Time to reap the rewards of your diligent composting efforts (you do compost, don’t you?)! GrowNYC is hosting compost giveback events in all boroughs this month. Bring your own container and take home all the compost you can use. First come, first served! Dates and locations after the jump. Continue reading “Make Your Garden Grow: Get Your Free Compost!”
Yesterday Governor Cuomo signed into law the “Drug Take Back Act,” regulation that establishes a statewide program to provide safe, free, and easy disposal of unused medications. Chain pharmacies will be required to provide drug disposal options, while other authorized collectors (e.g. independent pharmacies, local law enforcement) could also participate.
Providing convenient drug disposal will help to reduce the practice of flushing unwanted medications down drains and toilets, and eliminate one source of waterway contamination.
Previous surveys of pharmaceuticals in the Hudson River Estuary, conducted by Riverkeeper, Cornell University, and the EPA, found more than 50 different compounds, with greater numbers found at or near municipal wastewater treatment plant outfalls.
Wastewater treatment and septic systems are not designed to remove these contaminants, resulting in pharmaceutical pollution in waters across the state.
Source: Riverkeeper
Conservation advocates say the New York state legislature had few accomplishments over the course of this year’s session for the state’s environment.
Representatives from various environmental groups lamented a lack of meaningful action, beyond the state’s $300 million EPF appropriation.
Source: WAMC
You may not see them, but they’re there. More than 30 coyotes now call New York City home, and a new pilot project aims to find out just how these secretive creatures navigate a bustling metropolis relatively unseen. Continue reading “Tracking New York City’s Coyote Population (Yes, There is a Coyote Population!)”
New rules passed in New York State will require manufacturers to reveal the chemical ingredients in household cleaning products. Companies must also disclose internal research conducted on whether ingredients have any potential impacts on human health and the environment.
Under the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure program, this information must be posted on Internet web sites, initially in July 2019, with further details added by July 2020 and January 2023. There are exceptions for information considered a trade secret.
Source: Times Union
Seven communities representing 100,000 people who rely on the Hudson River as a source of drinking water have signed an agreement creating the Hudson River Drinking Water Intermunicipal Council.
Also known as the “Hudson 7,” the group will focus on the long-term protection of the Hudson River. The towns of Esopus, Lloyd, Hyde Park, the city and town of Poughkeepsie and the village and town of Rhinebeck signed a formal agreement last week.
This collaborative effort is expected to make the region more competitive for grants and other support associated with the state’s $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act.
Source: Mid-Hudson Valley Patch
After 100+ hours of meetings and neighborhood events, the Department of City Planning has now released a framework for rezoning the Gowanus Canal neighborhood. While it is subject to change, the plan attempts to lay out the priorities of residents, the city administration, and elected officials representing Gowanus.
Some important parts of the framework include:
Source: Curbed
A new “aquatic weed harvester” is being used to control unwanted invasive species in Prospect Park Lake. The machine will “gobble up” loads of aquatic primrose and duckweed, which grows across the surface of the lake in large mats, crowding out native flora. Continue reading “Floating Weed Harvester Gobbles Up Invasives in Prospect Park”
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has announced the launch of two birding challenges for 2018. Continue reading “Your Challenge, Should You Choose to Accept It: I BIRD NY”
A new invasive species is plaguing Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties: the crazy worm. Continue reading “Crazy Worms Driving Upstaters Crazy”
