December 2022
A Natural Air Purifier
Depending on how you feel about genetically-modified plants, researchers in France have tweaked the genome of a pothos to metabolize four major indoor air pollutants, including formaldehyde and toluene. The customized flora can even absorb certain VOCs, like the carcinogen benzene, that are present in wildfire smoke. They even hope someday that this type of genetic modification can boost the ability of plants to remove carbon from the air. If you are interested in learning more about this accomplishment, here’s an article: https://www.inverse.com/innovation/genetically-modified-houseplant-air-purifier The website for the company Neoplants is a bit lacking, but if you want to sign up for a $179 air filtration system that you have to water https://neoplants.com/product If you’re interested in even further eco-friendly product development, how about using mushrooms to create electronic devices? https://www.inverse.com/innovation/mushroom-skins-electronics |
Lanternfly Reminder
You can’t spot those brightly-colored wings, but here’s a quick reminder to be on the lookout for their egg cases. It’s a good idea to spot them and get rid of them before they hatch in May. The egg masses are often found on the underside of branches or objects and vary in size, but are typically about 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inches wide.Masses can be found on any hard surface, such as plastic, wood and metal. Trees, rocks, fence posts, automobiles, trains, equipment and more can harbor egg masses. Cornell researchers said there are 30 to 50 eggs per mass. So it’s important to inspect anything moving to different areas from an infested location in order to prevent the spread. If you find egg masses, you should: Scrape them off using anything that is hard, tapered and/or flat. Or kill eggs by putting them into doubled bags, alcohol/hand sanitizer, or by smashing or burning them. Here’s a Youtube video about how to do it, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTRr1Oc6weE&ab_channel=OnlineCourses |
Microplastics in Our Cuisine
The venerable cooking magazine Bon Appetit recently reported on how extensive microplastics have become. So much so that we probably can’t avoid them. It’s in the air, the water we drink and in our food. But also more acutely: in the flesh of many species of fish, like mackerel and anchovies, and mollusks. Other studies have found microplastics in beer, wines with polyethylene stoppers, rice, table salts, and honey. Microplastics can even be found in fruits and vegetables—like apples, broccoli, and carrots—with plants able to absorb nanoplastics through their root systems. And plastic tea bags are leaching billions of particles every time you make a cup of Earl Gray. It’s a fascinating article because it really focuses on how microplastics affect our daily lives; it includes potential health impacts, too. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/microplastics-food
The venerable cooking magazine Bon Appetit recently reported on how extensive microplastics have become. So much so that we probably can’t avoid them. It’s in the air, the water we drink and in our food. But also more acutely: in the flesh of many species of fish, like mackerel and anchovies, and mollusks. Other studies have found microplastics in beer, wines with polyethylene stoppers, rice, table salts, and honey. Microplastics can even be found in fruits and vegetables—like apples, broccoli, and carrots—with plants able to absorb nanoplastics through their root systems. And plastic tea bags are leaching billions of particles every time you make a cup of Earl Gray. It’s a fascinating article because it really focuses on how microplastics affect our daily lives; it includes potential health impacts, too. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/microplastics-food
November 2022
It’s Not Just About Milkweed - An Opinion About Overdevelopment
Every year we share our milkweed seeds with others in hope they will make our butterfly populations thrive. For those who do actually plant the seeds, where were they strewn? Maybe a few plants in carefully cultivated sections of yard, standing like little soldiers surrounded by mulch? Is that how milkweed really grow in nature? Is that what Monarch Butterflies need to survive? Monarchs need an entire native plant community — host plants AND nectar plants. We need to think of the entire ecosystem we’ve created to support fragile, yet vital components. It’s not just our individual yards that matter. Iowa is home to nearly 40% of US Monarch reproduction, yet you will see alongside the highways they are mowing right at the peak larval season. In the northern Midwest 99% of the tallgrass prairie is now gone, and that’s where a significant amount of milkweed, goldenrod, aster, bluestem, cornflower, prairie clover, sedge and other plants grew.
It’s not just about Monarch Butterflies, although they are a visible poster child of what happens when we forgo native plants in favor of “foreign” ornamentals. There’s a lot more that happens in their journey to Mexico and and south, with habitats decimated by drought, logging and building. This happens to many other species on a global scale, but they’re not as recognizable or emotionally captivating. But across the world, habitats are being sliced and diced as emerging economies in India, China, Brazil and across Africa are trying to catch up to the rest of the industrialized world. Ecologically friendly development is expensive, and should they be expected to be eco-friendly as they grow? Probably not, according to Bill Gates.
What does that mean for us, what can we do beyond what we already do? Look around. There are a number of huge building projects in the town of Huntington. Drive down Park Avenue or Half Hollow Road. These are what they consider “underutilized” properties, like small farms, orchards and nurseries. Or a golf course, even a horse-riding facility. A superfund site - yikes! Politicians want to build there because whatever is built will add significantly to the tax base. What we lose is open space that allows rain to re-enter our aquifers, pristine native forests, and habitat for a huge variety of creatures. My heart breaks when I see how they cleared the land on Burr Road where Edna the Orchid and Bonsai lady lived. Her beautiful treed property was totally bulldozed. Beyond the lost flora and fauna, I mentally calculate the amount of carbon that was sequestered in those grounds and which will probably be replaced with swaths of useless Kentucky Bluegrass. If you are concerned about what we are losing - permanently - please let the political leaders know how you feel.
Every year we share our milkweed seeds with others in hope they will make our butterfly populations thrive. For those who do actually plant the seeds, where were they strewn? Maybe a few plants in carefully cultivated sections of yard, standing like little soldiers surrounded by mulch? Is that how milkweed really grow in nature? Is that what Monarch Butterflies need to survive? Monarchs need an entire native plant community — host plants AND nectar plants. We need to think of the entire ecosystem we’ve created to support fragile, yet vital components. It’s not just our individual yards that matter. Iowa is home to nearly 40% of US Monarch reproduction, yet you will see alongside the highways they are mowing right at the peak larval season. In the northern Midwest 99% of the tallgrass prairie is now gone, and that’s where a significant amount of milkweed, goldenrod, aster, bluestem, cornflower, prairie clover, sedge and other plants grew.
It’s not just about Monarch Butterflies, although they are a visible poster child of what happens when we forgo native plants in favor of “foreign” ornamentals. There’s a lot more that happens in their journey to Mexico and and south, with habitats decimated by drought, logging and building. This happens to many other species on a global scale, but they’re not as recognizable or emotionally captivating. But across the world, habitats are being sliced and diced as emerging economies in India, China, Brazil and across Africa are trying to catch up to the rest of the industrialized world. Ecologically friendly development is expensive, and should they be expected to be eco-friendly as they grow? Probably not, according to Bill Gates.
What does that mean for us, what can we do beyond what we already do? Look around. There are a number of huge building projects in the town of Huntington. Drive down Park Avenue or Half Hollow Road. These are what they consider “underutilized” properties, like small farms, orchards and nurseries. Or a golf course, even a horse-riding facility. A superfund site - yikes! Politicians want to build there because whatever is built will add significantly to the tax base. What we lose is open space that allows rain to re-enter our aquifers, pristine native forests, and habitat for a huge variety of creatures. My heart breaks when I see how they cleared the land on Burr Road where Edna the Orchid and Bonsai lady lived. Her beautiful treed property was totally bulldozed. Beyond the lost flora and fauna, I mentally calculate the amount of carbon that was sequestered in those grounds and which will probably be replaced with swaths of useless Kentucky Bluegrass. If you are concerned about what we are losing - permanently - please let the political leaders know how you feel.
Forever Chemicals Around Us
There have been many news articles about PFAS and other “forever chemicals” around us. If you’re interested in the information before it was interpreted by the news media, here are a few snippets. Northeastern University created an interactive map of known and potential contaminated sites in the US, 57,000 of them. How many are here on LI? https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/12412ab41b3141598e0bb48523a7c940/
Why does it matter? All 30K umbilical cord blood samples researchers from around the world have checked in recent years contained PFAS. That’s just a peek into how pervasive these chemicals are; they’ve been linked to countless health issues including cancers and high cholesterol. They’ve been used to make things slippery (Teflon), waterproof and stain-resistant. Carpets, rain jackets, even dental floss contain them. You can read more about them here: https://www.ehn.org/pfas-and-immune-system-2646344962.html
Electric Vehicles and Hurricane Ian
Florida has one of the highest percentages of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) in the US. The evacuations needed to escape the recent hurricane confirmed both benefits and challenges that need to be met. Car owners who were well prepared with fully-charged vehicles did well sitting in traffic jams on highways. Those whose cars required hours to recharge were left in more difficult situations because there are only 5,700 charging stations in the entire state; Cape Coral has only three public charging stations. A level 3 (fastest) station requires a half hour to charge to 80%. At least six of the BEVs left behind by their owners caught fire when salt water reacted with the batteries. Even for those who survived relatively unscathed faced charging stations that had no electricity or which had been damaged by the storm surge. All of this underscores the fact that a lot of work has to be done to make BEVs a practical alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles.
There have been many news articles about PFAS and other “forever chemicals” around us. If you’re interested in the information before it was interpreted by the news media, here are a few snippets. Northeastern University created an interactive map of known and potential contaminated sites in the US, 57,000 of them. How many are here on LI? https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/12412ab41b3141598e0bb48523a7c940/
Why does it matter? All 30K umbilical cord blood samples researchers from around the world have checked in recent years contained PFAS. That’s just a peek into how pervasive these chemicals are; they’ve been linked to countless health issues including cancers and high cholesterol. They’ve been used to make things slippery (Teflon), waterproof and stain-resistant. Carpets, rain jackets, even dental floss contain them. You can read more about them here: https://www.ehn.org/pfas-and-immune-system-2646344962.html
Electric Vehicles and Hurricane Ian
Florida has one of the highest percentages of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) in the US. The evacuations needed to escape the recent hurricane confirmed both benefits and challenges that need to be met. Car owners who were well prepared with fully-charged vehicles did well sitting in traffic jams on highways. Those whose cars required hours to recharge were left in more difficult situations because there are only 5,700 charging stations in the entire state; Cape Coral has only three public charging stations. A level 3 (fastest) station requires a half hour to charge to 80%. At least six of the BEVs left behind by their owners caught fire when salt water reacted with the batteries. Even for those who survived relatively unscathed faced charging stations that had no electricity or which had been damaged by the storm surge. All of this underscores the fact that a lot of work has to be done to make BEVs a practical alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles.
October 2022
Our Air is Getting Less Clean. Why?
The Clean Air Act has helped improve the air we breathe over the years. Yet now, progress is reversing. It is particulate pollution from western wildfires that are the primary source. Particulate pollution causes more than short-term irritation. It has been linked to chronic heart and lung conditions, as well other negative health effects like cognitive decline, depression and premature birth. California has now recognized that suppressing fires over the decades caused a build up of fuel in the forests. Smaller, contained fires are necessary for the health of the forests, but these massive, out-of-control ones are destructive for the forests, wildlife, and our health. Wildfires emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses while damaging forests that would otherwise remove CO2 from the air. And they inject soot and other aerosols into the atmosphere, with complex effects on warming and cooling.
The Clean Air Act has helped improve the air we breathe over the years. Yet now, progress is reversing. It is particulate pollution from western wildfires that are the primary source. Particulate pollution causes more than short-term irritation. It has been linked to chronic heart and lung conditions, as well other negative health effects like cognitive decline, depression and premature birth. California has now recognized that suppressing fires over the decades caused a build up of fuel in the forests. Smaller, contained fires are necessary for the health of the forests, but these massive, out-of-control ones are destructive for the forests, wildlife, and our health. Wildfires emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses while damaging forests that would otherwise remove CO2 from the air. And they inject soot and other aerosols into the atmosphere, with complex effects on warming and cooling.
What is Killing our Pine Trees?
Recognized as a threat by the State DEC over a decade ago, infestation of the Southern Pine Beetle has become full-blown. Most at risk are the pitch pines of the Pine Barrens, but all other pines are at risk. Infected trees have to be cut down, sometimes nearby healthy trees are removed as a buffer. The beetle’s about the size of a grain of rice. If you're hiking and you notice withering trees, you see little sap marks, you see holes in the trees, report it, let someone know, contact the DEC Forest Health Information Line at 866-640-0652 or email the DEC at [email protected]. Specifically, you want to look for pitch tubes or popcorn-shaped clumps of resin on the exterior of the tree bark, shotgun-like holes on the exterior of the bark, S-shaped tunnels or “galleries” underneath the exterior of the tree bark and a dead pine tree with reddish-brown needles.
Questionable Energy Choices
We are all huge consumers of energy. Our dependence on devices and the shift away from fossil fuels have sent us searching for affordable and plentiful alternatives. With the gas pipelines limited from Russia limited in Europe, Germany has taken the dubious choice to burn wood pellets that they are sourcing from ancient forests. China has been faced with rivers drying up in the intense heat of the summer. Dams could no longer provide hydroelectric power, so coal-fired plants were put online again. Rivers are so low, ships are unable to navigate to bring goods from factories, so trucks are being used. Approximately 500 trucks are needed to move what’s on a single ship. The world’s largest electric car battery factory had to shut down for several weeks. The road to eliminating fossil fuels certainly promises to be a bumpy one.
Recognized as a threat by the State DEC over a decade ago, infestation of the Southern Pine Beetle has become full-blown. Most at risk are the pitch pines of the Pine Barrens, but all other pines are at risk. Infected trees have to be cut down, sometimes nearby healthy trees are removed as a buffer. The beetle’s about the size of a grain of rice. If you're hiking and you notice withering trees, you see little sap marks, you see holes in the trees, report it, let someone know, contact the DEC Forest Health Information Line at 866-640-0652 or email the DEC at [email protected]. Specifically, you want to look for pitch tubes or popcorn-shaped clumps of resin on the exterior of the tree bark, shotgun-like holes on the exterior of the bark, S-shaped tunnels or “galleries” underneath the exterior of the tree bark and a dead pine tree with reddish-brown needles.
Questionable Energy Choices
We are all huge consumers of energy. Our dependence on devices and the shift away from fossil fuels have sent us searching for affordable and plentiful alternatives. With the gas pipelines limited from Russia limited in Europe, Germany has taken the dubious choice to burn wood pellets that they are sourcing from ancient forests. China has been faced with rivers drying up in the intense heat of the summer. Dams could no longer provide hydroelectric power, so coal-fired plants were put online again. Rivers are so low, ships are unable to navigate to bring goods from factories, so trucks are being used. Approximately 500 trucks are needed to move what’s on a single ship. The world’s largest electric car battery factory had to shut down for several weeks. The road to eliminating fossil fuels certainly promises to be a bumpy one.
September 2022
Reminder: Look Out for These Bugs and Squash Them!
Spotted Lanternfly suck the sap out of fruit trees and grapevines. They are as far east as Ronkonkoma, if they reach the farmlands of the East End, it could be devastating. The egg masses will be laid this fall, sometimes on vehicles and trailers. If you see suspicious egg masses, scrape them off. Please pass this on to your landscapers because many of them use trucks and trailers that are a perfect spot for these critters to lay their eggs and will then be transported throughout the Island. Believe it or not, there are people who think they are cute or just say they “didn’t ask to be invasive.” Please educate your friends and neighbors about the dangers they pose. https://www.phillyvoice.com/spotted-lanternfly-pennsylvania-research-predators-insects-birds-tree-heaven/
Spotted Lanternfly suck the sap out of fruit trees and grapevines. They are as far east as Ronkonkoma, if they reach the farmlands of the East End, it could be devastating. The egg masses will be laid this fall, sometimes on vehicles and trailers. If you see suspicious egg masses, scrape them off. Please pass this on to your landscapers because many of them use trucks and trailers that are a perfect spot for these critters to lay their eggs and will then be transported throughout the Island. Believe it or not, there are people who think they are cute or just say they “didn’t ask to be invasive.” Please educate your friends and neighbors about the dangers they pose. https://www.phillyvoice.com/spotted-lanternfly-pennsylvania-research-predators-insects-birds-tree-heaven/
All Electric in How Many Years? Be Smart, Don’t Rush
Legislation seems to push ahead of science. By basically outlawing fossil fuels, lawmakers are assuming that it will force renewable energy to “just happen.” In New York State S6843C will prohibit homes from being built that use any kind of fossil fuel power. As soon as 2024 homes would not be built that use oil, gas or propane. Not just heat, but even a gas stove. Gas or propane generators will be a no-go as would gas grills and gas-powered yard equipment. Heat pump technology has improved, but it costs more to install and doesn’t last as long as a gas furnace.
We are racing to reduce emissions, but we don’t have the technology to compensate for the loss of fossil fueled energy. Building the renewable resources to compensate will require many more solar and wind farms everywhere, some estimates suggest they would have to cover 20% of the earth’s surface. The benefits of the petrochemical industry are wide-reaching: most drugs, nylon and polyester clothing, plastics of any sort, food packaging, synthetic rubber, paints, pipes, lubricants, over half of our auto parts and blacktop. Some of these things may be able to be replaced with renewables, but when?
The US can cut back dramatically, and it will cost us in many ways, but banning hydrocarbons here in the US will have little global impact. The US has cut carbon emissions by 14% since 2007, but China, India, Japan and others are adding coal-fired power plants at an alarming rate. The chart below shows 2010 emissions in black, 2020 in blue. This is a reminder that carbon emissions aren’t merely from petroleum. Volcanoes, forest fires, deforestation, “cow farts” or even humans breathing. Experts say global population growth alone increases CO2 levels by 1-2% a year.
Can Carbon Capture be Part of the Solution?
Finding ways to eliminate CO2 emissions has been tricky and expensive. Scientists have discovered a combination of common materials might be so cheap and easy to use and re-use that it might even be practical to use in automotive tailpipes. Mostly melamine, that stuff old Formica countertops and dinnerware were made from, plus formaldehyde and a swimming pool chemical have been found to do a very efficient job. Nearly all the carbon dioxide in a simulated flue gas mixture was absorbed within about 3 minutes. Read more about this at https://phys.org/news/2022-08-simple-cheap-material-carbon-capture.html
Legislation seems to push ahead of science. By basically outlawing fossil fuels, lawmakers are assuming that it will force renewable energy to “just happen.” In New York State S6843C will prohibit homes from being built that use any kind of fossil fuel power. As soon as 2024 homes would not be built that use oil, gas or propane. Not just heat, but even a gas stove. Gas or propane generators will be a no-go as would gas grills and gas-powered yard equipment. Heat pump technology has improved, but it costs more to install and doesn’t last as long as a gas furnace.
We are racing to reduce emissions, but we don’t have the technology to compensate for the loss of fossil fueled energy. Building the renewable resources to compensate will require many more solar and wind farms everywhere, some estimates suggest they would have to cover 20% of the earth’s surface. The benefits of the petrochemical industry are wide-reaching: most drugs, nylon and polyester clothing, plastics of any sort, food packaging, synthetic rubber, paints, pipes, lubricants, over half of our auto parts and blacktop. Some of these things may be able to be replaced with renewables, but when?
The US can cut back dramatically, and it will cost us in many ways, but banning hydrocarbons here in the US will have little global impact. The US has cut carbon emissions by 14% since 2007, but China, India, Japan and others are adding coal-fired power plants at an alarming rate. The chart below shows 2010 emissions in black, 2020 in blue. This is a reminder that carbon emissions aren’t merely from petroleum. Volcanoes, forest fires, deforestation, “cow farts” or even humans breathing. Experts say global population growth alone increases CO2 levels by 1-2% a year.
Can Carbon Capture be Part of the Solution?
Finding ways to eliminate CO2 emissions has been tricky and expensive. Scientists have discovered a combination of common materials might be so cheap and easy to use and re-use that it might even be practical to use in automotive tailpipes. Mostly melamine, that stuff old Formica countertops and dinnerware were made from, plus formaldehyde and a swimming pool chemical have been found to do a very efficient job. Nearly all the carbon dioxide in a simulated flue gas mixture was absorbed within about 3 minutes. Read more about this at https://phys.org/news/2022-08-simple-cheap-material-carbon-capture.html
Roundup Alternatives for Your Lawn and Garden
Source: https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/pesticides/roundup/alternatives/
There are several glyphosate alternatives for controlling weeds around your house. You may need to consider different options for different parts of your yard or garden. Not all options may work in all cases. Putting down a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch will cut off the sunlight weeds need to sprout. Any weeds that manage to germinate will suffocate under the weight of the mulch.
A handful of iron-based weed killers have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Broadleaf weeds absorb iron more easily and in higher amounts than the grass in your lawn. As the iron oxidizes, it kills weeds within just hours after applying it.
Manually digging up weeds by the root may be the most effective way to get rid of them. It is also the most labor intensive.
Source: https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/pesticides/roundup/alternatives/
There are several glyphosate alternatives for controlling weeds around your house. You may need to consider different options for different parts of your yard or garden. Not all options may work in all cases. Putting down a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch will cut off the sunlight weeds need to sprout. Any weeds that manage to germinate will suffocate under the weight of the mulch.
A handful of iron-based weed killers have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Broadleaf weeds absorb iron more easily and in higher amounts than the grass in your lawn. As the iron oxidizes, it kills weeds within just hours after applying it.
Manually digging up weeds by the root may be the most effective way to get rid of them. It is also the most labor intensive.
Organic Alternatives to Roundup
Several brands of organic herbicides are available in the United States. They tend to use naturally occurring oils or acids to kill weeds. These products typically work on weeds after they’ve sprouted. However, they are not usually effective against perennial weeds.
Organic Roundup alternatives include herbicidal soaps that use fatty acids to kill weeds and industrial vinegar, which contains much higher levels of acetic acid than what you have in your kitchen. Acid-based herbicides burn down some young weeds.
Corn gluten meal can kill grass weeds and broadleaf weeds. To use it, spread 20 pounds for every 1,000 square feet of garden. Wait five days to water the area if it hasn’t rained. It should kill weeds for up to six weeks.
Organic herbicides are most effective when weeds are still small and less effective as weeds get older, according to a study by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Several brands of organic herbicides are available in the United States. They tend to use naturally occurring oils or acids to kill weeds. These products typically work on weeds after they’ve sprouted. However, they are not usually effective against perennial weeds.
Organic Roundup alternatives include herbicidal soaps that use fatty acids to kill weeds and industrial vinegar, which contains much higher levels of acetic acid than what you have in your kitchen. Acid-based herbicides burn down some young weeds.
Corn gluten meal can kill grass weeds and broadleaf weeds. To use it, spread 20 pounds for every 1,000 square feet of garden. Wait five days to water the area if it hasn’t rained. It should kill weeds for up to six weeks.
Organic herbicides are most effective when weeds are still small and less effective as weeds get older, according to a study by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
August 2022
New York is Clueless about whether Rechargeable Batteries are being Recycled
What do you do when your device with an enclosed rechargeable battery dies? Cellphone, cordless vacuums, flashlights, toys, electric shavers, etc.? By law you are not supposed to throw it in the trash, even though regular alkaline batteries are acceptable. Consumers are supposed to bring the batteries to an authorized location to b e properly recycled. Places that sell those devices, including Home Depot, Staples, Macy’s, etc. are listed as acceptable locations. (That link will give you all our local options, but if you can’t click the link go here: https://www.call2recycle.org/locator/.) Why are we not informed about this? It turns out that an audit of the DEC indicates they are doing little to enforce this 2010 law. They are not checking to see if manufacturers and retailers are following the law, so DEC has not issued a single fine or penalty since the law was passed.
Bumblebees are Fish and that’s a Good Thing
That’s what a California court ruled, which allows bees to now be included under the state’s Endangered Species Act. “In short, bumble bees are fish if the Fish and Game Commission says they are fish – to provide better protection to them. The decision, though needlessly weird in terms of how fish and bees are usually defined, has been welcomed by groups seeking protection for insects, and other conservationists.”
Hungry Hungry LandscapersCatapano
Dairy, the goat farm in Peconic, is now raising goat landscapers which they will be renting to people who want a team of cute voracious eaters to clear the land of poison ivy, brambles, Japanese Knotweed, etc. “Goats don’t care about poison ivy — they eat it,” Argo Burke said. “They don’t care about thorns, briars or brambles. They think they’re delicious.” (I took this photo of an adorable landscaper-in-training at Catapano and just had to share it.)
Incredibly Rare Orchid Resurfaces
Not seen in Vermont since 1902, the Isotria medeoloides, also known as Small Whorled Pogonia, was spotted recently by botanists in that state and reported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The plants are found primarily in eastern Canada and the United States, with a few populations in central U.S. states. It produces 4-6 greyish green leaves which form a whorled ring around the upper part of the stem. Once fairly common, they have been in decline as the hardwood forests that create their habitat have disappeared. “Discovering a viable population of a federally threatened species unknown in our state for over a century is astounding,” Bob Popp, a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department botanist, said in a statement. “It’s Vermont’s equivalent of rediscovering the ivory-billed woodpecker.”
July 2022
Vegan Honey
It never dawned on me that honey wasn’t vegan. But beyond that, the company that created it claims that honeybees are destroying diversity. We hear all the news about honey bee hive collapses and how their existence is threatened and how if we lose any more of them our food sources will disappear! Yes, honey bees are declining in numbers, but the way honey bees are being “farmed” actually is threatening native pollinators.
It’s a vicious cycle. Honey bees can be an attractive and profitable business. Bee farmers move hives around to different areas to promote pollination and honey. But recent studies show that the competition from honey bees moving into an area can cause the diversity of native pollinators to decline. As I’ve mentioned here before, honey bees are not very efficient pollinators. The USDA suggests 625 mason bees or about 120,000 honey bees are needed to pollinate an acre of apple trees. One of our local mason bee ranchers has a terrific site, if you check out the video link, I highly recommend her TED talk.
If nothing else, this is a reminder to do what you can in your own garden to help support pollinators. Vegan honey tastes like bee honey, apparently; it’s made by tweaking fermentation of various microorganisms that help create beer, but now also vegan milk and egg whites. And much of what is sold as honey these days isn’t pure honey anyway, so it may not be a bad idea.
I’m So Embarrassed! I’ve Been Recycling All Wrong! But I’m Getting Over It.
I’m now over the guilt I had when I stopped recycling everything and started thinking more about what I’m recycling. You may remember a previous column when I admitted I was no longer a serial recycler. No more tiny bits of paper, plastic tabs off the milk cartons or plastic overwrap from my Costco purchases. Once I discovered what I was doing was making recycling more expensive and less effective I felt much better about tossing more stuff in the regular garbage. Zero Waste means recycling less, not more.
Plastic recycling is a contradiction of terms. If it’s marked 1 or 2, there’s a limited market for it. Maybe those items can be reused once or twice. Beyond that, it’s too far degraded to be useful. Other numbers (3 through 7) have no recycled use. While there was an international market at one point, it no longer exists. What we used to send to China ended up as those giant plastic islands that you read about, some twice the size of Texas! It turned out they didn’t have a use for it either. The Atlantic published an honest yet dismal view on why plastics can’t be recycled.
Don’t even think of trying to recycle the pump from your shampoo bottle. It’s made of different kinds of plastic and metal.
Metal is one thing that can be recycled easily and is more profitable than any other material. Aluminum can be recycled an almost unlimited number of times. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a 100 watt lightbulb for 4 hours. Steel gets separated easily from other recyclables by magnets. Melting burns off the labels, glue and paint. Bottle caps belong in the garbage, though. They usually have a plastic lining and are small enough to damage the sorting machinery.
Glass is iffy. It breaks easily, and bottles, windows and drinking glasses are all different types of glass, with different melting points. Broken glass can contaminate other recyclables.
Paper is easy to recycle. But contamination is the big issue; in 2018 China stopped accepting paper bales with more than 1% contamination, a level that is very hard to achieve. So what works? Avoid those day-glo flyers. That’s like doing a load of white laundry with a red sock. Same goes for gift wrap. Don’t tie up your newspapers and cardboard, it’s one more step for the human sorters. Shredded paper goes out with the garbage, it’s impossible to sort. Paper food containers and coffee cups often have a plastic coating or have some sort of food residue, so just garbage. Do package and tie up your flattened corrugated boxes separately, corrugated is very desirable, there’s actually a shortage since the pandemic encouraged more people to order items to be delivered. Maybe reuse them for shipping yourself or find a small business that can use them.
The most important rule is anything you recycle has to be clean. A little organic material of any kind (grease, tomato sauce) can ruin an entire batch. And pretty much anything smaller than your fist isn’t worth recycling either. The best solution? Buy fewer over-packaged products, especially plastics.
June 2022
Contrails
When I first met my husband we were driving around and he blurted out “Wow, look at those entrails!” As I squinted to look for where the guts of an unfortunate animal might be hanging around, I realized he meant the vapor trail from an airplane, contrails. While some people mistakenly believe they are “chemtrails” and contain dangerous chemicals, they really are just mostly water vapor. While they do not pose a risk in that respect, they do contribute to the cloud cover, which can mean some heat that might otherwise dissipate into space is trapped, contributing to higher temperatures. It is possible to minimize the appearance of contrails by plotting routes that might be higher or lower depending on the region and weather conditions.
Bradford Pear - from Hero to Villain
At first cultivars of the Callery Pear were the perfect suburban tree. There’s a fascinating and highly detailed history of where it came from and how it emerged into the pest it is today here. Its rootstock was going to save the pacific northwest’s pear industry from fire blight. In 1971, the USDA even put out a brochure about their care, touting them as trees that bloom several times from spring through fall, thrive in many climates and soils, and don’t attract plant pests. Yes, they don’t attract insects that birds feed upon. Birds can eat the berry-like fruit, but the seeds they poop out will readily germinate pretty much anywhere. Try cutting them down and the stumps will re-grow, even after applying herbicides. They’ve developed 4-inch spikes which can puncture a tractor tire. And those lovely white blooms? They smell like rotting fish. A quick Google search shows you can easily order them online, possibly even at local nurseries, too.
At first cultivars of the Callery Pear were the perfect suburban tree. There’s a fascinating and highly detailed history of where it came from and how it emerged into the pest it is today here. Its rootstock was going to save the pacific northwest’s pear industry from fire blight. In 1971, the USDA even put out a brochure about their care, touting them as trees that bloom several times from spring through fall, thrive in many climates and soils, and don’t attract plant pests. Yes, they don’t attract insects that birds feed upon. Birds can eat the berry-like fruit, but the seeds they poop out will readily germinate pretty much anywhere. Try cutting them down and the stumps will re-grow, even after applying herbicides. They’ve developed 4-inch spikes which can puncture a tractor tire. And those lovely white blooms? They smell like rotting fish. A quick Google search shows you can easily order them online, possibly even at local nurseries, too.
Hydrogen - The Trendiest Power Source
Why are we not seeing more research into hydrogen power? An abundant resource that when used in an engine produces only water vapor. Hydrogen fuel cells are more compact, lighter and would greatly improve the range of battery-powered vehicles. They can be refueled in minutes. A long-haul truck would require 60,000 lbs of batteries to match the range they now get, so no room for cargo, fuel cells would be a solution. But it’s not appropriate everywhere we’re currently using fossil fuels, such as repowering the Northport Stacks. Producing hydrogen, for now, is dirtier than using just fossil fuels. It will use and warm the waters even more than current production. Storing and transporting hydrogen are particularly tricky, and the potential to increase global warming is high. The cost to produce hydrogen is also prohibitively high. The biggest problem is how easily the H2 molecule can escape, so storing and transporting will be particularly tricky. Remember the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg?
May 2022
Oasis Alternatives
Those of you who attended Andrew Pascoe’s demonstration at The Larkfield, may have noted his comment about floral oasis being unfriendly to the environment. In short, oasis is a plastic product, made from petrochemicals, basically formaldehyde and phenol. You probably shouldn’t breathe in the dust when cutting it dry and most definitely shouldn’t pour the water from your arrangement down the sink or into a storm drain. If you want to know more about what it is and how it works, this is an excellent article.
What are good alternatives? If you’re looking for something that works in a similar way, there’s the Oshun Pouch and Agrawool. Neither is an ideal replacement, nor are they 100% environmentally friendly either. Here’s a neat little summary of the pros and cons of both.
A traditional alternative is chicken wire and floral tape. Or a pin frog. A few variations have been developed to improve on the limitations of those choices. If you’d like to see how some experts have adapted to these alternatives, here is a well-illustrated article that shows what you can do with these new tools. No matter what you use, here’s a handy tip sheet you can print out for reference.
In the meantime, just be conscious of how you dispose of the oasis and the water from your arrangements. It’s not biodegradable and the water contains microplastics that contaminate our waterways.
Those of you who attended Andrew Pascoe’s demonstration at The Larkfield, may have noted his comment about floral oasis being unfriendly to the environment. In short, oasis is a plastic product, made from petrochemicals, basically formaldehyde and phenol. You probably shouldn’t breathe in the dust when cutting it dry and most definitely shouldn’t pour the water from your arrangement down the sink or into a storm drain. If you want to know more about what it is and how it works, this is an excellent article.
What are good alternatives? If you’re looking for something that works in a similar way, there’s the Oshun Pouch and Agrawool. Neither is an ideal replacement, nor are they 100% environmentally friendly either. Here’s a neat little summary of the pros and cons of both.
A traditional alternative is chicken wire and floral tape. Or a pin frog. A few variations have been developed to improve on the limitations of those choices. If you’d like to see how some experts have adapted to these alternatives, here is a well-illustrated article that shows what you can do with these new tools. No matter what you use, here’s a handy tip sheet you can print out for reference.
In the meantime, just be conscious of how you dispose of the oasis and the water from your arrangements. It’s not biodegradable and the water contains microplastics that contaminate our waterways.
Sustainable Gardening
Have you incorporated any new eco-friendly techniques into your garden for 2022? You can plant more flowers to attract pollinators, use more native plants, looking at companion plantings to reduce pest infestations and ways to reduce water consumption. A sustainable garden is less work for you and is better for the environment. This article shows 18 different things to inspire you.
If you’re ready to take the next step, you may want to consider a permaculture garden. Permaculture mimics what nature already does, and your garden can just build on those principles. An excellent way to incorporate the concept of permaculture is through a kitchen garden and
this site promises “everything you need to know” but it is a fun resource with pictures and videos. If you’re looking for ideas on how a kitchen garden could be incorporated into your space, this blog has links to all sorts of possible designs.
Have you incorporated any new eco-friendly techniques into your garden for 2022? You can plant more flowers to attract pollinators, use more native plants, looking at companion plantings to reduce pest infestations and ways to reduce water consumption. A sustainable garden is less work for you and is better for the environment. This article shows 18 different things to inspire you.
If you’re ready to take the next step, you may want to consider a permaculture garden. Permaculture mimics what nature already does, and your garden can just build on those principles. An excellent way to incorporate the concept of permaculture is through a kitchen garden and
this site promises “everything you need to know” but it is a fun resource with pictures and videos. If you’re looking for ideas on how a kitchen garden could be incorporated into your space, this blog has links to all sorts of possible designs.
April 2022
April is Earth Month
It’s Earth Month, try to change one thing you do that might help improve the environment, every little bit does count.
If you care to test your knowledge, here are some Earth Day quizzes.
They Call it Black Gold
So what is compost and why is it such a prized addition to our gardens? It’s decomposed organic matter that's been broken down by bacteria, fungi, insects, and other organisms. It adds nutrients to the soil, fights plant diseases, helps soil retain water, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. It’s a great way to use most food scraps you’d otherwise just throw away.
There are lots of different composting methods, mostly depending on how serious you are about composting. Anyone should be able to corral their compost into an old garbage can full of holes or even a cylinder of chicken wire. A good carbon-nitrogen mix works well. Typically, green, fresh, and colorful debris provides a good source of nitrogen. Coffee grounds are an exception; they are full of nitrogen. Other browns and beiges—chopped-up autumn leaves and twigs, wood chips, and straw—provide carbon. Although a pile of autumn leaves will eventually break down on its own, adding some high-nitrogen lawn clippings, vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds will speed things along. Then, just chop it up, keep it moist, and be sure it drains. Here’s a list of what to include - and not. Even citrus peels.
Not ready to commit to compost but want to find a use for food scraps? How about a little nutrient-rich mix to add potassium and calcium to your tomatoes and peppers: bananas and eggshells. Finally, this little blog gives a good overview of how communities and individuals have creatively addressed composting, worth the quick read.
Here Come Giant Spiders?
Native to East Asia, now in the US since 2013, Joro spiders look worse than their threat. Well, maybe. A type of Orb spider they make huge, ballooning webs and use the webs like parachutes to travel. They are mostly harmless to humans, and some think they may not be much of a threat as they dine on annoying mosquitos and brown marmorated stinkbugs, which are invasive and have no natural predators on Long Island.
They might provide food for birds, but since they are non-native, maybe not enough to control their numbers. Therefore, there’s the possibility that due to their size, they might overwhelm smaller local spider populations.
It’s Earth Month, try to change one thing you do that might help improve the environment, every little bit does count.
If you care to test your knowledge, here are some Earth Day quizzes.
They Call it Black Gold
So what is compost and why is it such a prized addition to our gardens? It’s decomposed organic matter that's been broken down by bacteria, fungi, insects, and other organisms. It adds nutrients to the soil, fights plant diseases, helps soil retain water, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. It’s a great way to use most food scraps you’d otherwise just throw away.
There are lots of different composting methods, mostly depending on how serious you are about composting. Anyone should be able to corral their compost into an old garbage can full of holes or even a cylinder of chicken wire. A good carbon-nitrogen mix works well. Typically, green, fresh, and colorful debris provides a good source of nitrogen. Coffee grounds are an exception; they are full of nitrogen. Other browns and beiges—chopped-up autumn leaves and twigs, wood chips, and straw—provide carbon. Although a pile of autumn leaves will eventually break down on its own, adding some high-nitrogen lawn clippings, vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds will speed things along. Then, just chop it up, keep it moist, and be sure it drains. Here’s a list of what to include - and not. Even citrus peels.
Not ready to commit to compost but want to find a use for food scraps? How about a little nutrient-rich mix to add potassium and calcium to your tomatoes and peppers: bananas and eggshells. Finally, this little blog gives a good overview of how communities and individuals have creatively addressed composting, worth the quick read.
Here Come Giant Spiders?
Native to East Asia, now in the US since 2013, Joro spiders look worse than their threat. Well, maybe. A type of Orb spider they make huge, ballooning webs and use the webs like parachutes to travel. They are mostly harmless to humans, and some think they may not be much of a threat as they dine on annoying mosquitos and brown marmorated stinkbugs, which are invasive and have no natural predators on Long Island.
They might provide food for birds, but since they are non-native, maybe not enough to control their numbers. Therefore, there’s the possibility that due to their size, they might overwhelm smaller local spider populations.
March 2022
Don’t Spring Too Early into Spring Cleaning
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation reminds us that if you start Spring cleaning your garden the first warm day, you may be destroying some of our pollinators. Most bees don’t live in hives like the honeybee, they nest inside hollow grasses, in the ground and in cavities. If you must cut down that tall dry pampas grass, tie a string around it, and carefully lop it off at the bottom. You can then take the whole thing and set it in a corner of your property until mid-May. Starting too early to mow your lawn or apply chemicals can seriously affect ground-dwelling bees, which is most bees. Fruit tree blooming helps us predict when pollinators become active.
The link above is to an 18-page PDF guide to “identify wild pollinators, provide them with food and habitat, and avoid pesticides that are toxic to them. By encouraging wild bee abundance and diversity, agricultural growers may be able to buffer rising honey bee rental costs while creating an environment that better supports both wild and commercial bees.”
For Peat’s Sake! Don’t Plant More Trees!
What makes up just 3 percent of land on Earth, yet stores twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined? Peatlands! Peatlands go by many different names, bogs, moors, fens and the more obscure pocosins, palsa, blanket bogs and tropical peat swamp forests. The waterlogged nature of these wetlands prevents organic matter from decomposing fully. In short, all that carbon is stored forever.
Remember when “planting trees” was a solution to global warming? In Scotland about a third of their famous peatland was dug up and planted with non-native conifers that have fared poorly. They are now digging them up and burying the wood in an effort to restore the peatlands.
How well can a peatland keep organic matter from decomposing? A quick Google search of “bog bodies” will take you down a fascinating rabbit hole of 2,000 year old corpses that appear to have died yesterday. The land itself is what some might term “unusable land.” You can’t build on it or plant on it, so in many instances it’s been drained and dug up. Disturbing the peatlands has meant releasing enormous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, amounting to about 5% of total emissions every year. In Indonesia they’re drained tropical peat forests and replaced them with palm oil plantations. Releasing as much CO2 as 9 coal-powered electric plants. Countries around the world are now looking at ways to restore them. Rehydrating them is the key, and that is not always successful.
If you’re interested in knowing more, the NY Times has a fun little interactive article (I don’t know if you need a subscription). This article is more heavy into the science, numbers and legislation. And so much is unknown that the global impact of “net changes in peat carbon over the next 80 years could range from a gain of 103 billion tons to a loss of 360 billion tons.”
Electric Vehicles – Will We Meet the Goals? What Needs to be Done to Make it Work?
Electric cars may not be “working” for everyone who’s bought them. About 20% will go back to their gasoline vehicles. One of the big drawbacks is it can’t be an “only car.” Range and the ability to recharge quickly wherever and whenever needed are among the reasons cited. And brand loyalty is an issue for those who don’t own a Tesla. Most will not buy the same brand according to J.D. Power.
Emergency evacuations pose a problem, evaluated by the state government in Florida. There are similar scenarios in California with wildfires and rolling blackouts. Your EV may not have the range to evacuate without charging along the way. Were you able to start with a full charge? Or how long will it be before electricity is restored to your area? We’ve all seen people who get impatient waiting for the car ahead of them to finish filling up at the gas station. Imagine them having to wait in line at a charging station.
Our electric grid is old, much built in the 1950s and 1960s with a 50-year life expectancy. According to Princeton University electricity consumption is expected to double between 2020 and 2050. Some manufacturers won’t be making gasoline vehicles in seven years. So much to think about.
February 2022
As scary as it sounds, if something isn’t eating your plants, your garden is not part of the ecosystem. 96% of terrestrial birds raise their young on insects.
The benefits of adding native plants to your garden are far-reaching. Fun fact: there are over 400 bee species native to New York. About 70% of them nest in the ground, others in stems and between rocks. Not only do native plants provide food and shelter to native insect and animal species, but they don’t need much water or fertilizer or mowing. Just because a garden is full of native species does not mean it is random or wild-looking. Here is an informal tour of four gardens in New Jersey that feature native plants. Not everything is in bloom, but it has some good information about the plant species and the kinds of wildlife that are attracted to the gardens, like butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and even snakes! Garden Tour: Native Plant Society, New Jersey
ReWild Long Island is a grassroots organization that promotes sustainable gardening. Here are photos of some of the projects members have created in their own gardens - there’s even a container garden! Real-life Examples and Ideas — ReWild Long Island If you have a half hour, here’s a video webinar on maintaining a native plant garden (yes, you DO want to weed it, but there are a few things you DON’T want to do).
Maintenance of a Weed Free and Vibrant Native Plant Garden
and here are suggestions on 22 Native Perennials for 2022 specific to Long Island
Thinking about Recycling
A while back I was trying to arrange a tour of our local recycling plant to no avail. But I did find a few videos online that explain the process, and which may help us become better recyclers. Although this is really more of a virtual field trip for high schoolers, it’s probably a close approximation of how our system works here. Recycling Center Video Tour Grades 9-12 The future of recycling can be seen in this German plastic recycling plant. It really does explain how complicated it is to turn plastic into something useful. Recycling plastics – Resource efficiency with an optimized sorting method
And while many of these ideas have little broad application here, some interesting ways to create energy from novel sources or eliminate/repurpose plastic waste.22 Inventions That Are Saving The Earth
As scary as it sounds, if something isn’t eating your plants, your garden is not part of the ecosystem. 96% of terrestrial birds raise their young on insects.
The benefits of adding native plants to your garden are far-reaching. Fun fact: there are over 400 bee species native to New York. About 70% of them nest in the ground, others in stems and between rocks. Not only do native plants provide food and shelter to native insect and animal species, but they don’t need much water or fertilizer or mowing. Just because a garden is full of native species does not mean it is random or wild-looking. Here is an informal tour of four gardens in New Jersey that feature native plants. Not everything is in bloom, but it has some good information about the plant species and the kinds of wildlife that are attracted to the gardens, like butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and even snakes! Garden Tour: Native Plant Society, New Jersey
ReWild Long Island is a grassroots organization that promotes sustainable gardening. Here are photos of some of the projects members have created in their own gardens - there’s even a container garden! Real-life Examples and Ideas — ReWild Long Island If you have a half hour, here’s a video webinar on maintaining a native plant garden (yes, you DO want to weed it, but there are a few things you DON’T want to do).
Maintenance of a Weed Free and Vibrant Native Plant Garden
and here are suggestions on 22 Native Perennials for 2022 specific to Long Island
Thinking about Recycling
A while back I was trying to arrange a tour of our local recycling plant to no avail. But I did find a few videos online that explain the process, and which may help us become better recyclers. Although this is really more of a virtual field trip for high schoolers, it’s probably a close approximation of how our system works here. Recycling Center Video Tour Grades 9-12 The future of recycling can be seen in this German plastic recycling plant. It really does explain how complicated it is to turn plastic into something useful. Recycling plastics – Resource efficiency with an optimized sorting method
And while many of these ideas have little broad application here, some interesting ways to create energy from novel sources or eliminate/repurpose plastic waste.22 Inventions That Are Saving The Earth
Conservation Corner - 1/2022
By Karen Fuller
There is not a lot to do in the garden at this time of year, but there is plenty of time to think, reflect and plan. I like to read a lot of different things and thought I’d share some of my current inspirations:
Funding for LI Sound preservation: Several local organizations dedicated to protecting Long Island’s waterways have received a chunk of the $2.94 million for initiatives that aim to improve water quality in the Long Island Sound near the areas of Oyster Bay, Hempstead Harbor, Northport, Udall’s Cove, Little Neck Bay, Queens, Roslyn Harbor, and Centerport Harbor.
Forest fires and carbon sinks. Scientists have discovered that the earth may have found a way to store carbon more effectively after a serious forest fire. Deep burns may allow different tree species to grow, storing up to four times the carbon than the species that burned. Of course, the fires released tremendous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, but these findings may provide insight into ways to replant and “pump the brakes” a bit on global warming. This is a quick 60-second podcast so it’s just one minute of your time.
Sustainable landscapes across the Pond: UK property developers Grovesnor go back 1,000 years. Recognizing how times have changed, they have requested design plans for London’s second largest garden square. No, it’s not “local” for us, but fun to see how an established space can be reimagined. Here are the designs. More UK projects in anticipation of the Platinum Jubilee in the summer of 2022 promise “an explosion of colour.”
Ethnobotany was a new term for me. Ethnobotany is the study of how people of a particular culture and region make use of indigenous (native) plants. Plants provide food, medicine, shelter, dyes, fibers, oils,
resins, gums, soaps, waxes, latex, tannins, and even contribute to the air we breathe. Many native peoples also use plants in ceremonial or spiritual rituals. This woman’s journey from amputee pre-med student to ethnobotanist to Associate Professor of dermatology and human health at Emory University is a fascinating short read. Her book (with excerpts and a short bio) is here.
More thoughts: So this is not a conservation topic, but a beautiful pictorial essay on Beatrix Farrand photographed by Annie Liebovitz for Vogue. Farrand was “a pioneering American landscape architect” and her designs are as lovely today as they were a century ago. Inspiration for all of us.