Letters to the Editor November 2021

 Climate Change, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Stormwater  Comments Off on Letters to the Editor November 2021
Nov 022021
 
Letters to the Editor November 2021

Dear BCF,  I live on Clarendon Road and am a town meeting member. The church I attend on Concord Avenue (the First Armenian Church) flooded last week  overflowing (Wellington Brook, I presume). The public library next door almost flooded, I am told.  What can you tell me about this situation, what do you advise, and is there a town plan in place to mitigate this?  Thank you, David Boyajian We asked Anne-Marie Lambert, author of several BCF articles on flooding in Belmont, to respond. Below is an excerpt from her answer, edited for length and clarity.  It’s worth checking whether [READ MORE]

Share

Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options

 Newsletter, November-December 2021, Parking, Transit  Comments Off on Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options
Nov 022021
 
Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options

By Nava Niv-Vogel Belmont’s adults over the age of 60 and people of any age with disabilities can get around without driving thanks to transportation services provided by the Council on Aging (COA). Most rides are provided by well-trained COA-funded drivers, and the three-vehicle fleet has many safety and disability-friendly features. In the era of COVID-19, COA drivers have also been practicing special safety protocols. The vehicles are routinely cleaned for airborne and surface germs.  The rides offered are curb-to-curb. The passenger needs to be able to walk or otherwise get themselves to the van. Drivers are not permitted to [READ MORE]

Share

Urban Trees Improve Everyones’ Lives

 Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Plants  Comments Off on Urban Trees Improve Everyones’ Lives
Nov 022021
 
Urban Trees Improve Everyones’ Lives

By David Meshoulam When I first tell people that I work in the field of “urban forestry” they look at me funny. “Urban areas have forests?” they ask. “I thought forests were out in the country.” But urban forestry is a real thing. Over the past several years, its importance has become increasingly recognized as a critical component of a city’s infrastructure, and rightfully so! Trees create more livable and healthy communities by cleaning and cooling our air, mitigating against flooding, and improving the mental and physical health of residents.  In an era of climate change, with hotter summers leading [READ MORE]

Share

Think Twice About Single-Use Plastics

 Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Recycling, Water Quality  Comments Off on Think Twice About Single-Use Plastics
Nov 012021
 
Think Twice About Single-Use Plastics

By Lindsay Levine and Dean Hickman Envision the life-cycle of a single-use plastic item. Oil or natural gas is extracted from the ground, transported, chemically transformed into plastic which is then manufactured, transported to the point of sale, briefly used, and then tossed into the garbage. But it does not end there. Because of their durability, plastics last for hundreds of years and do not degrade meaningfully over your entire lifetime, except perhaps break into smaller pieces.  Now imagine that same process repeated for many of the items we use daily. Have you ever counted the number of single-use plastic [READ MORE]

Share

CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean

 Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean
Nov 012021
 
CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean

By Julia Hopkins and Lisa Kumpf Have you ever thought about what happens to that rain when extreme storms hit? If you call Belmont home, it ends up in the Charles or the Mystic River.  The town of Belmont is sandwiched between the Charles and Mystic Rivers, two beautiful, fragile natural resources that provide habitat for wildlife and enjoyment for humans. The town is split between the Charles River watershed and the Mystic River watershed.  A watershed is a land area that channels all rain and snowmelt into ponds, brooks, and streams that drain into a single river, and eventually [READ MORE]

Share
Nov 012021
 
Stormwater Threatens Our Waterways

By Michelle Liebtreu and Daria Clark The Mystic River is cleaner today than it has ever been. The Clean Water Act has been a major environmental success story. But the work is not yet done. As the most urbanized watershed in New England, the Mystic River watershed is especially subject to stormwater pollution, one of the leading sources of pollution in our water today. Stormwater pollution, also known as stormwater runoff, occurs when rain falls over land—driveways, lawns, and streets—picking up fertilizer, dog waste, salt, leaves, and trash. That polluted water flows into the nearest storm drains and catch basins, [READ MORE]

Share

Law Could Prevent Eagle Poisoning

 Newsletter, November-December 2021  Comments Off on Law Could Prevent Eagle Poisoning
Nov 012021
 
Law Could Prevent Eagle Poisoning

By Laura Kiesel I rushed to the cemetery when I heard the news, hoping it had been a false rumor. When I arrived, I aimed my camera up at the large nest that took up more than half the tree top and zoomed in. It was completely empty.  The bald eagle I had watched grow from a fuzzy helpless chick to a strong and agile juvenile was gone. Soon after MassWildlife confirmed the rumor: the eaglet died after consuming a class of rat poisons known as second generation anticoagulant rodenticides known as SGARs. SGARs had been banned by the US [READ MORE]

Share

How is Belmont Controlling Rodents?

 Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021  Comments Off on How is Belmont Controlling Rodents?
Nov 012021
 
How is Belmont Controlling Rodents?

By Jeffrey North Two bald eagles have died in Middlesex County this year from second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) poisoning in Arlington and Waltham. The causes of death in both cases, anticoagulant rodenticide, were confirmed by MassWildlife officials after postmortem testing at Tufts Wildlife Clinic.  Three different SGARs were detected in theirlivers.  These are among the first cases of poisoning in American bald eagles in Massachusetts. Yet such secondary poisoning has been documented in hawks, owls, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, dogs, and cats.  And thousands of children ingest or are otherwise harmfully exposed to these poisons every year. According to the EPA, [READ MORE]

Share

Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey

 Newsletter, November-December 2021  Comments Off on Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey
Nov 012021
 
Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey

Study finds 100% of tested red-tailed hawks at Tufts clinic exposed to rodenticides By Angela Nelson This article originally appeared in the September 16, 2020 issue of Tufts Now, and is reprinted with permission.  Maureen Murray, director of Tufts Wildlife Clinic and clinical associate professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, has been studying rodenticide exposure in birds of prey for over a decade. Exposure to rodenticides occurs when people use these chemicals to kill unwanted pests. Mice and rats, or possibly other animals, eat the poison, and then the birds eat the poisoned prey.  Murray has witnessed a steady [READ MORE]

Share
Oct 292021
 
Clean Energy Policy Needs to be Equitable

By Aditya Jain As a high school intern with State Representative David Rogers’ office in the summer of 2020, I learned about the legislative process through Massachusetts Bill S9, the Climate Roadmap bill, which was signed into law in March 2021. During the summer of 2021, I researched equity in Massachusetts clean energy policies, interviewing experts in Massachusetts policies on clean energy access, technology, and workforce trends.   What is Environmental Justice? The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, [READ MORE]

Share

November/December 2021 Newsletter

 Newsletter, November-December 2021  Comments Off on November/December 2021 Newsletter
Oct 292021
 
November/December 2021 Newsletter

Read the November/ December 2021 issue. In this issue: Rodent Poisons Sicken and Kill Birds of Prey  Dr. Maureen Murray has witnessed a steady increase in the number of birds of prey that come into Tufts Wildlife Clinic with rodenticides in their systems—some with fatal levels. But even Murray was taken aback by the results of her most recent study. Read more. How is Belmont Controlling Rodents? Two bald eagles have died in Middlesex County this year from second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) poisoning in Arlington and Waltham. Read more. Law Could Prevent Eagle Poisoning The bald eagle I had watched grow [READ MORE]

Share
 Posted by at 1:42 pm