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Island Blue Pages |
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By the Numbers |
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Fifty years ago, Ocean County had less than 100,000 people. Today our population exceeds 550,000.
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| LBI Scenes |
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Contributors
Doreen Greenberg, Editor
John Petralia, Contributor
Nancy Petralia, Contributor
Chris Cooper, Design |
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Welcome
to November's Island Blue Pages newsletter. Already thinking about Spring on LBI? How about making some of your renovation plans Bay-Friendly? This month's issue is about "Thinking Green" to keep Barnegat Bay healthy.
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Bay-Friendly News
GET YOURSELF GREEN
Contrary to Kermit the Frog--it is easy being green! On Saturday, December 6th from 4 to 5:30 PM, at the LBI Foundation in Loveladies, you can find out how to become a greener person by doing environmentally positive things. The LBIF Science Committee wants your help for its projects this year. Come discover how you can participate in exciting activities such as: Barnegat Bay Day, Science Saturdays, Community Outreach Programs, Greening the LBI Foundation, The Alternative Energy Demo, Planting a Rain Garden, Nature Tours, and many more. We need an accurate headcount for our special refreshments, so please call LBIF (609-494-1241) and register.
SAVE OUR BAY TOWN MEETING
Have a question about Barnegat Bay? Want to share your opinions about what's going on in the watershed area? The LBIF Science Committee invites you to be part of a town hall meeting in which you can ask questions and offer your point of view. On Friday, December 12, 9:00 to 11:30 AM, at the LBI Foundation, Gef Flimlin, Rutgers Marine Agent, will introduce representatives of the various organizations dedicated to the health of the Bay. He will recap the 2008 activities around the Bay and highlight future goals. This will be followed by a town hall discussion at which you can ask questions of the various organization representatives and express ideas that could help move us all in a Bay-Friendly direction.
LBIF SCIENCE CO-CHAIR IS SOCCC SPEAKER
John Petralia, an LBI Foundation board member and co-chair of the Science Committee, discussed the Island Blue Pages: A Guide to Protecting Our Waters, at the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon on November 11th. In his talk, Petralia explained why, environmentally speaking, Long Beach Island is not an island at all--and that conservation efforts that happen along and around LBI have an impact locally, regionally, and globally. |
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Understanding the Challenges
OVERDEVELOPMENT AND THE BAY
Long Beach Island faces the same challenges due to crowding and overdevelopment as the rest of the nation's shorelines. People want to be near the water and properties are squeezed into available spaces. According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), efforts to control building along the NJ coastline have failed. LBI is one of the country's most densely developed barrier islands (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer).
Increased population and overdeveloped land are the primary causes of the environmental problems facing the Barnegat Bay watershed. Overdevelopment reduces freshwater flow, causing habitat loss and pollution. Buildup has eliminated more than 28 percent of the Bay's salt marshes.
The good news is that there are programs dedicated to saving open space in the Barnegat Bay watershed area. NJDEP's Green Acres Program is a state program that gives grants to municipalities to help facilitate land acquisition. The Trust for Public Land initiated a land conservation program dedicated to protecting water quality, native habitat, and recreational access.
Protecting open space is important, but it is not enough. We can start to "Think Green" with Bay-Friendly designs, indigenous landscaping, non-toxic and sustainable materials, and water-saving ideas. Low impact development will greatly benefit the Barnegat Bay watershed. Land use, landowner behavior, and government policies can have profound effects on the health of Barnegat Bay. |
Do You Know?
THE PROBLEM WITH PAVERS
Here a paver, there a paver, everywhere a paver! The increase in impervious surfaces on LBI is one of the greatest threats to the health of Barnegat Bay. In nature, most rain and snow will soak into the ground where it falls. Plant and tree roots absorb much of this precipitation. The water gets filtered through the soil and sand into the ground.
Non-porous surfaces that do not allow storm waters to be absorbed into the ground cause a big problem called stormwater runoff. This means that water does not have the chance to get filtered through the ground, and a greater amount of water reaches the Bay containing unfiltered sediment and pollutants, particularly nitrates. Because they selectively contribute to the algae growth that crowd out beneficial plants, nitrates are a serious danger to the health of the Bay. Also, the groundwater aquatic system does not get re-charged, which can lead to water shortages. Of course, rapid volumes of runoff can also cause flooding.
The increased runoff contains contaminants from the walkways and streets, settled air pollution, car exhaust, and fertilizers and pesticides from gardens. Flowing into the storm sewers, instead of the ground, all this contaminated water is going directly into the Bay.
For more information visit the NJDEP (http://njstormwater.org) |
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What You Can Do
GREEN YOUR PLANS Planning a new walkway, driveway or patio? One way of decreasing stormwater runoff is to reduce the amount of impervious, flat surfaces on your property. The more the rainwater and snowmelt stays on your property and does not go into the street--the better.
- Use penetrable, porous surfaces. There are many materials that are durable, attractive, and allow some rainwater to filter into the ground.
- Check out the new "green" alternative pavers.
- Create spaces between pavers to allow for water seepage. You can plant Corsican mint or moss to crowd out weeds and add beauty to a paved area.
- Line the sides of impervious surfaces with stone or gravel trenches.
- Plant some natural vegetation on your property. The roots help absorb the stormwater.
It is even possible to plan your house and landscape to completely eliminate stormwater runoff.
For illustrations and ideas see: www.ecologicalhomeideas.com
BECOME AN ADVOCATE
Ask your favorite landscaper to get a supply of pervious "green" pavers. Call local landscaping companies and ask them if they have plans and products that include pervious paving. If they don't--ask them why not. |
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Bay-Friendly Business
NATURALLY CLEANA few years ago, Jessica Russo discovered that her young daughter's asthma problems were exacerbated by ordinary household cleaning products. When she sought out safe, nontoxic cleaners to use in her home, she discovered the Shaklee Company's all natural, biodegradable cleaners. The Shaklee Company describes its "green" products as "safe and effective" and "gentle on the planet." Shaklee is the first company in the world to obtain climate neutral certification and to totally offset its C02 emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment. Ms. Russo was so pleased with the results--a clean house and a healthy daughter. She decided to start a new venture. Naturally Clean was started by Jessica Russo and Noelle Veiksans in August of 2008. This new company, located in Barnegat, offers a full range of cleaning services from seasonal window cleaning to weekly housecleaning--all with natural and environmentally healthy products. Naturally Clean does not use hazardous, petroleum-based, corrosive, phosphate--laden products. The company motto is "Keep it Green, Call Naturally Clean." Naturally Clean utilizes reusable plastic containers and spray bottles and a few paper towels. You get a clean house and help the earth at the same time. When asked the obvious question, "Do these products really work?" Ms. Russo replied, "I get my biggest compliments on the shiny windows and mirrors." Contact: Jessica & Noelle at 609-698-8588 or naturallyclean@yahoo.com. | |
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