Injured whale calf seen again

– Jan. 17, 2024 –

Good morning! Today we have an update about an endangered right whale calf that was injured a few weeks ago. We also have advice from a university professor about how to clean your clothes more sustainably. And we take a dive into a proposed change in how Georgia’s coastal marsh buffer is regulated. Let’s go.

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org

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Whale calf injured

The first north Atlantic right whale born this season sadly became the first to be seen injured earlier this month, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports. Anglers alerted researchers to the injured six-week-old calf of a mother named Juno after they saw the baby off Edisto, S.C., with propeller wounds to its head and lip. Biologists worried the calf was doomed. But then researchers saw the injured calf and its mother on Thursday more than 100 miles south off Edisto near Amelia Island, Fla. 

“We are heartened that the calf survived the initial injury, and there is some evidence of healing,” researchers wrote on NOAA Fisheries’ North Atlantic Right Whale Updates. “… We remain concerned the calf may eventually die from internal injuries, infection, or impaired behavior, particularly nursing, given the damage to the lip.”

Thirteen new right whale calves have been documented this season. Along with Juno’s calf, researchers are concerned about the calf of right whale #3780. The first-time mother was spotted via aerial survey without her calf six days after they were seen together. North Atlantic right whales are highly endangered, with fewer than an estimated 350 individuals remaining.

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Clean clothes minus the plastics

A report out last week detailed the large number of microplastic particles found in bottled water. It’s the latest in a series of studies finding plastic throughout our environment. Georgia’s coastal waters aren’t exempt: UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography researchers have found plastics to be pervasive in coastal water samples they’ve examined. There are ways to reduce your household’s contribution to microfibers in the water, Judith Weis of Rutgers University writes in The Conversation. She focuses on cleaning up your act in the laundry, where a single load of wash can release several million microfibers. Weis outlines best practices for reducing that microplastic output, including fabric choice, water temperature, and emerging technology to add filters to washing machines. Read all her suggestions here.

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Marsh buffer rules could change

Efforts to protect Georgia’s coastal salt marsh sometimes clash with efforts to protect nearby private property. That seems to be the case with a proposed rule change about the marsh buffer, a setback zone inland from the marsh. The Coastal Resources Division of Georgia Department of Natural Resources has proposed relaxing the regulation around marsh buffers, especially for homeowners, as The Current’s Robin Kemp reports. But coastal environmental advocates, like Bill Sapp of the Southern Environmental Law Center, object to the change. Their worries include that a relaxed rule will encourage the use of bulkheads, which can eat away at marshland. Sapp and other advocates are calling for a stakeholder committee to hash out the sticky issues of marsh-front development. Read the full story here.

The public has until Friday, Jan. 19, to submit written comments regarding the proposed regulation. Email comments to jill.andrews@dnr.ga.gov

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Also noted

• Last year was the planet’s warmest year on record, measuring 2.12 degrees F above the 20th century average land and ocean surface temperature, according to an analysis by scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. In Georgia, 2023 was the 6th warmest year on record in Georgia, tying with 2020 on a record extending back to 1895, the office of the Georgia State Climatologist reports. The state experienced excessive heat, tornadoes, rapid-onset drought, and a hurricane, as well as plenty of days of normal weather. Read the full report here.

• Renewable energy grew at remarkable rate last year. In fact, the world’s capacity to generate renewable electricity is expanding faster than at any time in the last three decades, giving it a real chance of achieving the goal of tripling global capacity by 2030 that governments set at the COP28 climate change conference last month, the International Energy Agency says in a new report.

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Quick question: Did you have trouble accessing our news quiz Sunday? Some of our readers did, so we thought we’d offer the link again. You can check out the most recent quiz here. It’s an opportunity to test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published in the prior week. The leaderboard is updated weekly, with a current tie for first place among Audrey, JenBax, Karen G., Savannah Agenda, and gator.

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