I try not to get too upset at this President, or his supporters anymore. I’ve had to stomach three years of this mess in our government, and by extension, the social fabric among its citizens. It hasn’t been good for any part of my physical constitution, stress levels, and pretty much, my entire well being. Sure, I have tried to ignore it for awhile, or get on to other things to preserve my sanity, but, as anyone who feels oddly strange running from everyday news, and world events around us can say, that strategy doesn’t work for sustained levels. And really, even if you can get by removing yourself for a few days, or even weeks, how much net benefit does it really yield, if you ramp up stress levels the minute you turn on the news, or read a newspaper again? Living in isolation is not normal unless you want to pursue a monk’s life. And then, you are a monk.
Unlike many of the loudest voices following politics today, who feel the compulsion to stay fully attached to daily antipathy to opposing voices, I resist the fray. That part is not as difficult. Engagement in this climate has little to offer. Even on a contrarian level, opposing views have no intellectual stimulation for conversation as they once did, because opposing views, have no interest in compromise, nor truly understanding fundamental differences without harboring fear and resentment of one another.
The argument of each sides failings are well traversed. The conservative side is formed of racial divisions, tax avoidance, corporate dominance, and perfunctory government. The progressive/liberal side focuses on universal equality, government oversight on big business, a practical tax system, and environmental laws.
I get no satisfaction from entering an echo chamber, and even less from trying to make a point to someone clearly unreachable. I’m not looking for a fight, and I don’t need any more reasons to stake my claim. It’s just boring now. It’s been long realized that a majority of us, aren’t budging from our current head spaces.
But, once in a great while, I just have to let it out. Herewith, the one point that irks me more than so many others. Our precious environment.
There is no way on this still green earth, that any Trump supporter, or Conservative/Republican can convince me they care all that much about the environment. Either that, or they are hopelessly naiive, misled, and grossly uninformed. That’s not a great excuse. For the others, which I suppose is a large enough group in its own right, they all but ignore the disgraceful actions of this administration under Trump’s directions. These are the Trump supporters who place environmental concerns so far down on their list of priorities, it really is the equivalent of not caring. There’s just no way around this conclusion. That is the true sad state of our Union. In the end, its not one man who’s going to do in this planet. Its the people.
95 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump
President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration, with help from Republicans in Congress, has often targeted environmental rules it sees as burdensome to the fossil fuel industry and other big businesses.
A New York Times analysis, based on research from Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School and other sources, counts more than 90 environmental rules and regulations rolled back under Mr. Trump.
Our list represents two types of policy changes: rules that were officially reversed and rollbacks still in progress.
The Trump administration has often used a “one-two punch” when rolling back environmental rules, said Caitlin McCoy, a fellow in the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School who tracks regulatory rollbacks. “First a delay rule to buy some time, and then a final substantive rule.”
But the process has not always been smooth. In some cases, the administration has failed to provide a strong legal argument in favor of proposed changes and agencies have skipped key steps in the rulemaking process, like notifying the public and asking for comment. In several cases, courts have ordered agencies to enforce their own rules.
Several environmental rules — summarized at the bottom of this page — were rolled back and then later reinstated, often following legal challenges. Other regulations remain mired in court.
All told, the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and lead to thousands of extra deaths from poor air quality every year, according to a report prepared by New York University Law School’s State Energy and Environmental Impact Center.
Are there rollbacks we missed? Email climateteam@nytimes.com or tweet @nytclimate.
Air pollution and emissions
Completed
1. Canceled a requirement for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions. Environmental Protection Agency | Read more
2. Revised and partially repealed an Obama-era rule limiting methane emissions on public lands, including intentional venting and flaring from drilling operations. Interior Department | Read more
3. Replaced the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which would have set strict limits on carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, with a new version that would let states set their own rules. Executive Order; E.P.A. | Read more
4. Revoked California’s power to set its own more stringent emissions standards for cars and light trucks. E.P.A. | Read more
5. Repealed a requirement that state and regional authorities track tailpipe emissions from vehicles traveling on federal highways. Transportation Department | Read more
6. Loosened a Clinton-era rule designed to limit toxic emissions from major industrial polluters. E.P.A. | Read more
7. Revised a permiting program designed to safeguard communities from increases in pollution from new power plants to make it easier for facilities to avoid emissions regulations. E.P.A. | Read more
8. Amended rules that govern how refineries monitor pollution in surrounding communities. E.P.A. | Read more
9. Stopped enforcing a 2015 rule that prohibited the use of hydrofluorocarbons, powerful greenhouse gases, in air-conditioners and refrigerators. E.P.A. | Read more
10. Weakened an Obama-era rule meant to reduce air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas. E.P.A. | Read more
11. Weakened oversight of some state plans for reducing air pollution in national parks. E.P.A. | Read more
12. Directed agencies to stop using an Obama-era calculation of the “social cost of carbon” that rulemakers used to estimate the long-term economic benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Executive Order | Read more
13. Withdrew guidance that federal agencies include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews. But several district courts have ruled that emissions must be included in such reviews. Executive Order; Council on Environmental Quality | Read more
14. Lifted a summertime ban on the use of E15, a gasoline blend made of 15 percent ethanol. (Burning gasoline with a higher concentration of ethanol in hot conditions increases smog.) E.P.A. | Read more
15. Changed rules to allow states and the E.P.A. to take longer to develop and approve plans aimed at cutting methane emissions from existing landfills. E.P.A. | Read more
16. Revoked an Obama executive order that set a goal of cutting the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent over 10 years. Executive Order | Read more
In process
17. Proposed relaxing Obama-era requirements that companies monitor and repair methane leaks at oil and gas facilities. E.P.A. | Read more
18. Proposed weakening Obama-era fuel-economy standards for cars and light trucks. E.P.A. and Transportation Department | Read more
19. Submitted notice of intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. The process of withdrawing cannot be completed until November 2020. Executive Order | Read more
20. Proposed eliminating Obama-era restrictions that in effect required newly built coal power plants to capture carbon dioxide emissions. E.P.A. | Read more
21. Proposed a legal justification for weakening an Obama-era rule that limited mercury emissions from coal power plants. E.P.A. | Read more
22. Proposed revisions to standards for carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified and reconstructed power plants. Executive Order; E.P.A. | Read more
23. Began a review of emissions rules for power plant start-ups, shutdowns and malfunctions. In April, the E.P.A. proposed reversing a requirement that Texas follow the emissions rule, with implications for 35 other states. E.P.A. | Read more
24. Proposed the repeal of rules meant to reduce leaking and venting of hydrofluorocarbons from large refrigeration and air conditioning systems. E.P.A. | Read more
25. Opened for comment a proposal limiting the ability of individuals and communities to challenge E.P.A.-issued pollution permits before a panel of agency judges. E.P.A. | Read more
Drilling and extraction
Completed
26. Made significant cuts to the borders of two national monuments in Utah and recommended border and resource management changes to several more. Presidential Proclamation; Interior Department | Read more
27. Rescinded water pollution regulations for fracking on federal and Indian lands. Interior Department | Read more
28. Scrapped a proposed rule that required mines to prove they could pay to clean up future pollution. E.P.A. | Read more
29. Withdrew a requirement that Gulf oil rig owners prove they could cover the costs of removing rigs once they have stopped producing. Interior Department | Read more
30. Approved construction of the Dakota Access pipeline less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Under the Obama administration, the Army Corps of Engineers had said it would explore alternative routes. Executive Order; Army | Read more
31. Revoked an Obama-era executive order designed to preserve ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters in favor of a policy focused on energy production and economic growth. Executive Order | Read more
32. Changed how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission considers the indirect effects of greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews of pipelines. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission | Read more
33. Permitted the use of seismic air guns for gas and oil exploration in the Atlantic Ocean. The practice, which can kill marine life and disrupt fisheries, was blocked under the Obama administration. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Read more
34. Lifted ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Congress; Interior Department | Read more
35. Loosened offshore drilling safety regulations implemented by the Obama administration following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, including reduced testing requirements for blowout prevention systems. Interior Department | Read more
In process
36. Proposed opening most of America’s coastal waters to offshore oil and gas drilling, but delayed the plan after a federal judge ruled that Mr. Trump’s reversal of an Obama-era ban on drilling in the Arctic Ocean was unlawlful. Interior Department | Read more
37. Lifted an Obama-era freeze on new coal leases on public lands. But, in April 2019, a judge ruled that the Interior Department could not begin selling new leases without completing an environmental review. A month later, the agency published a draft assessment that concluded restarting federal coal leasing would have little environmental impact. Executive Order; Interior Department | Read more
38. Repealed an Obama-era rule governing royalties for oil, gas and coal leases on federal lands, which replaced a 1980s rule that critics said allowed companies to underpay the federal government. A federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s repeal. The Interior Department is reviewing the decision. Interior Department | Read more
39. Proposed revising regulations on offshore oil and gas exploration by floating vessels in the Arctic that were developed after a 2013 accident. The Interior Department previously said it was “considering full rescission or revision of this rule.” Executive Order; Interior Department | Read more
40. Proposed “streamlining” the approval process for drilling for oil and gas in national forests. Agriculture Department; Interior Department | Read more
41. Recommended shrinking three marine protected areas, or opening them to commercial fishing. Executive Order; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Read more
42. Proposed opening land in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve for oil and leasing. The Obama administration had designated the reserve as a conservation area. Interior Department | Read more
43. Proposed lifting a Clinton-era policy that banned logging and road construction in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Interior Department | Read more
44. Approved the Keystone XL pipeline rejected by President Barack Obama, but a federal judge blocked the project from going forward without an adequate environmental review process. Mr. Trump later attempted to side-step the ruling by issuing a presidential permit, but the project remains tied up in court. Executive Order; State Department | Read more
Infrastructure and planning
Completed
45. Revoked Obama-era flood standards for federal infrastructure projects, like roads and bridges. The standards required the government to account for sea-level rise and other climate change effects. Executive Order | Read more
46. Relaxed the environmental review process for federal infrastructure projects. Executive Order | Read more
47. Revoked a directive for federal agencies to minimize impacts on water, wildlife, land and other natural resources when approving development projects. Executive Order | Read more
48. Revoked an Obama executive order promoting “climate resilience” in the northern Bering Sea region of Alaska, which withdrew local waters from oil and gas leasing and established a tribal advisory council to consult on local environmental issues. Executive Order | Read more
49. Reversed an update to the Bureau of Land Management’s public land use planning process. Congress | Read more
50. Withdrew an Obama-era order to consider climate change in managing natural resources in national parks. National Park Service | Read more
51. Restricted most Interior Department environmental studies to one year in length and a maximum of 150 pages, citing a need to reduce paperwork. Interior Department | Read more
52. Withdrew a number of Obama-era Interior Department climate change and conservation policies that the agency said could “burden the development or utilization of domestically produced energy resources.” Interior Department | Read more
53. Eliminated the use of an Obama-era planning system designed to minimize harm from oil and gas activity on sensitive landscapes, such as national parks. Interior Department | Read more
54. Eased the environmental review processes for small wireless infrastructure projects with the goal of expanding 5G wireless networks. Federal Communications Commission | Read more
55. Withdrew Obama-era policies designed to maintain or, ideally improve, natural resources affected by federal projects. Interior Department | Read more
In process
56. Proposed plans to streamline the environmental review process for Forest Service projects. Agriculture Department | Read more
Animals
Completed
57. Changed the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, making it more difficult to protect wildlife from long-term threats posed by climate change. Interior Department | Read more
58. Overturned a ban on the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands. Interior Department | Read more
59. Overturned a ban on the hunting of predators in Alaskan wildlife refuges. Congress | Read more
60. Amended fishing regulations for a number of species to allow for longer seasons and higher catch rates. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Read more
61. Withdrew proposed limits on the number of endangered marine mammals and sea turtles that can be unintentionally killed or injured with sword-fishing nets by people who fish on the West Coast. (In 2018, California issued a state rule prohibiting the use of the nets the rule was intending to regulate.) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Read more
62. Rolled back a roughly 40-year-old interpretation of a policy aimed at protecting migratory birds, potentially running afoul of treaties with Canada and Mexico. Interior Department | Read more
63. Overturned a ban on using parts of migratory birds in handicrafts made by Alaskan Natives. Interior Department | Read more
In process
64. Opened nine million acres of Western land to oil and gas drilling by weakening habitat protections for the sage grouse, an imperiled bird with an elaborate mating dance. An Idaho District Court injunction blocked the measure. Interior Department | Read more
65. Proposed ending an Obama-era rule that barred using bait to lure and kill grizzly bears, among other sport hunting practices that many people consider extreme, on some public lands in Alaska. National Park Service; Interior Department | Read more
66. Proposed relaxing environmental protections for salmon and smelt in California’s Central Valley in order to free up water for farmers. Executive Order; Interior Department | Read more
Toxic substances and safety
Completed
67. Rejected a proposed ban on chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to developmental disabilities in children. (A European Union ban is to take effect in 2020.) E.P.A. | Read more
68. Narrowed the scope of a 2016 law mandating safety assessments for potentially toxic chemicals like dry-cleaning solvents. The E.P.A. said it would focus on direct exposure and exclude indirect exposure such as from air or water contamination. In November, a court of appeals ruled the agency must widen its scope to consider full exposure risks. E.P.A. | Read more
69. Reversed an Obama-era rule that required braking system upgrades for “high hazard” trains hauling flammable liquids, like oil and ethanol. Transportation Department | Read more
70. Removed copper filter cake, an electronics manufacturing byproduct comprised of heavy metals, from the “hazardous waste” list. E.P.A. | Read more
71. Ended an Occupational Safety and Health Administration program to reduce risks of workers developing the lung disease silicosis. Labor Department | Read more
In process
72. Proposed changing safety rules to allow for rail transport of liquefied natural gas, which is highly flammable. Transportation Department | Read more
73. Rolled back most of the requirements of a 2017 rule aimed at improving safety at sites that use hazardous chemicals that was instituted after a chemical plant exploded in Texas. E.P.A. | Read more
74. Announced a review of an Obama-era rule lowering coal dust limits in mines. The head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration said there were no immediate plans to change the dust limit but has extended an public comment period until 2022. Labor Department | Read more
Water pollution
Completed
75. Scaled back pollution protections for certain tributaries and wetlands that were regulated under the Clean Water Act by the Obama administration. E.P.A.; Army | Read more
76. Revoked a rule that prevented coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams. Congress | Read more
77. Withdrew a proposed rule aimed at reducing pollutants, including air pollution, at sewage treatment plants. E.P.A. | Read more
78. Withdrew a proposed rule requiring groundwater protections for certain uranium mines. E.P.A. | Read more
In process
79. Proposed a rule exempting certain types of power plants from parts of an E.P.A. rule limiting toxic discharge from power plants into public waterways. E.P.A. | Read more
80. Proposed allowing the E.P.A. to issue permits for federal projects under the Clean Water Act over state objections if they don’t meet local water quality goals, including for pipelines and other fossil fuel facilities. Executive Order; E.P.A. | Read more
81. Proposed extending the lifespan of unlined coal ash holding areas, which can spill their contents because they lack a protective underlay. E.P.A. | Read more
82. Proposed a regulation limiting the scope of an Obama-era rule under which companies had to prove that large deposits of recycled coal ash would not harm the environment. E.P.A. | Read more
83. Proposed a new rule allowing the federal government to issue permits for coal ash waste in Indian Country and some states without review if the disposal site is in compliance with federal regulations. E.P.A. | Read more
84. Proposed doubling the time allowed to remove lead pipes from water systems with high levels of lead. E.P.A. | Read more
Other
Completed
85. Repealed an Obama-era regulation that would have nearly doubled the number of light bulbs subject to energy-efficiency standards starting in January 2020. The E.P.A. also blocked the next phase of efficiency standards for general-purpose bulbs already subject to regulation. Energy Department | Read more
86. Allowed coastal replenishment projects to use sand from protected beaches. Interior Department | Read more
87. Limited funding environmental and community development projects through corporate settlements of federal lawsuits. Justice Department | Read more
88. Announced intent to stop payments to the Green Climate Fund, a United Nations program to help poorer countries reduce carbon emissions. Executive Order | Read more
89. Reversed restrictions on the sale of plastic water bottles in national parks desgined to cut down on litter, despite a Park Service report that the effort worked. Interior Department | Read more
In process
90. Ordered a review of water efficiency standards in bathroom fixtures, including toilets. E.P.A. | Read more
91. Proposed limiting the studies used by the E.P.A. for rulemaking to only those that make data publicly available. (Scientists widely criticized the proposal, who said it would effectively block the agency from considering landmark research that relies on confidential health data.) E.P.A. | Read more
92. Proposed changes to the way cost-benefit analyses are conducted under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and other environmental statutes. E.P.A. | Read more
93. Proposed withdrawing efficiency standards for residential furnaces and commercial water heaters designed to reduce energy use. Energy Department | Read more
94. Created a product category that would allow some dishwashers to be exempt from energy efficiency standards. Energy Department | Read more
95. Initially withdrew then delayed a proposed rule that would inform car owners about fuel-efficient replacement tires. (The Transportation Department has scheduled a new rulemaking notice for 2020.) Transportation Department | Read more
10 rules were reinstated, often following lawsuits and other challenges
1. Weakened federal rules regulating the disposal and storage of coal ash waste from power plants. A court later ruled the administration was attempting to weaken rules that were not stringent enough. E.P.A.
2. Reversed course on repealing emissions standards for “glider” trucks — vehicles retrofitted with older, often dirtier engines — after Andrew Wheeler took over as head of the E.P.A. E.P.A. | Read more
3. Delayed a compliance deadline for new national ozone pollution standards by one year, but later reversed course. E.P.A. | Read more
4. Suspended an effort to lift restrictions on mining in Bristol Bay, Alaska. But the Army Corps of Engineers is performing an environmental review of an application for mining in the area. E.P.A.; Army | Read more
5. Delayed implementation of a rule regulating the certification and training of pesticide applicators, but a judge ruled that the E.P.A. had done so illegally and declared the rule still in effect. E.P.A. | Read more
6. Initially delayed publishing efficiency standards for household appliances, but later published them after multiple states and environmental groups sued. Energy Department | Read more
7. Delayed federal building efficiency standards until Sept. 30, 2017, at which time the rules went into effect. Energy Department | Read more
8. Reissued a rule limiting the discharge of mercury by dental offices into municipal sewers after a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group. E.P.A. | Read more
9. Re-posted a proposed rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft, after initially changing its status to “inactive” on the E.P.A. website. In May 2019, the agency confimed it would issue the rule. E.P.A. | Read more
10. Removed the Yellowstone grizzly bear from the Endangered Species List, but the protections were later reinstated by a federal judge. (The Trump administration appealed the ruling in May 2019.) Interior Department | Read more
Note: This list does not include new rules proposed by the Trump administration that do not roll back previous policies, nor does it include court actions that have affected environmental policies independent of executive or legislative action.
You’d be forgiven to not believe rumors before reading this article, but this actually happens a lot. One angle that is missing from this coverage, however, comes from the American preoccupation with providing food at every turn of real estate where any sizable crowds converge.
I know it’s unrealistic to peg this all on food concessions, but if American mainstream culture wasn’t so steeped in limitless food consumption at every special event, occasion, celebration, physical area where any gatherings in general occur, the over saturated food vendor operations of every stripe, and growing, wouldn’t exist in the first place.
So much food is wasted in this country, whether directly from unbalanced crop management, commercial buyers, and dispensation to the public, or by sheer disregard for food portioning and value on a individual basis. Whole nations starve, or at best, struggle, while getting aid in the form of low quality carbohydrate staples, and/or, access to junk food, while we scare off seagulls so we feast and drink on a whim, at any moment, wherever we are, and then throw out half our food anyway.
Flying Assassins Are Called In to Combat Aggressive Gulls
A Jersey Shore town has come up with a creative but costly way to tame its marauding gulls.
Eric Swanson, the owner of East Coast Falcons, released a falcon, one of the birds of prey that are being used to frighten gulls in Ocean City, N.J.
By Nick Corasaniti, NY Times
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — They are deft predators of the French fried potato, able to pluck a fresh wedge in the milliseconds it takes a single fry to travel from its container to a human mouth.
Though gulls are as core to the Jersey Shore as a stereo blasting “Born to Run,” the birds that have been hunting the food stalls lining the boardwalk in Ocean City possess an extra level of voracious hunger, a fever pitch of aggression that stands out even in a state where pugnacity is considered a plus.
Their behavior has turned this popular oceanfront destination into a Hitchcockian dystopia of divebombing birds.
“I’ve seen them take on an entire pizza,” said Tom Baglini, 71, who lives in Ocean City with his wife, JoAnn. “I saw the guy and he had the box, and he took one slice out, and the bird came down, hit the slice, then hit the box, and the pie hit the ground, and then, like hundreds of birds just swarmed.”
Deciding it had had enough, Ocean City turned to an army of winged bouncers.
The city unleashed a posse of raptors — four hawks, two falcons and an owl — to take on the unruly gulls.
“It’s reached a point where you can’t eat on the boardwalk or beach without birds flying at your hands and face. It truly has become a safety hazard,” said Ocean City’s mayor, Jay A. Gillian. “I remain committed to doing whatever it takes to make sure the boardwalk and beach experience in Ocean City is safe, family friendly and enjoyable.”
Diana Juleg and her grandchildren listened as a falconer explained how the birds patrol the skies over the boardwalk. Credit: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
One of the few towns along the Jersey Shore where alcohol is not sold, Ocean City attracts roughly 150,000 visitors every summer to a beach idyll: a wide boardwalk filled with ice cream and pizza stands, fudge shops and salt water taffy stores, where the chatter of conversation is occasionally drowned out by the squeals from nearby amusement rides.
The squawk of gulls circling potential meals is a less welcome part of the background noise. But these days, the gulls must also keep an eye out for the sharp-clawed raptors roaming the skies.
Using birds of prey to control avian populations is a common tactic — deployed not just at beaches, but at airports, among other places — and is praised by many environmental groups as a humane way of taming out-of-control behavior.
“The best way to put nature back into balance is to bring back predators,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. “Whether it’s hawks or falcons in urban areas to reduce pigeon populations, or sea gulls along the coast, it makes a lot more sense.”
Ocean City is paying $2,100 a day through Labor Day for the use of the trained raptors, which are provided by East Coast Falcons. Though the raptors are certainly capable of killing gulls, these have been trained just to frighten the gulls away. The program, which started in early August, has been effective enough that the hours the raptors are on duty each day has been extended.
“It’s reached a point where you can’t eat on the boardwalk or beach without birds flying at your hands and face,” said Jay A. Gillian, the Ocean City mayor. Credit: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
Erik Swanson, the owner of East Coast Falcons, has been training birds of prey for nearly 30 years. His animals have helped to clear out geese and other birds from flight paths near Kennedy International Airport, reduced a starling population that was threatening a blueberry farm and scattered pigeons and other birds away from landfills.
But the belligerence of the gulls in Ocean City surprised even this veteran bird expert.
“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I don’t know if I would have even believed it,” Mr. Swanson said. “We were sitting there talking with the town manager and this girl walked out with a bucket of chicken or something, and she literally had more than 20 birds just start mobbing her.”
Fueled by the constant availability of food, Mr. Swanson said the gulls have developed advanced tactics.
Some of the gulls have learned to attack people, who drop their food once bitten.
“And then when the one does that, you have about 40 of them that all run in and try to eat the food,” Mr. Swanson said.
Though falcons can kill gulls, the birds from East Coast Falcons have been trained not to do so. Credit: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
Just about every regular visitor to Ocean City seems to have a gull story.
Darcy Krause, who lives in Philadelphia and has been visiting Ocean City for about 10 years, said a gull swooped down between her hand and her face and snatched a Wheat Thin cracker from her fingers without leaving a mark.
Ellen Ilconich, who lives in Marlton, N.J., had a gull hover over her sandwich and pluck out the deli meat inside.
The Baglinis watched the other day as a few gulls huddled under a beach umbrella, dug into an open beach bag while the owners were away, pulled out a bag of chips and enjoyed a feast on the sand. Two weeks earlier, a gull clutching an entire hero sandwich landed near their lawn.
Sue Lyons-Joell, who has been coming to Ocean City for more than 30 years, has developed a gull-proof system when she orders anything at the boardwalk: Cover the food, stay close to the stalls and never eat anything out in the open.
“A couple of years ago it got so bad we had to put a sign up at the register basically warning customers of the sea gulls stealing their food,” said Randy Levchuk, an owner of Jilly’s, a family-run business in Ocean City that manages a popular French fry stand, as well as several T-shirt shops.
Ocean City is paying $2,100 a day through Labor Day for the use of the trained raptors. Credit: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
His T-shirt business has also been affected by the gull invasion.
“People are coming because they got pooped on by one of the birds, and they have to buy a new shirt now,’’ Mr. Levchuk said. “It’s not a good experience for the person in Ocean City with how bad it’s gotten.”
The summer crowds will be gone after Labor Day, but the gulls are not just seasonal visitors.
Eric Stiles, the president and chief executive of New Jersey Audubon, said focusing on the summertime is a short-term “winnable solution.”
“But it’s not a perennial solution,” he said. “It’s not something you do for 30 days and the problem is solved forever.”
Still, so far, the introduction of the raptors seems to have improved the conduct of the gulls.
Families were enjoying soft-serve cones near a Kohr Bros Frozen Custard shop on a recent day, and the few gulls perched on the edge of the store roof were leaving them alone — for now.
Nearby, P.J. Simonis, a falconer who is part of Mr. Swanson’s team, was carrying a 17-week-old Harris hawk on his arm. The bird had just finished eating food left inside a cage, which was placed in clear view of the gulls.
“Just this bird feeding on the boardwalk,’’ he said, “has freaked them out.’’
The introduction of the raptors seems to have improved the behavior of the gulls. Credit: Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
While it may seem that heaps of plastic from meal kit delivery services like Blue Apron make them less environmentally friendly than traditional grocery shopping, a new study says the kits actually produce less food waste. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Meal Kits Have A Smaller Carbon Footprint Than Grocery Shopping, Study Says
The study is weak on enough fronts that the headline is misleading. I don’t like this article.
First, the NPR sponsor tie-in is a factor. Sorry. It just is.
Secondly, the article author, and one particular researcher, gloss over any meaningful consumer behavior towards freezing. They simply dismiss it as a non factor due to the inevitability of discarded freezer burnt frozen food.
Wrong. That is only true if people don’t ever eat it. If you actually wrap food well, and actually thaw it properly, and actually eat it in the not too distant future, freezing is perfectly fine, and an excellent way to manage eating/cooking/conservation habits.
If people don’t know how to freeze food properly, that’s an education problem that can be overcome with more guidance. Freezer burn and food waste is a weak, unsubstantiated reason to justify and “sell” the meal kit concept. Especially if it’s put forth by vested interests in the business of selling it, or, by funded researchers.
Not to mention, .the excessive cost of figuring pre-made meal kits into your budget. Not to mention the industrial energy used in mass production lines to being said meal kits to you by mail, delivery, or pick up somewhere.
Carbon Footprints and energy usage contributing to global warming, or just the study of overall energy usage is a work intensive and complicated matter to calculate fairly, That is why there is often only partial studies done with disclaimers all over the place, that represent a vested interest somewhere along the line.
At least NPR mentions the sponsorship connection in the article. I should’ve stopped reading right there.
Overuse of the medicines is not just a problem in rich countries. Throughout the developing world antibiotics are dispensed with no prescription required.
Try your luck at writing a caption for this photograph. Better yet, try an analysis of it.
The story headline is bad. The story is bad. On a smaller scale though, I am struck by the photograph of the man on the cell phone. He’s smiling as we walks across mountains of garbage where (he, and his?) people live, raise children, and go about daily living.
In this staggering story, Kenya is referred to as an emerg-ing economy. A develop-ing country. I’ve added the hyphens because in my eyes, as I have read and witnessed this story play out for decades, it is my conclusion, that too many countries in Africa have not emerged from anything. Media and scholars try to be polite and avoid confrontation by using the “ing” after the country’s name’s, because to label them as un-developed, is a smear. But, I don’t see any other way to put it. It is a smear. It is worse. It is atrocious to witness these realities in the modern age of developed economies all around the planet. Its not just Africa. Its in Asia, South America, and to a lesser extent, small pockets in our own country. But nothing compares with this. What goes on here is astounding, and its been going on as long as I have been alive. There’s no emerging. There’s no developing. Any development or emerging that’s going on is on such a small incremental basis, that its no match to the magnitude of the scourge.
Africa is a complex quagmire of dueling, feuding, conflicted, often rudderless countries, who move in and out of exploitative control of its peoples from one masquerading despot to another. I am not worthy to shine a true scholar’s shoes on this subject, but I do know what I see, or don’t see. I do see serious health consequences bordering on the continent of a nationwide crisis. I don’t see sustained action of several African countries united to work together. Globally, its the same story. Since decolonization, Africa has not been able to rise out of its troubled history of slavery and European exploitation. Yet, they affect us when we stop and take notice when an article like this one lands in front of our eyes. >MB
Lots of batteries get recycled. Lots don’t. Take alkaline batteries, for instance. You know, the double, triple A, C,, and D batteries many of us use? Do you know there is only one state that requires alkaline batteries to be recycled? Of course, its California. For the rest of the states, they allow you to simply toss them in the trash. Not good. Don’t believe its okay to throw them in the trash. Its not.
Battery recycling programs are a weakness in our disposal economy, and local government’s public relations outreach is poor, but its not one we can’t improve on our own. If you use enough batteries, or, if you’d like to create a community based battery recycling service, consider working with Battery Solutions. They do charge a fee, but, if you, or, your business, or residential community, use enough batteries over the course of a year, its not a lot to pay to keep them out of landfills, The cost is also very little to invest if it is spread across multiple participants, who want to do good by the environment.
If you don’t use that many, please don’t throw yours away. They cause harm. Try calling your local office supply store, like Staples. The one near me accepts all kinds of waste related to tech, and office products. Printer cartridges, laptop batteries, and, periodically, does accept alkaline batteries. Just walk in and drop them off. Thank you!
FILE – In this July 27, 2018, file photo, the Dave Johnson coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the morning sun in Glenrock, Wyo.
This is an update on the earlier NYTimes article/post from September. There are so many areas to fight back and resist this President’s actions against the environment. If you choose one fight against this administration, make it this one.
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, AP News, December 29, 2018
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has targeted an Obama-era regulation credited with helping dramatically reduce toxic mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants, saying the benefits to human health and the environment may not be worth the cost of the regulation.
The 2011 Obama administration rule, called the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, led to what electric utilities say was an $18 billion clean-up of mercury and other toxins from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants.
Overall, environmental groups say, federal and state efforts have cut mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 85 percent in roughly the last decade.
Mercury causes brain damage, learning disabilities and other birth defects in children, among other harm. Coal power plants in this country are the largest single manmade source of mercury pollutants, which enters the food chain through fish and other items that people consume.
The proposal Friday from the Environmental Protection Agency challenges the basis for the Obama regulation. It calculates that the crackdown on mercury and other toxins from coal plants produced only a few million dollars a year in measurable health benefits and was not “appropriate and necessary” — a legal benchmark under the country’s landmark Clean Air Act.
The proposal, which now goes up for public comment before any final administration approval, would leave the current mercury regulation in place.
However, the EPA said it will seek comment during a 60-day public-review period on whether “we would be obligated to rescind” the Obama-era rule if the agency adopts Friday’s finding that the regulation was not appropriate and necessary. Any such change would trigger new rounds in what have already been years of court battles over regulating mercury pollution from coal plants.
This move is the latest by the Trump administration that changes estimates of the costs and payoffs of regulations as part of an overhaul of Obama-era environmental protections.
It’s also the administration’s latest proposed move on behalf of the U.S. coal industry, which has been struggling in the face of competition from natural gas and other cheaper, cleaner forms of energy. The Trump administration in August proposed an overhaul for another Obama-era regulation that would have prodded electricity providers to get less of their energy from dirtier-burning coal plants.
In a statement, the EPA said Friday the administration was “providing regulatory certainty” by more accurately estimating the costs and benefits of the Obama administration crackdown on mercury and other toxic emissions from smokestacks.
Hal Quinn, head of the National Mining Association, charged in a statement Friday that the Obama administration had carried out “perhaps the largest regulatory accounting fraud perpetrated on American consumers” when it calculated that the broad health benefits to Americans would outweigh the cost of equipment upgrades by power providers.
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, condemned the Trump administration’s move.
The EPA has “decided to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory” after the successful clean-up of toxins from the country’s coal-plant smokestacks, Carper said.
He and other opponents of the move said the Trump administration was playing with numbers, ignoring what Carper said were clear health, environmental and economic benefits to come up with a bottom line that suited the administration’s deregulatory aims.
Janet McCabe, a former air-quality official in the Obama administration’s EPA, called the proposal part of “the quiet dismantling of the regulatory framework” for the federal government’s environmental protections.
Coming one week into a government shutdown, and in the lull between Christmas and New Year, “this low-key announcement shouldn’t fool anyone — it is a big deal, with significant implications,” McCabe said.
