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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0117_01BFB86C.17CAAB00 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Thomas, I can't speak for the Navy, but I spent 12+ years in the army. From 1987 = when I joined, until last year when I got out, there has been an = incredible change in sensitivity to environmental issues. When I first joined, no one thought anything strange about dumping used = motor oil into a sewer. Now, whole sections of maneuver areas are off-limits, or cannot be = halted in, because of the presence of endangered species. Troops can = receive an automatic article 15 (administrative punishment, possibly = including loss of pay, confinement to barracks, and loss of rank) for = dumping a can of used oil on the ground, or even for forgetting to put a = 'drip pan' under a vehicle with a slight leak.=20 Facilities returned to civilian use, after years of military use (and = environmental abuse), had millions of dollars spent on them to remove = traces of waste oil, hydraulic fluid, etc. This is both inside of, and outside of, the US. If you were to approach the Navy commander with the same offer to = dispose of the oil waste, and he were to tell you today, that he'll just = dynamite the cave, he would quickly find himself without a command after = the congresspeople got through with him. Rich L ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Thomas Iliffe=20 To: John Childress ; CaveTex@Ca*.ne*=20 Cc: HoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co* ; cavers@cavers.com=20 Sent: Sunday, May 07, 2000 8:32 AM Subject: Re: U.S. Navy destroys caves! At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress wrote: > Check out this story about the U.S. Navy dumping raw sewage into >Bassett Cave in Bermuda. > >http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm > >John Some additional information on this cave is as follows: BASSETT'S CAVE, SANDYS PARISH Nelson (1840) depicted Bassett's Cave in his descriptions of Bermuda's caverns: "The largest and, geologically speaking, the most instructive [cave in Bermuda], is Basset's, near Somerset bridge. It is said to = extend for more than a mile; but the first few hundred yards of toilsome = progress usually satisfies the curiosity of the majority of its visitors. It = seems to be comparatively recent, from the fresh state of its surfaces, and = the small quantity of stalactite observable; this absence of incrustation, however, renders the origin of this cavern very palpable; namely, the undermining of the substrata by the sea, the waters or which lie in = pools at the bottom." Lloyd (1835) mentions the first and only known caving fatality in Bermuda's history in this cave: "Near the sea-shore, I visited a large cavern called Basset's Cave; the entrance is wide, and lies quite = exposed: after proceeding a little way, we came upon a spring of deep water, in which an unfortunate young man lately drowned himself. He had been = missing for some days when his body was discovered by a favorite dog." A calcite-covered skull and beak of a seabird, the Strickland's shearwater, was collected from Bassett's Cave in 1907 (Shufeldt, = 1916). Bassett's Cave, located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Air Station Annex, is being used as a natural cesspit by the base for disposal of = raw sewage and waste fuel oil. Sea level pools within the cave are = covered by a half a meter or more oil, rising and falling with the tides. =20 From: Iliffe, T.M. (1993). Speleological history of Bermuda. Acta Carsologica, 22(4):114-135. I visited Bassett's Cave in the mid 1980's and saw large pipes = carrying raw sewage and waste oil into the cave. This foul effluent ran down = across the rocks in the cave before disappearing under a lake of oil. The walls = of the cave showed a "bathtub ring" of oil that was left by the receding = tide on the otherwise white limestone walls. The oil in this lake was so = thick that no water could be seen beneath it. I discussed this pollution = problem with the owner of a local hotel that was set up to burn waste oil of = any type in the boilers. They offered to pump this oil of the cave and = dispose of it at now charge. When I approached the commander of the Navy Base = with this offer, he turned it down. He said that before the property would = be returned to Bermuda, some explosives would be found to bring down the = roof of the cave. He was far more interested in covering up the problem = than cleaning it up. Tom Iliffe=20 At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress wrote: > Check out this story about the U.S. Navy dumping raw sewage into >Bassett Cave in Bermuda. > >http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm > >John * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dr. Thomas M. Iliffe * * Department of Marine Biology * * Texas A&M University at Galveston * * Galveston, TX 77553-1675 * * Phone: 409 740-4454 Fax: 409 740-5001 * * E-mail: iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed* * * http://www.marinebiology.edu/iliffe.html * * http://www.cavebiology.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ------=_NextPart_000_0117_01BFB86C.17CAAB00 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Thomas,</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>I can't speak for the Navy, but I spent 12+ years in = the army.=20 From 1987 when I joined, until last year when I got out, there has been = an=20 incredible change in sensitivity to environmental issues.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>When I first joined, no one thought anything strange = about=20 dumping used motor oil into a sewer.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Now, w</FONT><FONT size=3D2>hole sections of = maneuver areas are=20 off-limits, or cannot be halted in, because of the presence of = endangered=20 species. Troops can receive an automatic article 15 (administrative = punishment,=20 possibly including loss of pay, confinement to barracks, and loss of = rank) for=20 dumping a can of used oil on the ground, or even for forgetting to put a = 'drip=20 pan' under a vehicle with a slight leak. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Facilities returned to civilian use, after years of = military=20 use (and environmental abuse), had millions of dollars spent on them to = remove=20 traces of waste oil, hydraulic fluid, etc.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>This is both inside of, and outside of, the = US.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>If you were to approach the Navy commander with the = same offer=20 to dispose of the oil waste, and he were to tell you today, that he'll = just=20 dynamite the cave, he would quickly find himself without a command after = the=20 congresspeople got through with him.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>Rich L</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: = 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B>=20 <A href=3D"mailto:iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*" = title=3Diliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*>Thomas=20 Iliffe</A> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = href=3D"mailto:jwcave@we*.ne*"=20 title=3Djwcave@we*.ne*>John Childress</A> ; <A=20 href=3D"mailto:CaveTex@Ca*.ne*"=20 title=3DCaveTex@Ca*.ne*>CaveTex@CaveTex.net</A> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A=20 href=3D"mailto:HoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co*"=20 = title=3DHoustonCaveDivers@ca*.co*>HoustonCaveDivers@cavediver.com</= A> ; <A=20 href=3D"mailto:cavers@cavers.com" = title=3Dcavers@cavers.com>cavers@cavers.com</A>=20 </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, May 07, 2000 8:32 = AM</DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: U.S. Navy destroys = caves!</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress=20 wrote:<BR>> Check out this story about the = U.S.=20 Navy dumping raw sewage into<BR>>Bassett Cave in = Bermuda.<BR>><BR>><A=20 = href=3D"http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm">http://www.accessbda.bm/= 01/01010102.htm</A><BR>><BR>>John<BR><BR>Some=20 additional information on this cave is as follows:<BR><BR>BASSETT'S = CAVE,=20 SANDYS PARISH<BR>Nelson (1840) depicted Bassett's Cave in his = descriptions of=20 Bermuda's<BR>caverns: "The largest and, geologically speaking, the = most=20 instructive<BR>[cave in Bermuda], is Basset's, near Somerset = bridge. It=20 is said to extend<BR>for more than a mile; but the first few hundred = yards of=20 toilsome progress<BR>usually satisfies the curiosity of the majority = of its=20 visitors. It seems<BR>to be comparatively recent, from the fresh = state=20 of its surfaces, and the<BR>small quantity of stalactite observable; = this=20 absence of incrustation,<BR>however, renders the origin of this cavern = very=20 palpable; namely, the<BR>undermining of the substrata by the sea, the = waters=20 or which lie in pools<BR>at the bottom."<BR>Lloyd (1835) mentions the = first=20 and only known caving fatality in<BR>Bermuda's history in this cave: = "Near the=20 sea-shore, I visited a large<BR>cavern called Basset's Cave; the = entrance is=20 wide, and lies quite exposed:<BR>after proceeding a little way, we = came upon a=20 spring of deep water, in<BR>which an unfortunate young man lately = drowned=20 himself. He had been missing<BR>for some days when his body was=20 discovered by a favorite dog."<BR>A calcite-covered skull and beak of = a=20 seabird, the Strickland's<BR>shearwater, was collected from Bassett's = Cave in=20 1907 (Shufeldt, 1916).<BR>Bassett's Cave, located on the grounds of = the U.S.=20 Naval Air Station<BR>Annex, is being used as a natural cesspit by the = base for=20 disposal of raw<BR>sewage and waste fuel oil. Sea level pools = within the=20 cave are covered by<BR>a half a meter or more oil, rising and falling = with the=20 tides. <BR><BR>From: Iliffe, T.M. (1993). Speleological = history of=20 Bermuda. Acta<BR>Carsologica, 22(4):114-135.<BR><BR>I visited = Bassett's=20 Cave in the mid 1980's and saw large pipes carrying raw<BR>sewage and = waste=20 oil into the cave. This foul effluent ran down across = the<BR>rocks in=20 the cave before disappearing under a lake of oil. The walls = of<BR>the=20 cave showed a "bathtub ring" of oil that was left by the receding = tide<BR>on=20 the otherwise white limestone walls. The oil in this lake was so = thick<BR>that no water could be seen beneath it. I discussed = this=20 pollution problem<BR>with the owner of a local hotel that was set up = to burn=20 waste oil of any<BR>type in the boilers. They offered to pump = this oil=20 of the cave and dispose<BR>of it at now charge. When I = approached the=20 commander of the Navy Base with<BR>this offer, he turned it = down. He=20 said that before the property would be<BR>returned to Bermuda, some = explosives=20 would be found to bring down the roof<BR>of the cave. He was far = more=20 interested in covering up the problem than<BR>cleaning it = up.<BR><BR>Tom=20 Iliffe <BR><BR><BR>At 06:13 AM 5/6/00 -0700, John Childress=20 wrote:<BR>> Check out this story about the = U.S.=20 Navy dumping raw sewage into<BR>>Bassett Cave in = Bermuda.<BR>><BR>><A=20 = href=3D"http://www.accessbda.bm/01/01010102.htm">http://www.accessbda.bm/= 01/01010102.htm</A><BR>><BR>>John<BR><BR>*=20 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *<BR>* Dr. Thomas M. = = Iliffe &= nbsp; =20 *<BR>* Department of Marine=20 = Biology = =20 *<BR>* Texas A&M University at=20 Galveston = *<BR>* =20 Galveston, TX =20 = 77553-1675 &nb= sp; =20 *<BR>* Phone: 409 740-4454 Fax: 409=20 740-5001 *<BR>* E-mail: <A=20 = href=3D"mailto:iliffet@ta*.ta*.ed*">iliffet@tamug.tamu.edu</A> &n= bsp; =20 *<BR>* <A=20 = href=3D"http://www.marinebiology.edu/iliffe.html">http://www.marinebiolog= y.edu/iliffe.html</A> =20 *<BR>* <A=20 = href=3D"http://www.cavebiology.com">http://www.cavebiology.com</A> &= nbsp; &n= bsp; =20 *<BR>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * = *</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_0117_01BFB86C.17CAAB00--
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