Food on Long Island is at a crossroads. We have a diverse population offering an array of international cuisines, a history rich in farming and fishing, and a burgeoning movement to promote locally grown products. Yet, despite these strengths, we still face challenges ranging from food production to waste disposal. If not addressed, these threats can be harmful to our economic, environmental, and social well-being. 

That is one of the conclusions of the Long Island Food System Report Card. The study, released by Sustainable Long Island and Adelphi University's Vital Signs Project, assessed the region's food system - the range of processes that keep our population fed. The report card measured 31 economic, environmental, and social health indicators in five sectors, including food production, processing, distribution, access and disposal.

In many ways, the problems identified in the report mirror those in other places across the country. They stem from the modernization and globalization of the American food system, dating back more than 50 years, when changes in production and policy encouraged a rapid shift from small-scale farming to industrialized agriculture. While there are upsides to the contemporary system, they are tempered by challenges associated with environmental health, social equity, and cost. On Long Island, these are compounded by homegrown conditions, like our area's high cost of living.

Even as agriculture remains important to our economy, local farms are shrinking in number and size. The majority of food grown or caught on Long Island is sold elsewhere. Rising food costs and the economic downturn have led to a dramatic surge in food bank clients and enrollment in federal food programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

But with investment and changes in processing, packaging and distribution, we could generate new funding for our local economy and provide fresh food to Long Islanders in a more viable manner.

The current food system is also susceptible to disruptions caused by severe weather. We experienced this after superstorm Sandy, when power outages and gasoline shortages impeded food shipments to retailers and kept consumers from traveling to stores.

So we need to take a thoughtful, comprehensive approach to promoting a more sustainable food system. This new approach must consider the position of local food production within regional, national, and global food networks, finding the scale and degree of interconnection that works best for Long Island. Recommendations identified by the report card include:

• Investment in distribution hubs, packaging and processing centers to preserve and expand Long Island's regional food system.
• Economic diversification in farming - such as more agro-tourism or enabling more energy production, such as wind power, on farms. These would enhance the industry as one of the region's economic engines.
• New initiatives to increase food access and reduce food insecurity for all Long Islanders, such as expanding eligibility requirements for SNAP.
• Protection of the region's water supply, farmland, and air quality for long-term environmental health and viability.
• Creation of a regional food system council to promote communication, coordination, and collection and assessment of information.

---> A version of this editorial appeared in the print edition of Newsday on Monday, August 19, 2013. The opinion piece was written by Amy Engel and Sarah Eichberg. Amy Engel is executive director of Sustainable Long Island. Sarah Eichberg is director of community research for Adelphi University Vital Signs, a project that analyzes the social health of communities on Long Island.

In-depth Governing Magazine article; Sustainable LI quoted

Long Beach, NY is rebuilding their iconic boardwalk to be stronger and more resilient than before

While cities deal with the losses associated with these natural disasters, they face the huge task of rebuilding and the frustrating wait for federal and state money to help with the effort. But some cities take on an additional challenge: They make a post-disaster leap from replacing to revitalizing.

Obviously, there's little comfort in the wake of devastation, but essential to the idea is that in disaster there can be opportunity. Millions in federal, state and local disaster dollars can be leveraged into billions in additional investment from the private sector. That approach, however, takes more time, a lot of patience and a dose of creativity. Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Greensburg, Kansas; and San Francisco, California are just some of the Cities who've learned how to turn local tragedy into a new and vibrant vision. Their lessons on leveraging funds, dealing with local sentiment - the longing to replace rather than remake - are a playbook for local officials dealing with today's disasters. Whether it's localities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that were pummeled last year by Hurricane Sandy and its wind-driven flooding, or tornado-alley cities like Moore, Oklahoma., still reeling from the wreckage of this year's storm season, these lessons hold suggestions for disasters of today and tomorrow, and for the next officials to join the disaster club.  

Brought to you by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority

Although temperatures are rising, your energy consumption doesn't have to! These tips will help you find ways to save energy and money during the final weeks of summer: 

Microwave it or grill it.  

• Can't stand the heat in the kitchen? Use your microwave oven as much as possible in the summer. Microwave ovens use around 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens. You can also fire up the grill and dine al fresco! Your house will stay cooler and you'll save energy.

Check the date.  

• If your current refrigerator was made before 1993, replace it with a new ENERGY STAR model which uses half the amount of energy. If you have a fridge from the 1980s, replace it with an ENERGY STAR qualified model and save over $100 per year on your utility bills.

Retire your back-up fridge.  

• Many homes have older refrigerators in their garage or basement for overflow storage. Refrigerators are large energy users in your home and can cost a lot to operate. Keep your back-up refrigerator or freezer as full as possible, and unplug it when it is empty.

Turn In. Turn On.  

• When purchasing a new air conditioner, look for a high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER). Units with high EERs cost less to operate. Turn in your old room air conditioner to your local waste management facility.

Size it Right.  

• A properly sized air conditioner will operate more efficiently and dehumidify more effectively. An over-sized unit will cycle on and off more frequently. Short cycling reduces an air conditioning system's life, and a short cycling system will not reduce humidity effectively. Undersized equipment can reduce the efficiency of air distribution and accelerate wear on system components, leading to premature failure.

No Dirty Business.  

• Be sure to check your air conditioner filter. A dirty filter will increase energy use and can damage the air conditioner, leading to early failures. Check the filter every month and replace as needed.

Don't Forget the Adoring Fans.  

• Ceiling fans can help cool a home without greatly increasing electricity use. They improve airflow and create pleasant breezes.

Curtains closed.  

• Block out heat by keeping blinds or curtains closed during the day, especially on south-facing windows.

Change the way you dry.  

• If possible, dry clothes on a clothes line. If you use your dryer, try to do full loads or reduce drying time for partial loads.

Keep your lint trap clean.  

• Remember to clean your dryer's lint trap before every laundry load; it's an important energy saver and one of the easiest things you can do to increase drying efficiency. This step can save you up to $34 each year.

Turn it off.  

• Try using advanced power strips to centrally "turn off" all appliances and save energy. Plug your DVD player, Blu-RayTM player, television, computer and other electronics into an advanced power strip to provide easy access in powering down multiple electronics all at once.

Watch your water.  

• Water makes up much of a home's energy usage, so be mindful of the different ways you're consuming water throughout your home.  Instead of using 30 to 40 gallons of water to take a bath, install a low-flow showerhead, which uses less than 3 gallons a minute. You'll save $50 per year on average.

Long Beach Business Support Center

Special Hurricane Sandy funding event

The Long Beach City Council and The Long Beach Public Library invite you to the Business Support Center for a guest speaker from the Small Business Development Center discussing NYS Sandy funding and one-on-one case evaluations.

When: Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Where: Long Beach

RSVP: by contacting Sustainable LI at info@sustainableli.org 

See Flyer: HERE