The BEAT News December 16, 2009

Holiday Tips from GREEN Northampton

It boggles the mind.  

Americans generate an extra million tons of trash per week between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  

It doesn’t have to be that way.  

In light of GREEN Northampton’s objective to reduce the solid waste stream to the landfill by 90% by 2011, we have compiled a list of steps to make the holiday season more sustainable and perhaps slow the closing of the landfill just a little.

Link to pdf.
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Taking Action on Global Warming Solutions
Beginning this month, subcommittees of the Massachusetts Climate Protection and Green Economy Advisory Committee will begin meeting to discuss strategies for achieving the Global Warming Solutions Act’s goal of 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. These meetings are open to the public and you can find information about the meetings, as they are scheduled, and the subcommittees at: http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/committee/cpge.htm .
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Patrick Administration Protected 22,353 Acres of Land in FY 2009
New grants to protect additional 813 acres kick off conservation efforts for 2010

BOSTON – In keeping with Governor Patrick’s unprecedented commitment to preserve open spaces and improve public parks across the state, the Commonwealth permanently protected 22,353 acres of land – the equivalent of 61 acres per day – during fiscal year 2009, and today awarded additional grants totaling $4 million to preserve another 800 acres, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles announced.
During the first two and half years of Governor Patrick’s administration, the Commonwealth protected nearly 54,000 acres of land – with 24,104 acres protected during fiscal year 2008.

“Open spaces – from our urban parks to our rural farms – are some of the Commonwealth’s most precious assets,” said Governor Patrick. “We are making great progress toward preserving those assets for generations to come.”

“By conserving land across the Commonwealth, we’re saving our landscapes for recreation and agriculture, and ensuring water quality for our children’s children,” said Secretary Bowles, whose office released its FY 2009 Land Protection Report today. “These efforts showcase the successful partnership across agencies, community organizations, land trusts and private citizens who worked to protect thousands of acres from Wareham to Whately.”

FY 2010 Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grants will fund projects in Amherst, Brewster, Groton, Groveland, Harwich, Millbury, Monson, North Andover, North Hampton, Petersham, Plymouth, and Taunton. Click here for a link to a statewide map of grant recipients.
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Could Nanoparticles Cause "Dramatic Mutations?"
Nanoparticles, hailed as the solution for everything from the next generation of micro-electronic gadgets to curing cancer, are poorly understood. When scientists first mastered the technology for creating and manipulating microscopic balls and tubes, toxicologists speculated that the tiny particles would have properties similar to the same chemicals on an every-day scale. Occupational hygienists worried about new exposure routes, like inhaling fine nano-dusts. Industry argued that nothing changed: For example, silver ions (the negatively charged silver atom, which is normally part of a silver salt) have been used for antibacterial purposes for years without (too many) major fish kills, so nanosilver should be fine, maybe even an improvement.

But as the use of silver nanoparticles increases, in everything from washing machines to the new Tata water filter intended to bring safer water cheaply to billions of potential customers, a new study confirms disturbing evidence that silver nanoparticles cause "dramatic mutations" in fish. <more – Nanoparticles or No-No particles? >
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Grant may be headed to BCC
If approved, the project will be the first of its kind in the region, and play a key role in the development of green economy in the state.

By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Updated: 12/13/2009 06:33:31 AM EST

Sunday, Dec. 13
PITTSFIELD — Pending Senate approval, Berkshire Community College may get an additional $100,000 for the conversion of the college’s Ralph Hoffman Environmental Center into what will be known as a Renewable Energy Resource Training Center.
Earlier this year, the House earmarked $650,000 for this project. But on Friday, Congressman John Olver’s office announced that the appropriation is now $750,000. The Senate is expected to enact the proposal before Friday, Dec. 18.
The new focus of the center will be local training for "green" jobs. 

<more in the Berkshire Eagle – BEAT COMMENT – the Eagle should learn to check the spelling of names such as Hoffmann – see information on Ralph Hoffmann below.>

From the Hoffmann Bird Club website:
" He was… the author of the first true field guide to birds. In 1904 Ralph Hoffmann, a young schoolmaster and Latin scholar, published A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York. The text was unprecedented in that it focused on field marks, behavior, habitat, call notes and songs, even going so far as to provide a refined phonetic system to help identify songs. He provided comments following the description of each bird which included comparisons to similar species. Everything in the book was geared to bird identification in the field.

Hoffmann was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1870. He graduated from Harvard at age twenty and married at age twenty-three. In 1919, Hoffmann accepted a position at the Cate School for Boys in Santa Barbara. He began, almost immediately, his research into the birds of the area. In 1927 Hoffmann published Birds of the Pacific States which went to even greater extents than his first guide to refine the phonetics of bird song."
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Climate Change Highlights Value and Vulnerabilities of Area Woodlands

Haydenville, MA – December 12, 2009 – Can your woods help fight global climate change? With one of the largest contiguous forests in New England, the trees of the Highlands are a valuable asset in absorbing climate-warming carbon. Those trees may also look very different if global temperatures rise as predicted. On Wednesday, January 27th, the Highland Communities Initiative invites you to the first workshop in its new series “Climate Change and Your Land: What Can You Do?,” at 6:30PM at the Buckland Shelburne Community Center in Shelburne Falls. The event will focus on how forests sequester carbon and a new, pilot forest carbon trading program.

With melting glaciers and rising sea levels catching the world’s attention, it is easy to overlook what changing weather patterns may mean for local woodlands. “The threats are substantial,” according to workshop presenter Lisa Vernegaard , Director of Planning and Stewardship for The Trustees of Reservations, who will offer current thinking about climate change’s effects on the health and composition of New England’s woodlands. Bob Perschel of the Forest Guild and Mike Burns from CarbonTree will discuss how forests store carbon, and present the details of a pilot carbon trading program now available to Massachusetts landowners. 

The event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Call HCI to pre-register at 413-268-8219. In case of snow, the program will be held on January 28th.

# # #

HCI & The Trustees of Reservations
A program of The Trustees of Reservations, the Highland Communities Initiative is a group of neighbors and volunteers working to enhance the quality of life and rural character of our communities.  In 2000, Highland residents worked with the Trustees of Reservations to form HCI in order to protect one of New England’s quintessential rural landscapes as it braced for the tide of unplanned development sweeping across Massachusetts . Now, HCI connects people, towns, and organizations, giving them the tools and support they need to advocate for conservation and community preservation in their own communities and across the region. To find out more, please visit us at www.highlandcommunities.org  

Founded in 1891, The Trustees of Reservations is the nation’s oldest regional land trust and nonprofit conservation organization. The Trustees of Reservations welcomes the public to enjoy and experience our nine beautiful properties in the Pioneer Valley and our 100 special places across Massachusetts .  The Trustees rely on dedicated staff, volunteers, members and donors to raise community awareness around the importance of preserving exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological landscapes; to interpret the stories that emerge from our local history and define our community character; to sustain local farms and natural resources; and to offer our visitors top notch outdoor experiences.  To learn more, please visit www.thetrustees.org or call the Pioneer Valley office at 413.532.1631

Mark Wamsley
Program & Outreach Coordinator
Highland Communities Initiative
The Trustees of Reservations
(413) 268-8219
http://www.highlandcommunities.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My Place is the Highlands !"
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Patrick-Murray Administration Maintains Incinerator Moratorium, Expands Recycling Efforts
EEA outlines priorities for comprehensive recycling push; calls for review of construction and demolition material used for fuel

The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced that it would maintain the existing moratorium on new facilities for incineration of municipal solid waste.  In addition, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles outlined Governor Patrick’s priorities for expanding the recycling of key products like water bottles and consumer electronics, as part of a push to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.

"We are serious about managing the waste we generate in a way that saves money for cities and towns, curbs pollution and protects the environment for our children and grandchildren," said Governor Deval Patrick. "There are better ways than traditional incineration."

"Focusing on incineration and landfills is the wrong end of the waste equation," said Secretary Bowles. "While Massachusetts is ahead of the national average in recycling and some communities like Nantucket are leading the way, there is a lot more we can do to increase recycling and reduce disposal of useful materials."

The Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has had in place a moratorium on new municipal solid waste combustion facilities since 1990. As MassDEP prepares a new Solid Waste Master Plan, which it is expected to issue as a draft in early 2010, today’s announcement specifies that the new plan will maintain the moratorium, but also strengthen it in two ways – by reducing dramatically the amount of recyclable material going into the waste stream, and by developing stringent new performance standards for existing waste-to-energy facilities that require higher recycling rates in waste collection areas, lower emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and higher efficiency in energy recapture. MassDEP will work toward developing these performance standards for the next 10-year Master Plan.

Secretary Bowles noted that anaerobic digestion, advanced biofuels, and other proven types of waste-to-energy technology applied to organic wastes, will continue to be encouraged in the new Master Plan, but that incineration of mixed municipal solid waste will continue to be restricted to existing facilities.

To complement the incinerator moratorium, the Patrick-Murray Administration is committed to an aggressive agenda of recycling and waste reduction that gives cities and towns assistance to expand and improve their recycling efforts and requires greater responsibility from manufacturers for products – ranging from water bottles to televisions – that end up in our waste stream.

  • The Patrick-Murray Administration’s priorities to expand recycling and waste reduction include:
    Consumer Electronics: The Administration calls for passage of comprehensive producer responsibility legislation for discarded electronics, the so-called "E-Waste" bill, relieving municipalities of this burden.
  • Expanded Bottle Bill: The Administration urges approval of an expanded bottle bill to cover water and sports drink bottles, which will reduce litter, increase recycling rates for containers from the fastest-growing segment of beverages, and provide additional resources to support local recycling efforts.
  • New Protections for Communities: The Administration will seek greater authority for MassDEP to intervene in problem landfills, such as the one on Crow Lane in Newburyport, and new authority to require waste haulers to provide full recycling services to their customers.
  • Helping Municipalities Increase Recycling Rates: The Administration will work with the Legislature, municipalities, and stakeholders to devise new standards and programs to help cities and towns reach higher rates of recycling by offering assistance for municipalities to adopt more effective methods, such as single-stream recycling, which eliminates the need for households to sort their recyclables.

"This initiative will return Massachusetts to national leadership in recycling," said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt. "Built on this foundation, the Solid Waste Master Plan issued next year will guide consumers, businesses, and municipalities toward a future of more recycling, and less landfills and incineration."

At the same time, Secretary Bowles announced that he has directed MassDEP to suspend review of permit applications for facilities proposing to use construction and demolition materials (C&D) as fuel for energy generation, including the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy facility, until a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts of using such materials is completed.. This assessment will include a review of potential for emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants related to C&D, an analysis of level of contaminants commonly found in C&D feedstocks, and a review of the most effective means for minimizing, sampling and monitoring of toxics and other contaminants of concern in these feedstocks. Further, the Secretary has directed MassDEP, in coordination with the state Department of Public Health (DPH), to conduct a review of the potential public health impacts associated with the combustion C&D.
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1955 Flood Documentary DVD : The Pilgrim Candle Marketplace, in partnership with WRWA (the Westfield River Watershed Association), will sell DVD’s of Five Feet and Rising: The Flood of ’55. This 28-minute documentary, produced by Jack Hayward of Hayward Communications and co-produced by Mark Saint Jean of Westfield State College in cooperation with WRWA, recounts the devastating Westfield River floods of August 1955. The film includes a number of interviews with Westfield residents recalling their experiences of the 1955 event – the largest recorded flood in Westfield’s history. The Pilgrim Candle Marketplace, located at 16-30 Union St. in Westfield, is open from 9-6 on Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 on Sunday. Non-profit organizations can obtain free copies of the DVD by contacting Kathy Meyer at 568-4252.
Westfield River Exhibit: WRWA partnered with The Pilgrim Candle Marketplace in Westfield in the creation of an exciting new Westfield River exhibit, which was unveiled on November 24 and is available for viewing during The Pilgrim Candle Marketplace’s business hours of M-Sat 9-6 and Sundays from 12-5. The Pilgrim Candle Marketplace renovated unused space and developed it into a large exhibit highlighting the history of the area, celebrating the Westfield River in all its wild and scenic glory, and depicting the Great River Bridge Project in its various stages of construction. The display is divided into the Past, Present and Future. The Past features historic photos and drawings of the river and Westfield. The Present includes a large poster on the Westfield River highlighting its Wild and Scenic features. The Future includes architectural drawings and models of the Great River Bridge. WRWA funded the printing of the Present poster, which is a reprint of a display posted in a kiosk on Route 20 in Huntington.
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"Water Is Worth It" Facebook Page Launched by EPA’s Office of Water

On December 9, the Agency launched a new Facebook page, titled: "Water Is Worth It" to provide a public forum to share information, encourage discussion, and raise awareness about the value of our water and water-related resources.
EPA will be regularly posting information and discussion topics, which Facebook users can have delivered to their virtual door by becoming a "fan" of the page.   You can reach the page via the link given below, and we encourage all to post and interact as we discuss and learn about our nation’s water and water infrastructure–and the many ways that Water Is Worth It!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/EPA-Water-Is-Worth-It/175423483336?ref=mf

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