Pollution issues are numerous and complex.
What sources of pollution (air, water, land) are of the greatest concern for our community?
What tools should be utilized to better protect our natural environment from future pollution?
What sources of pollution (air, water, land) are of the greatest concern for our community?
What tools should be utilized to better protect our natural environment from future pollution?
Give us your thoughts -- click "comments" below:
25 comments:
Air quality is the greatest concern for our community. Air is hard as remote sources can have an adverse affect. However, we need to include effect on air quality as a key component of all our community planning - roads, housing developments, industrial plants, school location, zoning, public transportation,... This has been done in other communities, and raises awareness of how our plans and activities impact air quality in ways that were not directly apparent.
-Bruce Hermann
Light pollution is my greatest concern today. How can we afford to pay the energy bill for coal and oil generation of electricity? With the price of energy production going up, how do we justify five street lights on the block that I live on, when there are only six houses on each side of the street? How much of the cities budget gose to providing all the lighting? I wish there was a forum to vent on this problem. Light pollution is a problem for health, environment, nature, energy cost, air quality, crime, etc.
Light Pollution! We are told to turn on lights for security. This is not supported based on studies of crime and lighting. What lighting accomplishes is simply allowing the criminal to see whatever he wonts while we are asleep. The glare allows the criminal to hide in the shadows where we can't see him. Would it not be better if all outdoor lights went off at midnight or 2am os some reasonable time. Then we could install outdoor lighting with motion detectors. What do you think a criminal would do if he approched your house and the lights came on? In that case, lights going on would provide an alarm for any one still up. Instead we have to cover our windows to be able to sleep and not see what is going on outside.
Air pollution, light pollution and noise pollution should all be addressed. fewer utility lights, with proper shielding and efficient bulbs, for a start... limits on noise and exhaust from small engines; use of geothermal heat pump design in buildings to reduce energy consumption and air pollution from coal. I'm also against nuclear energy renewable sources should be prioritized.
Trash is a major source of pollution. It ends up in costly landfills, along our roads and streams, on our streets and in vacant lots. Much needs to be done to promote and achieve Zero Waste goals. Thomas Build Bus factories in our own area recycle everything and send nothing to the landfill. They should serve as a role model for every manufacturer. Encourage Big box stores to reduce packaging to a minimum. Consumers can reduce waste at home by eliminating the use of paper plates, towels and napkins (cloth works fine and can be laundered), and they can compost kitchen waste. Educate consumers on the environmental damage done by throw away shopping bags and single use water and beverage bottles. Make it easy for people and businesses to recycle and most of them will. Construction and Demolition waste can be sorted and over 50% of most loads can be recycled. This should be mandatory.
As the populations increase here and upstream from W-S, availability of water could well become the bottleneck for future growth. W-S and FC need to plan to assure that the cheapest system we have for cleaning stream water (vegetated\wooded buffers) is recognized and valued for the service provided. Also, that groundwater, our largest fresh water storage area, is allowed to be replenished to levels that can feed streams during dry periods, dilute pollution in streams, and be available to be tapped when water resources are scarce. In the past 25 years, several streams that used to flow perennially now flow seasonally. Long time residents are seeing streams on their property dry up for the first time in their lives. Ignoring these issues will be costly to W-S future economy.
Currently, providing and purifying water (before and after use) have major energy costs to W-S (over $4 million a year if I read the sustainability report correctly). This cost will only go up as population increases unless officials and developers look forward to what is truly in their best interest ten years from now. "Conservation by Design" is not a pie-in-the-sky dream for tree-huggers anonymous but a real necessity. The best thing about all of this in the long run is that by assuring water quantity\quality we will save money in energy by not having the expense of cleaning dirtier water or pumping it long distances. Ultimately, we will reduce water and air pollution due to the connectivity of both media to energy production.
Finally, anything the City can do to enable wisdom-by-experience should be looked at for all of our benefit. Understandably, I think there are many developers here who are afraid to make unfamiliar changes due to abandoning practices that they know has made them money. These are hard and trying times. Maybe providing zero financing to developers to build an ideal community using conservation features and various price structures (allowing for mixed communities) may be a helpful way to demonstrate marketability. Unfortunately, forcing some issues and letting the market weed out those that can't play by new rules may also be necessary. The bottom line is that we can avoid unbearable infrastructure costs (e.g. retrofitting) to taxpayers in the future by paying more attention now.
Air pollution is best addressed with widespread reduction in electricity use and greater use of high efficiency transportation, whether promoting individual purchase of high mileage cars or greater use of public and alternative modes of transportation.
Water pollution is best addressed with upgraded sewage treatment systems and improved stormwater runoff management standards.
Land pollution is best addressed with a comprehensive waste reduction campaign that includes reduce, reuse and recycle best practices. Composting and comprehensive recycling programs are essential to reduce waste going to the landfill. Education regarding reduction and reuse best practices is essential. Providing the proper services to individuals and businesses is critical to large scale participation.
Add 120,000 people here and we will all be sitting in traffic along key arteries, and major shopping area roads. An aging fleet of cars and trucks will pump enormous amounts of pollution into the air we breath. Let's face it. We are not likely to add the road miles to deal with this growth, and that would not be a good idea anyway. So let's get very serious about alternatives before gridlock becomes a way of live as it has in the Triangle and around Charlotte. No idea should be discounted. When new companies negotiate for financial incentives to locate here, ask what they will do to minimize road use. Set a high goal for miles of sidewalks to be added so that school streets are not clogged with SUVs driving junior to school, plan now for, or require electric vehicle recharging stations downtown, at shopping malls and at major suburban industrial locations such as at the airport and the new Caterpillar site. Set a meaningful target for running light rail from the east to the west, and from the north to the south of the County. Stop subsidizing downtown parking with artificially low parking meter and garage rates. And don't give up on our bus fleet prematurely. As gas prices rise and congestion grows, more an more people will look for clean, safe, affordable alternatives.
Motor vehicle traffic causes the most air pollution. I am appalled at the number of drivers who sit with their engines idling while they read their mail or check phone messages. We need most transportation choices, especially for short trips of 2-5 miles, which cause the most pollution.
Stormwater runoff & stream erosion, vehicles for streams, we should manage corridor habitat & development. Commercial development (& residential) should include plans for retention ponds, wetlands, etc. to control pollution runoff. Drinking water reliability is essential as we grow - we must clean up the Yadkin & oppose legislative efforts to limit our clean up - oppose current bills supported by our legislative delegation.
Air, water (ad campaigns to educate populace)
Air - mass transit - busses, van pools from outlying areas to town; vanpools for small routes off bus lines. Connect to train in Charlotte & GSBO.
Water - vegetation plan to preserve permeable surfaces, storm water plan to aid in storm water diversion, use of cisterns, gray water, purchase of easements along river & water supply.
Promote composting
Compost food waste composting
Water is most important & controllable - protect waterways with compatible uses (parks, greenways, school fields), reduce light pollution by use of lower output street light & regulate signage lighting
Air pollution from all the driving Forsyth County residents do!
Air! - public transit & alternative transportations
Light: perhaps easiest! Regulate outdoor fixtures in parking lots, etc.
Stormwater: promote low impact development and encourage natural filtration systems rather than piped systems
Protect and expand green buffers along our streams, including urban streams
Stream restoration projects will restore meanders, restore wetlands, and thereby restore habitat and filter out runoff pollution
Emphasize enforcement of erosion and sedimentation controls
Expand tree conservation & planting
Air & water, with land in the running. I am astounded by the volume of waste thrown in our landfills daily. On a recent visit to the landfill, I noticed brand new, unused building materials thrown away and beautiful old doors that would have certainly be salvageable by groups like HabitatRestore. Higher fees and nearby donation locations could eliminate or reduce this unnecessary waste.
Land
Be proactive. That is the only way to actively "do". Don't just say "we should do this". Actually do it. Be the example. If you expect the general population to act environmentally, then it should be required by all people involved with planning for this issue.
Continue to expand ability to recycle a wider/greater variety of items @ curbside & private/public buildings
Air quality is our primary pollution problem
CARS. The racetrack creates too much noise.
Greenways.
Better, more bike paths.
Light pollution is my primary concern because it is unchecked! It affects safety, livability, natural heritage, and is harmful to humans, animals and plants alike
Write light pollution ordinances
Get rid of light polluting street lights
Get rid of uplight & glare
Light pollution: the city should amend its sign ordinance to limit the density of LED billboards, to turn them off between 1 and 6 a.m. when there is little traffic, and to require limits on the brightness of these signs. If we must have them, we should at least require that their energy usage and light pollution be limited.
Water quality: We need to do a better job at reducing runoff at building sites. This means more enforcement/ inspections and better control techniques. The little black fences are rarely adequate.
Water conservation: the city and county need to adopt a highly visible water conservation campaign, perhaps with the help of a company that is already using water conservation techniques.
Partnerships: More partnerships between progressive businesses and government might speed the adoption of best practices in water/energy conservation and waste reduction. Do our largest institutions even have active sustainability programs? If not, we need to convince them to exercise leadership in this area.
Our city and county leaders should travel more to see what forward-thinking actions are being done to protect air quality, conserve water, and protect land from development in other parts of the country. Be bold!
Air quality is a MAJOR concern for our neighborhoods.
Problem:
A typical standby diesel generator produces 25-30 pounds of nitrogen oxides (NOx) per megawatt hour of power generated. That’s 50 to 60 times the NOx pollution produced per megawatt hour by the typical mix of California gas-fired power plants.
Diesel soot, or diesel particulate, is the number one airborne carcinogen in North Carolina, and represents the state’s most significant toxic air pollution problem.
California Air Resources Board estimates that operation of an uncontrolled one-megawatt diesel engine for only 250 hours per year would result in a 50 percent increase in cancer risk to residents within one city block.
The National Air Toxics Assessment estimates the cancer risk from exposure to diesel emissions is ten times higher than the combined cancer risk from all other hazardous air pollutants. Diesel emissions also contribute to atmospheric haze, smog, acid rain and global climate change.
Although a necessity when the power grid fails to deliver, industrial diesel generators create unhealthy local air pollution.
Back-up generators have no catalytic converters and engine exhaust pollutants go directly into our neighborhood's air.
Also,heavy diesel equipment (bull dozers, earth movers) manufactured in 2007 can release 15 to 30 times more particulate matter and about 15 times more nitrogen oxides compared to a new highway diesel truck or bus.
Where:
•Municipalities Police/fire stations, court houses, telecommunication centers and many other municipal building.
•Hospitals
•Community Colleges and Universities
•Data centers
Based on the US EPA findings; currently all but 5 counties are deemed in violation of the
8 hour ozone air quality standards in North Carolina. These “non-attainment” areas include Greenville, Rocky Mountain, Fayetteville, Raleigh-Durham-Cary, Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, Black Mountains, Great
Balsam Mountains-Shining Rock Wilderness area, Great Smoky Mountains National
Park and Snow Bird Mountains.
Global Emission Systems Inc. (GESi®) is a ten year old Canadian company specializing in manufacturing of a state of the art emission control technology.
A GESi™ is a retrofit device that can achieve up to 0 (zero) parts per million (ppm) of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in a wide variety of combustion engines. It reduces emissions from any application and fuel source: coal, gas, alcohol, diesel, natural gas, propane, methane and bio-fuels.
Located in Winston-Salem, NC, United Emissions Solutions Inc. represents Global Emission Systems Inc. (GESi®) Retrofitting/installation of the GESi™ Catalytic Converter has been proven to reduce emissions from any application and fuel source up to 99.6%.
Let's call on our non-profit and Philanthropic organization to step up to the plate to clean our local air pollution problems.
Please visit http://www.unitedemissions.com/More_9MCB.html
Timothy R Karnes
President
United Emissions Solutions Inc.
Air quality should be the number one concern for all North Carolinians and it's a problem that can be solved.
There are proven technologies used in other countries that would be a start for combating harmful diesel pollution and particulate matter WHERE WE LIVE.
Problem:
A typical standby diesel generator produces 25-30 pounds of nitrogen oxides (NOx) per megawatt hour of power generated. That’s 50 to 60 times the NOx pollution produced per megawatt hour by the typical mix of California gas-fired power plants.
California Air Resources Board estimates that operation of an uncontrolled one-megawatt diesel engine for only 250 hours per year would result in a 50 percent increase in cancer risk to residents within one city block.
Diesel soot, or diesel particulate, is the number one airborne carcinogen in North Carolina, and represents the state’s most significant toxic air pollution problem.
The National Air Toxics Assessment estimates the cancer risk from exposure to diesel emissions is ten times higher than the combined cancer risk from all other hazardous air pollutants. Diesel emissions also contribute to atmospheric haze, smog, acid rain and global climate change.
Although a necessity when the power grid fails to deliver, industrial diesel generators create an unhealthy situation,
particularly when operated by hospitals/universities/schools.
Heavy diesel equipment (bull dozers, earth movers) manufactured in 2007 can release 15 to 30 times more particulate matter and about 15 times more nitrogen oxides compared to a new highway diesel truck or bus.
Based on the US EPA findings; currently all but 5 counties deemed in violation, (“non-attainment”) of the 8 hour ozone air quality standards in North Carolina.
Where:
•Municipalities Police/fire stations, court houses, telecommunication centers and many other municipal building rely on standby diesel generators.
•Hospitals
•Colleges and Universities
•Community colleges
•Data centers
Solution:
A GESi® is a retrofit device that can achieve up to 99% reduction of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in a wide variety of combustion engines. It reduces emissions from any engine and fuel source: gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, methane and bio-diesel.
Located in Winston-Salem, NC, United Emissions Solutions Inc. represents Global Emissions Systems,Inc. (GESi®) based in Ontario, Canada.
Let's call on our non-profits and Philanthropic organizations to step up to the plate and start solving our local air quality issues.
More information can be found here: http://www.unitedemissions.com/More_9MCB.html
Timothy R. Karnes
President
United Emissions Solutions Inc
Air pollution is a primary health concern, especially for folks with respiratory issues as well as folks who do not have air conditioning. Outlaw open burning. Outlaw folks burning illegal materials. Provide criminal enforcement for both, not just civil penalties. This should apply to cities and the county.
Water quality is another equally important health concern. By providing stormwater management and protecting riparian buffers along our streams, we can improve our air and water quality as well as improve our community aesthetics and health.
http://stormh2o.com/march-april-2009/urban-retrofit-space.aspx
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