Home Environment & Nature

Rare western hummingbirds spotted on Long Island

by TBR Staff - December 16, 2016

0 2207

hummingbird-1 — Above, one of two rufous hummingbirds seen in an Aquebogue backyard. Photo by Cathy Taldone

By Cathy Taldone

My holiday decorating was abruptly interrupted by a “RARE BIRD ALERT!” received from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. A rufous hummingbird, a western native, was spotted at a private garden in Aquebogue on the east end of Long Island. I dropped everything, jumped in the car with binoculars and camera hoping for a glimpse of this tiny creature. This was a rare sighting indeed! While there are over 350 species of hummingbirds in the world, the ruby-throated hummingbird is the only common species on Long Island. Rufous hummingbirds are known to be found west of the Great Plains but not in the East.

The bird loving homeowner noticed this unusual hummingbird at her feeder in November and contacted the Quogue Wildlife Sanctuary and the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society. She knew the bird should have migrated south and had lost its way. She was looking for advice on how to help it find its way back on its journey. She was keenly aware that with winter approaching, this 3.5-inch bird weighing slightly more than a penny had a future that was in jeopardy.

The ruby-throated and rufous hummingbirds make their migration each year to Mexico. The rufous hummingbirds may breed as far north as Alaska and make their 3,000-mile trip along the West Coast to Mexico to spend winter in a warmer climate.

As I and other birding enthusiasts arrived in her backyard this past weekend, we were delighted to learn that there was not one but two rufous hummingbirds in this quiet east end backyard. We were rewarded with the visual display of two rufous hummingbirds fighting over the feeder. Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world but also very aggressive and will fight another to protect its territory. For me, this was a “lifer,” my first time seeing the species. We all watched with excitement and joy as these birds went back and forth to and from the nectar-filled feeders and the flowers still in bloom due to our warm fall weather.

While a sighting such as this would be extremely rare during the warm months, it is extraordinary to find one the first week in December. However, this summer a rufous hummingbird visited the Morton National Wildlife Sanctuary in Sag Harbor. It was there a few days and then disappeared.

Recently, wintering rufous hummingbirds have appeared in eastern states as far north as Massachusetts. There was a rufous hummingbird in NYC the winter of 2012 and another in 2011. One made it through to the spring and the other did not. How did these hummingbirds get so far off track?

Above, the second hummingbird spotted at a feeder in Aquebogue. Photo by Cathy Taldone

Researchers over the last several years determined that some have changed their route, traveling east before heading south, giving rationale as to why these birds have been sighted in a number of eastern states from October to January. The challenge for these wintering birds is to survive the weather and lack of protein. They live on the nectar from flowers and insects for protein.

According to Dr. Paul Adams, founder of the Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary, two rufous hummingbirds appearing in November is an extraordinary occurrence. To help the birds make it through the winter there needs to be a cooperative effort to help them meet the challenges of the cold.

As I return to the routines of the holiday season, I plan to make another trip to see the birds again. Dr. Adams will visit the residence and give his advice on how to help the birds manage the winter here, and hopefully these birds will survive the Long Island winter cold and snow. Meanwhile, nature will take its course. The rufous hummingbirds of Aquebogue may or may not make it to spring. These birds, just like all species, hope to make it to the next season, taking life’s challenges one moment at a time.

Smithtown is LI’s first clean energy community

by TBR Staff - December 16, 2016

0 241

Vecchio2_risoliw — Smithtown Supervisor Pat Vecchio presented the town's 2018 tentative operating budget this week. File photo by Susan Risoli

Smithtown is officially green, not with envy, but with energy efficiency.

According to Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R), The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has designated Smithtown the first municipality on Long Island, and first town in all of New York State, to be a clean energy community.

Smithtown received the recognition after completing four of ten high-impact clean energy actions as part of New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) $16 million Clean Energy Communities program and competition. By being among the first two municipalities in the state to complete the challenge, the town, along with Ulster County, now qualifies for grants up to $250,000 toward clean energy improvement in their community.

“Being first means that, out of all New York towns, Smithtown is in the forefront of energy efficiency and environmental initiatives,” Vecchio said in a statement.

Cuomo launched the initiative in August of this year as a way to support local government leaders to enforce energy efficiency, reduce pollution, save energy costs, and create jobs in their communities.

“This initiative encourages alternatives that will save money and create new opportunities for municipalities, and is one more step toward building a cleaner and more sustainable New York,” Cuomo said in a statement.

The town has been contributing to the green cause for more than a decade and has done a lot to earn its newfound designation.

Smithtown has been nationally recognized for becoming the first municipality in New York State to institute a requirement to use refuse collection trucks who use compressed natural gas.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the 30 contractor-owned diesel refuse trucks collecting solid waste and recyclables from the town’s 116,000 residents were replaced by 22 compressed natural gas models in January 2007.

Their choosing of clean alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles — which include snow plows, shuttle buses, pickup trucks and cars — has greatly contributed to reduced vehicle exhaust emissions and reduced fuel costs.

In 2014, Smithtown continued its trendsetting by becoming one of the first in New York to adopt the Unified Solar Permit Process, a streamline solar permit form developed to make it much easier and cheaper for residents to install solar energy systems on their homes.

It was mandatory within the Clean Energy Communities program that at least two of the high-impact action items be done after Aug. 1. The town got to work fast by both replacing most of its streetlights with energy efficient LEDs — which helps reduce street light energy use by 65 percent, saves generating costs, and overall creates a better lit and more attractive community — and implementing additional training and inspections to make sure the building department had a good understanding of the NYS Energy Code.

With about 60 percent of New York’s total energy consumption coming from buildings, according to the NYSERDA website, “There is a significant opportunity for energy savings through improved Energy Code compliance.”

William White, director of the Smithtown Building Department, said two field inspections occurred Nov. 8 through a couple homes.

“They were very happy with how the houses were insulated,” White said in a phone interview. “They just made a couple points of improvement, but overall, the building department was in good shape with our knowledge of the state’s energy codes.”

Outside of the clean energy competition, Smithtown has also installed a 50kW solar energy system and 10kW wind turbine at the Municipal Services Facility in Kings Park and partnered with the state to advocate for the Long Island Green Homes Initiative, a not-for-profit launched in 2015 that helps set up homeowners with a professional energy audit at no cost.

Organizers of the program said they connect residents with NYSERDA “to generate savings, stimulate jobs, boost economic development and promote sustainability.”

According to Vecchio’s office, Smithtown already plans to use their $250,000 grant to install new alternative energy systems, two of which are currently in development: a solar electric system at the Planning Department on Redwood Lane and another solar electric system at the Devine Building on West Main Street.

Port Jeff Village trustees mull possible changes to kayak storage policy

by Alex Petroski - December 15, 2016

0 575

kayak-racks-centennial-03_glowatzw — Village kayak racks at Centennial Park beach don't provide enough space to meet demand. Photo by Elana Glowatz

By Alex Petroski

Many kayak users in Port Jefferson Village were left without a paddle during the summer of 2016, and as a result, the board of trustees is examining ways to accommodate more aquatically inclined residents.

Signs detailing the Village's kayak policy are visible year round. Photo by — Signs detailing the Village’s kayak policy are visible year round. Photo by

The village currently supplies four wooden racks, which hold six kayaks each at two different beaches. Use of the racks is determined after applications are submitted and a lottery is held in April each year. About half of the applicants were not granted permits because of limited space for the 2016 season, according to Village Clerk Bob Juliano at a recent board meeting. Storage is provided so that kayakers can safely and conveniently leave their vessels near the water, rather than having to transport them every time they are to be used.

The lack of available storage resulted in about two-dozen vessels being left locked to trees or simply strewn across the beach without permission this past summer. There is no cost to obtain a permit if a resident is selected in the lottery.

“My goal is to expand the number of people able to store kayaks,” Trustee Stanley Loucks, who also serves as the board’s liaison to the recreation department, said in a phone interview. He said the village is actively working on changes to improve policies for the 2017 boating season. “What I want to do is put enough racks in for any Port Jeff resident who wants to have a kayak.”

Permanent signs have been in place warning beachgoers to remove kayaks and other small boats from the racks, and by extension, the surrounding areas, by Nov. 1 or be subject to fines. The signs also warn those without permits to refrain from leaving vessels altogether. Juliano said stickers were placed on the remaining boats Nov. 2, warning the owners to remove them within a five-day period, though the village didn’t act until about two weeks later. To retrieve their kayaks, owners are required to visit the Port Jefferson Department of Public Works and pay a $100 fee.

Loucks said kayak storage and the dumping of vessels without permits got “out of control” this year.

Port Jefferson residents Lois O’Donnell Kilkenny and Jodi Casciano said in Facebook messages that they would like permits to store their vessels, but they avoid the lottery altogether because they don’t think the chances of being selected are great. Demand for spaces may be greater than the village realizes.

“We sure would enjoy having more of them, so those of us who don’t have could obtain one,” O’Donnell Kilkenny said. “It gets harder to transport them as we get older! I know I would use it a lot more if we only had to pull it off the rack and go.”

“I have, like, a boatyard in front of my house.”
—Dorothy Court

Dorothy Court, Waterview Drive resident, which is adjacent to the Crystal Brook Hollow Road beach, said, at a public hearing on the matter in June, that she supported tougher rules.

“I have to deal with these kayaks every single day,” Court said. “I have, like, a boatyard in front of my house.”

Loucks said he is sympathetic to village residents who get shut out by the application process. “It’s a shame we have to limit the number of people,” he said.

According to Juliano, a Port Jefferson family had five kayaks tied together and locked around a tree that were seized by village personnel in November. They submitted a letter asking for leniency from the village when they learned of the $500 in fees required to retrieve the boats. The board approved a motion Nov. 28 to cut the fees in half.

Village Mayor Margot Garant was in favor of reducing the fine for the family, though she said at a recent board meeting that the fees are in place to discourage the practice of abandoning kayaks.

“It’s not really about the money, it’s about cleaning up the area,” she said.

Loucks said the board of trustees is considering moving existing racks to East Beach and removing them from the beach at the end of Crystal Brook Hollow Road, while also adding more to comply with demand. He said an experimental contraption was used on East Beach this year, though moving the racks there and adding more would be ideal. Garant added she would like to see the existing racks moved because of a lack of parking in the area.

The village provides racks with space for 24 kayaks at the beach at the end of Crystal Brook Hollow Road in Mount Sinai Harbor, and the same amount of spaces at the beach near the Village Center in Port Jefferson Harbor.

PSEG employees volunteer to clean up grounds of Tesla Science Center

by TBR Staff - December 12, 2016

0 420

pseg-at-tesla-science-center-5_reddingw — PSEG employees volunteered time to help clean up the grounds of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in Shoreham Dec. 10. Photo by Kevin Redding

Long Island PSEG employee Meredith Lewis wanted to help clean up the grounds of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in Shoreham, so she organized volunteer efforts to do just that.

The cleanup was part of PSEG’s Community Partnership Program, which provides sponsorship to any employees passionate about contributing within their community.

PSEG volunteers rake leaves at the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in Shoreham Dec. 10. Photo by Kevin Redding

As a Shoreham resident, Lewis said she wanted to help make Wardenclyffe – which has become something of an eyesore the past few decades – a place the community can go to and be proud of, especially the area that will become the center’s welcome site.

The location where Serbian-born inventor Nikola Tesla’s last remaining laboratory in the world stands was designated as a world historic site the following day, so timing couldn’t have been more perfect for Lewis and her merry band of helpers – made up of about 25 people between those from PSEG and the Tesla Science Center.

“It feels really great that people want to take time out of their personal schedules and give back to the community,” Lewis said. “We want a nice place for people to go and honor Tesla. It’s very exciting to have somebody who has such a historical significance be in our community and to be able to clean up the site, which really was a dumb beforehand, and make it what it is today. It’s nice and helps the community.”

Her volunteers rakes leaves, trimmed low brush and shrubs, cleared out vines attached to the fence that separates the grounds and the road, and got the area ready for planned irrigation in the spring.

Even her kids Brayden, 7, and Brooke, 5, were taking part.

Karl Sidenius, a longtime volunteer for the center, said he got involved in the effort because he was sick of seeing what had become of the property.

“I knew this had been Tesla’s lab and to drive by here every day or so and see the mess really disturbed me,” he said. “If we can get this cleaned up today, it would be a big help in maintaining the property.”

Gene Genova, vice president of the Tesla Science Center, said the help was great. Ever since the property was bought in 2013, he said, hundreds of volunteers come out to the site and help clean up.

He said there are big plans to turn the abandoned house and building on the property into a visitor’s center and a community events center, respectively.

“When we get volunteers who are passionate about helping us,” Genova said, “it furthers our cause to make things happen faster.”

Gardening: Choosing festive indoor plants for the holiday season

by Ellen Barcel - December 4, 2016

0 1154

By Ellen Barcel

It’s getting to be that time — the time of year when the stores are filled with irresistible holiday plants. Before you make that purchase or purchases, there are some things to remember.

First, little kids and pets have a very bad habit of putting everything they see in their mouths. While some plants are safe, others are toxic. Make sure that your children and grandchildren as well as your dogs and cats can’t get at your holiday plants. A trip to the ER should not be part of your holiday experience.

Second, if you are treating that plant as you would a bouquet of flowers, that is, a decoration for a brief time, then of course put those plants where they do the best for the décor. If, on the other hand, you wish to keep your holiday plants growing year round, then you must treat them kindly. Put them where they will get enough light. Remember to water them accordingly. Don’t overwater any cactus plant, for example, but don’t let your poinsettias dry out.

Norfork Island pines decorated for Christmas. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Some plants need enough humidity, like the Norfolk Island pine, which is so popular this time of year. Frequently decorated with sparkles and red bows, it makes a nice alternative to a full-sized Christmas tree. I’ve seen them in the supermarket, moderately priced, for about three feet tall. Add a few of your own decorations and you have a really nice holiday tree. I kept one growing for a number of years before the dry house air in winter finally did it in.

If you are planning to have amaryllis blooming for the holidays, you need to have that bulb planted approximately four to six weeks before the desired bloom date. While most are a bright red, there are white, pink and variegated varieties. To keep them blooming for the next year, remove the spent flower but keep the green leaves growing. You need to fertilize the plant as it is growing, since this year’s bloom is based on what the grower did the year before you bought it. The bulb will then go dormant for a number of months. If you’ve treated the bulb right, it should start to grow and bloom again in November of next year.

Look for poinsettias with the yellow center flowers still closed. They will last longer. Photo by Ellen Barcel

If you choose a poinsettia, make sure that the yellow flowers (the tiny part in the center of the “bloom”) are tightly closed, with no pollen on the red petals (actually bracts, modified leaves). This means that the flower has not really bloomed yet and will last longer in your house. If you see that the yellow flowers are open and that the pollen is out, it means the plant is an older one and will not last as long in your house.

Yes, you can try to keep a poinsettia year to year, but my experiences have not been positive ones. I treat them as I would a bouquet of flowers, nice for a decoration but to be discarded when the bloom fades. If you get one of those “doctored up” varieties, sprayed a different color or sprinkled with glitter, and are able to keep it growing year after year, you will, of course, just get the plain red bracts in future years.

Christmas cactus need dark and cool night temperatures to form buds. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Christmas cacti are much easier to keep growing year after year. They don’t mind the dry air so common in most winter houses. To get the cacti to rebloom year after year, put them in a totally dark room (or closet) each night for about two months before Christmas. The dark, the experts say, will trigger the formation of flowers. It has been my experience that as long as I keep my cacti in a very cool room (for me, my dining room) during the autumn months, the buds form. Of course, my dining room tends to be a fairly dark (but not totally dark) room in the fall.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

Life Lines: Limbs, genes and evolution

by Elof Carlson - December 4, 2016

0 1393

n0581620h — Most snakes ... have no sign of limb development when X-rayed or when their skeletons are studied by anatomists.

By Elof Axel Carlson

The re-discovery of Mendelism in 1900 greatly enhanced breeding for new varieties of animals and plants. Similarly, the discovery of sex chromosomes and the chromosome theory of heredity enhanced Mendelism five years later. The discovery in the 1970s of genes controlling embryonic organs and body plans enhanced both embryology and genetics.

Also in the late 20th century a molecular approach was worked out that allows detection of genes and their functions using DNA sequencing and tools for isolating and inserting genes from one species into another. A good example of this is the analysis of limb development in vertebrates.

We are vertebrates because we have a spinal column and so do fish, frogs and tetrapods (four-limbed organisms like mice, humans, deer and lizards).

But some vertebrates lack limbs. Snakes are the best example of this. Boas and pythons do have internal vestigial hind limbs but totally lack any rudiments of limbs for their forelimbs. Most snakes, like vipers, have no sign of limb development when X-rayed or when their skeletons are studied by anatomists.

How did the snakes lose their limbs? The earliest ancestors of snakes did have hind limbs. Those ancestral types are only known from the fossil record. In the 1970s Hox genes, which determine development from the head to the tail, were found in vertebrates. The Hox gene for limb development is Hox C-6. It is regulated by another gene called sonic hedgehog or Shh. In vipers the Shh gene regulating Hox C-6 is mutated for both fore and hind limb production. In pythons it is nonfunctional for forelimbs but mutated with an aborted development preventing full growth of the hind limb buds.

Just this year, molecular biologists used the new techniques of gene removal and transfer (using a tool called CRSPR) and removed the Shh gene from a mouse fertilized egg. It resulted in a limbless baby mouse. When they put a python’s Shh gene in a mouse embryo whose Shh gene was removed, the resulting baby mouse had vestigial nubbins. When a mouse fertilized egg had its own Shh gene removed and replaced by that of a fish or human Shh gene, the baby mouse had perfectly normal limb development.

This work by Axel Visel and colleagues at Lawrence Biology Laboratories in Berkeley was published in the journal Cell. What makes science so attractive to scholars is its convincing logic, tested by experiments, to explore, confirm or rule out different interpretations of a puzzle. The puzzle of nature in this case is why snakes lost their limbs.

Those who see it in human terms (because we often use the ancient Greek dictum “Man is the measure of all things”) may invoke that the snake was punished for its role in corrupting humans. The scientist, however, likes to see things in more detail. There is comparative anatomy, the fossil record, experimental embryology, gene identification for function, sequencing for recognizing the gene, molecular tools for isolating the gene and experimental means of altering fertilized eggs to follow their fate.

Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Dept.of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.

Photo of the Week

by TBR Staff - December 2, 2016

0 398

SUPERMOON POWERS

Gene Sprouse captured this photo on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 5:17 p.m. with his Nikon D5500 with a 18-200mm zoon lens at 44mm focal length. He took three shots at 0, −2 and +2 and used Photomatix to generate an HDR composite picture. He writes, “The Supermoon [on Nov. 13] caused an unusually low tide, and I took this picture at West Meadow Beach at sunset. In all of my years in Stony Brook, I have never seen the sandbars out so far.”

A look at West Meadow Beach — 12 years post-cottages

by Donna Newman - December 1, 2016

0 4930

Is it time for a second look at the reclaimed nature preserve?

westmeadoww — West Meadow Beach as seen from clear-sky day. Photo by Donna Newman

It’s been 20 years since New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) authored legislation to create a nature preserve at West Meadow Beach, with a guarantee that it would not be a drain on the ongoing Brookhaven Town budget.

Englebright described a grueling and divisive battle that continued for the eight years between passage of the legislation and the eventual reclamation of the beach.

“I wanted to write state law that established, as specifically as I could at the time, the land uses going forward,” he said, adding that West Meadow Beach is now the most valuable asset Brookhaven Town owns.

Brookhaven officials agreed to take responsibility for the preserve, via a “home rule message,” to keep it a town property.

“Home rule message” is a New York State Assembly policy that, if a proposed bill will affect a municipality, before the speaker authorizes it to come out of committee, that municipality must signal its approval, Englebright said. Brookhaven Town, under then Supervisor Felix Grucci, did just that.

The legislation — A 11008-A in the Assembly and S 7829 sponsored by former New York State Senator James Lack (R) in the Senate — included a provision for a segregated account to contain rent money paid into it by the cottage-owners who continued to occupy them during the summers between 1996 and 2004.

In 1996, nearly 100 cottages were on West Meadow Beach. The legislation required all cottage owners to pay an annual rent to the West Meadow Beach Capital Restoration Fund overseen by both the Stony Brook Community Fund and Brookhaven Town.

In 2004, that fund was used to remove the cottages to make way for the preserve, as well as restoration of the beach.

The Gamecock Cottage at the end of Trustees Road, one cottage to serve as a local museum, and two cottages for security/park protection purposes were the only buildings not removed.

Meanwhile, the Stony Brook Community Fund became The Ward Melville Heritage Organization. It has since declined to handle the responsibilities spelled out in the legislation.

According to the Brookhaven Town Department of Finance, these endowment funds are kept in a bank account separate from other Brookhaven Town funds. The current balance in this account is $1.45 million, which generates approximately $2,000 in interest per year to be used at West Meadow. If this interest is not used, it reverts back as an addition to the principal of the fund.

Jack Krieger, public information officer of Brookhaven, confirmed in an email that Brookhaven has been compliant with this law since it was created.

Englebright said he feels it might be time to revisit the management of West Meadow Beach.

“It may be time for a public/private partnership vision to be pursued,” he said. “A not-for-profit operating the Nature Center in conjunction with the town [would be preferable].”

He pointed out that the practice works extremely well for organizations like the Bronx Zoo and the American Museum of Natural History.

Centereach, Miller Place artists take spotlight in new Suffolk gallery

by TBR Staff - November 28, 2016

0 257

galleryspectators2w — Spectators browse through Suffolk County Community College's new photo gallery at the Eastern Campis in Riverhead. Photo by Kevin Redding

Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead held an opening reception last week for its annual Eastern Campus Student Art Exhibit, a show that takes place every fall in the Lyceum Gallery of the Montaukett Learning Resource Center on the Eastern Campus.

Centereach’s Sarah Mullen with her photo, top left, that was featured in the gallery. Photo by Kevin Redding

The salon-style show serves to highlight exceptional work created by students in the college’s applied arts programs. This year’s exhibit contains over 60 works that will be displayed in a variety of media and sizes, all of which have been done for classes on campus within the last two years.

Students majoring in photography, graphic design, computer art and interior design were able to submit up to three pieces of their choosing and have the opportunity to leave their often-isolated creative spaces and gauge a reaction of their work from the public..

Ralph Masullo, professor of photographic imagery, said that the gallery has proven to be incredibly valuable for the artists in many ways.

“When you’re an artist and put your work out, you’re basically putting yourself out,” Masullo said. “For students who tend to be very timid about that, it’s their first experience to be exposing themselves as an artist. It’s a good experience for them. Just standing around and listening to comments from strangers is very helpful.”

Sarah Mullen, 22, of Centereach, said that this was her first art exhibit on a college-level, even though she’ll be graduating from SCCC this year with a photography major.

Mullen submitted two photos that will eventually be part of a travel photography book she’s been working on this semester as a special project that highlights lesser-known locations on Long Island. One was taken at Avalon Park in Stony Brook and the other at Prosser Pines in Middle Island. The photo titled “Nature’s Tranquility” of stone steps ascending deeper and deeper into a beautiful forest is so mesmerizing that it became the official image for the reception, appearing on all promotional fliers.

Photos in Suffolk County Community College’s new gallery are observed. Photo by Kevin Redding

“It’s nice to have the exposure here,” Mullen said. “Usually, as an artist, all you’d have besides a gallery is the internet, and it’s cool for someone to come physically see your work on the wall. When it’s on the computer, you can still edit it, you can still change things. Once it’s on the wall, that’s it.”

One of the most striking photos in the gallery came from Kiera Pipe, 19, of Miller Place. Taken at Peconic River Herb Farm in Riverhead, the photo captures a sundress hung up on a line in between two shutters on the top floor of a rustic and worn-down barn. One observer said it was haunting and looked almost ghost-like.

Pipe, who’s a photographic imagery major, said that she likes to see whether or not her work means something to someone else or provokes an emotion of any kind. Constructive criticism, she said, makes her a better artist.

“I’m really new to submitting my work into events like this,” Pipe said. “It’s really interesting to watch other people look at my images, while I’m kind of trying to figure out what they’re thinking. I think it’s really awesome … it’s a good feeling.”

Kiera Pipe, of Miller Place, had her photo hung up in Suffolk County Community College’s new gallery. Photo from SCCC

Growing up on the North Shore, she naturally gravitated toward photography, with a specific focus on landscapes.

“I like all the components that go into it,” she said. “Your eye travels in so many different directions when you’re looking at a landscape. [Growing up] on the water, everything always looks so different. It’s the same place and everything, but the shores and the sky changes so much … it always becomes a different photo.”

The exhibit is open through Dec. 14 in the Lyceum Gallery, located at 121 Speonk Riverhead Road on the Eastern Campus in Riverhead. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Sundays and holidays (gallery closed from Nov. 24 to 27).

Largest renewable energy project for LI awaits approval

by TBR Staff - November 28, 2016

0 464

clean-energy-linkw — The growth Long Island could see in renewable energy resources if the project is approved. Image from Invenergy

By Rebecca Anzel

The largest renewable energy project ever proposed for Long Island has near unanimous support

Clean Energy Link, introduced by Chicago-based private energy developer Invenergy, LLC, would produce 701 megawatts across 55,671 acres — about the size of Long Island’s North Fork.

Four wind farms and two solar farms would be privately funded and built in rural areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, and the power generated would be transferred to a substation in central New Jersey and converted from AC to DC. Then, it would be shipped 80 miles underground and underwater by a transmission line and connect to the Long Island Power Authority’s grid at a 3.5-acre facility on Ruland Road in Melville.

A spokeswoman from Invenergy said the company submitted a proposal to LIPA, and is hoping it will be granted a contract. It is unclear how much money LIPA is willing to pay for the electricity Clean Energy Link will generate, but if the power authority approves the project, it is expected to be operational by the end of 2020.

“I’ve been in this business since 2003 and this is probably one of the most, if not the most exciting project we’ve done,” Mike Polsky, Invenergy’s CEO, said at a press conference on Oct. 24. “It’s a very remarkable, bold and transformational step for New York State, and despite some naysayers, whatever they may say, it will happen.”

Clean Energy Link is a step toward achieving a mandate set by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in August that 50 percent of New York’s electricity needs to come from renewable energy sources by the year 2030. The first checkpoint is a requirement that utilities need to purchase energy from nuclear power plants in the state by April 2017 in an effort to prevent the facilities from closing.

“New York has taken bold action to become a national leader in the clean energy economy and is taking concrete, cost-effective steps today to safeguard this state’s environment for decades to come,” Cuomo said in a press release. “This Clean Energy Standard shows you can generate the power necessary for supporting the modern economy while combating climate change.”

According to Invenergy, about 9.5 million megawatt hours per year need to be produced by renewable energy sources statewide by 2030, and the Clean Energy Link project would produce about 1.6 megawatt hours per year.

How the wind and solar energy would make its way to Long Island. Image from Invenergy

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said because Nassau and Suffolk counties have about 3 million residents, it is a “notoriously very difficult place” to build anything. He expressed his support of the renewable energy project at a press conference in part, he said, because Long Island has experienced extreme weather and other impacts from increased carbon dioxide emissions.

“We have to be leaders on this issue — Long Island has to be out front,” he said. “… Part of that leadership means identifying what makes sense and maximizing the potential of the things that make sense. We are more at threat from climate change than just about any other region in the country.”

Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said the most important aspect of the project must be its affordability for residents. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, New York had the seventh highest electricity prices in the country in 2015.

“The residents need to benefit. Period,” Anker said. “Energy costs are too high and we need to come up with a way to make it affordable for Long Island residents.”

One of her other concerns is if local communities are able to give feedback before LIPA officials decide whether to grant Invenergy a contract for the Clean Energy Link project.

For Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), Clean Energy Link makes environmental sense because by increasing New York’s use of renewable energy, the state’s reliance on foreign fuel lessens, and therefore its carbon dioxide emissions will decrease. He also said the proposal is economically sound because the project would be constructed in states where land is cheaper and in more abundance than on Long Island, a point echoed by other local politicians.

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said he’s opposed Invenergy’s other project on Long Island — a 24.9 megawatt solar farm in Shoreham on the former Tallgrass Golf Course. It was approved by LIPA in May and is supported by other Brookhaven officials, who recently passed changes to the solar code prohibiting trees from being cut down for the construction of solar arrays.

“I don’t like the idea of solar farms on Long Island that impinge upon or displace green space,” Englebright said.

He added that transporting the power the Clean Energy Link project would provide underground is smart, because it would not be subject to disruptions due to weather.

“LIPA would be wise to move in the direction that this offers, which is the renewable direction,” Englebright said. “We’re an oceanic island, and putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere ultimately drowns us.”

To Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point), the most impressive aspect of Invenergy’s Clean Energy Link proposal is its “multipronged” approach. Renewable energy should not be produced by just wind or solar individually. The project’s potential impact is greater because it would make use of both.

She also said lower energy bills would go a long way toward generating community support. According to Invenergy, the project’s proposed start date was chosen to make full use of federal incentives for solar and wind energy production, a savings that would be passed along to residents.

Pine Barrens Society Executive Director Dick Amper agreed that community support is imperative for the success of the project.

“If the people who produce solar cut down forests for it, or put it in residential neighborhoods or replace farms that produce food for it, the public is going to turn against solar,” he said. “It took 25 years for everybody to come along and agree we need renewables. They’re not going to like them if we put it in bad places, and we can’t afford to have the backlash because we need solar.”

Prev 1...122123124...154 Next

Page 123 of 154