12/30/2011 - Halls Mill Creek

Glass bottles do not biodegrade. This glass will be here until the next society finds this archaeological trash site. (If human's don't pollute themselves into extinction first.)

What do you do with Christmas Trees? Throw them in the water with the rest of your trash.

Can you say, "Thank you Walmart, Thank You Waste Management, and Thank You Mobile Public Works?" Their products, their improperly sealed trash trucks, and their sorry ass apathy changes the scenery for kayakers. Why is Mobile continuing to ignore its storm water pollution?

12/28/2011 - Election

How do I feel about the Democrat-Republican Party (Treasonous Party)?

I'm so tired of network TV campaign coverage

that my resolution for the new year is

to not watch the network news anymore.

12/24/2011 - Who Cares?

I stopped by what Google Earth calls Schwarz Park. City of Mobile GIS indicates it is City of Mobile property. It is a nice park with a swing set, pool and boat ramp access to Halls Mill Creek. You have to live in Mobile for a while to appreciate how the City of Mobile takes care of its assets. I believe Mobile County Law Enforcement Agency is also taking care of this Park. The pool has turned into a mosquito breeding area and the park looks like a dump. Welcome to Mobile!

Welcome to Mobile's Schwartz Park.

Mobile County Law Enforcement Agency's Mosquito Breeding Pool

12/21/2011 - Moore Creek

Shoreline of Moore Creek looking to the right.

Shoreline of Moore Creek looking to the left.

Does anyone really care what explodes into the water?

FISH the beautiful waters of Mobile, Alabama, USA 

12/15/2011 - Moore Creek and McCullough Creek

Paddled up two of Mobile's urban waterways - Moore Creek and McCullough Creek today and saw plenty of trash in the water, some of it hazardous to human health. One of the spray cans, not completely empty, had the ingredients Nylar (causes deformities in dragonflies), Pyrethrins (extremely toxic to fish and toxic to bees), MGKr264 (possible human carcinogen), and Permethrin (classified as cancer causing and highly toxic to fish). When a pressurized spray can with toxins rusts to the point that it releases the content into the water and it goes unnoticed, does it matter? Only if you are the one that gets the poisonous molecule from the bottled water that turns on the cancer trigger in your body. Know anyone who has had cancer? Could there be any relation between cancer and the poisoning of our water?

Unfortunate cormorant has metal embedded in its right wing. Ow!

How do I feel about Democrats and Republicans?

Caution: Poisons destin for release into your water.

Caution: Poisons destin for release into your water.

Illegal landfill - Hazardous waste in the water. Your water. All water is interconnected.

Coating creek bottoms with plastic bags. Could lining the waterways with plastic cause problems with natural seepage into the aquifers? If water cannot seep through plastic, then aquifers cannot be recharged and aquifer levels drop.

Is this natural or is it your water high on chemicals?

Is this natural or is it your water high on chemicals?

Need a computer monitor? Just go to any of Mobile's urban streams and pick one up for free. The EPA considers Cathode Ray Tube monitors as Hazardous Waste.

Caution: Poison destined to be released into your water.

12/13/2011 - Three Mile Creek and One Mile Creek Pollution

I filed some complaints about the pollution in Mobile's urban waterways and the lack of authorities doing anything about it on December 12, 2011. Both Three Mile Creek and one of its tributaries, One Mile Creek are polluted with public trash, some of it hazardous. An old landfill called Hickory Street Landfill is eroding and hazardous contents from the toxic chemicals dumped there decades ago, appear to be leaching into the water. Could One Mile Creek be Mobile's Love Canal? I will be posting photos to show how well authorities are responding to get the trash removed. Day One after the complaint - no change. Enjoy your Alabama Seafood.

Gas container floating in water and trash embedded in creek bank.

Spray bottle with unknown contents rusting in the water.

Multi-colored sheen on water.

Hickory Street Landfill appears to be leaking toxic pollution into One Mile Creek.

Something has been eating the styrofoam container.

Scenic waters of Three Mile Creek.

Happy Thanksgiving

"Help, Help! Mobile has polluted waters and Mobile won't clean'em up!"

Shame on BP for polluting Mobile's precious waters that they care so much about.

(Just kidding - Mobile doesn't care about its waters.)

11/19/2011 - The Bottom

It has been about a month since kayaking "The Bottom." No Change.

10/22/2011 - Clean Up The Bottom Failure

Launch: Gulf Lumber Landing
Waterway at Launch: Three Mile Creek
Launch Cost: Free
Destination: One Mile Creek to participate in the Clean Up The Bottom event.
Time picking up trash: 4 hours
Weather: Sunny and warm. Slight breeze. Tide very low. Current negligible. Waters slick. It was a beautiful day.

Photo taken BEFORE the Clean Up The Bottom event, on Oct 13th.

Photo taken AFTER the Clean Up The Bottom event, on Oct 22nd.

The Clean Up The Bottom event, in reference to One Mile Creek and the Maple Street canal was as effective as someone using a squirt gun to clean a cattle hauling trailer that hasn't been cleaned in a decade. To be blunt, it didn't remove much shit.

My gratitude goes to Mobile Bay National Estuary Program for trying to get One Mile Creek cleaned up. It is going to take much more than a 4 hour cleanup with a handful of people to remove the huge amount of trash that the City of Mobile has allowed to flow into the waterway and adjacent bottom lands for years. It doesn't take a lot of money to legislate a ban on styrofoam and sign into law plastic bottle bill legislation. How can Mobile hold BP accountable for pollution when Mobile allows their own creeks look like this? Shame on Mobile leaders and Sam Jones.

Today has really influenced me. The kayaking community was asked to help make a difference on this small one mile creek and only one kayaker that I know of, Marty, came out to help. I had expected dozens but what is that old saying, "expectations lead to disappointment."

I've been spending way too much time blogging about kayaking trips and ranting about litter. No need for me to rant any more - many of the photos on this blog document the reality of the intensity of local pollution. Mankind has long held the belief that humans are a higher species created in the image of God and are the most intelligent animal on Earth. You only need to kayak in Mobile's One Mile Creek to realize that belief is seriously flawed. The number one killer on Earth right now is, no surprise, "Dirty Water," and water born illness is becoming more common in America. Should disaster ever happen in America, you may be forced to drink water from creeks like this.

I feel the need to change priorities. Sorry to disappoint regular visitors to this site - there will be no more posts on here this year. I've also removed the links because no one will be maintaining them. I will leave comments up, but it may be weeks or months before I get around to moderating them (posting them).

Here is a link to a video report made 10 years ago: The Synthetic Sea  Fast forward ten years and look at One Mile Creek. Ignoring the problem is not the solution. Mankind will eventually reap what it sows. Unfortunately, other life on this earth suffers because humans can't live without their disposable plastics and that makes me weep. Here is a startling video of what one current day Albatross bird consumed as the contents of its stomach are examined.  Albatross Diet

10/19/2011 - Rabbit Creek

Launch: Home
Destination: Rattlesnake Bayou and Rabbit Creek
Distance: 12 Miles (round trip).
Time Pedaling: 3 hours
Weather: Sunny. Temp 60 degrees. Winds 10-20 mph mostly out of the west. Tide dropping. Minimal current. Waves less than 1 foot. Water temp about 77 degrees.

Header Image I think is a photo of the head of a Tri-colored Heron.

Anywhere near open water the winds were steady with occasional gusts but much less than the gale force winds the forecast had called for.

In more protected waters, the wind was barely noticeable. The water was warmer than the air so if the hands got cold, a quick dip into the water warmed them up.

A tri-colored heron stands on a lichen cover limb in a tree full of Spanish moss.

An osprey eagle soars aloft in the winds.

Seagulls on the water and in the air.

A brown pelican takes off after an unsuccessful dive into the water for food.

Awakened by a kayaker with a camera, the duck stretches it's body to get the blood flowing so it can move.

This was an interesting wooden canoe modified into a sailboat. Some high quality workmanship here.

10/18/2011 - One Mile Creek

Launch: Gulf Lumber Landing
Waterway at Launch: Three Mile Creek
Launch Cost: Free
Destination: One Mile Creek and the Maple Street canal to open up access across blocked areas for the scheduled October 22 Clean Up The Bottom event.
Distance: 3-3/4 miles (round trip).
Time Paddling: 1-1/2 hours
Weather: Sunny and warm. Slight breeze. Tide falling. Current less than 0.5 mph. Waters slick. It was a beautiful day though a bit humid.

Header Image is a photo of White Ibis.

Baby insect eaters (spiders) in the shoreline vegetation.

Will rakes away a vegetation clot blocking the Maple Street canal.

I used an old handsaw to cut through the thicker grass. It was dirty work. There is a layer of trash underneath the grasses.

Diligent work for about an hour led to success. We had opened a channel through the weedberg.

Tom and Will head back out to One Mile Creek.

Where does all the trash that ends up in the waterway come from? Here is one source: Conception Street. The property owners of this location are the City of Mobile (right-of-way), and Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. This litter is a violation of Mobile municipal code.

Do you see a dozen White Ibis in this tree?

Will and Tom paddle on Three Mile Creek and pass by a limb overhanging the water with three White Ibis on it.