more participation points mr white

-Climate Change Exhibit at the Museum of Natural History-

The Museum of Natural History recently opened an exhibit on global climate change. I was fortunate enough to experience it, and spent over 2 hours walking around in that section of the museum. The exhibit covered everything from alternative energy solutions to factors that are increasing global warming on our planet. Many factors that are not covered in main stream media were also talked about frequently. One dealt with the arctic, and how ice has frozen and melted throughout the history of Earth’s existence. One of the most interesting displays dealt with tilt, eccentricity, and rotation of the Earth, and how it impacts the weather significantly. If any of these are off by a fraction of a degree we experience changes in our external environments. It was predicted that the last ice age was caused due to the Earth changing from a circular orbit to a more ovular orbit. The polar bear habitat, loosing over 30,000 species a year, the increase of methane into the atmosphere from harvesting cows for consumption, then inefficiency of American Cars, the increase of Malaria and other diseases that rely on organisms that thrive in warmer weather conditions, and the reality that we are not going to be able to kick our fossil fuel addiction easily were all important issues discussed. Other interesting points were about community, and how one person has an extremely small impact.  A community banding together can alter and make our planet a better place to live with more of an impact. The reusing of materials and products seemed to be a reiterated theme, consistently being mentioned in areas anywhere from groundwater to industrial production. Green building and why it is important caused many to stop and learn about this revolutionary new construction practice. Coral Reef destruction, human overexpansion, and making our lives less energy consumptive made way for taking the first steps in stopping the problem. The reality of alternative energy solutions took up about a quarter of the display, and even had maximum percentages of global energy we could obtain from them. Solar was given 100 percent, with pictures of a “solar farm” in the deserts of California. Wind was given 20 percent, and discussed obstacles such as “eyesoreness”, limited space, a reasonable way to store energy produced, and small areas that are always windy. Water power and hydroelectric dams were given 15 percent, being limited by areas that have water flowing fast enough, while still reducing impact and destructiveness on habitats and marine species.  Capturing carbon as it is produced, and then injecting it under ground (“carbon capture”) was given 90 percent, but is considered expensive. The impacts of injecting it underground are also unknown and could be potentially harmful. Geothermal energy technologies were given 15 percent, mainly due to a lack of hot springs and because the process is dirty. Many of these percentages have increased due to a development in the technological fields, and a reduction in the price of these new revolutionary technologies.

-steve turrisi

Clearwater participation points mr white

The Clearwater was established in 1969, reinventing the way that people spread education about the river. This revolutionary ship began going up and down the Hudson, teaching and educating people of all ages. Pete Seeger and others united to keep a power plant from being constructed on Storm King, and then used that momentum toward tackling problems faced by the Hudson River. Although the Clearwater may focus on education as its main goal, the Clearwater has taken on other fronts. These have included run-off, pollution, invasive species, species extinction, and nuclear energies. Through many of these efforts, laws have been passed and regulations have been imposed. The EPA has also gotten General Electric to begin an analysis and cleanup of PCB's dumped over the last half decade. These combined efforts do not come cheap, and over the years Clearwater has developed ways of raising funds. The members of the organization, the Dyson Foundation, and organizational events have allowed them to raise significant funding. Along with gaining funding and taking on issues to resolve, the Clearwater has also gotten key legislation passed. In conjunction with other research organizations and New York State, the Clean Water Act was put into law. The Clearwater has become an organization with a strong sense of purpose. They have become a united group dedicated to education, and have succeeded in gaining reforms and environmental protections. This has allowed for a very prominent reputation and the ability to politically achieve their agenda.

-----steven turrisi