tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28167131694003036922024-03-05T04:10:27.558-08:00Gina & MeA Regular One-Sided Conversation Between a Resident of the Upper Hudson and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthyDan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-59293954942777425172016-07-27T07:08:00.000-07:002016-07-27T07:08:03.995-07:00Progress Along the Hudson<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am guessing recent news coverage does <i style="font-weight: bold;">not </i>fall into the "I don't care what they say as long as they spell my name right" adage category. We can agree that the growing interest in clean water is a very good thing. As we would agree that it is really too bad that awareness is sparked by crises rather than careful planning and good public health policy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, to our not-so-little piece of these matters, there <i style="font-weight: bold;">is </i>good news to share and celebrate!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We inherited what we have. We have excellent values and lofty goals. These we temper with realism, acknowledgement of our constraints. We celebrate progress and press ahead.</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Progress Along the Hudson!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recalling last week's message, where I told you about our plans to host members of the EPA/GE Community Action Group at our farm prior to the quarterly CAG meeting in nearby Schuylerville, well the event was a hit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our only frustration was that the invite only went out to "CAG representatives" and did not include "CAG liaisons," so reps from EPA, GE, NOAA, DEC were excluded. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had a great time which would have been richer and more fun if some from the Committee of the Whole had attended. Will <i style="font-weight: bold;">definitely </i>do that next go-round.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PURELY LOCAL: Lunch courtesy of 9 Miles East farm and JUST Water</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Beth and I loved welcoming a houseful of diverse pro-good-Earth advocates. Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Cleaner Hudson, Clearwater, the Sierra Club, Saratoga PLAN, the Hudson River Fisherman's Association, the Consensus Building Institute, a spouse, <i style="font-weight: bold;">a six-month-old</i>, riverside community reps, and our local NYS Assemblywoman gathered for almost 90 minutes to enjoy local farm-to-table food and "pre-Hudson" spring water.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JUST and 9 Miles East, two local operations positively disrupting for health and community</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Folks spread out around the house and spilled out into the yard where we arranged umbrella tables.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The chat was wide-ranging. A legal intern had the opportunity to speak with Carrie Woerner (our Assembly rep). Gil from the Fisherman's Association debated higher education withe Dave (from Citizens Along the River's Edge and Sport Boating association) and me. A cross-section also debated the future of the Superfund Program given the state of politics and economy. It was like a mix of summer light lunch and a college seminar.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mixing Business with Pleasure</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We gathered in our "great room" for a wrap-up. As I was getting ready to thank everyone, I saw Gil -- a pure photo-op Santa lookalike -- reach out and tickle the bare foot of baby Lillian and say "we want to make this river clean for you and your children!" Everyone laughed -- <i style="font-weight: bold;">everyone agreed </i>-- and that really summed it up. Before Carrie reaffirmed her intent to continue to help shepherd good policy through the Assembly, I did take a moment to say the obvious, that we don't corner the market on good values but what this group does particularly well is make advocacy and education the highest priority...because many don't have time or knowledge to be as effective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I said at the top of the message Gina, it is advocacy and education that will prevent PFOA and PCB issues from getting to the crisis point going forward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have lots of clean-up and remediation to do now, but prevention is so much less-costly...in terms of dollars and health.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After the group decamped to Schuylerville Town Hall we had a very good CAG meeting. Particular highlights were an impressive presentation by your Marc Greenberg on "fish as a litmus test," showing slow-but-sure progress. Then Mike Cheplowitz, also from your team, introduced planning for floodplain and "sideline" remediation, which I look forward to helping with. Eric and Patrick from the Consensus group did their usual great job assuring that tricky combo of "air time" and agenda flow worked in time allotted.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At "CAG": pressing for a cleaner Hudson, from Lake Tear to the Atlantic!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We inherited what we have. We have excellent values and lofty goals. These we temper with realism, acknowledgement of our constraints. We celebrate progress and press ahead. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">What else can we do, <b>for Lillian's sake?</b></span></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating a Cleaner Hudson: Keep Up the Good Work!</td></tr>
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<i><b><br /></b></i>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-55151561617750237522016-07-13T06:52:00.000-07:002016-07-13T10:26:59.057-07:00One Thing We All STILL Agree on....<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And it <i style="font-weight: bold;">is </i>a grand and glorious morning along the Upper Hudson!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As you may know I've become involved in your Community Action Group, as a self-appointed back bencher. Attending these meetings is a fascinating educational experience that goes far beyond the nuts-and-bolts of the Hudson River PCB effort</span>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Science, politics, psychology, economics, law, rhetoric, theater, emotion, ambition... truly a proseminar of the interdisciplinary. As the <a href="http://www.hudsoncag.ene.com/" target="_blank">CAG website states</a> its purpose is to:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Promote broad, balanced representation of communities and stakeholders along the entire site, in this case the Hudson River;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Encourage more routine and consistent communications and coordination between EPA and the community;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Solicit ongoing recommendations about ways to enhance community involvement;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Provide an avenue for the community to voice its needs and concerns;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Provide for a consistent source of dialogue for EPA to gauge interests and needs.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Were I asked to grade the CAG on these terms, I would give it a <b>solid A.</b><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, if the governing body of the EU functioned as well -- especially at facilitating understanding and appreciation (if not agreement on process) -- as this CAG, there would have been no "Brexit." Promoting education while acknowledging varying points-of-view -- <a href="http://www.hudsoncag.ene.com/members.htm" target="_blank">from GE, to local residents, to environmental organizations that touch on tourism, health, economy, and quality of life</a> -- "the machine works." Props, as they say, the Consensus Building Institute and EPA's own Gary Klawinski, a master of organization, content, processing, and presentation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">At this point you are probably wondering "where are the photos? where is the nature angle?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you: here is the obligatory Nature Shot, taken from the house out to the edge of the bog and woods a couple days ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A doe and her fawn appear to be in residence in the scrub-woods between our pastures. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Man </i>our big rescue dog Bosco takes off like a NASCAR when they come out for a nibble of clover!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am sharing this because, as I learned in an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxYWCm3-OMQ" target="_blank">excellent short video</a>, there is strong hard scientific evidence strongly suggesting a strong link between health and proximity to a PCB-laden Hudson. So even if these deer stay away from the river, they are in more danger than their relatives in Saratoga Springs, say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to CAG.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The group is meeting next week in nearby Schuylerville, about five miles south of our farm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Beth is the one who introduced me to CAG (through a reference in the newspaper) and she shares my interest in "all things Hudson." Additionally she's a great cook and fabulous hostess. So we hatched the idea of a pre- or post-CAG meeting "social" at the farm, a light time-out along the river.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Somewhat characteristically, I got a bit ahead of myself and envisioned a lawn party with this incredibly diverse group -- the GE rep playing bocce with local fishermen, Riverkeeper taking Gary for a canoe ride where the clam-shell dredging occurred -- I even toyed with inviting you and Jeff Immelt (we crossed paths a lifetime ago in grad school). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok, ok. A bit over-the-top. But a good idea at its core.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just because we are doing something serious does <i style="font-weight: bold;">not </i>mean that we have to <i style="font-weight: bold;">be deadly serious </i>all the time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I shared our invitation with Larisa Romanski, of your Community Relations group, and she passed it to the CAG Steering Committee who graciously accepted and played the "e-vite" role, to which we received a nice, if smallish, response. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So we have reached out to two local visionary operations: <a href="http://www.justwater.com/" target="_blank">JUST Water</a> (upriver in Glens Falls) and <a href="http://www.9mileseast.com/our-mission/" target="_blank">9 Miles East Farm</a> right near us. These folks "do core mission" <i style="font-weight: bold;">and </i>so much more. Every <i style="font-weight: bold;">one </i>tactic accomplishes <i style="font-weight: bold;">multiple goals</i>. They are marvels of quality product, market sensitivity, environmental stewardship, and they really, really "get" communication engagement! They see and do win-win, and are rewarded for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So we are looking forward to welcoming a nice sub-set of CAGers over to share some good food and drink while getting to know each other a little bit better. Win-win, a theme we embrace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why does CAG work so well? Clear structure and protocols, excellent leadership, and committed membership, But that's not all. Not by a long shot. For all of the group's <i style="font-weight: bold;">disagreements</i> there are core commitments that trump differences in angle-of-approach: <b><i>everyone wants a cleaner, better environment.</i></b></span></div>
<div>
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With shared purpose, open and respectful communication, a plan, execution, review, adjustment... repeat, we see progress. Perfection? No. Progress? Yes.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">We must hang in and work together. That's something else we can all agree on.</span></div>
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Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-17381440271007966852016-07-08T06:21:00.000-07:002016-07-08T06:21:55.238-07:00Belief in the Power of Best Intentions Through Environmental Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have a mixed bag for you this
morning, starting with that mouthful of a title.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Honestly, some days it is hard for
me to find fresh ways to present urgent messages in hearable, human ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I believe in your values and can
imagine the competing -- conflicting -- pressures that are part of your daily
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I believe that you show up for work
to do the best job anyone can of navigating through those pressures toward the
betterment of our environment. Too many people who I respect testify to
your commitment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So my self-appointed role is to be
one of those little "pings" attempting to assist your navigation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Let's start with business and
wrap up with a great feel-good sketch?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Albany<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Times Union<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>is running a special series
entitled "Toxic Risks." It is very thorough and educational.
A link is <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/About-the-series-8334490.php" target="_blank">right here.</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Via0kwa-pKgCgGJ6tZR9K4mBlcJ_K8G3eg23AjK83ofsqMxIuQ31ebKe1_hWJSIf9jLj8OKyAJzg_-SIp8ZUFtD01q5SG-g4D7th_lcbSG5mtYHSAUzrgisOkFvAglFGwBk7-2z6G_Kd/s1600/tu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Via0kwa-pKgCgGJ6tZR9K4mBlcJ_K8G3eg23AjK83ofsqMxIuQ31ebKe1_hWJSIf9jLj8OKyAJzg_-SIp8ZUFtD01q5SG-g4D7th_lcbSG5mtYHSAUzrgisOkFvAglFGwBk7-2z6G_Kd/s640/tu.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The reporting focuses on these case
studies, and uses them as a lens into the effectiveness of various governmental
agency and legislative efforts to protect the environment:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Taxpayers spend millions to clean
up and monitor polluted land and water, but hundreds of sites statewide remain
contaminated. Thousands more await evaluation.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• The Superfund program is on
"life support." More than 80,000 chemicals used in commerce have
little or no studies on human health.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Residents of a tiny Hudson Valley
hamlet have lost hope about remedies for their toxic water as officials shift
resources to Hoosick Falls.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• GE's Schenectady plant is still
contaminated... 29 years after it was declared a Superfund site<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Gloversville tanneries leave
questions about health issues from noxious fumes.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Cancer worries concern some who
grew up near "The Varnish Works" in Schenectady.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• A homeowner in Valley Falls
bought his house in 1978 with little thought what a commercial laundry left
behind.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Al Tech, riddled with PCBs and
heavy-metal contamination in Colonie, is about a mile from million-dollar homes.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• High levels of lead from old
wrecking company pollute area near Albany's Westland Hills Park.<o:p></o:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Glenville residents fight for
clean water 10 years after spill was discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It offers a depressing record of
good intentions gone awry as well as the absence of good intent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The series<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i style="font-weight: bold;">could<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>lead one to a sense of defeat
or cynicism, which would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There was a good quote from
columnist Michael Gerson<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-triumph-of-cynicism/2016/07/07/232b5028-446c-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html" target="_blank">yesterday</a>: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Cynicism is more dangerous to democracy than outrage. Cynicism
pretends to a kind of sophisticated, insider knowledge of institutional
corruption." <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">We must
coach ourselves to believe in the power of our best instincts and intentions --
and the good work and progress such as we've seen in the Hudson PCB project is
good -- but we need more. We the people need more to counter any sense of
institutional corruption, as well as for our health, and the health of our ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">May I say "your at-bat Gina,
smack one outta the park for us!"?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Drum-roll: the feel-good.<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday was a vile, stinking hot
and humid day. Beth promised to take us (me and the dogs) down to the
river to cool off).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneoGnljxGnyjwhoOD-diSD7rI0oJSxhYt15yoJnqeGYI6deSy-g_SN3344Wb06GlYsDhoOiOKNi4aSxcypKNJIa39_UwxFZMIu3_aS04-noAFlI362rN48jQczKDsroltBT4BsoI_mTgS/s1600/bosc+jump.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneoGnljxGnyjwhoOD-diSD7rI0oJSxhYt15yoJnqeGYI6deSy-g_SN3344Wb06GlYsDhoOiOKNi4aSxcypKNJIa39_UwxFZMIu3_aS04-noAFlI362rN48jQczKDsroltBT4BsoI_mTgS/s640/bosc+jump.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">1, 2, 3: Rescue Dog Makes It!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">You may remember my Monday message about the beaver swimming over
to our deck? Well, it began to look like a replay....</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy51alM6rNP9M2cjkxy8uwfuFo7FDJOQ5Dc1Xhh_M0tvCvqUqKbWkbxnniRjGafl8Ih8LKAd9Y7x-OBvcZjBU291CAljfmIvC3SzcoZ-9eAVe8z_FvXOd4SzrGbBZ7pbtjNYdLyO_rEwPu/s1600/sam+swims.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy51alM6rNP9M2cjkxy8uwfuFo7FDJOQ5Dc1Xhh_M0tvCvqUqKbWkbxnniRjGafl8Ih8LKAd9Y7x-OBvcZjBU291CAljfmIvC3SzcoZ-9eAVe8z_FvXOd4SzrGbBZ7pbtjNYdLyO_rEwPu/s640/sam+swims.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.6667px;">Sammy Swims: NOT a Beaver!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrF8f5UPWJbRUYIU0G_XB8wpi3KsxcAyBG2mPXIifraAOYLJfZ89Rvyr3ZiL28nmiso7cW7BPCK2Pp-WR6Uyky_wC5vEVRqgghSwgWVT2oiwWVyrXYzVnwMHhJlg_xPWT-w42mkA-_EqUF/s1600/beth+and+bosco.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrF8f5UPWJbRUYIU0G_XB8wpi3KsxcAyBG2mPXIifraAOYLJfZ89Rvyr3ZiL28nmiso7cW7BPCK2Pp-WR6Uyky_wC5vEVRqgghSwgWVT2oiwWVyrXYzVnwMHhJlg_xPWT-w42mkA-_EqUF/s640/beth+and+bosco.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.6667px;">Beth and Bosco: Ready for the Weekend!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Hope you have a good weekend too!</span></div>
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Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-37237246304428230312016-07-07T06:12:00.001-07:002016-07-07T06:12:54.788-07:00Pretty or Clean, Why Have to Choose?<span style="font-size: large;">Hi Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We need a weather break here. With a light snow winter, the relative lack of rain is keeping things at foot-level crispy. And the humidity is wrapping me in a cloak of torpor. Sitting atop more than our share of potable water, we are very lucky but, still, we need the rain!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">While out on my morning bike rides I have been watching teams working along the banks of the Upper Hudson, grooming and planting in the marshy shore areas:</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhMiQnDx_psG22Yz8boPA7-zW3J-g0USHUykpTVCL1ZR1dPhXd29_BISnrulFzwmeMiU3uyc1F1E7HOPBnkKV91Cy41OHG5HaN-G0fDZdMziGVUP7FDJwBIXh30LnpHzbv7ilLiqA6VjX/s1600/riverside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhMiQnDx_psG22Yz8boPA7-zW3J-g0USHUykpTVCL1ZR1dPhXd29_BISnrulFzwmeMiU3uyc1F1E7HOPBnkKV91Cy41OHG5HaN-G0fDZdMziGVUP7FDJwBIXh30LnpHzbv7ilLiqA6VjX/s320/riverside.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYZdU0TsxFEKN4qm6Ggwtv5438tlqQqvFhcbydIjEM1kvSDFHucchUu-uB1hg7gOHgRohGOH864j0mRmDIjd2VkFRURXZMUfHejKiCRzimJmfqm0y0rl2WIniSTcyKP9wvwe4dDcB1QRw/s1600/wetland.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYZdU0TsxFEKN4qm6Ggwtv5438tlqQqvFhcbydIjEM1kvSDFHucchUu-uB1hg7gOHgRohGOH864j0mRmDIjd2VkFRURXZMUfHejKiCRzimJmfqm0y0rl2WIniSTcyKP9wvwe4dDcB1QRw/s320/wetland.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I <i style="font-weight: bold;">did </i>send you a snapshot of a similar scene in my "Leave It to Beaver the Riverkeeper" message but it may have been lost in my accolades for their instinctive keep-rivers-clean-and-healthy lifestyle.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It makes sense, they <i style="font-weight: bold;">live</i> in the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Wait. <i style="font-weight: bold;">We need clean water to live.</i> Why don't <i style="font-weight: bold;">we </i>care for our life-source as well?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just today it was reported that our New York State law-makers are beyond planning not to think about whether to discuss public-health issues and have advanced the clean water cause to the top of a future agenda, reversing themselves for some reason.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bLFqrR870wtnPVHi_sXJN0eLGdwuIbcDmZPsBv-Y7s2lO43629-V85tCVW_MRNGJhNxwo929wb11uVtUC8qU-gGgjEb4F1JC4wxYA_HlbTV3ZfSwasgvevf2oZU2pgl0Q7NL_goA7Myp/s1600/water.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bLFqrR870wtnPVHi_sXJN0eLGdwuIbcDmZPsBv-Y7s2lO43629-V85tCVW_MRNGJhNxwo929wb11uVtUC8qU-gGgjEb4F1JC4wxYA_HlbTV3ZfSwasgvevf2oZU2pgl0Q7NL_goA7Myp/s640/water.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>What's the rush?</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok, politicians have all sorts of conflicting constituencies to juggle. But the EPA has the charge and the authority to take strong pro-environment steps.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We have seen politicians stall. And we have seen the EPA act.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If the Hudson merits shoreline grooming, it surely merits a better and more complete job of chemical clean-up.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The work began because it is important and the job should move farther forward for exactly the same reason.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We have read your thoughts on the importance of clean water, Gina. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Please </i>help the PCB removal project <i style="font-weight: bold;">then </i>we can re-plant greenery along America's Most Beautiful Superfund Site.</span>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-30583098165588079782016-07-05T06:04:00.003-07:002016-07-05T09:17:21.679-07:00A Smart, Naughty "Riverkeeper"<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A happy "morning after" a glorious Fourth: just when I think we have seen it all, Beth and I discover even more in the region. Upstate at its best!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We were reading the Sunday paper by the river and <i style="font-weight: bold;">this </i>picture is worth a thousand words:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWFVSx94CZTguAImW6NzE9hlfx-QzLrrJcPRETyX3QqbLbHZlDCf-UUChIFVIQYkTZPxsKVzgTc6LV_rZ4vIBLS60jE9GE6FgqB0QFd9lK128DfHueZ6AxIAV8qA9AyVsuBGjZtGC5etm/s1600/beav+rvr.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWFVSx94CZTguAImW6NzE9hlfx-QzLrrJcPRETyX3QqbLbHZlDCf-UUChIFVIQYkTZPxsKVzgTc6LV_rZ4vIBLS60jE9GE6FgqB0QFd9lK128DfHueZ6AxIAV8qA9AyVsuBGjZtGC5etm/s400/beav+rvr.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The calm sparkle was beautiful. I put the paper down and was just staring out toward Thompson Island (little spit of land with the trees in the center-left of the photo).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At first I couldn't tell if it was a breeze or maybe a small bird in the distance, but there seemed to be something out on the water. I went in for more coffee and brought the binoculars out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnGsyZUtbrbe0ROb60NAQSjqAqQzmXfF13qRS2gVBtuPDiCiz07n3COwLV4nIyvVtsm5NFDXyv7l_95UxRJF4BFmlJQgm78P5cnW-41QuvkqH-cMWx51xlwvTpXWdRjVqHqiEsnDIt6am/s1600/beav+far.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnGsyZUtbrbe0ROb60NAQSjqAqQzmXfF13qRS2gVBtuPDiCiz07n3COwLV4nIyvVtsm5NFDXyv7l_95UxRJF4BFmlJQgm78P5cnW-41QuvkqH-cMWx51xlwvTpXWdRjVqHqiEsnDIt6am/s320/beav+far.JPG" width="315" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A little hard to tell but not likely a bird. It was swimming toward us though.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxZWtRAz8K_sMI9wDcn2sLkVVzdtWej0YOs4P21H7RlACDjiW0ba-7qyD5dg6YgWVjx60TgE7gt3df0q9SaQCDp7jvL0ZUUgoN6a_Twd8XPw8noScp3h1g3VeVtxrqndkMzszqopB0-WR/s1600/beav.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxZWtRAz8K_sMI9wDcn2sLkVVzdtWej0YOs4P21H7RlACDjiW0ba-7qyD5dg6YgWVjx60TgE7gt3df0q9SaQCDp7jvL0ZUUgoN6a_Twd8XPw8noScp3h1g3VeVtxrqndkMzszqopB0-WR/s320/beav.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Beth had the binoculars and said "I think that is a beaver, look can you see a flat tail?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We do have beavers along River Section Two. I've seen comically-perfect chewed tree stumps and beaver dams in some of the back water sections off the Hudson, like below, upriver from our house.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXrlApsrvK22-eirxTKd-i7vEliaq8vXyn0z_BWdZ8FE5bJqW26X98RRS_laebFiGbi_pP3NaRHwOJFXNnmeFKkiXzJXVRogvamOv6yjYU2BJzCBiW7xtTUJ5mplE7mesTKPdtfE92KP9/s1600/ge+hr.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXrlApsrvK22-eirxTKd-i7vEliaq8vXyn0z_BWdZ8FE5bJqW26X98RRS_laebFiGbi_pP3NaRHwOJFXNnmeFKkiXzJXVRogvamOv6yjYU2BJzCBiW7xtTUJ5mplE7mesTKPdtfE92KP9/s320/ge+hr.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The orange vests say "GE HR," human resources or Hudson River?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The day was waiting and soon we were off. The next morning we were on the front porch, facing the river, having our morning routine and Eagle Eye Beth saw something in the tall grass by the river deck</span>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ56gpkbhwDDOc7IBOsRaYoO67r6ka-zVa25chW2JpOCVCeN9u-x_WeByPYIknOtkTkBGnOi3-4n6vLduy2GkBGcW7x3nsPHB9mzN-Qc9sae3BncgREEd-1jaaQ229BxLHU76ThKltzJJr/s1600/beav+peekaboo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ56gpkbhwDDOc7IBOsRaYoO67r6ka-zVa25chW2JpOCVCeN9u-x_WeByPYIknOtkTkBGnOi3-4n6vLduy2GkBGcW7x3nsPHB9mzN-Qc9sae3BncgREEd-1jaaQ229BxLHU76ThKltzJJr/s400/beav+peekaboo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Peek-a-boo": Cleaver the Beaver comes for a visit.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With her encouragement -- "it doesn't seem afraid" -- I went and got a camera and took this picture. It was very cool to imagine a beaver swimming across the river and coming up our hill (we are probably about 20 feet above the actual river)!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">To be sure what we had, Beth was "internetting" beaver info. A lot of surprising and nice info popped up. <a href="http://www.beaversww.org/beavers-and-wetlands/about-beavers/" target="_blank">click here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Beavers are more than intriguing animals with flat tails and lustrous fur. American Indians called the beaver the 'sacred center' of the land because this species creates such rich, watery habitat for other mammals, fish, turtles, frogs, birds and ducks. We now know that beaver damming provides essential natural services for people too.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Beavers prefer to dam streams in shallow valleys, where the flooded area becomes productive wetlands.These cradles of life support biodiversity that rivals tropical rain forests. Almost half of endangered and threatened species in North America rely upon wetlands. Freshwater wetlands have been rated as the world's most valuable land-based ecosystem.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrv0WCvt9NGaS8MeCEZ13zWRKNEKvnSWwJ13ZkxE9h6utlwQVUOtXBkEasa5uYwTjICJw0Qik8WQCmCAAjWqpiBMYjJdb-CFVOVoWlJJKwNd5mQoXzXennGBcfhyfCT6jutqbLyzNn2pBQ/s1600/tiny+beav.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrv0WCvt9NGaS8MeCEZ13zWRKNEKvnSWwJ13ZkxE9h6utlwQVUOtXBkEasa5uYwTjICJw0Qik8WQCmCAAjWqpiBMYjJdb-CFVOVoWlJJKwNd5mQoXzXennGBcfhyfCT6jutqbLyzNn2pBQ/s1600/tiny+beav.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helpful <i style="font-weight: bold;">and </i>naughty!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Beavers reliably and economically maintain wetlands that sponge up floodwaters, alleviate droughts and floods (because their dams keep water on the land longer), lesson erosion, raise the water table and act as the 'earth's kidneys' to purify water. The latter occurs because several feet of silt collect upstream of older beaver dams, and toxics, such as pesticides, are broken down by microbes in the wetlands that beavers create. Thus, water downstream of dams is cleaner and requires less treatment for human use."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Wow! All that <i style="font-weight: bold;">without </i>a graduate degree from Cornell!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And Dr. Donald Griffin, the father of animal cognition, has said, "When we think of the kinds of animal behavior that suggest conscious thinking, the beaver comes naturally to mind."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We even learned that beavers are seen as "gentle, reasoning beings who enjoy playing practical jokes. An [American] Indian word for 'beaver-like' also means "affable.'"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So, as a part of our celebration of the Fourth of July, Beth and I added Beaver Appreciation. Apparently -- on a per-pound basis -- c<em>astor canadensis </em>is doing <b>more than its share to clean up our Hudson River!</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGrTnvfk_yrcgVp50W7xBJuXi6-oi3NH6nji66TA77vWHX0pO4pFyUitjM_dS-HJBwruXpbgFJx9T_Qbc0_ZEMz2DhJ5Nud1zsNKCl3bdGdNwL4-iCmqK_1mop-9x9-XDSZZIDi3EPZ-q/s1600/4th+house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGrTnvfk_yrcgVp50W7xBJuXi6-oi3NH6nji66TA77vWHX0pO4pFyUitjM_dS-HJBwruXpbgFJx9T_Qbc0_ZEMz2DhJ5Nud1zsNKCl3bdGdNwL4-iCmqK_1mop-9x9-XDSZZIDi3EPZ-q/s640/4th+house.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">America the Beautiful, pretty "great" after all these years.</td></tr>
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<br />Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-33531346574992396222016-06-30T05:44:00.004-07:002016-06-30T05:44:52.515-07:00Walkway Across the Hudson: Flow River, Flow<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday Beth and I drove to the Mid-Hudson region to visit the FDR Library and the Walkway Over the Hudson. A great trip: a fun day together, good exploring, and very educational!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">After spending the afternoon at the FDR Museum we both agreed on the importance of knowing history and understanding context as we shape our judgments and opinions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Walkway experience was a wonderful combination of "adaptive reuse" (of an old railroad bridge, now used for education and recreation), industrial archaeology, and environmental insights.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMHrXJDnq9lUBAMO7FAzpeIbafQ2hw8c0VQe49kxiPP5vo175X8Qqxu7XIPoW4l5fbXJbaOLukQ-q_iSepfRfI_VYKdWveWjHNEdl38SKU1I1hAZ32c87fCrrszsQWbL82EGefGpuKRXv/s1600/walkway.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMHrXJDnq9lUBAMO7FAzpeIbafQ2hw8c0VQe49kxiPP5vo175X8Qqxu7XIPoW4l5fbXJbaOLukQ-q_iSepfRfI_VYKdWveWjHNEdl38SKU1I1hAZ32c87fCrrszsQWbL82EGefGpuKRXv/s320/walkway.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are game!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlIb5jYg5e1Q4E6jurWrX7amVvgCHl72ye8J92iYODAyQGski4jrFhroPpnp5TdJheJm3s1IGtNmzJO1MPvazu8PTmNxs6eIBFUu-iuUD1_Bx_tXZU9xMypcV02KhzwHyq4hfZE4tDsbm/s1600/shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlIb5jYg5e1Q4E6jurWrX7amVvgCHl72ye8J92iYODAyQGski4jrFhroPpnp5TdJheJm3s1IGtNmzJO1MPvazu8PTmNxs6eIBFUu-iuUD1_Bx_tXZU9xMypcV02KhzwHyq4hfZE4tDsbm/s320/shot.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking <b><i>way </i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;">above </i>water!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Walkway is 1.2 miles across the Hudson just north of Poughkeepsie. There are "info-tainment" placards placed at regular intervals along the railing, including celebratory "River Reborn" images:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6kBbgxKvzuKI9BHAn-drW7EcXo6BeCYe8BdlxrDgjfM16LjPU057DowVMNafTtH8DR_bsSXhPcoZjE1OkKVk8jzueYfkIs4m9zfvUgd22fH5UB6GOUtSMOTxtHfWsu2b-MXYizfCYHE4/s1600/reborn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6kBbgxKvzuKI9BHAn-drW7EcXo6BeCYe8BdlxrDgjfM16LjPU057DowVMNafTtH8DR_bsSXhPcoZjE1OkKVk8jzueYfkIs4m9zfvUgd22fH5UB6GOUtSMOTxtHfWsu2b-MXYizfCYHE4/s640/reborn.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do <i style="font-weight: bold;">not </i>eat any of this!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">No one is a bigger booster of River Power than me but, jeeze, <i style="font-weight: bold;">come on,</i> we are far from being able to declare the "river reborn," as these posters state.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, I found these facts <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/hudson/just_facts_08_04.htm" target="_blank">on the EPA website.</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiae_ETVzyV2eD-n9eOEnZB2EtnerhvDHCg02RMXiNzP3igrZNmzsLYvP-s4Vuuki_hAov6zdp5enSR_rdWxO8OxEM0cFb_rG0NVLntkV6N8xyBPsYpqtY2C5PD7J5jUl9EGXT9xO-neft5/s1600/epa+pcb+facts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiae_ETVzyV2eD-n9eOEnZB2EtnerhvDHCg02RMXiNzP3igrZNmzsLYvP-s4Vuuki_hAov6zdp5enSR_rdWxO8OxEM0cFb_rG0NVLntkV6N8xyBPsYpqtY2C5PD7J5jUl9EGXT9xO-neft5/s640/epa+pcb+facts.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We <i style="font-weight: bold;">all agree </i>this is an important clean-up project. The very fact <i style="font-weight: bold;">so much has been done </i>is a testimony to that.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The goal cannot be 100% PCB-free. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That is unrealistic. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But -- if we <i style="font-weight: bold;">know </i>that hundreds of thousands of pounds of PCBs <i style="font-weight: bold;">remain in the Hudson </i>we must know where they <b><i>are </i></b>-- we can and must do better.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Please.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EsZXmxGc24hksaTiZTJS0u2wzKxusMOg6vYBqxught7h4bjA6b9lGKClJHV7Seq8rCkqhaj0f1SyywMjRRSaPVUCpDlh0QvK_H568ZcthApVJgygJdrd2zmXmHd7t2hjBd51kcYkFuz9/s1600/our+hudson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EsZXmxGc24hksaTiZTJS0u2wzKxusMOg6vYBqxught7h4bjA6b9lGKClJHV7Seq8rCkqhaj0f1SyywMjRRSaPVUCpDlh0QvK_H568ZcthApVJgygJdrd2zmXmHd7t2hjBd51kcYkFuz9/s640/our+hudson.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flow River, Flow: our "front yard" in Northumberland last night</td></tr>
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Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-53595243522315672652016-06-29T06:08:00.004-07:002016-06-29T06:08:57.125-07:00Drivers 1, Drinkers 0: Ask a Millennial <span style="font-size: large;">A big news morning, Gina:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAM3i7KxGBBgP_ljOx5WFX-h_s2NpWZdXTxzl33dO2jgAb0lPNstaiq8-frJlwd3rqdn5ViXmwCal8xARnizXU-cd9MeV69kxaql4jNCH714x0aLNCHlnQIEvjajRuCZNCNVt2jzaIyNx/s1600/vw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOAM3i7KxGBBgP_ljOx5WFX-h_s2NpWZdXTxzl33dO2jgAb0lPNstaiq8-frJlwd3rqdn5ViXmwCal8xARnizXU-cd9MeV69kxaql4jNCH714x0aLNCHlnQIEvjajRuCZNCNVt2jzaIyNx/s320/vw.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Why is Sally smiling?</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wow. I guess those clever "riggers" over in Wolfsburg are smarting these days. Doing the right thing sometimes has win-win positives. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What a smart, <i style="font-weight: bold;">good </i>move on the part of Perdue chickens. Betting Millennials will pay a little more for pampered chicken meat, the company is making life (and death) <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/27/483724603/in-quest-for-happier-chickens-perdue-shifts-how-birds-live-and-die" target="_blank">a lot nicer for chicks.</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX57y1bnsLnTwPKlABA0ap9SX1qAx6u-BUqAp751oGqnd6QNr3iZ6ZU4qWEV4qhYpxAChXTb-kWzbRThZCROhzMSBoczB9sVGC3NHAvMBS5uc2XlbqiMYc0Si7HLYGept_daazYdxbpKM/s1600/perdue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX57y1bnsLnTwPKlABA0ap9SX1qAx6u-BUqAp751oGqnd6QNr3iZ6ZU4qWEV4qhYpxAChXTb-kWzbRThZCROhzMSBoczB9sVGC3NHAvMBS5uc2XlbqiMYc0Si7HLYGept_daazYdxbpKM/s320/perdue.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chicken playground?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, flipping mental channels, we can return to Upstate New York:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT8cAp-LkE_MvxDgzly8zBRwT1qjmoN9uJKyMhnsZ8Y7QKefIgTSUtWQZK8QuIdSQ-C1GKI5jN6mAfbXZ1khfgKeT_-NP0GtclieIpqillt4RvPbapL9ffI_BpstU2vW52yqmxWIgntye/s1600/fine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT8cAp-LkE_MvxDgzly8zBRwT1qjmoN9uJKyMhnsZ8Y7QKefIgTSUtWQZK8QuIdSQ-C1GKI5jN6mAfbXZ1khfgKeT_-NP0GtclieIpqillt4RvPbapL9ffI_BpstU2vW52yqmxWIgntye/s320/fine.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"I'll 'buy' GE any day over VW," duh!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAV4H9IwP2pS6iUmyLgYGnaDwuMKhPvBH8Zfs0sTnTUfk-mgqQ-H7CzoqkKyB7uY1IevYkPhifFbjVo8VTmNQCN5x1oXUfeMRCqjQX7fxfEmi1Rmv-XCW-xqCxr39_Cx7b583vgNYBtEu/s1600/filters.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAV4H9IwP2pS6iUmyLgYGnaDwuMKhPvBH8Zfs0sTnTUfk-mgqQ-H7CzoqkKyB7uY1IevYkPhifFbjVo8VTmNQCN5x1oXUfeMRCqjQX7fxfEmi1Rmv-XCW-xqCxr39_Cx7b583vgNYBtEu/s320/filters.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">tick, tock; tick, tock....</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Again and again we are reminded of the PR-politics of restitution and remediation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">VW owners get $5,100 to $10,000 and Hoosick Falls gets...?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgts-Rffq641vEtQ2rIOe0A6SPCAzd2l1kVEtlQvGY3E1PKqS_xAuwiTitlIb2dM9_oz6KBs2Wt3M-9vKDbvcn6lnIiKUOglRwZ8xQ7K_A15mXs6m_57pU_aj5Gptyc-g1v3TLpedSf_8Pf/s1600/cars+kids.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgts-Rffq641vEtQ2rIOe0A6SPCAzd2l1kVEtlQvGY3E1PKqS_xAuwiTitlIb2dM9_oz6KBs2Wt3M-9vKDbvcn6lnIiKUOglRwZ8xQ7K_A15mXs6m_57pU_aj5Gptyc-g1v3TLpedSf_8Pf/s640/cars+kids.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Drivers 1, Drinkers 0</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>...and the Mighty Hudson flows on. Let's "do a Perdue": get the job done right. That's mission-fulfillment, promotes health, and feels good.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just ask a Millennial.</span>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-1807314395107303282016-06-28T06:13:00.002-07:002016-06-28T06:13:56.749-07:00Super Ironies in Superfund Land: “What do you want, good water or good taste?”<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">As you know the Hudson River has the tag "America's Most Beautiful Superfund Site."</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusYvRYu4-qzLEkK7-fUfvxB_xwnYnNGbQgGqggu7zuWtg-C0cudg9_glua_6tkDjbFzdqjdQ8xiY0JepL6jPP8-6Qv1IAb8nV1aF7_3QuFWgL_HNkd0A23m-omeauJ6zNovvQyLKYrakr/s1600/hudson+wilton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusYvRYu4-qzLEkK7-fUfvxB_xwnYnNGbQgGqggu7zuWtg-C0cudg9_glua_6tkDjbFzdqjdQ8xiY0JepL6jPP8-6Qv1IAb8nV1aF7_3QuFWgL_HNkd0A23m-omeauJ6zNovvQyLKYrakr/s400/hudson+wilton.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hudson River: Iconic <i style="font-weight: bold;">and </i>Ironic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Right nearby, to our east, is the village of Hoosick Falls, The PR sibling of Flint, MI. After a protracted period of discovery -- lead by citizens and, apparently, hampered by various governmental entities -- it has been revealed that residents of Hoosick Falls have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorooctanoic_acid" target="_blank">PFOA</a> levels that are "ballpark" <i style="font-weight: bold;">two hundred times higher</i> than EPA safe-recommendations.</span></div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhys1FhgXtR_FS8UMj-QYep5eO_cFlwKDPceUmhVylhXjaA_8P2im3uS4UgETzOm-UBEPnbZGmdw5BeQJxHYHpYFbQKH9eUnrdqr3RxEXXIWRN-4wl3lA_qOLaUD5-OZt3RAuJR2I-xU8I4/s1600/hoosick+water.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhys1FhgXtR_FS8UMj-QYep5eO_cFlwKDPceUmhVylhXjaA_8P2im3uS4UgETzOm-UBEPnbZGmdw5BeQJxHYHpYFbQKH9eUnrdqr3RxEXXIWRN-4wl3lA_qOLaUD5-OZt3RAuJR2I-xU8I4/s320/hoosick+water.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free Hudson Falls' Water!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m reminded of
the old Lucky Strike cigarette ad: “What do you want, good grammar or good
taste?” Well, we’ve learned a lot about the
safety of tobacco products since 1963 but do the residents of Hudson Falls have
to answer the question “What do you want, good water or good taste?”</span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The drumbeat of news just doesn't stop. Today's <i>Times Union </i><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Federal-lawmakers-ask-U-S-health-agencies-to-8327163.php#photo-10380117" target="_blank">reports</a> that our local Congressional team is unanimously calling for a governmental team approach to solutions.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDB9K7R97JG5CtWhUi9WOHY8RKY0ECDYYwUjnUZ3kmT-mrCElLW7JjokcBie5cMoFWX3Ebf1R6WAUVHkZNPgQN6yYZAvJf7XbUzqGmTIoMLJS5Mv3_u6WcgxXz4ul6VVE6nuuo42v37TKZ/s1600/hf+collage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDB9K7R97JG5CtWhUi9WOHY8RKY0ECDYYwUjnUZ3kmT-mrCElLW7JjokcBie5cMoFWX3Ebf1R6WAUVHkZNPgQN6yYZAvJf7XbUzqGmTIoMLJS5Mv3_u6WcgxXz4ul6VVE6nuuo42v37TKZ/s640/hf+collage.JPG" width="466" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living Up to Our Responsibility... Soon?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Sometimes it seems "perfect IS the enemy of progress."</i></b> Certainly care and good science need to guide such an important process but please use your office to take a leadership role in corralling all the dot.govs and get a results-oriented coalition of experts going!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7n3hJ5d3p7yqO8woCaoAezpAfBqId3s9-i56j5njXWBdcU0rJ9X4bOhpezjWUAU3IJC9CaPc9_Q9vqNYnolk0VTdU50P7j9bG4C4kq2u6gvKw-OWT95qVm6PwbmiyJOeXbW1mLlO-ncrH/s1600/rip.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7n3hJ5d3p7yqO8woCaoAezpAfBqId3s9-i56j5njXWBdcU0rJ9X4bOhpezjWUAU3IJC9CaPc9_Q9vqNYnolk0VTdU50P7j9bG4C4kq2u6gvKw-OWT95qVm6PwbmiyJOeXbW1mLlO-ncrH/s640/rip.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hudson's Rip Van Winkle, Patron Saint of the Great Slowdown?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-61741007360980320712016-06-27T05:12:00.002-07:002016-06-27T05:12:21.499-07:00The Joy of the River: Dog Days Along the Upper Hudson<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday was a broiler. Beth and I escaped by biking the "Feeder Canal" of the Champlain Canal. Despite its beauty, I never <i>ever </i>can stop marveling at the amateur engineering brilliance -- and incredible sheer physical effort -- the project required.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Miles of the canal are tree-lined, cool, and empty. As the waterway winds through woods and old industrial spots, there are no people. Pretty but kind of spooky. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvOEvt2_RqNaFXNdE-Te7yJoDh4OZTJYB_5OzbczbJ9pTiMFLmGzMDTp1bvpLt78aJHtqkOtZxqTONwo_p3C5qGR_LJhov3brCmbvrYareTCoFkaz3r0aW9dAU5hKmkXNnjqPAh-VKz5k/s1600/feeder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvOEvt2_RqNaFXNdE-Te7yJoDh4OZTJYB_5OzbczbJ9pTiMFLmGzMDTp1bvpLt78aJHtqkOtZxqTONwo_p3C5qGR_LJhov3brCmbvrYareTCoFkaz3r0aW9dAU5hKmkXNnjqPAh-VKz5k/s320/feeder.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway by the time we finished our personal Heat Index was high so we decided to get home and hit the river.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our dogs love the water, for different reasons. Sammy likes to swim, and Bosco likes to ride.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HtqgUv5ohGoEV0bL4LGjUFn6yIge0IBjfneKFwy6I3Ed7bOpVigw0vzF8ZmJLyhhS-w3eQ-XnfMk8_dtV-Kv3kyfykZ5iHLeKKeITuZaSiiJtrEMrZ8_ZJ5mcufQui9_lZGT0esrqQ4E/s1600/sam+swim.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HtqgUv5ohGoEV0bL4LGjUFn6yIge0IBjfneKFwy6I3Ed7bOpVigw0vzF8ZmJLyhhS-w3eQ-XnfMk8_dtV-Kv3kyfykZ5iHLeKKeITuZaSiiJtrEMrZ8_ZJ5mcufQui9_lZGT0esrqQ4E/s320/sam+swim.JPG" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captured: Pure Joy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OHfK85ATovOKybqfDQLJmAgqI-WerDK3mpvL4SwEiuqCHq5VC75DgQxjPz9jRfciHq1HWqApJvA8DJ7JAcPGieF8uqZGBxhlVOHOs7PPVM0uSHlH8H-Jgu1Ss2MhGWgLKkQgm8JJoWTf/s1600/beth+bosco.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OHfK85ATovOKybqfDQLJmAgqI-WerDK3mpvL4SwEiuqCHq5VC75DgQxjPz9jRfciHq1HWqApJvA8DJ7JAcPGieF8uqZGBxhlVOHOs7PPVM0uSHlH8H-Jgu1Ss2MhGWgLKkQgm8JJoWTf/s320/beth+bosco.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beth'n'Bosco</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a cool image of the "capped fill" left after our personal dredging was completed:</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqZvvxZnoQ_WIfVX2iXM5WtN4w48nnuVgsUdEUNugVl1AJDiWi3lD1_KkxXFrKaecbWK8h3UZ1GfT1qQanL6ZR6TymxZIrL4YxgkWHVloWDwI32iS3irSabj9kmsiTLlFrCwQ89o-D9SR/s1600/reflection.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqZvvxZnoQ_WIfVX2iXM5WtN4w48nnuVgsUdEUNugVl1AJDiWi3lD1_KkxXFrKaecbWK8h3UZ1GfT1qQanL6ZR6TymxZIrL4YxgkWHVloWDwI32iS3irSabj9kmsiTLlFrCwQ89o-D9SR/s320/reflection.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Loch 5 Monster's" reflection in GE backfill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnWFnElSBpkHYU8TWvnC_-jN7aFn06rfSNjycNP40R_YrgHNYs0ROyLUPAQb5QmkD74I6xigzFsT8vgJ8gorCRnOyoaEh5DKRGGrkdX7b_8cXMKorbVemKCGNKQOrMm_ONDmQcgxTS6Q6/s1600/rvr+sammy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnWFnElSBpkHYU8TWvnC_-jN7aFn06rfSNjycNP40R_YrgHNYs0ROyLUPAQb5QmkD74I6xigzFsT8vgJ8gorCRnOyoaEh5DKRGGrkdX7b_8cXMKorbVemKCGNKQOrMm_ONDmQcgxTS6Q6/s320/rvr+sammy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Heeeeere's Sammy!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was a beautiful day framed by the Hudson River. The PCB-free North-of-Hudson-Falls river and then the tainted River Section Two. Ugh. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Always </i>tugs at my heartstrings to get caught by the <i style="font-weight: bold;">invisible toxicity </i>of America's Most Beautiful Superfund Site.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Sammy is almost seven so we figure something else besides PCBs will kill her... and we will do our best to enjoy the river, while trying hard to get a better clean up done.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Please help Gina.</span>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-44410641353285497762016-06-24T05:55:00.000-07:002016-06-24T05:55:15.081-07:00River, Take Me Away<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Gina,</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today the headlines do not connect with the environment we are in, as Beth and I survey the lovely surroundings.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiju-Yzfzj1qe0o4R_Wj6h2RpYcr5728Wa_BPv1pD9NDUqtKuU17zDG8ta-sTrrH-nOLwMO73ZKjMvm9BbTnbSOC8cksmNlK8mCj7nvU7mfxOLTDHfLN0x6_6KbxW-Q9Mn1SkJ2gm4TChYH/s1600/summer+eve.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiju-Yzfzj1qe0o4R_Wj6h2RpYcr5728Wa_BPv1pD9NDUqtKuU17zDG8ta-sTrrH-nOLwMO73ZKjMvm9BbTnbSOC8cksmNlK8mCj7nvU7mfxOLTDHfLN0x6_6KbxW-Q9Mn1SkJ2gm4TChYH/s400/summer+eve.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upriver Pastoral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">I found some solace and, admittedly, escapism, in this sketch in the <i>Times:</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Tonight is
Midsummer, a celebration in Sweden and Finland and other Northern European
countries that falls during the week of the Northern Hemisphere’s summer
solstice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">"In ancient
times, the festival welcomed the season of human fertility and included rituals
to assure a good harvest in the autumn.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4mycD3m__ax-LvYeL3t6nF5Yt4xyhwU5lIrgDCGOOnaa3o-NGKMu2IytcjvWRXiCwbW0Hhbw0CNh3OFBR4reV9Dn7w0W1SqRQvFgGLIuMCesrFpYSlFHuluLyz3xGh32xCkzS08Ow7Hf/s1600/midsummer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4mycD3m__ax-LvYeL3t6nF5Yt4xyhwU5lIrgDCGOOnaa3o-NGKMu2IytcjvWRXiCwbW0Hhbw0CNh3OFBR4reV9Dn7w0W1SqRQvFgGLIuMCesrFpYSlFHuluLyz3xGh32xCkzS08Ow7Hf/s400/midsummer.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><i>Today we can fall back on ancient agrarian ritual as an escape.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Houses get
decorated — inside and outside — with garlands and greenery. Many people dance
and sing around a newly raised maypole and bonfires are lit to keep evil
spirits away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">"It’s a very
popular day for weddings, and it’s known as a night for romance. Girls and
young women are told to pick seven different flowers and put them under their
pillows. Then their future husbands are supposed to appear in a dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Shakespeare’s
popular play 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream,' written toward the end of the 16th
century, alludes to the festive time around the summer solstice with a story of
two young couples who wander into a magical forest. It concludes with multiple
weddings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">"More than 200
years later, Felix Mendelssohn composed music to accompany performances of
Shakespeare’s play at the Prussian court. 'Wedding March,' the best-known movement in Mendelssohn’s 'Midsummer Night’s Eve,' is one of the
most popular wedding songs today." <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUDvZaMl4RU" target="_blank">listen here</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;">What is the world coming to...?</span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1n-hoxsd8LN_ki0PUx7fOpgXYVtsoyfZ6LUuCWuIBi0b27bNgZ3ii8sWRDagedCz0BnHTz0iNyx-adwnSWG1Mb_LK9o8bvE1zwB6cHnxII2HI8yC2G03p8wfrx3g4MVomYlP4wjQvRNpr/s1600/mrs+and+hounds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1n-hoxsd8LN_ki0PUx7fOpgXYVtsoyfZ6LUuCWuIBi0b27bNgZ3ii8sWRDagedCz0BnHTz0iNyx-adwnSWG1Mb_LK9o8bvE1zwB6cHnxII2HI8yC2G03p8wfrx3g4MVomYlP4wjQvRNpr/s640/mrs+and+hounds.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River, Take Me Away</td></tr>
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Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-46883831833248034552016-06-23T04:43:00.001-07:002016-06-23T04:43:15.962-07:00The Day in Pictures: A Comedy That Isn't Very Funny<span style="font-size: large;">Hi Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Dashing to niece's high school graduation in Saratoga Springs. Skimming the paper just now yielded the following.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Page One of the Albany <i>Times Union </i>had <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-business/article/New-PCB-dredging-plan-for-Champlain-Canal-under-8319936.php" target="_blank">this story</a>:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfWuZjs1W1k7LDHz45KNztstDIpPCkjxNW33PRHcRDk6bf677HjXI2sfg46gEvz7100eE8Gjnxn8CQUykROLCv540Ne8wuRUDajCQFoJ3FSfwZUZ6yKS8hiDPR-ax7SLIth_fyFEr8T0a/s1600/TU.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfWuZjs1W1k7LDHz45KNztstDIpPCkjxNW33PRHcRDk6bf677HjXI2sfg46gEvz7100eE8Gjnxn8CQUykROLCv540Ne8wuRUDajCQFoJ3FSfwZUZ6yKS8hiDPR-ax7SLIth_fyFEr8T0a/s400/TU.JPG" width="342" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>What a "Catch 22."</i></b> The Canal Corp is constitutionally bound to keep the canals dredged to navigable depths (12 feet, though the Champlain is as shallow as 4 feet in spots due to silting-in). Yet they cannot dredge because there are PCBs in the canal. GE wont remove them -- without an entire new round of legal wrangling -- because their agreement with the EPA only covered the Hudson River, The State, the Feds, a canal-bargeload of agencies are all pointing fingers <b><i>as the silt gets deeper. </i></b></span><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLuWURQZNRhcOqWmSC5koczaCQvN-voBwCHs9g7rzJyH2D4SqBpx4EFOUt0-ic_BVWT2uZMU6VfmBSl1PVf_t9ocHsRCu310MVKuGzY4lxBnB57029e9mt5LlwqGbbr4CT01RuCQcJDBF/s1600/fingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLuWURQZNRhcOqWmSC5koczaCQvN-voBwCHs9g7rzJyH2D4SqBpx4EFOUt0-ic_BVWT2uZMU6VfmBSl1PVf_t9ocHsRCu310MVKuGzY4lxBnB57029e9mt5LlwqGbbr4CT01RuCQcJDBF/s400/fingers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Soooo... </i>is it "Fiddling As Rome Burns" or -- back to the <i>Times Union </i>for the "Super Quiz": "A Comedy of Errors."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTptohKeKZot1n9KptdRlwJycYn-6zYw77k6gKvwxVyZTpCOTknD5_zrMjy2d-n7RocgZQC3jLsmXEGQGIpuLuU76fGUXPlClS5b-fEoInW6e84HwBV7LY6h4rELs0MGnJ4LkE0U7JNHU/s1600/quiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTptohKeKZot1n9KptdRlwJycYn-6zYw77k6gKvwxVyZTpCOTknD5_zrMjy2d-n7RocgZQC3jLsmXEGQGIpuLuU76fGUXPlClS5b-fEoInW6e84HwBV7LY6h4rELs0MGnJ4LkE0U7JNHU/s320/quiz.jpg" width="108" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This comedy isn't funny</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Do we wait for "silt" or assume a leadership stance and act?</span>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-73621784975714046822016-06-22T06:08:00.001-07:002016-06-22T14:13:32.616-07:00Welcome to the Neighborhood<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">After sending off yesterday's missive, I hopped on my bike for a morning ride along the Upper Hudson.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I have a <b>glorious</b> route that covers much of what is known as "River Section One" and "River Section Two."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You will probably remember the photo from yesterday's post that showed the brilliant sparkle of sun glancing off the river's ripples. Really beautiful and exhilarating!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YAX36HfSKhGj6FnQmKuMsCnRBn4TWjIMu0qRuRIh_GltEtCU8Z1drQQZHPcdNzTaFzTpvD0VsMn03rA6SyJ_HVYE8_VOkH1UJ5lsVXII4co_xGoqK35TWrkTHu3v0Qq6JWi_6H_x7-yL/s1600/river+farm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YAX36HfSKhGj6FnQmKuMsCnRBn4TWjIMu0qRuRIh_GltEtCU8Z1drQQZHPcdNzTaFzTpvD0VsMn03rA6SyJ_HVYE8_VOkH1UJ5lsVXII4co_xGoqK35TWrkTHu3v0Qq6JWi_6H_x7-yL/s400/river+farm.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As I peddled north toward Fort Edward, along the relatively flat but gently-curving West River Road, I pass farms, an ancient cemetery, the historic home where Revolutionary War heroine Jane McCrae lived with her brother, and there's Madcaps Farm where the effervescent Alfred Z. Solomon spent his summers handicapping "the ponies."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I pass a covered bridge to an island (they also fly in there!) and a few well-worn paths used by locals to get to their favorite fishing holes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbZ_Te1livSyzXqFRE5Pm16BfMpinIuw6A-U8Fa1VVBPA2H9R14iasIw3Mb9XJyhli62EzcU3HzsaCrelOOPlojQlkGJvI5ervHj0bab2fVXwWcUuXY6nFfOb6tAWpUYqjJnqbYXFzJWy/s1600/covered+bridhe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbZ_Te1livSyzXqFRE5Pm16BfMpinIuw6A-U8Fa1VVBPA2H9R14iasIw3Mb9XJyhli62EzcU3HzsaCrelOOPlojQlkGJvI5ervHj0bab2fVXwWcUuXY6nFfOb6tAWpUYqjJnqbYXFzJWy/s320/covered+bridhe.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpMbMDLexIQbGRfAyGr4t1SK-chVl6KC2tEhxddVo_SYCGaAAQdBAG81gdQg3yGjwqEPvVV6lgfFemRc5UsAkI2BaKxtl-6MxvaqSuz0O8AOLOd_gzlmORL-wQMGJL-_-bmoF-Zai_KRl/s1600/planes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpMbMDLexIQbGRfAyGr4t1SK-chVl6KC2tEhxddVo_SYCGaAAQdBAG81gdQg3yGjwqEPvVV6lgfFemRc5UsAkI2BaKxtl-6MxvaqSuz0O8AOLOd_gzlmORL-wQMGJL-_-bmoF-Zai_KRl/s320/planes.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"One if by land, two if by sea... <b><i>what if they come by air</i></b>?"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Speed of travel really affects what you see, and how you absorb all that's around you.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTi0G7WZFcWtyfT-1XOy1T7So3yyiKpd3OlxdBMm4yeflQfZo2742_xbYGKwoJkjbyopPUrc3T17DYvIYwolRxqCqT9hu54tiPGCEeg1zl8m3rV35OT3yzjin8CArXydO5i0PNLEla9sd/s1600/camp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTi0G7WZFcWtyfT-1XOy1T7So3yyiKpd3OlxdBMm4yeflQfZo2742_xbYGKwoJkjbyopPUrc3T17DYvIYwolRxqCqT9hu54tiPGCEeg1zl8m3rV35OT3yzjin8CArXydO5i0PNLEla9sd/s320/camp.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be it ever so humble....</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The beaver-chewed stumps, fish jumping in the water, and even this:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukmbPNyNnEd362_NBLhOJ_H7zRapPkMb4pzDU80WZvq__YAtQQg8vk2RonN7m8a5qmt-gUP5j5ez-iwMTMPNiA_sbwTf4W2HQ-8c4SXc12tCEHsAOMCnEnevYEUE1CnuoO-RJm7_ywwvj/s1600/ancient+row+boat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukmbPNyNnEd362_NBLhOJ_H7zRapPkMb4pzDU80WZvq__YAtQQg8vk2RonN7m8a5qmt-gUP5j5ez-iwMTMPNiA_sbwTf4W2HQ-8c4SXc12tCEHsAOMCnEnevYEUE1CnuoO-RJm7_ywwvj/s400/ancient+row+boat.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River travel: Timeless and Enchanting</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was almost spooky. Not a sound except birds chirping as this crew rowed silently downriver. Felt as if I had fallen into a time warp!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And the little human touches:</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5HFXD3nGFnFnCz1C_KWWt-NDN3yQoNir0VL2MIp_tDYNnhlbq6-Q9EQEUcQJ-zf0ZjgtbUwqV1Wx8vcgCfMwRd9y_BhcfOSKjcLyVoj_LS0-8BzMXIImU1mdGVIlB5NWHWwD_uVPeRLo/s1600/kissin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5HFXD3nGFnFnCz1C_KWWt-NDN3yQoNir0VL2MIp_tDYNnhlbq6-Q9EQEUcQJ-zf0ZjgtbUwqV1Wx8vcgCfMwRd9y_BhcfOSKjcLyVoj_LS0-8BzMXIImU1mdGVIlB5NWHWwD_uVPeRLo/s320/kissin.JPG" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome... to our <b><i>Riverhood</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">So this morning I wanted to check and see how Our Project is coming. When I went to the EPA site to get the most recent update/information, here is what popped up when I clicked "view most recent data":</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRBsa3bPSo1_fgMQwQUBytOlpXiOxqhzF1SISsIK1ncdeb8dd71ouj_-ltJfGSFyrWviEJwjLX5z7Sulu7TZalxQF4UGQGOtAbuPAMabuxLnOzbNJm5aF2r_E2PSX9UukmveDvGGx-fUO/s1600/epa+shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRBsa3bPSo1_fgMQwQUBytOlpXiOxqhzF1SISsIK1ncdeb8dd71ouj_-ltJfGSFyrWviEJwjLX5z7Sulu7TZalxQF4UGQGOtAbuPAMabuxLnOzbNJm5aF2r_E2PSX9UukmveDvGGx-fUO/s640/epa+shot.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page in need of updating or Get Back to Work?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">I have seen what <i style="font-weight: bold;">look </i>like monitoring efforts. Maybe I'm mistaken? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope that monitoring has been "occurring as necessary," though you know my petulant-sounding "why monitor a failure, work on it instead" reprieve.</span>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-41026827073901093352016-06-21T05:36:00.001-07:002016-06-21T05:57:58.990-07:00The First Day of Summer at America's Most Beautiful Superfund SiteGood Bright Sunny Morning Gina,<br />
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Last night a "barn-burner" of a thunderstorm blew through the Upper Hudson (especially here in River Section Two).</div>
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I learned the term "barn-burner" when I lived in Iowa about 40 years ago: of course it is a five-ring-circus of thunder, rain, lightening that doesn't quit! We had that here last night.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEC_GVfQmXkk0GnAySklldMH6g7OV3Lvfnpn3M0cvzh5XuLaQajcDEImUlgA2h80NzI09mtysocO9f37Dl7rNXupHDoiRmOD_-qSbRy6Rn8j8NhgSCtJeXf4q1DQyELamPjFz9CYWF920b/s1600/trumo+cash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEC_GVfQmXkk0GnAySklldMH6g7OV3Lvfnpn3M0cvzh5XuLaQajcDEImUlgA2h80NzI09mtysocO9f37Dl7rNXupHDoiRmOD_-qSbRy6Rn8j8NhgSCtJeXf4q1DQyELamPjFz9CYWF920b/s320/trumo+cash.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iowa: a Swing State that rocks</td></tr>
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So, anyway, in the middle of the night all hell breaks loose -- barn-burner -- and Beth is closing the upstairs windows and I run down to batten down the hatches. When I return a 117 pound black rescue dog is blocking the way to my side of the bed:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUrzRjHZDak1-Zo7NAMxTd2XgDSk_RY_OrwFUOlMnk-GbgW5CyzqV4X4YaLuJjJs3tErY6wWXODKP-kVCsb4DEkTkTcMJ0thV8zEPnKPUzFKW0ySnBf-ZGkU1uZr9FiQZeoYNzEufIoMF/s1600/bosc.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUrzRjHZDak1-Zo7NAMxTd2XgDSk_RY_OrwFUOlMnk-GbgW5CyzqV4X4YaLuJjJs3tErY6wWXODKP-kVCsb4DEkTkTcMJ0thV8zEPnKPUzFKW0ySnBf-ZGkU1uZr9FiQZeoYNzEufIoMF/s320/bosc.JPG" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a BABY!</td></tr>
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Who knows <i>what </i>Bosco experienced in his life before we adopted him two years ago but he has a <b>big fear</b> of wind and loud noises. So he weathered the storm at the foot of our bed, letting Sammy snag his miracle foam bed.</div>
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So when Beth and I were enjoying the sparkling, beautiful, and awesome morning on the River Porch just now I was thinking about wind. </div>
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This led me to <i>The Journal of Physical Oceanography </i>and a fascinating monograph by Choi and Wilkin: "The Effect of Wind on the Dispersal of the Hudson River Plume." You will want to <a href="http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/JPO3081.1" target="_blank">click here</a> to read it!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCfRpQuBKJITs2zAe4tAWUG_OQi0d68llcJARFxNa1a2C-bGOmJdY4ZmmQxDl9LjHEf6xvbrSxWmVf2QkRin1ZEDPTMzxcTbknMGIGGnRrMAUTjXLfl9A4DNfAtGDuqiwO4w_r0KdGfqF/s1600/wind+map.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCfRpQuBKJITs2zAe4tAWUG_OQi0d68llcJARFxNa1a2C-bGOmJdY4ZmmQxDl9LjHEf6xvbrSxWmVf2QkRin1ZEDPTMzxcTbknMGIGGnRrMAUTjXLfl9A4DNfAtGDuqiwO4w_r0KdGfqF/s400/wind+map.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thar She Blows!</td></tr>
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Yes, wind <i>does </i>effect water flow!</div>
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So I thought, "wow, if <i>the wind </i>can 'mix it up' like that, imagine what a strong, protracted storm -- like Irene, which broke all modern records for volume and flow on the Upper Hudson -- could do."</div>
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Well of course it could scour the riverbed and shoreline. This could render readings of PCB "hot spots" somewhere between inaccurate and useless.</div>
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Two summers ago I watched a clamshell dredge "working" the river. In and out, in and out. The puzzling thing was it kept dredging up... <i style="font-weight: bold;">water. </i>Clear, sediment-free water.</div>
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Our part of the river is pretty narrow. Sometimes I could actually talk with the guys on the rigs. So I <i style="font-weight: bold;">had </i>to ask "hey how come you aren't digging up any stuff?" And the crew member said "oh, we don't decided where to dredge, we just use the GPS coordinates they give us."</div>
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Well, right, you guessed it. The extremely precise GPS readings had been measured <i style="font-weight: bold;">before Tropical Storm Irene</i>.</div>
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So. How can a 60% removal goal result in a 30% actual removal? <b><i>If you are dredging where the PCBs used to be.</i></b></div>
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The REAL QUESTION, though, is, knowing that <span style="color: red;"><b>WHY DID THE PROJECT STOP?</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIuykDb3ZKMgDt-7_Qb_F4djccJiEL6jOSWm56xaAB0wFJm1iMEbJCBIcKdX3ojlsIP5ED9AksjUgwiL706YOuGSFQre-I9Ng651MMbbXE1OEx3qaG9Y-KfRnYsiA7Morxj3Ri2SNZ6Am/s1600/parkly+sun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIuykDb3ZKMgDt-7_Qb_F4djccJiEL6jOSWm56xaAB0wFJm1iMEbJCBIcKdX3ojlsIP5ED9AksjUgwiL706YOuGSFQre-I9Ng651MMbbXE1OEx3qaG9Y-KfRnYsiA7Morxj3Ri2SNZ6Am/s640/parkly+sun.JPG" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first morning of summer, 2016, at the Most Beautiful Superfund Site</td></tr>
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Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-10109097830260417592016-06-20T06:15:00.002-07:002016-06-20T06:15:14.830-07:00Fathers' Day: Promises Kept<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday was Fathers' Day Gina, perhaps you and Ken got together with some of your kids. Beth's family all live close by so we had a brunch with them and Molly drove up from Troy. It was a great morning, and fun to see all the generations together.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It doesn't take a special day, but I <i style="font-weight: bold;">am</i> reminded of how time flies when I saw Molly walk into the room. Yes, there were long nights of feeding and it was nerve-wracking teaching her to ride a bike (<i>and drive a car</i>) "but/and" there is a lot ahead to look forward to as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Speaking of, here is a photo of a dad with his family:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwSbNdR0OyUsCTbaF7LHCWHAz-iP7Z5NdaV_S_fmsS-GBrjXvlhF6MOvCmOPviBm0WIM7tg1C83KW_oCm9UvV21DNizA_ndyyYVPqV2UmuL1b0pPPytjsrheX4qRvrLp-qUZGnQ_2SBqL/s1600/obama+tweet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwSbNdR0OyUsCTbaF7LHCWHAz-iP7Z5NdaV_S_fmsS-GBrjXvlhF6MOvCmOPviBm0WIM7tg1C83KW_oCm9UvV21DNizA_ndyyYVPqV2UmuL1b0pPPytjsrheX4qRvrLp-qUZGnQ_2SBqL/s320/obama+tweet.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot to "like"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder, does the 265 million acres include the Hudson?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSDFdM3kczzbgTzmYmc7uiUxUl5HFr8w4MaB7HzQwjYW6su-sWUvq1adnLrSyC2LeDFJf1v8y1ZhySma3tHMXPuyLayOn91orDrY-4MhMy3hduvMb4qaWf6uMzDmCUUBjjaNCmckVSRvJ/s1600/cleanup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSDFdM3kczzbgTzmYmc7uiUxUl5HFr8w4MaB7HzQwjYW6su-sWUvq1adnLrSyC2LeDFJf1v8y1ZhySma3tHMXPuyLayOn91orDrY-4MhMy3hduvMb4qaWf6uMzDmCUUBjjaNCmckVSRvJ/s320/cleanup.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huh, who is Zora Hurston?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As summer approaches later today, a huge Up River focus will turn to the Hudson, more than any other time of the year.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Obama administrations steps ahead are good, but all will agree real protection involves <b><i>getting the job done.</i></b></span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b>
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">"Monitoring failure" dishonors promises made.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">On a lighter, ironic, H2O note:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrfji75nLru8EsJH_vo_VBKxFtYG5il0iINzloD9FNWRRV3FCpGbQunk0bLIIWGmQIc-jN5W9FiYfZk0QHOigOXQjnJ6T1dfjJQvB3dnNXaldl5Bfg4MBvzwXaVlMd1rtNg1DoJnGWybR/s1600/christo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrfji75nLru8EsJH_vo_VBKxFtYG5il0iINzloD9FNWRRV3FCpGbQunk0bLIIWGmQIc-jN5W9FiYfZk0QHOigOXQjnJ6T1dfjJQvB3dnNXaldl5Bfg4MBvzwXaVlMd1rtNg1DoJnGWybR/s640/christo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<i>Water, water, everywhere...."</i></td></tr>
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<br />Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-75432241567322688502016-06-16T05:38:00.003-07:002016-06-16T05:39:15.722-07:00Disagreement on "Getting to Healthy"<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday I wrote about paddling on the river, and peddling along it. But it is so much more than just a recreational liquid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are reminded -- right here in the area -- of how vital water is to life, something we take for granted until our families get sick from drinking their water.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHUhPx79Cm-iJilQMDaZKkhBro2LkR1ntANXyJVYDIbgQ6tZhcYSjKBFS_bl54HEqrFvZia47yfXgYi-2VfKpSMiuJ8xu8CdFpAYAX7rBj6SZpBE-gf9b-n7m302oedFqfdW9VJai8G7d/s1600/kids.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHUhPx79Cm-iJilQMDaZKkhBro2LkR1ntANXyJVYDIbgQ6tZhcYSjKBFS_bl54HEqrFvZia47yfXgYi-2VfKpSMiuJ8xu8CdFpAYAX7rBj6SZpBE-gf9b-n7m302oedFqfdW9VJai8G7d/s1600/kids.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We would like to live."</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In nearby Hoosick Falls, legacy industrial groundwater pollution is the source of serious health concerns. There has been a lot of "friendly fire" between State, Federal, and local agencies. Really reminds me of the GE PCB debacle. Like "I didn't inhale" or "we cut the sample fish lengthwise and you cut it in half...."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">No one disagrees on health issues. And it seems <span style="color: red;">no one agrees on how to <b style="font-style: italic;">get to healthy.</b> </span>What a conundrum!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKOP-1p5huESsFtoPaJY5G5-h6S4di3CxC82IspuEXGMF90hAa9cHIN7hPGKqbjYAFFkr9O8Gibx-sQbBD78Q4NKMgUCeGItGqLEiQ5zjSY_HslOUBIK4clO3m-k014g5SOtWXBXLjByx/s1600/group.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKOP-1p5huESsFtoPaJY5G5-h6S4di3CxC82IspuEXGMF90hAa9cHIN7hPGKqbjYAFFkr9O8Gibx-sQbBD78Q4NKMgUCeGItGqLEiQ5zjSY_HslOUBIK4clO3m-k014g5SOtWXBXLjByx/s400/group.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Do we have to <b>beg</b> for help?"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have written about how it is so much easier to engage and inflame public opinion (and subsequent remediation) with dramatic, graphic images.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our hopes and prayers are with Hoosick Falls residents. But we all depend on our government to watch out for us. If NYS doesn't act quickly with a PEOPLE FIRST approach, health is hurt. If the EPA, NYSDEC, and NOAA can't agree on next steps with PCB cleanup -- especially against the placid backdrop of America's Most Beautiful Superfund site -- then what are we to think... <b><i>what are we to do? </i></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtoOu_5QvAw9bR9fEs-AtMeWnw3gfXri4ZLtEsh0DICOfygwalyhwp-05YLoo6TYCtIui1r266yTb6093dMXpXm3HbWPjtKTEW5wpP-xPvnRJiWq5AolBXebvfgJgOHlAFPO5FNwPnfwv/s1600/waterpower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtoOu_5QvAw9bR9fEs-AtMeWnw3gfXri4ZLtEsh0DICOfygwalyhwp-05YLoo6TYCtIui1r266yTb6093dMXpXm3HbWPjtKTEW5wpP-xPvnRJiWq5AolBXebvfgJgOHlAFPO5FNwPnfwv/s640/waterpower.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rivers: Much More Than JUST WATER</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gina, please help.</span></div>
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Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-56462401428320722302016-06-15T05:31:00.000-07:002016-06-15T05:31:20.667-07:00Up Close & Personal: A Place of Peace & Beauty<span style="font-size: large;">Hi Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some days you just need to get away from it all. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">These days are like that, a respite to reflect before rejoining the mainstream. Hard not to have a heavy heart when you feel the sadness and fear abroad, and when you observe very public figures emerge as symptoms of real, serious problems not as problem-solvers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It has been dry here, and we worry about our farming neighbors.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINzIlrAsA24SkMDOamO6J0JATvXB5xvkbDyjWUPUEGp-p8s2rsOzfgrQOetk6lBsVTQcVvViD7-AiOrZkGQhnrehJWihbOOEl7Vl2UQYmgcYULoVpn_VqrxM-zORRtUCACmHy7ISiDOZI/s1600/rbr+gauge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINzIlrAsA24SkMDOamO6J0JATvXB5xvkbDyjWUPUEGp-p8s2rsOzfgrQOetk6lBsVTQcVvViD7-AiOrZkGQhnrehJWihbOOEl7Vl2UQYmgcYULoVpn_VqrxM-zORRtUCACmHy7ISiDOZI/s320/rbr+gauge.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Upper Hudson is trending DRY!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday I got out on the river. Here is a view of the house (and deck) from the water:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5gQoMdWfH0aDNjoBnoQOiqkWEEVWceJmJg2IikMN7w5lb26K3g7VtLMSVwljpChOr-3CypiaGW2L8zdhKO_vhPqK0fj3KY_IQebY3nTYutZekNpY0KfvF1zlol5VJ_G0bKff_5MWDj79/s1600/rvr+deck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5gQoMdWfH0aDNjoBnoQOiqkWEEVWceJmJg2IikMN7w5lb26K3g7VtLMSVwljpChOr-3CypiaGW2L8zdhKO_vhPqK0fj3KY_IQebY3nTYutZekNpY0KfvF1zlol5VJ_G0bKff_5MWDj79/s320/rvr+deck.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the Upper Hudson</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As you know, we live on River Section Two -- the portion where the <span style="color: orange;">"dredge success rate" was less than 50%</span> -- but, with clam shell diggers and tugs gone, the river has resumed its peaceful late-Spring quality.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(I<b><i> did</i></b> see a team of three EPA monitors in their orange vests zipping along in their aluminum craft yesterday, so I know all is not forgotten...?)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">River Section Two is the <b><i>only</i></b> portion of the Hudson that boats cannot "through-navigate": they must take the Champlain Canal on the Eastern, Washington County side. This makes our portion of the river more like a lake -- especially in calm, low-water season -- than a river.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How many rivers feature water lilys?</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuviaQWA141apD32wRDsG3RJL5Gtk9meP3ek6c1k7A7ovEufo8gCAh2NYk9keEGp4MgBnBdsFMDCOSq7-MyDl09ng523cjvOfys0Jbk2ZbtGDwymWWvJgfANJMUewyAcxgjH77Qu78BcL/s1600/rvr+lily.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVuviaQWA141apD32wRDsG3RJL5Gtk9meP3ek6c1k7A7ovEufo8gCAh2NYk9keEGp4MgBnBdsFMDCOSq7-MyDl09ng523cjvOfys0Jbk2ZbtGDwymWWvJgfANJMUewyAcxgjH77Qu78BcL/s640/rvr+lily.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life atop America's Most Beautiful Superfund Site</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The river is a place of peace and beauty. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We are hoping that you will help us take better care of it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The awareness has been raised, the job started. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Let's move forward, sooner?</span><br />
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<br />Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-25390716799480167082016-06-14T05:15:00.000-07:002016-06-14T05:15:03.094-07:00"Life is like a River"<div class="style1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Gina, today, a poem on the misty morning river:</span></div>
<div align="left" class="style1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /> Life seems like a river you know<br /> It is continually running on.<br /> Where it goes no one ever knows.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOU15EFAOfLWY6a-yYw_rp2rR3HsYxCNHrU36vHaQB14Y_kaS_Ge_Lvq1tlsDeQugVP2nlLfcSv3pBLtuBxWJnTPPbi9GvEJPJuNWmNN9pVgBNr7R8N9EOjMVKEtrqAv5gnKFt7Pp5KP4/s1600/mist.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOU15EFAOfLWY6a-yYw_rp2rR3HsYxCNHrU36vHaQB14Y_kaS_Ge_Lvq1tlsDeQugVP2nlLfcSv3pBLtuBxWJnTPPbi9GvEJPJuNWmNN9pVgBNr7R8N9EOjMVKEtrqAv5gnKFt7Pp5KP4/s640/mist.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northumberland, NY 6:40am June 14</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Will it take me to the right or left?<br /> I must follow the river bank <br /> Entrenched deep in the ruts I must go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At times the sweet calmness of the flow<br /> Is enough to make you forget<br /> If we could only see what the future held</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When life hits those turbulent times<br /> It seems as if could loose yourself.<br /> Sometimes the tumultuous current<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Will rip you under and not let go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The beauty that we pass on our way<br /> A sweet smile from a fiend or lover<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> A kiss and tender moment shared<br /> Time spent with family </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They are rivaled by none, it is our own.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The moments shared and<br /> The memories that we create <br /> Will last a life time and then some.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To what ultimate goal does it hurry?<br /> To the grandeur of the blue ocean?<br /> Or something smaller like a lake?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To each goal is a certain path, <br /> That path has only one traveler.<br /> That traveler could be you.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> So make the best of the path given you</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So be aware of the good and bad, <br /> But most of all enjoy the ride.<br /> Because Life is like a River.</span></div>
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<div class="style1" style="text-align: right;">
<span class="style2">By Jared Mangum</span></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-78055214124158506802016-06-13T05:01:00.001-07:002016-06-13T05:07:31.404-07:00Let's Do It For the Kids!<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday my step-daughter and her boyfriend came over to
tie-dye some t-shirts. With lots of
space to spread out they went to work.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGme5sbs14Hsec5c0wIkHiFbCVnOrEET_nwXkoOElmGZa4DeftnbzQNVSeGzb0HNsqO0PqhehSFXw5wNt-CfIQLIyWn2JacYte1BaUnFGJbz96Vt8WxqsQMblu2MsKJCzrQf3g0V53ouj/s1600/FIT+TO+BE+TIE+DYED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGme5sbs14Hsec5c0wIkHiFbCVnOrEET_nwXkoOElmGZa4DeftnbzQNVSeGzb0HNsqO0PqhehSFXw5wNt-CfIQLIyWn2JacYte1BaUnFGJbz96Vt8WxqsQMblu2MsKJCzrQf3g0V53ouj/s400/FIT+TO+BE+TIE+DYED.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fit to be Tie-Dyed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is very impressive to see the level of concern –
serious concern – teens and “twenties” have for environmental issues. It seems they have too much too worry about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">So when I joked about selling PCB-free shirts they kind
of looked at me and asked “how harmful are PCBs?” and “we don’t have to worry
about them anyway right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, we know PCBs are harmful and we know that there are
direct and indirect ways of being contaminated by PCBs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;">1)<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Obvious
Ways</b>: exposure to PCBs, ingesting PCBs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;">2)<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><b>Less
Obvious Ways</b>: exposure to “invisible” PCBs, ingesting non-legacy PCBs,
breathing <b><i>volatized </i></b>PCBs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: red;">Why Worry?</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The answer to that one can fill – and has filled – a lot
of column-inches! A summary courtesy of
Elizabeth Grossman (emphasis mine):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) were commercially manufactured in the United States from about
1930 until 1979, when their production was banned under the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) because of <b><i>concerns about their extreme environmental
persistence, ability to bioaccumulate, and adverse human health effe</i></b>cts.
PCBs were used in numerous industrial and consumer applications, most notably
as insulation fluids in electrical transformers and generators but also in
products including fluorescent lamp ballasts, caulk, and carbonless copy paper.
These now-discontinued manufactured chemicals have received a great deal of
attention in terms of research and environmental remediation. <b><i>But
other, lesser-known PCBs continue to be generated and released into the
environment</i></b>, not from intentionally created commercial products but as
unintentional by-products of manufacturing processes including, according to
recent studies, those used to make certain pigments used in dyes, inks, and
paints.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“PCBs do not
occur naturally, and once in the environment they can last for decades. Until
recently, PCBs that were being detected in the environment were thought to come
entirely from “legacy” sources. Yet developments in analytical technology have
given researchers a better understanding of PCB sources, of the patterns of
individual PCBs (or congeners) that are being detected environmentally, and the
fate of <b><i>PCBs in the environment</i></b>—how they <b><i>move between soil, sediment,
water, and air</i></b>. These advances have also enabled the detection of
individual congeners at very low levels and the identification of many new and
ongoing sources of PCBs beyond those resulting from historical commercial
mixtures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>“Recently,
manufacturing by-product PCBs have been identified in wastewater, sediments,
and air in numerous locations.</i></b> They have also
been positively identified in testing of new products colored with such
pigments, so it is clear these PCBs are not occurring as a result of legacy
commercial mixtures. “What is emerging is an increasingly complex picture of
the prevalence of nonlegacy PCBs alongside the persisting environmental
presence of legacy PCBs, and a concurrent and likewise complex picture of how
PCBs can affect human health at very low levels of exposure.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: right;">
Elizabeth Grossman, a Portland, OR–based
environmental and science writer, has written for <i>Environmental Health News</i>,
<i>Yale Environment 360</i>, <i>Scientific American</i>, <i>The Washington Post</i>,
and other publications. Her books include <i>Chasing Molecules </i>and <i>High
Tech Trash</i>.<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">UH
OH. They really<b><i> are</i></b> out there. So then we ask, does exposure to these PCBs
matter? Again, Grossman:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“PCBs
have also been identified as endocrine disruptors and shown to have adverse
effects on the endocrine system, particularly on thyroid hormone function. They
are also associated with skin and eye problems, liver toxicity, and adverse
effects on the immune, nervous, and reproductive systems as well as on blood
pressure and blood cholesterol levels. Prenatal and childhood PCB exposure has
been associated with behavioral and cognitive problems. <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Among the PCB health effects now under
investigation are their impacts on brain functions that control behavior,
language, learning, and memory.</span> Certain PCBs have been identified as
carcinogens.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBaFwsNOI7fo-xbKNe_7zcCkFtZc7G1p8tSooiz8bgOqnOefMpK0EEz6i2A0I_3MEXOXDqRwWuRsNyKhDe_E0bXqqf7kdYGMpZUCMQMdXJaZpU4m4tf0gkRJYkNyYVrIrlfVpe-0Q7WoM/s1600/DJT.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBaFwsNOI7fo-xbKNe_7zcCkFtZc7G1p8tSooiz8bgOqnOefMpK0EEz6i2A0I_3MEXOXDqRwWuRsNyKhDe_E0bXqqf7kdYGMpZUCMQMdXJaZpU4m4tf0gkRJYkNyYVrIrlfVpe-0Q7WoM/s200/DJT.JPG" width="163" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"please, sir, may I have another?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="color: red;">KNOW ANY POLITICAL FIGURES WHO MAY SUFFER FROM PCB
EXPOSURE?!?!?!?</span></span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Quick summary of known
effects on humans:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Endocrine disruptors<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Skin and eye problems<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Liver toxicity<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Blood pressure and blood
cholesterol levels<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Adverse effects on the
immune, nervous, and reproductive systems<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol";">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Cancer…<b><i>of course</i></b><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I Googled some of these
ailments and clicked on “images.” Pretty
disturbing stuff. Here is all I could
bear to share:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gtXptI52aKO08lijkVrSQPWsKGxZywQnAEgdKGMyt2bLOyO4FG5r4mwMQMpsh4ywoLWKmL0-dPoWZdnynE2g_rI7R-TGy3Z8DBDFM83uQPLd7MlU12rLvdNBQGBBC-DSC4vi74fE_GmI/s1600/nervous.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gtXptI52aKO08lijkVrSQPWsKGxZywQnAEgdKGMyt2bLOyO4FG5r4mwMQMpsh4ywoLWKmL0-dPoWZdnynE2g_rI7R-TGy3Z8DBDFM83uQPLd7MlU12rLvdNBQGBBC-DSC4vi74fE_GmI/s320/nervous.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcAypBbUX5ADACyBkKY2nTYB4DzIuvqBGPmqB8KXvD0HIFava4DdeMDYDuyrcophNK0tBB2G73c6z-Qx-NVzsLRR_Uro-gtpqJmPukJUJeXRBloB1sLV3jKEV9w1Mzo3x9Ufhl2lZnQC-/s1600/thyroid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcAypBbUX5ADACyBkKY2nTYB4DzIuvqBGPmqB8KXvD0HIFava4DdeMDYDuyrcophNK0tBB2G73c6z-Qx-NVzsLRR_Uro-gtpqJmPukJUJeXRBloB1sLV3jKEV9w1Mzo3x9Ufhl2lZnQC-/s1600/thyroid.JPG" style="cursor: move;" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, it is <b><i>bad</i></b>. We know.
That’s why, when identified, we remediate. Besides reading my letters, PCBs can give you
many of the same symptoms of a thyroid disease.
I know, <i><b>I KNOW! </b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Some days I feel like Jimmy
Carter – likable-but-annoying – in his cardigan telling the American people
that we faced the “moral equivalent of war” vis-à-vis energy in the
mid-70s. But COME ON GINA, this IS
IMPORTANT.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnG9bHl-UBtRqdPooKNF6bKyqFWK4Diw35a24JFF7hXa35Btcu-4KmIZY2oJv2wb7I8GV-yqzmknDlITIbmiFcyJ7zxIRoRQnR-1xxLJwIbQVwy2KvSfP70Y89rL8zvM4iDG0W_FkPH76/s1600/shirts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnG9bHl-UBtRqdPooKNF6bKyqFWK4Diw35a24JFF7hXa35Btcu-4KmIZY2oJv2wb7I8GV-yqzmknDlITIbmiFcyJ7zxIRoRQnR-1xxLJwIbQVwy2KvSfP70Y89rL8zvM4iDG0W_FkPH76/s1600/shirts.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's do it for the kids!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">SO LET’S MOVE TOWARD MORE SUCCESS RATHER THAN "MONITORING FAILURE" IN THE UPPER HUDSON
RIVER! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-63472016827985221182016-06-10T05:21:00.002-07:002016-06-10T05:21:11.756-07:00"For Ducks' Sake!"<span style="font-size: large;">Good Friday Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The chill of the last couple days gave way to a beautiful late Upper Hudson morning!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I got up a little early and, as I passed the French Doors to the back yard, I saw a duck. All by itself. Slowly walking in the grass. I had a camera out from the other night and grabbed it. The dogs were going a little crazy, whimpering and moaning to get out and investigate.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13DYD1V84U44spcm8AfeqYqRnCI-yqvfITrnEoNr3AGf0wn0HKKSr0Zx1lbBTio-yD-0k8ZUKyIIyuEhnFO3SRa_aebJoMLNbMX7A25IvYDIeDLNlRydryg-bbx2cs9ytprIop3SuqAaf/s1600/duck+walk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13DYD1V84U44spcm8AfeqYqRnCI-yqvfITrnEoNr3AGf0wn0HKKSr0Zx1lbBTio-yD-0k8ZUKyIIyuEhnFO3SRa_aebJoMLNbMX7A25IvYDIeDLNlRydryg-bbx2cs9ytprIop3SuqAaf/s320/duck+walk.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I felt a bit like the father in the poem "The Night Before Christmas," watching Saint Nick and chuckling in spite of myself. Well the duck continued its solitary walk and, by the time the dogs and I got to the front door, it was nowhere to be seen. So I walked to the river's edge and got the paper from the mailbox.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Beth was waiting for me on the porch with coffee. The dogs were seated in front of her, wrestling and playing with dog toys. That isn't unusual. What <i style="font-weight: bold;">is unusual </i>is that the duck was lying in the grass about 20 feet away from them <b><i>and they weren't bothering it!</i></b></span><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JQUdbaf_Nsd9aXk0E65LbWykoxpkY0tT53BHdg4rV5KcYUDVnMlWckVK0-VKa9jQxG1wsg6FIx1UxPCnwRRvSoiAt-sxooiR6WxY0fCI40xLvvnYbvC7bX_QW83BcSaoGuJIK7FrzbR_/s1600/ducksit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JQUdbaf_Nsd9aXk0E65LbWykoxpkY0tT53BHdg4rV5KcYUDVnMlWckVK0-VKa9jQxG1wsg6FIx1UxPCnwRRvSoiAt-sxooiR6WxY0fCI40xLvvnYbvC7bX_QW83BcSaoGuJIK7FrzbR_/s320/ducksit.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<span style="font-size: large;">At first I thought it was a piece of tree bark. I went and 1) got my glasses (yes, it was the duck) and 2) a camera (I could not believe it). I walked over. The duck blinked. So it wasn't dead but, what, was it sick? It didn't move and the dogs didn't bother it. <b><i>A first!</i></b></span><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg243AxvVgi9aRNvGa_sAywJEsi5SrpAmtjmwdDIrvpqpcVcy8_Rg0T27oENDpjWiE2lNQ_hVzwhYM8wG3e72YxYRa02FgfhDliRVMItJ2i7ieBvAFBHdEB8yfZnIT7CraZwQOT-lfSiuuv/s1600/doggs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg243AxvVgi9aRNvGa_sAywJEsi5SrpAmtjmwdDIrvpqpcVcy8_Rg0T27oENDpjWiE2lNQ_hVzwhYM8wG3e72YxYRa02FgfhDliRVMItJ2i7ieBvAFBHdEB8yfZnIT7CraZwQOT-lfSiuuv/s320/doggs.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<span style="font-size: large;">Beth interested but nonplussed. She said "huh, well it must be sick and the dogs can tell it." <i style="font-weight: bold;">I guess so but...</i> So we finished our porch routine and, before I cleared the tray to the kitchen I looked around the porch and the duck was gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The dogs had never acknowledged its presence and we didn't hear it fly away. Poof!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I've seen sick birds near the river, and I have seen odd activity by "wild things" that would make me wonder if they are well.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I am not a "PCB nerd" but I am aware that the entire river ecosystem is upset by the abundance of toxins that remain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When I think of all the effort that went into the cleanup to date only to see it be suspended far short of macro satisfactory completion it is upsetting and frustrating.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We can do it, we must do it, sooner is better.</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_4tomHwpP59bLxlmmbv_9cMV3q8K9BY-RCmBLa_SCJMEqQzuOntGZgPvmT-N0iwxUVeaP7_60YAmWAVkjbnUHHu3iJCoJenB-97SEh4715YE7nrQrEJxeM4-XydcE4O2EQYZJYI9Muwx/s1600/pogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_4tomHwpP59bLxlmmbv_9cMV3q8K9BY-RCmBLa_SCJMEqQzuOntGZgPvmT-N0iwxUVeaP7_60YAmWAVkjbnUHHu3iJCoJenB-97SEh4715YE7nrQrEJxeM4-XydcE4O2EQYZJYI9Muwx/s400/pogo.JPG" width="326" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: small;">Earth Day '71: the enemy is STILL us</span></td></tr>
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<br />Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-16376437225123995012016-06-09T05:55:00.000-07:002016-06-09T05:55:00.103-07:00Urgency in Paradise<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There's an Autumn feel in the air today along the Upper Hudson. After a few early June days in the 80s, it is brisk and cool this morning. The dogs had extra energy and Beth wore an extra layer as we had our porch time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This got me to thinking about contrasts, and sensory cues. Looking around me I was reminded of the beauty of this place.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tSB_Y5mATGenTBTfI6se2fjEFNPprtgcRDvsMvVeuXwB-SnJcS0WR2wZhwNveTjvSXPi1EVcgwYFjx3c3DD1H5A11SD-GDvsNjQkZqP3an3-v1Ya1aMre_SUjfXF7vIVFNN-aKL-6B9n/s1600/dock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tSB_Y5mATGenTBTfI6se2fjEFNPprtgcRDvsMvVeuXwB-SnJcS0WR2wZhwNveTjvSXPi1EVcgwYFjx3c3DD1H5A11SD-GDvsNjQkZqP3an3-v1Ya1aMre_SUjfXF7vIVFNN-aKL-6B9n/s320/dock.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hudson Morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29k305LjsDSLmXMSqu3bdaYMFak8vjFRrLGdxVtBnA8Ur736LQEdrSjgc5uHYuGkTLBpBOPHD9wwsLvydY4ipPGgqWIGMPUoTxl-M6tVyva6RbCvWnav-WnwCj6QukHotOEsFb_MnbvGt/s1600/lawn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29k305LjsDSLmXMSqu3bdaYMFak8vjFRrLGdxVtBnA8Ur736LQEdrSjgc5uHYuGkTLBpBOPHD9wwsLvydY4ipPGgqWIGMPUoTxl-M6tVyva6RbCvWnav-WnwCj6QukHotOEsFb_MnbvGt/s320/lawn.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backyard Beautiful</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After getting a warm up on my coffee I picked up the paper and saw a story about an oil train explosion out west. The photo was striking and scary, in stark contrast to the scene around me.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPqmXZDhh9mVBqeNJZ7gny9m9JjuckNNHMDRYMp5JzQ6LN09tWnEKp_6gDI1QbXR6UQTG8dQkHELFaz6rRf63euVOcL3qdgZTzkI10LBOohDJeiLBLaCdAd_UwnWsXkyQNxbaYM9hWoFi/s1600/ouch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPqmXZDhh9mVBqeNJZ7gny9m9JjuckNNHMDRYMp5JzQ6LN09tWnEKp_6gDI1QbXR6UQTG8dQkHELFaz6rRf63euVOcL3qdgZTzkI10LBOohDJeiLBLaCdAd_UwnWsXkyQNxbaYM9hWoFi/s320/ouch.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Disaster Reflex"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sensory cues are strong!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSsw_ckmD2_qmpXNPg69MMY5h6yBTN_WkJgOrThCkD0k6Jh6FX0u_ChyphenhyphenXGk_uA0xfCOsGiML33jPFrJut7f98T05jWy46vsyHHsmBOu5sol4MbTK5NhfiJ4ocrwKZZ3C04sT2C6VzNt1i/s1600/deadly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSsw_ckmD2_qmpXNPg69MMY5h6yBTN_WkJgOrThCkD0k6Jh6FX0u_ChyphenhyphenXGk_uA0xfCOsGiML33jPFrJut7f98T05jWy46vsyHHsmBOu5sol4MbTK5NhfiJ4ocrwKZZ3C04sT2C6VzNt1i/s320/deadly.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danger Lurks: Poisonous Flowers</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The dilemma so many of us feel: how to stir a sense of urgency, a percussive call-to-action to see further progress on PCB removal from "America's River?"</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5jsnzb6mLkSrEHrBEJgVyOElVXEQoCu8dLcXnIdOBo_hGLQOxVXtqxUIwwmxRqF9qFrmG0rn5qAHzT3mX8SFoPBW1IY-JgUUn1jhRTcZQiDs5ZRkW2LCvKjSdCh0AAWCREMOfhyeVVQ9/s1600/mult+im.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5jsnzb6mLkSrEHrBEJgVyOElVXEQoCu8dLcXnIdOBo_hGLQOxVXtqxUIwwmxRqF9qFrmG0rn5qAHzT3mX8SFoPBW1IY-JgUUn1jhRTcZQiDs5ZRkW2LCvKjSdCh0AAWCREMOfhyeVVQ9/s640/mult+im.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hey, nice thymus, come here often?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Many aspects of the true joy of the Hudson River -- its sights, energy, smells -- are so delightful that they almost force us to forget that there is trouble in paradise. It is in our backyards... and while we do mark progress, we also must do more than acknowledge the failures of the GE PCB project. <i>More than our thymuses are at stake.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>We must do more. Now, not in five years.</b></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDicZn8VtL_kYbrec73dJshwNxVxkaYSiWNugMfcC4RY0Lk5m-aPFailp4Ck2_hyphenhyphenPSbx41bK3oyLXWFhxKIGZ3Cu35f2t9bw6TO9u7a0hilyckmd_i1XgAVU6RQIywzX7qbFgWEuDFiKS/s1600/wide.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDicZn8VtL_kYbrec73dJshwNxVxkaYSiWNugMfcC4RY0Lk5m-aPFailp4Ck2_hyphenhyphenPSbx41bK3oyLXWFhxKIGZ3Cu35f2t9bw6TO9u7a0hilyckmd_i1XgAVU6RQIywzX7qbFgWEuDFiKS/s640/wide.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">America's Biggest and Most Beautiful Superfund Site</span></td></tr>
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<br />Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-36071441480499811952016-06-08T05:19:00.001-07:002016-06-08T05:23:57.993-07:00When Does "Awesome" Happen?<span style="font-size: large;">Hi Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday we had a large group from a local college over for a celebration along the river. I watched as a young mom took her three-year-old daughter and older son to the water's edge. The kids were awestruck. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The boy wanted to jump right in but Mom said "no, only your hand can get wet!" As his sister watched he grabbed pebbles and skipped them across the Upper Hudson. It reminded me of when I was a kid.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygftDOj_owmoG46ubh76hl4vWUCcwkTqLxt8fLs-QoCRZ6qjIVIYP43fRMDxZdTtRc_IMJGEEJBfkqbVVQt-nqqasxtpzT2fsbsuxjqzOVDQQFG-qkYV-jjvbrw6B1rMGW7shRN1i9OFe/s1600/tree+boy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygftDOj_owmoG46ubh76hl4vWUCcwkTqLxt8fLs-QoCRZ6qjIVIYP43fRMDxZdTtRc_IMJGEEJBfkqbVVQt-nqqasxtpzT2fsbsuxjqzOVDQQFG-qkYV-jjvbrw6B1rMGW7shRN1i9OFe/s320/tree+boy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When does the view become awesome?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">I dreamed of being able to climb the highest tree, so high that, as I told my dad, I could "see the weather."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpboNeRrp_UdhJ-3dxvh_X0gwWH_FIcL_r2jg0uBMDDeeoxasgizFRwesW9rZW1939ZCVokP6lgv0HYaZg7JEoGzdB4Swfi_5QvBHJsJxjOOSVVRjUV2X0CGJ94Rix3DiS08ovlXUa0zwm/s1600/earth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpboNeRrp_UdhJ-3dxvh_X0gwWH_FIcL_r2jg0uBMDDeeoxasgizFRwesW9rZW1939ZCVokP6lgv0HYaZg7JEoGzdB4Swfi_5QvBHJsJxjOOSVVRjUV2X0CGJ94Rix3DiS08ovlXUa0zwm/s320/earth.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blue Planet: looks great from up here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">From Space, the Earth is spectacular... certainly awesome.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4XCZ08lEf2_30t02ZxfFHLMP5e-4K9lauSK6YGJcaX-jcYGJdd3-lg6DQiernbEtikk02d2CKbIhUKN2fRP8uy6PM2JoKXYYryBqNTPnWhojixQJdeBFJ3JtFa4_qeLwu8ChLS5_6CTK/s1600/rock+falls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4XCZ08lEf2_30t02ZxfFHLMP5e-4K9lauSK6YGJcaX-jcYGJdd3-lg6DQiernbEtikk02d2CKbIhUKN2fRP8uy6PM2JoKXYYryBqNTPnWhojixQJdeBFJ3JtFa4_qeLwu8ChLS5_6CTK/s320/rock+falls.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The narrowest portion of the Hudson River...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3f2NyFi42xRhQyTpWXC-fwDQMNi_QJyR-BlcjuDifhde8Bsn7dNqnKOZlLl5Af6nB4P7td4gWfVgucRMPXkhA-jO98WpDckZh75xRi6ZxrKmHzcv-B72Jv1mPWMmYtqk1KrXp75PRKkW/s1600/wide.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3f2NyFi42xRhQyTpWXC-fwDQMNi_QJyR-BlcjuDifhde8Bsn7dNqnKOZlLl5Af6nB4P7td4gWfVgucRMPXkhA-jO98WpDckZh75xRi6ZxrKmHzcv-B72Jv1mPWMmYtqk1KrXp75PRKkW/s640/wide.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...to the wideest: Awesome</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Hudson isn't "awesome-breathtaking" in Northumberland, but it is beautiful, capable of inspiring awe in kids anyway.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCdYJKJ1kFqRpsRp3bK7muP7fdFP7Vi2kMy9zsvoCIcpJmK50i47NXeemiWl6nSvysPNuTRYsn_6S8KkWe7hNwsPdbTC4IR4yZIOD-e5vcNTeWoLmcZI48oo07M5_gb_jZTYY-Uq_LeDA/s1600/stone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCdYJKJ1kFqRpsRp3bK7muP7fdFP7Vi2kMy9zsvoCIcpJmK50i47NXeemiWl6nSvysPNuTRYsn_6S8KkWe7hNwsPdbTC4IR4yZIOD-e5vcNTeWoLmcZI48oo07M5_gb_jZTYY-Uq_LeDA/s320/stone.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YES</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1DzlQNhgVrV2EE1Wbn_6SPMwpyUX01Qin0c1_AtgPJfybV6H3al9QXDWGT1_HRrORe5pwz7DqfpbeLvhLbr_Gam2O4BMeNj4hHb37oD9E-1QK3GA43vsJgIjPHNEwo2rBfhz_diQAHUF/s1600/pcb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1DzlQNhgVrV2EE1Wbn_6SPMwpyUX01Qin0c1_AtgPJfybV6H3al9QXDWGT1_HRrORe5pwz7DqfpbeLvhLbr_Gam2O4BMeNj4hHb37oD9E-1QK3GA43vsJgIjPHNEwo2rBfhz_diQAHUF/s1600/pcb.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NO</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Let's do a better job of reducing the PCBs so parents don't have to warn their kids to stay away from the Hudson.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you.</span>Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-15841775233917434222016-06-07T06:52:00.001-07:002016-06-07T06:52:05.765-07:00Clean Water: Something We ALL Agree On!<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Good Morning Gina,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Today I actually hit a speedbump in my thinking on a
Cleaner Hudson. So I asked Beth! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
She said “you know, with so many people <i>so divided
about <b>so many things</b></i>, why don’t you write about something everyone
agrees on, which is a theme in your letters to Gina?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We <b><i>know</i></b> everyone agrees on how important
clean water is. <b>Even the national Democratic and Republican platforms
included that “pledge of allegiance!”</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So, in my research about “why is clean water so
important?” I found this:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“<b>Water is the lifeblood of
healthy people and healthy economies. We have a duty to protect it.</b> That’s
why EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are finalizing a Clean Water Rule
later this spring to protect critical streams and wetlands that are currently
vulnerable to pollution and destruction. On April 3 we sent the draft rule to
the Office of Management and Budget for interagency review. Since it’s not
final yet, we can’t speak to every detail. But the spirit of this rule boils
down to three facts:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“<b>First, people depend on <span style="color: red;">clean water</span></b>: one in three Americans get their
drinking water from streams currently lacking clear protection.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“<b>Second, our economy depends
on <span style="color: red;">clean water</span></b>: manufacturing, farming,
ranching, tourism, recreation, and other major economic sectors need clean
water to function and flourish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“<b>Third, our cherished way of
life depends on <span style="color: red;">clean water</span></b>: healthy
ecosystems support precious wildlife habitat and pristine places to hunt, fish,
boat, and swim.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0pRVNaFPAo_Xa4tTVMu84aAVhlD-ohdorrYOhvNztQwdSnIZ-HHh9i0UMoSulFRNRVPEtqFvaOjk0Y6dspFqsmVDgG5E6QhOhkVxNA_1f12gTpDnkfXOgmGbXxJ0tZSIEHMlRzunYEZv/s1600/rock+falls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0pRVNaFPAo_Xa4tTVMu84aAVhlD-ohdorrYOhvNztQwdSnIZ-HHh9i0UMoSulFRNRVPEtqFvaOjk0Y6dspFqsmVDgG5E6QhOhkVxNA_1f12gTpDnkfXOgmGbXxJ0tZSIEHMlRzunYEZv/s400/rock+falls.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Rockwell Falls, in Hadley, NY, the narrowest point of the Hudson River, just north of Ft Edward</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
“A year ago, our agencies
released the draft Clean Water Rule. Since then, we’ve held more than 400
meetings across the country and received more than one million public comments
from farmers, manufacturers, business owners, hunters and anglers, and others.
The input helped us understand the genuine concerns and interests of a wide
range of stakeholders and think through options to address them. In the final
rule, people will see that we made changes based on those comments, consistent
with the law and the science. We’ve worked hard to reach a final version that
works for everyone – while protecting clean water.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was delighted to see that <b><i>you wrote this</i></b>,
along with Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy, on April 6, 2015
(although the highlights are my own).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Let’s keep up the hard work and not lose an action-focus
view on reducing PCBs in “America’s River!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rg2Ossra_PkcnJLtUp6YdoE0Wbv3mvLb_0FLhwNSI9eWSjgCZQ1YXQ3Se8hm0d02EmRn2D8DuiKfsfFed8TSQjq52lWjhCDJiu53ayywrVXqrDqWibA_1mgzbzXIzEpvHZFK6wxWMzh8/s1600/am+riv.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rg2Ossra_PkcnJLtUp6YdoE0Wbv3mvLb_0FLhwNSI9eWSjgCZQ1YXQ3Se8hm0d02EmRn2D8DuiKfsfFed8TSQjq52lWjhCDJiu53ayywrVXqrDqWibA_1mgzbzXIzEpvHZFK6wxWMzh8/s320/am+riv.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-9015998142824378642016-06-06T04:59:00.000-07:002016-06-06T04:59:44.791-07:00We Are Not the First Ones Here....<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Late Friday afternoon Beth and I rode our bikes to the
falls at Northumberland, just upriver from Schuylerville, near Champlain Canal Lock
5.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8nrKE9i5b9Ncpwdq0NEDj7ejfUdD06fkZ7_OX8Y_MWL1wR48lOzbAdS8wlbqBzkmfchh8H5-WR269bV2la8cEFRNkgDfHXw7Uh31TsX2lujktxLxfKu83Arwy5EYzEoyazSHnX2rQqWo/s1600/bike+explorers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8nrKE9i5b9Ncpwdq0NEDj7ejfUdD06fkZ7_OX8Y_MWL1wR48lOzbAdS8wlbqBzkmfchh8H5-WR269bV2la8cEFRNkgDfHXw7Uh31TsX2lujktxLxfKu83Arwy5EYzEoyazSHnX2rQqWo/s200/bike+explorers.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK, I get excited!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Off-road biking allowed us to explore deep into the
trails around the old (and new) canal and river in a spot called Hudson
Crossing Park, which was awarded an Erie Canalway [sic? it IS the Champlain
Canal] Heritage Award of Excellence in 2015.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">We found this display just before we arrived at the spot
where we snapped the selfie, above.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJbhavTEgDfi5N3-3CA4HwOv96_MsmJF2k9KDrV4f-SMZxMEvsWY01gKQ7dmfnOjZ5oKzL4AWSAQx6VZhb4anzMVLY2ieKhMwxlgjEmahcwHW0_N25SKd6itaHmDUXF-lECvZuz1jtxW8/s1600/we+are+not.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJbhavTEgDfi5N3-3CA4HwOv96_MsmJF2k9KDrV4f-SMZxMEvsWY01gKQ7dmfnOjZ5oKzL4AWSAQx6VZhb4anzMVLY2ieKhMwxlgjEmahcwHW0_N25SKd6itaHmDUXF-lECvZuz1jtxW8/s640/we+are+not.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Hudson Crossing Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Part of its message reads: “You are tracing the footsteps of many who came before
you. </span><span style="font-size: large;">For thousands of years people have
used this river….”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">The history of the river – especially its use and
development for commercial and recreational purposes – is described very nicely
in a broad historical context. This,
along with simply looking around and seeing <i>Old Meets New </i>with your own eyes
makes a strong point… of how small we are in the scope of things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, in the lower left-hand corner it says: <b>“Imagine
what has floated by this place…. <i>What is
floating past you today?”</i></b></span><br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzT73daBD-TOmQ95OuQZaHZzRjoZlBFyOeW43DdoARjIiB7S73tLY_loyWhCROst-edFRZWR3PbPtYfGyL6aviZetF9LXt4kJG0PQVKKv5Y_0bJRAEd7CpiL1w2vAp3pJ5kJ49mMQZ1sx/s1600/hudson+acqueduct.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzT73daBD-TOmQ95OuQZaHZzRjoZlBFyOeW43DdoARjIiB7S73tLY_loyWhCROst-edFRZWR3PbPtYfGyL6aviZetF9LXt4kJG0PQVKKv5Y_0bJRAEd7CpiL1w2vAp3pJ5kJ49mMQZ1sx/s640/hudson+acqueduct.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art, artifice, and nature in Hudson Crossing Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mindful that we are not the first -- nor certainly the last -- let's live up to our stewardship responsibilities. </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>We know exactly what is "floating past right now" and we know that it is not acceptable.</i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please help with this Gina.</span></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-37945616168247559272016-06-03T06:29:00.000-07:002016-06-03T06:29:56.482-07:00"Healing one cut at a time." Taking the First Steps<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today’s news highlights some “Down River” progress, in
Troy:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">HERRING RETAKE THE
WYNANTS KILL! <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: large;">According to the <b>New
York State Water Resources Institute</b>: “In the City of Troy, the first
barrier to fish was removed on the Wynants Kill in early May, and in less than
5 days, alewives had retaken the tributary as spawning habitat for the first
time in 85 years. The City of Troy got a tributary restoration grant from the
NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program and removed the barrier, reconnecting over
a quarter mile of spawning habitat for herring, and improving habitat for many
other species including American eel.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJMI4Ov5J2iU6Gz9rhXqfHTBn8enrduia6VlYoMh4XxUL5DVYNU9BUcmZdcy9EJhjWsp4oGYKmQDSO2vHHBJ5k5q1i2OqonEDVMwkFrPWr4efQZVOg5xzEIGFzmxLbv_POV-AcNrtUUp7/s1600/hergot.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJMI4Ov5J2iU6Gz9rhXqfHTBn8enrduia6VlYoMh4XxUL5DVYNU9BUcmZdcy9EJhjWsp4oGYKmQDSO2vHHBJ5k5q1i2OqonEDVMwkFrPWr4efQZVOg5xzEIGFzmxLbv_POV-AcNrtUUp7/s320/hergot.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">NYSWRI reminds us “Fish and many other organisms use
rivers and streams as pathways to move between feeding, nursery and breeding
grounds. Dams and many culverts are blocking those pathways and dramatically
shrinking the habitat available.”</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdwJtzz4FVQUFP9eoFkJGN4wX4xQUCm8v7X5US2lqiZ0i3YQvw13KAW623cDtRl7Qy-6QyIg2ELTaqwAIKhRbGcqvC5Oe9J-D-89khQzF48uSUwLAX4i2IEM6PPrjzchGfUuNQey_Dzf7/s1600/dam.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdwJtzz4FVQUFP9eoFkJGN4wX4xQUCm8v7X5US2lqiZ0i3YQvw13KAW623cDtRl7Qy-6QyIg2ELTaqwAIKhRbGcqvC5Oe9J-D-89khQzF48uSUwLAX4i2IEM6PPrjzchGfUuNQey_Dzf7/s320/dam.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Literally a
“dead” end to fish spawning<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">BUT WIN WIN: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“The restoration of historic spawning habitat is an
important component of DEC’s river herring fisheries management plan,” Acting <b>DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos</b> said.
“This barrier mitigation project is the first of its kind on a tributary of the
Hudson River estuary and will also help reduce localized flooding and improve
water quality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">SEE “Aquatic Connectivity in the Hudson River Estuary
Watershed”: MANY OPPORTUNITIES <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1yjfPSCYwn7tGtGNU2x5eSZRVWAE&usp=sharing">https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1yjfPSCYwn7tGtGNU2x5eSZRVWAE&usp=sharing</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Life Returns,
Step at a Time</span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;">Photo: Erica Capuana / NYS DEC Division of Fish &
Wildlife<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>John Lipscomb,
Riverkeeper’s boat captain</b> said “We talk about environmental damage as
‘death by a thousand cuts.’ This heals one of those cuts – a really bad cut.
The construction of the Wynants Kill barrier almost 100 years ago cut off a
tributary that was owned by the herring and other species. Now it’s theirs
again. That’s how the Hudson River will recover. That’s how the Hudson will be
restored. By healing one cut at a time. We can be proud of this. And we need to
immediately look for another opportunity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yet another “re-reminder” that taking that first –
perhaps modest – step gets us just that much closer to our goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today herring retake the Wynants Kill…tomorrow <b><i>“People
Not PCBs”</i></b> for Mother Hudson?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">TGIF,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dan</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2816713169400303692.post-82317591516365548512016-06-02T05:08:00.000-07:002016-06-02T05:08:41.520-07:00The Lesson of the Little Bird<span style="font-size: large;">Good Morning Gina,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As I was walking across a pasture on the farm yesterday afternoon a shadow swooped across the grass. I was in an open field and it was a cloud-free sunny day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So a shadow was a quiet surprise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I looked up and, at first, didn't see anything at all. Then I caught sight of a big bird -- a <i>huge</i> bird -- doing what looked like effortless loop-de-loops between the fields and the river.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was cool to see such a large bird float so far, so quietly, without moving a feather. I recognized the white head -- we have eagles -- that perch on high dead trees along the river's edge, a distinctive giveaway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then I saw a little bird -- too far away to make out any identifying characteristics other than 1) much smaller than the eagle and 2) <i>pesky, </i>I mean <b>brave pesky. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Beth came home later I was telling her about how much I enjoyed seeing the eagle but, also, about the heckling of the little bird. I was surprised it could keep up with the eagle and that it would risk hassling it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"That bird was probably just protecting its nest," explained Beth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I thought about that brave little thing putting out so much effort -- out-manned and out-gunned -- to protect its nest. Pretty inspiring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Spoiler Alert: RECURRING THEME. It is so easy -- against the peace and beauty of Up River -- to be complacent. But the <i>right thing </i>usually isn't the <i>easy thing.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">With PCB removal in some sections of the Upper Hudson at <i>less than half of goal </i>I feel a need to keep this issue in front of decision-makers like you Gina. You have the authority to do more than just monitor. Sure, Plan A is cycle through five year Review Periods. But when IT IS KNOWN that specific sub-goals were "way missed," there is nothing that says they can't be addressed now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please.</span></div>
Dan Lundquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10480312491123679069noreply@blogger.com