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Save Minnewaska State Park from Closure

Last Updated on Monday, 08 March 2010 12:24 Written by GHV Editorial Monday, 08 March 2010 12:24

For budget-cutting reasons Governor David Paterson’s has proposed closing Minnewaska State Park. The Shawangunk Ridge....the most scenic vista east of the Rockies. Stand up!!!! Be heard!!!

For more information and to join the cause please visit Save Minnewaska on Facebook.

See Times Herald-Record article: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100308/NEWS/3080330

No Impact Challenge

Written by Shawn Dell Joyce

     An unexpected side effect of this year’s recession-ridden holiday season is that people have discovered that indeed it is more fun to make social connections than to buy new stuff. Americans have been on a consumer high for so long that we have lost touch with many of the simple (and free) pleasures in life.

     If you are totting up a list of New Year’s resolutions that include things like; “Losing weight, being healthier, spending more time with family, and reconnecting with friends,” then why not satisfy the whole list at once by joining thousands of other Americans in taking the “No Impact Challenge.” (noimpactproject.org)

     This challenge is a week on a low carbon diet that makes you reassess how you spend your time and money, and consider what’s really important in your life. The challenge is based on No Impact Man Colin Beavan’s year-long experience of living lightly in New York City with his small family and leaving no environmental impact. Three months into the experiment, the Beavan’s stopped consuming new goods (except local food), and discovered that kicking the shopping habit, saved them not only money, but opened up time to spend with family and friends, and more space in the house.

     Could you avoid buying anything new (besides local produce) for one week? The No Impact Challenge asks you to start by stopping shopping for new things. Instead, repair broken things, make something yourself, or find used items at garage sales, Freecycle.com or Craig’s List. With the time you save by not shopping, host a clothing swap party, or play date with your family.

Beavan and his family set out on a one year adventure to reduce their impact on the planet. Try their experiment for a week and see how many of your New Year’s Resolutions it resolves

     When Beavan began his experiment he stockpiled his family’s trash for a week to figure out what disposable items they could stop consuming and throwing away without sacrificing their happiness or comfort. He sorted the garbage into categories; disposables used less than ten minutes, and more than ten minutes, and things that they could live without. He equipped each family member with their own reusable drinking cup, containers, utensils, cloth napkins, and reusable bags. After giving up all disposable products, their level of happiness and satisfaction actually increased.

      We drivers spend an average of 1,000 hours annually behind the wheel. What would you do with all that extra time if you found other transportation? Half the trips we take in cars are less than 2 miles away and could be done on bicycle, roller skates, or foot with the side effect of improving our health and reducing our waistlines. Look for ways to incorporate public transportation into your day, or share a ride and the expense of gas.

      “A big part of the No Impact project was to eat only local, seasonal, unpackaged food. That meant, basically, lots of fresh vegetables. Michelle and I both lost a lot of weight. None of the farmers I talk to at the farmers’ market try to jam their food with salt, fat or sugar to get my little Isabella addicted,” from Beavan’s Mo Impact Man blog.

      Eating local requires more thought and planning than buying prepackaged foods in the supermarket. Find a local farm that retails directly in your area at www.localharvest.org. If you eat lunch outside of the house, make it yourself in a reusable container. If you substitute things grown locally for imports on your shopping list, like apples for bananas, you keep money flowing in your local economy.

      The final part of No Impact Man’s Challenge involves volunteering for local nonprofits. “The final stage was to me the most important,” blogs Beavan.”The final stage was not about conservation. It was about innovation. And it was in this stage that I met new people and made the most friends. It was here that the people were most excited. It was not about doing less harm. It was about doing more good. It was less about limits and more about possibility.”

The Power of Giving

Last Updated on Friday, 25 December 2009 08:11 Written by GHV Editorial Friday, 25 December 2009 07:59

We have all heard the old saying that it is better to give than to receive, but recently, a new study proved scientifically that the real key to happiness is generous giving. In times of economic stress, it is even more important because giving actually builds your wealth, and the wealth of the local community.

People who give charitably are 43 percent more likely to say they are “very happy” than non-givers, while non-givers are three and a half times more likely than givers to report they are “not happy at all,” notes Arthur Brooks in his new book, "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism."

Brooks also notes that several large studies have found that senior citizens who volunteer have a 40 percent lower probability of dying in a given year than people of the same age and health level.

In a surprising turn, Brooks proves that giving also increases personal and well as national prosperity. Brooks quotes a survey that controlled for education, age, race and all the other outside explanations for giving and income increases. The survey proved that a dollar donated to charity was associated with $4.35 in extra income for the giver. $3.75 of that was due to the dollar given to charity, and the multiplier effect it has in the local economy. At the national level, a 1 percent increase in national giving increases Gross Domestic Product by about $36 billion.

Ancient Greeks understood this concept well, and developed the cultural habit of tithing, or donating 10 percent of their income to charity. Charitable giving helps build strong local communities and families as well. Giving and volunteering promote bonds of trust among neighbors, and help to sustain numerous charities providing critical services in education, health, the arts, the environment and disaster relief.

The most beneficial giving is often done anonymously, and without any expectations by the giver. Anonymous giving increases your sense of personal well-being, self-esteem and perception of your own wealth. Those who give, tend to be more grateful for what they have, and satisfied with their personal wealth instead of seeking more.

Recent studies have proves that it is indeed better to give than to receive. Giving increases your personal wealth, health, sense of well-being and boosts your community as well.

Many of us lot our jobs and/or homes this year. In fact, one out of eight Americans is on unemployment benefits, and one in four children relies on food stamps for their next meal. If you are having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit because of reasons like these, it is especially important to give. Start by listing at least 25 things you are grateful for, from the food in your belly to the clothes on your back.

Then, take the time to write a personal, heart-felt note of thanks to someone who shared their time, inspiration or money with you when you needed it. Doing this one simple act reminds you of other’s generosity and recalls the feeling of gratitude you felt as the recipient.  You are primed and ready to try giving. Here’s a few suggestions:

---Slip money anonymously to someone who needs it. No strings should be attached, and no credit due the giver. Can’t find a person? Give it to your local food bank instead.

---Holiday workers often hear lots of complaints and little praise. Take time to point out good service to the manager of a store or restaurant. Write a letter praising a service worker (mail deliverer, doorman, building super, clerk, etc.)

---Volunteer your time with local nonprofit organizations. Two years of recession have gutted the budgets of most nonprofits. They could all use some extra help to get through the holidays and for the rest of the year.

---Practice random acts of kindness on a daily basis. Start by smiling at strangers, give up your seat on the bus, add a quarter to the expired parking meter, pay the toll of the guy behind you, never miss an opportunity to praise a child, or sit and listen to an elderly person.

Shawn Dell Joyce is an award-winning columnist and founder of the Wallkill River School in Orange County, N.Y. You can contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To find out more about Shawn Dell Joyce and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

No Such Thing As Clean Coal

Last Updated on Sunday, 22 November 2009 17:02 Written by Shawn Dell Joyce Sunday, 22 November 2009 17:02

We are enduring a $45 million dollar advertising campaign touting “clean coal” and the solution to America’s energy crisis. This is an attempt by Big Coal lobbyists (in this case American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity) to “greenwash” Americans into believing a lie that coal can ever be clean. Don’t believe the hype!

Most of our coal is extracted through mountaintop removal mining which involves clear cutting the forests and scraping away the topsoil, blasting up to 800 feet off the top of the mountain, and gouging out the coal with gigantic earth moving machines. This mechanized process replaces human miners with technology, and causes millions of tons of “overburden” (mountaintops, trees, and topsoil) to be bulldozed into adjacent narrow valleys, and clog streams.  Just obtaining the coal is a dirty, polluting process.

Burning coal is a major contributor to climate change. Coal puts 80% more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than burning gas according to Greenpeace. Burning coal also spews pollutants like  mercury which is highly toxic and poses a ‘global environmental threat to humans and wildlife,’ according to the United Nations. Coal-fired power and heat production are the largest single source of atmospheric mercury emissions. There are no commercially available “clean coal” technologies to prevent mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Even with improved filters on coal plants, which help capture some of the sulfur dioxide and mercury, the toxic waste that remains behind is a dirty problem. Coal ash is a solid byproduct of burned coal that contains significant levels of carcinogens, and arsenic that could contaminate drinking water according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"This is hazardous waste, and it should be classified as such," says Thomas Burke, an environmental risk expert at Johns Hopkins University who has studied the health effects of coal ash. Yet it isn’t classified as hazardous waste, and through strong arming by the coal industry; remains largely unregulated.

Last December, 1.1 billion gallons of water mixed with toxic coal ash burst through a dike next to the Kingston coal plant in the Tennessee Valley and coated several hundred acres of land, and nearby houses. The coal slurry polluted the waterways of Harriman, Tennessee, leaving it a ghost town with high levels of toxins like arsenic and mercury.

The coal industry’s main strength and selling point is that coal is cheaper than renewable energy like wind, or solar because many of the costs of burning coal are hidden or externalized. These are costs that we will pay as individuals, like asthma in young children from the air pollution caused by burning coal. Climate change is another externalized cost of burning coal that is difficult to quantify. How much does the loss of a mountaintop, or Appalachian culture and community cost?

The coal industry estimates that cleaning up fly ash would cost as much as $5 billion a year. If every coal-fired plant in the U.S. added carbon capture and sequestration technology or implemented other (unproven) “clean coal” technologies, that figure could easily double. We would pay that price through higher energy costs.

Coincidentally, the EPA released a study last week claiming that it will cost Americans $22 billion, or roughly $100 per family each year, to meet the goals of the Climate Bill currently debated in the senate. We will pay either way. The big question is what we will get for our money, a transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy or a temporary band-aid solution courtesy of Big Coal?

---Write letters to the editors of newspapers and expose the myth of clean coal.

 ---Cut your electricity consumption because most electric providers get half their power from coal.

 ---Support renewable energy by purchasing wind energy through your utility. In some areas, it would only cost $7 more per 300 kilowatt hours to get all of your energy from wind instead of polluting sources. You can sign up at www.newwindenergy.com or call your utility.

 ---Go solar and feed your excess energy back into the national grid!