recent survey of island pumps reveals a range of nearly 25-cents a gallon when it comes to regular self or full serve gasoline. The lowest price surveyed was $3.85 and the highest was $4.09.

Prices on super unleaded ranged from $4.11 to $4.29 per gallon. Despite the record high fill-ups, station attendants say that they have not been hearing a lot of complaints about something many customers feel they can do nothing about.

According to AAA, the average price nationally for a gallon of unleaded remains around $3.50 per gallon, up nearly a dollar over one year ago.

Meanwhile, across the ditch on the mainland

The price of a barrel of oil rose to nearly $120. early today, and on Cape Cod the prices ranged from $3.43 to $3.54 for regular. 

The nationwide average price for a gallon of unleaded fuel was $3.51, a new record and in the state $3.50, according to AAA.

Hilo, Honolulu and Wailuku each set new records with fuel prices averaging $3.85, $3.65 and $4.16, respectively and California's average price hit $3.86, while New Jersey had the cheapest gas, at $3.31.

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US Dept. of the Interior to expand offshore energy research

Clean Power Now praises the MMS clean air decision

   The Danes have been using wind instead of coal for 15 years, and that may soon be America's choice as well.

Majority of Proposed Projects Involve Wind Energy

The local, 10,000 member advocacy group, Clean Power Power, (CPN) has written the Minerals Management Service at the United States Department of the Interior, lauding its decision to push further in search of alternative energy sources offshore.  That department is mandated with creating conditions for acceptance by the federal government of the Cape Wind project proposed six miles offshore in Nantucket Sound.

CPN members have made several trips to Denmark to study the benefits of offshore wind farms to that country's economy and tourism. Above a sailboat with CPN members sails through one of those farms.That grassroots organization Executive Director, Barbara Hill, said, "We are very excited to see the Federal Minerals Management Service move forward on offshore renewable energy research."

"The fact that the majority of research proposals involve wind energy is proof that projects like Cape Wind are viable solutions to the energy crisis."

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service has designated five offshore areas in New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia, Florida and California as priority areas for renewable energy research. Ten of the sixteen potential projects are related to wind energy.

"Cape Wind was the first proposed offshore clean energy project, and without the diligent efforts by all parties on Cape Wind we would not have the process in place to begin research on other offshore renewable energy sources," said Hill.  "Offshore energy, especially wind power, is an important resource and we hope to see many more clean energy projects like Cape Wind in the future."

The announcement was made at a Global Marine Renewable Energy conference in New York, and it came at the close the public comment period on the MMS environmental impact report on the Cape Wind project. The MMS report found no major negative impacts from the Cape Wind project.
_____

Read recent report about the Danish wind farms after15 years of experience;

• Report: Little harm from offshore wind farms in Denmark
  

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WHOI team discovers lake melt on ice cap

WHOI team discovers: Lakes of Meltwater Can Crack Greenland's Ice
Contribute to Faster Ice Sheet Flow

Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of Washington (UW) have for the first time documented the sudden and complete drainage of a lake of meltwater from the top of the Greenland ice sheet to its base.

Each summer, meltwater ponds and lakes form on top of the Greenland ice sheet, as sunlight and warm air melt the surface. (Photo by Sarah Das, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)From those observations, scientists have uncovered a plumbing system for the ice sheet, where meltwater can penetrate thick, cold ice and accelerate some of the large-scale summer movements of the ice sheet.

According to research by glaciologists Sarah Das of WHOI and Ian Joughin of UW, the lubricating effect of the meltwater can accelerate ice flow 50- to 100 percent in some of the broad, slow-moving areas of the ice sheet.

"We found clear evidence that supraglacial lakes-the pools of meltwater that form on the surface in summer-can actually drive a crack through the ice sheet in a process called hydrofracture," said Das, an assistant scientist in the WHOI Department of Geology and Geophysics. "If there is a crack or defect in the surface that is large enough, and a sufficient reservoir of water to keep that crack filled, it can create a conduit all the way down to the bed of the ice sheet."

WHOI glaciologist Sarah Das stands in front of a block of ice that was raised up 6 meters by the sudden drainage of a meltwater lake in Greenland. (Photo by Ian Joughin, UW Polar Science Center)But the results from Das and Joughin also show that while surface melt plays a significant role in overall ice sheet dynamics, it has a more subdued influence on the fast-moving outlet glaciers (which discharge ice to the ocean) than has frequently been hypothesized. (To learn more about this result, read the corresponding news release from UW.)

The research by Das and Joughin was compiled into two complementary papers and published on April 17 in the online journal Science Express. The papers will be printed in Science magazine on May 9...Thousands of lakes form on top of Greenland's glaciers every summer, as sunlight and warm air melt ice on the surface. Past satellite observations have shown that these supraglacial lakes can disappear in as little as a day, but scientists did not know where the water was going or how quickly, nor the impact on ice flow.

Researchers have hypothesized that meltwater from the surface of Greenland's ice sheet might be lubricating the base. But until now, there were only theoretical predictions of how the meltwater could reach the base through a kilometer of subfreezing ice.

"We set out to examine whether the melting at the surface-which is sensitive to climate change-could influence how fast the ice can flow," Das said. "To influence flow, you have to change the conditions underneath the ice sheet, because what's going on beneath the ice dictates how quickly the ice is flowing"...  WHOI.

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