Despite cleanup efforts, some of the 58,000 gallons of spilled bunker fuel will remain at-large for the next decade, poisoning sensitive habitats and infiltrating the food web, environmental watchdogs said. Contra Costa Times 11/10/07 A preliminary Coast Guard investigation has found that "human error" caused a cargo ship to crash into the Bay Bridge. CCT 11/10/07 Four days after Wednesday's 58,000-gallon spill, dozens of oil-drenched birds are arriving shivering and in shock at the San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care and Education Center in Cordelia. CCT 11/11/07 Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into last week's massive oil spill, the top Coast Guard official said Sunday night. CCT 11/12/07 Bay Area members of Congress suggested Monday that tougher safeguards might be needed on cargo ships to prevent accidents. Oakland Tribune 11/13/07
In the wake of the bay oil spill and fearing a food-contamination scandal, fishers from Pillar Point Harbor, San Francisco and Bodega Bay voted unanimously Saturday to ask Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to delay the regular opening of crab season, Nov. 15. A delay would mean taking a huge financial hit and losing the best two weeks of the season. But there was no indication when Public Health officials would announce their findings. Contra Costa Times 11/13/07
State officials Friday night were reviewing the progress of their aerial spraying efforts in Santa Cruz County to combat the brown apple moth. They are likely to announce that their work here is over for the time being. The spraying program began in the moth's southern-most stronghold, on the Monterey Peninsula, and, after Santa Cruz County, is expected to move to the Berkeley and San Francisco areas, as soon as February or March. State officials expect to spray the pesticide periodically over the next three years. Contra Costa Times 11/10/07
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed it acceptable for meat companies to cook and sell meat on which E. coli, bacteria that can sicken and even kill humans, is found during processing. The agency allows companies to put this E. coli positive meat in a special category -- "cook only." But some USDA inspectors say the "cook only" practice means that higher-than-appropriate levels of E. coli are tolerated in packing plants, raising the chance that clean meat will become contaminated. Companies that find E. coli are allowed to shift that meat immediately into "cook only" lines, without reporting it to the USDA, which can lead to false assumptions about the cleanliness of a plant. Contra Costa Times 11/11/07
A transportation taxing board has decided to decrease fees on East County wineries and olive oil producers -- a move that could encourage growers to move their businesses to Contra Costa. Proponents of the new policy, including Contra Costa County Supervisor Mary Piepho, pointed to Alameda County's success in fostering a strong wine industry in the Livermore Valley with a similar fee structure. Contra Costa Times 11/11/07
The state has changed its approach to dealing with potential Medfly infestations over the past decade, spraying insect-killing Sinosad, an organic formula derived from a naturally occurring bacterium, within 200 meters of a find. Contra Costa Times 11/13/07
Al Gore announced he is joining the prestigious Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a partner in the firm's effort to finance global warming solutions. SF Chronicle 11/12/07
No one has yet succeeded in producing wave power commercially in the United States, but the lure of future feasibility as a clean source of energy is spurring potential developers to claim prime wave sites. The Sonoma County Water Agency plans this week to ask federal regulators for exclusive rights to study and develop wave-energy technology along 41-miles of county coastline. SF Chronicle 11/12/07
The Drakes Bay Oyster Company has temporarily closed after globs of oil were found near its oyster farm in Point Reyes National Seashore. The company produces more than 80 percent of Marin County's oyster crop. SJ Mercury 11/12/07
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