How widespread is the desire to take advantage of the pandemic situation to make changes?

On May 10th, the New York Times published their report on 98 rules the current administration has revoked or rolled back or is in the process of doing.…

We’re not all do-it-yourselfers so I’m not going to suggest that you start baking your own bread and never getting take-out again. But there is a lot you can do to dramatically reduce the amount of plastic you use to contribute to a measurable, positive impact on reducing plastic pollution and its associated harms.

Last month I was in a meeting and another attendee mentioned having just finished a book about the four things we need to do to address climate change. They are – stop flying, eat plant based, go car free and have one less child.

In 2018 the United Nations recognized Ethan Brown and Patrick O’Reilly Brown as Champions of the Earth for their separate work developing plant-based alternatives to meat. Ethan Brown founded Beyond Meat and Patrick O’Reilly Brown founded Impossible Meat. The rise in consumer interest in such products spawned debates over the worthiness of the environmental protection…

Are you reading this article online?

You may be surprised to know that doing a search to find this column and download the article could be contributing to climate change.
Not able to fall asleep recently I turned on the radio hoping it would lull me to sleep. Actually, I turned on an app on my phone…

Winter is upon us and that seems to mean more people sitting in cars with the engines running, but the car not moving, otherwise known as idling.
Idling vehicles, whether compact cars, SUVs or larger delivery trucks and buses, are problematic for several reasons.
An idling vehicle is almost as polluting as a moving vehicle. Even though…

Recently the United Nations released its annual emissions gap report. This report explains the gap between where emissions are headed and where they need to be to avoid the worst climate change impacts (resulting from a greater than 1.5 ⁰C/2.7 ⁰F global temperature increase).

According to the report and the conclusions of many other climate science…

According to New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, Nassau and Suffolk counties contain 623 brownfield and superfund sites with unsafe levels of hazardous materials.

Brownfields are properties with a contaminant present at levels exceeding health-based or environmental standards, criteria or guidance.  Superfund sites are sites used for hazardous waste disposal that present a threat to…

Let’s be clear. Natural gas is not an environmentally-friendly choice. Though greenhouse gas emissions from burning natural gas are lower than from burning oil, natural gas is still a fossil fuel.

The use of fossil fuels for power releases greenhouse gases, which are gases that absorb infrared radiation and therefore contribute to climate change.

Drilling for and…

This past week, Greta Thunberg became a household name, if she wasn’t already one prior to speaking in front of the U.N. Climate Summit. What’s great about the attention she is getting is the spotlight her activism is bringing to the reality of climate change.
Living on Long Island, what does climate change mean for us?
Not…

Hurricane season is just beginning and we’ve already seen how devastating and damaging hurricanes can be. Reports from the Bahamas are emotional and heartbreaking. Some have lost their lives and others have lost everything that makes up their life – homes, belongings, neighborhoods and communities.

The natural environment took a severe beating as well and it…

There was a time when people threw their solid waste and disposable items out their windows to fall to the street below or into ditches that often emptied into rivers or onto the ground to be carried away by storm water. It was common practice to empty the chamber pot (a pre-toilet waste collection option)…

Every day there are a multitude of choices to make and many have an environmental impact. Paper or plastic, but is paper better? Drive to buy items in bulk or walk to buy groceries locally (maybe even at the farmers market), but in smaller separately packaged options?

It’s not always easy to know what the right…

We have yet another threat to our water on Long Island — 1,4-dioxane.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 1,4-dioxane is a likely human carcinogen that has been found in groundwater throughout the United States. Exposure may cause testicular and kidney cancers, liver damage and developmental effects to fetuses or breast-fed infants, such as low birth…

Another small business retail store closed on Main Street right before Christmas.

I find it depressing to walk down our Main Street and see two, three, sometimes even four or more empty storefronts on a block. I wonder why, living where we do, we cannot sustain a thriving retail center. There are at least two salons…