Ballon Releases

Question: What’s the difference between these two scenarios? 

1. An airplane flies over a river and wetlands and releases 1,000 plastic bags.
2. A group of people get together and release 1,000 balloons.

Answer: There is no difference.  

All released balloons, including those falsely marketed as “biodegradable latex,” return to earth as nothing more than destructive and unsightly litter. Dolphins, whales, turtles, and many other marine species, as well as animals such as cows, dogs, sheep, tortoises, and birds, have all been hurt or killed by balloons. The balloon (or balloon fragment) blocks the digestive tract, leaving them unable to take in nutrients - and they slowly starve to death. 



Some states (including Florida), cities, and countries have enacted laws regarding the release of balloons. Meanwhile balloon industry entities spend millions of dollars lobbying to keep balloon releases legal. Releasing balloons should be included in already existing litter laws - after all, this activity is nothing more than organized littering.


Please…think about it – and choose, instead, an activity that celebrates and enhances our planet and its creatures.

Chasing Ice Screening

The St. Marys EarthKeepers and co-hosts, The Amelia Island EarthKeepers, cordially invite you to attend a screening of the Emmy Award winning, Oscar-nominated documentary Chasing Ice.  

The film made its TV debut on the National Geographic Channel on April 19, 2013 and has since been screened around the world in 172 countries, 70 universities, over 75 film festivals, in the White House, and before the United Nations.

“In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.

Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.” https://chasingice.com/

Date: Thursday, August 13, 2015
Time: 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Location: St. Marys Theatre By The Trax, 1000 Osborne St., St. Marys GA
Admission: Free of charge (seating is limited, 160)

Welcome, Amelia Island EarthKeepers

Tonight’s inaugural meeting of the Amelia Island EarthKeepers was a great success. Over 75 citizens (St. Marys and Fernandina) attended, along with three St. Marys Councilmembers.

Fernandina Vice-Mayor Johnny Miller spoke eloquently about the many common causes that unite our two communities: concerns regarding fugitive dust from the proposed Kinder Morgan ship-to-pier coal transfer operations at the Port of Fernandina; seismic airgun testing/oil exploration along our coast; Cumberland Island; the ongoing issue of litter in our rivers and ocean; and the pressing need to protect the integrity of our shared environment.

In the coming days, a website will be created and information disseminated – including a petition to oppose coal operations in Fernandina. Until then, I invite you to join the Amelia Island EarthKeepers on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/107134962965522/ .

Many thanks to all who attended, and to Sandy Bottoms, Fernandina, for so graciously allowing us the use of their facility.


Port of Fernandina Coal Transfers: http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/fernandina-port-plans-create-environmental-concerns-in-st-marys/article_30dff5c3-37c5-56f4-9af0-633496bd9c07.html

Recent articles: 
http://fernandinaobserver.com/2015/07/17/amelia-island-and-st-marys-earthkeepers-join-hands-across-the-river-to-protect-and-preserve-coastal-areas/#more-56471 

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/sister-earthkeepers-created-in-fernandina/article_a774810b-0091-5bac-8511-cba440427e45.html 
  

Georgia State Bill 36

Our thanks to St. Marys City Council for their unanimous approval of a Resolution Supporting Georgia State Bill 36:  

“A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to wells and drinking water, so as to prohibit the injection of ground water into the Floridan aquifer in certain counties; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.” http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20152016/SB/36

Thus far, The Camden County Commissioners, the Camden County Chamber of Commerce, the City of Woodbine, and St. Marys have all signed resolutions supporting SB 36. It's simply "a tool in our toolbox" in terms of protecting our crucial water-resources by providing greater regulatory protections.

The Suwannee River and St. Johns River water management districts are in the process of developing four conceptual regional recharge projects to replenish the Upper Floridan aquifer. Potential sources of recharge water include reclaimed water and surface water within both districts.

There are considerable risks involved in ASR (Aquifer Storage and Recovery)* and if Georgia is to be in a position to protect our resources we must have clear and enforceable regulations and a strong voice.

*http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/aquiferrecharge.cfm

May 2015 E-Scrap/Paper-shredding Event

That was a day, that was! The vehicles started lining up at 9:15 am and didn't stop until 4 pm. Over 200 hundred cars and trucks dropped off 14.5 tons of electronics and approximately 4 tons of paper (which was shredded on-site.) Boxes and bags of old files and magazines, a clothes-dryer, mammoth TVs, computers, household appliances, huge office copiers…and on they came.

Another standing ovation for our intrepid volunteers, our co-hosts The Tribune & Georgian, and the citizens and organizations who shared the event flyer via social media, email, newsletters, print media etc.

Above all, thank you to the many people who took the time to ensure that our landfill is not further burdened by that which can (and should) be recycled. Well done, everyone! We hold these events three times per year and each time we collect approximately 14 tons of e-scrap. Our next event will be in September so watch for the notices on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/stmarysearthkeepers/) and in the papers.

Kinder Morgan Palmetto Pipeline

Below is a draft map of the proposed leg of the Palmetto Pipeline that will travel through 18 miles of Camden County, travel into Charlton County, cross the St. Marys River and then jog east to Jacksonville. Wetlands, tributaries, a river, myriad threatened or endangered species, the city of St. Marys itself at the mouth of the river...what could possibly go wrong?

At 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, at the Richmond Hill City Center (520 Cedar St. in Richmond Hill, near Savannah) there will be a public hearing regarding the Palmetto Pipeline. This is the only hearing planned at this time. http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2015-04-01/story/single-public-hearing-proposed-palmetto-pipeline-set-april-21-richmond

The St. Marys River - a unique and fragile low-flow blackwater river - surfaces as a tiny stream known as “River Styx” and flows from the western edge of Trail Ridge (the primordial remnants of a barrier island system) and into the southeastern Okefenokee Swamp. From there it travels south, then east, then north, then east-southeast until finally, after a journey of 125 river-miles, it delivers its tannic waters into the Cumberland Sound and the Atlantic Ocean near St. Marys, GA and Fernandina Beach FL.

The river is bordered by Charlton and Camden counties in Georgia, Nassau and Baker counties in Florida. 

The St. Marys River Basin is a critical habitat for numerous rare, threatened or endangered species, including 23 kinds of plants and 54 kinds of animals. Wildlife in this area consists of, among others, porpoise, manatee, osprey, bald eagle, white-tailed deer, black bear, bobcat, raccoon, otter, beaver, gopher tortoise, alligator and indigo snake. It is also host to a diverse variety of flora and fauna such as bald cypress, longleaf pine, black gum, southern magnolia, red maple, American holly, poplar, black willow, river birch, and a variety of oaks.

The City of St. Marys is located at the mouth of the river. Its economy relies, in large part, upon the tourism created by fishing, kayaking, boating, and visitors to Cumberland island National Seashore. Throughout St. Marys history the citizens’ quality of life was - and is -predicated upon the environmental integrity of the river.

So there’s a snapshot of an extraordinary ecosystem and its importance to a region’s well-being. Now we are informed that Kinder Morgan would like to run their pipeline through 18 miles of Camden County, into Charlton County, and across the St. Marys River on its way to Jacksonville.

Let’s look at the risk-reward scales. On the “reward” side, we have the much-vaunted temporary jobs that will, apparently, be given to out-of-area workers, the 28 permanent jobs based in Atlanta, and an economic boon to Kinder Morgan. Nowhere in there do we see any possible benefits to the people of St. Marys, Camden County, or the other counties that border the river.

On the “risk” side of the scale we have potential devastation to a river, its ecosystem, and the people who rely upon the St. Marys River’s continued health. No system is fool-proof. No pipeline is fail-safe. And the risks in this case so far outweigh the rewards as to topple the scales.  

The St. Marys EarthKeepers, stand firmly opposed to the Palmetto Pipeline - for we are unwilling to submit to Kinder Morgan’s game of Russian roulette with our river, our environment, and our quality of life.

St. Marys River Clean-up and Celebration

On Saturday, March 28, a record-breaking 197 volunteers gathered at 

Howard Gilman Memorial Park for the annual St. Marys River and Clean-

up. The day before, 53 Navy volunteers arrived to clean up the waterfront

and collected 23 bags of trash, 9 bags of recyclables, pieces of rusty metal 

and other detritus from the marsh and along St. Marys Street. 

From 8:30 am to 12 pm on Saturday, volunteers spread out throughout 

the downtown area and far beyond, retrieving trash from the streets, 

ditches, marsh and river. Mayor Morrissey and all members of City 

Council joined in along with kayakers, boaters, Scout troops, high school 

students, and citizens of all ages. St. Marys EarthKeepers Chair Alex 

Kearns stated “Once again our community showed its spirit and unity. 

Clearly, even though we've made huge strides in reducing litter, there is 

still a great deal of work to be done. It was a wonderful day for all 

involved.”

The final tally: 197 volunteers, 92 33-gallon bags of trash, and 53 33-

gallon bags of recyclables.

The St. Marys EarthKeepers extend their thanks to the media and all who

 shared the event-notice via Facebook etc. and email, Advanced Disposal 

for their invaluable assistance, and, above all, to everyone who 

participated.

St. Marys River Clean & Celebration 2015

Photo: Steve Royer

It’s time to mark your calendars again and save the date: Saturday, March 28 – The St. Marys River Clean-up and Celebration.

Each year, volunteers from four counties work together to free our lovely river of the trash that stifles her breath and sullies the marshes.

Last year, 94 St. Marys volunteers (including our City Council) collected 54 33-gallon bags of trash, 26 bags of recyclable material plus carpets, broken furniture, tires, plumbing fixtures, rotting boards and other debris from our roadside, riverfront and ditches. And that’s just what we could reach. 

We meet at Howard Gilman City Park (St. Marys waterfront) at 9 am and work until 12 pm, followed by lunch at White Oak Plantation. Our volunteers each year span ages from six years old to eighty-plus…and we do hope you’ll join us.

If you wish to register your group ahead of time, please contact Alex Kearns at 912-673-6120.

St. Marys, Ga, Passes Resolution Against Seismic Airgun Testing

This evening, after many months, a work session, public comments and a lengthy discussion, St. Marys City Council passed the Resolution Against Seismic Airgun Testing along the Atlantic coast. 

On behalf of the St. Marys EarthKeepers, I would like to commend each and every member of Council. They were supplied with a vast amount information, researched the matter on their own, took citizens’ comments into consideration and, after much deliberation, voted as they saw fit. 

Our thanks, too, to the many citizens who contacted Council and attended the work session and meeting, and to the representatives from Oceana and One Hundred Miles who provided a wealth of information and support.

Well done, St. Marys. 

St. Marys and Seismic Airgun Testing

St. Marys City Council will, once again, be discussing the Resolution against seismic airgun testing along the Atlantic coast - from Delaware to mid-Florida. (Council meeting: City Hall, Feb. 2, 2015, at 6 pm. Citizens are urged to attend.) 

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2014-12-21/story/after-8-month-delay-st-marys-plans-february-vote-seismic-air-gun 

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/growing-opposition-to-seismic-airgun-testing/article_7d737f7f-e28b-5811-8bd3-25f8b55c7ad7.html 

We have been asked to post the Southeastern Fisheries Association response to seismic airgun testing as well as the excerpt (regarding military concerns) from the St. Johns County Board of Commissioners to President Obama. 

To access the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's statement, please visit http://static1.squarespace.com/static/511cdc7fe4b00307a2628ac6/t/534e9a09e4b0e57158f36a8a/1397660169900/Rich+MAFMC+Boem+April+2014.pdf

To access the BOEM's EIS: http://www.boem.gov/BOEM-2014-001-v1/