Onondaga County escapes huge additional cost for lake cleanup | syracuse.com

Onondaga County escapes huge additional cost for lake cleanup | syracuse.com


Onondaga County dodged a bill of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars this summer when environmental regulators eased restrictions on the amount of phosphorus that its sewage treatment plant can dump into Onondaga Lake.
Phosphorus is a mineral that in high concentrations poses one of the greatest threats to the lake’s health. Commonly found in fertilizer and animal and human waste, it can choke a lake to death by promoting the excessive growth of algae, microorganisms that feed on phosphorus.
When algae grows out of control, it gives a lake a cloudy, green appearance and makes it stink, rendering the lake unfit for swimming or other recreational uses. It also sucks up the oxygen that fish need to breathe.
A 1998 federal court order required the county to lower the amount of phosphorus in the treatment plant’s discharge to a level that would have required spending $265 million to $1 billion, county officials said.

People's Beach

The People’s Beach

Reaffirming the public’s right to the beach could be the first step in a more just and sustainable coastal environmental policy.  Read more 

After the Boom in Natural Gas

"Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, which spent $41 billion to buy XTO Energy, a giant natural gas company, in 2010, when gas prices were almost double what they are today, minced no words about the industry’s plight during an appearance in New York this summer.

“We are all losing our shirts today,” Mr. Tillerson said. “We’re making no money. It’s all in the red.”

Like the recent credit bubble, the boom and bust in gas were driven in large part by tens of billions of dollars in creative financing engineered by investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Jefferies & Company.

After the financial crisis, the natural gas rush was one of the few major profit centers for Wall Street deal makers, who found willing takers among energy companies and foreign financial investors.

Big companies like Chesapeake and lesser-known outfits like Quicksilver Resources and Exco Resources were able to supercharge their growth with the global financing,"
read more NY Times.


NY Times permalink 

What to do with those Leaves?

Read the New York State Conservationist on the leaf issue. 

Fall is a beautiful time of the year; trees are dressed in brilliant colors of yellow, red and orange. But as fall progresses, that colorful foliage starts dropping, covering your lawn in a carpet of leaves. If left intact on the grass, these leaves will deprive the lawn of oxygen and sunlight resulting in dead spots the following spring.

To maintain a healthy lawn, fall's leaves must be managed in some way. If you live in a city, town or village, many of these municipalities provide a service to pick up the leaves and take them to a compost facility. There the leaves are most often put into long piles (called windrows) to biodegrade and turn into compost. Often a portion of this compost is made available to residents. Compost can be used as mulch, tilled into the soil or spread in a thin layer on the lawn. It retains soil moisture, adds nutrients and beneficial microorganisms, and improves soil structure.

to read more go to ...http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/85020.html

The I81 Challenge

Recently the  http://thei81challenge.org/   - was featured on the Public Television show - Insight.

Watch 10/19/12 on PBS. See more from Insight.

Neighbors cover up Wetland Garden

DeWitt, NY -- More than a dozen DeWitt residents got the town’s backing to plant a wetland garden last year at Franklin Park not far from Carrier Circle.
The town received a $4,030 grant from the Onondaga Environmental Institute to help control storm water runoff in various parts of the town, including Franklin Park. The town used some of the money to buy native wetland plants and trees for the park.
Neighbors looking out on the wetland garden were not too pleased with what they say was an eyesore. They complained, the town listened, and earlier this month the town dug up the plants.


Read on Syracuse.com

Collective will can shift path of global warming | syracuse.com

Collective will can shift path of global warming | syracuse.com

Like a slowly building wave, it has taken time but it is here: Your future has arrived. This summer's record-breaking temperatures, the droughts and floods, the forest fires. As bad as it is today, it will get a lot worse in your lifetimes. I apologize. 

I am like so many others, a creator of your future. I own a car - one of the 1 billion worldwide. There may be twice that many by 2050. I'm a traveler who contributes to the world's 94,000 commercial airline flights a day. I live in a house built for five, but only two of us live there. 

Just like so many others, I helped cause the fires in Colorado, where drought and warmer temperatures stressed trees and allowed bark beetle populations to explode - killing the pines and producing a vastness of dead, bone-dry wood waiting for a spark. And add melting glaciers, retreating arctic sea ice and failing oceans. 

A good portion of the state's apple crop has been lost - caused by the unusual warm spell in March that caused the blossoms to open too soon. Then the heat and lack of rain stressed what survived.


read more here - > Collective will can shift path of global warming | syracuse.com

Beaver and the Wolf

THIS month, a group of environmental nonprofits said they would challenge the federal government’s removal of Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Wyoming. Since there are only about 328 wolves in a state with a historic blood thirst for the hides of these top predators, the nonprofits are probably right that lacking protection, Wyoming wolves are toast.

Many Americans, even as they view the extermination of a species as morally anathema, struggle to grasp the tangible effects of the loss of wolves. It turns out that, far from being freeloaders on the top of the food chain, wolves have a powerful effect on the well-being of the ecosystems around them — from the survival of trees and riverbank vegetation to, perhaps surprisingly, the health of the populations of their prey.

An example of this can be found in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, where wolves were virtually wiped out in the 1920s and reintroduced in the ’90s. Since the wolves have come back, scientists have noted an unexpected improvement in many of the park’s degraded stream areas.

From the New York Times - an Op-ED

NY Hit List - Invasive Species to be banned?

If you feel the need for a new burning bush, Japanese barberry hedge or Norway maple, now’s the time to plant.

They are popular and colorful landscaping choices, but — like dozens of other plants and animals — their days are numbered in New York.

All three are likely to end up on a state list of outlawed plants. The go-to decorations for mulchy gardens will be like fireworks — you can’t bring them into the state, you can’t sell them and if you get caught with them, you can get fined. If you have them in your yard already, you’re OK.

What makes them so popular is also part of their curse.

They adapt well to almost any environment and reproduce bunny-fast. They’re also what are called invasive species. By September 2013, the state will ban the worst offenders.

Invasive plants are often brought from another country because they’ll look great in a garden. But they break free of the beds outside homes and end up on forest floors and in fields, overwhelming native ferns and shrubs. They disrupt entire ecosystems.

Read  More - on Syracuse.com

In Syracuse: A great architect, a lost design and a corner born anew? | syracuse.com

In Syracuse: A great architect, a lost design and a corner born anew? | syracuse.com

Labor Day is Monday. In Syracuse, we’ve got an old factory whose entire design was based on the dignity of working men and women. The problem is this: The very feature that gives the building national significance has literally been walled off from public view.

If Rick Destito has his way, that will quickly change.

He owns what he calls the Gear Factory, an industrial landmark at West Fayette and South Geddes streets. It was designed almost 100 years ago by Detroit’s Albert Kahn, an important American architect who died in 1942.

Kahn was “a real humanist,” said Charles K. Hyde, an industrial archaelogist in Michigan who has written extensively about Kahn and his work. Raised in poverty, Kahn learned his craft through sheer perseverance, Hyde said. When such industrial titans as Henry Ford asked him to design their factories, Kahn used large windows and natural ventilation to make sure those buildings would never resemble dark and stinking industrial “sweatshops.”

In the early 1900s, the old Brown-Lipe gear company hired Kahn to design a new plant in Syracuse. He included such trademark elements as reinforced concrete, and all five floors were dominated by windows that allowed in a flood of light.

Natural Gas is it Really Clean as they say?

"Natural gas has been sold as clean energy. But when the gas comes from fracturing bedrock with about five million gallons of toxic water per well, the word “clean” takes on a disturbingly Orwellian tone. Don’t be fooled. Fracking for shale gas is in truth dirty energy. It inevitably leaks toxic chemicals into the air and water. Industry studies show that 5 percent of wells can leak immediately, and 60 percent over 30 years. There is no such thing as pipes and concrete that won’t eventually break down. It releases a cocktail of chemicals from a menu of more than 600 toxic substances, climate-changing methane, radium and, of course, uranium.

New York is lucky enough to have some of the best drinking water in the world. The well water on my family’s farm comes from the same watersheds that supply all the reservoirs in New York State. That means if our tap water gets dirty, so does New York City’s.

Gas produced this way is not climate- friendly. Within the first 20 years, methane escaping from within and around the wells, pipelines and compressor stations is 105 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. With more than a tiny amount of methane leakage, this gas is as bad as coal is for the climate; and since over half the wells leak eventually, it is not a small amount. Even more important, shale gas contains one of the earth’s largest carbon reserves, many times more than our atmosphere can absorb. Burning more than a small fraction of it will render the climate unlivable, raise the price of food and make coastlines unstable for generations."

read more of Sean Lennon's piece at NYTimes

Rare: A trailblazing politician and a New York fern | syracuse.com

Read the following story - and consider why is it worth saving ? Is it because it's rare? or does it play a role in overall ecological health. Consider the biological maxim - diversity equals stability.

Rare: A trailblazing politician and a New York fern | syracuse.com

Each day, Bob and I would discuss events in the news and decide how they would fit as campaign issues. This steamy afternoon, the topic was the hart's-tongue fern. Most people hadn't heard of it or the bad news that it was threatened with extinction.

My hope: my candidacy could save it.

We walked in the wilderness for a few minutes and then lost sight of the car. We were in the midst of plants, mud, mosquitoes and, we feared, poison ivy.

We were both more at home in comfortable chairs in the living room, discussing Robert Frost, John Stuart Mill, Ann Sexton or Lionel Trilling. But this campaign issue was worth the hike.

Finally, Bob turned to me: "Karen, do you know what the hart's-tongue fern looks like?"

Actually, no.

"Bob, do you know what the hart's-tongue fern looks like?"

No.

We would have fallen to the ground laughing, except we feared snakes.

I did not win the election for mayor of Syracuse in 1969. (Lee Alexander won.) But I am given credit for helping to lead the effort to save 44 acres of wilderness in Ram's Gulch. The area was threatened with a future as a wasteland because of an option given to Allied Chemical Corp. to buy the land. The area was owned by the Boy Scouts and was for sale. Allied expressed interest in buying the land for industrial expansion.

This land was one of the few remaining wilderness areas in the county. Ninety percent of the national population of the fern is believed to exist in Onondaga and Madison counties.

Don’t Waste the Drought - NYTimes.com

Don’t Waste the Drought - NYTimes.com

WE’RE in the worst drought in the United States since the 1950s, and we’re wasting it.

Though the drought has devastated corn crops and disrupted commerce on the Mississippi River, it also represents an opportunity to tackle long-ignored water problems and to reimagine how we manage, use and even think about water.

For decades, Americans have typically handled drought the same way. We are asked to limit lawn-watering and car-washing, to fully load dishwashers and washing machines before running them, to turn off the tap while brushing our teeth. When the rain comes, we all go back to our old water habits.

But just as the oil crisis of the 1970s spurred advances in fuel efficiency, so should the Drought of 2012 inspire efforts to reduce water consumption.

Our nation’s water system is a mess, from cities to rural communities, for farmers and for factories. To take just one example: Water utilities go to the trouble to find water, clean it and pump it into water mains for delivery, but before it gets to any home or business, leaky pipes send 16 percent — about one in six gallons — back into the ground. So even in the midst of the drought, our utilities lose enough water every six days to supply the nation for a day. You can take a shorter shower, but it won’t make up for that.

AccuWeather.com - Outdoor - How Healthy Are Earth's Oceans?

AccuWeather.com - Outdoor - How Healthy Are Earth's Oceans?

In a new perspective on ocean health, one that looks through the lens of both humans and the natural world, scientists give Earth's seas a grade of 60 out of 100, meaning there's lots of room for improvement, they say.

The new index ranks oceans' health and the benefits they provide to humans using 10 categories, such as biodiversity, clean waters, ability to provide food for humans and support of the livelihood ofpeople living in coastal regions.  

Kentucky, W.Va., To Ship Coal To India For 25 Years : NPR

Kentucky, W.Va., To Ship Coal To India For 25 Years : NPR

NY Yogurt needs milk, Cuomo to ease dairy regulations | NCPR News

NY Yogurt needs milk, Cuomo to ease dairy regulations | NCPR News

Albany, NY, Aug 16, 2012 — Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he's easing some environmental regulations so that dairy farmers can keep more cows, more easily. The news that the threshold requiring farms to follow strict Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFO, rules will be raised came at the "yogurt summit" convened by the governor yesterday at the State Capitol. .


Same story - different News - Syracuse.com

Background


How a yogurt company made it big - see in Syracuse.com

Texas Takes Action To Curb West Nile Virus Outbreak : NPR

Texas Takes Action To Curb West Nile Virus Outbreak : NPR

New toilet technology after 150 years of waste - The Washington Post

New toilet technology after 150 years of waste - The Washington Post

 These aren’t your typical loos. One uses microwave energy to transform human waste into electricity. Another captures urine and uses it for flushing. And still another turns excrement into charcoal.

They are part of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation competition to reinvent the toilet for the 2.5 billion people around the world who don’t have access to modern sanitation.

AccuWeather.com - Outdoor - Ocean Mixologists: Animal Movement Key to Sea Life

AccuWeather.com - Outdoor - Ocean Mixologists: Animal Movement Key to Sea Life

A study published in July in the journal Biogeosciences Discussions estimated that a mere 80 sperm whales that live near Hawaii transport 1,100 tons (1 million kilograms) of nitrogen per year with the movement of their massive bodies through a boundary called the pycnocline, below which it is too dark for light-loving plants — the base of much of the ocean food chain — to survive.

That may seem like an unimpressive amount, but if you take the movement of all the animals throughout the ocean, it can add up. A 2006 study by Florida State University researcher William Dewar calculated that animals and other organisms are responsible for one-third of the mixing of the ocean, without which the sea would stagnate and likely turn into a virtually lifeless soup within a few thousand years. [World's Biggest Oceans and Seas]

Georgia Digs Deep To Counter Drought : NPR

Georgia Digs Deep To Counter Drought : NPR

A quarter of the state is classified as being under "exceptional drought" — the highest level recorded. As creeks and riverbeds dry up, farmers are drilling deeper wells to get water for their crops. Now the state is cutting back its permits because of environmental concerns.

Crayfish Go On The Menu To Restore Lake Tahoe's Blue Hue : The Salt : NPR

Crayfish Go On The Menu To Restore Lake Tahoe's Blue Hue : The Salt : NPR

Around the country, environmentalists are cooking up ways to battle invasive species by serving them up on a platter.

Over in the mid-Atlantic, they're broiling up the snakeheads that have taken over local lakes and rivers. In the Southeastern U.S., they're writing cookbooks to inspire gourmands to get coral reef-destroying lionfish out of the waters and into the frying pan. Now, Lake Tahoe is getting into the act.

Nine mosquito pools test positive for West Nile virus: Time to spray?

Nine mosquito pools test positive for West Nile virus: Time to spray?

Updates on the Syracuse Bike Plan, Cycle in the City ride this Sunday | syracuse.com

From the Syracuse Post Standard:

"At the start of a meeting in Syracuse Common Council chambers on Tuesday afternoon, councilor Bob Dougherty offered transportation planner Paul Mercurio his bike helmet.

"Want to wear this during your presentation?" Dougherty asked. Mercurio didn't take him up on the offer but had he, it wouldn't have raised an eyebrow.

Mercurio was presenting the city's latest updates to the Syracuse Bike Plan -- one piece of the city's ongoingComprehensive Plan to improve life and culture in Syracuse."

Updates on the Syracuse Bike Plan, Cycle in the City ride this Sunday | syracuse.com

2012 Central New York home sales are up 11 percent over last year | syracuse.com

"From the Syracuse Newspapers:

"The pace of home sales in Central New York is a lot like the weather this year: Hot since the spring, with no signs of cooling off.

Nearly 11 percent more homes were sold in Central New York so far this year than in the same period of 2011, according to data gathered by theCentral New York Information Service, which operates the multiple listing service database of homes for sale.

The average home sale price is also increasing: It was $142,633 in the six-county Central New York area for 2012 so far, according to the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors. That’s up $3,283 — just over 2 percent — from last year’s average price for the same time period.

Three factors are causing the increase in sales, said Mark Re, president of the Central New York Information Service. “Right now we have the lowest interest rate in over two decades, we have very affordable housing and we have a huge inventory,” he said."

2012 Central New York home sales are up 11 percent over last year | syracuse.com

Drought intensifies in most-parched areas of U.S. - The Washington Post

From the Washington Post
"Carousel Center will officially becomeDestiny USA today when Pyramidrenames the 2.4-million-square-foot property. And though the project is significantly smaller than the original expansion plans, the developer is optimistic about the mall's reach.

Pyramid spokesman David Aitken toldThe Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that the mall has a projected trade area of 2.5 hours and a potential of reaching 5.5 million people on a regular basis. It is expected to attract 29 million shoppers annually, second only to the Mall of America in Minneapolis."

Drought intensifies in most-parched areas of U.S. - The Washington Post

Will Destiny USA impact traffic to Rochester's Eastview Mall? | syracuse.com

From the Syracuse PS -
"Carousel Center will officially becomeDestiny USA today when Pyramidrenames the 2.4-million-square-foot property. And though the project is significantly smaller than the original expansion plans, the developer is optimistic about the mall's reach.

Pyramid spokesman David Aitken toldThe Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that the mall has a projected trade area of 2.5 hours and a potential of reaching 5.5 million people on a regular basis. It is expected to attract 29 million shoppers annually, second only to the Mall of America in Minneapolis." 

Will Destiny USA impact traffic to Rochester's Eastview Mall? | syracuse.com

New East Coast fisheries chief facing challenge amid fishery crisis, damaged relationships - The Washington Post

New East Coast fisheries chief facing challenge amid fishery crisis, damaged relationships - The Washington Post
"New England’s fishing industry is in the middle what some fear is a fatal squeeze between fishery science, which shows key species in poor health, and federal law demanding tough cuts to protect the fish.

Fishermen don’t trust the science and some believe the regulators Bullard will lead are deliberately driving them off the water.

“The relationship between (regulators) and the industry I don’t think has ever been worse, and the relationship between NOAA and Capitol Hill I don’t think has ever been worse,” Bullard said."

Marcellus Shale Links: Hydrofracking opponents put pressure on Gov. Andrew Cuomo | syracuse.com

Marcellus Shale Links: Hydrofracking opponents put pressure on Gov. Andrew Cuomo | syracuse.com

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Opponents of shale gas drilling that involves blasting chemical-laden water deep into the ground are asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top campaign contributors to pressure him to ban the practice in the state.

New York Residents Against Drilling and several other groups sent a letter to Cuomo’s top 1,000 individual donors on Wednesday saying Cuomo’s reported plan to permit hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in a limited area would “treat Southern Tier residents as second class citizens and unfairly subject them to potentially irreparable hazards.”

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney proposes new plan to stop suburban sprawl | syracuse.com

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney proposes new plan to stop suburban sprawl | syracuse.com

Quote "n 1998, Onondaga County adopted a development plan that was supposed to discourage suburban sprawl by limiting new residential subdivisions to areas already served by public sewers.

It didn't work. Suburban towns eager to boost property tax revenues continued to allow development in rural areas. And the county itself routinely made exceptions to its own policy, extending county sewer lines to accommodate builders."

Hydrofracking and natural gas development to be discussed at town board meeting: Madison Neighbors Today | syracuse.com

Hydrofracking and natural gas development to be discussed at town board meeting: Madison Neighbors Today | syracuse.com

According to The Oneida Daily Dispatch, Lebanon town officials will be holding an informational town meeting from 9 to 11 a.m. this Saturday to discuss the benefits and risks of gas wells.

David and Helen Slottje, non-profit lawyers, have drafted a law that the Lebanon residents will discuss at the meeting. Others are welcome to attend, but residents are given priority.

The town has the option to eliminate the hydrofracking wells, but according to Supervisor Jim Goldstein they must end all natural gas development in the area if they wish to do so.

Here's to your good health: Nurturing the community gardens of Syracuse | syracuse.com

Here's to your good health: Nurturing the community gardens of Syracuse | syracuse.com

Quote "Many people think that easy access to supermarkets is one way to keep a community healthy. But getting supermarkets to stay open in some neighborhoods isn't easy: Supermarkets work on a profit model, the wrong logic for a cash-strapped neighborhood.

Without easy access, low-income people might not be able to travel to a supermarket outside their neighborhood.

Some local organizations and residents are working on other ways for Syracuse residents to get healthy food — especially fresh fruits and vegetables. One is Syracuse Grows, which helps community gardeners with resources and education. Syracuse Grows has 13 member gardens on the city's North, Near West and South sides."

Manlius planners won't let apartment complex expand; owner says he'll challenge that in court | syracuse.com

Manlius planners won't let apartment complex expand; owner says he'll challenge that in court | syracuse.com

Quote:

Manlius, NY -- The developer and owner of the Suburban Park apartment complex in Manlius said Friday he plans to legally challenge the town's denial of his application to expand.

Dave Muraco, who owns the apartment complex situated on 21 acres on Route 92 east of the village of Manlius, wants to expand Suburban Park by adding five new buildings with an additional 30 units. There are currently 32 buildings.

Pennsylvania court strikes down law limiting zoning restrictions on hydrofracking | syracuse.com

Pennsylvania court strikes down law limiting zoning restrictions on hydrofracking | syracuse.com
excerpt
"

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania appellate court panel on Thursday struck down provisions in a new law regulating the state’s booming natural gas industry that opponents said would leave municipalities defenseless to protect homeowners, parks and schools from being surrounded by drilling sites or waste pits.

The decision was a defeat for Gov. Tom Corbett and the natural gas industry, which had long sought the limitations, and the governor’s office said an appeal to the state Supreme Court is likely.

The state Commonwealth Court ruled 4-3 in a decision released Thursday that the limitations in the so-called Act 13 violated the state constitution. The opinion’s author, President Judge Dan Pellegrini, said the provisions upended the municipal zoning rules that had previously been followed by other property owners, unfairly exposing them to harm.

Seven municipalities had sued over the sweeping, 5-month-old law, saying it unconstitutionally takes away the power to control property from towns and landowners for the benefit of the oil and gas industry.

“This is a wonderful victory for local government, a recognition that local municipal officials have a valid interest in protecting the property of their citizens,” said Jordan Yeager, one of the lawyers who argued on behalf of the municipalities. “Act 13 took that away and the court said that the governor and the Legislature had gone too far.”

Among the most objectionable provisions cited by the towns were requirements that drilling, waste pits and pipelines be allowed in every zoning district, including residential districts, as long as certain buffers are observed.

"

In Drought-Stricken Midwest, It's Fodder Vs. Fuel : NPR

In Drought-Stricken Midwest, It's Fodder Vs. Fuel : NPR

Will Drought Cause the Next Blackout? - NYTimes.com

Will Drought Cause the Next Blackout? - NYTimes.com

"WE’RE now in the midst of the nation’s most widespread drought in 60 years, stretching across 29 states and threatening farmers, their crops and livestock. But there is another risk as water becomes more scarce. Power plants may be forced to shut down, and oil and gas production may be threatened.

Our energy system depends on water. About half of the nation’s water withdrawals every day are just for cooling power plants. In addition, the oil and gas industries use tens of millions of gallons a day, injecting water into aging oil fields to improve production, and to free natural gas in shale formations through hydraulic fracturing. Those numbers are not large from a national perspective, but they can be significant locally."