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ref: “the type of food you eat is the most critical factor in reducing your food footprint” 

Gadfly:

The Best Gift you Could Give, Ever?

Water Crisis? Yes.
This is a major global concern as water for drinking and agriculture is in dangerously short supply in many parts of the world, including our own west. (4,5)

Eat “Lower on the Food Chain”
This is part of the reason “eating lower on the food chain” — a more plant based diet — is much better for preserving our natural habitats — and ourselves: in addition, much less land is needed to be converted from biodiverse native habitats to monocultures — single-species crop land for the purpose of feeding animals. (Science gives us the “10% rule”: that 90% of the energy and mass consumed at any level of a food chain is lost as heat and only 10% becomes incorporated in the consuming organism!)

The HUMAN Brain — and Meat?
And we are the only species to have discovered that most of the protein and other nutrients necessary for good health can be harvested exclusively from plants. (With supplements, it can be argued that nutrients can be obtained this way.)

“But we are made to eat meat!” Yes, and we have the physical adaptations to eat plant matter as well. But we are the only species with a pre-frontal cortex (brain region) that allows us to understand that we DON’T HAVE TO eat so much meat, and so more than others nations; that, rather, we COULD HELP ourselves by reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) instead of the opposite, ie advancing climate change.

One Burger
Further specifics that have been cited in the recent past include 660 GALLONS of water required to produce one,1/3 pound burger. (1)

Animal Agriculture & Climate Change
Lamb (yearling sheep) is close behind beef in use of water and GHG emissions. In fact, animal agriculture — largely due to methane, a more powerful GHG — contributes more overall to Climate Change than all burning of fossil fuels for global transportation. (2)

Chocolate????
Yes, of all foods, it requires the most water to produce: 488 gallons/ounce or 7,816 gallons for a whole pound. (3)

Consider re-considering your diet . . . and gifts. That might be the best gift you could give.

Greg Zahm

———–

1 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-burger-20140124-story.html%3f_amp=true

2
https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts

3
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste

4 https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity

5 https://www.worldvision.org/clean-water-news-stories/global-water-crisis-facts#facts

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Alison Steele is a Liberty High School alum who traveled the world looking for adventure and purpose before finding it in Pittsburgh.  She has made it her mission to help others make more informed decisions around how they interact with people and the planet.

Community Supported Agriculture, Part 3

Processing Food

Several weeks ago when I began researching this topic, I posted a comment on Facebook about how shocked I was to learn about the heavy greenhouse gas footprint of cheese. Judging by the nearly 100 shocked comments from friends in the following days, I was not alone in my ignorance. I have known for years that reducing meat intake is a great way to lower one’s carbon footprint, and that going vegan is even better for the planet. However, I had always seen meat as the biggest factor, with dairy an incremental step.

In addition to learning that cheese was far worse for the environment than chicken or pork, I also learned that local sourcing of food and packaging – some of my biggest factors in ethical food shopping for years – play a relatively tiny role in lowering your carbon footprint. Last year in my meatless meat blog series, I even went so far as to wonder if locally-grown grass-fed beef would have a smaller impact on the environment than soybeans imported from South America. While I noted that additional research would be necessary, my hypothesis could not have been more wrong.

There are definitely benefits to buying local and in-season, and we will look at those in the coming weeks, but it is important to reiterate that the type of food you eat is the most critical factor in reducing your food footprint: cutting out red meat and cheese one day a week will create more of a benefit on that front than buying only local food.

continue on Alison’s blog

Community Supported Agriculture, Part 3

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Latest in a series of posts on the environment

ref: Recognizing the original inhabitants of this area

Bob Davenport is PA born and raised for 25 years. Now a retired railroad (but not the man at the throttle) Engineer, a CE graduate of Lehigh U,  a Catholic attending daily mass and praying for a better world without apparent success. An optimist.

Gadfly:

Colonialism should be noted; it’s cause is greed; it is the greed that results in abuse.

The basic orientation of humanity needs to be modified in order to find something in remotely resembling a solution to greed.  The selfishness of “me” needs to be converted into a selfishness for “us” where “us” transforms into a larger and larger group to ultimately include all.  Christianity address this as do other religions and possibly some atheistic styles.

Education, beginning in the family, needs to create this beneficial transformation for each individual.  If families are undervalued and moral education is rejected changes only make things worse.  Programs and initiatives result in division rather than points of emphasis for discussion and improvement.

Righteous indignation is appropriate but basic individual change is required not specific reparative programs.  One of these actions is easy, one takes some work and the other is impossible but needs to be undertaken to make real progress.

The suffering of the abused is honored if the abusers and those who follow create something better, something that is required by justice.  Making America Great is an ongoing demand of our checkered history; it’s not a political pitch but a moral imperative.

Bob

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Recognizing the Original Inhabitants of This Area

Latest in a series of posts on the environment

Recognizing the Original Inhabitants of This Area

Latest in a series of posts on the environment

Recognizing the Original Inhabitants of This Area

Latest in a series of posts on the environment

Alison Steele is a Liberty High School alum who traveled the world looking for adventure and purpose before finding it in Pittsburgh.  She has made it her mission to help others make more informed decisions around how they interact with people and the planet.

Community Supported Agriculture, Part 2

In last week’s post we talked about the idea that buying local is the best way to help the environment. The United Nations even recommends it as a way to lower your carbon footprint. There are definite benefits of buying local, and we will cover those in this series, but lowering the transportation footprint of your food is not the biggest-impact decision you can make.

Life Cycle Analysis

Examining the total impact of any product involves a deep look into all of the resources used in production, transportation, use, and disposal. It is a complex process that involves a lot of data and/or assumptions. When I was in grad school, we had access to an incredibly sophisticated (and I’m sure incredibly expensive) Life Cycle Analysis software that would really come in handy for this blog. (Santa, if you’re reading this post, you know what to bring me for Christmas!)

Organizations with access to vast quantities of data to analyze on this subject can look at several stages of food production and their individual impacts. The website Our World in Data specifically examines the following . . .

• Land Use Change: aboveground changes in biomass from deforestation, and belowground changes in soil carbon
• Farm: methane emissions from cows, rice, etc.; emissions from fertilizers, manure, and farm machinery
• Animal Feed: on-farm emissions from crop production and its processing into feed for livestock
• Processing: emissions from energy use in the process of converting raw agricultural products into final food items
• Transport: emissions from energy use in the transport of food items in-country and internationally
• Retail: emissions from energy use in refrigeration and other retail processes
• Packaging: emissions from the production of packaging materials, material transport, and end-of-life disposal

continue on Alison’s blog

Community Supported Agriculture, Part 2

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Sustainable Lehigh Valley

About the cover drawing – ‘Fragile Beauty’, by artist Tara Zrinski:

“The gentle entanglement of vines and grass form an image that is both beautiful and fragile. At any moment, a single strand could be pulled to unravel what has been crafted and crowned with and silenced by a single rose. Yet, if you look long enough and the features of the intense stare, a delicate nose and strong jaw line subtly reveal thevulnerability of beauty.” —Tara Zrinski

As we prepare this edition, the world continues to face several inter-related existential challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc throughout the world, and
has killed over 250,000 people in the United States alone, revealing many serious weaknesses and inequities in our country’s healthcare system. Throughout the spring and summer, we also saw examples of institutionalized racism and police brutality in one city after another, including the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Climate change and environmental degradation continue unchecked. While less dramatic than the pandemic, climate change will actually have a much higher death toll; unfortunately, too many powerful people continue to deny or disregard the disastrous outcomes on people and ecosystems. As is true in so many situations, these challenges are complicated by the fact that solutions to one problem also affect the others. In Tara Zrinski’s note on the cover drawing, she pointed out that ‘The gentle entanglement . . . is both beautiful and fragile’—and the same can be said for the naturally-interwoven and interdependent strands of sustainability! A key step in addressing these problems is to recognize the devastating impact on individuals and to take the time to learn about them and become inspired to take action. We hope the ideas and ideals expressed in this booklet provide some inspiration to at least partially offset the existential crises that threaten us and future generations. the Editors

Sustainable Lehigh Valley

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Alison Steele is a Liberty High School alum who traveled the world looking for adventure and purpose before finding it in Pittsburgh.  She has made it her mission to help others make more informed decisions around how they interact with people and the planet.

Community Supported Agriculture, Part 1

I’ve done it again. Every few years I think “oh, I’ll sign up for a CSA. It will be fun. I’ll cook with fresh, local, and in-season produce, all while supporting local farmers.” While I completely agree with Community Supported Agriculture in concept, I have only signed up for a CSA twice in the past 12 years, and I have been sorely disappointed in myself (not the subscription) both times.

No matter how small a box I order, no matter how infrequent the deliveries I request, my default dinner usually involves going out or ordering in, rather than cooking. Consequently, I never seem to make use of my fresh, local veggies before they go bad, and the result is very expensive compost.

It made sense to try it again this year because Christian and I have gone out together for food exactly twice since the shutdown began in mid-March. On top of that, almost all takeout and delivery options near our house (except pizza) include some kind of plastic packaging, reducing my desire to order food. Could this third time could be the charm? . . .

continue on Alison’s blog

Community Supported Agriculture, Part 1

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refs:
“Does race affect feelings of belonging on the D&L trail?”
“Reclaiming space: ‘Afros in Nature’”
“Trail monitoring”

In case you hadn’t noticed, that “Race and Space” program had a great impact on Gadfly.

And so far he has only talked about one aspect of the program. There were several that spurred his thinking.

He’s focusing so far on the idea that POC consider our trails as white space and feel uncomfortable there.

Should the population on our recreational trails reflect the colors of our city?

(Last night our president-elect said his cabinet will reflect the color of the country.)

(Recently, a couple Council members suggested that the color of the police force should reflect the color of the city.)

(How far should this proportionality carry?)

If so, people of color should on average make up just south of 40% of trail users.

Because of experience on the Saucon Trail Thursday and Friday that he has reported to you about, Gadfly got his mileage in yesterday on the D&L Trail — thinking that proximity to the Southside would mean more people of color on the Trail.

Now the basketball courts were an island of color — 100% POC — and they were packed to overflowing.

But of 130 people on the trail, only 25 were POC = 19%.

One half of what the color of the city population would lead you to expect.

Gadfly was pondering the meaning (if any) of his “research” on the way home.

Leaving Sand Island, he drove up Main St., which was packed.

People were swarming everywhere, like somebody had just kicked over an ant hill.

Felt like several hundred people. (Kudos to the Mayor and other City staff for facilitating congregating in the Northside downtown during the pandemic!)

It was around 4PM.

Joy was in the air. Energy. Excitement. A buzz.

The Gadmobile had to crawl (love those speed-humpers!), and it occurred to Gadfly to wonder what the color ratio was in the crowd.

Even going slow, he was not able to discriminate color accurately enough to count Latino/Hispanics.

But he can say for sure that there was not one Black person on festive Main St. at that time on a beautiful, warm fall afternoon.

Had enough?

Should Gadfly put his abacus away and find another train of thought?

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refs:
“Does race affect feelings of belonging on the D&L trail?”
“Reclaiming space: ‘Afros in Nature'”

The notion that people of color might not feel “at home” on the many fine trails in our area and thus in a real sense cannot take full advantage of the healing power of nature in these pandemic times when the outdoors have become so much more important to us is still bothering the Gadfly.

It’s made him more aware of the presence (or not) of people of color on the trails he trails on.

Thursday afternoon there were 37 people on the Saucon Trail when he was there, of which there was just 1 person of color. However, ironically, he couldn’t help but notice as well that there were 6 people of color cutting grass on homes adjacent to the trail.

On the absolutely gorgeous yesterday afternoon, there were 81 people on the trail and not one person of color.

Hmmm.

This weekend promises to be beautiful again, and Gadfly encourages you to be his eyes on the trails you might be on.

On that “Race and Space” program that triggered this interest in Gadfly, It was also mentioned that such recreational trails are rarely easily accessible to neighborhoods with high densities of people of color.

That, of course, led Gadfly to think immediately of the importance of the Southside Greenway with its creeping link to the Saucon Trail on one side and its hoped for link with the D&L trail via a pedestrian bridge on the other.

Speaking of the pedestrian bridge, Councilman Callahan again asked for a ruling about whether the money committed to the bridge study last year could be moved now to such other projects that bridge advocate Councilwoman Van Wirt has recently espoused as support for the homeless and improved internet access for students.

Budget season is beginning. Gadfly’s many follower-advocates for a pedestrian bridge should be on the alert.

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Addyson Hamilton is a senior at Liberty High School. Addyson presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. You can view Addyson reading his work here at min. 1:03:13.

School Safety:

Speed Bumps around Liberty High School

Addyson Hamilton

I go to Liberty High School, and when you congregate a large group of new, inexperienced drivers, many issues arise. Car crashes, fender benders, and hitting pedestrians are all things that have happened near or at Liberty High School. Something needs to be done to make our environment safer. Not just safer to avoid injuries but to make the school environment healthier and more conducive to learning. The solution to this issue would be to install speed bumps along the streets of Center, Elizabeth, Linden, and Fairview.

Now I don’t stand alone on this subject. The staff at Liberty High School and the individuals living in the neighboring houses would agree with the installation of speed bumps. The staff, I know, want to arrive at school in a timely and safe manner, and the neighbors don’t want to be concerned with whether or not their car was hit this morning. I live on these streets. I have witnessed on a regular basis car crashes, accidents, dangerous incidents which were the result of carelessness and speeding. To put speed bumps on the high school’s adjacent roads would ensure that people pay attention to what’s going on and slow down the traffic load. It is the community’s responsibility, in my belief, to ensure a safe environment for the young people and not to ignore the fact to many people have gotten seriously injured as a result of poor driving.

I recognize that there are those who would oppose the construction of these speed bumps — taxpayers and even those that go to Liberty. Students don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of slowing down, and taxpayers will resist. I have a solution. A movie night. Held in the stadium and field of Liberty High School, where families can come and pay for a spot on the field, which, for now, would be socially distant from other families. And all the proceeds would go towards installing the speed bumps. Students can come in and staff the event for community service hours and grow a deeper appreciation for the community they live in while helping to protect their friends and youths.

Let us work with Joseph Roy and Mayor Donchez on this issue to ensure the safety of our youth walking to/from school and for all community members walking by the school. I believe strongly that we, as a community, can come together and make this possible. This is doable. By installing speed bumps on the streets surrounding Liberty High School: Linden St., Center St., Elizabeth Ave., and Fairview, we can make our home a better, safer place.

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Afros in Nature

ref: “Does race affect feelings of belonging on the D&L trail?”

What are you up to this Sunday afternoon?

Exercising, recreating outside? Kinda lousy for that, Gadfly guesses.

Football game? It’s half-time of the first game. Spend a minute on this post.

Gadfly promised a surprise yesterday. At least he thinks it will be a surprise. Here tiz.

A group called “Afros in Nature” founded by Melanie Lino, who operates Lit on 3rd St., a place we probably all know.

“Founded in Bethlehem, Afros in Nature is a grassroots collective to connect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) with nature. . . . Working in groups, Afros in Nature brings BIPOC back to their roots in the great outdoors. We are taking a pastime historically dominated by white culture and showing BIPOC how to take advantage of its benefits for themselves, for the betterment of their health and well being, and the improvement of our community as a whole. We are teaching BIPOC how to find healing and wholeness again in nature and in one another. . . . Afros in Nature is committed to addressing mental health concerns through nature-based healing and therapeutic activities, including hikes, nature walks, communal gardening, and sustainable food cultivation.”

In the recent “Race and Space in the Lehigh Valley” program hosted by the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium, Lino describes the founding of Afros in Nature, some of its activities (such as working with the local Coalition for Appropriate Transportation on a biking outing), and its purpose.  She was not allowed to go out into the woods as a kid — maternal fear because of race? — and didn’t learn to enjoy nature till her 20s. Realizing how nature, the outdoors can give you a sense of healing, during the racial unease of the past summer Lino decided to serve her community by organizing this group. She has experienced reclaiming space and connection with the land at times/places where they were looked at, stared at as if they didn’t belong. Where they were not felt included. (4mins.)

Gadfly must admit that hearing Lino talk and learning of her organization made him reflect upon his whiteness in a way he never did before.

Gadfly felt blindsided. Came out of nowhere.

Gadfly frequents the trails a lot. He just finished the Tail on the Trail challenge at twice the basic goal, spreading his sweat around a half-dozen of the local sites.

He has always thought of the trails as places of harmony and beauty — as egalitarian spaces — as “other worlds.” He tries to make eye contact with everyone he passes. He nods his head hello while biking. He flicks his handlebar’d fingers like blinking his car lights.

He almost fainted early in the summer to see a policeman on a bike on the Saucon Trail. So out of place. Crime does not happen here. Evil not permitted. Had seen nothing like it in all his years there.

How could African Americans, any POC not feel “at home” there?

Are you ready for one more jolt? Will only take a minute. Gadfly damn near pooped his pants on this one.

An African American Lafayette professor probably talking about Easton’s Arts Trail.

Enjoy the second half, my white brothers and sisters, if you can.

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Something to think about if you are out and around exercising on this chilly day.

One afternoon last week Gadfly was on the Saucon Trail counting people of color. Between Walnut St. and Upper Saucon Park and back, he counted 51 people, 51 people on the trail of which 6 were people of color. Now you must read on to find out what that rather odd tabulating behavior was all about.

———–

Followers will recognize that Gadfly is totally in to the national reckoning with race triggered by the death of George Floyd. He feels there is nothing more important at this cultural moment. (Well, besides who our next president is!)

He is, in fact, a bit obsessed with thinking about race. It’s what makes him irritable with the lack of urgency regarding discussions of public safety he perceives in the City Administration and City Council, as you will also recognize.

But the local institutions  — NCC, BAPL, HCLV, Touchstone, etc., etc. — feed that obsession. You’ve seen him several times extol the programs and resources on race and racism that have sprung into existence in the last 6-7 months.

We are blessed to have them. It says a lot about the quality of town we are.

So Gadfly is a victim of the opportunities to learn presented to him.

And he loves to learn new things.

The recent “Race and Space in the Lehigh Valley” program hosted by the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium presented him with several such learning experiences.

Let’s think about one of them right now.

The pandemic-caused changes in our life-styles and work-styles have precipitated a surge in the use of our outdoor natural resources, like the parks and trails.

And we have a local wealth of those natural resources on which to draw as you can well see, for instance, if you trace the photographic Facebook footprints of follower Dana Grubb. Dana has worn out at least three GIS devices over the past pandemic months! And the visual record of his travels is stunning.

Think of the Monocacy Way. Think of the D&L Trail. Think of the Greenway that is being extended to Saucon Park over the next year. Think of ongoing plans for a pedestrian bridge. Think of things like that.

These are natural resources that make Bethlehem and the surrounding Lehigh Valley a wonderful place to live.

But Gadfly was surprised to learn that people of color might not feel so comfortable or welcome — “included” — in these spaces.

During the “Race and Space” program, Gadfly learned of a study done by Lafayette’s Prof Andrea Armstrong based on a survey of 500 users in which one of the questions she answers is “Does race affect feelings of belonging on the D&L Trail?”

And the answer is not all that good: “we . . . found that people of color feel less included among trail users than white people when controlling for things like age, gender, and types of trail use (like biking or walking).”

Gadfly thinks of the enjoyment of nature available to all. Gadfly thinks of the enjoyment of the trails available to all.

Gadfly thinks that nature is open, that everybody should feel comfortable on the trails.

Maybe not so.

In her presentation during the program, Prof Armstrong said, “There is a very stark difference between how included people of color felt on the trail and how white people felt. The people of color did not feel as welcome, did not feel as included, and did not communicate with other people as part of their community on the trail as often as white people do. And so we really saw this stark finding as a sign that this history of racism and this history of exclusion from environmentalism is alive in the Lehigh Valley.”

Now that’s jaw-dropping.

Specters of Jim Crow.

Not “Whites Only” bathrooms or seats on a bus or sections of a restaurant, but a feeling among some people of color of “Whites Only” recreational trails. Some people of color feel that in walking or riding there they are intruding on white space.

Now hold your disbelief you white people out there until you hear the next post on this subject.

Gadfly thinks more surprises are in store.

———–

So Gadfly was out on Saucon Trail counting people of color. Not many there that day. Surprisingly low, in fact, when I took notice. Which just might be a result of the location of this particular trail relative to where people of color live. Or it might just have been a bad day. But, in any event, the point of Prof Armstrong’s study was not about the number of people of color on the trail but how welcome those using the trail felt.

to be continued . . .

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Luke Rider is a senior at Liberty High School. Luke presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. You can view Luke reading his work here at min. 46:20.

Farmers Market Issue

Luke Rider

Bethlehem and all of the Lehigh Valley have been faced with an issue that many simply don’t see. This city is in desperate need of more locally built, non-chain, and affordable farmers markets. While many people choose to turn their heads at the idea of farmers markets being an important issue in the Lehigh Valley, it must be tackled as soon as possible. The overall benefits of more farmers markets around the city of Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley as a whole can economically and physically serve all surrounding communities in a very constructive way.

First of all, it would support local farmers without a doubt. Farmers markets give us the opportunity to preserve the local farmlands, stopping the erosion of green space and preserving greater CO2 sequestration and cultural heritage. These have been replaced more and more rapidly by large warehouses and McMansions.

The produce local farmers would provide would greatly help those in search of fresh, healthier produce, and the personal pride a farmers market would give to farmers and consumers would be rewarding us all. We mustn’t discount the power of simply feeling good about our food, especially the lower and middle class. They would benefit from the farmers market, helping to get us off sugary, fatty, processed foods. Sure to be the cause of heart disease, diabetes, and overall ill health. Providing local, cheap, and reliable sources of nutritious foods tackles the issue of obesity head on and helps us all.

While the public takeaway and reaction to the idea would be certainly positive, not everyone would be on board with farmers markets popping up around the Lehigh Valley. Chain store owners would fear losing business to the often more affordable farmers markets. Another group of people who would possibly oppose the idea is tax payers who might not believe in the importance of new farmers markets and supporting their creation through civic funds.

But both problems have quite obvious solutions. Not only will the construction of the new markets not affect taxpayers greatly, but they could be sources of income in the long run.

The construction of the farmers market themselves will bring the community together, which is so much needed. Especially if they include Latino-based foods as well as Anglo.

The markets will advertise themselves through social media and word by mouth. It will stir up excitement about these new markets throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Bringing in the Bethlehem Farmers Market group to aid in the sustainability of these markets will greatly aid to keep the problem solved for many years, and not just temporarily solved.

A new farmers market or a bevy of them will help our city without a doubt. Let’s make it happen!

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Asad Harrington is a Junior at Liberty High School. Asad presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. You can view Asad reading his work here at min. 42:25.

Health and Safety for the Sustainability of Bethlehem
and Its Surrounding Areas

Asad Harrington

The sustainability issue that I want to improve is the smell that comes from the water facility in Freemansburg. It’s unbearable, unnecessary, and destructive. People can’t even come outside to sit on their porches because the smell is so bad. I feel like that’s unfair for homeowners. It would be hard if they wanted to move and sell their house. It would be hard because of the smell. The smell needs to go now!

When I’m out walking, I love being outside except when I go into Freemansburg. Instead of smelling fresh air, I smell fresh crap! I don’t live there; but whenever I drive by, I smell the foul odor, and it just makes me want to vomit. It’s a huge cancer growing on our community, not just affecting the neighbors. Plaintiffs Robin and Dexter Baptiste, both homeowners in the Freemansburg area, filed lawsuits demanding a total of $5 million dollars. I have an uncle who lives in Freemansburg, but whenever I go to his house, I never smell anything. When I came across the article about the lawsuit, I was highly surprised. Those who can afford to live out from under the cloud, do, Those who can’t, can’t. People must be free to live where they can afford. I understand both sides, but I favor the people who have to live with the smell everyday, which is simply wrong.

Don Hallock, the district manager for Waste Connections, declined to comment on the lawsuit. He’s against it, of course, and doesn’t think any changes should be made. I demand that the water facility do something about the smell or move to where there are no people. The Authority is bringing in a lot of money, and money is the root of why they don’t want to move. They even plan to upgrade the facility, expanding it so more towns around the Lehigh Valley can send their stink there. They have to understand the frustration and annoyance of the people who live around the facility — who can blame them. I wouldn’t want to smell that horrible stench either. But with the new upgrades, I insist that the Authority improve the facility and get rid of the smell.

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Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

Matthew Subjin is a Junior at Liberty High School. Matthew presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. You can view Matthew reading his work here at min. 24:40.

Climate Change

Matthew Subjin

Climate change is one of the biggest issues of our lifetime, and there is much more we can do both as a community and as a city to reduce its impact and lower our carbon footprint. Liberals are one of the biggest groups that will support my call to action because they want more action to be taken as a community and government to help stop climate change. Nature activists are another group that will support me because less pollution means a more healthy environment. Although our individual actions alone might seem small, our actions as a group can influence others to follow our example. Declaring a state of climate emergency is a great first step towards a healthier community.

Of course, there will always be people who disagree with climate activism and think it’s a waste of time and money. Conservatives believe that climate change is not an important issue and that our budget is better spent elsewhere. Another group in the opposition is fossil fuel reliant industries. They rely on fossil fuels to make money, so they would not be content with any restrictions that could cut their profits.

There are many ways to help fight global warming, including swapping renewable energy sources, because if we can lower our dependence on fossil fuels, then we can lower our carbon footprint. We can encourage swapping to electric vehicles to lower pollution. Plant life is an all natural way to reduce the effects of climate change, so protecting our ecosystem is important, not just for the ecosystem itself, but for the climate as well. We cannot stop our climate from changing for the time being, so we need to create new strategies to adapt to the changing climate.

There are also many things that we can do as a community to help stop climate change — like recycling. You can turn off the lights in rooms you are not in and take shorter showers. You could also buy solar panels to both lower your electric bills and carbon footprint.

Let’s all make a difference today!

Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

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Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

Maclaine Oskin is a senior at Moravian Academy who hopes to major in environmental science or geology in college. Maclaine presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. Her interest in the environment was partially inspired by her enjoyment of science in school as well as summer family trips to National Parks when she was younger. You can view Maclaine reading her work here at min. 57:40.

Land Conservation

Maclaine Oskin

Development and construction through the years have overtaken our land with asphalt and concrete, making commercial districts and office buildings abundant while the number of trees and open space dwindles. The Lehigh Valley, with an ever-growing population and robust mixed economy, continues to develop. As a result, it becomes even more critical to protect the natural environment that has preceded us through conservation to balance growth and expansion. Conservation of green space is vital to preserving the local ecosystem, increasing environmental resilience, and is advantageous to the local economic and social health of the community.

Land conservation is paramount in maintaining the well-being of the local ecosystem and safeguarding clean water, air, and soil. For example, sheltering land that hosts waterways decreases the quantity of harmful chemicals, litter, and particulate matter by up to 45%, preventing pollution and the hampering of the cleanliness of local water sources. By protecting the environment, it gives back to the community through ecosystem services, in which humans benefit from organic processes that occur in nature. Vegetation and forestry aids in stormwater runoff and water regulation through drainage, thereby decreasing flooding. Soil and trees absorb and sequester carbon dioxide, reducing carbon emissions contributing to the greenhouse gas effect, making them pivotal players in the fight against climate change. More locally, this ecosystem service offsets local air pollution and cleans the air by reducing emissions. Each of these services has the ability to reduce costs of damage and improve personal health, acting as preventive measures for infrastructure and reducing health care costs long term.

Furthermore, conservation is a preventative solution to get ahead of the curve of a changing climate with increasingly harsh and unpredictable weather. The increase of natural spaces lends itself to a new form of benefit, that of environmental resilience. Resilience can be gained easily by having open habitat and green space as it has a greater ability to adapt and change to such external forces as climate change than set infrastructure. It is an economically beneficial option in the long run as it decreases risk and damage from natural forces and, in turn, saves taxpayer money since they bear the brunt of costs of rebuilding and updating local infrastructure.

Not only environmentally significant, green space is advantageous to the economic and social health of communities. Green space as recreational areas promotes physical and mental well-being as an outlet for stress and overwork. It provides a prospect for social interaction and community building as an area for social gatherings. Economically, it is beneficial since it attracts businesses and residents to communities. The preservation of such resources as parks, forests, farms, and waterways increases the value of houses and the number of residents, which, in turn, increases the tax base and revenue to support local businesses. It decreases government spending through natural provisions of ecosystem services. For example, by protecting water sources, it keeps them cleaner, so there is less cost on the back end to filter or clean that water, additionally saving on health care costs as it is safer for human consumption. Furthermore, land conservation has the potential to save more money than land development and commercialization because often large lot sizes that are heavily built up increase the cost of water and sewage services since they struggle with stormwater runoff related problems.

In providing these green spaces, it is necessary to implement them equally and fairly throughout the community since environmental health burdens disproportionately affect people of color and the lower income classes. Upholding equitability through conservation is key to uplifting all members of our community and giving equal opportunity through the benefits of green space that provides clean living space, clean air, mental health benefits, as well as recreational and educational opportunities.

To maximize the effectiveness of conservation efforts, key parcels of land that are adjacent to preexisting conserved land or provide greenways, connection routes that travel between critical habitats, must be prioritized, along with solutions to prohibit high impact zoning next to green spaces to minimize disturbance of wildlife and only allowing low environmental impact activities with land restrictions to protect native wildlife and forest growth. For example, choosing forested areas or native meadows with only grass, gravel, or mulched trails over pavement permits local residents full access to the health benefits of the area, while maintaining the environmental benefits of natural, native growth.

In order to achieve these goals of greater environmental protection and stewardship, votership for environmental legislation and policy as well as donation of funds and time to local organizations is required. It is necessary to acknowledge and support such community agencies as Wildlands Conservancy, the D&L Heritage Corridor, and the local government’s Environmental Advisory Councils as premier organizations of land conservation. Balance in a community is essential to it thriving. Focusing on growing both its development and green space hand in hand will make for a more resilient, adaptable, and sustainable future within the Lehigh Valley.

Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

Latest in a series of posts on the environment

Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

Freedom High School Junior Somak Roy presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. You can view Somak reading his work here at min. 34:12.

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I first became interested in water availability and its sustainability when I joined the Freedom High School Robotics team in 2017 and worked on addressing hydrodynamics problems as part of our project. How we find water, transport, use, or dispose of it was the theme of the 2017 FIRST Lego League. At that time, I learned by researching on the internet that I am fortunate to be part of Bethlehem where the water quality is much better than other parts of Northeastern America. We visited the local recycling plant to learn how wastewater is recycled. Recently I got the opportunity to research more on Bethlehem’s drinking water quality. I received some valuable information from Ed Boscola, Director of the Bethlehem Department of Water and have tried documenting it through this paper. Thank you to Ms. Elisabeth Cichonski and Professor Gallagher for guiding me in every step of the way, and to my AP U.S. History teacher, Mrs. Roman, for making this possible.

Water Quality and Sustainable Development of Bethlehem

Somak Roy

This paper is meant to raise awareness on the many potential threats to our water supply. The main points of concern are with such contaminants as trihalomethanes and lead, and the largest concern of all, the potential impacts of the expanding shale gas industry in Pennsylvania and, in particular, the chemicals used in fracking.

The City of Bethlehem’s water comes entirely from surface sources, namely the Wild Creek Reservoir and the Penn Forest Reservoir in a watershed that covers 17 square miles. This primary water supply is located 22 miles north of the City. The Tunkhannock Creek and Monroe County provide a supplemental supply of water to the Penn Forest Reservoir.

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Contaminants that may be present in source water before the city treats it include Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes, and can also come from gas stations, stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

Trihalomethanes

From 2015 to 2019, chromium, hexavalent chromium, and strontium levels have been consistently on the lower end of the allowable spectrum, as shown in the consumer reports. However, trihalomethane levels have been on the high end, and the acceptable ranges set by the EPA are constantly changing. Trihalomethanes are a chemical group that are a byproduct of mixing chlorine and organic matter and are related to fracking wastewater. Wastewater generated by hydraulic fracking is known to have high amounts of trihalomethanes that are still present even after the water treatment process. This chemical has been proven to have such negative health effects as various forms of cancer. Bromodichloromethane is part of the family of the chemicals known as trihalomethanes which are regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and are monitored and included in the Consumer Confidence reports. It is important to ask why the allowable range of trihalomethanes is changing every year. Could this range be changing to accommodate increases in concentrations in source water?

Lead

In 1991, EPA published a regulation to control lead and copper in drinking water. This regulation is known as the Lead and Copper Rule (also referred to as the LCR). [2] Until 2019, when lead jumped from 2.0 -7.0 ppb, the level of lead and copper in Bethlehem was relatively constant and had been since 2013. [Table 2] Although the levels are still significantly below the Recommended Exposure Limit established by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), it’s important to ask what happened in 2019. Why did the level of lead increase and how do these fluctuations reflect human behavior?

The treatment technique for the EPA rule requires systems to monitor drinking water at customer taps. If lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppb or copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm in more than 10% of customer taps sampled, the system must undertake several additional actions to control corrosion. If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children.

Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracking

In 2012, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed Act 13, which permits most oil and gas operations in all the state’s zoning districts, including ones with schools, parks, and hospitals. President Barack Obama authorized the creation of a high-level federal agency to coordinate shale gas production, a rapidly growing industry likened to a 21st-century gold rush. Over the next two decades more than 50,000 fracking wells are expected to open in Pennsylvania alone. Bethlehem will surely be affected by this; however, extensive studies have not yet been done so that we can accurately predict the impacts on our water quality.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the method being used to extract natural gas from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale geological formation. It injects water, sand, and chemicals deep underground to break up the shale and allow the gas to be collected. The process also creates wastewater, known as flowback, that contains chemicals used in the fracking mixture, as well as salts, metals, radionuclides, and hydrocarbons from the target rock formation.

Fracking is controversial and is banned in  New York, as well as places like Vermont and some European countries. The Pennsylvania natural gas industry has also given rise to proposals such as the PennEast Pipeline (gas pipeline between Martin’s Creek and Philadelphia), which is designed to expand the domestic market for fossil fuels, which have alarmed environmentalists.

Dozens of children and young adults have been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma and other forms of cancer in a four-county area outside Pittsburgh where energy companies have drilled more than 3,500 wells since 2008. Yet a 2015 study of Northeastern Pennsylvania published by the Environmental Protection Agency indicated that there was no evidence of fracking fluids contaminating wells and springs. These results are dated and may not accurately reflect some of the latent effects of the gas industry on local water sources. We need new studies with existing sample location data points and with new location data points.

Awareness is important, in particular, wider public awareness and better understanding of these impacts. Some positive steps are already being taken to keep our water safe. In November 2019, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said his administration will spend $3 million on a pair of studies to explore the potential health effects of the natural gas industry. At the water recycling plant in Lycoming County, for instance, a facility where wastewater is efficiently treated and studied, some shale gas producers are trying to protect the environment by collecting the fracking fluid and sending it to actual waste facilities.

Recycling and reusing shale-produced water as initiated by the Marcellus shale industry is now the standard practice of Pennsylvania shale companies in order to lessen the environmental impact of the shale industry. However, it is baffling to see how few studies are done with the 600 chemicals used in fracking and their effect in drinking water. Given this information, one can not conclude that fracking will have no impact on the Bethlehem water supply in the future.

Just like for the 600 chemicals used at fracking sites, more research must be done on chemicals such as trihalomethanes to fully understand their potentially harmful impacts to the human body. Sudden increases in contaminant levels, such as the elevated concentration of lead, should become a top priority. Our water may be safe for now, but in order to ensure that this remains true, we all need to be aware of what can and will taint our water supply.

Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

Bibliography

1. https://www.bethlehem-pa.gov/Water-Sewer-Resources/Consumer-Confidence-Report
2. https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/lead-and-copper-rule
3. https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-fracking-impact-20191122-phlnt35dp5dsxk4dmw3jqvoamu-story.html
4. https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2018/01/lehigh_valley_hearing_added_on.html
5. https://www.lvsustainabilitynetwork.org/fracking/
6. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/final_nepa_fact_sheet_6_03_508_km_0.pdf
7. https://www.cdc.gov/Fluoridation/pdf/pollick.pdf
8. https://sdp.cas.lehigh.edu/content/fracking
9. https://ed.lehigh.edu/news-events/news/fracking-debate
10. https://www.mcall.com/business/mc-erin-brockovich-pollutant-in-local-water-2-20160923-story.html
11. https://www.energyindepth.org/marcellus-shale-operators-ahead-of-the-game-on-wastewater-management/
12. https://www.cleanwateraction.org/features/dangers-hexavalent-chromium-chromium-6-california-drinking-water
13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257669/#:~:text=Trihalomethanes%20(THMs)%20are%20the%20result,cancer%20and%20adverse%20reproductive%20outcomes.
14. https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/web/2014/09/Fracking-Wastewater-Encourage-Formation-Toxic.html

Appendix

Following 3 tables are all generated using data provided in consumer confidence report of water-sewerage in Bethlehem, PA [1]

Table 1: Chromium, Chromium 6, Strontium, Trihalomethanes presence in water due to corrosion of household plumbing

Table 2: Lead and Copper in Drinking Water in Bethlehem, PA

Table 3: Turbidity of Drinking Water in Bethlehem, PA

Latest in a series of posts on the environment

Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7

Audrey Dai is a senior at Moravian Academy and thinking about pursuing law or the behavioral sciences after graduation. Audrey presented this essay at the “Speak out!” Sustainability Forum, part of Touchstone Theatre’s Festival UnBound 2020, September 19. She first became interested in sustainability, specifically recycling, when she moved back to the states after living a few years overseas, joining Moravian Academy’s Green Team/Environmental Club in order to learn more about how an individual can help our climate. You can view Audrey reading her work here at min. 18:45.

Climate justice

Audrey Dai

These two simple words are probably not as familiar as the now politically infused “climate change.” Instead, these words emphasize how environmental changes are an issue of civil rights and how these changes will disproportionately affect each of us living on this planet, just some more than others. And this is regardless of your political standing. In the words of Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, climate justice “insists on a shift from a discourse on greenhouse gases and melting ice caps into a civil rights movement with the people and communities most vulnerable to climate impacts at its heart.”

The importance of involving younger generations in matters pertaining to climate change is slowly gaining momentum. On a global level, steps are already being taken to do so through the establishment of the Youth Climate Summit by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2019.

But for youth to raise their voices, they must first be properly educated on the effects of climate change. However, the quality of education a child receives is largely linked to socioeconomic status. Those who live in poverty are most likely to be the ones without adequate resources, education, and support, while those who live in luxury or comfortability are most likely to be the ones with sufficient resources, higher education, and the ability to provide or receive support. In the Lehigh Valley alone, approximately 13% of our 841,000+ population live in poverty. This means that around 109,000 people are living without necessary resources or opportunities. Paying attention to these areas and focusing on bettering the lives of those who live there will lead to overall progress for everyone. I understand that this is not just an issue the Lehigh Valley faces. It’s more than a local issue, but everything has to start from somewhere, and we can do that. Together. We can build a foundation, give the next generation sufficient resources and high quality education for them to raise their voices about these injustices, and to call for justice to be served. We need to invest in our children, our future generations, because, as stated by Mary Robinson, “Youth are the majority. Youth have to have their voice, their perspective, and their urgency included.”

This is why we need a curriculum that integrates environmental science and advocacy into our local school system.

Here’s an example of why we need this curriculum. When I started to get into sustainability, I was super into recycling, but here’s the thing . . . I wasn’t even recycling the proper way. “Recycling” for me consisted of me just putting unwashed plastic right into the recycling bin and calling it a day. It wasn’t until my mom caught me by chance and told me I had to rinse out plastics that I actually started to recycle.

I realized that by wanting to protect the environment, I had inadvertently contributed more harm than good. But I feel that this could have been easily prevented if we had been provided with the proper education.

Now I ask for you to close your eyes and imagine. Imagine a curriculum that integrates climate education and environmental advocacy that surpasses the traditional classroom setting, emphasizing hands-on service learning. Imagine the impact we can make together, not just now, but, most importantly, for our future generations as well.

Second meeting on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, October 7