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Alkali Inspector reports
Fish Kills in Florida Ten to fifteen million menhaden (Brevoortia sp.) were killed in Escambia Bay, Florida, on 3 September. This was one of forty-two kills reported in the bay between 21 J u n e and 4 September, with three in J u n e , seventeen in July, sixteen in August and six in September. The extent of the kills has varied between a few hundreds and several millions as in the latest serious incident. Menhaden kills have occurred in the area during the summer months for at least the past 10 years. According to a report by Mr Karl Ritderger, of the Florida Department of Air and Water Pollution Control, circulated by the Smithsonian Institution Center for Shortlived Phenomena, these kills are due to overnutrification of the water. Most of the fish mortality is in small embayments opening off the main part of Escambia Bay and these receive a considerable volume of industrial discharge, resulting in eutrophication and oxygen depletion of the surface waters. The enormous numbers of menhaden that move in to feed on the plankton overtax the oxygen resources of the water and are killed. The most serious kill was in July 1970 at the point where one branch of the Escambia river enters the Bay. Here not only menhaden b u t almost all aquatic life was killed. Investigations at the time failed to reveal the cause and oxygen depletion is thought to have been largely responsible. Menhaden is an important commercial fish and is used for food, oil, livestock feed and fertilizer, as well as being an important food for other commercial fish. These recurring kills are causing concern and industries in the area have now been instructed to take remedial action to reduce pollution by J a n u a r y 1973. It is expected, however, that it will take at least 6 years before Escambia Bay returns to its former healthy condition after 10 or 15 years of misuse.
Alkali Inspector Reports The 106th Annual Report by the Chief Alkali Inspector to the British Ministry of Housing and Local Government, published at the end of August, contains some sharp words about the activities of pressure groups, individuals and campaigns to abate pollution. The Alkali Inspectorate is a government watchdog with the duty of enforcing clean air acts and so on, and has been in the anti-pollution game since 1863. It has done a great deal of good in that time and has learned the hard way that major changes are n o t brought about overnight and that the long, steady plod often achieves more than the sudden spurt of activity. This may explain the irritation of the Chief Inspector, Mr F . E . Ireland, with the current fashionable interest in environmental pollution. He says 'We must beware the obvious danger that emotions could be roused to the point of overriding c o m m o n sense. This is n o t a problem to be tackled in a spirit of panic and those prophets of doom who predict the more bizarre kind of h u m a n catastrophe and paint rather self-righteous pictures of scientists as irresponsible villains exploiting humanity to the point of disaster could well be doing their (and our) cause a great disservice'. He quotes and dismisses as highly speculative the suggestions that the increase in concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere resulting from the burning of fossil fuels will have a greenhouse effect, raising the earth's temperature and melting the polar ice caps, causing widespread flooding. Equally, he does not seem to take
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very seriously the view that increasing atmospheric dust will reduce solar penetration and cause a decrease in temperature. He points out, too that while h u m a n activities result in the release of 122 million tonnes of gases into the atmosphere each year, natural sources are respons~le for five times that amount. Sulpher dioxide from burning fossil fuels, one of the most serious pollutants, has been declining in Britain in recent years from a peak of 6.6 million tonnes in 1963-1965 to 6.2 million tonnes in 1969 and an estimated 6.0 million tonnes in 1970. The point is also made that the community gets the alleviation from pollution that it is prepared to pay for and that most of the problems of air pollution are economic. Most of the technology required to provide clean air is already available although the report draws attention to the need for applied research into the adaptation of known techniques to particular industries and processes, and also for fundamental research into environmental pollution cycles. The Alkali Inspectorate has much to congratulate itself about. Whether or not its grumbles in the current report are indicative of complacency or practical realism, readers will no doubt decide for themselves.
How to protect British Coasts A commission of enquiry to examine the exploitation of oil and natural gas off the British coast has been called for once again by the Countryside Commission. Completing a large scale survey of the coastline of England and Wales with the publication of two final reports, The Planning of the Coastline (HMSO, 17s 6d) and The Coastal Heritage (HMSO, £4), the commission points to the need for an enquiry to precede the formulation of a national policy for offshore oil and gas. In 1968 the Ministry of Housing and Local Government dismissed a similar request, saying that a commission of enquiry would do no more than could be accomplished through normal liaison between Government departments. Nevertheless, the Countryside Commission reiterates its faith in the potential value of such an enquiry. Other recommendations to emerge from the coastal survey include advice to the Government to stop the tipping of colliery waste on the foreshore of Northumberland and Durham, so that rehabilitation can begin on these potentially attractive coastal areas. Faster removal of military and other eyesores from the coast in various places is urged, with financial aid from the Government. The Countryside Commission would also like powers to designate regional parks in coastal areas which have obvious advantages as places of recreation, especially where watersports could be developed. Chichester Harbour is the choice for the first such regional park. The commission would also like to designate thirty-four stretches of coast, where the scenery is 'of the highest quality', as 'heritage coasts' to be managed so that the demands of recreation can be combined with effective conservation. These areas, which include Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire, Dunwich Cliffs in Suffolk and Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight, would be managed according to the maximum n u m b e r o f people and vehicles that could make use of them without causing damage. In The Coastal Heritage the commission makes some detailed recommendations for the implementation of such a policy by local planning authorities, suggesting that they could make use of legal powers already available to them.
Alkali Inspector Reports The 106th Annual Report by the Chief Alkali Inspector to the British Ministry of Housing and Local Government, published at the end of August, contains some sharp words about the activities of pressure groups, individuals and campaigns to abate pollution. The Alkali Inspectorate is a government watchdog with the duty of enforcing clean air acts and so on, and has been in the anti-pollution game since 1863. It has done a great deal of good in that time and has learned the hard way that major changes are n o t brought about overnight and that the long, steady plod often achieves more than the sudden spurt of activity. This may explain the irritation of the Chief Inspector, Mr F . E . Ireland, with the current fashionable interest in environmental pollution. He says 'We must beware the obvious danger that emotions could be roused to the point of overriding c o m m o n sense. This is n o t a problem to be tackled in a spirit of panic and those prophets of doom who predict the more bizarre kind of h u m a n catastrophe and paint rather self-righteous pictures of scientists as irresponsible villains exploiting humanity to the point of disaster could well be doing their (and our) cause a great disservice'. He quotes and dismisses as highly speculative the suggestions that the increase in concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere resulting from the burning of fossil fuels will have a greenhouse effect, raising the earth's temperature and melting the polar ice caps, causing widespread flooding. Equally, he does not seem to take
148
very seriously the view that increasing atmospheric dust will reduce solar penetration and cause a decrease in temperature. He points out, too that while h u m a n activities result in the release of 122 million tonnes of gases into the atmosphere each year, natural sources are respons~le for five times that amount. Sulpher dioxide from burning fossil fuels, one of the most serious pollutants, has been declining in Britain in recent years from a peak of 6.6 million tonnes in 1963-1965 to 6.2 million tonnes in 1969 and an estimated 6.0 million tonnes in 1970. The point is also made that the community gets the alleviation from pollution that it is prepared to pay for and that most of the problems of air pollution are economic. Most of the technology required to provide clean air is already available although the report draws attention to the need for applied research into the adaptation of known techniques to particular industries and processes, and also for fundamental research into environmental pollution cycles. The Alkali Inspectorate has much to congratulate itself about. Whether or not its grumbles in the current report are indicative of complacency or practical realism, readers will no doubt decide for themselves.
How to protect British Coasts A commission of enquiry to examine the exploitation of oil and natural gas off the British coast has been called for once again by the Countryside Commission. Completing a large scale survey of the coastline of England and Wales with the publication of two final reports, The Planning of the Coastline (HMSO, 17s 6d) and The Coastal Heritage (HMSO, £4), the commission points to the need for an enquiry to precede the formulation of a national policy for offshore oil and gas. In 1968 the Ministry of Housing and Local Government dismissed a similar request, saying that a commission of enquiry would do no more than could be accomplished through normal liaison between Government departments. Nevertheless, the Countryside Commission reiterates its faith in the potential value of such an enquiry. Other recommendations to emerge from the coastal survey include advice to the Government to stop the tipping of colliery waste on the foreshore of Northumberland and Durham, so that rehabilitation can begin on these potentially attractive coastal areas. Faster removal of military and other eyesores from the coast in various places is urged, with financial aid from the Government. The Countryside Commission would also like powers to designate regional parks in coastal areas which have obvious advantages as places of recreation, especially where watersports could be developed. Chichester Harbour is the choice for the first such regional park. The commission would also like to designate thirty-four stretches of coast, where the scenery is 'of the highest quality', as 'heritage coasts' to be managed so that the demands of recreation can be combined with effective conservation. These areas, which include Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire, Dunwich Cliffs in Suffolk and Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight, would be managed according to the maximum n u m b e r o f people and vehicles that could make use of them without causing damage. In The Coastal Heritage the commission makes some detailed recommendations for the implementation of such a policy by local planning authorities, suggesting that they could make use of legal powers already available to them.