Dear Senator Barbara Boxer
Dear Sen. Boxer,
Re:
I applaud your efforts on coastal clean-up - I am a Bay Area resident (San Francisco County), a registered voter, and a member of the Surfrider Foundation, which fueled much of the clean up efforts from the oil spills in the Bay Area.
I read your recent message about strengthening the restrictions on bunker oil tankers (specifically), traveling in US Waters to double hulls, and proposing no limit to the government's financial relief responsibility for single hull tankers. I think you are on the right track with limitations, but unfortunately, the restrictions you propose seem to be a little lacking.
1) I would propose not only a restriction on bunker oil ships, but ALL oil carrying cargo vessels. All oil is hazardous to the environment when it hits the ecosystem in ways it was never intended.
2) I would definitely agree with phasing out limits to Federal financial responsibility. If we cannot phase out limits, I propose a secondary motion to *increase* financial responsibility at the federal level. Locally we saw absolutely NO government financial resources for the first month and a half of the spill despite them telling us it would be there. It was all grass roots local clean-up efforts organized largely by local foundations (including Surfrider), environmentalists, and surfers. We saw no federal or local government resources outside of classes provided by the EPA for civilians to do beach clean-up. It wasn't until 4 weeks in that Pacifica's local government even got involved.
3) I would propose a much more harsh restriction on the AMOUNT of oil, bunker or otherwise, allowed to be carried on any waterway by a single vessel. This would reduce the *amount* of a spill if one was to happen. If the Cosco Busan were limited to half its carriage, we would have a much less devastating effect on our environment due to the spill.
4) I would propose ocean floor major EPA and Marine studies on the impact the spill has caused just sitting there in globs. The ban on crabbing and fishing was lifted way too soon. One week after the ban was lifted I walked along Ocean Beach which was saturated still with tar bubbles (I stepped in one and had to throw my shoes out) oil streaks across the sands, and thousands upon thousands of sand dollars had washed up dead on the shore. It was not mating season (which is a common reason why they would ever beach themselves en masse). Mussels from the Bay were found to have 5 times the toxicity levels of normal (our ocean's cleaners), and it was very apparent bottom feeding harvestable foods such as crab would be effected, despite early tests the government imposed *before* the oil could reach the bottom of the ocean. Linda Mar beach in Pacifica had to be closed 6 weeks after the spill because storms had dredged up oil from the ocean floor from the spill, and deposited it back on the beaches there.
I surf these waters. I haven't been in them since the spill. It's devastating to me what little has been done, and I really appreciate your efforts and hope that you will take my suggestions into your heart and politics.
I once said that if any politician stood up for spill clean-up even marginally, I would vote for them. All other matters are off the table for me. This is the singularly most important environmental issue that carries the weight of my vote.
Thank you for listening.
(emailed)
Re:
I applaud your efforts on coastal clean-up - I am a Bay Area resident (San Francisco County), a registered voter, and a member of the Surfrider Foundation, which fueled much of the clean up efforts from the oil spills in the Bay Area.
I read your recent message about strengthening the restrictions on bunker oil tankers (specifically), traveling in US Waters to double hulls, and proposing no limit to the government's financial relief responsibility for single hull tankers. I think you are on the right track with limitations, but unfortunately, the restrictions you propose seem to be a little lacking.
1) I would propose not only a restriction on bunker oil ships, but ALL oil carrying cargo vessels. All oil is hazardous to the environment when it hits the ecosystem in ways it was never intended.
2) I would definitely agree with phasing out limits to Federal financial responsibility. If we cannot phase out limits, I propose a secondary motion to *increase* financial responsibility at the federal level. Locally we saw absolutely NO government financial resources for the first month and a half of the spill despite them telling us it would be there. It was all grass roots local clean-up efforts organized largely by local foundations (including Surfrider), environmentalists, and surfers. We saw no federal or local government resources outside of classes provided by the EPA for civilians to do beach clean-up. It wasn't until 4 weeks in that Pacifica's local government even got involved.
3) I would propose a much more harsh restriction on the AMOUNT of oil, bunker or otherwise, allowed to be carried on any waterway by a single vessel. This would reduce the *amount* of a spill if one was to happen. If the Cosco Busan were limited to half its carriage, we would have a much less devastating effect on our environment due to the spill.
4) I would propose ocean floor major EPA and Marine studies on the impact the spill has caused just sitting there in globs. The ban on crabbing and fishing was lifted way too soon. One week after the ban was lifted I walked along Ocean Beach which was saturated still with tar bubbles (I stepped in one and had to throw my shoes out) oil streaks across the sands, and thousands upon thousands of sand dollars had washed up dead on the shore. It was not mating season (which is a common reason why they would ever beach themselves en masse). Mussels from the Bay were found to have 5 times the toxicity levels of normal (our ocean's cleaners), and it was very apparent bottom feeding harvestable foods such as crab would be effected, despite early tests the government imposed *before* the oil could reach the bottom of the ocean. Linda Mar beach in Pacifica had to be closed 6 weeks after the spill because storms had dredged up oil from the ocean floor from the spill, and deposited it back on the beaches there.
I surf these waters. I haven't been in them since the spill. It's devastating to me what little has been done, and I really appreciate your efforts and hope that you will take my suggestions into your heart and politics.
I once said that if any politician stood up for spill clean-up even marginally, I would vote for them. All other matters are off the table for me. This is the singularly most important environmental issue that carries the weight of my vote.
Thank you for listening.
(emailed)