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Limited Climate Change------Harmful Algae Blooms--------Deoxygenation of Water-------Methane-------Massive Climate Change-------MASSIVE EXTINCTION EVENT

2/21/2023

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The climate change we are currently experiencing is simply a trigger.

​The factors listed above all have their own story.  Each one can be clearly tracked and understood.  We have the science so that related modeling is possible, although not yet clearly defined.  The take home message however is that the climate change we are currently experiencing is simply a trigger.  The real hazard we face comes later.  
The same deoxygenation of water phenomenon has happened before, during Earth’s most extreme extinction event…the Great Permian Extinction, during which Earth’s atmospheric temperature increased by 10C and 96% of species were lost.  We are on this same extinction path now, only we are approaching it at a vastly faster rate than during the Permian.  Here’s a quick summary:

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What In The World Is Biogenic Methane?

10/13/2022

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​Here is a short overview of the primary sources of methane. Some of these are relatively stable, long-term, but biogenic methane is increasing at an alarming rate.

Scientists haven’t proven “why”, but here are my explanations that I’d like you to consider.

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The Death of a Dog

10/5/2022

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I'm grappling to find meaning in the sudden death of my three-year-old dog

Picture
​I may not be much of a wordsmith but I am observant and I make connections. I’m grappling to find answers in the fatal illness of my three-year-old dog that led to a gut-wrenching decision to release him from his suffering yesterday. The disease was dysautonomia, so rare that very little is known about it.  But the causes are believed to be “environmental”. I offer the following thoughts and hope you will share them with anyone who might be responsive.  

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Prevention of BIOGENIC METHANE From Water, A Leveraged and Fundamental Form of Climate Action

9/13/2022

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Methane is the climate change leverage point. And methane that is generated biologically, instead of over eons like oil and gas methane, has been growing exponentially. And no, this is not about “cow burps". It is about nutrient impaired water - more than half of all freshwater around the world.

​Just a few years ago, no one on the Floating Island International (FII) research and development team was focused on methane.  Instead, we were all oriented around prevention and mitigation of harmful algae blooms and associated freshwater nutrient impairment issues.  The team was unaware of the volume of methane that nutrient impaired water emits.  Since then, science rolls on, and strong science has resulted in a growing awareness.  What we have learned is critical to human effort to prevent a disastrous level of climate change.   

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​STRATEGIC CLIMATE ACTION NOW CAN BUY THE PLANET ANOTHER DECADE

7/28/2022

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BIOGENIC METHANE

Climate Science is evolving at a furious pace.  Science doesn’t care about human politics either way…but if humans are going to sustain on this tiny planet, we need objective, data based facts to base environmental policy on.  And we need specific, leveraged climate action to stay within any kind of realistic and achievable goal.  Consider that the gap between the science around biogenic methane and mainstream awareness, in the case of biogenic methane, has been approximately fifteen years.  Even now, 95% of environmental journalists cannot talk intelligently about biogenic methane, so the reality is likely closer to twenty years, two decades.  Then “industry” has to gear up.  Allow another five years for this.  So two and a half decades, roughly, for humans to begin to address what may be the most “effective” form of climate action available and vulnerable to human initiative.

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The Methane Conundrum

1/13/2022

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FII is targeting methane emission reduction. It happens that nutrient impaired freshwater is the single largest source of methane emissions occurring today…about 2.5 times more methane comes off eutrophic water than all of the methane released by the Oil and Gas industry

As CEO of an environmental service company that works with water, I am responsible for managing Floating Island International’s (FII) health.  Essentially, my primary job is to keep FII out of the weeds.  The company offers solutions around a range of water quality parameters including:
  • Nutrient cycling
  • Harmful algae prevention
  • TSS (total suspended solids) reduction; Think…”save the manatees!"
  • Fishery enhancement
  • Wave mitigation
​Over and above these water quality benefits, a recent FII initiative has FII targeting methane emission reduction.

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Actual Climate Action

12/30/2021

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Very few of us are doing anything substantive about climate action. This is the simple and clear truth. Most of us are entirely ineffective and clueless regarding actual climate action. This is about to change.

Tomorrow, as in “during 2022”, many tens of thousands of water stewards will have a new ability to act.  They will be able to prevent tons of methane.  Nutrient impaired water that currently generates methane in the absence of oxygen will be eligible for valuable credits.  Water stewards who act now by verifying their current methane emissions will make money while reducing a most potent greenhouse gas.  We will all benefit from their “action.”  While they make money, climate change will be moderated, as methane coming off impaired water is the world’s largest source of methane. 

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​Climate Change Waits for No One

10/13/2021

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Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources

Just a week ago some thirty countries, including the U.S., committed to reducing methane emissions by half between now and 2030.  The commitment is based on limited data regarding “sources” of methane.  The usual suspects, like methane being flared off natural gas wells, are primary targets.  But the actual, largest single source of methane, isn’t being factored in.  It is aquatic ecosystems, fresh water systems throughout the planet, including the freshwater lakes we hold so dear for our drinking water and recreation.

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To Fix a Lake, What Will It Take?

10/5/2021

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What will it take to reverse the pandemic downward spiral of eutrophication that otherwise results in HABs and methane?

The water before treatment, shown in the jar on the left, is black, The water after treatment, shown on the right, is clear. This was achieved using BioHaven natural solutions.
This water was restored from black to clear using BioHaven natural solutions
THE LEADING EDGE
What combination of treatment, of stewardship, does it take to transition nutrient impaired fresh water back to health?  What blend of strategies?  How do we interrupt the dysfunctional cycle of chemical treatment to arrive at a sustainable place when it comes to water health?  Is it worth it? These are questions my company is wrestling with.  In fairness, we are not alone...

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The Basics of Growing and Sustaining Game Fish During Climate Change...What You Need to Know to Succeed.

8/23/2021

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This pilot nanobubbler (the green unit left of center) is being operated by the 6 solar panels positioned behind it.
The first NanoHaven prototype installed on a BioDock on Fish Fry Lake
Most fresh water across the United States is now eutrophic.  This means that it is nutrient rich.  Is this good, bad, or indifferent?  Mostly bad (especially if you're a fish), but with stewardship, excess nutrients can be leveraged into remarkable fish productivity and growth.  Here’s a quick overview:  there are two major engines of life…autotrophic, which are the ones that need sunlight, and chemo/biologic, the ones that can operate in the dark. ​

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BioHaven Design Basics...What Do You Need To Know In Advance Before Ordering The Right BioHaven?  The BioHaven Solution Process!

7/12/2021

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Start with the premise that natural systems are fully capable of fixing your water.

Above these fish swimming around under a floating islands are a few mounds of something grey. It is actually freshwater sponge, the found its way there naturally.
It's amazing how nature will support our efforts with an array of surprises, such as freshwater sponge growing under this floating dock, contributing to water filtration.
​Today’s water managers, both private and public, have an expanding range of tools to steer their water towards health.  As CEO of a company that has developed one particular tool, BioHavens, I am frequently in conversations with water stewards about the important details they must consider in order to get it right.  So, here’s a list that is likely to include information that relates to the issues you face.  It is a window.  It will get you started towards chemical-free, sustainable management of your water:

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NanoHaven technology selected for SBIR Phase 1 innovation award

6/29/2021

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We are pleased to announce that FII has been selected for a Dept. of Energy SETO Phase One SBIR grant award. The grant’s purpose is to develop and test a technology that will oxygenate nutrient-impaired water in off-grid settings.

Gas bubbles are released from the bottom of a pond when a snorkeler, whose hand is in the picture, disturbs the muck at the bottom
Gases released from the sediments may include methane when the water is impaired to the point of being starved of oxygen
FII conceptualized the “NanoHaven” embodiment that will meet this goal and will develop and test it with the support of this pending award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. Note that nutrient impaired water is a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that oxygenation will prevent, so a key component of our commercialization of this system will be related to climate change impact. 

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​Where Has All the Carbon Gone, so Early in the Morning?

6/24/2021

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When organic material, such as leaf litter, breaks down in water, the muck that accumulates breaks down slowly and can easily generate methane if the water doesn't have enough oxygen.

An underwater diver is stirring up the bottom of the pond and big bubbles of gas are being released
See what happens when sediments are disturbed at the bottom of a water body. Gases are released even in a healthy lake but when deprived of oxygen, they could include methane
Freshwater has become a key climate action window.  Freshwater is where carbon and excess nutrients stack up.  It’s where climate action and water stewardship can merge and may well be the single most concentrated greenhouse gas reduction opportunity available today.

Here are some basic data points that explain what is happening:

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What about the current drought… should we be worried?

6/24/2021

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In the current climate emergency, fish are the marker. If we can keep them alive and well, we have hope.

These rainbow trout are sheltering under a Biohaven floating island, where they find security and shade
Trout shelter under a BioHaven floating island to find security and shade
​It’s not even July yet and a new heat wave is developing, due in just a few days.  We’ve already broken heat records for the year a dozen times, and more record-breaking heat day are coming!

Climate change changes everything when it comes to stewardship of water and fish.  Is this the tip of the iceberg?  What iceberg?  It’s melted.

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Water Has Emerged as THE Low-Hanging Fruit for Climate Action

6/9/2021

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Water is a new realm for climate action and represents a relatively easy fix, following nature's model

Graphic showing the toxicity of eutrophic freshwater
As climate action finally begins in the United States in earnest, leaders face a maze of choices. The data keep coming in, and shifting, and sometimes changing. An example: methane is 21 times more impactful than carbon dioxide, per our EPA. Yet other credible and science-based entities state it’s 67 times more impactful, or 89 times. The fact that methane does not sustain in our atmosphere the same length of time as carbon dioxide does complicate quantifying its impact. We long for the day we can rely on data based on factual, empirical, nonpolitical science.

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​Wetlands Epitomize How Nature Supports Lake Health, But Where Have All the Wetlands Gone?

6/7/2021

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​A functional wetland, up watershed from a lake, can spell the difference between a healthy lake that’s resistant to Harmful Algae Blooms, and a lake that is both vulnerable to HABs and on its way out.

In this underwater photo, Bluegills are swimming among the roots hanging down from a floating island
Grow fish instead of algae: Bluegills swim among BioHaven roots, where they graze on periphyton
Such hyper-eutrophic lakes become shallower and even more vulnerable to near-monocultures of blue-green algae and cyanobacteria blooms, and related health risks.  Over and above these big negatives, recent climate science is quantifying that such lakes that regularly experience HABs are also methane emitters.  

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BioHavens and Bass

5/18/2021

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Fishing for bass among BioHavens is an exciting strategy for algae reduction on Fish Fry Lake

A smiling woman holds up a stringer of large bass harvested from Fish Fry Lake
The first three bass from Fish Fry Lake to be harvested in 2021 in our "grow fish instead of algae" stewardship program
​It’s just now mid-May and our water temperature has finally edged over 60 degrees, on top.  Fish Fry Lake went through its seasonal turnover a month ago, so dissolved oxygen (DO) was homogenous across the water table for a few weeks.  When that happened, bass were everywhere in the lake, top to bottom, even in its deepest reaches where DO normally diminishes as the season progresses.  We fished spoon plugs, minnow and crawfish imitations.  The use of “plastics” started yesterday, those plastic worms, probably imitating leeches, that seem to trigger insane bass action.  The official beginning of the new season started with a big bang!

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A Step Towards Paradise... How Do We Build On Nature's Model and Create Beauty and Abundance?

5/13/2021

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Manmade nutrients are being unleashed against water at pandemic volumes. We have no choice but to fix this, unless we are prepared to dig our own graves. The benefits outweigh the costs.

A beautiful vista for an island launch on a snowy day
A snowy Spring launch into a trout pond near Ennis, MT, ensures a great start for the plants, which will mature into a beautiful island over the summer
​Just the other day we launched BioHaven Floating Islands in an early spring snowstorm. The setting was Montana’s Madison Valley, not far from Yellowstone National Park. The source water we were launching on emits from the Madison range, from the ski hills of Big Sky and the back country of Cowboy Heaven.  

​As we worked, trout were bulging, hitting some kind of emerging nymph. Some of the trout created wakes as large as a blanket beaver.  

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Three Ways To Grow Fish... Or Not

5/11/2021

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Floating Islands Help Fish Grow and Prevent Algae from Growing

A nice stringer of bass caught in BioHaven-enhanced Fish Fry Lake
A nice stringer of bass caught in BioHaven-enhanced Fish Fry Lake
​Of the nearly 10,000 BioHaven floating islands launched since Floating Island International opened its doors in 2005, a sizable number have been focused on fishery enhancement.  People like myself, who grew up with a fishing pole in their hands, pick up on the idea that nature can be helped.  Nature can be enhanced.  Building an ultimate fishing hole, or supporting a public fishery with good habitat design, has motivated many island launches.  But there’s usually only a vague understanding of just how floating islands help fish grow.  For certain, the other two popular methods to grow fish are better understood.  But are they better for water?

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A Step Towards Paradise

5/9/2021

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We must maintain aerobic conditions top to bottom in our freshwater settings. When we do this, we are rewarded with super abundance. When we don’t do this, we experience an anaerobic nightmare of decline

On a spring day. after a heavy all of snow, this floating island is launched into a trout pond near Ennis, Montana
A beautiful scene of a snow-cobvered floating island waiting to be planted and launched into a trout pond near Ennis, Montana
​Yesterday we launched BioHaven Floating Islands in an early spring snowstorm.  The setting was Montana’s Madison Valley, not far from Yellowstone Park.  The source water emits from the Madison range, from the ski hills of Big Sky and the back country of Cowboy Heaven.  

As we worked, large trout, some that created wakes as large as a blanket beaver, swirled nearby targeting some emergent nymph.  Wet knees notwithstanding, we had two more BioHavens in place on the water, prepped to expand and build on nature’s wetland effect, in just an hour and a half.  The wet snow on this early spring day made for cold hands, but not that cold.  The boggy riparian edge of the spring ponds made for wet feet too, but nothing that wouldn’t dry in a short while.

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Save the Manatees from the Impact of Spills like Piney Point

4/22/2021

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Manatees in Florida feed on coastal seagrass, a species at risk from phosphorus surge

Manatees in their coastal habitat
Photo by NOAA on Unsplash
The manatees that inhabit Florida’s incredible, variable and complex coastal regions are one of four distinct populations. Ours is the only population in North America, and the creatures are amazing. They are huge and almost fluid, as they undulate and drift through clear water. Imagine an incredibly rotund but concurrently graceful aquatic ballet dancer!

On one occasion, ironically, in Clear Water, Florida, I experienced their passive and gentle presence. Unequivocally, the nuances around their life model require hard science. But it seems like, today at least, human political divisions are being superseded by the manatee. We are putting political division aside, in order to save a remarkable species.

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The US is Now Poised to Break Out Around FPV

4/21/2021

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The Popularity of Floating Solar Makes the Possibility of Cleaning Up Water Real

Solar panels sit on a floating dock next to a nanobubble aerator, waiting to be tested on Fish Fry Lake
Floating solar panels are set up to power this nanobubble aerator on Fish Fry Lake
The US has two-trillion dollars earmarked for climate action, and it's time to break out around FPV, fix impaired water, and reduce GHG too.

Floating Island International (FII) is reaching out to the international floating photovoltaic (FPV) community. The U.S. is poised to “Make America great... again” around the emerging alternative energy market.​

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Partner with Nature

4/20/2021

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Nature-as-model, biomimicry, is the gentle arm-twister that pulls us towards sustainability

Willows growing on these floating islands are an example of hyperaccumulator plants, that suck up pollutants out of water
These willows are an example of hyperaccumulator plants, that accelerate removal of pollutants from water. They thrive on BioHaven Floating Islands.
Here at the Shepherd, Montana research center, where BioHaven Floating Islands were born, we marvel at the result when we partner with Nature. We partner with autotrophic life forms, like hyper-accumulator plants that cycle exponentially more nutrients (and other contaminants) out of water than regular plants do. We design BioHavens to give these superstars of the plant kingdom the best possible growth conditions, to help us fix water!

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Get Smart About Floating PhotoVoltaics

4/19/2021

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In a confused floating solar market, BioHavens offer a ray of hope for water quality that makes floating solar feasible and sustainable

If floating solar power generation is what you do, why not clean the water too?
If floating solar is what you do, why not clean the water too?
Today the nascent FPV (Floating PhotoVoltaics) market is confused. As China surges ahead, as France leverages the aggressive marketing efforts of Ciel et Terre (a provider of FPV), in the U.S., remarkable opportunities to develop sustainable solar projects are being missed. Italy has actually banned development of floating solar on reservoirs…truly a remarkable and confusing policy in light of the negative impact on alternative energy development by serious players like ENEL. Especially today when there is an emerging floating solar platform option that will enhance water quality.

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Biomimicry is the Model for a Better Future

4/18/2021

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Biomimicry - nature as model - will steer a course through the vagaries of human endeavor towards sustainable living

This BioHaven was launched in 2007 with perennial plants. It has been helping to reduce algae and fight greenhouse gas emissions for 14 years!
This BioHaven was launched in 2007 with perennial plants. It has been helping to reduce algae and fight greenhouse gas emissions for 14 years!
Clear vision through the fog of obfuscation, of fallacy, of misdirected anger, is rare. But it is happening. There is a movement that does not bow to misdirection or misinformation. It simply advances. The movement is called Biomimicry.

Biomimicry is the model for a better future.
The word has become science. It has no political connotations. It just is. You can measure it. Yes. It is factual, and you can live it. Actually, watch it unfold, as you engage it.

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