The day we have all been waiting for...

Spring is finally here! The quad is buzzing with activity from students and insects alike. 

Unfortunately, today is the day I must present all that I observed from this spot in front of the class, but I believe I will still take the time to go to this place weekly. It is ironic- I originally chose this spot because I thought it would be interesting to see the transition phase from the cold winter months to nice days like these and if the amount of activity and littering changed. Unfortunately, the weather only began to peak this weak and my presentation does not reflect that. Focusing on the environment itself, without the distraction of the sporadic weather patterns, ended up strengthening my thesis for what I learned from sitting and observing in this spot.

 

 Here is a part of the quad most probably overlooked today. It is a dried out, patch of dirt. It was most likely caused by the use of excessive amounts of rock salt and being run over by the wheels of plows and people's boots all winter long.

This patch of grass is located behind the chapel. As you can see, it is quite discolored and dead. 

However, someone walking the quad today was bound to notice the return of the benches.

I believe it is a common thing to only see what you are looking for. I have a keen eye for now spotting some of the "uglier" parts of the quad because I know they exist, while others may only notice the addition of the benches and the lively atmosphere that has now engulfed the quad.

Places that you live by or visit on a daily basis may not always be the places you think they are. The school does an excellent job at showing off the "nice" parts of campus, regardless of what environmental practices are used to make these places appear to be healthy, and can hide the not so pretty. But they do not need to cover up that brown patch near the walkway or that dead splotch of grass behind the chapel because they know students do not use the quad to critique, but just for some leisurely activity when the weather is warm. As long as there is some green grass for students to lay a blanket on, the school will not be hearing complaints.

Be an H2O Hero!

Since I could not visit my spot in the quad this week, I decided to do some exploration around my neighborhood in Rochester, NY. As I was walking my dog, I took notice to this blue plaque right above the storm drain located on my street. It reads "Keep Clean. Drains to Lake. Be an H20 Hero" and it lists its website: H2OHero.org. Being as inquisitive as I am, I came right home and checked it out. The website is apart of the Water Education Collaboration (WEC) awareness campaign designed to educate the residents of the Genesee Regional Watershed of Lake Ontario about the enormous impact they have on the water quality in the area. With Lake Ontario being a short bike ride away from my home, it never occured to me that I lived in a watershed region. I was also informed (from H2OHero.org) that a watershed "is an area of land that drains into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, sea, or ocean."

When you first arrive to the website, there is an interactive interface that addresses 5 ways to keep the water clean (or as the site says "5 super things you can do to be an H2O Hero"). They include:
1. Clean up after your pets; 15-20% of bacteria in our waterways comes from pet waste.
2. Test your soil prior to fertilizing and be smart about the use of lawn chemicals in order to prevent harmful runoff into the lake
3. Dispose of chemical materials properly, don't just throw them in the trash or down the storm drain.
4. If you change your oil in your driveway, be mindful of oil reaching the storm drain
5. Avoid washing your cars in your driveway to prevent detergents from getting into the lake

Now how does this relate to the storm drain situation near Canisius College...

 

I think the WEC campaign near my home is working as all the storm drains I have recently come in contact with are free of debris and I have not personally observed any of my neighbors break the 5 guidelines to keeping Lake Ontario clean.

Now- According to New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation, Buffalo is a part of the Niagara River/ Lake Erie Watershed!

Let us compare the data between 

Lake Ontario/Genesee River Watershed VS Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed:

Lake Ontario/Genesee River:                                          

45% of Rivers were unassessed                                      

8% of Rivers were found to be poor

26% of Rivers were found to be satisfactory

21% of Rivers were found to be good

21% of Lakes were unassessed

60% of Lakes were found to be poor

19% of Lakes were found to be satifactoy

0% of Lakes were found to be good

Niagara River/Lake Eire Watershed:

42% of Rivers were unassessed                                      

17% of Rivers were found to be poor

8% of Rivers were found to be satisfactory

33% of Rivers were found to be good

56% of Lakes were unassessed

6% of Lakes were found to be poor

28% of Lakes were found to be satifactoy

11% of Lakes were found to be good

*100% of Great Lakes Shores were found to be poor

Once again, to my amazement- even with the WEC campaign near my home, the lake condition of Lake Ontario seems to be worse compared to Lake Erie. However, this statistic is up for interpretation. On one hand, not all of the lakes were assessed (more was assessed in Lake Ontario, 79%, than Lake Erie, 44%). Also, the Department of Environmental Conservation states that all of the Great Lake Shores were found to be in poor water conditions. If this is the case, then why is there no public initiative to protect the Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed like there is to protect Lake Ontario/Genesee River Watershed? I wonder if students were more aware of the watershed, if it would have an impact on reducing the amount of litter we generate, thus affecting the water quality of Lake Erie.

5 things students, faculty, and staff of Canisius College could do to improve the water quality of Lake Erie would be:
1. Throw all trash away in proper waste containers
2. Avoid distributing rock salt near storm drains
3. If you see rain drains are clogged with debris, remove whatever is causing the blockage
4. Be mindful of any chemicals or liquids that could runoff into the drain such as oil, gasoline, alcohol, soda (anything besides water)
5. As stated before, 15-20% of bacteria in our waterways comes from pet waste- avoid urinating in the storm drains. Not only is it illegal, it is disgusting

Should salt residue on our streets be a norm in Upstate New York?

 

I took the same walk through the quad as usual. Besides the deposits of rock salt left on the stairs, in the cracks in the pavement, and inside door frames- the only unusual part of Wednesday, March 27th was the abrupt snow storm that took place on my drive home from Buffalo to Rochester.  I suppose the sporadic weather of Buffalo, NY should not be of much surprise to me as the left over rock salt has become a contemporary norm to Upstate New York. I think what you observe on your daily commute to either a job, school, home, or errands all depends on your "usual" exposure and we typically only observe something that is not a part of this "usual."

 I am sure if my relatives from Atlanta, Georgia came to the quad, they would react much differently to the blue slushie-looking substance on the walkway than my immediate family as they have lived in Rochester for 20+ years and see salt residue on a normal basis. 

The quad appears to be "usual" today as it has been mostly barren like this ever since I started documenting my visits to this spot back in January. However,  like all my prior posts on this blog have suggested, just because something occurs regularly, what I refer to as the "usual," should we accept that as being necessarily good? Just because it is normal for nearly 36,000 Americans to die from the flu every year, the "usual" number of deaths according to CNN Health, I do not believe this average is good. And when I refer to good- is it safe to equate good, when referring to the environment and its inhabitants, as being healthy? There is a use for rock salt, just like there is a use for vaccinations. Rock salt can prevent people and cars from slipping and therefore prevent deaths in the same way vaccines can prevent contracting deadly diseases. But just as you may not necessarily slip if there is no salt sprinkled on sidewalks or how you may never end up getting the flu regardless of being vaccinated, the question that needs to be addressed is unlike vaccines, does adding rock salt to the ground and roads do more harm than good- especially when we take a look at what it does to plant life and the local ecosystem? It destroys and kills the surrounding grass, stunts plant growth, is consumed by small rodents, can be tracked inside our homes, and can irritate the paw beds of our pets. These cons need to be taken into consideration seriously when determining if rock salt does more harm than good and whether we should have the choice, just like we have the choice to be vaccinated, if salt should be sprinkled in our community at Canisius College.

I think we've sprung a leak!

As I was venturing to my biology class from Old Main to Health Science early Friday afternoon, I noticed the storm drain (pictured left) seemed to be clogged with some debris and litter. As I continued on, I came across this storm drain on the right, completely congested to the point where water pooled around it. Although this is not my "usual" spot  where I reflect and observe- any pressing polluting matter at Canisius College is my business as it directly affects my area in the quad.

Mayor Bryon W. Brown, Buffalo's Major who happens to live right near campus, considered littering to be an infraction to the "Zero Tolerance Anti-Crime Program." 

According to State Law:

A. No person shall place, deposit, leave, litter, throw, cast or dump or cause to be placed, deposited, left, littered, thrown, cast or dumped or permit any servant, agent, employee or other person under his control to place, deposit, leave, litter, throw, cast or dump any waste of any kind on any street, sidewalk or right-of-way (including the curbline), public park, public place or any real property or premises within the City of Buffalo without the lawful consent of the owner or lawful consent of the occupant in possession thereof; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall authorize or permit any action that would be otherwise prohibited, but for such consent, by any law. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the dumping of solid waste in an authorized municipal dumping ground.

B. The owner, operator, registrant and any occupants of a vehicle involved in the placing, depositing, leaving, littering, throwing, casting or dumping of any waste on any street, curbline, public park, public place or on any real property or premises within the City of Buffalo without the lawful consent of the owner or the lawful consent of the occupant in possession thereof shall be jointly and severally liable for the penalties imposed pursuant to this article and shall each be guilty of a violation; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall authorize or permit any action that would be otherwise prohibited, but for such consent, by any law.

My question to you is after seeing all the support to stop littering on our college community area, why have I never heard of any students being issued a ticket for polluting our environment or even a warning? Although there are laws that are meant to prohibit littering, law enforcement more or less ignores these "minor" infractions. It must not be until all the storm drains become clogged and streets flood until action is taken. Clearly Buffaloians have no conception of the Precautionary Principle and do not see the harm in throwing their trash into the streets.

In other news-
This week in my Environmental Sociology course, my class watched Blue Vinyl, a documentary filmed by Judith Helfand, who was upset that her parents were re-siding their house with blue vinyl. "She set out (with co-director Daniel B. Gold) to discover how vinyl is made and why, according to some scientists, it is the most hazardous of synthetic materials. Along the way, she meets industry representatives who tell her the key chemical ingredient in vinyl, chloride, is no more toxic than table salt. She also travels to Venice, Italy, to meet with families of vinyl factory workers dead or dying from chemical exposure, and she visits an intrepid, Louisiana attorney who has sued American vinyl manufacturers on behalf of severely injured former employees."

Go figure I stumbled upon this billboard sign in Buffalo a day after completing the film...

This juxtaposition, where one person is saying vinyl is healthy and the other believes it is dangerous), reminds me of the a ongoing debate right here in Buffalo, NY over air pollution.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory- area code 14208 (Canisius College/Hamlin Park) is considered to be a very healthy community to live in as there are zero "One-site Releases and On-site Transfer" locations. However, this report by the EPA does not consider the very polluted town and city of Tonawanda just a few miles away, not to mention Love Canal in Niagara Falls. 

This report by the EPA makes it clear that the only way you will learn the truth about your environment is to adopt environmental stewardship and to take proper care of your surroundings on the most local level possible!

Does Canisius College have a littering problem?

While observing my spot earlier today, I became increasingly aware that something was not entirely right. Is that a cup perched on the statue? Sure is. 

As I looked around to see if there was any other evidence of debris from last night's mischief, I could not help but wonder if Canisius College faces problems over controlling litter and how that impacts our local environment. But the more important question is who actually takes care of the litter thrown on the lawn by students?

As you can see, the weather is fairly warm for Buffalo, NY heading into the second week of March. Which means more activity in the Quad and thus more litter. I found it interesting that Canisius College has a Project Conservation club, however, I feel like the club's presence on campus is lacking. According to their facebook page, they have not posted anything since August 2012. It would be interesting if they took on more responsibility to clean up the Quad rather than have maintenance or better yet no one remove the debris from under the bushes and in the mulch.

According to Central Michigan Life (the college magazine of Central Michigan University), the school and police team up to issue littering tickets to students who throw their garbage on the ground. However, according to one student, "it’s sad, but I don’t think the amount people litter will decrease no matter what." Should Canisius College consider issuing littering tickets? Could this be a solution? I am curious if students would find this action too extreme, after all, the only ticket students really get is parking on the wrong side of Hughes Ave after 6 pm. Another idea would be to place garbage bins  strategically in the areas of the Quad where the majority of littering is occurring.

I shall leave you all with some facts, statistics tell us:

-Each person creates 4.7 pounds of waste every single day

-54% of solid waste makes its way into landfills

-One ton of recycled paper can save the energy equivalent of 185 gallons of gasoline

*Source U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

"Orange Dust"

 Before my college days, I played field hockey in both middle and high school for five years. I remember the field we practiced on quite well. It was standard size with two nets at opposite ends, had white lines that sectioned off the grass field and was notorious for leaving orange residue all over cleats, shin guards, shorts, sticks, and hands. When my team first started noticing this "orange dust" on all of our apparel we asked our coach what it was. She said it was just a fungus and to make sure to wash our hands. After asking our coach about the dust, the grass was practically clear of the fungus the next day. But every season- when the weather peaked, the fungus would return for a few days and would be gone like magic as soon as a parent would inquire about the dust to the athletic director.

I recently looked into the pesticide/fungicide use at my former high school. It turns out there really does exist a grass "rust" fungus that typically appears in certain kinds of grasses in hot weather, however, in order to eradicate it entirely for a season requires the use of fungicides.

I played and ran on this field, I would lay in it to do curl ups, planted my hands into the ground to do push ups, I even ate snacks and would place my mouthguard down on this field. No one was ever told about the use of fungicides on my field hockey field and it was not until recently that I learned about how detrimental fungicides can be on one's future health. According to Sandra Steingraber (Living Downstream): 54 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are applied each year. In addition to this alarming rate, pesticides do not always stay on the fields where they are sprayed.

"They evaporate and drift in the air. They dissolve in water and flow downhill into streams and creeks. They bind to soil particles and rise into the air as dust. They migrate into glacial aquifers and thereby enter groundwater. They fall in the rain. They are found in snowflakes. And fog. And wind. And clouds. And backyard swimming pools." 

Some pesticides have been linked to cancer.

After further research, I found out that my former high school, Webster Schroeder High School, falls in the 10th percentile (12,339 of 127, 809) as having some of the worst polluted air in America's schools (Special USA Today report- The Smokestack Effect). It has some of the worst exposures to cancer causing toxins as well as exposures to others harmful chemicals including: 70% Sulfuric Acid, 12% Chlorine, 7% Hydrochloric acid, 6% Chromium/Chromium compounds, and 2% Manganese/Manganese compounds. According to this report, polluters most responsible for these toxins outside the school include: Eastman Kodak Co, Russell Station, Ferronics Inc, Arch Chemicals Inc, and Delphi Energy & Chassis Rochester.

I am not implying that my high school field hockey field will give me cancer. I do believe it has elevated my chances to one day develop some form of cancer, although the development of cancer depends on a combination of genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

I was not able to find out anything about Canisius College and the pollution in the surrounding air or about the use of pesticides. According to one faculty member- "There are a lot of pesticides used, and something should be done to stop it."

In the pictures I took this weekend and observing my area, there are no signs of pesticide use so far ("signs" meaning both physical signs staked in the ground to warn about pesticide use and "signs" meaning no residue stains or dead insects/weeds were observed). I imagine I will observe the use of pesticides once the winter season concludes and the warm spring air arrives. 

 

However, in other news- now that the snow has almost completely melted away over the course of the past two days, the appearance of garbage is beginning to spring up. Cigarette buds, a bottle cap, a straw, and a piece of gum were observed in my spot in the quad. Although the quad appears to still look as clean and orderly as normal, does anyone ever stop to question the ways in which we treat our land, spraying pesticides or placing the ground litter elsewhere, to give it the appearance of being healthy is wrong? Because as we all have experienced in some point in our lives, a piece of fruit may appear to look, feel, and smell healthy and normal on the outside, but can be absolutely rotten and unhealthy in the inside.

Let Us Compare

The photo on the left was taken at Canisius College and was shown in one of my previous blog posts, the photo on the right was taken on my trip to NYC this past weekend.

According to www.nyc.gov, there are strict guidelines residents of NYC must follow after snowfall occurs including:

• If snowfall ends between 7 AM and 5 PM, property owners must clear sidewalks within 4 hours.
• If snowfall ends between 5 PM and 7 AM, property owners must clear sidewalks before 11 AM.

"The City may issue property owners a summons for a failure to clear the sidewalks within these time frames.You can make a complaint at any time about snow or ice on sidewalks in front of public property, such as bus stop shelters, park paths, or schools. You can also make a complaint about snow or ice on sidewalks in front of private property after property owners have had an appropriate amount of time to clear their sidewalks."

When I took a deeper look into my school's snow removal protocols- all I was able to find was a job description (posted by Canisius) for a "housekeeping" staff position

A "housekeeper" position at Canisius requires 9 duties; snow removal being duty #9

All Canisius requires is that housekeepers "must be able to understand/follow basic safety precautions involved in the use of cleaning chemicals, the operation of motorized equipment, and personal protective equipment. Must be able to understand and follow a work schedule and complete assigned tasks in the time allotted." And of course- must have a "valid New York State driver’s license and a good driving record."

But nothing in this $11.23 per hour job description does it explicitly state any experience working with harmful, potent chemicals is found to be necessary

 (only "cleaning" chemicals- like windex and lysol)

having any environmentally conscious sense is not a requirement for the job

I strongly believe this may account for why our pavements are bleached with salt residue due to over salting when it snows- and how even though the streets of NYC may be more polluted than the street of Buffalo, plant life around walk ways and streets in NYC are protected because the residents are held accountable for their property and resort to using shovels- not chemicals