On my way home yesterday I was greeted at the Harbor Bay Ferry terminal by several Hazmat vehicles. They were getting booms setup to pull out into the Bay to try and keep Fuel Oil from coming ashore on Alameda. The Coast Guard first told the Ferry crew they were closing the Bay, then backed off that and allowed the service to run. We did take a different route than normal to avoid the spill area. This is the second spill on the bay I have seen since beginning riding the Ferry regularly in 2007. The first spill was the Cosco Busan.
It's hard to see in this picture but there is a crew trying to pull booms around an area of oil slick that is nearly on shore.
Often these environmental disasters are something you just read about and don't see. They seem far away in foreign lands affecting others more than us. If you actually get out a lot you will start to see that they are occurring not so far away. As I looked on to the ship that had been being fueled by a fuel barge resulting in this spill I saw a group of Pelicans flying in formation. I love watching these Pelicans masterfully cruise inches above the Bay, or diving from 50 feet up. I imagine them diving through the oil slick after fish and getting there feathers fouled. I also have started to see a few of the surf scoters that winter in the Bay, having arrived from their long flight from Alaska. They seem to just be able to get out of the way of the Ferry each morning. Reluctantly giving up their piece of the Bay to allow our passage. They seem to float deep in the water. I worry for them peacefully floating around the Bay unsuspecting, the toxic soup that is now a threat to them.
