Switchboard, from NRDC › Melissa Waage's Blog

Put your paddle where your mouth is

2009-05-13T01:33:24Z

Definitely check out this opinion piece today in the Tallahassee Democrat by Margo Pellegrino--a New Jersey mom who's paddling an outrigger canoe around Florida to New Orleans to spread the word that we need a Healthy Oceans Act now. The total trip amounts to around twelve hundred miles, by the way. Personally, I find it difficult to drive twelve hundred miles.

This is the second time NRDC has partnered with Margo on a paddling voyage. I also had the chance to work with Margo last year during her 500 mile "Message in a Bottle" paddle from New Jersey to Washington, DC in support of healthy oceans legislation. I think it's Margo's storytelling ability that makes her an amazing advocate for oceans and coasts. From troubling pollution upriver from the Gulf to the trials of fishermen on the Atlantic coast, Margo observes everything about the waters she paddles and brings these stories to elected officials, the media, and opinion leaders. And her dedication and enthusiasm make people want to listen.

During this trip Margo was kind enough to let me try paddling her canoe (I flipped over almost immediately!). I now have some small sense of the wherewithal it takes her to paddle up to 60 miles(!) each day, nearly every day, for the full month of her Florida to New Orleans paddle. Phew. Good luck, Margo!

The First Beekeeper

2009-03-31T18:36:26Z

Last week Michelle Obama put in a new, organic garden on the White House grounds. But that’s not all. White House carpenter (and hobbyist beekeeper) Charlie Brandts provided the impetus to include a working bee hive.

The presidential hive fits in well with the first lady’s developing role as a supporter of healthy eating and fresh, local food. The blueberries, blackberries, broccoli, and other goodies she's growing all depend on insect pollination. And with the ongoing decline of honey bees and other pollinators, from colony collapse disorder and many other causes, the bees need all the help they can get (check out our BeeSafe.org site to learn more).

As a side note, this may be the first White House based bee hive, but the Obamas are not the first presidential honey bee aficionados. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both beekeepers, at least part time.

One hundred thousand speak out for a strong Endangered Species Act

2008-10-14T14:12:08Z

On Friday, the NRDC Action Fund joined allied groups to deliver more than 100,000 public comments opposing the Bush administration's recent proposal to weaken key Endangered Species Act regulations. The administration refused to accept comments via e-mail or fax for the comment period that ends today, so we went with hand delivery. The Action Fund, whose members submitted over half of those comments, joined the Endangered Species Coalition, Earthjustice, the National Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club.

Before heading out with the team to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Arlington, Virginia office to deliver these comments, I hadn't really thought about what 100,000 public comments physically look like. See for yourself in the video below, which documents our journey to Arlington.

And just remember that the more than 20 ream-sized boxes you see us lifting (phew, democracy is heavy!) all contain individual comments from many, many individual Americans who care about imperiled plants and wildlife and their recovery. Will the Bush administration listen to the individuals, organizations, members of Congress, and scientists urging it to withdraw its proposal?

Study: Pollinator loss costs big bucks, could threaten java supplies

2008-10-01T16:42:37Z

Pollination by insects, mainly bees, is worth $217 billion worldwide each year, according to a study recently published in Ecological Economics and highlighted in Business Week. That's equivalent to 9.5% of the world's crop production. (And two-and-a-half times as much as the U.S. government's recent loan to bail out insurance giant AIG, to put it into perspective.)

Interestingly, the study noted that crops that depend on insect pollinators, like fruits, vegetables, and oilseed crops, are higher in average value than crops that don't, like cereals and sugar cane. And the consequences of pollinator loss on consumer well-being (defined economically) could be even greater than the direct value of crops pollinated by insects.

But the finding that chilled me to the bone was the possible consequences for the crop category known as "stimulants." Because that includes coffee.

...the results indicate that for three crop categories - namely fruits, vegetables and stimulants [coffee, cocoa] - the situation would be considerably altered following the complete loss of insect pollinators because world production would no longer be enough to fulfil the needs at their current levels.

It's true...coffee needs bees too. And, like millions of others around the globe, I need coffee to survive.

(Incidentally, the shade-grown coffee that many of us favor because it's friendlier to birds is friendlier to bees as well, attracting close to 10 species of native sweet bees and far more bees than coffee grown in the sun.)

Bottom line: insect pollinators feed us and enhance the quality of our lives. But, in addition to colony collapse disorder, which is affecting U.S. honey bees, insect pollinators are in decline all over the world. It's worth paying attention to their plight.

What does the Environmental Protection Agency know about pesticides and colony collapse disorder?

2008-08-18T23:14:18Z

Listen, I like a good mystery. But not when it comes to my food. Mystery meat? Bad. The continuing colony collapse disorder mystery, threatening the bees that pollinate our crops? Even worse. If government agencies have information that could help unravel the mystery of CCD and point to some solutions, they need to cough it up.

Sadly, the Environmental Protection Agency has been less than forthcoming on this front. NRDC was forced to file suit against the agency today when it failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for information regarding the effects of certain pesticides on bees.

Something is up. In 2003, EPA approved a new pesticide called clothianidin for use in the U.S…on the condition that the manufacturer, Bayer CropScience, submit studies on the chemical’s potentially toxic effects on bees. Five years later, EPA isn’t telling whether the bee studies were ever conducted, let alone what the results were. And clothianidin is still in use.

Coincidentally, Germany suspended the use of clothianidin and its chemical relatives earlier this year after it was implicated in a mass bee die-off. France, meanwhile, banned similar pesticides years ago out of concern for honey bee health.

So what does EPA know? Stay tuned.

Show bees the money

2008-07-30T19:29:46Z

Honey bees are critical to U.S. agriculture. And with no solid solutions to Colony Collapse Disorder, U.S. hives continue to dwindle. This spring, beekeepers lost an estimated 29% of their bees to Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. You’d think that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, of all institutions, would be right on top of such a threat. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong.

Last year Congress recognized CCD as a threat and granted the Department of Agriculture emergency funds to study the problem. And the 2008 Farm Bill provides $20 million a year, for the next five years, to USDA for CCD related research. That includes building the agency’s internal capacity by hiring staff and so forth; making grants to other research institutions; and tracking honey bee pests and pathogens.

But Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum has been tracking federal funding for colony collapse disorder research over at The Daily Green, and the results are, in his words, “an embarrassment to the USDA.”

He’s right. The federal money flowing into CCD research sounds pretty good until you consider:

The funding authorized for CCD research compared to the economic value of healthy bee colonies. To put it into perspective, the total price tag for the 2008 Farm Bill is 307 billion dollars over five years. $20 million a year is equivalent to a little over 1% of the $15 billion worth of crops that honey bees pollinate in the U.S. each year.

Who’s steering the ship? USDA has been unable to give a clear accounting of how it spent the emergency CCD funds Congress granted it last year. At a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing on June 26, the head of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service was unable even to provide an estimate of how much additional funding might be needed to solve the problem.

Coincidentally, USDA announced it is awarding a long-awaited, $4.1 million grant for CCD research to the University of Georgia a few weeks later. Progress is being made—but we can and need to do better. As entomologist Maryann Frazier put it at that same hearing, “How would our government respond if one out of every three cows was dying?”

That’s why NRDC is also calling on USDA to get serious about tackling the CCD problem. USDA must follow through on its responsibilities under the 2008 Farm Bill. Moreover, the department should determine what funds are needed to fully address the problem, and inform Congress of its needs. You can help by asking the department to prioritize the issue and work with Congress to ensure adequate funding. Visit NRDC’s Bee Safe page to take action.

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 17

2008-07-17T18:32:55Z

After more than two weeks on the water, Margo Pellegrino arrived in Washington, DC, concluding her 500 mile paddle in support of healthy oceans legislation.

Margo's Blog: July 16
My last day on the Potomac was a thirty mile paddle on pretty calm waters to the Washington Canoe Club. It started around 6 am or so, thanks to my poor Aunt Carolyn who got up early to take me to the home of Dave and Gina Moore, who so kindly hosted my boat. Dave is a member of the Power Squadron, which is like the Coast Guard Auxiliary. He gave me some awesome pictures Gina had taken as well as a whistle. You can never have too many loud whistles and other noise makers on board when you're a low-lying craft. Most of the paddle was against the current. On the Potomac, though, this isn't really a big deal. It's definitely doable to paddle a long distance against the current on this river, although of course it's best to stay as close to the shore as weeds will allow. At one point a boat coming directly at me made me sufficiently nervous to seek shelter by the big metal buoy sitting in the near middle of the channel, especially since the buoy was closer to me than the weed-free edge of the channel. This is not really a good option on a river, no matter how unthreatening the current. Out on the open ocean this can be a different matter, or on the ICW (Inter-Coastal Waterway), but on a river this is not a good decision. The boat passed to my port side, and I turned my attention away from it and to the buoy in the nick of time. Two strong paddle thrusts later I was safely away from it, but the current actually picked up right where the buoy was, pushing me dangerously close to the thing. The rest of the paddle was incredibly enjoyable, though, as long as I stayed on the edge of the channel and out of the weeds. Ospreys and Bald Eagles seemed to be everywhere.

One thing that was interesting to note was that the funky chunky algae vanished from the waters a bit north of the Occoquan. I don't know what is going on at that point of the river, but it was nice to see relatively algae-chunk free water. The waters above the Possum Point Power Plant and the Occoquan seemed a lot cleaner, at least to the casual observer, than the waters below those areas. That last night I had been hosted by my Uncle Ron, my mother's brother, and my Aunt Carolyn, who rather recently moved to the Woodbridge area. They are soon to be grandparents and are really looking forward to the "impending event." So am I! Billy and Julia have a slight shortage of cousins. Neither my two brothers nor Carl's two brothers have children, and the prospects don't look too good, either. So we are looking forward to meeting our new arrival the minute he arrives, or rather, shortly thereafter........

I actually paddled into the elbow of the Anacostia River and the Potomac, roughly three miles from my destination, an hour and a half ahead of schedule. So I ducked into a marina and made some phone calls while security helicopters flew over my head on their tours of our historic treasures. I thought I had the last stretch "in the bag," despite a niggling feeling in my head causing me to doubt that I was 100% sure of where the Washington Canoe Club was. I should have listened to the niggling. The Washington Canoe Club was not in the channel that ran by the Potomac as I had thought, but rather up by the Key Bridge. I didn't know what the Key Bridge looked like, as I do not know DC, but now I sure do,or rather, I now know what it looks like from the water. I paddled all the way into the channel until common sense finally flooded my brain and that sinking feeling gave way to that familiar "oh @$%#" I get when I've goofed big time. I watched the gates that control the water in the channel slam shut, brought the Fuze around and paddled like hell back out of the channel. It was a pressure cooker as now I watched the miles go back up on my GPS. Once I rounded the point and paddled back into the Potomac I was about three miles from where my GPS, which I assumed (yea, never do that, you know what that means....) all along was wrong, said the Washington Canoe Club was. Now I paddled as hard as I could into a good stiff wind. So much for a relaxing last few miles....no luxuriating in success for me! It turned out my GPS was wrong after all, as it had the WCC at the wrong bridge. So it was about a mile and a half off. Not a big deal, except that the contingent of paddlers from NRDC, including Melissa Waage, Jamie Friedland, Marghie Seymour, and Sarah Krejca, had all been in the water for about an hour waiting for me. Well, at least it was a beautiful day! It was actually a pretty good ending. It always feels good after a six mile sprint and meeting friends on the water. A pretty decent closure to an event and adventure filled little "mini" paddle.

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 16

2008-07-16T14:06:46Z

Tomorrow, Margo Pellegrino arrives in Washington, DC and concludes her 500 mile paddle in support of healthy oceans legislation.

Margo's Blog: July 15
Today's paddle from Patricia and George's home on a little creek off of Potoma Creek to the Occoquan area was fueled on Patricia's wonderful home-made manicotti, a totally awesome salad, good wine, and a fabulous almond/apple tart made by George. Oh, and I can't forget the tasty healthy muffin and the "egg in bread" for breakfast.

Well, up until today's paddle I thought the Potomac was in better shape than the Chesapeake. Alas, another delusion ended. I've never seen so much floating algae in such a large body of water (not counting the stinky "red tide" stuff you can smell). The weeds are incredible, too. They get stuck on the rudder so badly that the only way to get them unstuck is to jump in and pull them off. And there was the brown scum and dead catfish floating about-extremely disgusting. There were also large, empty snail shells floating all over. It was a bit odd.

Arriving in the little harbor where I expected to find a marina, I found instead the beautiful home of Dave and Gina Moore. They had seen me paddle in and were curious about the boat. Now it's resting in their backyard where they are so kindly letting me store it. They don't even seem to mind that I'll be getting there very early in the morning to hit the water for an early start to battle weeds and tide on my last leg into DC. What great people!

Tonight I'm staying with my Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Ron. Aunt Carolyn and I just got back from a little swim in the pool. We'll be heading out to dinner shortly, then back home, and to bed. Tomorrow Aunt Carolyn will get up early and take me to the boat. Wow. This was one fast trip. Can't believe its nearly over, I feel like I'm just warming up!

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 15

2008-07-15T01:29:23Z

Margo Pellegrino is headed up the Potomac River to Washington, DC as part of her 500 mile paddle in support of healthy oceans legislation.

Margo's Blog: July 14
What an awesome first couple of days on the Potomac. I left a bit later than I planned, but that was okay. Had plenty of orange juice, coffee, and an awesome sandwich at Scheibel's and then paddled out. It's so nice to be able to beach the boat on land where it can be stored upside down and out of the water. I'm actually getting some barnacles growing in the drainage holes in the footwells.

As I paddled out of Smith Creek and neared the Potomac, I came across a private campground--Camp Maryland. Needing a potty break I decided I'd pull over and check things out. I met Bill and his wife, who operate a portion of the camp as a "bed and breakfast," only in tents, and got a bit of a tour. What a cool place! It seems a lot of international visitors like to camp here. I met a guy named Michael from Ukraine. We talked about American culture, the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," and why I'm paddling to DC. It's always interesting to talk to people about the "message in a bottle" tour. So far I haven't found anyone who doesn't think we need an ocean conservation and protection plan on a national level. The night before I left Ridge, I was talking to a fisherman who told me about how crabbers were losing crabs in their pots. The crabs were suffocating in oxygen depleted waters. Even today, now paddling into a corner of the Potomac, Accokeek Creek, the shallows were choked with algae and dead fish were floating about.

The problems are everywhere. The Potomac, at least the Potomac around Colonial Beach and lower, seems to be a bit healthier than the Chesapeake. I didn't see too much of the brown slimy stuff, but there was an area of lots of little foamy bubbles. They seemed white enough, but when they collected together in a little mass you could see a brownish tint. So who knows. Colonial Beach is a very bikeable town. It's loaded with golf carts. Everyone has them and they zip all over the town in them, making me think of that '60's British show, "The Prisoner." It is a cute town, everyone is extremely friendly, and it was nice to have a day off and hang out with the family and my cousins. We went for a day out at Westmoreland State Park, hunted for fossils, and then headed back to town for a little press gathering that Melissa at NRDC had arranged. There I met Doris Whitfield and Jim Lynch of the Sierra Club, as well as Julie Lawson from the DC Chapter of Surfrider Foundation. There were two wonderful reporters there, too. Let's hope this message of ocean conservation reaches the ears of Congressman Wittman and that he's as receptive to this bill as his constituents (at least those I've met) seem to be.

Today's paddle from Colonial Beach to Patricia's Kurpiel's lovely home north of Fairview started off a bit rocky. I hit the water at 6:30am under stormy skies. The wind intensified as I lashed my gear onto my boat. It didn't seem that bad, though. Carl had called to tell me that the winds would be out of the NW at 10-12 miles an hour. That would be wind in my face, but not anything that would be really annoying. That was before I rounded the bend at the tip of Colonial Beach. There it felt more like 15-20, probably closer to 20, with some nice chop. If this was going to be like this for the rest of the day it would be one grueling 30 miles. Then the fog came in. I paddled closer to the land, the wind died down, and it started to pour. I mean really pour. The raindrops hurt. And then it all went away. The sky brightened slightly, I saw tons of ospreys and even a pair of "Baldys." It was amazing. Another site that was amazing, in a sad way, was this one big stretch of park on the VA side. It's a huge park down river of Fariview Beach. It's a restricted area dueto the sensitive nature of the wildlife there. So there's this big sign telling you to keep out. And it was surrounded, for miles and miles on either side, by trash. Much of it various types of plastic debris.

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 13

2008-07-13T15:09:39Z

Margo Pellegrino is paddling the Chesapeake Bay as part of her 500 mile paddle to Washington in support of healthy oceans legislation.

Margo's Blog: July 12
What a warm day it was in the water. It was also suprisingly calm and flat. Almost as if the Chesapeake had decided to let me go. This past portion was as chancey with the weather and conditions as I expected. As usual, I feel lucky it wasn't worse. Last night I met two fishermen who couldn't get out, they said, for two days because of the wind and chop. Perhaps they should ditch their dingy for an outrigger canoe!

So now begins my slog up the Potomac--I say slog because I like early starts, but the incoming tide, if I remember correctly, doesn't start coming in until later in the day right now. Well, now maybe I can hope for some good winds out of the south-east.
Tonight I'm looking forward to fresh caught bluefish. Mr. Scheibel, who owns this motel/restaurant, is also the captain of a fishing boat. He's graciously providing me a filet of his day's catch for dinner. This is a pretty neat little place. Yum. This bluefish is awesome.

The day's observations--

Flat water, light and variable winds,saw more skates gliding under me. When I got closer to Smith Creek, and a little more inland from the Potomac, I noticed the water was an unusual green. It made me think of the drainage ponds I've seen around farms back home. One of the waitresses mentioned that there are corn fields all over down here. They're practically right up to the water's edge. In fact, there's one right behind the motel. This topic came up the other day in Baltimore, I think. That farms are now right up to the water's edge. Sometimes cows even waner into the edge of the bay. All those nutrients--fertilizer and cow poo--going right into the Potomac and the Chesapeake.

Can't forget to mention the brown ooze and foam. Earlier in the Chesapeake paddle, conditions were way too rough to see sheens, but on this calm day a brown sheen and brown tinted foam could be seen all over the water from the stretch of water by the military base (Air Force?) all the way to the jut of land before Point Lookout. I've actually noticed this brown foam all over the bay, but the water was never still enough to see the strange brown sheen. How much more degredation can this bay handle before eating the fish and crabs from its waters becomes a health risk?

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 11

2008-07-11T11:20:47Z

Margo Pellegrino is paddling her canoe 500 miles from New Jersey to Washington, DC in support of healthy oceans legislation. She's now a few days away from Washington, in Solomons, Maryland.

Margo's Blog: July 10
Whew. What a day. The paddle from Chesapeake Beach to Solomons is a straight run down a very long spit of land. The wind was out of the North-East which made it a fast although slightly uncomfortable and nerve-wracking ride. It was fun to ride the swells where I could, but it was awfully lonely out there. Last year it seemed there was always someone on the water. This year has been a different story, partly because of the route I chose, and probably because of gas prices, too. It definitely gets lonlier when the waves kick up and it's just you and the bay and rocky swells. Speaking of swells, the Chesapeake has its own variety-they're fairly sizeable for a bay. At least, though, unlike Sapelo Sound in Georgia, they come at you from one general direction.

There was an exceptionally ugly little stretch by what I found out later was a power plant. Apparently where I paddled is by the outflow pipe, and it pushes out massive amounts of water. Today wasn't even that bad, wind-wise. I can't imagine how bad that spot gets when it's really windy.

Things calmed down when I got to the LNG terminal. What a hideous thing that is. It's kind of crazy how it's marked off, too. For that big thing, there are only four markers. And if you drift into the "restricted area" or happen not to see one of the markers which are about a mile apart, a Coast Guard boat will come and escort you out. There's cameras on those bouys, and you get a ticket if you drift in more than twice, or so I've heard.

The whole time I was paddling I kept thinking about my thumb. A guy I met this morning told me about a guy he knew who had a cut on the back of his hand. He got a serious infection from the bay and ended up having his arm amputated. Now the guys that make their living from the bay have to worry about more than the gnarly weather that kicks up here--they have to worry about getting infections from the water.

Just a brief mention-paddling from Baltimore to Annapolis I saw a bunch of skates gliding by. Then I saw three just hanging out. I stopped and stared at them, and they gazed back at me--I guess... Yesterday the geese tried to eat my boat, today I saw a ground hog in a tree.

Just a reminder- check out RozSavage.com and take the pledge to make one change in your life for the planet. Wearing a Hawaiian shirt is optional.

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 10

2008-07-10T14:39:34Z

Margo Pellegrino is mid-way through her 500 mile paddle to Washington in support of healthy oceans legislation.

Margo's Blog: July 9
Right now I'm enjoying being warm and dry, as opposed to cold in wet, which I always am when I come off the water, no matter how warm it is. I'm sitting here at an outdoor table at the Rod N Reel in Chesapeake Beach. Some geese waddled over to check out the Fuze while it rests upside-down on the sand below me. One even tries to pull at the bungees before moving on to nibble the aiko (sp).

Let me back up here a bit. I'll let Carl blog about our great "break in" last week and my cousins Steve and Laurie will hopefully describe our paddle from "the big-a** bridge" (close to where they met me as I paddled from Baltimore) to Annapolis. I want to tell about the awesome event that Melissa Waage and the folks at NRDC put on with the good folks at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

[Watch WBAL video here and hear the WYPR radio story here.]

Melissa Waage and Sarah Chasis were there from NRDC. David Nemerson, of the Aquarium, described in pretty depressing detail the recent scientific findings concerning our amazing ocean, from degraded water quality, to the bleaching of corals, to the plastic "Garbage Patch" in the Pacific, and the declining numbers of our large predator fish. He painted a pretty grim picture which only served to reinforce why I am now paddling against monster head-winds and through thunderstorms. We need to be shaken out of our complacency as trends continue to show the loss of our ocean resources.

Sarah Chasis explained why Oceans 21, a sound plan for ocean resource management on the national level, is so imperative now. I competely agree with her, which is why I'm so thrilled and honored to be partnering with NRDC on this paddle. Sarah was positive in her message about what Oceans 21 will do and why things will improve if we take action now. Fortunately, Congressman John Sarbanes views ocean resource protection in a similar light. He also attended the press conference and spoke of his support for Oceans 21, as well as another piece of legislation he's introducing-"the no child left inside" billll that would get kids outside to learn "hands on" about nature. Given our current diconnect from nature, and the consequences resulting from this, especially regarding the degredation of our natural resources, this is another amazing piece of legislation to get behind.

I'm so glad that Congressman Sarbanes supports Oceans 21. It really is a "no brainer." After all, how secure is our future if we completely demolish our ocean resources and cause the various industries which depend on them to collapse? Thank goodness Congressman Jim Saxton also sees things this way. He called me while I was on the water today (it was a wonderful break, and energized me fo my last few miles battling the wind). Like Congressman Sarbanes, he also understands the link between natural resources and security. We certainly cannot afford to squander them foolishly only to have nothing for the future. That would be like spending all the money you have in the bank!

A big "thank you" to the folks at NRDC and the aquarium for an amazing event! And a huge "thank you" to all of you who came out
On the waterfront today I soaked my bloody thumb in hydrogen peroxide. The dockmaster here told me of a recent doctor's visit where he learned that the water here is particularly dirty. Derrel, who provided me with the first aid stuff to cleanse my wound, said that he learned that 70 percent of the most serious medical cases are from crabbers who have open wounds, ignore them, and come in contact with the water of the Chesapeake Bay here. Needless to sat, I'm cleansed, bandaged, and am going to wrap my thumb in a non-latex glove for tomorrow. Boy do we need Oceans 21!

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 7

2008-07-08T01:27:14Z

NRDC is partnering with Margo Pellegrino as she paddles 500 miles from New Jersey to Washington, DC, in support of a new ocean protection bill, Oceans 21 (H.R. 21). On Day 7 Margo pulls in to Baltimore's Inner Harbor, having completed nearly half of her journey.

Margo's Blog: July 7
Right now I'm enjoying a day off in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The last couple of days have been real adventures. I'll spare some of the details involving our dockage in Essington, PA, and leave that to Carl, my husband, and now my weekend "chase-car driver."
The paddle from Essington, PA, started off early, around 6 am, to take advantage of a swiftly flowing outgoing tide, and under the threat of thunderstorms. Distant rumbling served as a motivator better than any cup of coffee to get me paddling as fast as possible down the Delaware. Being alone in this busy, industrial part of the River further jacked up my adrenaline, and in about four hours I later I found myself at the mouth of the C and D (Chesapeake and Delaware) canal. There my luck turned, as I quickly discovered I had made an error in tide calculation. The tide I was looking forward to riding in to Chesapeake city was incoming from the Bay, not incoming from the inlet. So I slogged it out for 12 miles against a fairly tough current. I was pretty happy, given this discovery concerning the tides, that no one had joined me for this portion of the paddle. Boy, would they have been mad at me!
Andy Upp, dockmaster of the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant and Marina, graciously allowed me to store my canoe there overnight. Wearing my night-time reflecting running vest, I paddled out in the morning under cloudy skies and foggy-ish conditions. Visibility was limited, but I was pretty intent on crossing the shipping channel to the Aberdeen side of Maryland rather than waiting until further south to do so, where the bay is wider. Fortunately for me, all was quiet as I paddled by the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Still, crossing my first bit of relatively open waters, I had to rely on the GPS and my sketchy dead-reckoning, as the land in front of me was lost in the mist.
After paddling by Aberdeen, the fog made way for dark skies. It only got worse as I paddled by Pool's Island. Pool's Island apparently has the Pool family graveyard by the lighthouse, and it is only visible at low tide, according to Dr. Bernie Kalpers, of the United States Power Squadron, who I met in Baltimore. As I paddled past the island, it started to rain, thunder rumbled loudly, and I could smell an acrid, almost electric odor in the air. I don't know if this was from the boats, or if this was my over-active imagination, but it did add to the tension I was feeling, especially as boats zoomed in from across the bay to get back to harbor. Soon I was pretty much alone on the bay. Just as I finished paddling past the island, and almost came to the point of land I had my eye on, I decided I better not chance it. I turned around and paddled into the strong North wind and chop, going toward the river entrance. Once at the mouth of the river, I felt the push of the outgoing tide.
I sat there a moment, taking stock of the situation. It seemed the storm was moving north and west, going to the "safe harbor." It would be over me if I tried to paddle to any dockage up river. It looked as if the skies south and east of me were clearing, or rather, they didn't look as dark as what I was paddling in. So once again I paddled back south, going past Pool's Island for the third time. So I basically added about 2-3 miles to a 50 mile day. But it was worth it--to keep going. Once I hit the point of land I had my eyes on, I paddled across fairly open, rolling, water to an island made of dredge spoils from the Baltimore Harbor. The sun was out, the sky was blue, a complete and polar opposite to the weather by Pool's Island. Everyone and their mother seemed to be out in the cove by the dredge-spoil island. As luck would have it, not only did I have a nice following wind at my back going south on the Chesapeake, but once in the Baltimore Harbor the eastern aspect of the wind helped push me in, too. It was a good day to be on the water! Let's hope the conditions hold.
After a press conference on Tuesday, at the Baltimore Aquarium, it's off to Annapolis, where I'll be staying with my paddling/windsurfing cousins. Outdoor adventures come naturally to the Putschers. Their mother, my dad's oldest sister, was once dared to climb the water tower in New Brunswick, where she attended Douglass College. So she did, at midnight, all dressed in black. Last year, during my Chincoteague to Ocean City, MD, leg of the trip, my cousins Andrea and Laurie Putscher joined me on the water, and ended up paddling in the dark past the inlet. It must be something in the genes!
Actually, I owe my existence to my Aunt Dot. When my father was younger, and living in Somers Point with the rest of the Howard clan, he went out rowing in his row-boat in the Great Egg Harbor Bay. Unfortunately, he did this immediately following an appendectomy. When it was apparent he was in trouble, my Aunt Dot jumped in and swam out to rescue him. So thank you, Aunt Dot!

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 6

2008-07-05T12:41:29Z

NRDC is partnering with Margo Pellegrino as she paddles 500 miles from New Jersey to Washington, DC, in support of a new ocean protection bill, Oceans 21 (H.R. 21). On Day 6 Margo paddles past Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

Margo's blog: July 4
This morning the entire Pellegrino family (minus Braska) found itself on the road to Trenton. Once we arrived at the Lamberton Boat Launch, Carl and I put the Fuze together and got it loaded up in record time and I was off and flying. The tide up in that part of the Delaware zooms and miles zip away. This fast pace stays fairly consistent until the bridge after the Burlington Bristol Bridge, which I thought was the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, but wasn't, as I later found out when I went under the T-P Bridge, thinking at first that it was the Betsy Ross......

On the Delaware I was joined with a few of the members of the Philadelphia Outrigger Canoe Club. We had our own little armada--Jill in the OC2, Ken, our fearless leader, Neal, Gary, and Jamie. It was pretty cool to be paddling abreast like that on the Delaware. I think everyone enjoyed their newfound freedom from the confines of the Schuylkill River. Ken even had a reporter out there, too! She was waiting on the rocks for us at Penn Treaty Park, an interesting little park with a lot of history.

After the gang left me, so did the tide, so I had to crawl the last bunch of miles to Ridley Marina. Seeing that things weren't going to work out for my boat to stay there overnight, I paddled back out to another marina, the West End Boat Club.

Now I'm back in NJ, at home, where I'm planning on hopping in bed as soon as possible so I can have another 5am start on the Delaware. This time, from Essington, where my goal will be Chesapeake City, conditions permitting! 5am is actually a wonderful time to be on the water. The day is fresh and new, and there's paddling in new waters to look forward to!

Guest blogger: Margo Pellegrino's message in a bottle for healthy oceans--Day 5

2008-07-05T00:14:03Z

Margo Pellegrino is on a 500-mile journey from New Jersey to Washington, DC in support of Oceans 21, a Healthy Oceans Act to save our seas. On Thursday, she paddled the Delaware and Raritan Canal in New Jersey, managing a couple of tricky portages along the way.

Margo's Blog: July 3
Today's paddle found me riding the tide up to New Brunswick and the Landing Lane Bridge on the Raritan River. This is the best point to access the Raritan Canal, which was completed in 1830, I believe. It originally ran from New Brunswick to Bordentown. Going up the Raritan River, I had some company--Jim from the Raritan River Boat Club, where my boat was a "transient," paddled along with me in his little kayak. This was the second time he paddled it, and he did pretty well!
Then we parted on the canal, after Carl met up with us on the bridge.
Then I did a really stupid thing--as stupid as not managing our ocean resources properly-I decided I didn't want to risk my rudder on the rocks around the portages nor did I feel like being constantly trapped in weeds, so Carl took my rudder off and I had him keep it. Of course this was a stupid mistake. If you take a part off your boat, you should keep that part with your boat! So it was 12 painful miles without a rudder, extremely slow progress that set me behind, and much cursing and swearing, until Carl returned with my rudder, poor guy. Oh well, live and learn--a mistake to never be repeated!
After struggling rudderless for so long, I looked forward to moving faster with the rudder back on. I paddled along nicely for a bit. Then came the weeds. Tons and tons of weeds. It reminded me of paddling last year with Lance Mamiya in the bays of the South Shore of Long Island. So it was paddle, paddle, back-up, paddle, paddle, back-up.
The portages weren't too bad, but there was one that was loaded with poison ivy. At the next portage, I noticed I had ground up poison ivy leaves on my seat.... so I guess I can expect to look like a gigantic pustule in the up coming weeks.
Besides the poison ivy and the portages, there was yet another "p" word for the day--plastic, lots and lots of it, mostly in the form of plastic bottles, but quite a few bags, too. Plastic bottles bobbed their way down the Raritan River and later on the canal I found them stuck in the lush growth of poison ivy that lined much of the banks. It really is amazing to find so much of it. Wherever there are people, there are plastic bottles and bags. And this translates into how many barrels of oil littering our waterways? (there is a photo of the "plastic pile-up" in Trenton.)
A special thanks to Bill Wolfe of PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) for coming out and actually waiting for three hours with my husband and a poor reporter and photographer for me to (finally) arrive.