 Water
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Illinois AG Sues Trump Hotel For Polluting the Chicago River
On Tuesday, the State of Illinois filed a lawsuit in Chicago alleging that the Trump Hotel there had been illegally discharging 20 million gallons of wastewater A DAY since their permit expired in August of 2017. And it is not the first time the Illinois Attorney General has sued the Trump Hotel in Chicago for violating the federal Clean Water Act — the state brought a similar lawsuit in 2012. According to The New York Times, Ms. Madigan, a Democrat who is not running for re-election, argued that the Trump Organization was acting “without any regard to how it may be impacting the river’s ecosystem.” Many buildings — including several others along the Chicago River — draw on river water to cool down heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and then release warmer wastewater back into the river — but these discharges, if not properly controlled can be devastating to wildlife and the entire river ecosystem.
However, there was some good news on the Clean Water Act front yesterday, because a federal court in South Carolina has issued a nationwide injunction overturning the Trump EPA’s delay of the Clean Water Rule defining what is a “Water of the U.S.” that can be regulated under the Act. The Trump Administration overturned the Obama EPA’s definition and said it was going back to the drawing board on what should be covered by the law. Environmental groups, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, and some State Attorneys General sued, arguing that the Trump team rushed through the change in policy without allowing sufficient chance for the public to weigh in. In its opinion, the Court stated that “[c]ertainly, different administrations may implement different regulatory priorities, but the [law] ‘requires that the pivot from one administration’s priorities to those of the next be accomplished with at least some fidelity to law and legal process.”'”
Why This Matters: The Trump Teams — both in their company and in government — must be held to the same legal standards as everyone else — they cannot be above the law. That is true regardless of whether it is a question of compliance with permitting requirements or with open government rules. The safety of our rivers and drinking water is too important to the public’s health and well being to be compromised. Many other businesses comply with the Clean Water Act — so should the Trumps. Luckily this order in South Carolina is nationwide, not just in South Carolina, so the Obama rule goes back into effect in 26 states for now.
Legal Beagles and Others Who Want to Go Deeper: You can read the Illinois Complaint here. And you can read the South Carolina federal court opinion here.
H/T to Jessica L for the gem from the judge’s opinion.
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 Climate Change
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Climate Refugees, Explained
As our planet warms and natural disasters become more frequent, millions (if not billions) of people will longer be able to live in the places they call home. In fact, as NPR reported, since 2008, an average of 24 million people have been displaced by catastrophic weather disasters each year. As climate change worsens storms and droughts, climate scientists and migration experts expect that number to rise. Unfortunately, currently, refugees can’t list “climate change” as a reason to seek asylum which is something we will have to reassess as more people become displaced from their homes. Take a look at the video above from PBS’ incredibly informative video series called Hot Mess. Host and journalist Talia Buford walks you through the basics of climate displacement and how we can begin to prepare for this problem.
Why This Matters: Climate refugees aren’t just found in faraway nations but are already found in America. Low-lying parts of our nation are under threat from sea level rise and major cities like New York, Miami, LA, and San Francisco will see residents leave as flooding becomes increasingly worse. Climate displacement is not an insurmountable problem but addressing it must be part of our preparedness to climate change.
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 People
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Exclusive Interview with Kelly Sloan, Sea Turtle Researcher at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) works to conserve coastal habitats and the watershed surrounding southwest Florida’s Sanibel and Captiva islands. The foundation is integral in protecting marine animals and with the latest red tide bloom in Florida’s waters they have been on the frontlines helping save animals and document the hundreds of others that having been washing up dead. For our interview this week we asked Kelly to give us a first-hand account of just how devastating the effects of the algal bloom have been to Florida’s waters, keep reading to see photos from SCCF’s recovery work below.
ODP: How does this red tide compare to other algal blooms you’ve witnessed in previous years? How many animals have washed up on shores?
KS: While red tide (Karenia brevis) is a natural occurrence, the bloom we’ve been experiencing on Sanibel and Captiva has been one of the longest in duration and impact to the local area. Red tide has been present in the waters off Lee County since October, 2017. Beginning at the end of June, onshore winds began pushing the bloom on land, where we began feeling the effects of the red tide. Over 267 tons of dead marine life have been collected on Sanibel over the past few weeks. Our SCCF Sea Turtle Program staff and volunteers have responded to over 150 stranded (sick, injured, or dead) sea turtles since the red tide began, 116 of which have been reported since June 1.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported 725 sea turtle strandings in Southwest Florida since November of last year. In Lee County we have documented 205 of those. This will be the greatest number of stranded turtles ever documented in a year for our County (the previous high was around 100).
ODP: How does the toxic algae affect animals, what are the tangible signs of their distress?
KS: Toxins released by the red tide organism can kill marine life and cause respiratory issues in humans. Prey items such as crabs, mollusks, or fish filter the red tide toxin which bioaccumulates as it moves up through the food chain.
Red tide produces a neurotoxin, so the most visible signs of distress in animals is that they appear disoriented or exhibit unusual behavior.
ODP: What’s been the most shocking thing you’ve witnessed in these past several weeks as you’ve been doing your work?
KS: Other than the extent and duration of the red tide bloom, it has been very disheartening to witness the variety and the sheer number of marine life impacted by this event. Species ranging from deep-sea fishes, like wahoo, to large, fast-moving mammals like dolphins and a whale shark, have washed up on shore in the past few weeks. Watching dead turtles wash up day after day has been the hardest thing I’ve experienced in my twelve years of working with sea turtles. There was one day when nine Kemp’s ridleys washed up within only a few hours. They are the most endangered species of sea turtles so they already have stressed populations and every individual makes a difference. Responding to these strandings has taken a physical and emotional toll on all of us.
ODP: What has the government’s (both state and federal) response been to this crisis? Can leaders do anything to prevent this scale of a bloom in the future?
KS: Both local and State governments have declared states of emergency, which allows for funding to be directed towards the cleanup from these blooms. Florida needs comprehensive, protective water quality standards to improve water quality and protect public health. Passing statewide, science-based water quality standards are needed to stop pollutants from being added to our waters. Since we are in an election year, the greatest impact the public can have is to be knowledgeable in where current officeholders and candidates stand on water quality issues.
ODP: How has the red tide affected turtle hatchlings? How will it affect populations of already endangered turtles?
KS: According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who has been monitoring the impacts of red tide since the 1990’s, adverse effects of red tide on hatchlings have never been documented. They are probably not affected because they quickly move offshore, then live at the surface of oceanic areas for at least several years. They likely do not spend much time in any areas with high concentrations of Karenia brevis because they are constantly moving (or being moved). Additionally, the primary route of lethal exposure to brevetoxin for sea turtles is through ingestion of food containing brevetoxin. Hatchling sea turtles subsist on internalized yolk for at least a week or so before they begin feeding. By the time they begin feeding, they are well away from nearshore areas where red tide blooms often persist. Hatchlings could be exposed to brevotoxin in aerosols and may experience some irritation to their respiratory track but, at present, we do not have any indication that this causes mortality of noticeably affects behavior
ODP: To end things on a positive note: you spend a lot of your time researching turtles, what is one thing about sea turtles that people may not know?
KS: Sea turtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs! Ancestors of modern-day sea turtles are over 100 million years old.
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A huge thanks to Alexis Horn of SCCF for these heartbreaking photos. This couldn’t have been easy to document!
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 Animals
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70% of Illegal Fishing Vessels are Flagged In Tax Havens
A groundbreaking study published earlier this week in the journal Nature found that 70 percent of vessels involved in illegal fishing were registered in tax havens. Ecowatch reported that the lead author of the study, Victor Galaz, said that their “analysis shows that the use of tax havens is not only a socio-political and economic challenge, but also an environmental one. While the use of tax havens is not illegal in and of itself, their secrecy inhibits the government’s the ability to analyze how financial flows affect economic activities on the ground, and their environmental impacts.”
The countries of Belize and Panama are particularly at fault for being the most likely to “flag” or register illegal fishing boats. The study also showed that 70% of the vessels engaged in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing either are currently or have been registered under the laws of countries that are also tax havens. The good news is that very few vessels (4% overall) are flagged in tax havens — so the scope of the problem is limited. The study authors made three recommendations:
- First, nations providing tax shelters should be considered an indirect subsidy of economic activity that harms the environment.
- Second, environmental organizations should calculate the ecological cost of these unofficial subsidies.
- Third, tax evasion should be viewed as an environmental problem as well as an economic and political one.
Why This Matters: It may be easier to clamp down on and eradicate illegal fishing by following the money than by following the boats. The high seas are large and chasing down illegal vessels in the middle of vast oceans will always be challenging. But thanks to the interconnected electronic financial system of today, the financial trail of illegal fishing’s ill-gotten gains may be the best way to carry out enforcement against these law breakers.
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 Sustainability
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Imagining A Plastic-Free World
Recently TED asked 15 of its speakers who are also ocean experts to discuss which plastic items they would ban and why. Famed marine biologist Sylvia Earle and our friend Ayana Elizabeth Johnson both listed microfibers as the items they’d ban which was also echoed by a handful of the other experts. We highly recommend you read the entire article as it shows that numerous other plastic items equally deserve our attention in addition to plastic straws. For instance, the plastic straps used to secure boxes on cargo ships often find their way into the ocean and pose an immense risk to animals like sea lions who become entangled in them–seeking biodegradable options or other alternatives could save countless animal lives if we begin to rethink our dependence on these items. And, as the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, now that straws have lost favor, balloons could be the next plastic thing to go. Additionally, this week Insider wrote a good roundup of other household items that we should also consider limiting the use of in addition to plastic straws.
Why This Matters: The more that plastic pollution enters our national discourse the more likely we are to begin changing our habits and being aware of the problem. Sure, plastic straw bans are a relatively small dent in the overall plastic pollution problem but people who may have never thought twice about using a plastic straw may now be mindful of other single-use plastics in their lives. It all has to start somewhere for us to be able to implement bigger solutions: like farmers transitioning away from agricultural plastics or even the redesigning plastic polymers entirely.
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 Heroes
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Watch These Free Divers Free a Whale Shark in Hawaii! Video: KHON2 Hawaii
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Heroes of the Week: Kapua Kawelo, Joby Rohrer, their kids Kanehoalani and Ho’ohila, and Jon Sprague
After swimming with whale sharks two weeks ago, I (Monica) can appreciate their gentle and intelligent nature. it was an amazing experience. So this story of a family’s teamwork that saved an injured juvenile whale shark in Hawaii really hit home.
As National Geographic reported it, Kapua Kawelo and Joby Rohrer and their kids were free-diving (diving for several minutes at a time without scuba gear) off the shore of Kaunolu on Hawaii’s island of Lanai, when they saw this whale shark swimming with a rope tangled around its neck. “It looked really sore,” Rohrer said. “There were these three scars from where the rope rubbed into the ridges on her back. The rope had cut probably three inches into her pectoral fin.” So they decided to try to help it. Rohrer, who took only a small dive knife with him, repeatedly dove down to 50-60 feet below the surface for minutes at a time and began to cut away the rope. After about an hour of delicate work, and with the help of their son Kanehoalani and from Jon Sprague, a wildlife control manager, the whale shark was free. Then the family’s daughter, Ho’ohila, took care of the 150 pounds of rope by swimming it to the nearby shore. Amazingly, they were able to videotape their daring rescue. We are in awe of their courage and determination!
While no free diving or daring rescues were involved, I (Monica) took some video of my own encounter with whale sharks on a recent vacation in Mexico. They are incredible creatures, extremely large with gaping mouths, but not menacing as sharks go. It reminded me that we humans share the planet with some truly amazing creatures!
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Monica’s Swim With Whale Sharks Off Holbox Island, Mexico
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 Oceans
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One Cool Thing: New Ocean Safety Website
This week’s heartbreaking story about the devastating Red Tide in Florida reminded us that sometimes there are dangers in the ocean that we cannot see. Check out this new website with maps and videos that explain the risks and how to be safe in the water.
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Thanks for reading and sharing Our Daily Planet again this week. We hope you have a great weekend and enjoy some relaxing time at the beach, in the woods, or somewhere out of doors! We will be back to you on Monday bright and early!
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