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Photo courtesy Long Island Game Farm Facebook

Join the Long Island Game Farm, 489 Chapman Blvd., Manorville in celebrating their 55th anniversary year with day long festivities on Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m.

Led by Master of Ceremonies Doug Geed, the event will kick off with a ribbon cutting ceremony of the Woodland Trail, a universal access trail suitable for wheelchairs. The trail renovation was made possible with funds from Suffolk County Jumpsmart program. The ribbon cutting will open Woodland Trail for the start of the Trail Trot & Animal Antics, a non-competitive run/walk through the trail followed by animal inspired challenges (antics) for the children. 

In addition, the day will include:

— An Open House where guests will meet the Game Farm Team, Camp Counselors, and partners to learn about what’s new at the Game Farm this year including a summer music series and the Re-Photo Project.

— Kids craft activities by Macaroni Kid. Refreshments will be served.

— Performances by local songwriters and the Eastport South Manor Junior High Orchestra on the new Susan M. Novak Stage.

—Game Farm Director Greg Drossel will lead groups on a Woodland Trail Walk while he shares the Game Farm vision for the Trail.

— Artist Tonito Valderrama will invite attendees to participate in the creation of The Great Nest of Life Installation Project, an interactive nature sculpture celebrating birds of Long Island.

— Boy Scout Sam Zvolensky will show his Eagle Award Project, a sensory garden at the Game Farm while Scouts Adalia Haas and Summer Realander will talk about the Gold Award projects they are each working on.

— Nick Jacinto will talk about his animals and his upcoming Weekends with Nature Nick at the Game Farm.

— Anthony Graziano, Long Island Landscape Photographer and conservation advocate will talk about his work and upcoming photo and IPhone photography classes at the Game Farm.

— Dr. Heidi MacALpine and Noelle Grogan, community collaborators promoting health and wellbeing through the creative arts, will demonstrate and talk about their work and upcoming program.

— And of course visit with the many unique animals that call the Game Farm home.

“The Long Island Game Farm was one of our Island’s first tourist attractions and it remains one of our most treasured landmarks. It’s brought pleasure and joy to the Geeds and thousands of other families through the decades and I’m excited about this new chapter for the Game Farm and the Novak Family,” said Geed.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 55 years since my family moved into the Manorville site and created the Long Island Game Farm. I’m happy to be honoring my parents by sharing this accomplishment with the people of Long Island. I am grateful to Suffolk County for making our Trail and new stage possible through Jumpsmart funds,” said Long Island Game Farm President Melinda Novak. 

Discounted admission for the day is $15 per person,  children under age 2 are free. 

Registration for the Trail Trot for youth, ages 3-12 years is in advance and includes admission to the Game Farm and a commemorative t-shirt. To register and for further information, visit https://www.longislandgamefarm.com/trailtrot.

ABOUT LONG ISLAND GAME FARM

Long Island Game Farm Wildlife Park and Children’s Zoo was founded in 1970 by Stanley and Diane Novak. As the largest combined children’s zoo and wildlife park on LongIsland, they offer families a natural environment where they can learn about wildlife and animals through education and entertainment. A member of American Association of Zookeepers and Zoological Association of America, the farm is located at 489 Chapman Boulevard, Manorville, New York 11949. For more information, visit longislandgamefarm.com, email [email protected], or call 631-878-6644. Find Long Island Game Farm on Instagram and Facebook at @longislandgamefarm.

 

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Eleven students who had their visas revoked, thereby preventing them from working and making them vulnerable to deportation, have now had their records restored. 

Last month the students were informed by SBU’s department of Global Affairs that their Student Exchange and Visitor Information System records were revoked. They were among thousands of international students nationwide to receive the message. 

On Friday, the Department of Justice started restoring some of the over 1,800 visas that were terminated. 

“This change means on-campus employment can be restored, and allows these students to return their full attention to their academic pursuits,” Provost Carl W. Lejuez, Vice Provost for Graduate Education Celia Marshik and Senior Associate Provost for Global Affairs Lindsi Walker wrote in an email sent to SBU faculty and students.

The reversal comes as litigation against the federal government mounts, with students arguing that the revocations were unconstitutional. 

After Stony Brook University announced the terminations on April 10, students gathered in following days to express their solidarity with the students affected and to urge the university to help defend against deportation. 

“Stony Brook is deeply enriched by the perspectives and contributions of our global community,” the letter from Lejuez, Marshik and Walker reads, “and we are proud to learn, teach, and conduct research alongside our exceptional international students and scholars. 

Reportedly, the students were still attending classes during the period where their visas were inactive.

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The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington

Imagine a world where a child growing up on Long Island does not have the opportunity to climb aboard a 19th century streetcar and learn about the desegregation of public transportation in New York; or to learn who carved the sculptures in Central Park; or be able to look up in awe at the colossal skeleton of a whale and learn about the industry that built and sustained our region. This is the world that will be created if the elimination of federal agencies and grants that support our local libraries and museums are not stopped.

Three of Long Island’s most beloved cultural institutions on Long Island’s North Shore —The Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor, The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, and The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook—are facing the abrupt and unprecedented termination and suspension of grant funding from two federal agencies: the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which was terminated by executive order by the presidential administration at the start of April, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), where already-approved project funding is now halted or terminated.

The three museums were awarded federal grants to support public-facing projects, including exhibitions and community programming. But now, these NEH funds have been withdrawn and IMLS funds frozen with little, if any, explanation. A termination letter sent to The Whaling Museum by Michael McDonald, the Acting Chairman of the NEH, stated “the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda” and that “immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interested of the federal government.” The three museums are among thousands of museums, libraries, and educational institutions who have suddenly lost funding.

Impacts

 At The Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor, the cancellation rescinds funding supporting exhibition design for a museum expansion centered on a whale skeleton to provide needed community space, and freezes funding for year-round educational programming tied to the museum’s Monsters & Mermaids exhibition.

At The Heckscher Museum of Art, award funds were to support the development of a groundbreaking new exhibition Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History, devoted to the sculptor who is best-known for her Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, along with a robust year of exhibitions and public programming supporting an intergenerational group of community members focused on enhancing teen mental health through the creation of art and fostering of community connections.

At The Long Island Museum, the IMLS funding cancellation blocks efforts to build an interactive and immersive exhibition experience in the museum around its circa 1885 horse-drawn streetcar. The exhibition, titled Riding Towards Justice, was to have created an accessible climb-aboard experience for visitors of all ages who would also learn of the stories of Elizabeth Jennings Graham (1827-1901).

The Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor

“These grants weren’t gifts—they were intentional investments grounded in research demonstrating the positive impacts of humanities-based projects addressing the educational needs in our communities,” said Nomi Dayan, Executive Director of The Whaling Museum. “We have a 90-year history of serving Long Island with integrity and creativity, and we are proud to preserve one of the most significant times in American history. The abrupt withdrawal comes at a cost to the communities we serve. We’re asking our leaders to honor the commitments that were made, and prioritize the learning that takes place in museums.”

“Thousands of studies, including a recent 2024 report released by The World Health Organization, have concluded that involvement in the arts can improve public health and promote healing from illness, cognitive decline, heart disease, anxiety and depression,” shared Heather Arnet, CEO and Executive Director of The Heckscher Museum of Art. “The Heckscher Museum of Art project which had been awarded a grant from IMLS was developed specifically with these social determinants of health in mind.”

“The Long Island Museum has received multiple IMLS grants for our Carriage Museum since the late 1980s that have supported conservation of the collection, improved exhibitions, and great programming. We are heartbroken over these actions and the potential loss this represents for our community and our different groups of visitors,” said Joshua Ruff, Co-Executive Director of the Long Island Museum.

The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook

Collectively, these three museums serve hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors annually; reach more than 100 school districts; introduce tens of thousands of school children each year to their first brush with art and history; and help senior community members develop meaningful engagement and connection opportunities later in life. The programs made possible through NEH and IMLS funding help provide equitable access to culture, spark lifelong learning, and preserve America’s stories.

Eliminated funding not only impacts the educational capacity at the museums, but has an economic impact on the region as a whole. A recently released Economic Impact Study by The Long Island Arts Alliance found that the nonprofit arts sector generated $330 million in economic activity during 2022—$178.4 million in spending by arts and culture organizations and an additional $151.6 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences. That economic activity supported 4,905 jobs, provided $234.5 million in personal income to residents, and generated $81.2 million in tax revenue to local, state, and federal governments. 

Taking action

Museums are calling on their supporters, elected officials, and the broader public to speak out to encourage Congress and the Administration to reinstate the legally awarded grants and protect the integrity of the nation’s cultural funding process.  

The public can show their support by visiting The Whaling Museum & Education Center, The Heckscher Museum of Art, and The Long Island Museum on “International Museum Day” on Sunday, May 18. All visitors to the three Museums that day will receive special “IheartMuseums” pins, stickers, and additional information on ways to help.

To learn more about the impact of these cuts or to take action, please visit the websites of the three museums — hecksher.org; cshwhalingmuseum.org, and longislandmuseum.org.

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Above, one of the many public discussions on energy storage systems held in recent months. Photo by Sabrina Artusa

Battery energy storage systems have been ever-present in the minds of community members. The systems, how they operate and what danger they pose are answerable questions, yet are often up for debate in meetings on potential projects. The public needs answers—not from developers, but from impartial experts.

The new BESS task force could finally be the source of unbiased and scientifically-backed information. Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) recognized the concerns his constituents had for the projects and offered to help. 

We have heard that the systems are an essential part of pursuing Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul’s goal of achieving an “emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.” However, we also know of fires in places like California and East Hampton. Our uncertainty about what to do, how to supply energy to our communities safely, and how to balance the unique needs of our town with the needs of the state, will hopefully become clearer with the help of local experts committed to transparency regarding the systems.

TBR News Media has attended many public discussions on energy storage systems. The same fears and questions are raised repeatedly, exemplifying distrust for those presenting the information (often developers) and the erudite scientific jargon used. The absence of understanding breeds misinformation. This Bess Task Force, consisting of local experts who have the same values as community members, the desire to find a solution and no chance to profit from the projects, will provide essential guidance to the public. 

Are lithium-ion batteries right for our community? That is the question in the minds of people across Long Island that this task force will hopefully help answer. 

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Studio 45 ribbon cutting. Photo courtesy of Councilwoman Bonner's office

On Sunday, April 13, Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner attended the grand opening of Studio 45 in Rocky Point, a cardio dance and strength training facility owned by Dr. Kimberly Roff, an Associate Professor at Touro University .

Located at 53D Broadway, the studio offers health and wellness classes featuring a full body workout with cardio dance and teach elements of Yoga, Pilates, and kickboxing blended in as well as additional strength training. “I know the Rocky Point community is passionate about rebuilding and revitalizing Broadway and what a great idea to start a fully woman-owned business there,” said Councilwoman Bonner.

Studio 45 can be reached by calling 631-495-5668 or online at www.studio45rockypoint.com.

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James Wishart at the Laser Electron Accelerator Facility. Photo by Roger Stoutenburgh/Brookhaven National Laboratory

By Daniel Dunaief

Leave a bicycle out in the rain for a few weeks and the metal gears and chain will develop rust that reduces the value and usefulness of that once shiny vehicle.

Now, imagine what the inside of a nuclear reactor looks like after high temperatures and ionizing radiation collide with everything they hit.

Chemists at Brookhaven National Laboratory, working with their partners at Idaho National Laboratory, recently showed how reactors cooled by molten salts had less corrosion in the reactor metals.

Molten salt cooled reactors are “intrinsically safe,” said James Wishart, Distinguished Chemist at BNL and director of the Molten Salts in Extreme Environments Energy Frontier Research Center. “They are already molten so they can’t melt down.”

The advantages of molten salt reactors are evident in their safety and their economics. These reactors are also better for the environment and for non proliferation of nuclear material. 

That is in contrast to what happened in 2011 after a tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, which had a meltdown at three of the plant’s reactors.

Fukushima lost the ability to cool the reactors because the tsunami knocked out the generators. A water reactor type meltdown can’t occur with a molten salt reactor because the fuel is already liquid and the reactor materials contain it in that state.

Chromium studies

In recent research published in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Wishart and his collaborators described the radiation-induced reactors of two ions of chromium, chromium 2+ and chromium 3+.

“Chromium is frequently the easiest metal to corrode from an alloy,” Wishart explained.

When chromium has a positive charge of three, it could be particularly problematic for the structural integrity and performance of the reactor. Chromium with a positive charge of two, on the other hand, may not be as problematic or corrosive to the nuclear reactor materials. Molten salts, which have negative ions of chlorine, can reduce chromium to the less reactive version.

By using the Laser Electron Accelerator Facility (LEAF) and the two-million electron volt Van de Graaff accelerator, Wishart tested the rate and temperature dependencies of reactions of the two chromium ions with reactive species generated by radiation in molten salt.

The solvated electrons and dichloride radicals, both of which have a negative charge, change the oxidation state of chromium to the less corrosive Cr 2+.

Commercial applications

Molten salt reactor research started in the late 1940’s.

In 1972, the Atomic Energy Commission expressed reservations about some technology issues and suggested that the engineering development of large components, a better understanding of the behavior of fission products and adequate remote inspection and maintenance techniques would be needed before molten salt reactors would be suitable for development.

The molten salt reactors were also not high enough on the development priority ranking of the government to have assurance of the required sustained resource allocation, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency Report on the Status of Molten Salt Reactor Technology.

Currently, however, at least a dozen companies are working on generators cooled by molten salts, with some involving chloride and others using fluoride.

Texas Abilene Christian University is building one such reactor, which would be the first university-based molten salt research reactor. The interest in these types of reactors has been growing around the world.

“We are providing information to help [people working in applied areas] understand the chemical transformations that molten salt fuel will undergo due to radiation inside the reactor,” said Wishart.

Several companies, including Thorcon Power and Seaborg Technologies, are also working on designs that can be built into modular forms and shipped by barge wherever power is needed.

In addition to reducing the threat from a melt down, these molten salt reactors also operate at relatively low vapor pressures, which is a “huge benefit in safety and in engineering,” Wishart added.

Molten salts have much lower vapor pressures than water because they are held together by very strong Coulombic forces, which come from the attraction of oppositely-charged ions.

Next studies

While the molten salt reactors favor the creation of a less problematic ionization state of chromium, they also produce other side reactions.

“With time and the large amount of radiation within the reactor, side reactions can lead to permanent products,” Wishart explained.

Studies of molten salt corrosion show a correlation between the presence and quantity of air and water and the rate of corrosion. Salts with low water and air contamination show little corrosion.

Wishart is now looking at more complex salt mixtures than the first series of experiments. Different cations, or positively charged ions, affect the reactivity of solvated electrons. He is investigating how that might divert the electron into side reactions that lead to the accumulation of permanent products.

Ground floor

Wishart was responsible for the construction of LEAF and for its operation for most of its 26-year history. When he and his colleagues were building the facility, he was eager to test out the facility’s ability to follow reactions on fast time scales, at about 10 picoseconds. A picosecond is such a small unit of time that an eye blink, which lasts about 0.1 seconds, is about 100 million picoseconds, so it records reactions rapid reactions.

Wishart was pleasantly surprised by all the scientific questions LEAF could address.

“I only started working on ionic liquids three years after LEAF was completed, so we could not anticipate how LEAF would enable that science to grow and then see it translate into molten salts,” he explained.

Wishart has published 76 papers on the radiation chemistry and/or physical chemistry since he started working on them in 2001.

Originally from the Detroit area, he returns periodically to spend time with family.

Wishart’s interest in chemistry began when he was a photographer for the high school yearbook, which, at the time, was printed in black and white. He made prints using traditional silver-based emulsions and was interested in the chemistry that caused the images to form under development.

When he was a PhD student at Stanford, Wishart mainly studied the chemistry of ruthenium, which is a second-row transition metal in the same family as iron. He found ruthenium satisfying to work with because scientists can watch the colors change to indicate when a reaction is done.

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Mirabelle Restaurant in Stony Brook Village is one of over 90 participating restaurants for Spring Restaurant Week. Photo courtesy of Mirabelle Restaurant

The tri-annual Long Island Restaurant Week is ready to kick off spring with an opportunity to bring customers into Long Island restaurants. Over 90 restaurants on Long Island will participate this year.

In a recent survey sent to diners, over 70% said they are very likely to dine out during Restaurant Week again in the future, and more than 45% said they dine out twice during the promotion.

The Spring edition will take place from Sunday, April 27 to Sunday, May 4, with several prix fixe options. Restaurants may offer a $24 two-course lunch, a $29 three-course dinner menu, a $39 three-course dinner menu and/or a $46 three-course dinner prix fixe. Restaurants may offer one, two or any combination of the four prix fixes during the promotion.

Each participant is required to offer three options per course (appetizer, entrée and dessert) for dinner. Participating restaurants MUST offer the $24 two-course lunch prix fixe, $29, $39 or $46 three-course dinner prix fixe all night every night they are open (or during lunch hours) from Sunday to Sunday, with the exception of Saturday when it may only be offered until 7 p.m.

Back by popular demand, the Gift Card Giveaway returns for the winter promotion and diners have the option to enter to win one of three gift cards to redeemed at a participating restaurant of their choice. To enter to win, diners must visit the Long Island Restaurant Week website before Monday, May 5th at 11:59 p.m. EST and input their information. Winners will be selected on or around Friday, May 9, and will be notified via telephone and/or email.

“On the heels of a very successful Winter Restaurant Week, the spring edition is sure to see more restaurants especially with the seasonal spots opening before the summer season kicks off. Winter Restaurant Week saw over 180 restaurants to choose from and we are expecting even more this spring. As 70% of foodies surveyed have shared that they plan to dine out during restaurant week it’s looking to be a busy week,” shares Nicole Castillo of Long Island Restaurant and Hospitality Group.

For a full list of participants and to view menus, visit www.longislandrestaurantweek.com. 

Long Island Restaurant Week is proudly sponsored by Long Island Restaurant News, Discover Long Island & Newsday. 

On Long Island Restaurant Week

Long Island Restaurant Week is a tri-annual event designed to garner positive publicity and additional business for the region’s restaurants. Since 2006, it has been an annual fall promotion until the first spring Long Island Restaurant Week was launched in April 2011 and then winter was added in January of 2016, due to popular customer and restaurateur demand.

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Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich speaks at the Three Village Civic Association meeting on April 7. Photo by Sabrina Artusa

By Sabrina Artusa

At a recent Three Village Civic Association meeting, Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) announced the formation of a new battery energy storage advisory committee consisting of scientists, fire department representatives, school superintendents and civic leaders. 

The advisory group substitutes for an official Town of Brookhaven task force, as suggested by the New York State Research and Development Authority. NYSERDA’s Battery Energy Storage Guidebook recommends creating a task force representing “interested stakeholders” to help create or amend the protocols, processes and strategies involved in implementing a battery energy storage system. 

“The Town of Brookhaven at large has not made a battery advisory task force as recommended by NYSERDA,” Kornreich said. “So I am making my own.” 

With several engineers to help navigate the technicalities, scientists to analyze alternate forms of energy storage, civic leaders like Three Village Civic Association President Charles Tramontana to tap into the sentiments of residents, and local school superintendents who are looking out for the next generation, the task force aims to disseminate their findings, dispel misinformation and scrutinize the systems from various industry perspectives. 

“The goal is to really make information available to everyone,” said Nancy Goroff, a retired professor of chemistry at Stony Brook University and former trustee for the Long Island Power Authority. “From my point of view a key aspect is figuring out what conditions, what parameters must be met in order for the battery energy storage systems to be safe. If we decide there are not a set of parameters for it to be safe, then we would recommend against building. I think it is more likely that we will come up with a list of parameters and conditions that can be met for the committee to make a consensus. “

“It is always better to have more information than not enough,” said Three Village civic member George Hoffman, who is pleased that a task force has been formed and commended Kornreich on the initiative.  “I think it will make the public more comfortable.” 

The group is tasked with comparing the facilities with peaker plants, a power plant that activates during times of high demand, considering alternative technologies and analyzing existing and emerging codes and safety measures.  

“I have reservations about lithium batteries,” said Kornreich at the civic meeting. ”But, I am not an expert on batteries and in the vacuum of policymaking a lot of info that informs policymaking decisions, not just here but everywhere, seems to come from people who have vested interest one way or another.”

With three proposed facilities in his district, Kornreich is concerned about the spread of misinformation. Organizing a group of “high level people who can really dig into this and study it” is a step toward developing a more complete and informed determination on the systems. 

In Port Jefferson Station, New Leaf Energy is proposing an 8.75-megawatt system while Savion has proposed two facilities in Setauket, 373 megawatts and 65 megawatts. 

Goroff said that anticipating and measuring safety risks is a big concern of the group. Already she has started to form ideas on how to mitigate risk by using information about previous fires. For instance, she said that by looking at BESS Failure Incident Database, she estimates that “the time of installation is the riskiest time for a fire” and that the group may make recommendations for certain standards in the installation process to address that.

Goroff acknowledged that some public discourse is “inaccurate and greatly exaggerates the risks.” 

 “At the same time,” she continued, “there are real risks and we want to make sure that those are reduced. We also need to get our arms around how big the real risks are separated from the misinformation and disinformation.” 

The group has had one meeting so far, with another soon approaching. They aim to have a report of recommendations by the end of June. 

“I do believe that it is possible to build BESS in a safe way,” Goroff said. 

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File photo by Raymond Janis

SBU visa revocations demand official action, not platitudes

As a proud Stony Brook University alumnus (M.S. 2005), I was deeply troubled by the recent report detailing the revocation of student visas for 11 international students at SBU. No explanation or evidence has been provided to justify these revocations. This lack of transparency leaves us to assume that these revocations — along with the roughly 1,500 others reported at over 250 institutions nationwide — are either arbitrary or motivated by an unconstitutional intent to suppress free speech. (Visiting students are entitled to the same free speech protections as U.S. citizens.) While the federal government does have the authority to revoke visas, exercising that power arbitrarily constitutes a clear abuse of power.

Some may disregard the educational value of a diverse student body or the fact that smart international students elevate academic standards in the classroom. But even skeptics should recognize that international students pay higher tuition than domestic students, effectively subsidizing SBU’s operating budget. Considering that SBU, Brookhaven National Lab and Cold Spring Harbor Lab are leading Long Island employers with globally diverse workforces, even pragmatic business leaders should be concerned. A climate of fear could prompt many of the approximately 3,800 international students at SBU to transfer, and discourage future applicants altogether.

Vague affirmations by university officials are welcome, but appear toothless. SBU is a public institution of New York State. What actions will the state take to protect its residents and universities from federal overreach? Has the university president sought support from the governor, or the New York Civil Liberties Union? Will SBU provide legal representation to the students or join wider lawsuits to contest these revocations in federal court? If not, why? And if this situation escalates, will university police intervene to prevent warrantless ICE arrests, or will they stand aside as masked, unidentified agents in unmarked vans seize students on campus?

Blame for all this must be placed squarely on Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and his fellow House Republicans. As majority members of a co-equal branch of government, they have failed in their constitutional duty to perform oversight. Their role is to ensure the executive branch faithfully enforces laws enacted by Congress — not to stand idle as policy is dictated by executive fiat. While LaLota may disregard the voices of his Democratic constituents, perhaps his Republican supporters and donors can impress upon him the long-term consequences of his inaction.

John Hover

East Setauket

Solar and wind power will not fulfill energy needs

In his letter of April 10 [The realty of renewable energy on Long Island] Peter Gollon recommended a document entitled “Long Island Solar Roadmap,” which is basically a sales brochure for solar panels. It would be a simple matter, we are told, to install 10 to 15 million solar panels on various locations, including flat roofs, carports, industrial land and brownfields.

The largest source, however, 49%, will be from offshore windmills. In addition, there will also be a network of lithium-ion battery installations, which will be charged when the solar arrays and windmills are generating power in excess of the user demands. Then, when the sunlight and offshore winds are absent or diminished, the required power will be provided from the energy stored in the batteries.

The problem with this scenario is that, for a given amount of solar, wind and battery installations, the required power can be guaranteed for only a limited period of time, if the sun and wind do not cooperate. In this unfortunate situation, a total blackout will occur, and it will not end until adequate sunlight and wind levels have returned.

With the technology of today, we have systems that use “fossil fuels” (oil and gas), nuclear fission and solar/wind technology. Of these, only solar/wind systems are likely to experience blackouts caused by a lack of fuel. For a known solar/wind/battery design, and known sunlight and wind profiles, based on recorded meteorological records, it should be possible to generate computer simulation software to calculate the probability of a blackout for given periods of time, such as 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, etc. Possibly Peter Gollon and his colleagues have already done this. If so, it would be most helpful for them to share their results with us. I am sure they are not simply trying to get as many solar panels and windmills as they can, and hope to get lucky.

In an interesting related development, Microsoft is in the process of reactivating the Three Mile Island nuclear energy plant in Pennsylvania, with a capacity of 800 MW, for the purpose of powering their upcoming artificial intelligence computers. Here on Long Island, in Shoreham, we have the sleeping Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, and it has a capacity of 820 MW. If we activate the Shoreham facility, and build two or three modern copies of it, we can have all of the power we could ever use, with zero carbon emissions, no possibility of a blackout, no thermal runaway and plenty of extra power for Connecticut and New York City during times when their sun and wind resources are in short supply. What is wrong with that?

George Altemose

Setauket

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL 

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

 

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Words pour out of our mouths like different kinds of liquids.

Sometimes, those words can offer necessary relief from white hot anger, agony or discomfort, serving as a cooling salve, bringing a smile to our miserable faces and turning, as the cliche would suggest, a frown upside down.

Other times, the words people choose to share can exacerbate an already inflamed state, serving as lighter fluid, threatening to turn us from a mild shade of pink into a deep red.

Words can also become an avalanche, forcing us to look elsewhere as a nonstop collection of words, phrase or ideas threatens to bury us beneath their verbal weight. Desperate to get away, we might hope the speaker gets distracted by a flying turtle.

A diatribe, lesson or self-aggrandizing soliloquy can be exhausting and irritating.

But, it’s not just the words and their effect that are so familiar in conversations.

No, you see, it’s the facial expressions. Many people have a remarkable ability to run the gamut of human emotions and thoughts without saying a word. A tightening of the skin around their eyes, a slight narrowing of the lids, a crooked smile, or a baring of teeth, which is probably the least subtle of the facial reactions, can reveal something about our inner state or disclose how we’re feeling about the world around us or, more precisely, the person in front of us.

To varying degrees, actors and actresses have mastered the art of using their often photogenic, compelling, or sympathetic faces to tell stories and, perhaps, to reveal the inner conflict we know they are feeling when, say, their sister asks them to be a bridesmaid when she’s planning to marry a person the actress has loved for years. Yes, that was a mildly amusing movie and yes, you probably know it.

The rest of us mere facial mortals, however, may not be as capable of altering our features to reflect the wide range of emotions we might reveal in response to the way we feel behind the masks we try to wear.

When I lived in Manhattan, I thoroughly enjoyed people watching. It’s a form of endless entertainment. Leaning on the railing at Rockefeller Center in mid December years ago, I watched an elderly couple gliding around the rink together, holding hands and glancing contentedly at each other, clearly enjoying the moment. With gloved fingers interlaced, they synchronized their legs as well as any pairs figure skaters might.

While I imagined that they had been together for decades and that they might have gone to an ice skating rink on an early date, they also could have been together for a couple of months or, perhaps, gotten married a year earlier.

Either way, their faces, which I can still picture decades later, revealed a keen and profound satisfaction.

Some people undoubtedly have mastered the art of the poker face, appearing interested or attentive when they are thinking about where to eat dinner later that night, what laundry they need to take to the dry cleaner, or when to sell a stock that’s been teetering with all the others amidst concerns about corporate profits and a potential slowdown in the economy.

Others, however, can reveal the equivalent of an SOS call, with a slight turn of their neck, widening eyes, and a faint but noticeable grimace around their pained mouths.

When we get to know family or friends well, we can read their expressions or hear the flat tone in their voices, knowing that the word “interesting,” or “you don’t say,” really means, “please stop talking. I’ll pay you to stop talking. In fact, here is a set of fake plastic ears that look like mine. Chew on them and, when you’re done, please recycle what’s left over.”

Sometimes, when I know someone well enough, I’ll watch their faces as they listen to a perspective that irritates them, a joke they don’t find remotely amusing, or a comment they don’t appreciate and I’ll recognize the unspoken but deeply held thoughts etched in their faces.

With all the finely tuned muscles in our faces and our ability to raise or lower our eyebrows, we can send signals that the attentive listener or others can read like a subtle or, perhaps more obvious, signal.

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