Baykeeper's E-Newsletter for August 2012

Become a Baykeeper Volunteer Pollution Investigator

Are you interested in getting out in the field for a healthy Bay? Baykeeper seeks Volunteer Pollution Investigators to help us find out which industrial facilities are polluting San Francisco Bay.

We're looking for volunteers who can work about ten hours this fall and winter. Baykeeper will provide free training and necessary materials. One-hour training sessions will be held around the Bay Area in September.

This new volunteer opportunity is a key way you can help make San Francisco Bay cleaner and healthier.

Find out more and sign up as a Volunteer Pollution Investigator.

Help Remove Toxic Debris from Point Molate

Baykeeper is starting a new project to remove up to 125 tons of toxic debris polluting the San Francisco Bay shoreline and waters around Point Molate in Richmond.

The debris includes hundreds of pilings contaminated with creosote, a cancer-causing wood preservative that poses a threat to both wildlife and people. Also slated to be removed are trash and parts of a derelict pier.

From late September through mid-October, we can use help from volunteers who can lift at least 40 pounds.

Learn more about Baykeeper's project to remove debris from Point Molate.

Pitch In at Coastal Cleanup Day on September 15

Join us for the 28th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day! Baykeeper will host our fifth annual shoreline cleanup at India Basin Shoreline Park on Saturday, September 15.

Please come out to join us for a family-friendly event and help clean up this neighborhood shoreline park. Participants are eligible for great prizes from our sponsor REI!

Learn more about the beach cleanup and register to volunteer.

Victory! San Jose Landfill/Recycler to Clean Up Bay Pollution

Zanker Road Resource Management, a San Jose landfill and recycling facility, has agreed to clean up its rainy-season runoff pollution of San Francisco Bay and wetlands that include the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge.

Baykeeper sued Zanker after the facility's own sampling reports showed it has been violating limits for aluminum, copper, iron, zinc and other pollutants in its storm water runoff.

Our settlement agreement with Zanker commits the company to significantly reduce its pollution and also to provide funds to two local nonprofits working to protect wetlands.

Read more about cleaning up Zanker's contamination of wetlands and the Bay.

Tips for Protecting the Bay as You Enjoy the America's Cup

The America's Cup World Series will be held in San Francisco Bay August 21-26. The super-fast sailing races are the first San Francisco events in the 34th America's Cup, which will climax with championship races in the Bay next year.

Baykeeper helped make these races Bay-friendly by convening a coalition of 30 environmental and neighborhood groups to advise race planners. The Baykeeper boat will be one of the races' marshal boats, helping maintain the boundary around the race course.

If you're going to watch from a boat or from the shore, check out Baykeeper's tips for protecting the Bay as you enjoy the sailboats zooming by.

Swim for the Bay on September 30

Open water swimmers, don't miss this one-of-a-kind event! On Sunday, September 30, join Baykeeper for the third annual Swim for the Bay to benefit a healthy San Francisco Bay.

The Swim for the Bay is a noncompetitive 9-mile swim from the Golden Gate to the East Bay. Swimmers may participate on a relay team or solo. Registration cost is $100; each swimmer must raise an additional $300 for Baykeeper.

Don't want to get wet but still want to support the swim? You can donate on behalf of a swimmer, volunteer on the day of the event, or attend the post-swim party at the historic Dolphin Club.

Learn more about Swim for the Bay.