Ecoman: Welcome to the machine
New Canaan Advertiser Thursday, March 1, 2007 Opinion Page 5A
Ecoman
Welcome to the Machine
by Richard M. Stowe
Addicted to oil?
OK, but what we’re really addicted to is the machine.
The machine invariably runs on carbonaceous fuels – coal, oil, or natural gas - or those so-called atoms for peace.
To witness the overwhelming power of the machine in New Canaan, take a look at the formerly pastoral fields at Irwin Park (according to one count, 47 trees were felled at the end of January and nearly two-thirds – 64% - of those trees were determined to be healthy) or further down Weed Street, to the now disfigured wetlands and woodlands, formerly known as the White property.
The 20-acre woodland property had been virtually undisturbed for years when Town Council turned down an offer to buy it as a park preserve only five years ago.
If local is micro-environmental, then regional or global is macro-environmental.
It’s the macro-environment where we measure the aggregate impact of all of our activities.
What about our health?
On Thursday February 1st the New England Journal of Medicine (http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/356/5/447.pdf) reported and the Wall Street Journal summarized the results of a seven-year Women’s Health Initiative observational study, which measured the added cardiovascular health risk of breathing increased levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) by 58,600 postmenopausal women in cities across the United States.
Fine particulates are produced when burning fossil fuels ”in our vehicles, power plants, and factories” as well as “from secondary particles produced by oxidation of gaseous particles emitted by these same sources.”
The conclusions were, to quote C. Arden Pope, professor at Brigham Young University, “stunning.” Professor Pope was involved in two previous soot studies where risk assessment was considerably lower.
The study concluded that the risk was 150 percent greater for women living in nation’s most polluted metropolitan areas versus the nation’s least polluted city, Honolulu. That risk differential is equivalent to the difference between an active smoker and non-smoker.
Of the 203 cities surveyed Pittsburg, PA and smog-belt sprawlopolis, Riverside-San Bernardino, CA topped the list as sootiest cities with at least 21.O micrograms of fine particulates per cubic meter of air. Honolulu placed 203rd with 5.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
New York City (17.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air) placed number 24 in the top tier of cities with the highest level of fine particulates though neighboring Nassau-Suffolk counties (12.4 - #141) places much lower.
Metropolitan areas in Connecticut such as Bridgeport (14.4 - #83), Waterbury (14.0 - #97), New Haven-Meriden (13.9 - #99), Danbury (13.4 - #112), Stamford-Norwalk (13.2 - #118) fall in the midrange, whereas New London-Norwich (11.7 - #158) and Hartford (11.5 - #161) have fewer fine particulates.
In 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency set a limit for exposure to fine particles at 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
In a February 1st editorial, the New England Journal of Medicine reports, “The findings of the WHI study strongly support the recommendation for tighter standards for long-term fine particulate air pollution.”
Last year a panel of scientists outside the Environmental Protection Agency, recommended by a 20-2 vote to lower the limit for fine particulates to 13 to 14 micrograms. In October 2006, however, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen L. Johnson rejected the recommendation based on what he believed to be a lack of definitive science.
The WHI study may erase that doubt.
That’s it for this inaugural column. The column will look at impacts of the built environment on human health and nature and offer suggestions how to improve the built environment.
Keep it green.
Richard M. Stowe is president of the New Canaan Environmental Group. Prior to that he served six years as a board member for the Environmental Council of Stamford, and advocates for commuter rail and bicycling via Rail Transportation Excellence Coalition. He received a bachelor of science degree in environmental science from Marlboro College in 1980.
Ecoman
Welcome to the Machine
by Richard M. Stowe
Addicted to oil?
OK, but what we’re really addicted to is the machine.
The machine invariably runs on carbonaceous fuels – coal, oil, or natural gas - or those so-called atoms for peace.
To witness the overwhelming power of the machine in New Canaan, take a look at the formerly pastoral fields at Irwin Park (according to one count, 47 trees were felled at the end of January and nearly two-thirds – 64% - of those trees were determined to be healthy) or further down Weed Street, to the now disfigured wetlands and woodlands, formerly known as the White property.
The 20-acre woodland property had been virtually undisturbed for years when Town Council turned down an offer to buy it as a park preserve only five years ago.
If local is micro-environmental, then regional or global is macro-environmental.
It’s the macro-environment where we measure the aggregate impact of all of our activities.
What about our health?
On Thursday February 1st the New England Journal of Medicine (http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/356/5/447.pdf) reported and the Wall Street Journal summarized the results of a seven-year Women’s Health Initiative observational study, which measured the added cardiovascular health risk of breathing increased levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) by 58,600 postmenopausal women in cities across the United States.
Fine particulates are produced when burning fossil fuels ”in our vehicles, power plants, and factories” as well as “from secondary particles produced by oxidation of gaseous particles emitted by these same sources.”
The conclusions were, to quote C. Arden Pope, professor at Brigham Young University, “stunning.” Professor Pope was involved in two previous soot studies where risk assessment was considerably lower.
The study concluded that the risk was 150 percent greater for women living in nation’s most polluted metropolitan areas versus the nation’s least polluted city, Honolulu. That risk differential is equivalent to the difference between an active smoker and non-smoker.
Of the 203 cities surveyed Pittsburg, PA and smog-belt sprawlopolis, Riverside-San Bernardino, CA topped the list as sootiest cities with at least 21.O micrograms of fine particulates per cubic meter of air. Honolulu placed 203rd with 5.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
New York City (17.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air) placed number 24 in the top tier of cities with the highest level of fine particulates though neighboring Nassau-Suffolk counties (12.4 - #141) places much lower.
Metropolitan areas in Connecticut such as Bridgeport (14.4 - #83), Waterbury (14.0 - #97), New Haven-Meriden (13.9 - #99), Danbury (13.4 - #112), Stamford-Norwalk (13.2 - #118) fall in the midrange, whereas New London-Norwich (11.7 - #158) and Hartford (11.5 - #161) have fewer fine particulates.
In 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency set a limit for exposure to fine particles at 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
In a February 1st editorial, the New England Journal of Medicine reports, “The findings of the WHI study strongly support the recommendation for tighter standards for long-term fine particulate air pollution.”
Last year a panel of scientists outside the Environmental Protection Agency, recommended by a 20-2 vote to lower the limit for fine particulates to 13 to 14 micrograms. In October 2006, however, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen L. Johnson rejected the recommendation based on what he believed to be a lack of definitive science.
The WHI study may erase that doubt.
That’s it for this inaugural column. The column will look at impacts of the built environment on human health and nature and offer suggestions how to improve the built environment.
Keep it green.
Richard M. Stowe is president of the New Canaan Environmental Group. Prior to that he served six years as a board member for the Environmental Council of Stamford, and advocates for commuter rail and bicycling via Rail Transportation Excellence Coalition. He received a bachelor of science degree in environmental science from Marlboro College in 1980.
posted by Richard Stowe at 12:01 PM
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