Fresh Connections – The Parfitt Way Blog

There is something going on in the Oyster Beds of Puget Sound – and it isn’t good.  As this year’s oyster season commenced – the absence of mature oysters continues to alarm oyster farmers, retailers and restaurants.  The microscopic oyster larvae at hatcheries in Dabob Bay and other places in the Puget Sound were dying before they ever had a chance.  As the larvae developed tiny oyster shells, they began to crumble faster than they can grow.  This has been observed all over the northern Pacific coast and has been going on for years.  In fact, there has not been a viable larvae generation since 2005.

Scientists and farmers first looked into whether bacteria were causing the devastation.  But further investigation pointed to something much more serious and difficult to resolve: the undisputed increase in the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and the oceans.  One outcome noticeable to most has been the rising of the average temperatures here in the Puget Sound area.  This past July was the 36th consecutive July and 329th consecutive month in which global temperatures have been above the 20th century average. In addition, seven of the 10 hottest summers recorded in the United States have occurred since 2000.  While the arguments continue about the cause of global warming, the increase in CO2 levels has been well documented by the entire science community.  The scientific term is ocean acidification; as the CO2 level rises, the pH level falls.  A liquid’s pH measures the acidity or alkalinity on a 14 point scale – the lower the number, the more acidic the liquid.  Shellfish in particular have a narrow pH spectrum in which they can survive.  A normal sea water pH is 8.1 to 8.2 on the alkaline side.  On a sample day last spring, the pH level at 100 feet deep measured at 7.5, reflecting high acid levels, causing the inability of the larvae to maintain shell growth.

A natural occurrence in the Pacific Ocean (but not found in the Atlantic) is upwelling.  As the north winds blow over the water, a circulation process is set in motion in which nutrients from the bottom of the ocean are pushed slowly upward.  Unfortunately along with nutrients the upwelling is carrying increasingly high CO2 levels.  This is a very long term problem, with no short-term solution in sight.  According to NOAA scientists, the water that is upwelling on our coast today is at least 50 years old.  CO2 levels have been increasing since the Industrial Revolution – about 250 years ago.  At that time the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content was roughly 280 parts per million (ppm).  Today we measure in at about 390 ppm.  So even if we were able to drastically limit our CO2 output immediately, the problem is going to get much worse for a long time, before it starts getting better.  As part of the natural cycle of upwelling, it takes over 50 years for CO2 to go from the atmosphere to the ocean’s floor.  And because of Puget Sound’s unique geography – it is believed that the impact of increased acidity levels occurs here before the rest of the world.  So – it’s not just about the oysters.

All of these issues are being examined by a blue ribbon panel convened last March by Gov. Chris Gregoire.  The panel is made up of scientists, local and tribal leaders and industry representatives.  Along with surveying the latest science and setting priorities for additional research and monitoring, the panel was tasked with creating a set of practical, affordable policy recommendations to address the root causes of acidification.  They also hope to come up with ways to help businesses and communities adapt.

During the coming year’s legislative session beginning in January, lawmakers will introduce a new bill in an effort to implement some of the action items that the panel believes need to be addressed.  The 28 member panel has come up with a 43 item list, 20 of which are deemed top priority measures.  Panel member Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island) has urged the panel to narrow down the list to its top 3 – 5 priorities.  According to Ranker, the potential top priorities should be:

• Reducing air emissions that are linked to ocean acidity
• Overhauling sewage treatment plans to reduce the amount of flow into local sea water (high nitrogen levels being another cause of acidification)
• Exploring the idea of using salt water vegetation to combat the impact of ocean acidification
• Improving and expanding the monitoring of ocean acidification

The state faces huge challenges.  State funding, regulation burdens for the business community and maintaining momentum over not just years – but decades might all seem to make this an insurmountable problem.  Adding to the pessimism is the fact that ocean water does not respond to state boundaries.  So we cannot solve this problem by ourselves.  Still – Washington is one of the first states to meaningfully address the challenges ahead.  Ranker has also made the very important point that the potential bill has both Democrat and Republican support and that both gubernatorial candidates have been kept in the loop on the findings of the panel and are on board to do what we can to address the issue.
For more information, see these websites:
University of Washington
BiologicalDiversity.org
Yale University

In the meantime we are hoping for cold winds and rain to cool off the oyster beds quickly so that we can get back to eating our favorite bi-valves.

This article was co-written by Elizabeth and Michael Fagin

Absinthe Green Hour at Pegasus Coffee House

3 pm – close.

For those of us who saw the movie “Midnight in Paris” and have dreamed about time travel to the Paris of old, sharing aperitifs with the like of Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, and Vincent Van Gogh, the Pegasus is offering an experience that just may get us there!  In starting an Absinthe Green Hour, Pegasus is introducing a drinking custom that has had a very colorful history.

Absinthe, a distilled and highly alcoholic beverage, was developed in Switzerland in the late 18th century.  It became popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly among the Parisian bohemian culture of artists and writers.  It is derived from botanicals, mainly grande wormwood, green anise and sweet fennel.  It has a natural green color (but can also sometimes be clear).  It is both the green color and the colored history of the beverage that gives it the nickname “The Green Fairy”.

Absinthe first became known as an all-purpose patent remedy, created by a French doctor in Couvet Switzerland around 1792.  The healing properties are said to come from the botanical grande wormwood, which has a long history of use for stomach, and nervous disorders, along with use as a malaria preventative.  It is a component of wormwood (thujone) that was blamed (or credited) for the alleged psychotropic qualities of absinthe.  In the 19th century, as absinthe was becoming very popular, a French psychiatrist claimed that those who drank absinthe in excess suffered far worse effects than those who over-consumed other alcoholic beverages, including rapid-onset hallucinations.  This idea was immediately and cheerfully embraced by such artists and authors as Toulouse Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, Hemingway and Oscar Wilde.  Other proponents of the drink included Mark Twain and Aleister Crowley.

While the imbibing of absinthe was rapidly rising, the temperance movement and the winemaker’s associations were pushing their point that absinthe was dangerous.  (Which could well be the only time those two entities were in bed together!)  Claims of its association with violent crimes and social disorder were supported by a grisly murder by a Swiss farmer.  In 1905 Jean Lanfray murdered his family and attempted to take his own life.  The blame for the murders was placed solely on the two glasses of absinthe that the farmer consumed just prior to the murders.  Seems the vast quantities of wine and brandy that farmer Lanfray drank before the absinthe allegedly had no effect on this tragic outcome.

By 1914 absinthe was banned in the United States (1912 – 8 years prior to Prohibition), Belgium, Brazil, Congo, the Netherlands and Switzerland and much of the rest of the world, with the exception of Great Britain.  In the 1990’s a British importer began the revival of absinthe that we are seeing today.  As it gained in popularity most of the bans were being lifted.  In the United States, the absinthe ban was lifted in 2007 (79 years after Prohibition was lifted), with the following guidelines:  the thujone levels must be less than 10 ppm, the word “absinthe” cannot be the brand name and the packaging cannot “project images of hallucinogenic, psychotropic or mind-altering effects”.

As the popularity of absinthe is again growing, so are the customs and ritual around it.  In Paris in the 1860’s the hour of 5 p.m. was known as “l’heure verte” – the Green Hour.  Café’s and pubs around the world are re-introducing the Green Hour.  The ritual of drinking absinthe is something that really sets it aside of other drinking experiences.  A shot of absinthe is placed in a special glass with a reservoir in the stem to measure the correct amount of absinthe.  Then a sugar cube is placed on a specially slotted spoon which is laid across the top of the glass.  As ice water is slowly poured over the sugar cube and combines with the clear green liquid, it interacts with the anise and fennel to change the clear liquid to a cloudy, opalescent white. The predominate flavor of absinthe is anise (licorice) and can be bitter – hence the sugar cube.  For more information about the history and customs of absinthe visit The Absinthe Buyers Guide website.

And – to experience the Green Hour yourself, visit Pegasus during the month of October.  They will be serving various kinds of authentic absinthe on a rotating basis.  You’ll have the opportunity to experience the entire ritual, the slowly dripping ice water, sugar cubes and slotted spoons.  And – just maybe, the ghost of Hemmingway will drop in for a visit.