Back from San Diego

Wow! San Diego is absolutely beautiful! I went there to attend the NAHMMA (North American Hazardous Materials Management Association) Conference from October 7-12. What an experience! I had the opportunity to work on identification of unknowns, a refresher on some basic chemistry (always useful!), got to tour the San Diego Zoo behind the scenes, and generally enjoy myself after hours as I pleased. It ended way to early! Check one of my previous posts for pictures. I will post an addendum sometime this week, after I go through them all.

Thar Be Whales In West Sacramento!

Anyone remember Humphrey, the humpback whale? In 1985 (and 1988), he made it up the Sacramento river to Rio Vista (a little north of there, actually) in his wanderings. Well, it seems a few more humpback whales have been wandering from the ocean, made it into San Francisco Bay, and into the Sacramento river! A few days ago, they were spotted in Rio Vista, near the Delta, and yesterday evening, in WEST SACRAMENTO! 79 miles from the Pacific Ocean!

It appears to be a mother and her calf. The mother has something attached to her, possibly a crabber's net. But it doesn't seem to be slowing her down. They are both just swimming along in the river, about 3 miles from the Port of Sacramento. They can't get any further, however. There is a lock that won't allow them further into the river. Now, it is a matter of turning them around and going back out to sea. They are also trying to figure out how to get that net off the mother also.

Honeybees and Cell Phones (A connection to their disappearance?)

There has been an ongoing problem for a few years now, nicknamed Colony Collapse Syndrome. Put simply, honeybees are disappearing. Beekeepers are releasing their bees in orchards and fields, and returning to find the colony gone, save for the queen and a few workers, and very immature bees. Up to 70% of honeybees in some areas are GONE.

Now an interesting possibility has emerged: Cell phones. According to this article in PC World, one of the prevailing theories is that cell phones are causing radiation that is impacting the bees ability to return to their hive. I don't know if this is the case, but if it is, we need to seriously reconsider our use of cell phones. We can't live without the bees pollinating crops. We can live without cell phones. More to come later.

UPDATE: Apparently, it is a parasite that has also affected honeybees in Europe as well. Honestly, I am glad it isn't the cell phones or towers, but they now need to figure out how to eradicate the parasite.