Author: Daisy Waltermaurer

Visiting Red Hook

Throughout all the research for my sewer shed project, I had only read about how large a scale the problems in Red Hook are. After visiting the area, the problems began to feel real.  I now feel much more passionately that this area needs to be cleaned up. It would feel amazing if the area would actually use the ideas we came up with to make this sewer shed a safer and more beautiful place.

Tour of Battery Park City

When I went to battery park city I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Solaire. I was able to learn how the brown water system works through the pipes, on the green roof and all throughout the building. I was unaware of how intricate the system actually was and how useful the use of recycled water can be throughout the whole building. The surrounding areas were just as beautiful as the Solaire and it’s refreshing to know areas can be so beautiful using recycled water.

In the sewer shed I studied, Red Hook, many new buildings are planning on being built as the area gets cleaned up. It would be incredible if when these new housing developments are being built they would be able to implement brown water systems from the beginning.

Beautiful Landscapes Help Combat Drought in New Mexico

While storms are the big issue in New York City, other cities like those in the western United States have other issues, like droughts, to worry about. This company, based in Albuquerque is using landscaping techniques and drought resistant plants to create landscapes that not only are beautiful to look at but help conserve water in places where droughts are common and water conservation is essential. Climate change will affect different parts of the world in all different ways and it is refreshing to see that green infrastructure is actually being used to help fight the effects of climate change.

Denmark Leads the Way To Use Water Sustainably

Researchers in Denmark are working on creating models of existing infrastructure to determine where leakages may be occurring. They are using algorithms to determine water pressure which can then be used to determine if there is a hole somewhere in the system. This is a very important development being made because issues within the infrastructure can cause cities to lose billions of liters of water that could be used as drinking water. Once this system is created, it can be used by cities globally to keep infrastructure and water use running efficiently and sustainably.

 

Global Warming Activism Graffiti

This street art shows the irony created by Climate Change Deniers as they continue to say they don’t believe in Global Warming when the facts are so clearly right in front of them. The graffiti just simply says “I don’t believe in global warming” with a large body of water cutting off the words global warming. This water is meant to represent the rising sea levels as a result of global warming.

There is so much evidence that climate change is real. Not just scientific evidence buried in articles that some people may not be able to comprehend, but it is so clearly visible in our everyday lives as well. The fact that some people still won’t understand that this problem is going on is emphasized by this simple street art.

Take a Look at the Future of New York

Works on Water is a collection of art works and performances that can be seen in June. These works aim to show the relationship between humans and water. This specific presentation, titled “Sunk Shore,” will provide an look into the future of Manhattan and what the city might look like as sea levels continue to rise.

I’m sure seeing this exhibition will inspire viewers to think about what they can do and what needs to be done by the city to protect from future storms as much as is possible so that humans and the oceans can continue to live in peace.

 

Sewage Spill in Hudson River

This summer, large amounts of sewage flowed into the Hudson River after storms in the area. This was a result of a combined sewer overflow. The 10 spills were not reported until about a week later. This is a problem because sewage and water flow systems should not allow for large storm to cause massive spills in nearby waterways. It is also a problem because people use the Hudson River for recreational use and may have come in contact with waste. This would not have happened had the spills been reported.

This article is a great source of evidence showing the problems we have with gray infrastructure that does not work during storms, which will soon be happening more often.

 

 

 

Montreal Protocol 30th Anniversary

The Montreal Protocol brought along a very important turning point in world history. It’s signing meant CFCs and other harmful chemicals that build up in the atmosphere would no longer be used, allowing the hole in the ozone that had appeared to be closed. The ozone layer is so important to everyone’s health. Without the ozone layer protecting us from the sun’s rays, skin cancer would sky rocket.

The depletion of the ozone shows how consumption processes can negatively impact our inclusive well being if we are not aware of the environmental impact they may have in the future. In order to live sustainably, we must figure out ways to live our comfortable lifestyles with refrigerators and air conditioners without sending out harmful chemicals into the atmosphere.

BioBlitz- Algal Bloom Example

 

When I went to the Bioblitz event, my group was taken to a pond that was a 10 minute walk from Alley Pond Park. At this pond, we met two women who worked for the DEP studying fish in New York City. They taught us about the different types of fish that live in freshwater ponds around the city, and we were taught how to properly use a fishing rod. Our job was to fish and catalog what kind and how many fish we found.

One of the women from the DEP informed us about the build up of algae around the edges of the pond. She explained that the water in the pond came from the New York City municipal water source which had been treated with phosphorous and caused algae to grow more than normally, just like what was discussed in class. She warned us not to touch the any of the algae, or wash our hands immediately after if we did because the algae could be toxic. Because of the vegetation around the ponds it was difficult to cast a line far past the algae. This makes me wonder that maybe not many fish were caught because they had been harmed by the algae or they knew to stay in the middle of the pond, away from the algae.