Supporters of efforts to fight global climate change plan to participate in a “Global Work Party” at sites around the world Sunday.

Locally, supporters will staff an information booth from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the Nyack Street Fair. Information about the issue will be available and adults and children can write letters and create drawings that will be sent to Congress and state and local elected officials calling on them to take action.

Visit http://350.org for more information about the events and about climate change.

Email pkurtz9@gmail.com or call 845-358-3386 to volunteer to help staff the info table on Sunday or for information about Rockland Sierra Club, the local event host.

The County Legislature will hold public hearings on two proposed amendments to the Rockland County Sewer law when it convenes at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Allison-Parris County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Road in New City.

The first amendment, sponsored by Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills, would charge single-family homes one fee even if they have two kitchens. Homes with two kitchens currently pay two charges.

The second amendment, sponsored by Legislator Alden Wolfe, D-Suffern, would allow biological treatments to be added to a grease or oil interceptor, such as those used by restaurants and other facilities. Such treatment is currently banned.

Here is a news release from Legislator Wolfe regarding the biological treatment (verbatim):

Rockland County Legislator Alden H. Wolfe has proposed an amendment to the Rockland County Sewer Law that if passed, would allow food establishments that generate grease and oil the option to use biological methods to pre-treat and breakdown the captured waste, improving grease trap management.

Under the current sewer law, establishments such as restaurants, cafeterias, centralized kitchen or dining facilities are required to maintain grease and oil interceptors to prevent excessive amounts of waste, which clog sewer lines, from entering the sewer system.

Establishments are required to follow a regular, documented process to maintain and clean the interceptor and
remove and properly dispose of the grease. Presently, use of biological systems or treatments are prohibited, however, research has shown that some biological treatments break down complex grease molecules into simpler components, accelerating the degradation process that occurs naturally.

“Grease and oil are the natural enemy of a sewer system, narrowing pipes like plaque lining a blood vessel. Pre-treating grease and oil lessens the negative impact on the system as a whole and should contribute to its overall efficiency,” said Legislator Wolfe.  “Grease removed from a grease trap is considered hazardous waste, and breaking it down in advance reduces the volume of waste needed to be pumped, transported, processed and ultimately disposed of.”

“I want to make it very clear,” said Wolfe, “that if adopted, this law would simply create an additional opportunity for food establishments, not a mandate.  For those who do opt to utilize this method, pretreatment would not be a substitute for the regular maintenance that is required by the law.”

Above right, Legislator Alden Wolfe (The Journal News/file photo)

The theme of this year’s open house at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is “Earth on Alert.”

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Route 9W campus in Palisades.

Here’s some information from the LDEO press release:

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a global leader in studying the natural world, opens its doors once a year to the public for demonstrations, talks and exhibits detailing its work — a giant science fair for all ages featuring top researchers.

This year, many scientists will discuss natural and manmade hazards they studied in 2010, including the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Highlights:
• Tsunami layers in the Hudson River from one or more impacts of extraterrestrial bodies (11 a.m.)
• Earth Institute director Jeffrey D. Sachs on the outlook for next month’s world climate summit (11:15 a.m.)
• Lecture on hurricanes and climate change (11:30 a.m.)
• Haiti earthquake: panel on geology, socioeconomic impacts and prospects for recovery (noon)
• Latest findings on volume and consequences of the oil spill, from scientists now working in the Gulf (2 p.m.)
• Earthquake prediction in the shadow of chaos (2:30 p.m.)
• Tripling crop yields in rural Africa (3 p.m.)

Check out the complete schedule because the event offers loads of hands-on activities and other interactive opportunities.

Above right, a postcard announcing the open house (Provided by LDEO)

Rain Garden Dedication Sept 10

There was no recreational or commercial fishing for shad in the Hudson River this year in an effort to help the dwindling fish population recover. But my daughter, along with a handful of others on Saturday, got a glimpse of some of this year’s young shad as they made their way out to the Atlantic Ocean.

Tom Lake, an estuary naturalist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, netted a few during a Hudson River Valley ramble session. He figured the young fish born this year would be out in the ocean by the end of the month.

The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association will hold its national conference at Threefold Educational Center, 260 Hungry Hollow Road in Chestnut Ridge, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 3.

The keynote speakers include Fred Kirschemann, president of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester County, and Sister Miriam MacGillis, co-founder of Genesis Farm in Blairstown, N.J.

Conference workshops will cover a range of topics, from biodynamic farming to making raw sauerkraut to the honeybee crisis. A benefit biodynamic food and wine tasting will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 and include a special screening of “Queen of the Sun,” a new documentary on the honeybee crisis.

The cost to attend the full conference is $195 per person; the cost to attend the benefit is $25 for conference registrants and $50 per person for walk-ins; the cost to attend the conference as a walk-in on Oct. 2 or 3 is $90 per day. Visit www.threefold.org/bda for more information or to register.

A free program to help children ages 5 to 11 learn more about the Hudson River Estuary will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 26 at Memorial Park in Nyack.

The goal is to help kids gain a greater knowledge of the river and to foster a sense of environmental stewardship.

Activities will include beach combing, using seine nets then seeing what was caught, and studying fish to learn how they adapt.

The sponsors are the Nyack Park Conservancy and Clearwater. Space is limited and registration is required. Send an email to HudsonRiverKids@gmail.com or call Diana Cutt at 845-596-6631 to register or for more information.

Right, Eli Schloss, director of Tide Line programs at Clearwater, shows Ryan Gross a fish caught as the group used a seine net in the Hudson River at Nyack Memorial Park. (File photo by Kathy Gardner)

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland will offer a conference from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 23 on therapeutic gardening, horticultural therapy and adaptive gardening techniques.

The program is for staff and volunteers who work with special populations, including people with disabilities and the elderly, in hospitals, mental health and assisted living facilities, nursing and group homes, and health and wellness organizations.

The speakers include Nancy Chambers, a horticulture therapist from the Glass Garden at the Rusk Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine in Manhattan.According to the institutes’s website: “The Glass Garden opened in 1958 as an amenity to Rusk Institute — a place where patients, visitors and staff enjoy the soothing, natural environment of plants, water birds, and beauty as a retreat from the hospital atmosphere.

“In the mid-1970s, one of the nation’s first horticultural therapy programs began in the Glass Garden. Patients of all ages work with trained horticultural therapists on activities that help to rehabilitate physical and cognitive functioning as part of their occupational therapy program. These horticulture activities also help the patients to achieve a sense of personal accomplishment, productivity and self-reliance.”

The cost to attend the Cornell program is $50 per person and includes lunch. Registration is required by Monday. Send an email to rockland@cornell.edu or call 845-429-7085, ext. 117 to register or for more information.

A Painted Lady butterfly enjoys nectar from a flowering Butterfly Bush during a monthly tour of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland’s demonstration garden in Thiells. (File photo by Kathy Gardner)

A workshop to help people learn how to landscape their yards to conserve water and save money will be held Thursday in Chestnut Ridge.

An optional raingarden tour will be held at 5:45 p.m. to show how to manage stormwater runoff. The main program will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and include information on low water and water-retaining landscaping and water-efficient irrigation techniques.

The event, hosted by the Threefold Educational Center and Hungry Hollow Cooperative, will be led by Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network and other environmental organizations. It was organized at the invitation of Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern.

Visit www.bergenswan.org or call Bergen SWAN at 201-666-1877 or Jaffee’s office at 845-624-4601 for more information or to register. EndFragment->

There is a retired veterinarian in California who is trying to understand what kind of “toll,” (pun, if intended, by NYT’s headline writers) traffic takes on wildlife. The NYT’s story goes on to highlight another effort in California and one in Maine that is trying to make sense out of flattened fauna by using GPS to map the kill sites.

The roadkill maps give researchers a better understanding of the environmental impacts of roads. They intend to use the data to build statistical and Geographic Information Systems models to predict roadkill hot spots and to determine where animal road crossings, culverts and warning signs may be most effective on current and future roadways.