Manly Cemetery Doubles Up as a Dog Loo

There are few cultures in the world where a public space such as a cemetery doubles up as a dog loo.

There appears to be no land-use conflict between the "sleeping place" of dead people and pet owners liberating their canines off leash into the Manly Cemetery Heritage.

Mourners probably do not want to linger amongst the tree-less and unkept burial grounds full of dog poop.

Maybe it is a new cultural convention of pet society where dog deities as protectors of the deceased fertilise the public green space with their feces and urine. Once locals have emptied their pets they get chauffeured back into the manicured back gardens with the help of a lot of fossil fuel.

On the connection of the living and the dead

Egyptian dog-headed god Anubis attending the deceased.

Beach Sand, Fecal Contamination and Salmonella

Salmonella has been found in sand of playgrounds in Mona Vale, Winnererremy Bay, Warriewood, Palm Beach and North Avalon. One year on and the bacteria (Salmonella paratyphi bio var java) have resurfaced in the sand. In Dunbar Park, which is now closed the sand will be replaced with 'treated bark'. Both in May 08 and November 08 Mnly wrote about the connections between(exotic) pets, fecal contamination and aggregation of minors in beach sand.

New research has also found that people digging in beach sand or building sandcastles risk gastrointestinal diseases and diarrhea. The epidemiological study looked into sand contact activities and illnesses.

"Researchers found evidence of gastrointestinal illnesses, upper respiratory illnesses, rash, eye ailments, earache and infected cuts. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal illnesses were more common in about 13 percent of people who reported digging in sand, and in about 23 percent of those who reported being buried in sand...We have known for some time that swimming in waters polluted by fecal contamination can result in illness, but few previous studies have focused on sand."

Beach users should use a hand sanitizer or wash their hands/body after contacting beach sand.

The runoff from urinating and defecating dogs at the beach promenade/wall, draining through the pvc pipes/stairs onto the beach sand does not seem to make the beach sand less risky.
Questions remain:
Where was the sand sourced from that covered the playgrounds?
Where can information be obtained regarding fecal contamination of beach sand at Manly Beach?

Links
Sand, salmonella, e-coli and that cute pet, May 08
More salmonella mysteries on the Northern Beaches, November 08
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2009, July 10). Digging In Beach Sand Increases Risk Of Gastrointestinal Illness. Via ScienceDaily
Christopher D. Heaney et al., Contact With Beach Sand Among Beachgoers and Risk of Illness, American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published on June 18, 2009, Am. J. Epidemiol. 2009 170: 164-172; doi:10.1093/aje/kwp152

Pathogen Ecology at Manly Beach

People pass on superbugs to seagulls. "...Wild birds pick up E. coli of human origin, and with human resistance traits, and may accordingly also act as an environmental reservoir and melting pot of bacterial resistance with a potential to re-infect human populations."

Both aggregate at beaches and like to share take-away food. Humans leave the 'throw away wrappings', gulls leave their feces on the beach promenade.

Waste management on the Manly Beach front (images) takes the form of high-pressure hosing, and debris blowers. All are petrol powered, polluting and very noisy. The waste, which as we now know has the potential to contain antibiotics-resistant bacteria is 'dispersed' by the air or water/aerosol pressure. The waste is blown, wet or dry, either in the direction of the beach or towards South Steyne and its outdoor eateries. Beach users, parade walkers and customers of the eateries need assurance that risk factors are being kept to a minimum.

• Silver Gulls (Larus novaehollandiae) are a native and protected species. Enforcing the 'no feeding' rules would limit their spread.
• Eradicate invasive species (Indian Mynahs) and their feces, dog feces on public footpaths. Enforce the law.
• Adopt sustainable waste management not based on petrol and that does not constitute noise pollution.

Via > > Bonnedahl et al. Dissemination of Escherichia coli with CTX-M Type ESBL between Humans and Yellow-Legged Gulls in the South of France. PLoS ONE, 2009; 4 (6): e5958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005958

Escherichia coli , antibiotic resistance
Reverse zoonosis
Image: Google Maps, Manly Beach front, parade with eating facilities, South Styne and the eateries opposite.

Herbicide Use in Manly

Herbicides kill unwanted plants

Biocides "have been designed to disrupt biological systems, causing death to target organisms, such as insects or plants"

They have been used in warfare to make the leaves fall off the trees in the rainforest(Agent Orange). The damage was great on all life and some victims fought a class action lawsuit about the poisoning.

These chemicals are not just used in warfare for eradicating life, they can also be put to use as chemical weapons to remove unwanted plants for example.
Once a place industrialises, that is it relies on fossil fuel machinery and chemicals for 'vegetation control' then the costly “rapid knockdown ability” of these toxins saves the labourer from bending down and picking up a weed.

Lately there have been many signs of the use of such substances in public areas that are highly frequented by people, pets and wildlife.

At the end of Bower St at the Shelly Headland Loookout where some Bitou weed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera*ssp) needed to be 'managed' a whole swath of native plants are dead or dying: Mangrove Boobialla (Myoporum ssp.), NZ spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) and Saltbush (Enchylaena). All of the endemic flora provided habitat for native marsupials and birds. It appears to be a very inefficient 'by-kill'. The location is on the cliff's edge so runoff is an issue. Why the remaining woody shrubs and trees are butchered is another question.

Around immersive Manly Town many poles have that iconic Australian 'one grass' sprouting at the bottom. The same signs of herbicide death. Even at the beach, the vegetation at the sandstone wall also shows the same signs. A sign of surface runoff?

Who knows what the turf along the pines contains which children and dogs are rolling in. Both toddlers and dogs are low to the ground and stand to be in closer contact.

Council's website was last updated in 2007 on the matter and reads:

"The aim of this plan is to meet the community’s general right to know about pesticide applications made to outdoor public places that are owned or controlled by Manly Council. The plan allows members of the community to take action to avoid contact with pesticides if they wish. Manly Council aims to ensure that pesticides are applied to public places in a safe, responsible and humane manner, minimising harm to the community and the environment."

In a more current document council mentions that "70 litres or less of herbicide is to be used annually".

• How is the public informed?
• How is information made available?
• How can residents/visitors/pets reduce exposure to land or beach where hazardous chemicals have been applied or have run to?
• Why aren' t there any signs?

A community of users might have certainty at the moment, but history has taught that the Precautionary Principle is always a good guide. The impacts on peoples' health, the well-being of pets or the environmental impacts will, as usual come years later.

Images:
1 & 2, Poles with dead grass in Manly town, close to Manly Beach
3 Dead vegetation at the beach stairs. Run off?
4 Various Mangrove Boobialla at Shelly Headland Loookout dying.

Links
Endocrine Disruptors
Some Reasons to not use Herbicides
Glyphosate

Update:
040509
North Head , Lady Fairfax walk and lookouts also seem to be befallen by the great 'browning'. Weeds especially along the fences are doing well. Endemic plants are hit. Eutrophication down the cliff from the lookout.

260609
" Weed killer kills human cell... Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Roundup has long been a top-selling weed killer. But now researchers have found that one of Roundup’s inert ingredients can kill human cells, particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells." Environmental Health News, 220609

Nora Benachour and Gilles-Eric Sralini, Glyphosate Formulations Induce Apoptosis and Necrosis in Human Umbilical, Embryonic, and Placental Cells, Chem. Res. Toxicol., 2009, 22 (1), pp 97–105 DOI: 10.1021/tx800218n Publication Date (Web): December 23, 2008

Manly Beach Drift 'wood' - May

A monthly summary of what has washed onto the shore or beach through the winds, tides, waves or human action. Marine debris, flora and fauna, dead or alive:

Glassing - unintentional/intentional
A stunning lot of freshly cracked G L A S S on the beach. It can be mapped as a post-event phenomena.
On the cemented turf violence with glass, 'glassing' seems to be a popular, mostly alcohol-fuelled activity. There were a lot of bare-footed people on the beach. Which 'stakeholder' is responsible for this potentially dangerous 'externality'?

Airborne Bird Feces and Public Health
At prime visitor time the main cement stairs along the Corso beachfront were sprayed with a high pressure hose. The stairs tend to get caked in bird feces and 'fast food'. The odd butt and wrapping thrown in too. The worker wore no protective mask/ respirator while blowing the nutrient-rich accumulations of bird droppings, feathers and debris in the beach direction. Nearby visitors seated on the stairs received a good dose of of the moist, pulverised, and airborne mix. If OHS is an alien term, then at least the health hazards associated with bird feces and food wastes should be taken into consideration not just in times of pandemics.

Stingers
An unusual jelly, a squarish transluscent bell and short, pink tentacles.(Purple Stinger, Pelagica noctiluca?) Never seen before. It seemed the only medusa on the beach.

An almost hot day with dense white clouds. The horizon uncluttered. 010509

Herbicide in runoff
Various plants around Manly suburbs seem to have been sprayed with herbicide. That classical plant around the pole that petrol-fuelled 'gardening' could not eradicate.

At the beach, along the wall where a few endemic grasses and other plants strain to stabilise the sand, the same 'yellowing'. The bio-cide seems to have flowed as surface runoff and finally came out of a drain, just above the beach vegetation. People often sit on these patches, but 'no worry' - it's just a bit of pesticide at the beach. 020509Crested Tern Habitat: Eutrophication Pipes

Awesome having Crested Terns bomb-dive next to one's head in the surf. Almost hot water. A Pelican flying circles, looking for a habitat. Many types of shells. Some post-event glass freshly chipped. Some fishing string.
At the Manly Life Saving Club, developments race on. Extreme pollution around that premise: a cacophony of debris blowers and diesel-fuelled deliveries of 'fast food' - all blowing into the building. A place to avoid. 040509

More than 24 Crested Terns with offspring. White Cockatoos grazing on conifer seeds. Styropore flakes seem to have come down the hill, washed out of the pipe and got flushed back in. A lot of them. The "Green" machines are disturbing the peace and quite. Fecal matter on the stairs being moistned and dispersed as aerosol by a high pressure hose again. 050509

Unusual mushroom-shaped sponges. Many leg-less seagulls. Why? Large Bluebottles.
All streetlights along North Steyne are on in the daylight. Too much money? Not enough CO2? Pollution from smokers, diesel vehicles and rancid restaurant oils mingling at the beach.
Elsewhere they are flying a blue flag at the beaches to assure users/visitors that the water is clean and the shore-line free of anthropogenic debris. 110509

Dense schools of different sized fish in the surf. Gannets diving for them (video) Seagulls chasing Crested Terns and Gannets for their rich catch. At places the ocean looked like it was 'boiling' with life. A few Willy Wagtails (Rhipidura leucophrys) checking out the dunes and a few Butcherbirds calling (audio) from the pines. 130509

A very large variety of shells today. Many Crested Terns still fishing. The surf had very large fish nosing around our legs. The usual plastic junk, fishing/diving garbage and chunky glass.

All streetlights blasting energy during the day from Queenscliff to North Steyne Surf Club. This has been going on for ages now, they must have money to burn! Their offspring might ask them one day why this planet has become so uninhabitable. (PDF) 150509

Diesel and noise pollution at the Queenscliff end: The smell of 'kelp' or the substance that flows out of Manly Lagoon has been exchanged for industrialising the beach and lagoon mouth with noisy and stinking machinery. 180509

The last oysters scratched off by very hungry and needy people at the Queenscliff rocks end. Street lights still blasting in the day as if there is no tomorrow. Dead fish and a lot of garden refuse washed down to the beach from the subs. 'Throw-away' lighters and very large, sharp pieces of glass. Boat-parking on the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve. Who needs biodiversity when in need of parking that petrol-guzzling 'recreational' aquatic vehicle? 190509

A second Shy Albatross found with a fishing hook in its eye and the fishing string tighly wrapped around its legs. Many dead fish and many sepia. The usual 'event' glass and one-mouthful wrappings.
People that look at things at the beach seem to be either small children or foreigners. For the rest it is a (free) gym or a path to the surf. 200509

Wild weather conditions pound the coast. The row of pines in full seed seem to emit a castanets' sound before the lorikeet frenzy starts. Two Pelicans glide over the beach without a movement.
The sand was covered in small pieces of volcanic rock that have blown in. Large Cuttlefish sepia bones.

Along the sandstone wall some native vegetation is re-establishing itself, holding the sand in place: Knotted Club Rush (Isolepis nodosa), Pigface (Carpbrotus glaucescens), NZ Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) and Scaevola sp.
At the southern end the surf is lapping at the stairs, signs of erosion become visible.
The heavy rain washed suburbia clean again. Down the hill it all goes, all the unwanted externalities.
The plastic Junkspace contained fishing and surfing paraphernalia. Fast food 'throw-away' cutlery and dishes, a lot of balloons with fancy long strings, dummies, spray cans, furniture and crates.
An adult man flying plastic kite in the air, endangering others. Usually the plastic debris gets tangled in the tall pines and stays there for the birds.
A lot of fruit rolled around the shore: apples, figs, grapefruit, oranges, tropical mysteries. The gulls prefer apple.
The usual daytime light pollution and energy waste from Pine Street to the north all along North Steyne.
Around Pacific St. the dunes are reclaiming lawn territory from the underground.
An army plane flying low over the Pacific horizon. 210509

Wild weather still pounding the shoreline.
Audio: Pounding surf, White Cockatoos screeching.

Fauna: An abundance of Nudibranch (Glaucilla marginata). Crested Terns are still blending in with the Seagulls.
Jellyfish: Many Velella, the unusual Bluebottles mingling.

Vegetation matter: Most vegetation matter seems anthropogenic, cut branches, weeded grass tufts, weeds etc. Possibly washed down 'externalities' from sub-urbia.
Plastic: Many bags, 'party balloons' and extra long strings and fancy ribbons ready to entangle wildlife.

Glass: Only one extra large, sharp piece today.
Dogs: Black plastic bags, full (of feces) and empty blowing around the shoreline. Illegal dog packs ON the beach.

On the parade: the same pine vegetation as if the council's idling 'green' machine has never been there. 220509

Wild ocean, even the gulls are uncomfortabe at the beach. The volleyball infrastructure on the beach eroded and scrambled like toothpicks. That bit of 'real estate' on the beach won't be 'monetizing' for a while. The stairs are challenged by the pounding waves, the large sharp rocks from under the sand/ beach are exposed by the erosion. 230509


The erosion and plastic pellets have their own post. There was an unusual amount of anthropogenic debris on the beach. Mostly plastic, a lot of it minced. Giant rope knots, plastic cables etc, ideal to entangle. Most crested terns have disappeared. The smell was not the best and it was not kelp! 250509

Erosion, especially at the south end of the beach. Large rocks, cement lumps, iron bars and mysterious fibrous mats surfacing. The last upright volley poles are going.

Plastic junk and plastic ropes and fishing lines, knotted in thick entanglement balls. The "litter free" North Steyne beach was like the rest of the beach full of plastic garabage and plastic resin pellets.Kelp is arriving to replenish the (northern end of) beach and grasp the sand. Sea tulips and live marine creatures are also amongst it, so the human community will scream 'stinky weed' again and deprive the beach of what it needs. Strange insensitivity towards the other most overwhelming smells...
Jellyfish, large red/burgundy with a huge bell.

Motorised: Wheelies on the ocean, idling green machines on the parade and tractors at the beach stemming the tide of human junkspace. 260509


Kelp: At the north end of the beach: 150+ cm high kelp covering the pool's edge, the beach and surf. Sea Tulips are also mingling. Swarms of Swallows chasing thick swarms of 'kelpflies' in their habitat.

Sponges: A great variety, many still in their colour.
Jellyfish: a couple of the huge bell in red/burgundy.

Junkspace: Minced plastic junk all along the beach.
In front of the childrens' hospital the pines now even become a tip for long and thick fishing strings, high up in the trees, ready to entangle Lorikeets or any other bird. Junkspace making has many dimensions.
Horizon: Thick brown haze pollution. Romatic fireplaces, pollution from a car-dependent nation? 270509
Kelp: + 150 cm high especially at the northern end, sloshing in the surf and reaching into the lagoon and pool. All along the beach as well. As it is mixed with Sea tulips and Cunjevoi it will smell of decomposing animals. That is aside from the Manly lagoon smell, the many eutrophication pipes leading into it and the ocean, funneling the 'externalities' of Sub-urbia into the Pacific.

Sponges in great variety, Shark eggcases and Sea Urchins.
Swallow cleaning up the kelp and marine life 'flies'.

Plastic Junkspace: The old finely minced plastic with the plastic resin pellets from days ago, distributed along the dunes. A fresh lot in the thick kelp of mainly plastic bottles and fast food, eat & chuck debris. And all that on a 'litterfree beach'.

Dogs and more dogs illegally at the Queenscliff end of the beach.

Queenscliff cliff edge: Most woody vegetation (trees) rolling down the cliff 'sponatenously'. Even the endemic wetland reed (Phragmites australis) looks as if it is sick and tired of stabilising the cliff edge. Another habitat going for Herons and Ringtail possums. Only a bare and eroding cliff face/headland would be recognisable as iconically 'Australian'. 280509
See also Driftwood of:
April, March, February, January, 2009

Manly Beach Drift 'wood' - January

A monthly summary of what has washed onto the shore or beach through the winds, tides, waves or human action. Marine debris, flora and fauna, dead or alive:

Each day washes another type of jelly fish up, today bluebottles, yesterday a mysterious 2 cm 'button' with a dark blue short fringe. The entire beach filled with them. The day before, transluscent blobs. Heating up the ocean, turning it into an acid brew and eradicating the predators of jellyfish (Sunfish, turtle etc) will produce an ever denser 'bloom' of more or less stinging jellies to wade and 'swim' in.

Many different types of kelp in beautiful shapes. A living hermit crab (Pagurus sinuatus) walking about in a big shell. One cuttlefish whole and the other with arms and tentacles cut off, cooking on the sand. 'Cheap bait'? Desperate fishing people swish nets of stinking fishheads on the sand, maybe to attract sharks? An abundance of fishing junk all along, reels, nylon etc.

At the pipes of sub-urban eutrophication lingers a mysterious smell. Intertidal critters do their best to coat the pipe. Terns love the safety of the tall signs. Real driftwood, washed in by the king tide.

The human contribution: Smoking all over the beach, toxic butts in the surf. Large groups of young people all with unprotected heads in the water and on the beach. Their coaches and carers are well covered from uv radiation.
On the sand and in the surf, the smell and sound of petrol racing. Roaring, smelly boats in 'operational areas', getting close to bodies in the surf. Buggies racing along the sand, without an apparent urgency for speed. One day it will be termed an 'accident'.
Commercial speed boats spin right into the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, depriving the marine fauna of a safe habitat. Swimmers and divers are in great danger form aquatic 'wheelies'. The airspace also has more frequent hovering of helicopters, private and commercial 'joy flights'.

On the litter front, the usual 'one mouthful' wrappers and containers, many balloons, gift wrapping and other marine debris on the shore line.

Denise Ellis Kelly pointed out how a speeding motor had killed a Little Penguin. She also mentioned how the shark net tangled and drowned a dolphin at xmas. (Manly Daily, 140109, p. 22) This is probably just the visible 'tip of an iceberg'. The motor boat and living body interface is as deadly and polluting as terestial traffic. Ban, reduce and lower speed. Motorised lifesavers' high speed is only warranted if life is in danger.

Aerial plastic tangle in the form of kites, string and balloons are left in the tall pines for animals to get entangled in.

The extreme light pollution along the beach from North Steyne Club to Queenscliff pool is an “ecological trap” for wildlife and a blinding nuisance for people. One light bellows out CO2 pollution during the day as well. What a waste.


150109 Image 2 & 4 :Penguin art exhibition by children in the Manly Library. "Boats can hurt penguins. Slow down!"

A moray eel washed up, strangled by fishing line right behind the neck. Another inhabitat of the Cabbage Bay Marine Reserve reef became victim of fishing by-kill.
More Crested Terns (Sterna bergii) indicating heat to come.

The daily junkspace: unwanted flimsy plastic sun tents, generously left behind when broken down after a low usage rate. Large sheets of plastic tarp and the usual unwanted plastic bits.

On the beach walkway - many cars, unloading their commercial loads for the day. The council “green machine” billowing black smoke, repelling people from using the beach parade. The noise and pollution impact on beach users from driving on pedestrian paths is considerable. Operators stop for long periods to engage in long 'ride on conversations' – all with running motors of course, as it is customary in CO2 belching hot Australia. The accumulated fumes from the diesel-intensive mechanical sweeping and the decibel pollution drives people from the public space which is apparently being 'cleaned' for them. 220109Another large dead moray eel with a tumor/growth? on the side of its body. A dead frog and many blue bottles. A hot ocean and the feeling of desertification racing. Despite it all, SUVs and airconditioners are pumping up the Hot Planet. 300109

More Salmonella 'mysteries' on the Northern Beaches

'Mystery' has struck again. Sand contaminated with Samonella paratyphi B var java was found again on the Northern Beaches playgrounds. "Hitchcock Park at Avalon and Winnererremy Bay at Mona Vale on the Northern Beaches have been fenced off for the second time this year, while a third South Avalon playground has not re-opened since May". Replacing (some) of the sand did not work. The bug, linked to exotic fish/pets can cause serious illness.

In pet-fanatic Manly off leash dogs mingle in playgrounds and on the beaches with toddlers. Apart from community hygiene standards and enforcements, it does not instill confidence that possible bio hazards could also turn out to be 'mysteries' for half a year or more...
More:
Salmonella paratyphi bio var java contaminated grounds May 2008

Preventing 'Red Tides' at Shelly Beach, Manly

Shelly Beach is a small sheltered beach, facing Manly Beach. A coastal walkway, leads along the Cabbage Tree Bay Tree Aquatic Reserve to Shelly, which has one of the few small unbuilt headlands with native vegetation on it. Some of original cabbage tree palms were replanted as they once fringed the watercourses leading to the beach. The headland leading back to Manly beach has been undergoing intense development for years. The beach facilities are also under intense demand.

Dead Fish, how come?
Last week (02 & 03.1008) many dead puffer fish and a moray eel were washed up on Manly beach. We assume, these 'cave dwellers' were from the 'Aquatic Reserve'. On the 051008 the first blooms of an apparent red tide was visible at Shelly Beach. On the 021008 "a mysterious red sludge", believed to be red algae bloom was found on a beach in the Manly area, at Clontarf.(Image)

Nice Beach as a drain, growing harmful bacteria?
The walkway from Manly beach to Shelly beach along the aquatic reserve is studded with old, often decayed pipes of all sizes, draining the dense sub-urban development on top of the headland, down into the little bay/'reserve'. The mossy green rocks are the sure-sign for 'rich run-off'. The little creek behind the restaurant, has spaghetti-like pipes all leading into it and straight into the beach. Most of the properties, strain to grow water and nutrient intensive foreign vegetation. A large paved car park on top of Shelly, is increasingly denuded, leading to even more run off. Numerous dogs on the beach and unleashed along the walkway help to contribute their untreated feces into the adjacent cabbage bay aquatic reserve. Sydney on the whole “dumps a billion liters of sewage into the ocean every day...” (Maude Barlow, Blue Covenant, 08 p28.) Habitat degradation, generous run off and extreme warming of the atmosphere and the ocean is a guaranteed recipe for 'red tides', then harmful algea (HABs), then hypoxic or 'dead zones'. The beaches become at first unusable, smelly and might irritate the skin and eyes. Later, even just breathing the 'mist' can cause health problems and fish suffocate in the oxygen-deprived sludge, “fish-kill” (video). Marine species have their central nervous systems attacked by the poisons generated by the bacteria and also seek to 'leave the ocean' gasping for oxygen. Marine mammals, such as humpbacks are also poisoned and 'beached'. 'Food-species' can become deadly to fish, shellfish and people. Sea and shorebirds fall out of the sky(pdf). The stench would repel any visitor, closing beaches becomes very costly for the human economy. Rehabilitating the ecology of a 'dead zone' is usually left for the next generations.

Beyond denial - Doing something against the red tide
Elsewhere environmental groups are enforcing measurable standards to prevent the fouling of their beaches."..To set numeric limits on the excess nutrients which trigger harmful blooms of blue-green algae...Blue-green algae - also known as cyanobacteria - produce "dermatoxins" that can create severe dermatitis and are known tumor promoters; "neurotoxins" which interfere with nerve cell function; and "hepatotoxins" which attack the liver. Exposure to blue-green algae toxins through ingestion, skin contact or inhalation can cause rashes, skin and eye irritation, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal upset, serious illness, and even death..."
Their drinking water" is now subject to almost year-round blue-green algae blooms as a result of nutrient pollution"

It is too dear to not act
The red tide algae, Karenia brevis, "costs approximately $20 million per bloom in economic damage off the coast of Florida alone." The beauty of a beach is lost forever.

Ocean Care includes the acknowledgement of eutrophication, it seeks to alter the behaviour of individuals and the authorities bestowed with the stewardship of an biome and urban planning.

Images:
1. Shelly Beach, Google Maps, 2008
2. The walkway from Manly Beach to Shelly beach along the Cabbage Tree Bay Tree Aquatic Reserve on the one hand and the suburb on the other, Google Maps, 2008
3. Shelly Beach looking back onto the walkway with thick streakes of 'red slime' 051008
4. Shelly Beach with 'red slime'', with view to Manly Beach opposite

Update:
Red Tide 11.2010: North Head images, 1 & 2,

Manly Beach Bike Week - Sustainable Mobility

Manly Council is hosting the NSW Bike Week, (pdf) (RTA) on Sunday, 280908 from 10 am to 4 pm at North Steyne.
The key objectives are to
" Raise the profile of the use of bicycles for short local trips.
Promote safe cycling and the use of shared bicycle/ pedestrian facilities."
The Road and Transport Authorities main aim is to improve safety on the roads.

Once one has "dusted off" one's push bike and obtained safety gadgets it is off to a high risk territory of armoured and petrol-powered vehicles.
The motorised community's behaviour hits the attention-economy daily with news of road rage, bullying, 'hit and run' and ploughing into pedestrians or their houses. "Accidents", speeding and intoxicated vehicular manslaughter are the norm. Bodily harm is also caused by the noise and chemical pollution that is being inflicted on all. Pedestrians and cyclists wishing to share this space seem to be perceived as a lower species with less rights, as they are not obtaining power derived from fossil fuels. Not contributing to Australia's record emissions they are treated as being 'in the way'.

Awareness needs to be raised not in the community that is achieving sustainable mobility, but in the petrol vulnerable car-dependent nation and its mind-sets. Structural change needs to to facilitate safe and emission free transportation.

Many bikes in Manly still arrive on/in cars. The 'leisure bikes' get unpacked with idling motors at the beach/car-park. Variations range from plastic uniformed racing bikes, to large family groups, with children often on dysfunctional cheap 'throw-away' bikes and mounting-bikes looking for municipality tree-edges to crack. Of course, there are some real-life cyclists arriving on bikes as well. But all are seeking to join in on the heel-to heel packed 2.4 kilometre (1.5-mile) Pacific beach path. The cycle/walkway proper is situated along the beach car park with many cars having hard or sharp protrusions right over the cycle path. At night the beach walkway has racing bikes endangering pedestrians. Off the beach drag, the fragmented bike paths are often parked on. Without the provision of physically-separated bicycle paths the life of a bare body on a wire frame is taking a higher risk. Arriving for ones "short local trip" there are insufficient bike racks to do the shopping. The odd bicycle bar is often taken up by motor-bikes, conquering the pedestrian paths increasingly. Resorting to tie the bike to trees/palms further degrades the neglected trees.

Leaving the bike and attempting to cross any marked pedestrian path is a struggle, and one had better run. The designated 'pedestrian zones' are most of the time filled with delivery trucks and trades vehicles. Idling is the norm. Car design regulations in Australia are lagging behind causing injury and death to walking people and cyclists. Fatal injuries could be avoided by spending a bit on reducing harm to the 'collided objects'.

"About 300 pedestrians and cyclists are killed in vehicle-related accidents on Australian roads each year and another 3000 sustain serious injuries.
The most common injuries are serious head injuries, broken legs and ribs and fractures to the pelvis."

Cycling is a wonderful form of mobility, but the mind set of the car addicted community and their practices has to be targeted and structural urban changes have to be realised and enforced.
Images:
1. Corso 'bike path'
2. Beach bike path with dangerous protrusion in ya face
3. Beach bike path with knife-like instrument at head level
4. Manly Cove pedestrians & push bikes only!, 3 large motorbikes, one idling bus.

Links:

• Video, Physically seperated bike lanes, US
• Fatality Analysis Reporting System with Google Maps, US
• Shocking the suburbs: urban location, housing debt and oil vulnerability in the Australian city , Jago Dodson and Neil Sipe / Urban Research Program
• Pedestrians at risk as car safety rules slip behind, SMH 270908
• Risk for cyclists 'increasing' on Beach Rd, SMH 270908
• Bicycle Paths, Manly Council
• Bikely Maps and Routes
• Sydney Cyclist
• Pedal Mobility

Update 021008
- They complain about birds swooping cyclists in their breeding season as they run out of habitat. Pity, there are no corresponding articles about the deadly dangers posed to pedestrians and push-bike riders by urban tanks steared by aggro drivers at pedestrians, push-bike riders and birds. (Manly Daily 021008, the dead-tree version is most reliable!)

North Head NP Occupied - More Toxic Diesel in Wildlife Habitat

North Head, Lady Fairfax walk today. Toilet litter all over on the ground from mass-tourism (without the facilities). The National Parks sign is a sure indicator for what is to be expected: dogs, bikes, litter. The rare Banksia vegetation had been damaged on the 'walkway' by cars. Although there were no black plumes (soot) visible from ocean-going vessels, the entire air around the walk seemed saturated in diesel fumes. And then there it was again - another giant infrastructure development IN the national park, placed on the main 'tourist-attracting' look-out, directly on the cliff of North Head.

Diesel-belching clutter IN the wildlife refuge (NP)
A huge diesel-belching, humming demountable, with a large spinning radar antenna had been placed in the middle of the Sydney Harbour National Park's territory. Seeking to “add value to all aspects of Sydneys port operations... (and) protect the environment and have regard to the interests of the community “, the Sydney Ports Corporation planted this air-conditioned, video and radar surveillance object into a wildlife refuge. This 'state-of-the art' technology (pdf) is to aid in the intensification of trade and logistics from Botany Bay to Sydney Harbour (North Head).
Intensify - more for more, 'exploit & open up NPs'
The “Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) provides active monitoring and navigational advice for vessels in particularly confined and busy waterways with complex traffic movements...Sydney’s ports alone handle over $50 billion of international and domestic trade annually. Total trade through Sydney’s ports was 29.2 million mass tonnes, 5.0 per cent higher than last year.” Obtaining ROI in a harbour full of tinnies is not easy. Infrastructure is likely to be erected in various harbour sites and widening the bays (dredging) is already starting in Botany Bay and elsewhere.

Deadly trade
As in colonial times, the growing population (pdf) is still dependent on the boats coming in, bringing the essentials. Only this time, the huge diesel-powered vessels (container ships, tankers, bunk carriers, tugboats and cruise ships) are costing lives and health. Most diesel powered ocean-going vessels are significant contributers to air pollution in the heads, the harbour, ports and cities. Ports, handling the bulk of imports, are among the biggest sources of air pollution and greenhouse gas emission. “Each step of the goods movement process is powered by diesel fuel, which releases greenhouse gases and toxic, smog-forming air contaminants...ports pose "grave health risks" to millions of people living in metropolitan coastal areas, especially those living nearest the ports." In 2002 "60,000 people living in coastal communities along major shipping routes died from lung and heart complaints as a result of high sulfate emissions from ships". Particulate matter from ocean-going ship causes asthma, heart attacks, hospital admissions, and premature mortality. “Particle pollution from shipping to tens of thousands of premature deaths each year, most of them along coastlines in Europe, East Asia, and South Asia." This dirty trade is causing harm to public health and to the environment.The ocean, its life and the atmosphere becoming degraded
"Ships use the tar-like, sulfur-concentrated remains of petroleum left once the gasoline, oil and all other products have been extracted. This high-sulfur fuel is responsible for the significant environmental impacts of ship sulfur emissions. Regionally, sulfur emissions contribute to acid rain, which can pollute freshwater lakes and rivers, and damage vegetation." Even cloud formation over the Pacific is influenced by trade-carrying cargo ships powered by diesel engines."The annual costs of sea traffic’s contribution to air pollution, climate change and marine pollution are estimated to amount to 260 billion euro for the world fleet and 57 billion euro for the EU fleet." These 'externalities' are probably not lower for the Asian/Pacific region.

Intensifying diesel-powered traffic that 'costs the Earth' and has negative impacts on the marine foreshore and protected wildlife refuges is unsustainable.

Links:
- International Maritime Organization
- "In accordance with the Australian Government's responsibilities and policies, Australia's obligations under IMO Conventions and AMSA's functions specified in Section 6(1)(a) of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990, AMSA coordinates a national pollution prevention and response strategy to protect Australia's marine environment from pollution caused by shipping and related activities. This document lists the prevention components of this strategy, based largely on several IMO Conventions given effect by domestic legislation, implemented and enforced by Commonwealth and State/NT Governments." Protection of the Sea - Conventions and Legislation in Australia, AMSA, Australian Government
- Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983, NSW
- The National Parks and Wildlife Service, DECC
- National Parks & Wildlife Act 1974
- NCC/NPA Submission to Taskforce on Tourism and National Parks, Submission of The Nature Conservation Council of NSW and the National Parks Association of NSW and the Blue Mountains Conservation Society. 0808, pdf 1,2MB

Update 111008
"The International Maritime Organization on Thursday adopted stringent new controls on airborne pollution from the world’s 300,000 oceangoing vessels. Emissions from ships steaming into ports from Rotterdam to Shanghai to Long Beach, are blamed for about 60,000 premature deaths around the world annually. Sulfur emissions are a major source of airborne fine particulates, which have been associated with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease. In some ports in Europe and in the United States, environmental groups, using the courts, and local governmental bodies have required ships to shut off their engines and plug in to the local electrical grid to keep ship operations functioning while in port." NYT 101008