Greenversations

How much do you know about the environment of where you live? That’s right, not the rain forest, not the polar icecaps, but your neighborhood. Lots of us take our environment for granted. Water comes out of spigots and waste gets carted or flushed away. Unless there’s an environmental problem nearby, like a polluting factory, most folks don’t give it a second thought. Our environment just is.

But environmental protection starts at home, and it is important to understand how one thing affects another, so here’s the challenge (actually a great project for a class to do) – find out and then write up a report so others can understand your local environment too.

I did this a few years ago for the town in which I live, Narberth, Pa. I looked into:

How our electricity is produced.

• Where the oil that runs my heater came from.
• Where the natural gas that runs my stove came from.
• The origin of my drinking water.
• Where my waste water goes.
• What happens to the recyclables (plastics, paper, glass) that are collected.
• What happens to our yard waste that’s picked up.
• Where my household waste/trash goes.
• The quality of the air I breathe.The levels of radon from the ground.
• What happens to our rainwater after it goes down the storm drains.
• The name of our watershed and the location of our streams.
• Our climate and planting zone.
• Where our gasoline comes from.
• What mass transit is available.
• Our topography and geography.
• How our town is zoned.
• The location of our historic buildings.

In the process I discovered some interesting things. Some streams had been piped underground and weren’t on the surface anymore. Our household waste goes to an incinerator where it is burned to produce electricity. Our rainwater goes directly into streams; it’s not treated first. The oldest intact structure in Narberth is a Swedish log cabin. But since it has had many additions, it just looks like a normal house now.

My report is on the web.  Feel free to use it as a model for yours. Go out and discover your local environment!

About the Author: Nancy Grundahl has worked for the Philadelphia office of EPA since the mid-80’s. She currently manages the web for the Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division. Before getting involved with the web, she worked as an environmental scientist. Nancy believes in looking at environmental problems in a holistic, multi-media way and is a strong advocate of preventing pollution instead of dealing with it after it has been created.

I can’t count the number of times I have gotten a phone call or email from citizens concerned about a development planned for their town. It usually goes something like this.

“I live in ____ town. There’s this developer who wants to put a big box store / condos / hundreds of houses / gas station on land that’s now a woods / wetland. I’m concerned about runoff / traffic / noise / the loss of habitat for wildlife / how ugly it will be. Can you make them stop?”

The answer I usually give (unless it concerns building in a wetland) is, “No, sorry, but we can’t help you. Development is a local issue. Contact your local government.”

And, they usually respond, “I already have and they won’t do anything.”

I know how frustrating this can be since I’ve experienced it myself. In my town we now have a big box drugstore where a small nursery used to be. At one of the meetings discussing the proposed development I brought up the fact that since much of the land that was now pervious soil would become impervious, runoff would be a major concern. The answer I got from one of my elected officials was that since any runoff would go across the street into the next municipality, we didn’t have to worry about it!

And, just over the line from my town’s border is a wonderful chunk of land, an old estate with a mansion and deer, possum, red fox, and chipmunks. I had suggested many years ago that my municipality work with the other municipality and use available Open Space funding to protect the land. The answer I received was that we would never spend our money to protect land not in our jurisdiction. Subsequently, the elderly man who owned the property died, then his second wife died, and now her kids want to build hundreds of apartments there. The matter is now in court with my municipality trying to stop the owners.

So, I feel your pain. From my personal experiences and from hearing about yours I have learned a few things that may help others.

It is very important to act before anything is in the works. Be proactive.

Look at your local zoning laws/ordinances. What do they allow? Then do a “Build Out Analysis” – look at every parcel of land and figure out what it could become if it was developed under the full extent of the law. My guess is you’ll find quite a number of surprises, like restaurants in residential areas that could become nightclubs and homes that could become frat houses. Don’t believe it when someone tells you, “That will never happen” because if it can legally, it may.

Then envision the future with the various options for your “at risk” places. Standing there, looking at each property and then closing your eyes envisioning changes might help. Even better would be a graphics person who could mock up what your town could look like from the worst case to the best case.

Then survey your neighbors. What are their “sacred places”? Places that are important to them and help define your community. These might include an old movie theater, a train station circle, a woods and stream, church bells at noon, even the scent of donuts coming from a local bakery in the morning.

Find out about financial incentives, such as tax breaks, for conserving or not fully developing land. Are there grant programs that might have money? Could a “life estate” be set up so that the current property owner could stay on the property until his/her death, possibly avoiding paying real estate taxes and upkeep expenses during that time? Good places to look for information are your local land conservation organization and your county planning agency.

Once you have all your facts, and not before, approach those who own the properties. Then educate, educate, educate. Many people do not understand the environmental and economic implications of changing land use. And, you may not be the best person to do this education. Maybe a local non-profit or teacher might have more success.

Try to understand where the other person is coming from. What’s their motivation? What do they want for the future? Are they willing to work with you? You won’t get what you want all the time, but by being proactive you’ll have a better chance than if you wait.

About the Author: Nancy Grundahl has worked for the Philadelphia office of EPA since the mid-80’s. She currently manages the web for the Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division. Before getting involved with the web, she worked as an environmental scientist. Nancy believes in looking at environmental problems in a holistic, multi-media way and is a strong advocate of preventing pollution instead of dealing with it after it has been created.

I just returned from a successful Hispanic forum at our offices in Research Triangle Park, NC. The forum is part of EPA’s Hispanic outreach initiative known as Beyond Translation, an effort that was spearheaded by EPA’s Region 6 office in Texas in 2006 and now has become truly national in scope.

EPA will be hosting its second National Beyond Translation Forum in Washington, DC on October 26, 2009. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will be there to address Latino elected officials, representatives from community-based organizations, small businesses, and faith-based organizations. This year’s national theme is “EPA and the Hispanic Community: Working Together to Protect our Health and the Environment—At Places Where We Live, Work, Learn, and Play.” EPA officials and key stakeholders will discuss various issues ranging from environmental health, the role of Latinos in the green economy, promoting environmental careers among young Hispanics, as well as economic and partnership opportunities at EPA.

This outreach effort serves as a mechanism to continue EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s call to expand the definition of environmentalism particularly among those communities that traditionally have not worked with the Agency. We urge you to participate at this year’s forum. If you do not live in the DC area, you’ll also be able to attend via live webcast. You just have to register on-line.  Our goal is to have similar forums throughout the nation. Please join us on this journey to increase environmental awareness among all communities regardless of the language you speak at home.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

Acabo de regresar de un exitoso foro hispano en nuestras oficinas en Carolina del Norte. El foro es parte de una iniciativa de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) de alcance público a la comunidad hispana conocida como “Más allá de las traducciones”, un esfuerzo iniciado por nuestra oficina regional en Texas en el 2006 y que por fin tiene un alcance nacional.

La EPA celebrará su segundo Foro Nacional de Más allá de las Traducciones en Washington, DC el 26 de octubre del 2009 de las 8:30 de la mañana hasta las 4:00 de la tarde. La administradora Lisa P. Jackson estará allí para hablar a los participantes entre los cuales figurarán funcionarios electos latinos, representantes de organizaciones de base comunitaria, pequeños comerciantes y organizaciones comunitarias de fe. El tema del foro este año es “EPA y la comunidad hispana: trabajando juntos para proteger nuestra salud y el medio ambiente—en los lugares donde vivimos, trabajamos, aprendemos y jugamos”. Funcionarios de EPA y partes interesadas claves discutirán una amplia gama de asuntos como la salud ambiental, el rol de los latinos en la economía verde, las carreras ambientales para jóvenes hispanos, así como las oportunidades económicas y de consorcios que ofrece la EPA.

Este esfuerzo de alcance público sirve como un mecanismo para poner en vigor el llamado de la administradora Lisa P. Jackson de expandir la definición del ambientalismo particularmente en aquellas comunidades con las cuales la Agencia tradicionalmente no colabora. Les instamos a participar en el foro este año. Si usted no reside en el área metropolitana de la Capital Federal, todavía puede asistir vía una transmisión cibernética en vivo. Sólo tiene que inscribirse vía la página Web.  Nuestra meta consiste en celebrar foros por toda la nación. Únase a nuestro esfuerzo por aumentar la concienciación ambiental entre todas las comunidades independientemente del idioma que hablen en sus hogares.

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

For nearly four years, EPA has undertaken a multilingual outreach effort entitled Beyond Translation. The first Beyond Translation Hispanic Stakeholders Forum saw the light in San Antonio, Texas in the fall of 2006 as a Hispanic outreach initiative designed to increase environmental awareness among Hispanic leaders. Thanks to hard-working EPA employees, this initiative has blossomed into an effort that truly engages EPA and with Hispanic stakeholders from community-based organizations, small businesses, academia, and government officials. As the title suggests, the main objective is to go beyond the traditional mechanisms of reaching out to Hispanics in the US. While necessary, translating brochures into Spanish only produces limited results in increasing the environmental awareness of Hispanic stakeholders. The purpose of these forums is to take EPA to the community where people live, work, learn and play in order to sustain a productive and ongoing dialogue on their environmental concerns and challenges. Through this important tool, the Agency can effectively promote environmentalism among Hispanic communities in a language they can understand so they can actively participate in EPA’s decision-making process.

This year, EPA is once again taking its message to the community in a series of Beyond Translation Forums. The first one will be in EPA Research Triangle Park, NC on October 7th. The theme for this year’s RTP forum is: “EPA and the Hispanic Community: Building Environmental Awareness in Rural Communities.” I urge you attend either in person or virtually (webcasts will be offered) Stay tuned for the next one in our series. Together we can make a difference in environmental protection.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

Por casi cuatro años, la Agencia de Protección Ambiental ha realizado un esfuerzo de alcance público para las comunidades multilingües llamado “Beyond Translation” (Más allá de las traducciones). El primer foro con líderes hispanos de Más allá de las traducciones se efectuó en San Antonio, Texas en el otoño del 2006 como una iniciativa de alcance público a fin de aumentar la concienciación ambiental entre líderes hispanos. Mediante la gran labor de empleados de la EPA, esta iniciativa rindió frutos y ha culminado en un esfuerzo que realmente logra una comunicación efectiva entre la EPA y partes interesadas hispanas provenientes de organizaciones de base comunitaria, pequeños negocios, académicos, y funcionarios públicos. Como el título sugiere, el principal objetivo consiste en ir más allá de los mecanismos tradicionales para alcanzar a los hispanos en los Estados Unidos. Mientras todavía es necesario, la traducción de folletos al español sólo produce resultados limitados para crear conciencia medioambiental entre partes interesadas hispanas. El propósito de estos foros radica en lleva a EPA a las comunidades donde el pueblo vive, trabaja, aprende y juega a fin de sostener un diálogo productivo y sostenido sobre sus preocupaciones y retos medioambientales. Mediante esta importante herramienta, la Agencia eficazmente promueve el ambientalismo entre las comunidades hispanas en un idioma que pueden entender y en el cual pueden participar activamente en el proceso de toma de decisiones de la Agencia.

Este año, EPA está llevando nuevamente su mensaje a la comunidad en una serie de foros de Más allá de las traducciones. El primero se celebrará en las oficinas de EPA en el Parque de Investigaciones del Triángulo (RTP, por sus siglas en inglés) en Carolina del Norte el 7 de octubre. El tema del foro de RTP este año es: “EPA y la comunidad hispana: creando conciencia ambiental en comunidades rurales.” Le instamos que participe sea en persona o por vía cibernética. Quédese sintonizado a nuestros blogs porque pronto brindaremos mas detalles sobre el próximo en la serie. Juntos podemos hacer una diferencia a favor de la protección ambiental.

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

Hurricanes, spring floods, and other incidents can all wreak havoc with our daily lives. For communities, preparing can range from marking evacuation routes to setting up public shelters to preparing for large amounts of debris. Either way, it pays to think ahead. September is National Preparedness Month.

How does your community prepare for emergencies?

Each week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.

Huracanes, inundaciones primaverales y otros incidentes pueden ocasionar estragos en nuestras vidas cotidianas. Para las comunidades, los preparativos pueden representar varias actividades desde el establecer rutas de evacuación o crear refugios públicos y hasta prepararse para grandes cantidades de escombros. Independientemente, vale la pena prepararse con antelación. Septiembre es el Mes Nacional de Preparación para Emergencias.

¿Cómo se prepara su comunidad para las emergencias?

Cada semana hacemos una pregunta relacionada al medio ambiente. Por favor comparta con nosotros sus pensamientos y comentarios. Siéntase en libertad de responder a comentarios anteriores o plantear nuevas ideas. Preguntas previas.