Tigers, Whole Foods, Global Warming & Orangutans. What's the Link? Photo by Dave Watts.

Palm oil.

Palm what?

If you pay as little attention to your food as I do then you’re probably just as surprised as I am that: 1) Some palm trees make edible fruit; and 2) Some of this fruit is linked to endangered species destruction and deforestation.

It so happens that for the last 50 years or so, palm oil has been making head-ways into the foods we eat.  It’s also in bio-fuels we burn and cosmetics some of you may use.  Recently, there’s been a huge push for the introduction of palm oil in U.S. foods because of new trans-fat reporting requirements.  Because palm oil doesn’t have any, it’s been used as a choice to replace non-trans-fat-free shortening.

And while we are collectively healthier for eating less trans-fat, there are measurable global consequences that have resulted from this relatively tiny shift in our dietary habits.  Namely, deforestation on a vast scale and threatened species nearing extinction.

Much of this palm oil is grown in Indonesia and Malaysia.  According to the Associated Press, the amount of deforestation needed to accommodate the growth in palm oil plantations is on the order of 670,000 acres every year.  Or, to put that into perspective, it’s an area of forest that’s cleared and replaced with palms that’s greater in size than the cities of Los Angeles and New York (including all 5 boroughs) combined.  Every year.

That’s a lot.

As a result of the forest clearing, there have been increasing incidents of sumatran tiger incursions with forest villagers, and consequently, deaths on both sides.  Naturally that’s very unfortunate both ways, but considering there are likely less than 1000 of these tigers left, it’s easier to feel sorry for the tigers.  But considering the high rate of poverty in Indonesia, I’d also hate to be that mauled logger who was only trying to pay the bills.

Other prominent victims include the orangutan and pygmy elephant.  Both rely on the native forest habitat for survival, but the pygmy elephant has been specifically targeted because they thrive on palm fruit.  As you can imagine, that doesn’t make palm plantation owners too happy.

Orangutans are also frequently cited as victims, an assertion flatly rejected by the American Palm Oil Council, an association of palm oil developers, producers, refiners, etc…  But there is one glaring problem with the APOC’s arguments – they focus to absolve Malaysia producers of any wrongdoing.  But they fail to mention Indonesia at all in their counterpoint, the other very large palm oil producer.  I wonder why.

Which brings us to global warming.  One could argue that replacing forests with productive palm trees is at worst a carbon-neutral event.  Perhaps.  Yet it remains to be tested or demonstrated.  But replacing native peatland with palm trees almost certainly is not.  And unfortunately, the world will have to face the consequences of this as a result of the Indonesian government’s February 2009 decision to lift a ban to replace peatland with palm plantations.  Estimates of carbon released over the next few years as a result of this is…staggering.

Is there a silver lining anywhere in this story?!  Yes, well, maybe.  Whole Foods announced earlier this month that it will only sell palm oil obtained through sustainable means in its products starting in 2012.  Everything else will be banned.  Surely a bold move.  Though I can’t figure out why it will take three years to implement this ecologically-minded idea.

It should be as easy as saying, “Ok, I don’t want to buy any more of your palm oil, I’ll buy this other palm oil instead.”  Or, perhaps Whole Foods realizes the grim truth – doing the “right” thing is very hard.  Which in turn does not bode well for the average consumer: If Whole Foods is going to have a tough time telling which palm oil producer is good and which isn’t, how are we supposed to know?

La Jolla tide pools at sunset in January 2009. Photo by Dave Oei.

2 year old curiosity at the tide pool. Photo by Dave Oei.

Nestled along the shores of La Jolla, California lie some of the best tide pools offered in San Diego.  While these can’t compete with the likes of what is found in Monterey Bay, the La Jolla tide pools are no more than a few minutes drive for most San Diegans, and their ease of accessibility makes visiting them well worth the while.  There’s an abundance of wildlife, including starfish, a variety of crustaceans, mollusks, and octopus.  And usually, without trying to hard, you’ll be able to spot seals and dolphins.

Did I mention that it’s gorgeous?

A clump of different colored starfish in La Jolla. Photo by Dave Oei.

My family and I visited the pools a few weeks ago.  We arrived late in the afternoon when the tides were predicted to be quite low and we found ourselves shedding off the sweaters in the 70 degree weather.  That’s right: 70 degrees, by the beach, in January.  It really does happen in San Diego.

To go tide pooling, you’ll need to see to two pieces of logistics: Planning and Parking.

Planning is easy.  If you want to see the tide pools, you’ll have to go during low tide.  If you don’t have a tide predictor, there are online resources, such as the  tide plotting tool offered by the Scripps Research Institute.

Interpreting the plot is easy.  The vertical Y-axis will give you the tide height while the horizontal X-axis displays time.  You’ll want to visit when the tide is at least 0 feet or -1 feet to view the creatures best.  Once you’ve found what time low-tide corresponds to, plan on arriving at least an hour before that since it’s better to be situated early and let the tide roll out, instead of the other way around.

Tide pool parking. From Google Maps.

Parking can get tricky.  The beach is beautiful (it is San Diego) and surfing is popular.  Most people probably park at Kellogg Park adjacent to La Jolla Shores beach.  But it’s almost a mile south of the tide pools and parking is iffy.  A better spot could be found at the intersection of: El Paseo Grande and La Jolla Shores.

Actually, if you can find parking anywhere along El Paseo Grande you’re in good shape. And just west (left) of the “A” marker on the map, there’s a parking lot for those affiliated with UCSD.  But unless it’s a federal holiday (or you’re affiliated with UCSD), I wouldn’t chance it.

Once you park, make your way to the beach.  There’s access directly west from the “A” marker.  Or, if you parked further south, enjoy a leisurely stroll north up the beach.

The place you’re heading for is just north of Scripps Pier, pictured on the map.  It’s an easy hike – my 2 and 5 year old kids didn’t complain.  Much.

La Jolla tide pools rocky outcroppings. Photo by Dave Oei.

Once at the tide pools you’ll be treated with several large sections of rocky outcroppings comprised of many small roundish and slippery boulders. Usually that spells disaster if you’re worried about little ones falling down.  But we found that using our bare feet worked best.  And, doing so had other benefits.

What I’m getting at is this sad fact: Walking along the tide pools results in destruction of tide pool habitat.  To get a great view of what’s going on, you have no choice but to destroy the homes and some creatures in the process.  It’s double-edge sword, like zoos.  But I digress.

Going barefoot helps.  First, you’ll have a better feel for where you’re stepping and will less likely walk onto an anemone.  And second, you’ll have a natural inclination to walk where others have already tread – minimizing additional damage to otherwise untouched areas.

There’s a lot to see and I suggest to explore it all.  Often you’ll see people congregate around one area – usually signifying a “major” discovery.  But the truth is, a lot of the most interesting creatures are spread out across the entire expanse and tend to stay hidden.  If you’re mindful, patient, and keep a keen eye, you can make your own discovery while keeping it a secret.

Which is what happened while peering at a lone starfish.  Our youngest son reached out and touched it’s hard, nubby surface, when out of nowhere a couple of foot-long arms reached out to investigate his fingers.  We were both initially startled, but immediately realized this was an octopus.  Sure enough, a few more legs emerged, but never the whole body.  We had this little guy all to ourselves.  And as the octopus explored it’s surroundings, we sat fascinated while I did my best to describe the intricacies of the creature.

Mussels everywhere. Photo by Dave Oei.

If you’re lucky, you’ll also spot sea cucumbers and sea slugs.  Be careful if you touch them – they’re very delicate!

Other creatures are very plentiful.  Starfish are easy to find and are either loners or hand out in clumps.  We also found many little hermit crabs and even some odd-looking snails.

Plentiful too are the mussels and barnacles.  They’re not as sexy as the starfish or eight-armed bandits, but they’re role in the ecosystem is no less important. They’re filter feeders, and as a result help keep the waters clean.  And, mussels reside highest along the low-tide areas making them easy to see.  Of course, during low tide they’re clamped shut, but their numbers provide great visual interest often overlooked.

Sea anemone at La Jolla Shores. Photo by Dave Oei

Another creature hard to miss is the sea anemone.  When completely immersed in water they open up, tentacles spread out like these two pictured left.  They’re carnivorous but generally harmless to you and me.  If you gently touch a tentacle, you’ll feel a slight tug from their stinger, or nematocyst, which is what they use to capture prey.  Play with them too much and they’ll retreat, closing in on itself like a flower at sunset.

On the flip side, when anemone are out of water, they take special precautions to make sure they don’t dry in the warm San Diego sun. While these little guys don’t use sun screen, they instead make their own umbrellas. Out of sea shells!

Sea anemone exposed. Photo by Dave Oei.

This is where you need to be very careful where you tread.  As you explore the tide pools you’ll see odd concentrations of seashells on the surface of some rocks.  It’s odd because seashells do not normally clump together – on the beach you’ll find them scattered throughout.

But if you’re look closely, you’ll notice that these shells are held in place by something not quite firm and not quite soft.  In fact, thousands of anemone are holding tight onto these shells to reflect the sun’s rays while maintaining their moisture.  Yet to the casual observer it’s just a bunch of shells.  So be sure if you see this to give the anemone a wide-berth and enjoy them from afar.

Our trip to the La Jolla tide pools ended just after a wonderful sunset as we were fortunate to visit the area with a low tide in the late afternoon.  But spurned by the neat experience and our kids’ enthusiasm, we set out to find and others in San Diego.  In fact, the next day we visited one at Swami’s, just north of Cardiff by the Sea.  It’s geology is completely different.  And, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the native wildlife also different significantly.

But that’s another story.