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February 2011
| Vol 6, Issue 1
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Denise Provost
Somerville Stateside |
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New Contact Information
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Please make note that I have moved offices. My new address is:
Representative Denise Provost
State House, Room 473B
Boston, MA 02133
My new office phone number is: 617-722-2263
The fax number is: 617-722-2837
As a reminder, my new email address is: denise.provost@mahouse.gov.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Denise
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| Come to Movie Night Monday | |
Please join me and co-sponsoring organizations: The Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Conservation Law Foundation, Global Warming Education Network, Students for a Just & Stable Future and Somerville Climate Action, for a showing of the film
Coal Country
followed by a discussion
Monday Feb 28th, 6:45 pm
Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave
"Coal Country takes us inside modern coal mining. We get to know working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia. We visit the homes of people most directly affected by mountaintop removal mining (MTR) and hear about health problems, dirty water in their wells and streams, and dust and grime on their floors. We hear from miners and coal company officials who are concerned about jobs and the economy and believe they are acting responsibly in bringing power to the American people. Both sides in this conflict claim that history is on their side. Families have lived in the region for generations and most have ancestors who worked in the mines. Everyone shares a deep love for the land, but MTR is tearing them apart.
Are the people fighting against mountaintop removal really protecting the earth, or do they stand in the way of affordable energy for all Americans? What is behind promises of "cheap energy" and "clean coal." Are they achievable, and at what cost? And what are the alternatives for our energy future?
Learn why getting off coal is critical for climate, social justice, and our health! Learn about the movements to address it at the federal and state levels and what YOU can do to support these efforts."
www.CoalCountryTheMovie.com
www.SierraClub.org
www.SomervilleClimateAction.org
www.JustAndStable.org
www.CLF.org
www.Greenpeace.org
www.GWENet.org
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Citizen Science in Our Community
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Science originated with amateurs. Before science became formalized in the 19th century, thoughtful individuals made observations and took measurements; conducted experiments; scanned the heavens; picked up rocks and fossils, and theorized about the nature of our world. Even with the professionalization of science, curious and observant amateurs continue to make important scientific contributions - and you can, too.
A 10 year old Canadian girl recently became the youngest person to discover a supernova (CNN blog, January 4, 2011). A Dutch school teacher identified a "green blob" in space that for some time had astronomers puzzled (google "Hanne's object.") And Roger Frymire of the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) counts and categorizes the contents of green blobs suspended in the water bodies of the Mystic's watershed. |
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Mystic River Watershed Association and Its Work
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Harmful Algae Blooms
The terrestrial green blobs that Frymire observes are technically cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. Causing green scum or discoloration of water, some harmful algae blooms (HABs) also produce toxins which can sicken people and animals. Dangers like these are what make the work of Frymire, and MyRWA's other citizen scientists, so important.
Frymire's work is such high quality that he was a featured presenter at a January 11, 2011 US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) sponsored forum on water quality in the Mystic River and its tributaries. Frymire says that he took one semester of chemistry in college, and hasn't studied biology since high school. Yet, using an EPA-supplied microscope, he meticulously tallies and classifies microorganisms from water samples collected by other MyRWA volunteers, allowing the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to make informed decision about issuing health advisories and taking other actions
Other Resources
Citizen scientists are on the front lines of documenting poor water quality, from a variety of sources, along Somerville's riverfront. They are a major resource in pushing to limit known pollution sources. To see the slideshows from the EPA forum, learn more about MyRWA, or get involved, visit: http://mysticriver.org.
For the slideshow, go specifically to http://mysticriver.org/epa-science-subcommittee, and under "2011 Science Sub-Committee Meeting," within "presentations," click "Frymire on Cyanobacteria in the Mystic." Under the "Meeting Notes" section, just above "Presentations," you'll find useful text. For more information about US EPA's Mystic River Initiative, visit: www.epa.gov/mysticriver. To learn more about Harmful Algae Blooms in water, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/hab. For more information on how HABs affect human and pet health, visit: www.mass.gov/dph/environmental_health : click on "Environmental Exposure Topics" then click on "Beaches and Algae," for a list of subtopics.
Note to dog owners: according to MassDPH, "[d]ogs can get very ill and even die from licking algae off their fur. Rinse dogs off immediately if they come into contact with an algae bloom. "
Ironically, animal waste left on the ground is one of the sources of elevated nutrients in surface waters that encourage the growth of HABs. The MassDPH website strongly suggests that dog owners remove pet feces from the ground, never put it down a storm drain, etc. For more information, see "Pet Waste and Bathing Beaches" subtopic under "Beaches and Algae."
Film about "Mystic Unseen": Other Pollution Hazards
Bacteria from more prosaic sources also threaten the Mystic, and the health of humans who come into contact with it. To view the excellent 10-minute documentary film, "Mystic Unseen," go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm3Zkj1SrTg
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Understanding the Impact of Traffic-Related Air Pollution on Human Health: the CAFEH study | |
Even adjusted for risk factors such as age and cigarette smoking, Somerville ranks conspicuously high in its rate of premature death from pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. Compared with most of the state's other 350 cities and towns, Somerville nearly tops the charts for premature mortality from these causes. Give the well established link between near exposure to traffic related air pollution (TRAP) and early mortality, some in our community had long wondered if Somerville's substantial traffic burden might not be contributing to its poor health and survival statistics.
The US Government's National Institutes of Health (NIH) decided that the question merited further study,. It awarded a $2.5 million grant for a 5-year study of the cardiovascular health of people living near I-93 in Somerville, and in the Chinatown, South Boston, and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston. The Principal Investigator (PI) for the study is Doug Brugge, PhD, a professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine. See http://www.tufts.edu/med/phfm/CAFEH/CAFEH.html.
Although much of the CAFEH research team is made up of professionals such as Dr. Brugge, Dr. John Durant and Dr.Christine Rioux, the CAFEH study has several important citizen science components. One is the study's steering committee, comprised of representatives from the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP), the Latin American Health Institute, the Chinese Progressive Association, the Committee for Boston Public Housing and the Chinatown Residents Association. A variety of discussions, briefings, and presentations conducted as part of the study process have broadened the scientific understanding of individuals on the steering committee, and the study's Community Advisory Committee, as well as the study's lay field staff, and the many graduate students and student interns who have worked on the project (see, for example, "Citizen Engineer Allison St. Vincent models the effects of air pollution," at http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/print.php?pid=1051.
One citizen scientist participating in the CAFEH study is Somerville's Wig Zamore. Like Frymire, Zamore has also been recognized by US EPA for his work. He received an award from that agency in 2007, and is regularly invited to make presentations at meetings, and to participate in conferences on air quality science.
Zamore is one of the authors of the January, 2010 paper, "Short-term variation in near-highway air pollution on a winter morning, published in the peer-reviewed journal. " Atrmospheric Chemistry and Physics." That article, and others published in connection with the still-ongoing CAFEH study, can be found on its website at http://www.tufts.edu/med/phfm/cafeh/progress.html.
The CAFEH study has engendered new analysis of existing data, such as the June, 2010 paper by Christine Rioux, PhD, published in "Environmental Health Perspectives." When complete the CAFEH study will not only yield improved information about the TRAP/health effects link, but may also narrow in on identifying how TRAP causes so many different health problems. I'm grateful to everyone involved in the study for their efforts, and for the promise of better understanding. |
| Cultivate Your Inner Scientist at Sprout & Co., Parts and Crafts | |
There are two Somerville organizations that offer opportunities to learn various aspects of practical science and engineering. Sprout & Company is a Davis Square venue that offers events and, sometimes, classes in a variety of fields. For details, visit: http://thesprout.org
Young people with curious,adventurous minds will probably be pleased to discover Parts and Crafts, a learning facility located on Powderhouse Boulevard. Describing itself as a "workshop-playshop and community center," Parts and Crafts offers classes for kids, such as Rockets and Projectiles, Stained Glass, Lights! Sound! Motors! and How to Publish Your Own 'Zine, as well as Girls' Invention Night, the first Friday of every month. It also has school vacation week and summer camp programs. To learn more, visit: http://partsandcrafts.org |
Civil Service Exam - April 30
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The recruitment campaign for the Massachusetts Civil Service Exam is now under way for entry-level Police Officers, cities and towns, and Transit Police Officers, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The examination will be held on Saturday, April 30, 2011.
Applications must be filed or postmarked no later than April 1, 2011. Applications and information about eligibility requirements, application fees, and the examination process are available at the Human Resources Division, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108 or by calling the Examination Hot-Line at (617) 878-9895 or toll-free at 1-800-392-6178. You may also apply on-line at www.mass.gov/civilservice
If you require additional posters or applications, please contact my office at 617-722-2263, or email me at denise.provost@mahouse.gov. |
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