Friday, January 23, 2009

Is this to be our legacy?

I am 56 years old with a vivid memory of my Dad[1].

He is a WW2 vet with 4 years tenure from D–day plus 3 days and 4 years of Germany war experiences, Battle of the Buldge etc.

He never talks of his experience.

However:


One thought that stays in my mind dates back when I was 7–8 years old. We would go hiking and camping in the Adirondack Mts. Dad would stress as we cleaned up our campsite that it was to be left as clean or cleaner than found.

As the years pass, I think how sage is this advice, apropos to today’s histrionics.

The worldwide challenge of remediating the Earth’s increasing inventory of contaminated soils and eliminating toxicity in polluted soils is a daunting one.

Issues such as The PCB Mess in Bloomington, Indiana is but one example.

After about 30 years of manufacturing PCB—filled capacitors and processing defective ones at its Bloomington, Indiana, plant, Westinghouse Electric exited the Big 11 college town, population 74,000. It left behind eight Superfund sites. Westinghouse, however, hasn't finished with Bloomington–it plans to make the town the home of the world's first incinerator to burn municipal solid waste plus hazardous waste–contaminated soil and sewage sludge.

As of 2/5/2009 the contaminated soil remains.

In these extraordinary and challenging times, we must move beyond divisive rhetoric and work together toward a solution that protects our environmental resources and ensure responsible development.

Nature Conservancy scientists say the best course of action is to help nature help us. We can protect and restore habitats that limit and disperse floods, capture carbon emissions and prevent damaging soil erosion.

We must promote environmental stewardship, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve energy efficiency.

One solution we might explore is green remediation. Green remediation is a elatively new approach to environmental cleanup; beyond the traditional methods through the addition of best management practices(BMPs) and a series of new criteria for decision making.
EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) is working with private and public partners to promote the use of BMPs for green remediation at contaminated stes throughout the United States.

Rainwater running off construction sites and sand and gravel operations can carry sediments, oil and various other pollutants into nearby streams, ponds and rivers, according to the EPA. Erosion from a one—acre construction site could discharge as much as 20 tons to 150 tons of sediment in one year, if not properly managed. Sediments reduce the storage capacity of drains and waterways, causing flooding, and adversely affect water quality and fish habitat. Sediments and chemicals can also contribute to fish deaths, toxic algae blooms, contaminated shellfish beds and closed swimming beaches.

N—SPECT is a complex yet user–friendly geographic information system (GIS) extension that helps coastal managers and local decision makers predict potential water–quality impacts from nonpoint source pollution and erosion.

Undeveloped land absorbs rainfall like a sponge and slowly releases it. As we build our homes, schools, office buildings and highways, though, we drastically change this natural pattern. When rainfall hits paved or "impervious" surfaces, it carries waste, chemicals, nutrients and sediment to our waterways. Stormwater runoff also erodes streams and increases flooding.

Less development along the water’s edge prevents runoff,erosion, and diminished water quality and fosters healthier
environments for fish, water mammals, birds and insects. This undisturbed border also prevents contaminants, such as fertilizer and herbicide, from lakeshore lawns from running directly into the water body. Ranchers are also encouraged to fence their pastures several yards away from these shoreline zones to prevent overgrazing and siltation due to livestock usage.

We must move forward from our traditional regulatory role to one of pro—active involvement in watershed management programs.

Wetlands and their importance are now recognized for their many contributions to enhancing water quality, providing valuable wildlife habitat and contributing to public safety and welfare.

The first and primary mission of federal and state agencies charged with National Wetlands Inventory is simply to stop the loss of these valuable resources through the implementation of "No Net Loss" programs, with the objective of having the wetlands replaced and replicated on—site or as close to on—site as possible.

Tools such as the The Wetlands Mapper integrates digital map data with other resource information to produce timely and relevant management and decision support tools.

Habitat improvement is an important concern for those looking to advance the preservation of watchable wildlife and game species alike. Along with the prevention of pollution and water quality improvement, these goals can be accomplished by simple and relatively inexpensive projects that all landowners and sportsmen can take part in.

Further Environmental Protection Agency studies revealed that non–point sources, such as stormwater runoff from construction sites, were significant contributors to polluting streams–primarily with sediments. Beginning with raindrops breaking down the soil structure and dislodging particles, the runoff carrying the soil particles becomes sheet erosion. This eventually forms rills and larger gullies.

Less development along the water’s edge prevents runoff, erosion, and diminished water quality and fosters healthier environments for fish, water mammals, birds and insects. This undisturbed border also prevents contaminants, such as fertilizer and herbicide, from lakeshore lawns from running directly into the water body. Ranchers are also encouraged to fence their pastures several yards away from these shoreline zones to prevent overgrazing and siltation due to livestock usage.

"Sometimes even Mother Nature needs a hand"



Footnote

My Dad died 2 days ago (2.19.2009).
In many ways, to his kids he was a precurser environmentalist before it became the "In" way to be.
I only hope he finds time to read this in between passing time with old friends.

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