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Climate Change

State Agencies Declare Progress on Reducing Environmental Footprint

September 24, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Greening New York State Annual Report FY 21-22The GreenNY Council has released the 11th Greening New York State report (PDF), the first under Executive Order #22, “Leading by Example: Directing State Agencies to Adopt a Sustainability and Decarbonization Program,” signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in September 2022. [Read more…] about State Agencies Declare Progress on Reducing Environmental Footprint

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Nature Tagged With: Climate Change, DEC, Division of Budget, energy, Environmental History, Kathy Hochul, New York Power Authority, NYSERDA, Office of General Services, Transportation

When North Meets South: Flying Squirrel Hybrids

August 27, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Flying SquirrelIt’s evening, and you’re in the forest. You close your eyes and inhale the sharp, sweet, turpentine scent of pine. The air is still, yet the branches overhead seem to nod at your presence. You shine a flashlight and catch a glimpse: a fleeting, tiny ball of fur, arms and legs outstretched, tail like a rudder, gliding through the night. It lands on a tree trunk, pauses, then launches itself again. A flying squirrel, in its glory. [Read more…] about When North Meets South: Flying Squirrel Hybrids

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Climate Change, Science, small mammals, squirrels, Wildlife

Study: As City Heat Rises, Bird Diversity Declines

August 26, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Spotted Dove by Jaiyu Wu, Zhejiang University, China.Humans aren’t the only ones leaving town when city heat becomes unbearable. A study done on 336 cities in China concludes that heat-retaining buildings and paved surfaces are directly related to a loss in bird diversity. These findings from scientists at Zhejiang University and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. [Read more…] about Study: As City Heat Rises, Bird Diversity Declines

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: birds, Climate Change, Science, Wildlife

University at Albany Science and Technology Entry Program

August 20, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Students gathered around a model wind turbine, preparing to test it using a household fan to generate wind. (courtesy SUNY Albany STEP Program)Founded in 1986, the University at Albany’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) works to promote diversity, equity, and the inclusion of historically underrepresented high school students pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). [Read more…] about University at Albany Science and Technology Entry Program

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Nature Tagged With: Climate Change, Education, energy, Science, SUNY Albany

Climate Change & Lake Champlain’s Underwater History

August 18, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Chris Sabick dives the Lake Champlain shipwreck of the Phoenix, photograph by Kotaro Yamafune (courtesy Lake Champlain Maritime Museum)Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is dedicated to inspiring people to make personal connections to Lake Champlain through our region’s history, ecology, and archeology.

For the Museum’s archaeology team, this work of making connections includes conducting ongoing archeological research, on land and underwater; caring for our collection of artifacts and research; and managing Lake Champlain’s underwater cultural resources and the Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserves, a unique system of shipwrecks in the lake open for divers to explore each May–October.

The flooding and ongoing climate change are threats to our work, Lake Champlain, and the lake’s shipwrecks and other underwater cultural resources. [Read more…] about Climate Change & Lake Champlain’s Underwater History

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Archaeology, Climate Change, Diving, Environmental History, floods, Invasive Species, Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Basin Program, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserves, Material Culture, Shipwrecks

Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World

August 14, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Cracked The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World (Patagonia, 2023) author Steven HawleyThroughout history, humans have dammed rivers at the cost of wild fish, Indigenous people, forested land, and healthy watersheds. Adding to the havoc of today’s climate-change-induced weather extremes and water shortages, science says there’s no future for the business of dam-building.

A new book offers hope for the dam removal movement and how it will contribute to the mitigation of the climate crisis: when we free the rivers, watersheds are restored and Earth heals itself.  In Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World (Patagonia, 2023) author Steven Hawley, an Oregon-based environmental journalist and documentary filmmaker, delivers the full, ugly truth about dams and offers a pathway toward freeing our rivers. [Read more…] about Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Books, Events, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Dams, Climate Change, Engineering History, Environmental History, Fisheries, Wildlife

A Wing and a Prayer: Saving Our Vanishing Birds

August 13, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

A wing and a prayerAfter hearing the news in 2019 that nearly 3 billion birds have been lost in the United States and Canada during the past 50 years, Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal traveled more than 25,000 miles across the Americas, chronicling the efforts of conservationists, scientists, and politicians to save bird species from extinction. [Read more…] about A Wing and a Prayer: Saving Our Vanishing Birds

Filed Under: Books, Events, Nature Tagged With: birding, birds, Climate Change, endangered species, Wildlife

Bear Mountain State Park, Appalachian Trail Remain Closed 4 Weeks After Storm

August 7, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Bear Mountain State Park Road damaged by July 9 2023 stormBear Mountain State Park is closed due to damage from a heavy rainstorm and flash floods on Sunday, July 9th. The storm’s epicenter landed near West Point, NY, where as much as 9 inches of rain fell in less than six hours – an unprecedented amount that overwhelmed local infrastructure and landscapes.

There was tragic loss of life and destruction in nearby towns, and the floods caused significant damage in nearby Palisades Parks and closed the Appalachian Trail. [Read more…] about Bear Mountain State Park, Appalachian Trail Remain Closed 4 Weeks After Storm

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Appalachian Trail, Bear Mountain State Park, Climate Change, DEC, floods, Fort Montgomery, Harriman State Park, hiking, natural disasters, OPRHP, Orange County, Palisades Parks Conservancy, Putnam County, Queensboro Lake, Search and Rescue, State Parks, Storm King Mountain State Park, Trailside Zoo, weather, West Point

Wake of the Flood: A Lake Champlain Report

July 28, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Flooding on Montpelier, VT’s State Street on July 12, 2023 (courtesy Lake Champlain Committee)It has been two weeks since flooding devastated many communities in the Lake Champlain watershed and throughout the states of New York and Vermont. The heavy rains lasted for days and sent rivers and streams over their banks, pouring into homes and businesses and carrying a swill of debris, nutrients, sediment, untreated wastewater, chemicals, and more into Lake Champlain.

If you live in an area not directly affected it may be hard to understand the monumental impact. [Read more…] about Wake of the Flood: A Lake Champlain Report

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: boating, Climate Change, Clinton County, Essex County, fishing, floods, Invasive Species, Lake Champlain, Lake Champlain Committee, paddling, pollution, swimming, Vermont, water quality

Swimmers & Anglers: Give Trout A Break In This Summer’s Heat

July 22, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

rock dam in stream (DEC)You know who isn’t a huge fan of summer? Trout. Summer heat waves impose serious stress and can even cause death. Trout and salmon that are already heat-stressed may not recover after being caught and released.

You can help these fish survive the summer by following a few simple tips: [Read more…] about Swimmers & Anglers: Give Trout A Break In This Summer’s Heat

Filed Under: Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Climate Change, fish, Fisheries, fishing, Summer, swimming, Trout, weather

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