Celebrate Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, which was first observed 44 years ago on the same date in 1970. There's no question we've become better stewards of our planet over the last four decades. Earth Day founder Senator Gaylord Nelson passed away in July of 2005 at the age of 89. He believed strongly that education is the key to changing people’s attitudes about the environment, and he devoted much of his time and energy to that challenge.

“The idea of Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962,” he wrote before his death. “For several years it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November of 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political ‘limelight’ once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue. It was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.”

According to Senator Nelson, the first Earth Day “worked” because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. Though he felt he and his committee had neither the time nor resources to organize the 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated, “it organized itself.”

So, how have things changed in the last 44 years? Certainly, we’ve become more aware of the need to take better care of our planet. Many imporant laws were passed in the wake of the first Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, and laws to protect water, wild lands, and the ocean. The Environmental Protection Agency was created within three years of the first Earth Day.

Personally, I’ve seen a dramatic change over the last 44 years. What I clearly remember as a child is taking a weekly pilgrimage with my Dad every Saturday afternoon to the town dump. Dad loaded the family car with all kinds of debris and junk from the basement, and we followed the dirt path, greeted the seagulls, and dumped everything at the landfill. The garbage was simply buried. Today, our garbage is turned into electricity or, in some cases, steam.

Garbage isn’t something most of us want to think about, but managing nearly 230 tons we generate each year has consequences. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of garbage Americans generate has increased from 88 million tons to over 229 million tons since 1960. Forty-seven years ago, Americans produced about 2.7 pounds of garbage each day. By 2001, though, that amount jumped to 4.4 pounds a person each day.

I’m impressed at what has been done locally to address the issue of waste reduction. The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority’s Bridgeport Project consists of a 2,250 ton-per-day mass-burn trash-to-energy facility, eight transfer stations, two landfills, a regional recycling center, and the Children’s Garbage Museum. The Bridgeport Project provides solid waste disposal and recycling services to 20 Connecticut communities in Fairfield and New Haven counties.

The Bridgeport Project trash-to-energy plant, which is located at 6 Howard Avenue in Bridgeport is truly an impressive facility. Take your family there, and I’m sure all of you will be amazed at what you see. It’s the perfect example of how “one man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure.” I’ve visited the plant several times, and each time I come away with a better understanding of how we manage our trash.

The solid waste is burned in a controlled environment to create electricity. Through this process, the volume of solid waste is reduced by about 90%. Waste-to-energy plants nationwide generate enough electricity to power nearly 2.3 million homes. Energy created in the Bridgeport facility has about the same environmental impact as energy produced from natural gas, and less impact than from oil or coal plants.

Recycling? We never bothered to recycle anything over a generation ago. Everything was considered “trash” back then. Now, we carefully sort our recyclables each week and place them in the blue bins. Recycled items include paper, aluminum, steel, plastics, glass, scrap tips, cell phones, and electronics. Americans recycled and composted nearly 30% of municipal solid waste in 2001, diverting 68 million tons to recovery.

Did you know, for example, that 71% of all newspapers are recovered for recycling? Over a third goes back into making more newsprint. The remainder is used to make paperboard, tissue, and insulation. Seventy-four percent of boxes are recycled, and nearly 46% of office papers are recovered for recycling. These become raw material for printing and writing paper.

So, yes, we’ve come a long way since the first Earth Day was “celebrated” on April 22, 1970. Much has been done since then, but there’s still a long way to go. Gaylord Nelson said education was the key to changing people’s attitudes about the environment, and the more aware we become about our planet, the better we'll be able to take care of it.

Paul

Fishing Season Opens Tomorrow

Opening Day of the new fishing season is Saturday, and it looks like our weather will cooperate. Skies will be mostly sunny with daytime high temperatures in the upper 50s to close to 60 degrees, which is just about normal for this time of the year. Easter Sunday will be beautiful under sunny skies and a high temperature in the upper 50s.

Anglers young and old alike are looking forward to tomorrow. Fishing is great family fun and a healthy outdoor activity enjoyed by everyone. The Department of Environmental Protection stocks many lakes and streams with a wide variety of fish species throughout the year. Some of the other programs developed by DEP to enhance fishing opportunities include fishing education for children and families and the creation of special fishing areas such as trout parks.

One of my neighbors told me that there's nothing quite like getting up in the middle of the night and heading to the nearest river or stream on Opening Day. He always looks forward to the first day of fishing season. He told me that he packs his breakfast and lunch and leaves the house well before sunrise. He admitted that he enjoys the peace and quiet of being out on the water so early in the morning. I'm sure his sentiments are shared by many others, too.

Connecticut is fortunate to have over 180 public lakes and ponds and thousands of miles of rivers and streams teeming with a variety of gamefish and panfish. Anglers from all over the country come to Connecticut to fish for prized trout in the Farmington and Housatonic Rivers. Eleven water bodies in Connecticut have been designated as Trout Parks. Trout Parks are located in easily accessible areas to enhance trout fishing opportunities for everyone.

The DEP Web site adds that anglers should consult their 2014 Angler’s Guide for the current fishing regulations that apply to the waters in which they plan to fish. Trout Parks and the many waters designated as Trout Management Areas, Trophy Trout Streams, Sea-Run Trout Streams, and Wild Trout Management Areas each have special regulations.

The 2014 Angler’s Guide is available at all Town Clerks Offices and at tackle stores selling fishing licenses. Anglers can now purchase their fishing licenses online, too. Both the Angler's Guide and the online licensing system can be accessed on the DEP web site at: www.ct.gov/dep/fishing. Good luck to all the anglers this Saturday.

Paul

Total Lunar Elcipse Happens the Morning of April 15

The following article is taken from Astronomy Magazine.

We’ll experience the first total lunar eclipse in 28 months the morning of Tuesday, April 15. Observers throughout North and South America will have the prime views of this eclipse. Those in the western Pacific will miss the first half of the eclipse because it occurs before the Moon rises. Likewise, most of Europe and Africa will experience moonset just as the eclipse begins.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon line up. During such times, the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow, and where it passes determines the type of eclipse we’ll see. Our planet’s shadow has two parts: a darker inner section called the umbra and a lighter outer region called the penumbra. When the Moon passes through only the penumbra, we experience a penumbral eclipse. When only some of it passes through the umbra, we see a partial eclipse. Sometimes, however, all of the Moon passes through the umbra, creating a total lunar eclipse. That’s what’s happening on the 15th.

The event starts at 12:54 a.m. EDT as the Moon enters the penumbra of Earth’s shadow. Most observers won’t even notice any change in our satellite’s appearance for at least a half-hour after this time. Things begin to heat up at 1:58 a.m. EDT. That’s when the Moon first hits Earth’s umbral shadow and the partial phase begins.

For more than an hour you’ll see the dark part grow until totality begins at 3:07 a.m. EDT. Totality lasts 78 minutes, until 4:25 a.m. EDT. The partial phase is over at 5:33 a.m. EDT, and the penumbral phase —and this eclipse — ends at 6:38 a.m. EDT.

The Moon’s appearance during totality can vary greatly from one eclipse to the next. The path the Moon takes through Earth’s umbra — and how centered it is — has an effect. But so does our atmosphere. It can darken the shadow because it contains water droplets and solid particles like dust and ash, which reduce the air’s clarity. Lots of clouds along the edge of our planet also can cut down the light.

But in addition to appearing dark, the Moon takes on a particular color during totality. This occurs because our air bends some of the Sun’s rays into the shadow. It also scatters the shorter (bluer) wavelengths out of that light, reddening it and darkening the Moon’s face.

Next Tuesday morning, the Moon’s northern edge passes a tiny bit south of the shadow’s center. In contrast, its southern edge lies a lot farther from that point. As a result, the Moon’s northern half will look much darker than its southern half because it lies deeper in the umbra.

During totality, the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere’s spring surround the Moon. Mars will dazzle 9.4° northwest of the Moon. On eclipse morning, the Red Planet lies relatively close to Earth and shines at magnitude –1.4, as brightly as it will until 2016. It’s also as large as it will be until then, so if you have a telescope set up for the eclipse, you’ll have plenty of time to steal a glance at Mars, even during totality.

Astronomy Senior Editor and veteran eclipse watcher Richard Talcott notes how safe this event is to watch. “A lunar eclipse poses no danger whatsoever to your eyes,” he says. “All you’re looking at is the Moon passing through a big shadow. Not only do you not need any filters, but you also can feel free to magnify the sight by using binoculars or a telescope.”

Paul

West School's Fourth-Graders Shine as Weekly Weatherkids

The fourth-graders at West School in New Canaan are this week's Weatherkids stars. We went outside to enjoy the brilliant sunshine and mild temperatures. It's one of my favorite annual visits. That's Justin, one of my weather trivia winners, giving the weather forecast on News 12 Connecticut!

West School's Fourth-Grade Weatherkids by PaulWXman

Paul

West School's Fourth-Graders Enjoy Weatherkids Sun & Fun

I made my annual trip to West School in New Canaan yesterday. I've been visiting the entire fourth-grade class for the last several years. What makes this visit special is that it's held outside near the school's garden, greenhouse, and weathercenter. We had a lot of fun.

Paul

April Snowstorm 18 Years Ago This Evening Capped Snowiest Winter on Record

Seasonal snowfall records were smashed across much of New England when heavy, wet snow buried Northern New England and delivered nearly a foot of snow (11.3″) to Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford from the evening of April 9 through the morning of April 10, 1996. It was a fitting end to the Winter that just didn’t seem to want to end. In fact, the first snowfall of the season happened the previous November.

When the last flake had fallen, 75.8″ of snow had fallen in southwestern Connecticut that Winter, breaking the previous mark of 71.3″ established over 60 years earlier in 1933-34. Hartford finished the 1995-96 Winter with a record 114.6 inches, which eclipsed the previous mark of 84.9 inches only two years earlier. Here’s a look at snowfall records which were established in the Northeast during the 1995-96 season (click to enlarge):

What I most remember about that snowstorm was a telephone call I received from my brother and sister-in-law, who were living in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, at the time. That little town at the base of Mount Monadnock made national headlines when the second major snowstorm in three days produced nearly two feet (21 inches) of snow. My brother and sister-in-law were convinced that they were snowbound for awhile.

We also laughed about how much we were looking forward to seeing the first-ever baseball game at the brand new New Britain Stadium just two days later. The Eastern League’s Rock Cats were unveiling their state-of-the-art ballpark against the rival New Haven Ravens, and we were convinced the game wasn’t going to happen. We had purchased tickets well in advance. However, the game did go on as scheduled, and we enjoyed the festivities, despite temperatures in the lower 30s and snow in the parking lot!

Consider that the normal average snowfall for southwestern Connecticut for the month of April is only 0.9″ based on 40 years of record-keeping, and the normal average Winter snowfall is about 26.3 inches. Comparatively speaking, this past Winter produced nearly four-and-a-half feet of now. It doesn't look like any snow is in our forecast. In fact, today will be mostly sunny, breezy, and pleasant with a high of 58 degrees.

Paul