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Great Opportunity to Build STEM Skills
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Composting in Dutchess County
Most of us at some point in our lives have been to a municipal dump. They are mostly pretty disgusting. All that trash we humans create goes somewhere – usually a landfill or waste-to-energy facility. Some of us leave those facilities thinking we’d like to do something to reduce what we send to the dump. Well, there is something we all can do. We can compost our kitchen scraps. Food scraps make up the largest proportion of the material we discard. If we all composted, we would significantly reduce what goes to our waste facilities.
Starting a compost is easy. You can compost your kitchen scraps if you live out in the country or in an apartment in the city. There are plenty of options to choose from. You’ll help reduce the volume of material going to our landfills and waste-to-energy plants, and you’ll end up with beautiful soil. Whether you want to drop off your compost at a nearby facility, set up a compost in your yard or even in your own kitchen, there’s an option for you.
Check out these resources:
Dutchess County Solid Waste Management
Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County
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Composting: An Ecological Perspective
Join Cary ecologist Dr. Jane Lucas for a virtual science talk on the biology and ecology of composting. The presentation will include a demonstration on how you can start composting at home. Lecture is available on YouTube
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Road Salt – Climate Smart Rhinebeck
What is salt brine? Salt brine is a solution of salt (sodium chloride, or NaCl) and water. It has a much lower freezing point than freshwater, and is a useful tool in reducing the adhesion of snow and ice to road surfaces. While some brine cocktails are exclusively saltwater, some include calcium chloride or magnesium chloride. See link for more detail.
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Plastic-Free Back to School Guide
- Invest in Reusable Foodware For Plastic-Free, Zero-Waste Snacks and Lunches
- Buy In Bulk, Bring Your Own Containers and Shop Local
- Check Your Office, Shelves, Desk, and Closet for School Supplies Before You Buy
- Get New (To You) Clothes By Buying Secondhand
- Use This As An Opportunity To Educate Your Child
For detail information on each of the Tips follow the link to Beyond Plastics
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Use Less-Toxic Products
We put ourselves, our families, and our pets at risk when we use herbicides, pesticides, highly corrosive products like drain cleaners, and toxins like ammonia and bleach. Sewage treatment plants don’t eliminate these chemicals, and many find their way into our air, water and ecosystems.
Fortunately, there are safer alternatives that work just as well. By choosing a non-toxic option or the least toxic product, you can protect yourself and the environment. Click on the following link for more information, DEC
Submitted by Candice Merrill
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DC Urban Trail Project
The trail is to be built on the old Railroad ROW that was used to transfer trains from the Hudson Line to the former Maybrook Line (WRSDRT, Walkway over the Hudson and now Empire State Trail). It will start by the Sewage Treatment plant, just south of Marist, run up into the Former Hudson River Psychiatric Center and then back south past the Hospital to connect up with the DRT and Walkway. The survey is looking for input on how people will use the trail as a basis for its design. Please check it out and provide input.
Brad Barclay, Senior Planner
DC Department of Planning and Development
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A Zero Waste Meal
Recently, my family gave me a wonderful birthday gift of a zero waste meal. At least it was zero waste for us. There was certainly some waste from the processing of the food before it got to us. But, we deposited nothing into the trash from the meal, which was a great feeling.
There was a time when I thought the world would be saved because we could send plastic, metal, glass and paper off to be recycled. It felt good to take these items to a recycling center as opposed to the landfill. But it turns out that there is an enormous cost to recycling. Let’s consider plastic. So much of our products come packaged in plastic, which varies greatly in its chemical makeup. For that reason, recycling it is complicated. It must be sorted, packed into big cubes and shipped to a country that wants it. It then must be melted, a process that produces noxious fumes, and formed into pellets for resale to manufacturers. Oil companies, which produce the chemicals for making plastic, make it difficult to recycle plastic. They don’t make money if we recycle plastic, they make money selling us the raw material to make new plastic. So only a small proportion of the plastic produced can be recycled. And it can only be recycled once. Sadly, plastic production has skyrocketed and ends up in our oceans, rivers, streams and even our drinking water. It never breaks down entirely, it just gets smaller. But is it possible to live without plastic? The answer brings me back to the topic of this blog post. (more…)
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Tips to Reduce Food Waste
Each year, nearly 40 million tons of food is discarded by Americans. Equating to more than $161 billion, food waste accounts for approximately 30-40% of the U.S. food supply.
While cutting down on food waste reduces methane emissions from landfills and conserves energy – preventing pollution involved in the growing, manufacturing, transporting, and selling food – it can also save you money by buying less food.
Here are a few ways to reduce wasted food, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Click Here
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Climate Conversations: Climate Hope for the Hudson Valley
The first in Sustainable Hudson Valley’s fall series of climate conversations looks clearly at the quickening pace of climate change and growing risks faced by our communities, combined with the just-as-fast acceleration of movements taking direct, positive action to transform the way we live and work. Every other Friday from noon – 1:15 PM starting October 9, 2020 with this event.
Dave Conover, SHV’s Program Coordinator, is a lifelong educator who was recently trained by Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. He will summarize the realities from science and personal experience. From teaching environmental science to non-scientists at Marist College to running the Clearwater’s educational programs, Dave has developed a unique overview of the Hudson Valley environment and honed his climate storytelling skills in the process.
Melissa Everett, SHV’s Executive Director, is a social scientist and skilled facilitator who is working with dozens of groups to convene a Regional Climate Action Planning process. She has been collecting data on regional climate action in renewable energy, transportation, materials and water management, agriculture, as well as documenting the emerging green economy in the region, climate justice issues, and the work underway to create resilient communities and educate the region for action.
The Hudson Valley was a birthplace of the first environmental movement to protect land, air and water. SHV is a leader in “the next environmental movement” to support new ways of living and working that restore economy, environment and the fabric of community. The Climate Conversations series brings people together for informative, inspiring discussions that shine the light on action opportunities for today. Free. Register here (required).
Next featured programs:
10/23/20 Juice: Electrification as Climate Strategy
A conversation on Marbletown’s plan to shift to 100% renewable energy, electrification as an underpinning of efficiency, the role of electric vehicles, storage and more. With Tom Konrad, Ph.D., Chair, Marbletown Environmental Conservation Commission and Seth Leitman, MPA, Program Manager, Drive Electric Hudson Valley. Register here (required).
11/6/20 Resilient Places: A Systems Approach
A conversation about placemaking for resilience and equity with Cynthia Nikitin, SHV Resilient Places Fellow. Register here (required).
11/20/20 The Repair Revolution
A conversation about taking control of your “stuff” and the emerging circular economy, with John Wackman and Elizabeth Knight, coauthors, Repair Revolution (2020, New World Library). Register here (required).
12/4 /20 Prospects for 2021
A round-up of strategies and predictions, special guests to be announced. Register here (required).
Join us!
Victoria Kelly
Manager of Environmental Monitoring Programs
Cary Institute of Eco System Studies