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Sign the Open NY State Boat Launches Petition…

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Sign the Open NY State Boat Launches Petition…

Recreational Boaters and Fisherman are devastated with the recent announcement of closing NYS Boat Launches. Now many boaters and fishermen are not able to enjoy a day in the water enjoying fresh air with people who they live with or by themselves. While it may make sense to limit certain venues and places that attract massive amounts of people to minimize the potential spread of the Coronavirus it is not reasonable to abruptly close boat launches for recreational boaters and sportsmen alike. Many of these people have heavily invested resources for these activities including state mandated permits, fees, registrations, licenses and such. This abrupt closure is not in line with other measures put in place to flatten the curve.

Sunoco Fined $2 Million for Mariner East Spills in Raystown Lake – The Allegheny Front

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Sunoco Fined $2 Million for Mariner East Spills in Raystown Lake – The Allegheny Front

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has fined Sunoco Pipeline almost $2 million for pollution releases into Raystown Lake during the construction of the Mariner East pipeline.

Between April and December 2017, Sunoco spilled more than 200,000 gallons of drilling mud into the lake while building a section of the Mariner East pipeline beneath it.

Sunoco didn’t immediately report the spills, which it found had coated 8-acres of the lakebed.

‘That’s Vinegar:’ The Ohio River’s History of Contamination and Progress Made – The Allegheny Front

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‘That’s Vinegar:’ The Ohio River’s History of Contamination and Progress Made – The Allegheny Front

In 1958, researchers from the University of Louisville and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission gathered at a lock on the Monongahela River for routine collecting, counting and comparing of fish species.

At the time, the best way to accomplish this was what’s called lock chamber sampling, or filling a 350-by-56-foot lock with river water, injecting it with cyanide and waiting for the dead fish to float to the top. Archaic, but effective.

On this particular day, researchers opened the chamber to find one fish inside.

One fish.

It shouldn’t have been surprising, said Jerry Schulte, a biologist who managed the source water protection and emergency response team for the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission [ORSANCO] for more than two decades. After all, the steel companies that dotted the region’s riverbanks were dumping their contaminated water right into the rivers. The waterways were so acidic that the steel-hulled boats meant to last 20 years rusted out in three and the pH routinely measured less than 4.

Edmund Fitzgerald sinks | Editor S Pick | wnem.com

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November 10th, 1975: Edmund Fitzgerald sinks | Editor S Pick | wnem.com

At the time of her launch in June of 1958, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest vessel of her kind. At a length of 729 feet long and 75 feet wide, and equipped with a 7,500 horsepower steam turbine engine, she had the ability to carry an incredible 27,500 tons of cargo.

She and her crew served the Great Lakes for 17 years, until November 10th, 1975. It was on that day, according to the famous tune by Gordon Lightfoot, that the “Witch of November came stealin’.”

That tragic November day marks the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Click here to see underwater video of the wreck.

 

Garfield beach phone mystery solved after 30 years

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Garfield beach phone mystery solved after 30 years

"For more than 30 years bright orange "Garfield" phones have been washing up on the French coast to the bemusement of local beach cleaners, who have finally cracked the mystery behind them. Locals had long suspected a lost shipping container was to blame for the novelty landline phones, modelled on the prickly feline cartoon character, that have plagued the northern Finistere beaches for decades."