Why isn't anyone asking why bulk commodity transport like this isn't going by rail?
Joel At 07:16 AM 3/3/08 -0500, you wrote: >Hi Jan, > >Regarding Seneca Meadows, aka Mount Trashmore, the site is engineered >with an impermeable layering system which seals the landfill off from >the groundwater that flows into Cayuga lake. Redundancy is built into >the engineering plan, which is really state-of-the-art in waste fill >management. The landfill hosts an annual open house every fall and >tours are available any time throughout the year, if you want to learn more. > >The issue of the trucks on 89 is problematic. The plan was to have >trucks take the Thruway to Seneca Falls, but as fares have gone up on >the highway, drivers are taking the secondary routes to save costs. I >think some citizen advocacy could probably be used to reset the >expectations there. > >Whether Seneca Falls should be a regional landfill brings up a larger >question: where do our large cities put their waste? Regional >landfills situated off a major highway with sealed layers to protect >groundwater is the current answer. But for those living near the >landfill this solution seems like urban exploitation of a rural resource >(space), which the monetary incentive is supposed to compensate the >community for. Maybe that's not a fair trade? > >Also, did you know that the methane produced from Seneca Meadows is >going to be used to heat greenhouses? I believe that program is going >live this year. > >Best, > >Katie Q-J > > > >Jan Quarles wrote: > > I'm concerned about the land fill(s) surrounding Cayuga Lake, and their > > effects on our water quality. We have one of NY's largest right here in > > Seneca County. You can't miss it on your way up to the NY Thruway; it's a > > giant mountain. It's euphemistically called "Seneca Meadows," but us > locals > > refer to it as "Mount Trashmore." Seneca Falls gets big bucks for > importing > > tons of garbage daily from PA, NJ, MA and NYC. Seeing all these huge > trucks > > on Rte 89 every day, I got concerned about all this unfiltered garbage > > coming into our region. It's enough of a challenge to deal with our own > > garbage! I am especially concerned because we pump water directly from the > > lake, and use it to water our big organic veggie garden. When I read last > > Spring that they're expanding Mt. Trashmore, I contacted the Cayuga Lake > > Watershed Network (CLWN) to see if Sharon Anderson (Steward of CLWN) knew > > anything about its effect on Cayuga Lake. She wrote back that it's being > > monitored by the EPA. This doesn't satisfy me, though, because we all know > > that the Bush Admin. appointed the foxes to watch the hen houses. Does > > anyone know about any info or citizen action on this issue? > > > > I also asked Sharon about the issue of WATER RIGHTS -- i.e., the > > probability that private companies like CocaCola will try to purify and > sell > > bottled water en masse from the lake, as companies are already doing in > Lake > > Michigan and in thousands of towns in America. She said the CLWN > doesn't get > > involved with that aspect of water. I think there's some action on the > State > > level -- some proposed legislation to pre-empt private ownership of our > > watershed, which, in my mind, belongs to us all as "the commons." I'm part > > of "Back To Democracy" (based in Trumansburg) and we'd like to convene a > > public meeting about water rights, as well as the effects of the land fill > > and all this imported garbage on the lake, so if anyone has info on local > > people who are working on these problems, it would be great connect with > > them. One issue for citizens who surround the lake is: Why should Seneca > > Falls benefit financially while our bodies pay the price? > > > > I saw a recent article in the Ithaca Times about a group of citizens > > (including Robert Barton) who are mobilizing to address their concerns > about > > the spreading of tons of sludge on our region's farmlands. > > > > I am grateful to be part of a concerned community and to be able to > > communicate through this list serve. It's a wonderful means by which we > can > > exercise our right to assemble in order to promote sustainability! > > > > - Jan > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Joel and Sarah Gagnon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" > > <[email protected]> > > Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 12:46 PM > > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] why save water? > > > > > > > >> The city water source issue is more complicated than implied. Six Mile > >> Creek water is often turbid. The chemicals used to clear the water have an > >> associated environmental impact from their production and then disposal. > >> That needs to be weighed against the energy cost of pumping lake water > >> uphill to storage. Either way, conservation reduces environmental impact. > >> > >> Joel > >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > > [email protected] > > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > > > > >-- >_______________________________________________ >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >[email protected] >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
