Battery Park City

Walking through Battery Park City I was struck by how beautiful and modern everything was. From the tall Solaire building to the geological structure at Teardrop Park, they give off a luxurious feel with an ecological friendly twist. It made me think that if we can turn a place like downtown Manhattan into something sustainable and beautiful, we can do anything. Knowing that the water was being recycled and put to good use made the Solaire more important. Small things like pervious pavement and extra greenery might seem small but can contribute a long way in our climate changing environment. Everything we have learned in class from CSOs to CFCs culminates in something like this. Even though the Solaire and Teardrop Park are older now, I still believe that they are representative of what we can achieve in the future. The first time I was there, the 9/11 memorial struck me as wasteful because of the large amount of water flowing down a drain. I had no idea what was really going on beneath the surface. The water is not wasted, rather it is harvested and used for the good of the surrounding areas. From pervious pavement to green infrastructure, there is real progress to be made and it starts in NYC. The balloon flower also plays a part in this progress. It represents some beauty in this system. Sustainable water management doesn’t always have to be a memorial, it can represent creativity and innovation, to see things that look to be light as a balloon but are really heavy steel. If we can learn to think in a new way maybe we can come up with new ideas to help NYC and the rest of the world become more sustainable with their water.

https://twitter.com/JohannaFarkas1/status/932371336667848704

Is it too late?

Throughout the entire semester we have learned about the dangerous effects of global warming and what it means for our future in sustainability. We know what the causes and effects are but how catastrophic are they now and later on? This article from ScienceDaily presents research of what is irreversible and what is not. It gives a hard truth and a bit of hope to overcome certain disasters. Sea levels are rising and that fact is undeniable and unfortunately unavoidable. However, with a reduction of greenhouse gases we are able to prevent temperatures from rising because, “A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, so rainfall would be more intense,” says Prof. Betts from the University of Exeter. Rising ocean levels can mean severe weather for coastal regions all around the world. However, we can limit flooding, droughts, and other extreme weather by reducing the increasing temperature. There is a case study in Bangladesh were climate change has too much of an impact. With more research and more action we can turn the tide and save millions of lives from the destructive effects of global warming.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171116105020.htm

Protecting AND Purifying

$300 Billion War Beneath the Street: Fighting to Replace America’s Water Pipes

In the past we have discussed how we can take the water that goes down the drain after we use it and find another purpose for it, such as black and grey water. However, we also have to evaluate and act upon what comes out of our pipes, before we use it. Places like Flint, Michigan have felt the destructive effects of faulty pipes. We might have learned from the mistakes of the passed, “though Congress banned lead water pipes three decades ago, more than 10 million older ones remain.” Although it seems that plastic might be a safe solution for our water pipes, there are some “toxic pollutants like benzene and toluene from spills and contaminated soil [that] can permeate certain types of plastic pipes as they age.” There is still the search for the best way to transport our water. This is a crucial because when water is not protected going in and not purified going out, we are contaminating ourselves and our environment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/climate/water-pipes-plastic-lead.html?smid=tw-share

Bottom Up and Top Down

New Maps Show How Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is Melting from the Bottom Up

When we think of global warming, we usually think of unbearably hot summers, freezing winter along with super storms in between. We think this because generally the “warming” that earth receives comes from the sun, above us. However, global warming has effects that can come from deep underneath. Rising ocean levels can come from two distinct factors. Over time, the oceans rise in temperature from the greenhouse gases locked into our atmosphere. This means that the water expands because of the increase in heat. The increase in temperature can also cause ice sheets and glaciers to melt adding to the oceans’ rising levels. This article discusses how Greenland’s ice sheets are melting from the increasingly warmer ocean water surrounding it. In addition,”more ice in Greenland’s glaciers may be exposed to warming ocean waters than previously thought.” With more incoming knowledge of the immense size of these glaciers and ice sheets, the effects of them melting can be more damaging than previously thought. Even the topographical area can affect the melting of these glaciers. “A downward slope, for instance, might cause the glacier to retreat more quickly, while ridges or other topographical features might help to slow or halt the backward motion.” From the bottom up or the top down, ocean levels are rising because of the increasing temperatures of global warming. Awareness of the problems we face because of climate change is the first step to remedying it.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-maps-show-how-greenland-rsquo-s-ice-sheet-is-melting-from-the-bottom-up/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content=&utm_term=sustainability_partner_text_free&sf148235139=1

Not Listening Can Hurt

We have always heard about the horrible things humanity has done to the environment. The oil spills and waste pollution are just some of the ways that our oceans are being contaminated. We feel guilty because we are shown images of the creatures and the filth they have to endure. However, there is another type of pollution that may be lesser known: noise pollution. In this New York Times article, oysters, as well as other marine life have been hurt badly by “commercial shipping, oil exploration, recreation and even scientific research.” The oysters close their shells when they feel distressed to block out the noise. However, this deafens them to the important biological noises that are part of their way of life. Although it might not seem as though we are hurting the environment because we can’t see the effects as clearly, they are nevertheless just as critical as other types of pollution. We have to be conscious and consider all of the human impacts on the environment, not just the obvious ones.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/science/oysters-noise-pollution.html?smid=tw-share

North Atlantic Winds Could Power the Whole World

Wind energy is a renewable source that can help achieve sustainability in our society. However, there are many complications that impede this idea to come to life. This article from Anthropocene Magazine gives new innovations and discoveries involving this energy source that can improve the finer points of implementing wind energy into our society’s needs. Harnessing the power of the wind to create energy is nothing new. However, “the first offshore wind farm in the US, off the coast of Rhode Island, went online last year”(Anthropocene). Scientists are pushing to see the boundaries that oceanic winds can play in creating a reliable and renewable energy source. There are many ways that overseas wind farms are safer, more potent and reliable. The massive power of the North Atlantic winds, and the North Atlantic current carry dramatic changes on the lands in the area. The winds and the deep and shallow currents work together to bring the warm weather to that North Atlantic. It is time we started using the resources we have had for so long to create a sustainable society to live in.

http://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2017/10/wind-farms-in-the-north-atlantic-could-power-the-whole-world/

How NYC Gets Its Water

With gravity and many other complex systems, water from the Catskill/Delaware watershed is brought down to NYC to supply 9.5 million people. Protecting the tributaries is just as important as protecting the water source itself. All along the pathway to NYC, the water needs to be protected from pollution and sometimes leaks. The content of the water needs to be evaluated constantly to ensure what is coming out of our taps. This is not an easy task with climate change drastically shifts the water’s availability as well as the quality as it passes through forests that have also been altered from climate change. The water passes through ultraviolet lights to cleanse it from micro-organisms. So much energy and time is needed to bring NYC it famous water. The entire process encompasses so much from the Urban Water Systems class. From watersheds to the water cycle, the power of runoff and gravity in tributaries, and the major effects of climate change, this article brings up the background of the big issues in order to protect our water.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/24/nyregion/how-nyc-gets-its-water-new-york-101.html

Sustainability

A Sustainable Future Powered by Sea

This water turbine converts water currents and waves into energy. Professor Tsumoru Shintake at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University developed this turbine to create energy from the currents off the coast of Japan. Not only do these turbines improve life on land but they also protect the land by being used as wave breakers that prevent erosion of the shores. This is a new development is still in its beginning stages but are projected to be ready for installation.

This is a perfect example of sustainability. This turbine can be a clean replacement for fossil fuels and their pollution into the environment. It can also protect the land form erosion. While they are still looking for a cheaper and easier method to maintain the turbine, the other pillars of sustainability are certainly there. The environment is enhanced and the society benefits for the energy that is created “Using just 1% of the seashore of mainland Japan can [generate] about 10 gigawats [of energy], which is equivalent to 10 nuclear power plants.” Using this alternative energy can mean making a difference in our lives and the lives of the next generation.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170922094047.htm

BioBlitz

Just looking at the map of Alley Pond Environmental Center was overwhelming – there was so much area to cover with so little time. Although it seemed a daunting task, after spending the day there I was pleasantly surprised to see how many different species can live together within a small environment. My group was assigned to be on the lookout for insects of all kinds. It didn’t take long before we saw hornets, bumblebees, beetles, crickets, millipedes and butterflies, to name a few. We found some on flowers and leaves while others had burrowed homes within trees.

While we were engaged in documenting the variety and quantity of insects in the park, I noticed an algae-covered pond. It reminded me of what we recently discussed in class about how algae forms in ponds from the phosphorus and nitrogen in the water. Therefore, although it wasn’t part of my group’s assignment, I chose to tweet about the algae-covered pond because it shows how the environment interacts with organisms and how they are dependent on each other. This represents one of the lessons of BioBlitz, that it is incumbent upon us to understand the interactions in nature and to appreciate them. What an eye-opening experience!