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With the ban of DDT, the bald eagle has come back from 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to 71,400 nesting pairs and was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007.
Seaq68 via Pixabay
MILLBROOK — In today’s world of climate change worry, Peter Groffman, research fellow at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, gave a lecture of hope for the future of the environment.
Groffman “studies urban ecology and how climate change alters microbial processes that support plant growth and air and water quality.” He is the president-elect of the Ecological Society of America and teaches at the City University of New York and Brooklyn College.
He began with the example of how the bald eagle has made a comeback.
Groffman said, “When I was a kid, there were no bald eagles.” In 1963, in the lower forty-eight states, there were 417 nesting pairs of eagles. That has grown to 71,400 nesting pairs.
The cause of the eagle’s dwindling population was traced to the pesticide DDT. DDT is not “directly toxic” to bald eagles, but when used to spray an area of mosquitoes to combat diseases such as malaria, it washed into streams. There it got on insects living in the water. These insects were eaten by bigger insects, who in turn were eaten by fish, who were then eaten by bigger fish, and these fish were eaten by bald eagles.
“In each stage of the food chain, the DDT is bio-accumulated,” said Groffman and in the eagles, the DDT caused their eggshells to be thin. So, thin that when the parent eagles sat on the nest, they crushed the eggs and the babies died.
“How did they figure this out?” asked Groffman. He said, “You need to know something about birds, something about fish, something about hydrology and microbiology, and you had to understand the connection between the different parts of the landscape.”
Scientist Rachel Carson (author of “Silent Spring”) put this all together and the solution was to ban DDT.
Groffman stressed the steps in solving any ecological problem: Identify the problem, find a solution, get the solution implemented (which is not always easy to accomplish), and track the success.
He said it was important that different branches of science work together and realize the “connectivity of soil, water, air, insects, fish and birds.”
Groffman talked about acid rain next. “Acid rain is a very clear success story.” Acid rain comes from “the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal.”
When coal is burned it gives off sulfur and nitrogen which combine to form sulfuric acid, and this comes to earth in precipitation and makes streams acidic and has a “negative impact” on animals, plants, and fish. It can cause “dead lakes” where fish and vegetation die.
To solve this problem, he said, “an understanding of chemistry, fish, atmospheric chemistry and hydrology” was needed.
The solution was to “get sulfur out of coal” which happened with the Clean Air Act of 1990. In tracking this solution, scientists found that there is much less acidity in water and soil and plants and organisms are recovering.
Another area of success has been noticed with eutrophication of bodies of water. Fertilizers used to grow crops can wash into streams and pollute them. This can cause algae to grow, die and decompose. The bacteria causing the decomposition “sucks the oxygen out” of the water which then has no oxygen and fish and vegetation die.
Scientists found that phosphorus was causing this problem. The solution was the Clean Water Act of 1972 which “removed phosphorus from detergents” and helped manage “sources of pollutants in the landscape”.
The result is cleaner water in rivers, streams, and lakes.
Groffman stated they’ve learned that today’s problems require a new way of doing science in which “We need everybody on board.” As with the solution of the bald eagles, many disciplines of science need to work together.
Groffman explained that implementing solutions can be difficult. “If we propose solutions that are a real pain in the neck for people, they’re not going to do them. If they don’t do it, we back slide.”
In France, one of the leading nations in fighting climate change, there was recently resistance to a New Green Energy Tax on fuel. Yellow vest protesters took to the streets to make their displeasure known. Groffman said that “how solutions affect people is important to consider.”
Increases in the use of solar energy and wind energy in the last couple of decades are positive signs in the fight against global warming.
Groffman mentioned that there is criticism that the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and action on global warming were delayed by governmental agencies wanting more research done. The International governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been recommending actions such as lowering carbon energy use and behavioral and lifestyle changes since the 1970’s and in the 1990’s declared that action needed to be taken with no more delays.
The last stage in finding solutions to ecological problems is an important one: tracking the success for any “wobbles” or “squeals” which may indicate the solution is failing or having problems.
Groffman said that current challenges are climate change and Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCP’s). Drugs and microplastics in PPCP’s are dumped down drains, get into sewers, and into water systems. But he declared, “I’m going to argue that science is evolving to meet these problems.”
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SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) will hold a public hearing Monday, May 20, 6:45 on Zoom on the Salisbury Housing Trust’s (SHT) application to build two affordable housing houses on town-owned property on Undermountain Road and Grove Street.
The commission received the application at its April 15 meeting.
The site is currently used in part for parking for employees of the White Hart Inn.
On Feb. 5, the P&Z determined that the proposal for affordable housing is in agreement with the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). That was in response to the Board of Selectmen’s January referral of the proposal to the commission for an “8-24 review.”
This refers to section 8-24 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which requires that selling or leasing town-owned property be referred to the PZC to determine whether the proposed use is consistent with the town’s POCD.
The SHT application can be seen on the town website, salisburyct.us (click on Planning and Zoning meeting documents).
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Luke Warner soared over the Amherst offense to swat down a pass during the Ultimate Mini-Tourney at The Hotchkiss School Saturday, April 20.
Patrick L. Sullivan
LAKEVILLE — On a soggy Saturday, April 20, eight teams competed in an Ultimate Frisbee mini tournament hosted by The Hotchkiss School.
There were teams from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Two middle schools competed against high school junior varsity squads.
A Lakeville Journal reporter watched as Hotchkiss played Amherst High School in the first round. Hotchkiss moved the disc with confidence, especially off turnovers, and prevailed 11-2.
In the end, Hotchkiss finished second at 2-1 in both the varsity and JV pools. Wooster School won Pool A (varsity) 3-0, and Columbia High School from New Jersey won Pool B (JV and middle school) 3-0.
Hotchkiss coach David Thompson said, “We were lucky with clear weather and lots of great Ultimate. Both Hotchkiss teams had a good day, each going 2-1 against solid competition. We all appreciated the mutual respect amongst the teams, and good, fair play. The Hotchkiss varsity team had 11 different people score points, and 9 different people throw assists; a true team effort.”
For the uninitiated, Ultimate is a non-contact team sport involving squads of seven. Players cannot run with the disc. Players pass the disc to each other to ultimately wind up in the end zone for a score. A turnover occurs when a pass is dropped, missed, intercepted, or goes out of bounds. Defenders call a “stall” when guarding an offensive player with the disc, and start counting aloud, usually 10 seconds. The offensive player must throw the disc in that time, or a turnover is called.
Ultimate is unusual in that there are no referees. The players are self-regulating, and there is a spirit of the game” ethos that pervades the sport.
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Josiah and Everett Newton with Aunt Kathy learned the importance of sorting and separating food scraps recycleables, and trash at Kent Memorial Library as part of a composting class for Earth Day.
Lans Christensen
KENT — The Kent Memorial Library and Kent Conservation Commission joined forces to bring a meaningful and educational program concerning nutrients, recycling and trash April 18.
Carol Franken of the Conservation Commission, the presenter, said one of her main composting concerns was, “How to make it meaningful to preschoolers.”
This was not a “drop off” event for the kids, and all attendees were accompanied by parents and adults. Franken added, “The most important words for the day are ‘food scraps, decompose, and compost’.”
Lots of visual aids and props turned the event into a hands-on class for the kids. Large, tied plastic bags full of mystery material were given to all participants. The bags were then weighed and opened, revealing a big assortment of food scraps, recyclables and plain old trash.
Kids were then asked to sort the three types of contents, and with the food scraps removed, the bags were weighed again. No surprise, the bags were much lighter.
Another of Franken’s displays featured three bins of compost: one was new food scraps and leaves, the second was a 6-month-old compost bin, and the third was a year old -- now completely decomposed down to pure, nutritious, compost.
The program highlighted the importance of separating food scraps from trash and stressed the benefits of creating compost at home. Kids were then given biodegradable seed pots and plant seeds to take home, nurture, and learn by watching them grow.
Kent Transfer station has added a food scrap bin to aid the composting cause.
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