Toxic Ballet

The tar sands pits in Alberta, Canada that Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) visited last week are so bleak that one UN official, after seeing them for the first time, compared them to Mordor, the hellish wasteland from Lord of the Rings.

But Senator Graham, after meeting with oil industry representatives and tar sands proponents, hailed the toxic mines, the source of the world's dirtiest fuel, as "an industrial ballet," adding that the project "really blends with the natural habitat."

Huh?

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. After all, Graham and his delegation never met with opponents of the project -- like the people living near the tar sands pits, who report higher-than-average cancer rates linked to water contamination, or biologists, or the wildlife experts, who counted hundreds of ducks that died after landing on the project's toxic lakes.

But you would think plans to expand pipelines carrying this toxic crude into the United States would come under a little more scrutiny from U.S. leaders –- especially the ones living in states where pipelines threaten drinking water supplies.

That's why it was so surprising to hear Montana Senator Max Baucus pushing for hasty approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry this toxic oil right into his state, traversing major sources of fresh water like the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, posing a constant threat of ruptures, spills, and contamination. In addition to Montana, the pipeline would run through South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, crossing dangerously close to drinking water supplies and agricultural aquifers.

We know the oil industry's influence on our representatives in Washington is out of hand. And when companies like BP spend nearly as much money on public relations after a major environmental disaster like the oil spill in the Gulf as they do on clean up, it's clear that we've got our work cut out for us.

But here's what we've got on our side: the truth.

We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry.

We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer.

And we know pipeline disasters happen.

The Enbridge oil disaster in Michigan in July poured one million gallons of crude into the Kalamazoo River, forced evacuations of families living near the site, and billed the EPA $17 million to clean up. Just weeks ago, another pipeline ruptured outside of Chicago, sending oil bubbling to the surface and raising questions about vulnerability of the project along the rest of its 465-mile route.

The BP disaster taught us how cozy ties between the oil industry and federal agencies can lead to lax oversight and we know this is a concern with the agency overseeing pipeline safety.

But even if we succeeded in forcing the oil industry to beef up safety on its pipelines, projects like Keystone XL wouldn't make sense. The oil this pipeline would carry is the dirtiest in the world, and the most difficult and expensive to produce. It requires chopping down ancient forest, using massive amounts of energy and water to squeeze out a tiny bit of crude, and leaving behind giant toxic lakes.

But that's not the end of the story. Once this dirty oil reaches refineries in places like Houston and Detroit, it spews chemicals into the air, putting Americans at risk for asthma and cancer.

The most mind-boggling part is that the pipeline will do nothing for American citizens. The oil it promises to provide could be recovered just by increasing our cars' fuel efficiency by about two and a half miles per gallon -- something we already know how to do.

It's a pretty simple solution. But Canada's oil industry won't profit from increased fuel efficiency or clean energy. So they are spending millions of dollars working to convince American leaders like Senator Graham and Senator Baucus to support their pipeline. 

Fortunately, Senators Graham and Baucus are among only a handful who have caved to oil industry pressure. More than 50 members of Congress have called on the State Department to stop the pipeline proposal. EPA director Lisa Jackson has raised questions about the safety of the project. And a poll last week in Nebraska showed that citizens overwhelmingly oppose construction of the pipeline.

Every day, more Americans add their voices to the tens of thousands who have already asked the State Department to kill the project. At a time when we could be moving forward into a clean energy economy, it's just plain crazy to pipe the world's most expensive, dirty, and wasteful oil into America -- all so the oil industry can break profit records.  

Photo credit: David Dodge, Pembina Institute.

Sept 11th -- Let's Save That Date

You probably remember exactly where you were nine years ago on September 11th. But do you know where you'll be on that date this year? I hope you'll be joining us for the second annual observance of the National Day of Service and Remembrance. In the words of President Obama, this is a day for Americans to "summon once more that ordinary goodness of America -- to serve our communities, to strengthen our country, and to better our world."

In that spirit, the Sierra Club has created Serve Outdoors. It's a way to find volunteer opportunities this Saturday that honor those who defend and protect our country, communities, and great outdoors every day.

Serve Outdoors is also a chance to engage students nationwide in environmental service projects. That's why we first announced it at the High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan, where I joined students and staff in June for a kickoff event on the school's rooftop garden. The kids are excited and determined to create something positive out of the tragic history of 9/11 through an environmental service project that will benefit the city of New York. Their school is just the first of many that are participating.

Serve Outdoors is just one of the Club's many youth-oriented programs, but it's one of my favorites because it ties together so much of what we do: the natural world, volunteerism, and involving diverse communities. If we can't get young people to not only care about the environment but also to do something about it, then we might as well fold our tents. But I think we can, and Serve Outdoors proves it.

Whether you're sixteen or sixty, I hope you can join us on Saturday. Check our website to sign up for an event near you or to post your own event. And if you can't make it on September 11th, you can still tell us how you serve your community year-round on our honor list.

This One Really Stings

We called it, simply, The Test. I grew up on a house on Barnegat Bay in Chadwick Beach, New Jersey. With four little children scampering around, my parents had a hard and fast rule for us and our friends: No one was allowed to play in the front yard, on the docks or anywhere outside without wearing a life preserver. Whether we were playing baseball, digging up worms, or going crabbing, those big orange puffy preservers had to be on, and buckled, at all times.

We hated it. The only way to freedom was to pass a test by swimming all the way across the lagoon and back. It was a rite of passage. Those of us who were ready would talk about it for weeks. We'd practice and ask questions of our older siblings. I remember lying in bed the night before, wondering what I'd do if I got tired. Would I drown? Would I have to wait another month before trying again?

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area now, but I come home to Barnegat Bay every summer with my wife and our two kids. It's a highlight of our year. This summer our daughter Olivia was going to take her shot. She'd been practicing at the pool for weeks. My dad, unable to resist the urge to spoil his granddaughter, sweetened the pot with the promise of a bowl of ice cream at the end.

She didn't get the chance. They say you can never go home again, and when it comes to water pollution in New Jersey, maybe it's true. That's because, for the second summer in a row, Barnegat Bay is infested with stinging sea nettles -- a type of jellyfish.

I hated having to tell my kids they couldn't go in the water, but what really stings (sorry) is why the bay is full of sea nettles. The infestation's no fluke -- it's part of an ecological crisis that's affecting estuaries all across the country. Worst of all, it's happening needlessly.

Anyone who lives near a bay or estuary has probably seen the warnings stenciled on storm drains. The ones in my neighborhood in Alameda, California, are unequivocal: "No Dumping! Drains to Bay." What they probably should say is "D'oh! Everything Drains to Bay."

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Barnegat Bay is second only to Chesapeake Bay among our inland waterways when it comes to destructively high levels of nitrogen. The excess nutrients from that nitrogen are what cause weirdness like red algae blooms you can see from space, sea nettle infestations, and fish kills. Ultimately, unchecked nutrient runoff sucks the oxygen out of the water and creates a dead zone like the one in the Gulf of Mexico. You know, the one that's always being described as being the size of New Jersey.

A lot of the nitrogen that's polluting the Chesapeake comes from factory chicken farms. Having grown up in Ocean County, I know it's not New Jersey's chicken basket. So how did so much nitrogen get into Barnegat?

Just stroll through the neighborhoods that line the bay (and the rivers that empty into it) on a hot summer day and admire all the green, beautiful lawns. To keep your lawn looking as deeply green as your neighbor's, you ladle on the nitrogen fertilizer and keep the grass watered. When fertilizer runs off the lawn as you're watering, the nitrogen chickens come home to roost.

This is not a problem only because I'd like my kids to be able to take a dip on a hot day. Barnegat Bay provides more than $3.3 billion in economic benefits annually to New Jersey. It's the state's most-used waterway. Are we really going to stand by and let it die because the next-door neighbors' lawn is putting ours to shame?

Maybe not. While I was back in Jersey for our family vacation, the environmental committees for the State Senate and Assembly met in the Municipal Building in the town of  Toms River (where I went to school and my father used to be mayor) to consider four bills that might help save the bay. The meeting was packed -- standing room only. Hundreds of people listened for nearly six hours as the committees heard testimony. In the end, all four bills were approved and will now go on to the state legislature for consideration this fall.

One bill would ban phosphorous and limit the amount of nitrogen allowed in fertilizers, as well as create new restrictions for applying fertilizer near waterways. Public education on the over-use of fertilizers would also be required. 

The other three bills focus on reducing stormwater runoff. One would start a fund to inspect and repair Ocean County's stormwater retention basins. Another would create a pilot stormwater authority in Ocean County to serve as a possible model for the rest of the state. (Amazingly, New Jersey is one of the few states that hasn't already set up local stormwater authorities.) The fourth bill would develop standards for restoration of soil destroyed during construction activities -- hard-packed soil leads to more runoff.

If all four bills pass, one of the biggest threats to Barnegat Bay might be neutralized. It won't be easy. Although the Sierra Club, Environment New Jersey and other environmental groups have been working hard to save Barnegat for years, there will be opposition -- from developers, from fertilizer makers, even from the New Jersey Turfgrass Association. If they succeed in stopping us from taking action now, the bay as we know it may die.

My daughter couldn't take the test this summer. Let's hope the NJ State Legislature passes theirs.