Chemistry 101 - a workshop with Russel Barsh

Several Beach Watchers met on Orcas on Oct. 15 as a follow-up to the Fishing Bay monitoring the group has been doing this year in East Sound. At this first of two workshops designed to evaluate the monitoring already done and plan for next year, Russel devoted a good portion of the time to an in-depth look at the molecular structure of anionic and non-ionic surfactants, to help us understand why they work the way they do, and why they are so harmful to the marine environment. Russel feels that it is important that we as "citizen scientists" have a solid understanding of the work we're doing and its scientific foundation. The day ended with a look at the different kinds of research equipment that can be used to measure surfactant concentration in the water. The second workshop on October 29, also at the Orcas Fire Station, will continue this discussion and lead into planning for next year's research. All Beach Watchers are welcome at the second workshop, starting at 10 am.