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WELCOME TO THE WEB SITE FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED HOMEPORTING OF ADDITIONAL SURFACE SHIPS AT NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, FLORIDA.


The Navy created this website to provide the public with information about the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) associated with the Navy’s proposal to homeport additional U.S. Fleet Forces surface ships at Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport, Florida. The EIS process associated with this proposal was undertaken in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 5090.1C. The Draft EIS (EIS Documents), as well as material published in the Federal Register and presented at public meetings (Public Involvement Materials) are available for review. The Final EIS is posted on the EIS Documents page.


The Record of Decision was signed by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment) on January 14, 2009. The Record of Decision is posted here.



The above information provides links to the historical record. This website now deals with environmental issues of a much wider nature. You are now able to find information on issues related to food, shelter, poverty, income distribution and activism.


Well probably not the case, but one thing that can be much greener is the vehicles and tools that our Armies and Navies use.  It makes sense to utilise green technologies for a variety of reasons.

  1. Obviously any action that lessens the environmental impact of our forces has got to be implemented.
  2. Green solutions are very often extremely cost effective.
  3. Investing and developing green technologies in any area can be beneficial to society and the economy as a whole.

Many scientific advancements are made through the war and the technology used to support our troops.  Whatever your politics it makes sense to invest in these technologies for the greater good.  Eco friendly investments can be recouped by successfully transferring any technology developed into the open market.

Last year the Navy launched it’s first eco friendly boat – a 49 foot riverine command boat which boasts speeds of up to 40 knots.  The boat is different because it runs on a 50% blend of biofuel and normal diesel.   The tests were a complete success and it was reported that there were no problems with performance.  The US Navy uses over 80,000 barrels of oil a day so we can see the huge environmental impact of reducing that consumption in half would have.

Of course there are issues, the cost of the biofuel in monetary terms is much higher, but these costs would likely to drop perhaps to parity if such fuel was used extensively and economies of scale could be harnessed in it’s production.  In times of austerity it is important that initiatives like this are not shelved to make short term gains.  Investments in Eco friendly technology makes a lot of sense in both economic terms and the obvious one that we won’t have a planet left to pollute if someone doesn’t develop these technologies.

There are a lot of reasons why boating in Florida is a very unique experience and some of those reasons are hard to explain to someone who has never experienced it. With almost year round good weather and some of the most diverse communities you will find anywhere there really is something for everyone when it comes to Florida boating trips.

If you enjoy boating in general and camping occasionally then Florida certainly has a great deal to offer you. Having access to a boat means that you can fairly easily get to some of the best camping spots that the state has to offer, spots that other people might find it rather hard to reach with their land bound vehicles.

If you are going “boat camping” you have several distinct advantages over “regular campers” in that you do not have to lug tons of equipment around or get completely soaked to the skin in the event of a sudden downpour. You probably do not have to just rely on fire pits to cook your food (although food cooked over fire pits tastes delicious done right) and you do have better facilities than just a very undignified hole in the ground! In other words boat camping is simply a little more civilized than a traditional camping trip.

That fact does not mean however that you should simply stay on board your boat the whole time. There are so many great places to explore all over the state to do so would actually be a real shame in fact. From the beauty of some of the remoter parts of the Florida Keys, such as Indian Keys, to the beauty of the everglades with a little careful planning a boat camping trip in Florida may end up being one of the best boat trips you ever take.

Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, fractures layers of rock with a highly pressurized fluid, which is made up of water, slurry, and various, frequently dangerous, chemical compounds. Fracking is occurring all over the U.S. to mine for natural gas and is increasing in frequency and scope.

There are many environmental concerns with fracking, including air quality risks, mishandling of the pressurized fluid waste, and contamination of ground water. Contamination of ground water is a huge problem and has already occurred in several states. In fact, some home owners who sold the mineral rights to their property to companies that frack found themselves with flammable drinking water, despite using an under sink water filter.

If you are concerned about fracking and want to know about the potential hazards it can cause to drinking water and other environmental impacts, we recommend that you watch the documentary entitled Gasland by Josh Fox. Fracking is only increasing in popularity and will impact our environment for years to come.

If you have Pizza Hut coupons to use the first thing that is going to come to mind is probably ordering a pizza! Not everyone (as strange as it may seem to some) is a big pizza fan though. so what could they eat if you go out to Pizza Hut for dinner?

Over the last several years the Pizza Hut menu has expanded a great deal. These days they offer traditional Italian inspired meals like meaty marinara pasta and the ever popular chicken alfredo.

When these dishes were first introduced the company ran a marketing campaign that saw their new pastas served in some rather fancy restaurants. Interestingly enough the diners were surprised when they found out the food cam from as fast food joint like Pizza Hut, but it served to demonstrate that Pizza Hut could serve up great, well cooked food that was more than  just pizza!

The propose homeporting of additional naval vessels at Naval Station Mayport will be an economic boom for the local community.  It will add to the number of Navy employees permanently stationed in the area, and also increase the number of sailors rotating through between tours of duty.

As well as the benefits to be had from these military personnel spending their pay in the local community, it also offers additional opportunities for small businesses in the area.  Personnel who are permanently stationed in Mayport will be setting up households and needing contractor to service them.

Everyone from restaurant owners, to carpet cleaners to plumbers will all have a new pool of potential customers to draw from.  Each new customer is additional money in the pockets of all these service providers.

Local department an appliance stores will be consulted by people seeking to purchase new kit for their homes. Refrigerator reviews, dishwasher reviews and various other appliance stores will be sought out as sailors look to set up their families with quality kitchen appliances before deploying to sea.

Some people are concerned about possible environmental impact.  They should rest assured that any negatives will be minimal.  While an increased population – and accompanying development – will always change the natural habit slightly, these will be changes for the better.

Changes due to accidents or poor procedures are very unlikely.  The Navy is very aware of the risks introduced by the handling or large quantities of fuel oil and personnel are very well trained to ensure that is it handled correctly.  The Department of the Navy has been refueling ships for centuries, and has the experience and expertise to ensure it is done right.

Put aside any concerns you may have and welcome your new navy neighbors to town.  Take advantage of the financial opportunities they offer to your HVAC/refrigeration, plumbing or other local business.

 

When it comes to shopping for food we are all used to knowing exactly what is in the food, where it has come from and what the packaging is made from. This information is expected and we wouldn’t buy a food product without it but when it comes to clothing we are much more lax sometimes choosing to ignore where those shoes were made and by who.

Well, that could soon be a thing of the past if well known footwear brand Timberland have anything to do with it. They have been making steps for a number of years to calculate the enviromental cost of making a pair of boots starting from the cow the leather comes from right upto the delivery to the retailers. They plan to place a label in their shoes that will give information on the materials used, whether they are renewable, recycled or organic may be part of the details made available.

This is a breath of fresh air in the designer shoes world and a concept many hope will catch on. Only time will tell though if other design houses will take responsibility for the impact they have on the enviroment.

Affiliate marketing is a very interesting means to earn money online. It can be fun to hire an seo agency that offers products and services you love and also make a living out of it. However, this type of money making scheme is haunted by some misconceptions which would need to be clarified. Thinking of these myths as facts can lead you to unrecoverable losses and utter waste of time and effort.

Affiliate Marketing is Easy and Takes a Little Amount of Time
This is true, only if you have already established the foundation of your online marketing business. Other than that, building your promotion site or blog and attracting visitors to it would take time.

You can Promote Any Product or Company that You Choose
Most people succeed by doing intensive research on which products are in demand and narrowing it down to products that they are comfortable to promote. Promoting products on a random basis would not get you anywhere.

You can Earn a Lot of Money through Affiliate Marketing
Big income is the end result of one’s effort. Online marketing should never be equated with get-rich-quick schemes. However, it is true that the potential earnings are way bigger compared to an average paycheck.

Promoting an internet marketing company is a serious business. It is fun to be able to work for just a few hours a day and earn more than what you are getting from an 8-hour job. However, you should be aware that it takes a lot of patience, dedication and hard work in this industry.

The impact of modern day warfare on the environment has becoming increasingly negative, especially over the past few decades. Experts have called this ecocide, or the killing of the environment. It has affected endangered species and humans alike.

Orange was sprayed in Vietnam in order to defoliate the jungles, and oil wells in Iraq were burned due to the extreme measures used during war. Habitat destruction and deforestation has been caused by the advancements in military machinery and explosives. For example, 35% of Cambodia’s intact forests have been destroyed by years of civil war. The issues are usually made worse by the fact that environmental protections are put on the back burner during times of extreme conflict.

Depleted uranium, which has long been used mostly by the United States for conventional munitions, missiles, and defensive military armor, has the ability to penetrate enemy tanks and other targets much easier than weapons made with other materials. The risk of exposure to depleted uranium to public health has been downplayed, including by inhalation of fine dust particles of this material. It is even suspected that soldiers and civilians who have been exposed to high levels may be at an increased risk for developing lung cancer and kidney damage as a result.

Another environmental issue that has happened as a result of war is the spreading of uranium oxide by way of two hundred stolen plastic barrels that contained the material. They were washed out and used improperly, such as for storing water, tomatoes, and cooking oil in them, as well as being put up for sale to other villages for transporting milk to different regions just because they need money. The material also had seeped into the ground and dispersed through the air. The Iraq national nuclear inspector predicted that potentially more than a thousand people could die from leukemia.

My case of sleep apnea is so bad that I need to have both a CPAP and oral device to keep me from snoring during the night.  The need for both of these tools pretty much makes camping a no go, which is quite sad indeed because I would love nothing more than to camp and be outdoors all the time.  If I go camping and do not where my CPAP the sleep I will get will be horrible; resulting in me not having the energy the next day to enjoy the great outdoors.  Hopefully I can get some sleep apnea treatment that will allow me to enjoy nature once again.

The simple answer to this question is an emphatic YES! Finances effect the environment both for the better and worse.  Unfortunately the bad side to this question is the profitability in oil production as a means for energy, which greatly destroys our Earth.  Perhaps if our country could find some sort of debt relief and then use the extra money to help fund programs to find a more renewable and sustainable energy source then things may start to look better.  Will this ever happen? More than likely not.  Once we can find a way to get out of debt as a country than we can start looking at the bigger picture.

Most people wouldn’t expect that wine shipments would have any type of environmental impact.

Judging by the Occupy protests of late 2011, they do though because on the Occupy Oakland list of complaints was the use of the Oakland port to ship wine to China.  As it turns out, according to a friend who owns a wine of the month club, wine shipments to China aren’t measured in terms of cases or palates, but container ships, starting at around 35,000 bottles.

I wonder if that type of impact, including trucking the wine in from the growing wine regions in New York state and Virginia has been thought of at all?

Stan Cox’s latest essay takes on the ubiquity of air conditioning and its effects on the environment. Cox argues that the benefits of A.C. may not outweigh the long-term economic and environmental costs of keeping, say, North Carolinians chilled to an even 72 or 74 degrees during a sticky August afternoon. At the same time, I don’t know many people living in the south (or even up north in urban and semi-urban areas) who would be willing to sweat it out like Americans did circa 1865.

Cox argues that “stepping from a torrid parking lot into a 72-degree, air-conditioned lobby can provide a degree of instantaneous relief and physical pleasure experienced through few other legal means. But if the effect of air-conditioning on a hot human being can be compared to that of a pain-relieving drug, its economic impact is more like that of an anabolic steroid. And withdrawal, when it comes, will be painful, as some would have experienced from statins. We’re as committed to air-conditioning as we are to cars and computer chips. And a device lucky enough to become indispensable can demand and get whatever it needs to keep running. For the air-conditioner, that’s a lot.”

Perhaps a better alternative would be to find ways of creating and sustaining alternative energy sources to keep folks cool. If you look at the recent growth figures/Census data and look at the geographic shifts that are taking place in the US, people are moving from the northeastern US to the southeastern and southwestern US in record numbers.

These are places (like Tucson, Mesa, El Paso, Baton Rouge, Jackson, Atlanta, Tampa) that, dare I say, are somewhat inhospitable for several months out of the year due to their extreme heat and/or humidity. The policy questions that emerge from a debate about the future of air conditioning and the extent to which folks should/should not use it (or use it as frequently as they do) are quite complex, and definitely deserve our critical attention.

If we need a large navy (and we do), then the ships have to be parked somewhere, and there has to be facilities to repair and maintain the fleet. So the question is where should the fleet be based? Of course any suggestion will produce the NIMBYs (not in my back yard) out of the woodwork, and at the end of the day a decision has to be taken that will not please everybody.

In this day and age the environment is a popular cause and there are many groups who will fight against any development if it results in pollution of any sort. Perhaps the Navy Department would be advised to offset the inevitable pollution by doing work elsewhere to help the environment.

We recently celebrated 50 years of marriage and our children bought us a small area of woodland as one of our golden wedding anniversary gifts. Before you think I have gone off on a tangent, that area of woodland will in a small way offset some of the damage to the environment we as a couple have inadvertently done to the environment in our 50 years. If you like it our way of offsetting the damage we have caused. When I learnt of our anniversary gift I must admit to being rather surprised, but when you consider that a couple married for 50 years have probably fulfilled all their material needs, an area of trees was an inspired gift. 50 years is a golden wedding anniversary, not sure if there is a ‘wooden’ anniversary, but if there is consider woodland as a gift for someone you know.