ECOS: The Environmental ClearinghouseECOS: The Environmental ClearinghouseECOS: The Environmental ClearinghouseECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse

Celebrating Our 43rd Year in Environmental Education

Vol. XLIII Number 4 March 2015

ECOS NEWS

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ECOS All Member Meeting

Monday, March 9th

Niskayuna Branch Library 2400 Nott Street East, Niskayuna

Open Board Meeting 5:00 to 6:00

Light refreshments 6:00 to 6:30

Guest Speaker 6:30-7:30

Guest Speaker Peter Tobiessen

ECOS Board member Peter Tobiessen will discuss his

book The Secret Life of a Lake: The Ecology of

Northern Lakes and their Stewardship.

Save the Date

ECOS Annual Dinner

Thursday, April 9th

Schenectady County Community College

See insert for details

Guest Speaker Anita Sanchez

The author of Leaflets Three, Let it Be!, Anita will

talk about poison ivy and its important ecological

role, as well as its long history as a popular garden

plant, and also discuss ways to cope with it organi-

cally.

2015 Mohawk River Symposium at Union College

Friday, March 20th Registration Open

The Geology Department at Union College will host the Sev-enth Symposium on the physical aspects of the Mohawk Water-shed in New York State. The scientific program and timing of theme sessions will be shaped by submitted abstracts and invited talks. The meeting will highlight recent and on-going work in the watershed during oral and poster presentations and technical sessions.

http://minerva.union.edu/garverj/mws/2015/symposium.html

Trip to Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center (indoors, no ticks)

Tuesday, April 21st 10:00-12:00

Directions and information on website. https://www.albanypinebush.org/discovery-center

$3 fee for the guided tour.

The Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, is the gateway to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, providing visitors with interactive exhibits and activities. A great place to take out-of-town visi-tors, children and adults. Please let me know if you are coming by April 14th, so I can let them know and for car pool arrange-ments.

Arden Rauch raucha@union.edu

Maple Syrup Open Houses at Five Rivers

A series of interactive demonstrations of the maple sugaring process will be conducted on three consecutive Saturdays, March 14, 21, and 28 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the NYS Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation’s Five Rivers Environ-mental Education Center, 56 Game Farm Road, Delmar.

These hands-on programs will demonstrate the entire sugaring process, from sap to syrup, at education stations. Learn about the tools and steps involved in maple sugaring. Participants can twirl a brace drill and pound a spile, inspect the sap flow in the sugar bush, savor the sugary aroma of sap boiling down into

syrup at the evaporator, and take a maple “taste test.” A local maple producer will be on site to answer questions.

These programs are open to the public free of charge. Partici-pants may come any time between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. to see the ongoing demonstrations. Scout and youth groups are welcome but are asked to call 518-475-0291 to register beforehand. Par-ticipants are urged to dress for outdoor activity. In the event of severe weather, programs may be cancelled. Please call Five Rivers at 518-475-0291 for more information.

ECOS NEWSECOS NEWSECOS NEWSECOS NEWS

ECOS NEWS

published ten times annually by

ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse, Inc.

P.O. Box 9118, Niskayuna, NY 12309

Office Phone: (518) 370-4125

E-mail: info@ecosny.org

www.ecosny.org

Executive Director: Patrick Clear

Office Assistant: Judy Smith

Fiscal Clerk: JoAnn Clear

Editor: Pauline Bono

Webmaster: Cliff Rhodes

Office Hours: Mon., Wed. & Thurs.

10 am — 3 pm and by appointment.

Board of Directors

President

Denise Cashmere

Vice President for Programs

Vice President for Outreach

Will Seyse

Secretary

Beverly Clark

Treasurer

Bruce Bonaquist

Kathie Armstrong Kyle Lanzit

Andrew Morris Juliana Post-Good

Arden Rauch Rick Robinson

Dee Strnisa Peter Tobiessen

Jean Walters Barbara Walton ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse

is a non-political, not-for-profit organization.

Our mission is to provide environmental

information and educational opportunities that

enhance appreciation of the natural world,

to build a community that is aware and

knowledgeable about environmental issues,

and to advocate informed action to preserve

our natural resources. ECOS is funded through

the support of our members and the community.

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eBay Giving Works

Did you receive a holiday gift you don’t want or need? Sell it on eBay and support ECOS. eBay Giving Works is the dedicated pro-gram for charity listings where you can buy or sell items to support nonprofit organizations. eBay Giving Works is the dedicated pro-gram for charity listings on eBay, enabling you to list items on eBay and donate part or all of the final sale price to your favorite nonprofit organizations. Since 2000, more than $81 million has been raised for charity from listings sold on eBay worldwide. To learn how the program works visit ebay.com and click on Giving Works. ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse is participating in this program.

Attention Business Owners

ECOS Recycling Inkjet &

Laser Ink Cartridges

Help ECOS raise money to support our programs by recycling your empty inkjet and laser ink cartridges. ECOS will provide you with a drop off bin for your office and will collect empty cartridges monthly from your office. All you need to do is drop them in the bin. Help save the environment and help ECOS raise money at the same time. Call the ECOS office at 370-4125 to get involved.

iGive.com

Shopping online this Holiday Season? If you are then you can sup-port your favorite charity, AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU, buy visiting www.iGive.com. Over 800 of you favorite stores and cata-logs participate in this program in which the retailer donates a por-tion of your purchase to your favorite charity. In addition, there are special discounts and sales available through iGive.com. ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse has raised over $200 through this program so far.

ECOS is now a member of Facebook.

Please visit and

Like ECOS on Facebook.

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Bud & Sally Halsey 518-393-5711

Rowing Shells

Rentals Lessons Repairs

2855 Aqueduct Rd. Schenectady, N.Y. 12309

(off Balltown Rd. at Rexford Bridge)

PETE FRISONI

Owner

BARK EATER TREE SERVICE Technical Removals & Stump Grinding

Quality Pruning

(518) 381-4325 Fully Insured for Your Protection

Fernfeather Designs Jewelry Touched by Nature

Jewelry Designs by Request

At: The Katbird ShopThe Katbird ShopThe Katbird ShopThe Katbird Shop

Pauline Liebig 6A Gurry Circle

Watervliet, NY 12189-2340

518.713.4860 pauline.liebig@gmail.com

www.fernfeatherdesigns.com

Shade Tree Meteorology LLCShade Tree Meteorology LLCShade Tree Meteorology LLCShade Tree Meteorology LLC http://www.shadetreemeteorology.com

Severe Weather Event Reconstruction

Dick Westergard Certified Consulting Meteorologist

Tel 518-831-9374 Toll Free 888-580-0747 Fax 518-374-7743 Email: Dick.Westergard@shadetreemeteorology.com

COME WALK WITH US,

FOR FUN, FITNESS

AND FRIENDSHIP

EMPIRE STATE

CAPITAL VOLKSSPORTERS

WALKING FOR A GREEN PLANET!

For more information, to read our newsletters

and see our walk schedule,

go to: www.walkescv.org

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President’s Letter

The snow is definitely here! The Cross Country ski/Snow Shoe trips are being scheduled at locations as the conditions permit. Please be sure to check with the ECOS office or the ECOS Facebook page to determine the status and location.

In the last newsletter we mentioned that we are in need of board members as many members must “leave” the board due to by-law restrictions. Those of us who must vacate the board are certainly not leaving ECOS. I for one will stay involved with several projects. I want to remind all of our members that there are numerous ways for you to also get involved with ECOS ac-tivities. Our committees are listed with descriptions on the web-site. If you are a planner or prefer hands on, there are a variety of opportunities for you to contribute. Patrick or any of our committee chairs would be happy to discuss details of our pro-jects and events. Of course, we are always open to new ideas from our members too!

Many of our annual activities are now being planned. Our All Member meeting will take place on Monday, March 9th at the Niskayuna Library and our Annual dinner is scheduled for April 9th at SCCC. Please keep a look out for details.

Stay warm and active!

Denise Cashmere

ECOS Membership ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse, Inc.

P.O. Box 9118, Niskayuna, NY 12309 (518) 370-4125

Please check your membership contribution level. ____ $30. Individual ____ $55. Donor ____ $250. + Benefactor ____ $40. Family ____ $125. Sustainer $____ Additional Donation Please make your check payable to: ECOS Name________________________________________________ Phone__________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________ Email:______________________________________________

____ As a GE employee (or retiree) my contribution is eligible for GE Foundation Matching Funds. I have registered with GE for the matching gift by computer at www.gefoundation.com. (If you do not have computer access, call customer service at 1-800-305-0669.) ____ My employer will match my contribution. I’ve enclosed my matching gift form. ____ I would like to be a volunteer. Please send me more information.

Executive Director’s Report

The snow has arrived and our ski and snowshoe outings are tak-ing advantage of the conditions. If you haven’t joined us yet grab your skis or snowshoes and come along on our Tuesday outings. Be sure to check the ECOS Facebook page or call the office after 2:00 on Mondays for location of the outing.

I’d also like to welcome Dima Yankova as our temporary intern from Union College. Dima is a mechanical engineering major from Bulgaria and is interning with ECOS as part of her Envi-ronmental Policy class. She will be writing a series of articles for this newsletter and our Facebook page.

The snow may be knee deep, or more, outside but inside we are already planning our spring events. Our All Member Meeting and Annual Dinner are all set with a couple of great speakers. We are also busy scheduling our school programs for Environ-mental Field Days and Earth Month. Our spring walk schedule is being prepared. And in partnership with the Friends of Scho-harie Crossing we will be expanding on the canoe and kayak outing we held there last year by making it a Day Along the River this year and adding a guided nature walk and guide bicy-cle ride along the Canalway Trail.

As always we will be looking for volunteers to help with all our spring programs. There will be more details on our volunteer needs in the next issue of ECOS News.

Patrick Clear

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Join us under the dome for the very best folk music…Join us under the dome for the very best folk music…Join us under the dome for the very best folk music…Join us under the dome for the very best folk music…

A PLACE FOR FOLK 2015A PLACE FOR FOLK 2015A PLACE FOR FOLK 2015A PLACE FOR FOLK 2015 Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady

1221 Wendell Avenue, Schenectady 12308

Small Potatoes withSmall Potatoes withSmall Potatoes withSmall Potatoes with Addie & OlinAddie & OlinAddie & OlinAddie & Olin————Unleashed!Unleashed!Unleashed!Unleashed!

Saturday, March 28, 7:30 pmSaturday, March 28, 7:30 pmSaturday, March 28, 7:30 pmSaturday, March 28, 7:30 pm

Reservations recommended. Tickets $20. Students $10. Children with parents $5. Support our great music, become a Folk Friend. www.aplaceforfolk.org 518-377-0002

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret Tuesday March 3 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Sponsors: Animal Outreach Club at Hudson Valley Community College and the New York State Humane Association

The film, Cowspiracy, exposes animal agriculture as the lead-ing cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, generating more greenhouse gases than the transportation indus-try. Kathy Stevens, founder and director of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, is guest speaker. Free and open to the public.

Contact Valerie Waldin, MRV 141, at v.waldin@hvcc.edu or Alice Malavasic, BRN 210, at (518) 629-7697 or a.malavasic@hvcc.edu.

Club Web site: http://animaloutreach.hvcc.edu/

Environmental Advocates:

New York State’s Legislative Watchdog

If you want to know what New York State is doing, or not do-ing, to preserve and protect our environment, you can rely on Environmental Advocates to keep you up to date and informed on all issues which are being considered, or should be consid-ered, by our legislature.

If you are not familiar with Environmental Advocates, I urge you to visit their web sites and learn about their investigative research, their policy positions and how they rate each of our legislators in terms of his or her efforts on behalf of New York’s environment.

Environmental Advocates’ stated mission is to protect our air, land, water and wildlife and the health of all New Yorkers. Based in Albany, they monitor state government, evaluate pro-posed laws and champion policies and practices that will ensure responsible stewardship of our shared environment. They work to support and strengthen the efforts of New York’s environ-mental community and to make our state a national leader. Since 1969 Environmental Advocates has been at the center of every major environmental battle including: enhancing state-wide protections of our environment and wildlife; combating climate change while developing green energy technologies; reducing waste and leveraging new financial support for conser-vation efforts; and cleaning up polluted lands and getting those properties back on the tax roles.

Every day in the state capital, decisions are made that have last-ing consequences for the health of all New Yorkers. Environ-mental Advocates is ever vigilant, monitoring state govern-ment’s actions, advocating for policies and practices that will protect our environment and defeating regressive measures that seek to roll back conservation victories. Their efforts were in-strumental in passing some of New York’s significant environ-mental laws, including: the state’s bottle deposit law; the na-tion’s first acid rain law; the Environmental Protection Fund; the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act; and the Clean Indoor Air Act.

Every week during the New York legislative session, Environ-mental Advocates reviews all of the bills introduced in legisla-tive committees or on the floor of the State Senate and Assem-bly. They then issue a memo that summarizes the legislation with a position measuring the significant environmental impact. At the end of the year each legislator is rated according to his or her voting position on each issue. This total scorecard for each legislator is published by a sister organization, EPL/Environmental Advocates Voter’s Guide, so that all constituents can know how their representative voted on environmental is-sues.

If you are not already a member of Environmental Advocates, I urge you to visit their websites and join the discussion. You can sign up for the Bill Memos distribution e-mail list. All of us can have a significant impact on environmental legislation in New York by staying informed and making our voices heard.

Kathie Armstrong, ECOS Advocacy Committee

Food for Thought at Five Rivers

On Saturday, March 7 at 10:00 a.m., it’s “Food for Thought” at the New York State Department of Environmental Conserva-tion’s Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, 56 Game Farm Road in Delmar.

Join a Five Rivers educator for an introduction to food produc-tion in trees as we walk the North Loop Trail. The “food facto-ries” in our local trees have been in shut-down mode during the winter, but as temperatures rise and days grow longer, produc-tion kicks back into gear. When maple syrup season arrives, we reap the reward! Call 518-475-0291 for more information.

Thacher Nature Center Art Courses

Painting a Landscape Sunday, March 8 10 am – 2 pm. Instructor: Stanley Maltzman Fee $40.00 plus materials Recommended: for age16 and up. 872-1237 to register. Painting on Feathers Saturday, March 14 10 am – 1 pm. Instructor: Ida Pagano Fee: $15.00 plus $5.00 materials fee. Draw A Better Bird Saturday, March 21 10 am – 12pm. Instructor: Jean Mackay Fee: $25.00. 872-1237 to register. Spring Trees in the Landscape Using Pastels Sunday, March 22 10 am – 3:30 pm Instructor: Susan Story Fee: $40.00. Call 872-1237 to register.

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.ECOS would like to welcome our Union College intern Dima Yankova. As part of her internship

Dima will be writing a series of articles for the ECOS newsletter using her experiences as a mechanical

engineering student and a native of Bulgaria.

To frack or not to frack - a look into New York state’s ban on hydraulic fracturing

by Dima Yankova

Most of southern New York State lies above one of the largest unconventional gas plays in the United States. The Marcel-

lus Shale is the most extensive of a series of Appalachian black-shale formations and a promising source for natural gas

extraction. Yet, at the end of December, New York became the first state to enact a ban against hydraulic fracturing, also

known as fracking - a controversial method of releasing oil and natural gas under high pressure from deep underground.

In order to understand this bold state decision, we must be well aware of the risks associated with the technology of frack-

ing. So how does it work? Fracking begins with the insertion of long pipes covered with cemented steel casting deep into

the ground. Once the pipes reach the shale layer, multiple techniques can be used to crack open holes in the casting. One

way involves forcing down plastic balls into the well to make small fissures in the pipe. Alternatively, sending an electrical

charge down a wire can have the same effect. The next step involves pumping down a mixture of water, sand and chemi-

cals into the well under extremely high pressure. The fluid shoots through the holes and fractures the rock. Hence, the

fluid along with the oil (or natural gas) flows to the surface. Some of the used water is recycled but the rest is usually de-

posited deep below ground water. Small quantities may also remain underground.

Even though the technology of fracking is relatively new to the US oil and gas industry, studies have already called atten-

tion to the alarming environmental and public health problems it may cause. So what are the risks? A research paper

published by the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in 2014 points out that the number of reported health symp-

toms, skin conditions and upper respiratory problems per person was higher among residents living within a 1 km radius

of the nearest gas well versus residents living 2 or more km away from the site. Another study, conducted by The West

Virginia Department of Environmental Protection found that benzene concentrations in the air around 4 out of 7 gas well

pads exceeded “the minimum risk level for no health effects”, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Pre-

vention).

Many fear potential leaking of waste fluid into groundwater. The waste from fracking contains chemical and naturally oc-

curring radioactive materials and metals found in the surrounding soil. Any contact with nearby groundwater resources

will have detrimental long-term effects on public health and wildlife alike. Not to mention that areas with contaminated

resources face many problems in attracting investment and generally suffer from poor economic development.

Granted that the full environmental and health impact of fracking has yet to be evaluated, many specialists are already

voicing skepticism regarding the new technology. There is sufficient data to believe that the risks associated with fracking

seriously outweigh the benefits. As a Bulgarian, I am proud to say that my country is one of the only two European states

(France being the second) which has introduced a national ban on fracking. I favor the development of my country’s econ-

omy but I fail to see fracking as a remedy for it, especially when I am very well aware of the risks entailed in using this new

technology.

1Williams, J.H. & Kappel, W.M., Water Issues and Marcellus Shale Gas Development in New York. USGS, http://ny.cf.er.usgs.gov/nyprojectsearch/

projects/2457-CP30.html

2Wendy Koch, Could New York’s Fracking Ban Have Domino Effect, National Geographic, December 18, 2014, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

news/energy/2014/12/141218-fracking-ban-new-york-states-oil-gas-drilling-energy-news/

3Natural Gas Fracking - Introduction, Grace Communications Foundation: http://www.gracelinks.org/191/natural-gas-fracking-introduction

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ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse is located in the Niskayuna Community Center,

2682 Aqueduct Road, Niskayuna, NY.

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How Do Snowflakes Form?

by Dima Yankova

Have you ever wondered why snowflakes look the way they do? Perfectly symmetrical six-fold flat star crystal shape...beautiful indeed, but also quite mysterious. In order to understand the unique snowflake architecture, we need to recall one of the most fundamental, yet not so intuitive, laws of thermodynamics which states that everything in nature wants to go to the same temperature. Hence, when we take out a cup of hot tea or coffee outside on a cold winter day, the cup begins to cool down. Since the liquid inside the cup is much warmer than the air around it, it has to give away heat in order to equalize its tem-perature with that of the surroundings. For the same reason, the snow on our shoes melts down shortly after we have entered a warm space. Our shoes are colder than the air inside the room and have to receive an influx of heat in order to equalize their temperature with that of the surroundings. Interestingly enough, the same principle determines the formation of snowflakes.

Each snowflake begins its journey in the cold and humid air between the clouds. Up there droplets of water accumulate around tiny specks of dust which quickly freeze and form spherical beads of ice. Since each bead is warmer than every-thing else around it (you guessed it!) it has to dissipate heat. However, soon enough the air around the newly formed snow-flake warms up and the heat transfer is hindered. This phe-

New York Geothermal Energy Organization

Geopalooza

Tuesday & Wednesday, March 17th & 18th

Skidmore College

For information visit www.ny-geo.org

nomenon necessitates certain changes in the spherical shape of the snowflake. Consequently, the small bead of ice stretches out symmetrically in six different directions, forming the typical six-fold star crystal shape. These needles allow the snowflake to reach cooler air which is now further away from the original nucleus. When the air between the six arms warms up, they grow out three more branches for the same purpose as before. In this interesting process of ‘branching’, the snowflake slowly increases its surface area, thus enhancing the dissipation of heat into the surrounding air. By the time the snowflake reaches the cold ground it has already acquired its beautiful shape. Now you know how and why!

Note: The theory about the formation of snowflakes was developed by Dr.

Adrian Bejan, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. He

uses the Constructual Law of Design and Evolution in Nature to explain the

unique snowflake architecture.