And Then Winter Came Back Around on the Calender

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It seems like it was just yesterday, and it was April 5th, the first day on the calender I spend out in the wilderness camping. It was the wilds of Chenango County, camping at Balsam Lake with there still being a fair bit of snow on the ground in parts, and the pond was well frozen. It would be over a month until the leaves returned to the Adirondacks – I would go up to the Adirondacks two times after the 5th, and there would still be no leaves on the trees and ice still around.

Setting Sun Over Boat Dock

Where did the summer of my 30th year go so fast? I guess there was many great adventures as my camera and dwindling checking account would suggest. And there would be another year of trips and places and small towns to see on my 31st year, as soon as the winter relents in April. But in the mean-time there will be be winter. The camping gear has been packed away or is in the process of being packed away, the readily-burnable styrofoam plates and camping cooler have already been locked away in the attic. Christmas lights that kept the campsites cheery over the months, are now hung in the apartment, and inverter in my truck is just doing do light duty, keeping my cellphone charged during shorter road trips.

Icy Fish Pond

I thought about getting a snowmobile and spending more time in the back country in the winter, but put it off in favor of doing the lift kit on my truck next April. Winter is cold, and even with a sled, I don’t know how much camping I would do at any rate. Winter nights are long – something I learned on my last camping trip, when there was 15 hours of darkness with the sun setting around 4:15 PM. My snowshoes will work well enough for the occasional winter trip – I think I’d rather save the gasoline for more warm weather trips once the snow melts.

As the Fire Dies Down

As much as anyone, I am looking forward to April after a few quite, solemn months, where I will spend  writing new code for my blog, doing essays, and making up new maps. Winter is a good time to think about the next year’s adventures. Sitting by the warm radiator with a book beats sitting in the cold snow in darkness. April I will get the lift kit and the 35s on my truck, and be out on my first adventure – most likely to the Finger Lakes National Forest. It should be fun.

Little Cathead Mountain

Albany Should Implement the Chain Resturant Styrofoam Ban

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Remarks I gave to County Executive Dan McCoy on the Chain Restaurant Styrofoam ban at the recent public hearing at the County Office Building….

I encourage County Executive Dan McCoy to promptly approve Local Law “A” which would require large chain restaurants to phase out the use of Styrofoam dishes and plastic forks. I understand previous speakers have raised technical questions about the wording of the language, however I urge you to sign the law at this time. You have 180 days until the law goes into effect, which provides ample time for you to make a Chaptered Amendment and correct any technical issues. Let’s the legislature debate future changes, once we get this good policy as law.styro-in-pond1

 

This currently the law in Suffolk County, population 1.5 million. When I was Mattituck, Long Island, I went to a Dunkin Donuts and got some coffee. The coffee was good, not in a Styrofoam container. There are many chain restaurants in Suffolk County, and none have gone out of business due to the Styrofoam ban. Thanks to competition and competitive markets, none have raised their prices either. Multinational companies simply ate the cost, rather then raising prices. McDonald’s isn’t going to let Burger King beat it in the price game, just over a 2 cent packaging change.

In contrast, Albany County, a small upstate county, population 300,000, should be an easy adjustment to these big chain restaurant establishments. We are just asking chain restaurants to follow the law of Massachusetts, Suffolk County, and many West Coast cities.

Burning the Morning's Garbage Up

Let’s be honest, a ton of Styrofoam cups and containers are tossed out windows from cars. Many folks litter, and a only small portion of that litter gets picked up by volunteers. Sometimes people litter by accident – we all have had the experience when a Styrofoam cup or plastic bag has blown out the open window of our cars. If people are going to litter, let’s make it something that will rot in the woods, or get torn up by a farm tractor and plowed back into the ground, and be mostly harmless.

As a preschooler can tell you, Styrofoam doesn’t biodegrade, but it does it get broken up into small pieces, which are problematic for the environment. It’s bad news, especially it’s mass use in urban environments. We’ve all seen it in our favorite fishing holes, back in woods, and in our parks. Let’s keep our cows from eating it in their feed rations and dying from hardware failure. Let’s ban the most noxious use of this product – as handed out a drive-thus and similar establishments.

Sand Dune, Fence, Landfill

To be clear, nothing in this law regulates small business. Nothing in this law prohibits the private ownership of Styrofoam, there is no confiscation program included in this law. You still have the right to go to Walmart and buy Styrofoam plates if you so choose. This only addresses large chain restaurants, and is a good proposal. If there are technical issues with the drafting of this legislation, you have 180 days until it goes into effect to do a Chaptered Amendment.

As such, please approve this law as soon as possible. – Thank you.

Testimony on the Albany County Local Law “A”.