Greenversations

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

Es tiempo de pintar la casa, una tarea no muy fácil. Mientras discutía con mi esposo la posibilidad de contratar los servicios de un pintor para que pinte la parte exterior de la casa, mientras nosotros pintamos el interior, nos percatamos que esta vez tenemos que tomar en consideración a nuestro hijo de 3 años. La casa había sido pintada previamente en el 2005, al poco tiempo de su nacimiento, pero nosotros no vivíamos en la residencia ya que se encontraba en proceso de remodelación. Nuestro hijo es asmático y los olores fuertes agravan su condición al irritar sus vías respiratorias. La pintura y productos relacionados liberan al aire emisiones tóxicas aún años después de aplicarlas. Estas emisiones provienen de una variedad de compuestos orgánicos volátiles (VOC’s) que son producto de solventes a base de petróleo. La exposición a estos VOC pueden provocar un ataque de asma al igual que irritación de ojos, nariz y garganta, problemas respiratorios, nausea, reacciones alérgicas en la piel y mareos, entre otros síntomas. Como es de suponer, pintar nuestra casa conllevará mucha planificación, entre ellas una mudanza temporera.

Los estudios de EPA indican que cuando las personas utilizan y almacenan productos que contienen sustancias químicas orgánicas pueden exponerse a ellas y a otros altos niveles de contaminantes. Estas concentraciones elevadas pueden persistir en el aire una vez la actividad haya sido completada y deteriorar la calidad del aire interior.

Debido a nuestras preocupaciones, decidí iniciar una búsqueda en Internet sobre nuestras alternativas para pintar la casa sin afectar la salud de nuestro hijo. Esta es una lista de las sugerencias que encontré en varias páginas electrónicas, incluyendo la de EPA

• Utilice pintura baja en VOC o que no contenga VOC. Estas son una excelente alternativa para las paredes interiores.
• Mantener ventilación apropiada a la hora de pintar
• Lea las etiquetas ya que estas están diseñadas para evitar el riesgo por exposición inadecuada.
• Comprar pocas cantidades puede ahorrar algo más que dinero. Al comprar sólo lo que necesitamos no tenemos que preocuparnos por los gases tóxicos que estas pinturas puedan emitir al estar almacenadas. Los gases pueden escaparse inclusive en envases cerrados.
• Al utilizar el equipo adecuado–incluyendo mascarillas–en cualquier proyecto casero podemos reducir nuestra exposición a sustancias tóxicas mientras completamos nuestras tareas

Así que antes que comience a mezclar esa pintura, tome las medidas adecuadas y proteja a su familia.

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

About the author: Barbara Klieforth is the Acting Associate Center Director for Drinking Water in the National Center for Environmental Research at EPA’s Office of Research and Development. She is also a life-long committed cycling commuter.

While ‘being green’ is not the only reason I bike to work (it’s also fun and faster!), it is something I think about – especially since I do some of my best thinking on my commute into the office. As a scientist I was trained to be a critical thinker, but as an EPA scientist I have be more thorough than ever because we have to substantiate doing new research and our science directly impacts people’s lives. So, especially now during national ‘bike to work’ week, I find myself wondering how to quantify the environmental benefits of my 6.5 mile ride to the office. Economically, bike commuting is a no-brainer: I easily save thousands of dollars a year biking versus driving. But, in strictly environmental terms, is commuting by bike worth the risks it poses (including forgetting such things as dress shoes!)? There are lots of cool online tools that calculate the environmental benefits of biking (e.g., Go by Bike Challenge, EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator), but one of my favorite sites simply compares the energy costs per kilometer of different forms of transportation.

In other words, the bicycle is an extremely efficient mode of transportation, and I am definitely saving plenty of energy per mile (good thing I have lots of personal calories to spare!). Less fossil energy burned = less polluting emissions. I know from some of my current focus at work on the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide that technological solutions to environmental problems we could be helping prevent in the first place are incredibly daunting. So I’d say no further research is needed to confirm that there are substantial environmental benefits to bicycling as a means of transportation. I can do something today to decrease pollution, reduce usage of fossil fuels, and have some fun on the way!

About the author: Larry Teller joined EPA’s Philadelphia office in its early months and has worked in environmental assessment, state and congressional liaison, enforcement, and communications. His 28 years with the U.S. Air Force, most as a reservist, give him a different look at government service.

My doorbell rarely rings. Invited guests, whom we called “company” as kids—we knew company was coming when Mom wouldn’t let us touch any treats for a couple of days, lest there not be enough left—usually knock, or I see them coming up the steps and beat them to the door. But a number of those rare rings each year are by people, typically college students, who ask me to sign a petition for worthy causes such as improved right-to-know laws, broader access to wind power, restricted pesticide use, and setting aside undeveloped land for wildlife habitat. I’m usually a sucker for these ringers and, please don’t tell anyone, shell out a double sawbuck when money is requested.

I always enjoy the short discussions that precede the requests. What’s changed since January, very noticeably, is the petitioners’ reaction when, if the conversation goes that way, I reveal my EPA affiliation. Although it makes no sense to bad-mouth or bad-look someone’s employer when you’re trying to get a donation from him, many of the doorway students in recent years showed their distaste for EPA, either with a proud derogatory comment or a telling smirk. It’s as if they couldn’t help themselves, despite the donation- or signature-seeking purpose of their visit.

Any of us who have worked for EPA for many years have seen the public’s view of how we’re doing turn from admiration to doubt to distaste to gratitude and to everywhere in between. And there have been times when, despite my insider’s (lifer’s?) belief that what we do is good—“Tikkun olam,” repairing the earth—we’ve all at times been, let’s say, less-than-inspired by what’s said, or not, from the top. (But don’t get me started.)

Twice in recent weeks, including yesterday, my EPA doorway confession yielded something novel for this decade: earnest inquiries about job opportunities. I know times are tough for job seekers (my older daughter is graduating from college next month and is ISO a job with health coverage), but I wonder with a slight grin if there’s another explanation for the different reaction to the mention of my favorite government agency.

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

For each month in 2009, the Year of Science—we will pose a question related to science. Please let us know your thoughts as comments, and feel free to respond to earlier comments, or post new ideas.

The Year of Science theme for May is Sustainability and the Environment.

One of the most widely-cited definitions of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

What does sustainability mean to you, and what are you doing to achieve it?

About the author: Kim Balassiano has worked in EPA’s Office of Environmental Information since 2007. Before that, she was an EPA contractor for 12 years, doing mapping and spatial analysis.

Last summer, I read Rachel Carson’s “A Silent Spring,” which told the story of how unregulated chemical use, specifically pesticides, was leading to our undoing as evidenced by mass bird deaths. It didn’t take a PhD to connect the dots between animal and human health. I wished that the book could have included a map of how pesticide sprayings had impacted the neighborhood of my childhood. But I knew that EPA did have online maps showing a lot of environmental information.

When I was a contractor in 2001, EPA released Window to My Environment (WME). WME let the public zoom-in to their neighborhood and connect to environmental information . Imagine typing in your zip code and seeing the environment-impacting facilities upwind or upstream from your home, and which chemicals they release. WME used the latest mapping tools available at the time, giving the public an early whiff of online mapping.

Fast-forwarding to 2009, people expect to zoom into maps of their neighborhoods and back out to satellite images of our planet, all in a matter of seconds. The beautiful, data-intensive maps are not a miracle now - we want to see any content we care about. The real message is that we can use maps to bring transparency to the government’s work in a more meaningful way than ever before.

To modernize our online maps, yesterday we released an updated system called MyEnvironment. Our goal is still to help you answer questions about your own backyard, like who is operating down the block, receiving a new permit to release chemicals into the water, and most importantly, who is violating EPA standards for releases. We also pull together health information that you can use including the daily UV index, daily ozone and particulate matter forecasts, and potential cancer risk from air toxics.

Please use MyEnvironment below (also in the left column of our home page) and let us know what you think. I know that local environmental activism has helped to close the gap between what EPA does and what still needs to be done, and I hope MyEnvironment will help you find the information you need to get involved.

In anticipation of Earth Day, we’re launching video and photo projects. Share how you enjoy and protect the environment.

Submit videos on YouTube and photos on Flickr.

Full details:

• Photo project
• Video project

Video categories:

• Reducing your carbon footprint
• Conserving and protecting water
• Protecting the environment
• Reduce, reuse, recycle

Photo categories:

• People and the environment
• The beauty of nature
• Wildlife

How would you capture the categories in photos and videos?

About the Author: Bill Clugston joined EPA’s Administrative Systems Division in 1991. Later, in 1994 he moved to the Region 10 Seattle office as a Computer Specialist in the Information Resources Unit. He develops software for Region 10 and occasionally develops an EPA national application.

Before joining EPA, I resolved to do my part on climate change by reducing my production of greenhouse gases. My family made all of the obvious changes – changing from incandescent lights to compact fluorescent lights, better weatherproofing, and changing to newer Energy Star appliances, but could we do more? I was familiar with photovoltaic power generation on my backyard observatory and my recreational vehicle, but neither of those systems reduced our household CO2 footprint. At this point, I investigated a grid-tie solar power system.

While experienced with electrical circuitry, I am not a certified electrician and I am definitely not qualified to connect power-generating devices into the power grid! Therefore, I went in search of a qualified solar installer. Fortunately, the time of my decision, coincided with the Solar Homes Tour making it convenient to ask other solar power system owners their recommendation for a solar installer. After selecting a solar contractor, he came by to do a site assessment to determine the location for the panels and to discuss my requirements. We decided on a 2-kilowatt power system composed of ten 200-watt panels and ten micro-inverters. The micro-inverters are a recent innovation in the solar power industry. The micro-inverters convert the direct current from the panels to 230-volt alternating current at each panel instead of tying all of the panels together into a single inverter. The one inverter per panel allows enhanced production when parts of the array are shaded and reduces the wire size required to carry power from the array to the power grid. System decisions completed, we paid the installer 80% down to order the system.

Before ordering the system, I removed one potential obstacle, our homeowners association. Our HOA turned out to be no obstacle at all! In fact, they were supportive of the project. The lesson learned here was send detailed information to your homeowners association. In the meantime, the system finally arrived in Washington State after surviving snowstorms on the way from California. System installation required two days and after a sign-off by the electrical inspector, the system was on the power grid. In case the readers of this post question how practical solar is in rainy Seattle, since system installation in late January 2009 total production is 25kwh of electricity and 42 pounds of carbon offset — not bad power production for a city known more for its mildew than its sunshine!

About the author: Jeffrey Robichaud is a second generation scientist with EPA who started in 1998.  He serves as Chief of the Environmental Assessment and Monitoring Branch in Kansas City.

Movies require you to suspend your disbelief, but when you watch a film that hits close to home it can be tough. I have a friend in federal law enforcement who squirms when cardboard cutout agents run across the screen. Action flicks don’t do his profession justice, but at least his job is sometimes glorified on celluloid. The only two movies I can remember featuring a prominent EPA employee are Ghostbusters and the Simpsons Movie, neither of which ever made a kid say, “Man, when I grow up I want to work for the EPA.” On the off-chance your youngster was inspired to seek out public service please let them know we don’t inspect unlicensed nuclear storage facilities, nor do we have a fleet of helicopters. We do however, have one cool plane.

EPA’s Airborne Spectral Photometric Collection Technology, known as ASPECT, is an aircraft equipped with sensors that allow for surveillance of gaseous chemical releases from a safe distance. ASPECT gives emergency responders information regarding the shape, composition and concentration of gas plumes from disasters such as a derailed train, factory explosion or terrorist attack.

Since its inception ASPECT has flown over several fires, provided support during the Olympics and Columbia shuttle recovery, and supplied some of the first aerial images of the devastation along the coast during Katrina.

This was the scene in Kansas City outside our office windows in 2007 when a chemical facility went up in flames. ASPECT deployed and was instrumental in verifying that while ominous, the fire did not present a significant health threat to the community (the white signature you see below is the fire).>

Most of the technology you see in movies is sheer fantasy, but EPA’s high-tech plane and the scientists who operate it are worthy of a spot in the next summer blockbuster. Here’s hoping for the appearance of an EPA scientist who isn’t a bad guy (although with my face the best I could hope for is Thug #4 in the next straight to DVD clunker).

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

About the author: Montira Pongsiri, PhD, MPH, is an Environmental Health Scientist in EPA’s Office of the Science Advisor.

I was first associated with EPA as a STAR Fellow studying the risks and tradeoffs of using pesticides to control infectious diseases. Today, I’m an EPA scientist focusing on infectious diseases in the wider framework of ecosystem services, the direct and indirect benefits people derive from ecosystems.

The primary questions I am helping EPA explore are: What is the underlying mechanism of disease emergence, and do changes in biodiversity play a role?

Our research projects are unique in their interdisciplinary approach, involving ecologists, public health specialists, social scientists, and earth scientists, and also by including decision-makers early in the process to help ensure that new findings can be used to make better decisions.

At one field site in northwest Connecticut, an opossum is checked for ticks, which are removed and collected to test for the presence of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi.

One area we’re studying is Lyme disease risk (chronicled previously by Melissa Anley-Mills and Aaron Ferster). Research partner Richard Ostfeld of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies hypothesizes that a greater diversity of native mammal hosts could help decrease the risk of people getting Lyme disease. How? People get Lyme disease through tick bites, and ticks acquire the Lyme disease agent by feeding on mammals such as mice and squirrels. Not all mammals are equally efficient, or “competent,” in transmitting the disease agent to the ticks. So perhaps having a greater diversity of mammalian species, with their varying capabilities of transmitting the pathogen, could “dilute” the rates by which ticks get infected. Lower rates of tick infection equal lower risk of human infection.

There is also a connection between animal diversity and landscape condition. Forest destruction and fragmentation in the U.S. have been shown to reduce mammalian species diversity and to increase populations of the white-footed mouse—the most competent host of Lyme disease.

With the support of a new STAR grant, Ostfeld and his colleagues are testing this hypothesis by manipulating mammalian host communities in forest fragments and studying the effects on pathogen transmission rates.

When we better understand the mechanisms linking biodiversity and human disease through this and other research studies, we may be able to develop environmentally-based and behavioral approaches to both promote conservation as well as to reduce the risk of human disease – a win-win for environment and public health.

In addition to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, other EPA research partners include the CDC, Yale, NASA Ames, UCLA, the Institute for Bird Populations, Rutgers, and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.