Salmon-Oil-Fungus-Barber-Chico
Salmon, oil, fungus, barber, Chico--I read an article in the SF Chronicle today that made me realize that these things are all connected, some for better and some for worse. Let me explain.
Background: On November 7, a cargo ship managed to nick one of the footings of the Bay Bridge, cutting a gash in the side of the boat and spilling almost 58,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay. Cleanup efforts continue even as you read this.
Oil-Salmon-Chico: I once came across a book called Living Downstream. One might think this is more apt to describe the 1991 train derailment near Dunsmuir that dumped hundreds of gallons of toxic chemicals into the Sacramento River. But if you were to ask a migrating salmon, it will tell you that the connection goes upstream as well, as our spring run (meager though it may be) must find their way through the Bay long before they begin their journey up to Sycamore pool and beyond. I do not know how salmon react to oil spills, but I don't think that the interaction is a good thing. There are also fears that the Bay Area fishery will be impacted, casting doubts over whether we will be able to enjoy dungeness crab or Tomales Bay oysters in the near future.
Barber-Fungus-Oil: Meanwhile, anyone who has gotten their hair cut at Bay Area hair salon in the recent past may be be indirectly involved in the clean-up effort. A San Francisco-based non-profit called Matter of Trust collects local human hair and turns it into doormat-sized hair mats, which are ideal for soaking up oil. The saturated mats are then layered with straw and then innoculated with the spores of the common oyster mushroom (depicted above), which for some reason love this oily mess (cultivated oyster mushrooms can be found in the Safeway produce aisle, their wild cousins can be seen growing in Upper Bidwell Park). In 12 weeks time, the fungus will break down the hair-oil-straw sandwich into soil which, though not recommended for vegetables, is perfectly fine for roadside landscaping. You can read the Chronicle story here.