The following photos were taken during a Parks Department sponsored bird walk on March 8th with clear signs of recent fire damage and MTA intrusions into the Park.
Photos by Manny
Showing posts with label pollution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pollution. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows Park...
Photos by Manny
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Patch for Potholes is 'Poison' by Dan Mangan - New York Post
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A material used to patch potholes leaks 240,000 gallons of environmentally toxic fuel oil every year onto New York City's streets, industry sources told The Post.
The diesel or other toxic oil - key ingredients in the blacktop material known as "cold patch" - separates as the material hardens, and then leaches into the soil, is washed off into sewers or rivers, or evaporates into the air, according to paving-industry publications.
"You're talking about an extraordinary amount of diesel fuel," said Ralph Avallone, president of the International Green Energy Council environmental-education group.
"It's not healthy for our children. It's not healthy for our animals. It's not healthy for our planet."
Although cold patch has long been used to fill potholes, there have been no studies on the health impact of its extensive fuel runoff.
The city Department of Transportation, a major cold-patch consumer, recently awarded a low-bid contract to buy up to 5,000 tons over the next two years of a new type of cold patch that doesn't contain diesel fuel. Instead, it contains an environmentally friendly biodegradable solvent.
But the DOT had no clue that GreenPatch, made by Cold Mix Manufacturing in Flushing, Queens, contained an eco-friendlier fuel oil until a Post reporter told the agency.
GreenPatch is "definitely along the lines of what we're looking for," said DOT spokesman Seth Solomnow, noting his agency's push toward environmentally beneficial practices.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
City Choosing to Forget - Selective Memory on Display in Uproar Over Delayed Yankees’ Parkland by Patrick Arden - metro
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When did the Bloomberg administration know that it was replacing parks lost to the new Yankee Stadium with polluted land?
That was the question City Councilwoman Helen Foster asked yesterday at a hearing on the project’s delays.
Costs to the city have doubled in the last two years, with the replacement parks’ bill climbing 84 percent to around $190 million. Yesterday, officials attributed part of the sticker shock to “unanticipated” cleanup.
“I can assure you that there was no attempt to underplay the cost,” said Liam Kavanagh of the Parks Department. But the city knew its replacement park parcels were contaminated — it’s even mentioned in the project’s initial environmental review. In 2006, Metro detailed the massive amount of pollution the city had found at the site.
The review acknowledged toxins exceeding state standards “were detected in soil samples from throughout the project area.”
Oil contamination was identified in dirt and groundwater.
National Park Service executive Jack Howard noted soil near the Harlem River had “petroleum-like odors.” With reason: The lot had hosted a Valvoline Oil facility and a power plant.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Bottles Top Litter List Of Dirty Queens Shores by Lee Landor - Queens Chronicle
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(Nicholas Biondo) Ina Brennan, a volunteer finds a used candle during a local beach cleanup.
Most people don’t look forward to walking barefoot along a Queens beach because they know that hidden in the warm sand are various discarded items, like straws and stirrers that poke their soles or shards of glass that cut their toes.
They probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that during the 2007 New York Beach Cleanup, 1,018 volunteers collected 21,000 pounds of debris from 24 Queens beaches.
As part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup, people set out to their local beaches to pick up and sort through trash, documenting along the way each item they found.
“It’s mainly a consciousness raising effort,” said Barbara Toborg of Broad Channel, a member of the American Littoral Society’s Northeast Chapter. “If you just stuff garbage in a bag, you’re not really paying too much attention, but categorizing specific items leaves an impression, especially on kids, who are great at that kind of thing.”
More than 500 children joined the cleanup volunteers last year. Often kids come with their families, schools, scout groups and other organizations to participate in community service. Rockaway surfers also chipped in, videotaping the effort and later putting it on the Web, according to Toborg.
The Queens volunteers noted their most unusual findings, which included a fire hydrant cover, tires, sewer pipes, car axle and bowling pins. The more common findings, although less exciting to document, reminded volunteers how important it is to respect the environment, Toborg said.
One group found dead fish and crabs entangled in plastic bags — something Toborg often sees during local beach cleanups.
“A lot of people you see just throw things down on the street without any regard. They don’t even realize what they’re doing,” she said. But this changes if they see the consequences of their actions, like a bird trapped in a six-pack ring holder, or a sea mammal entwined with a fishing line.
Making up the majority of debris in Queens’ beaches were household items: volunteers collected nearly 4,000 paper or plastic bags, more than 4,700 food wrappers and containers, and about 5,500 caps and lids.
Topping the list at 8,677 were beverage cans and bottles, plastic and glass.
Across the entire state, volunteers collected 56,756 beverage containers, two-thirds of which are not included in the state’s bottle deposit law. To reduce the number of discarded bottles and cans, Toborg and the Northeast Chapter are advocating for legislation that would expand the five-cent deposit to containers that hold non-carbonated beverages.
The “Bigger Better Bottle Bill” has been stalled in the state Senate, Toborg said, but the annual beach cleanup is helping to spread awareness and garner support for the legislation. Earlier this week, the Northeast Chapter was joined by local surfers and other supporters in Albany, where they rallied for the bill.
In addition to trash generated by recreational activities, a significant portion of debris accumulates after storms, and winds and waves carry garbage from landfills, barges or ships onto the shore. Last year, the beaches held almost 400 tarps and various building materials, fishing equipment and car parts.
Smoking-related activities also contribute to a beach’s messy appearance. More than 3,000 cigarettes or cigarette filters were sprinkled across shores around the borough last year. Discarded tobacco packaging and wrappers totaled 854.
Since Queens has larger volunteer turnout every year, it is difficult to assess the condition of the beaches, Toborg said, noting that more people will collect more garbage. She hopes that the number of volunteers continues to grow as the city becomes more environmentally conscious.
The 2008 New York Beach Cleanup will take place on Sept. 20. For more information, contact program coordinator Barbara Cohen at (718) 471-2166 or through e-mail at alsbeach@aol.com.
(Nicholas Biondo) Ina Brennan, a volunteer finds a used candle during a local beach cleanup.Most people don’t look forward to walking barefoot along a Queens beach because they know that hidden in the warm sand are various discarded items, like straws and stirrers that poke their soles or shards of glass that cut their toes.
They probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that during the 2007 New York Beach Cleanup, 1,018 volunteers collected 21,000 pounds of debris from 24 Queens beaches.
As part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup, people set out to their local beaches to pick up and sort through trash, documenting along the way each item they found.
“It’s mainly a consciousness raising effort,” said Barbara Toborg of Broad Channel, a member of the American Littoral Society’s Northeast Chapter. “If you just stuff garbage in a bag, you’re not really paying too much attention, but categorizing specific items leaves an impression, especially on kids, who are great at that kind of thing.”
More than 500 children joined the cleanup volunteers last year. Often kids come with their families, schools, scout groups and other organizations to participate in community service. Rockaway surfers also chipped in, videotaping the effort and later putting it on the Web, according to Toborg.
The Queens volunteers noted their most unusual findings, which included a fire hydrant cover, tires, sewer pipes, car axle and bowling pins. The more common findings, although less exciting to document, reminded volunteers how important it is to respect the environment, Toborg said.
One group found dead fish and crabs entangled in plastic bags — something Toborg often sees during local beach cleanups.
“A lot of people you see just throw things down on the street without any regard. They don’t even realize what they’re doing,” she said. But this changes if they see the consequences of their actions, like a bird trapped in a six-pack ring holder, or a sea mammal entwined with a fishing line.
Making up the majority of debris in Queens’ beaches were household items: volunteers collected nearly 4,000 paper or plastic bags, more than 4,700 food wrappers and containers, and about 5,500 caps and lids.
Topping the list at 8,677 were beverage cans and bottles, plastic and glass.
Across the entire state, volunteers collected 56,756 beverage containers, two-thirds of which are not included in the state’s bottle deposit law. To reduce the number of discarded bottles and cans, Toborg and the Northeast Chapter are advocating for legislation that would expand the five-cent deposit to containers that hold non-carbonated beverages.
The “Bigger Better Bottle Bill” has been stalled in the state Senate, Toborg said, but the annual beach cleanup is helping to spread awareness and garner support for the legislation. Earlier this week, the Northeast Chapter was joined by local surfers and other supporters in Albany, where they rallied for the bill.
In addition to trash generated by recreational activities, a significant portion of debris accumulates after storms, and winds and waves carry garbage from landfills, barges or ships onto the shore. Last year, the beaches held almost 400 tarps and various building materials, fishing equipment and car parts.
Smoking-related activities also contribute to a beach’s messy appearance. More than 3,000 cigarettes or cigarette filters were sprinkled across shores around the borough last year. Discarded tobacco packaging and wrappers totaled 854.
Since Queens has larger volunteer turnout every year, it is difficult to assess the condition of the beaches, Toborg said, noting that more people will collect more garbage. She hopes that the number of volunteers continues to grow as the city becomes more environmentally conscious.
The 2008 New York Beach Cleanup will take place on Sept. 20. For more information, contact program coordinator Barbara Cohen at (718) 471-2166 or through e-mail at alsbeach@aol.com.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
For ‘EcoMoms,’ Saving Earth Begins at Home by Patricia Leigh Brown - New York Times
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Women in San Rafael, Calif., meet to discuss living environmentally. A growing subculture is dedicated to the “green mom.”
Women in San Rafael, Calif., meet to discuss living environmentally. A growing subculture is dedicated to the “green mom.”SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The women gathered in the airy living room, wine poured and pleasantries exchanged. In no time, the conversation turned lively — not about the literary merits of Geraldine Brooks or Cormac McCarthy but the pitfalls of antibacterial hand sanitizers and how to retool the laundry using only cold water and biodegradable detergent during non-prime-time energy hours (after 7 p.m.).
Move over, Tupperware. The EcoMom party has arrived, with its ever-expanding “to do” list that includes preparing waste-free school lunches; lobbying for green building codes; transforming oneself into a “locovore,” eating locally grown food; and remembering not to idle the car when picking up children from school (if one must drive). Here, the small talk is about the volatile compounds emitted by dry-erase markers at school.
Perhaps not since the days of “dishpan hands” has the household been so all-consuming. But instead of gleaming floors and sparkling dishes, the obsession is on installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, buying in bulk and using “smart” power strips that shut off electricity to the espresso machine, microwave, X-Box, VCR, coffee grinder, television and laptop when not in use.
“It’s like eating too many brownies one day and then jogging extra the next,” said Kimberly Danek Pinkson, 38, the founder of the EcoMom Alliance, speaking to the group of efforts to curb eco-guilt through carbon offsets for air travel.
Part “Hints from Heloise” and part political self-help group, the alliance, which Ms. Pinkson says has 9,000 members across the country, joins a growing subculture dedicated to the “green mom,” with blogs and Web sites like greenandcleanmom.blogspot.com and eco-chick.com. Web-based organizations like the Center for a New American Dream in Takoma Park, Md., advocate reducing consumption and offer a registry that helps brides “celebrate the less-material wedding of your dreams.”
At an EcoMom circle in Palo Alto, executive mothers whipped out spreadsheets to tally their goals, inspired by a 10-step program that urges using only nontoxic products for cleaning, bathing and make-up, as well as cutting down garbage by 10 percent.
“I used to feel anxiety,” said Kathy Miller, 49, an alliance member, recalling life before she started investigating weather-sensitive irrigation controls for her garden with nine growing zones. “Now I feel I’m doing something.”
The notion of “ecoanxiety” has crept into the culture here. It was the subject of a recent cover story in San Francisco magazine that quotes a Berkeley mother so stressed out about the extravagance of her nightly baths that she started to reuse her daughter’s bath water. Where there is ecoanxiety, of course, there are ecotherapists.
“The truth is, we’re not living very naturally,” said Linda Buzzell, a therapist in Santa Barbara who publishes the quarterly EcoTherapy News and often holds sessions in her backyard permaculture food forest. “We’re in our cars, staring at the computer screen, separated most of the day from the people we love.”
“Activism can help counteract depression,” Ms. Buzzell added. “But if we get caught up in trying to save the world single-handedly, we’re just going to burn out.”
Like many young women, Ms. Pinkson’s motherhood — her son Corbin is now 6 — coincided with Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and the advent of treehugger.com and grist.org. A favorite online column is “Ask Umbra,” whose author weighs in on whether it is better to buy leather shoes or “pleather” ones that could contain solvents.
Shaina Forsman, a 13-year-old daughter of eco-mother Beth Forsman, said the alliance branch in San Rafael helped her mother take action at home. Her mother turned the thermostat down so low that Shaina sometimes wore a jacket inside, she said proudly. She was also monitoring time spent in the shower, so as not to waste water.
Shaina said she tried to get her mother to compost, but “we got ants.”
One of the country’s wealthiest places, Marin County, is hardly a hub of voluntary simplicity; its global footprint, according to county statistics, is 27 acres per person, a measure of the estimated amount of land it takes to support each person’s lifestyle (24 is the American average).
Members of the EcoMom Alliance “are fighting a values battle,” said Tim Kasser, an associate professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., and the author of “The High Price of Materialism.” “They are surrounded by materialism trying to figure out how to create a life more oriented toward intrinsic values.”
Wendy Murphy, 41, a member of EcoMoms in San Anselmo, became an activist after she noticed that the new tablecloths in her children’s preschool contained polyvinyl chloride. She and a fellow mother, working with the Green Schools Initiative, a nonprofit in Berkeley, developed green guidelines for shopping, like buying chlorine-free cleaning products, low-formaldehyde furniture and toys made of natural materials.
The matter of toys is particularly thorny. At the EcoMom party in San Rafael, women traded ideas about recycled toys for birthday presents and children’s clothing swaps. Then there is the issue of the materials used in imported toys. “It’s ‘Mom, these come from China,’ ” Pam Nessi, 35, said of her daughters’ recent inspection of two of their dolls. “It can be overwhelming. You don’t want them to freak out.”
At last year’s Step It Up rallies, a day of environmental demonstrations across the country, the largest group of organizers were “mothers concerned about the disintegrating environment for their children,” said Bill McKibben, a founder of the event and author of “The End of Nature.”
Women have been instrumental in the environmental movement from the start, including their involvement in campaigns a century ago to save the Palisades along the Hudson River and sequoias in California and, more recently, Lois Gibbs’s fight against toxic waste at Love Canal.
In public opinion surveys, women express significantly higher levels of environmental concern than men, said Riley Dunlap, a professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University.
Lately “local lifestyle activism,” much of it driven by women, has been on the rise and is likely to continue, Dr. Dunlap said. “Just belonging to a national environmental organization, which seemed effective in the 1970s and ’80s, doesn’t work anymore, particularly in an era of government unresponsiveness,” he said.
Ms. Pinkson and her colleagues are well aware of “the mom demographic,” as they call it, in which, according to surveys for the Boston Consulting Group, women say they “influence or control” 80 percent of discretionary household purchases. Thus far, their thrust has been more about being green consumers than taking political action.
The eco life can occasionally spawn domestic strife.
Julie DeFord, a 33-year-old mother in Petaluma, said the high cost of organic produce prompted serious “conversations” between her and her husband, Curt, a lawyer, especially after seven nights of chard.
And ecomotherhood is not always sisterly.
At the EcoMom party recently, some guests took the hostess, Liz Held, to task for her wall-to-wall carpeting (potential off-gassing), her painted walls (unhealthful volatile organic compounds) and the freshly cut flowers that she had set out for the occasion (not organic). Their problems with the S.U.V. in the driveway were self-explanatory.
All the new eco-perfectionism did not seem to faze her. “I look around my house and think, ‘I haven’t changed all my light bulbs,’ ” she said. “But it doesn’t fill me with guilt. I think about all the things I’ve done so far. I just try to focus on the positive.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 19, 2008
A front-page article on Saturday about mothers who promote environmentally friendly behavior misstated the Web address of an environmental news site. It is
That Newfangled Light Bulb - New York Times Editorial
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Across the world, consumers are being urged to stop buying outdated incandescent light bulbs and switch to new spiral fluorescent bulbs, which use about 25 percent of the energy and last 10 times longer. In Britain, there is a Ban the Bulb movement. China is encouraging the change. And the United States Congress has set new energy efficiency standards that will make Edison’s magical invention obsolete by the year 2014.
Now, the question is how to dispose of these compact fluorescent bulbs once they break or quit working.
Unlike traditional light bulbs, each of these spiral bulbs has a tiny bit of a dangerous toxin — around five milligrams of mercury. And although one dot of mercury might not seem so bad, almost 300 million compact fluorescents were sold in the United States last year. That is already a lot of mercury to throw in the trash, and the amounts will grow ever larger in coming years.
Businesses and government recyclers need to start working on more efficient ways to deal with that added mercury. Ellen Silbergeld, a professor of environmental health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, is raising the cry about the moment when millions of these light bulbs start landing in landfills or incinerators all at once. The pig in the waste pipeline, she calls it.
Even when warned, public officials are never great at planning. The Environmental Protection Agency now focuses mostly on the disposal of one bulb at a time. If you break a fluorescent bulb, there is no need to call in the hazmat team, the agency says. Just clean it up quickly with paper (no vacuuming or brooms), keep the kids away and open the window for a 15-minute douse of fresh air. Tuck the debris into a plastic sack and, if there is no special recycling nearby, discard it in the regular trash.
Interestingly, one of the main reasons to use these bulbs is that when they cut down on energy use, they also cut down on mercury emissions from power plants. And even with their mercury innards, these bulbs are still better for the environment than the old ones.
For all that good, the dangers are real and growing. It is time to find more efficient ways of recycling these fluorescents or, better yet, to invent light bulbs that don’t leave a toxic hangover.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Community Board 9 (Queens) - February 12, 2008 - Brief Presentation on Ridgewood Reservoir & REPP's Efforts
On the cold stormy evening of February 12, I attended the (Queens) Community Board 9 meeting held at The Fairfield Pavilion (133-10 101stAvenue, Richmond Hill NY 11419).
Due to the weather the Board was unable to achieve a quorum of it's member and all normal business was tabled until a quorum could be achieved at a future emergency meeting, to be scheduled soon.
The snow was coming down as I left my house...
The meeting location was a beautiful place to conduct the Board meeting and they provided a well stocked buffet table of food for the participants. Even though I had already had eaten my dinner prior to arriving at the meeting, I felt compelled to try their Halal Chicken with Green Peas, it looked so tempting I couldn't refuse.
If the truth be known, had I not dragged myself away from the buffet table I could've eaten the whole tray of chicken. As it was, I probably ate six or seven pieces. It was very tasty, juicy and most delicious.
The chairperson, Andrea Crawford, with consent of other board members chose to have the scheduled speakers give their presentations.
Personnel from ENSAR (David Austin) and End Zone (Ted Coyle) gave a presentation on the clean-up of the former Ozone Industries site. To my knowledge, this clean-up has been delayed by at least 12 years. They gave a preliminary proposal for the well-overdue environmental clean-up.
David Austin - ENSAR - giving his presentation on the Ozone Industries cleanup
Mr. Austin and Ted Coyle - End Zone
I directed the Board to visit the group's website and my web site for further information on the REPP and the Park Department's work and public statements.
Chairperson Crawford stated during my presentation that this was “Great stuff, David!”. It should be noted that Ms. Crawford is a self-professed environmentalist.
I started by giving a very brief history of the Brooklyn Water Works and the Ridgewood Reservoir.
I then went over REPP's desired outcomes for both the Ridgewood Reservoir and Highland Park, in general. I also invited board members to future tours of the site conducted by the REPP.
Mr. Coyle and Mr. Austin
Furthermore, I asked for their support as individuals and as a Board for the ongoing efforts to save all three basins from destruction by the New York City Parks & Recreation Dept and for their advocacy on our behalf.
Upon the conclusion of my briefing, Ms. Crawford asked if I could schedule a full presentation at a future board meeting with her and her full complement of Board members. She was enthusiastic to view the DVD and read any handouts that we could provide to her and her Board. She also informed me that they have a laptop and a projector available for our use. I informed her that I would keep in contact with her to see that her request is fulfilled.
I stressed to the board how the reservoir is part of the same corridor as Forest Park and ties in well with their ongoing efforts to convert the dilapidated railroad track bed from the former LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch to bicycle paths and a natural green way - Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway Committee.
After the meeting I got a chance to speak to both the Chairperson and Ivan Mrakovcic, 1st Vice Chairman, who both expressed their encouragement for the REPP's work and for our efforts to date.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The 1970 Plowboy Interview with Dr Rene DuBos
The Plowboy Interview
Dr. Rene Dubos, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize, first gained international recognition over twenty years ago when he demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining germ-fighting drugs from microbes. A native of France, Dr. Dubos has lived in the United States since the age of 24 and is currently a dynamic leader in the fight to save the environment. Dr. Dubos is a professor at The Rockefeller University in New York City and this interview was conducted in his office there by Allen Richards.
Read entire interview...
This interview with 1969 Pulitzer Prize winner Dr Rene DuBos (February 21, 1901 - February 21, 1982 NY Times obituary), despite being conducted in 1970 is still important today...It also gives credit to Herbert Johnson (who signed off on my Boy Scout Birdwatching Merit Badge back in the early 70's) - the former NYC Parks Dept employee who was instrumental in making the Jamaica Bay refuge the world class birding location it is today...
I feel it is relevant to the current situation to Save the Ridgewood Reservoir environmental diversity...
Dr. Rene Dubos, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize, first gained international recognition over twenty years ago when he demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining germ-fighting drugs from microbes. A native of France, Dr. Dubos has lived in the United States since the age of 24 and is currently a dynamic leader in the fight to save the environment. Dr. Dubos is a professor at The Rockefeller University in New York City and this interview was conducted in his office there by Allen Richards.
I was asked to remove the text of the interview from the blog, therefore please click on the following link to read the entire original interview...
Read entire interview...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are safe, and they look great, too. - By Brendan I. Koerner - Slate Magazine
Read original...
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, at 7:39 AM ET
The Case for CFLs Compact fluorescent light bulbs are safe, and they look great, too.
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, at 7:39 AM ET
I'm constantly being told that the simplest way to improve my green cred is to start using compact fluorescent lights. Yet some naysayers—like one of your Slate colleagues—argue that the environmental benefits of CFLs are negated by their mercury content. Who's right?
The case against CFLs is built largely on half-truths and innuendo. Yes, the energy-saving bulbs contain mercury, a neurotoxin responsible for a tremendous amount of human suffering over the years. And safely recycling CFLs remains far more difficult than it should be. But these facts don't justify sticking with inefficient incandescent technology that has barely changed since the invention of the tungsten filament nearly a century ago.
CFLs are lauded by environmentalists because they require far less electrical power than their incandescent counterparts. A 26-watt CFL bulb produces the same lumens as a 100-watt incandescent bulb. Assuming that you keep one of those bulbs aglow for six hours a day, switching to a CFL will save you 126 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which translates to 170 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions on average. Now, how many bulbs do you have in your house? Twenty? Thirty? Replace them all and you could conceivably (assuming six-hour-a-day use throughout the building) reduce your annual CO2 output by upward of 2.3 metric tons—about 10 percent of the average American household's annual carbon footprint.
Just look at what's forecast for Australia, which last year became the first nation to mandate a gradual phase-out of incandescent bulbs. According to Australia's Environment Minister, the measure will eventually slash the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million metric tons per year—the equivalent of taking 1 million vehicles off the road.
But what about the mercury? The toxic heavy metal is integral to the design of current CFL bulbs: Electricity agitates the mercury molecules, causing them to emit ultraviolet light. That light then spurs a bulb's phosphor coating to give off visible light. But the amount contained in each bulb is barely enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen, and won't cause any bodily harm as long as simple precautions are taken. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association has voluntarily imposed a limit of 5 milligrams per bulb on all CFLs sold in the United States—about 1 percent of the mercury contained in an old home thermometer. Since manufacturers are well aware that health fears are preventing the widespread adoption of CFLs, most have committed to making bulbs with even less mercury than NEMA's standard. The average CFL bulb now contains around 4 milligrams of mercury, and that figure should drop closer to 2 milligrams in the very near future. Much of the credit for these reductions goes to Wal-Mart, which has pressured GE, Royal Phillips, and Osram Sylvania to cut down on the quicksilver.
The irony of CFLs is that they actually reduce overall mercury emissions in the long run. Despite recent improvements in the industry's technology, the burning of coal to produce electricity emits roughly 0.023 milligrams of mercury per kilowatt-hour. Over a year, then, using a 26-watt CFL in the average American home (where half of the electricity comes from coal) will result in the emission of 0.66 milligrams of mercury. For 100-watt incandescent bulbs, which produce the identical amount of light, the figure is 2.52 milligrams.
Ah, but what if your CFL bulb shatters? First off, don't panic: Unless you plan on picking up the glass with bare hands and then licking it, you're almost certainly safe from harm. Just follow the EPA's easy cleanup guidelines, which include placing the remnants in a sealed plastic bag and washing your hands when the chore is finished, and all should be well. (Also, use common sense and don't place CFLs where they can be damaged by young children.) As for that oft-told horror story about the woman in Maine who was quoted a price of $2,000 to dispose of a busted CFL bulb, don't believe it—at least not entirely. She may have been the mark for a shady contractor; get the facts here (PDF) and here.
Even a broken CFL bulb won't leak too much toxic metal. According to the EPA, just 6.8 percent of the mercury in a CFL bulb—that's at most 0.34 milligrams—is released if it shatters. OSHA's permissible exposure limit for mercury vapor in the workplace is 0.1 milligrams per cubic meter, so you'd have to break that bulb in an extremely cramped space for there to be an appreciable hazard.
Critics of CFLs have stressed that the mercury savings may be negligible in areas such as the Pacific Northwest, where hydropower is prevalent. (A Seattle newspaper columnist makes the case here.) But keep in mind that all power grids are at least partly dependent on coal; according to the EPA's Power Profiler, for example, Washington's Puget Sound Energy still derives 34 percent of its fuel from coal. As a result, CFLs still have a significant edge in terms of mercury emissions, to say nothing of greenhouse gas emissions.
There is one major knock on CFLs, though, and that's the current dearth of recycling options. Because of the mercury issues, it's unwise—and often illegal—to throw spent CFL bulbs in the trash. (A single broken bulb is one thing, but thousands upon thousands of broken bulbs in a garbage dump could be seriously bad news.) You can find local recycling centers here, take your bulbs to the nearest IKEA, or use a mail-in service such as RecyclePak. All of these options, alas, require a bit more motivation than tossing your beer cans in a blue bin. But look for several major retailers to set up recycling drop-off boxes this year, in order to goose their CFL sales.
The last, desperate swipe at CFLs—as elucidated by the Lantern's colleague last week—is that their light is cold and dreadful. Perhaps this was true in years past, but the Lantern just doesn't see it anymore: In a recent test, Popular Mechanics rated CFL light as far superior to that produced by incandescent bulbs. Don't believe the hype? You've got nothing to lose by trying a single CFL bulb (one that's received EnergyStar certification) and seeing for yourself. And then, once you've become a convert, please spread the word.
Is there an environmental quandary that's been keeping you up at night? Send it to ask.the.lantern@gmail.com, and check this space every Tuesday.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Queens Chronicle - Hefty Fine Imposed For Alleged Barge Dumping by Lee Landor
Read original...
One of the two barges allegedly abandoned at Jamaica Bay’s Barbadoes Basin has pushed up against the already eroding wetlands.
(pic courtesy of Don Riepe)
Proponents of Jamaica Bay are outraged that a marine construction firm allegedly abandoned its barges in the bay, further compromising the ecosystem’s eroding tidal wetlands, but are grateful the state has finally identified the perpetrators.
With help from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Environmental Conservation in late September named Pile Foundation Construction Co. Inc. of Hicksville, L.I., as the company responsible for leaving two large barges to sink to the bottom of Jamaica Bay’s Barbadoes Basin.
Calls to the company were not returned as of press time.
This is relief for the residents of Broad Channel who first alerted authorities of the floating barges on Sept. 23, and environmental groups concerned about Jamaica Bay’s health.
The department issued the company a notice of violation of New York State’s Tidal Wetlands Act, which imposes a penalty of $10,000 per day, per barge until the two structures are removed. The fine was implemented last fall, when the DEC became aware of the situation.
City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), who chairs the council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and has been a longtime advocate of Jamaica Bay preservation, said the hefty fine is well-deserved. “Anyone who would violate Jamaica Bay in such an egregious way has to be made an example,” he said.
Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), who represents the area where the barges were found, said he is also grateful that the DEC is imposing the fine and fulfilling its responsibility to protect the Bay.
“Jamaica Bay belongs to all New Yorkers” said DEC Regional Director Suzanne Mattei, “It’s not a dumping ground for derelict vessels.”
Another concerned preservationist is hopeful that the money collected by DEC would go to Jamaica Bay restoration efforts.
“Jamaica Bay is a very special place to all us,” said Don Riepe, who runs the Jamaica Bay Guardian program and is the director of the American Littoral Society’s northeast chapter. “There’s a lot of people out there concerned and interested in improving the natural resources of the Bay.”
DEC officials said the Environmental Conservation Law requires the fines to be deposited in the marine resources account of the conservation fund.
Riepe explained that the barges, which are used to transport oil, sand, gravel and other materials, are impeding wetland growth and smothering plants. One barge, he said, partially sank and pushed up against the developing salt marshes on the east side of Barbadoes Basin, while the other is fully submerged.
The potential effect this can have on the environment and on human health are significant, Riepe said, explaining that the oil, grease and debris from the barges pollute the water and then are taken up into the food chain. This can eventually pose a risk to human health, he added.
“Who knows what they’re leaching into the water,” Riepe asked, adding that the unsightliness has stolen the basin’s aesthetic appeal.
Gennaro and Riepe are concerned that this situation will cause a setback to the restoration and protection efforts they, and other environmental organizations, have launched for Jamaica Bay’s disappearing salt marshes and eroding tidal wetlands.
The alleged barge abandonment “flies in the face of that effort,” Riepe said.
A spokesman for the DEC said the department is expecting to receive a response from Pile Foundation Construction soon. Once it has made contact with the company, the two will work together to remove the barges from Jamaica Bay, he said.
The conditions of the barges, which Riepe speculated could have been abandoned because they no longer work or are too expensive to rehabilitate, will determine the process of removal, DEC spokesman Arturo Garcia-Costas said. The frequency of vessel strandings has been on the rise in recent years as a result of higher fuel costs and other economic reasons, he added.
Riepe had some words of warning for future violators: “We’re all looking, so people should beware: if they’re trying to dump things in Jamaica Bay, they’re going to get caught.”
One of the two barges allegedly abandoned at Jamaica Bay’s Barbadoes Basin has pushed up against the already eroding wetlands.(pic courtesy of Don Riepe)
Proponents of Jamaica Bay are outraged that a marine construction firm allegedly abandoned its barges in the bay, further compromising the ecosystem’s eroding tidal wetlands, but are grateful the state has finally identified the perpetrators.
With help from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Environmental Conservation in late September named Pile Foundation Construction Co. Inc. of Hicksville, L.I., as the company responsible for leaving two large barges to sink to the bottom of Jamaica Bay’s Barbadoes Basin.
Calls to the company were not returned as of press time.
This is relief for the residents of Broad Channel who first alerted authorities of the floating barges on Sept. 23, and environmental groups concerned about Jamaica Bay’s health.
The department issued the company a notice of violation of New York State’s Tidal Wetlands Act, which imposes a penalty of $10,000 per day, per barge until the two structures are removed. The fine was implemented last fall, when the DEC became aware of the situation.
City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), who chairs the council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and has been a longtime advocate of Jamaica Bay preservation, said the hefty fine is well-deserved. “Anyone who would violate Jamaica Bay in such an egregious way has to be made an example,” he said.
Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), who represents the area where the barges were found, said he is also grateful that the DEC is imposing the fine and fulfilling its responsibility to protect the Bay.
“Jamaica Bay belongs to all New Yorkers” said DEC Regional Director Suzanne Mattei, “It’s not a dumping ground for derelict vessels.”
Another concerned preservationist is hopeful that the money collected by DEC would go to Jamaica Bay restoration efforts.
“Jamaica Bay is a very special place to all us,” said Don Riepe, who runs the Jamaica Bay Guardian program and is the director of the American Littoral Society’s northeast chapter. “There’s a lot of people out there concerned and interested in improving the natural resources of the Bay.”
DEC officials said the Environmental Conservation Law requires the fines to be deposited in the marine resources account of the conservation fund.
Riepe explained that the barges, which are used to transport oil, sand, gravel and other materials, are impeding wetland growth and smothering plants. One barge, he said, partially sank and pushed up against the developing salt marshes on the east side of Barbadoes Basin, while the other is fully submerged.
The potential effect this can have on the environment and on human health are significant, Riepe said, explaining that the oil, grease and debris from the barges pollute the water and then are taken up into the food chain. This can eventually pose a risk to human health, he added.
“Who knows what they’re leaching into the water,” Riepe asked, adding that the unsightliness has stolen the basin’s aesthetic appeal.
Gennaro and Riepe are concerned that this situation will cause a setback to the restoration and protection efforts they, and other environmental organizations, have launched for Jamaica Bay’s disappearing salt marshes and eroding tidal wetlands.
The alleged barge abandonment “flies in the face of that effort,” Riepe said.
A spokesman for the DEC said the department is expecting to receive a response from Pile Foundation Construction soon. Once it has made contact with the company, the two will work together to remove the barges from Jamaica Bay, he said.
The conditions of the barges, which Riepe speculated could have been abandoned because they no longer work or are too expensive to rehabilitate, will determine the process of removal, DEC spokesman Arturo Garcia-Costas said. The frequency of vessel strandings has been on the rise in recent years as a result of higher fuel costs and other economic reasons, he added.
Riepe had some words of warning for future violators: “We’re all looking, so people should beware: if they’re trying to dump things in Jamaica Bay, they’re going to get caught.”
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Independent Online Edition - Fertilisers Blamed as Researchers Solve Mystery of Deformed Frogs...
(click on pic to enlarge)American researchers claim to have answered the riddle of the deformed frogs that have been appearing in increasing numbers around the world.
Run-off from farmland drenched in fertilisers is behind the explosion in amphibians missing legs, or having extra legs and other deformities, according to the scientists.
Nitrogen and phosphorous from fertilisers are leaching into rivers, causing significant changes to the aquatic ecosystem. This prompts algae growth and increases numbers in the snail population, animals which play host to parasitic flatworms called trematodes. These parasites infect birds, snails and amphibian larvae, causing severe limb deformities and an increase in mortality.
"This is the first study to show that nutrient enrichment drives the abundance of these parasites, increasing levels of amphibian infections and subsequent malformations," said Pieter Johnson of Colorado University, who led the study.
These malformations include the growth of extra limbs, partly formed or missing limbs, skin webbing and bone defects. When examined, amphibians with these defects were often found also to suffer from life-threatening eye abnormalities and tumours.
Reports of these abnormal amphibians have risen sharply since the mid-1990s, when some Minnesota schoolchildren found a pond where more than half of the frogs had missing or extra legs. This has generated increasing concern from scientists and ecologists, who have since established that parasite infection is a major cause of these deformities.
Trematode parasites that affect amphibians have a series of host species. They can grow in snails and then become infectious when released. The parasites then infect tadpoles, forming cysts on new limbs. When the frogs are eaten by predators, they excrete the parasites back into the ecosystem.
With many of the causes of amphibian decline still poorly understood, this research, which appears in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, may be a major breakthrough. "Our results have broad ecological significance," said Mr Johnson.
Rapidly declining amphibian populations have been noted globally since the 1980s, and are now regarded as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity.
Monday, September 24, 2007
NEWTOWN CREEK ALLIANCE - Newtown Creek Nature Walk - Saturday, September 29, 2007 - 11am - 4pm...
NEWTOWN CREEK ALLIANCE:
"Saturday, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 Opening Celebration and Festivities for “Newtown Creek Nature Walk” 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM NEWTOWN CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PAIDGE AVENUE & PROVOST STREET BROOKLYN, NY 11222 Shuttle buses are available from the intersection of Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenues (Greenpoint Ave G Stop) from 11am to 3 pm. Children activities and light refreshments will be served Christine Holowacz, Community Liaison, 718 349-0150, 917 670-9044"
"Saturday, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 Opening Celebration and Festivities for “Newtown Creek Nature Walk” 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM NEWTOWN CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PAIDGE AVENUE & PROVOST STREET BROOKLYN, NY 11222 Shuttle buses are available from the intersection of Greenpoint and Manhattan Avenues (Greenpoint Ave G Stop) from 11am to 3 pm. Children activities and light refreshments will be served Christine Holowacz, Community Liaison, 718 349-0150, 917 670-9044"
Sunday, July 15, 2007
New York Times Blog Video: 4 Million Styrofoam Trays a Week by Sewell Chan...
Watch Video...
Or 850,000 a day. That’s how many pass through the lunch rooms of New York City public schools when classes are in session.
CITY HALL — Council Member Bill de Blasio, D-Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, joined public school parents and students recently to ask the city’s Department of Education (DOE) to stop using styrofoam trays in the public schools.
Green Brooklyn: Stop Using Styrofoam Trays In Our Public Schools!
Lawmaker Floats Ban on Styrofoam - July 10, 2007 - The New York Sun by Elizabeth Solomont :
A state senator, Liz Krueger, has introduced a bill that would ban Styrofoam products in the food service industry.
The bill, which would apply to restaurants, fast-food chains, supermarkets, and other vendors, would require businesses to phase out Styrofoam products within one year.
City schools throw away 150 million Styrofoam meal trays a year.
'Picture Styrofoam, and you picture a product produced from petroleum that takes up to 500 years to fully disintegrate,' the senator said in a statement.
Star-Gazette.COM: NYC lawmaker wants to ban Styrofoam - ...
ALBANY - A Manhattan lawmaker Tuesday introduced legislation that would ban most Styrofoam products in the state within a year, citing environmental concerns.
Styrofoam is a brand name for products that are made with polystyrene, a liquid compound manufactured from petroleum. It can't be recycled and takes centuries to decompose.
According to bill sponsor Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, Americans throw away about 1,400 tons of Styrofoam every day.
"Picture Styrofoam, and you picture a product produced from petroleum that takes up to 500 years to fully disintegrate," Krueger said. "We have a real problem with needlessly creating too much waste. If we have the ability to create affordable alternatives we should make that leap."
The bill would give supermarkets, restaurants and other food-service providers a year to find environmentally friendly alternatives to the Styrofoam products they use. The state Department of Environmental Conservation would be charged with coming up with a list of such products, which could include various biodegradable plastics. Under the bill, the cost of the alternatives recommended by the DEC would have to be within 15 percent of the cost of their Styrofoam counterparts.
But one industry official said Styrofoam serves a valuable purpose, especially in supermarket meat departments.
"We find that with raw food products, by using Styrofoam there is no leakage, and therefore no health hazard of cross-contamination (like salmonella in chicken) that might be present with other types of products," said Jim Rogers, head of the state Food Industry Alliance. He said he hadn't seen the bill and wouldn't comment on it directly.
While the packaging may keep steaks juicy, many environmentalists warn that styrene, a chemical abundant in Styrofoam that has been linked to cancer, can leach into food stored or reheated in a Styrofoam container.
One environmentalist said he thinks the bill has little chance of passing, but it does open up an important discussion.
"Styrofoam is garbage, from the cradle to the grave, and that's an inappropriate use of petroleum," said William Cooke of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "We're at the point now where we have to critically look at our petroleum use, and you need the assistance of the manufacturer, the retailer and the consumer together. Styrofoam is the poster child for all this."
Styrofoam bans have already been enacted in Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, and about 100 other towns and cities across the country, but none are statewide, according to Krueger.
"Many municipalities have enacted various versions of this law, and some of the nations largest food-service providers have already moved in this direction as well, based not on new laws, but their own free will and conscience," she said.
There is no companion bill in the Assembly, meaning its chances of being enacted into law are slim.
Or 850,000 a day. That’s how many pass through the lunch rooms of New York City public schools when classes are in session. Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools, a grass-roots association arising out of Public School 154 in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, wants the Bloomberg administration to re-examine the extensive use of the trays. Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is a petroleum-based material that can take centuries to decompose. About 20 American municipalities have banned or restricted use of the packaging, including Suffolk County on Long Island. The anti-tray forces took their case to City Hall on Tuesday in a protest captured in this video:
The stunt was organized by Councilman Bill de Blasio, a Brooklyn Democrat. Eric A. Goldstein, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council said, “The D.O.E. is wasting taxpayer dollars and generating unnecessary pollution and waste every day it serves food on costly, throwaway polystyrene trays.”
Among the other places that have laws or restrictions on polystyrene food packaging are San Berkeley and Oakland in California and Portland, Ore. A similar ban is under consideration in San Francisco.Dawn Walker, a City Hall spokeswoman, said of New York’s intentions: “At present the Department of Education is looking into the matter. We are committed to looking at alternatives.”
The landfills will get a little relief this week: The school year ended today, a half-day.
Related articles:
Brooklyn Daily Eagle De Blasio Asks Dept. Of Education To Stop Using Styrofoam TraysCITY HALL — Council Member Bill de Blasio, D-Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, joined public school parents and students recently to ask the city’s Department of Education (DOE) to stop using styrofoam trays in the public schools.
Green Brooklyn: Stop Using Styrofoam Trays In Our Public Schools!
Lawmaker Floats Ban on Styrofoam - July 10, 2007 - The New York Sun by Elizabeth Solomont :
A state senator, Liz Krueger, has introduced a bill that would ban Styrofoam products in the food service industry.
The bill, which would apply to restaurants, fast-food chains, supermarkets, and other vendors, would require businesses to phase out Styrofoam products within one year.
City schools throw away 150 million Styrofoam meal trays a year.
'Picture Styrofoam, and you picture a product produced from petroleum that takes up to 500 years to fully disintegrate,' the senator said in a statement.
Star-Gazette.COM: NYC lawmaker wants to ban Styrofoam - ...
ALBANY - A Manhattan lawmaker Tuesday introduced legislation that would ban most Styrofoam products in the state within a year, citing environmental concerns.
Styrofoam is a brand name for products that are made with polystyrene, a liquid compound manufactured from petroleum. It can't be recycled and takes centuries to decompose.
According to bill sponsor Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, Americans throw away about 1,400 tons of Styrofoam every day.
"Picture Styrofoam, and you picture a product produced from petroleum that takes up to 500 years to fully disintegrate," Krueger said. "We have a real problem with needlessly creating too much waste. If we have the ability to create affordable alternatives we should make that leap."
The bill would give supermarkets, restaurants and other food-service providers a year to find environmentally friendly alternatives to the Styrofoam products they use. The state Department of Environmental Conservation would be charged with coming up with a list of such products, which could include various biodegradable plastics. Under the bill, the cost of the alternatives recommended by the DEC would have to be within 15 percent of the cost of their Styrofoam counterparts.
But one industry official said Styrofoam serves a valuable purpose, especially in supermarket meat departments.
"We find that with raw food products, by using Styrofoam there is no leakage, and therefore no health hazard of cross-contamination (like salmonella in chicken) that might be present with other types of products," said Jim Rogers, head of the state Food Industry Alliance. He said he hadn't seen the bill and wouldn't comment on it directly.
While the packaging may keep steaks juicy, many environmentalists warn that styrene, a chemical abundant in Styrofoam that has been linked to cancer, can leach into food stored or reheated in a Styrofoam container.
One environmentalist said he thinks the bill has little chance of passing, but it does open up an important discussion.
"Styrofoam is garbage, from the cradle to the grave, and that's an inappropriate use of petroleum," said William Cooke of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "We're at the point now where we have to critically look at our petroleum use, and you need the assistance of the manufacturer, the retailer and the consumer together. Styrofoam is the poster child for all this."
Styrofoam bans have already been enacted in Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, and about 100 other towns and cities across the country, but none are statewide, according to Krueger.
"Many municipalities have enacted various versions of this law, and some of the nations largest food-service providers have already moved in this direction as well, based not on new laws, but their own free will and conscience," she said.
There is no companion bill in the Assembly, meaning its chances of being enacted into law are slim.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
NY Times: Seeking Cause and Cure for Ailing Wetlands...
by Tim Wacker
Marsh grass dieback at Cedar Beach Creek on Long Island.THIS time of year the expansive flats of marsh grass in Cedar Beach Creek on Long Island’s North Fork usually turn lime green as the summer sunshine pushes the vibrant salt marsh ecosystem into overdrive. But that seasonal shift has increasingly been streaked with shades of mud-brown and gray.
A phenomenon commonly called sudden wetland dieback has denuded hundreds of acres of salt marsh in more urban environs like Jamaica Bay in Queens over the past decade. But its recent and aggressive advance across the New York area — and especially into more pristine environs like the North Fork — has some scientists worrying about what might happen if it keeps spreading.
“We need to find out the cause sooner than later,” said Fred Mushacke, a marine biologist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “We’re losing wetlands at a rate of half an acre per year in Cedar Beach alone. In Jamaica Bay, it’s 44 acres per year.
“If those rates get worse, we’re going to reach a tipping point, and then there could be a mass die-off.”
The problem is not just on Long Island. Each year in New Jersey, Westchester and Connecticut, dozens of acres of tall marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora, are dying off. Scientists are not sure what is causing the phenomenon or what they can do to end it.
“This loss of this productive habitat would have widespread implications,” said Nicole P. Maher, a wetlands specialist at the Nature Conservancy’s Cold Spring Harbor office on Long Island. “The marsh provides food, it filters water and it buffers storm and wave energy. It’s very valuable to wildlife. We need to do more than just keep an eye on it.”
Salt marshes are also vital sources of food, Mr. Mushacke said. Each acre of spartina grass produces four tons of organic matter, which works its way into the food chain through algae until big fish are eating little fish and birds are eating the fish.
“The tidal wetlands are the most important and naturally occurring ecological unit in the world,” Mr. Mushacke said. “If you lose four tons of organic material per acre per year, that translates into tons of fish and shellfish you’re losing.”
At the 173-acre Marshlands Conservancy in Rye, Westchester’s popular birding destination, losses that started a decade ago have gradually consumed about a dozen acres. While some regrowth was reported last year, losses continue to outstrip gains.
Along New Jersey’s Delaware Bay, wetlands from Canton to Dennis Township have suffered damage in spots, and scientists are now inspecting other parts of the state for more.
Marshes along a roughly 50-mile stretch of the Connecticut coastline between the Housatonic and Connecticut Rivers have been similarly stricken, said Ronald Rozsa, a marshland biologist with the State Department of Environmental Protection. The die-off is just part of a number of changes in these wetlands that scientists are having a hard time fully explaining.
“And we haven’t really been able to look at marshes east of the Connecticut River,” Mr. Rozsa said. Marsh vegetation changes through time, he said, but “all of a sudden we’re seeing this rapid movement of grasses.”
But the extent of the dieback is so unclear that officials in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York are asking for residents’ help in tracking it. On Long Island, the Nature Conservancy is hoping to assist the state by monitoring East End marshes where hundreds of acres of wetlands could be affected.
Theories abound for the cause of sudden wetland dieback. A fungus that attacks spartina grass, called fusarium, could be the cause, as could a tiny worm called a root nematode, Mr. Rozsa said.
A more ominous theory is that global warming is having an effect. Mr. Rozsa and Mr. Mushacke agree that rising sea levels are suspected of causing sudden wetland dieback, but Mr. Rozsa said a 20-year lunar cycle called the tidal epoch, which produces long-term tidal fluctuations, complicates that theory.
“Is this an accelerated response to global warming?” Mr. Rozsa said. “We don’t know. We saw grass dieback in the 1980s, and it grew back. The question now is: are we going to see that same grow-back again?”
Mr. Mushacke said he thinks not. He also argues that there is nothing sudden about the dieback, but that it has been gradually accelerating over the past decade.
Since the late 1800s, Long Island marshes have experienced declines, but in many instances they have grown back. Since 1974, however, Long Island has lost 1,400 acres, or 8 percent, of an estimated 17,000 acres of marsh, with little growing back, Mr. Mushacke said.
Much of that has been lost in the Jamaica Bay estuary to what is believed to be more of a development-related problem called marsh subsidence. But the recent emergence of wetland dieback in places on Long Island — like Flax Pond in Old Field and Cedar Beach and Corey Creeks in Southold — has included two versions of dieback also appearing in Connecticut, Cape Cod and up to Maine.
One form occurs close to where the marsh bank meets the water. It kills the roots and the plant, leaving the peatlike soil underneath resembling Swiss cheese. In higher elevations of the marsh, called the high marsh, the dieback is also advancing, leaving a similar pockmarked landscape.
The range of locations and the variety of symptoms make studying marsh dieback vexing, scientists say.
“We don’t know the full depth of the problem yet,” Mr. Mushacke said. “There are marshes that haven’t changed at all, and that’s also perplexing.”
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Courier-Life Publications: Jamaica Bay in Danger of Being a Cesspool by Gary Buiso...
Read original...
Within just a decade, Jamaica Bay could dramatically shift from an important natural habitat into a cesspool, preservationists charged with protecting the water body recently warned.
And the city will be largely responsible for which direction the bay’s health turns.
“Jamaica Bay could be transformed from an incredibly significant salt marsh landscape with hundreds of species of birds, and serving as a nursery for fish—into basically all open water, turning a putrid pea green in the summer,” said Brad Sewell, the co-chair of the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan Advisory Committee.
“It really will be that kind of time scale,” Sewell said. “We’re not talking about a century. This is only a matter of years.”
During the last decade, the state Department of Environmental Conservation calculated that marshes are lost at a rate of 44 acres per year. “Every indication is that that rate has increased,” Sewell said.
The committee recently submitted its final recommendations for the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)’s Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan.
The committee’s major recommendations target the two biggest problem the bay faces: water pollution and habitat degradation.
The bay is the depository of the city’s treated wastewater—approximately 300 million gallons a day. That water has a high concentration of nitrogen, but the bay’s marshes can only remove some of it, resulting in poor water quality. Wastewater and overflow from sewage treatment plants contribute to harmful algae blooms that diminish the bay’s dissolved oxygen, a condition that can kill wildlife.
“We are targeting these huge discharges of nitrogen pollution [treated human waste] coming from our wastewater treatment plants” and emptying into the bay, Sewell said. “We’re asking for a significant reduction in that.”
“The advisory committee recognizes it’s a huge problem and the city should step up and do what the bay needs—and what its legally required to do,” he added.
The committee also recommends that the city, in the long term, look to reconstruct its infrastructure so that every time it rains, the over flow from the sewers don’t empty into the bay.
As far as the habitat, the city must stop auctioning off wetlands to “the highest bidder,” Sewell said. A habitat protection and restoration program must target the bay’s peripheral tidal wetlands and upland buffer areas—including their immediate protection from development, the committee urged.
At the current rate of loss, the marsh islands will completely vanish by 2024, according to the committee’s report. It is unclear why the marshes are in jeopardy, but some studies suggest the reduction of sediment washing up on the marshes and excessive sulfides in sediments due to water pollution could play a role, the committee has reported.
In all, there are five priority recommendations. The other three include improving stormwater management; an expansion of efforts to restore the bay’s interior salt marshes; and a comprehensive science program for the bay.
The DEP submitted a draft of the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan in March. Critics of the plan said it did not contain a proposed set of actions, but rather a set of proposed actions still under consideration. Local Law 71, enacted in 2005, compelled the DEP to develop a watershed protection plan for the bay, and to establish the committee to advise the DEP and the City Council.
A final plan is due in October 2007.
Sewell said he remains guardedly optimistic the city will do right by Jamaica Bay. “It’s not too late for them to make the right decisions. To date, we’re not optimistic about the big decisions being made in the right way…but we remain hopeful.”
The bay, a unit of the National Park Service, borders Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, and includes 26,645 acres consisting of open water, meadowland, marshes, dunes and forests.
More than 80 species of fish, as well as a host of endangered and threatened species. Each year, nearly 20 percent of North America’s bird species visit Jamaica Bay.
And the city will be largely responsible for which direction the bay’s health turns.
“Jamaica Bay could be transformed from an incredibly significant salt marsh landscape with hundreds of species of birds, and serving as a nursery for fish—into basically all open water, turning a putrid pea green in the summer,” said Brad Sewell, the co-chair of the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan Advisory Committee.
“It really will be that kind of time scale,” Sewell said. “We’re not talking about a century. This is only a matter of years.”
During the last decade, the state Department of Environmental Conservation calculated that marshes are lost at a rate of 44 acres per year. “Every indication is that that rate has increased,” Sewell said.
The committee recently submitted its final recommendations for the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)’s Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan.
The committee’s major recommendations target the two biggest problem the bay faces: water pollution and habitat degradation.
The bay is the depository of the city’s treated wastewater—approximately 300 million gallons a day. That water has a high concentration of nitrogen, but the bay’s marshes can only remove some of it, resulting in poor water quality. Wastewater and overflow from sewage treatment plants contribute to harmful algae blooms that diminish the bay’s dissolved oxygen, a condition that can kill wildlife.
“We are targeting these huge discharges of nitrogen pollution [treated human waste] coming from our wastewater treatment plants” and emptying into the bay, Sewell said. “We’re asking for a significant reduction in that.”
“The advisory committee recognizes it’s a huge problem and the city should step up and do what the bay needs—and what its legally required to do,” he added.
The committee also recommends that the city, in the long term, look to reconstruct its infrastructure so that every time it rains, the over flow from the sewers don’t empty into the bay.
As far as the habitat, the city must stop auctioning off wetlands to “the highest bidder,” Sewell said. A habitat protection and restoration program must target the bay’s peripheral tidal wetlands and upland buffer areas—including their immediate protection from development, the committee urged.
At the current rate of loss, the marsh islands will completely vanish by 2024, according to the committee’s report. It is unclear why the marshes are in jeopardy, but some studies suggest the reduction of sediment washing up on the marshes and excessive sulfides in sediments due to water pollution could play a role, the committee has reported.
In all, there are five priority recommendations. The other three include improving stormwater management; an expansion of efforts to restore the bay’s interior salt marshes; and a comprehensive science program for the bay.
The DEP submitted a draft of the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan in March. Critics of the plan said it did not contain a proposed set of actions, but rather a set of proposed actions still under consideration. Local Law 71, enacted in 2005, compelled the DEP to develop a watershed protection plan for the bay, and to establish the committee to advise the DEP and the City Council.
A final plan is due in October 2007.
Sewell said he remains guardedly optimistic the city will do right by Jamaica Bay. “It’s not too late for them to make the right decisions. To date, we’re not optimistic about the big decisions being made in the right way…but we remain hopeful.”
The bay, a unit of the National Park Service, borders Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, and includes 26,645 acres consisting of open water, meadowland, marshes, dunes and forests.
More than 80 species of fish, as well as a host of endangered and threatened species. Each year, nearly 20 percent of North America’s bird species visit Jamaica Bay.
©Courier-Life Publications 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Parents Call for Styrofoam Ban in NYC School Lunchrooms...
Watch video...
Did you know that your children eat off of Styrofoam trays each day at school? Each day, NYC public schools serve meals on Styrofoam trays. It is estimated that 850,000 trays are used daily throughout the public schools. These trays are then thrown out, discarded, into our already overused landfills. These trays do not decompose. These trays, as they fall apart, prevent other trash from decomposing. These trays cannot be recycled. Additionally, studies suggest the possibility of chemical migration into the food our children eat each day. Demand that the NYC Department of Education find a healthier and more environmentally-friendly alternative!!!
Did you know that your children eat off of Styrofoam trays each day at school? Each day, NYC public schools serve meals on Styrofoam trays. It is estimated that 850,000 trays are used daily throughout the public schools. These trays are then thrown out, discarded, into our already overused landfills. These trays do not decompose. These trays, as they fall apart, prevent other trash from decomposing. These trays cannot be recycled. Additionally, studies suggest the possibility of chemical migration into the food our children eat each day. Demand that the NYC Department of Education find a healthier and more environmentally-friendly alternative!!!
Please take less than a minute to go to the following link and sign a petition:
www.ipetitions.com/petition/stopstyrofoam.
www.ipetitions.com/petition/stopstyrofoam.
Also, check us out on TV at http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=100935@wcbs.dayport.com
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