Alameda Point – Page 2 – Alameda Point Environmental Report

Surf Pool Proposal Perverts Park Planning Process

Lost in the fog of media hoopla about a proposal to build a surf pool at Alameda Point is that its proposed location is within a larger public park awaiting a master plan. Normally the city initiates a formal consultant-led community process to develop a master plan design from scratch. In this case, the process is backwards and misleading.

At issue is the popular tranquil open space that extends from the Encinal Boat Ramp through the former campground all the way to the ferry maintenance facility. Its unofficial placeholder name is Enterprise Park.

Student volunteers lead litter cleanup around Seaplane Lagoon

Picking up litter year-round, not just on Earth Day, is an ongoing effort for some. On Saturday, April 12, dozens of students showed up at Seaplane Promenade Park at Alameda Point to pick up litter and trash from around the lagoon.

“We do these events once a month, every second Saturday,” said Patrick Hirsch, an Alameda high school student and one of the organizers of the event who works with two of the cleanup co-sponsors Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) and Alameda Point business DOER Marine. “We supply the buckets and pickers.”

Artistic Natural Landscapes Seldom Noticed at Alameda Point

The natural world is a living art gallery. To appreciate the often intricate colorations that evolved in many cases over millions of years requires slowing down, way down, and stopping. It may even require the aid of a magnifying glass or a camera lens. Sometimes it just means being aware at certain times of the year when flowers bloom.

One of the most fascinating, common, but little appreciated, life forms are lichens, shown here in five images. With the naked eye, the details in the “Lichen Galaxy” image, for example, go unnoticed. Yet, there on the blue rock ‘sky’ of the shoreline boulder are yellow, orange, cream, and mushroom-colored lichens.

Nuclear fusion energy company eyeing Alameda Point property

More cutting edge green energy research and development may be coming to Alameda Point. A startup company called Pacific Fusion was formed in 2023 with the goal of commercializing new energy production technology. The company wants to purchase property at Alameda Point to research, develop and build their demonstration fusion energy machine.

Unlike conventional nuclear power, fusion energy technology seeks to fuse together atoms, rather than split them. The energy is considered a clean, safe, and affordable form of nuclear power that would revolutionize energy production. It has been only in the last two years that U.S. Department of Energy research labs have finally proven on their equipment that fusion energy is possible.

Public Works cleans up storm debris at Alameda Point

On Thursday, December 19, 2024, a crew from Alameda’s Public Works Department was out in force at Alameda Point to clean up debris hurled onshore by recent storms.

Six workers brought plenty of equipment to remove the plastic-and-Styrofoam-laced debris along the Seaplane Lagoon shoreline near the ferry terminal.

Unnatural disaster from King Tide storms at Alameda Point

A deluge of plastic trash, including Styrofoam pellets, was heaved onshore at Alameda Point during high-tide storms.

On Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15, King Tide storms managed to flush huge amounts of plastic pollution out of the Bay and onto land. In some areas, such as along the paved trails on the ferry terminal side of the Seaplane Lagoon at Alameda Point, the storm reminded us that we have a huge plastic pollution problem right here in San Francisco Bay.

Possibly the worst plastic contaminant of all is polystyrene, commonly referred to by the trade name Styrofoam. Styrofoam breaks down into microplastics that do not biodegrade and can be ingested by marine life.

The sheer scale of the pernicious problem of degrading Styrofoam products in our waterways was displayed like a communique from Mother Nature saying, “Here’s your garbage back.” It will likely require a vacuum truck to suck it all up before it ends up back in the water.

Alameda Point tidelands revenue under scrutiny

Has the City of Alameda been spending lease revenue it receives from property it owns in the tidelands area of Alameda Point for purposes not authorized by state law?

That’s a question local and state authorities now are looking into.

With all the talk over the past year about economic development and the right mix of leasing and selling property at Alameda Point, City staff and the State Lands Commission, which owns and oversees tideland properties, now find themselves reviewing the books for revenues received from tideland properties, also known as Public Trust Land, at Alameda Point.