The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.
The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.
The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.
The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.
A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.
My mom insisted that I should get the pre-cored pineapple for two to three times the price as cutting a pineapple is difficult. She of advanced age has trouble cutting fruit, an issue with sharp knifes I don’t have. And I’m glad I didn’t take her advice.
For one, full pineapples aren’t packaged in plastic that either gets burnt or heads to the landfill. With me, likely the prior but plastic is still toxic and nasty to burn so I’ve been trying to cut back on packaging. In contrast food scraps are just compost to feed the land or fine to burn in a hot fire. I no longer believe in the myth of industrial recycling.
But also a full pineapple offers a superior option for a lower cost. For one, a pineapple unopened need not be refrigerated and will not mold up quickly until openned. The high cost of pre cut pineapple is probably most due to large amount cut and landfilled at the grocery store. Moreover it’s much more fruity when fresh, and you can leave the core and skin on while cooking so it doesn’t fall apart while cooking – or even cook the full pineapple directly on the coals. It’s just a much more flexible option – and with a sharp knife cutting up a pineapple ain’t too difficult either.
Lately we’ve been learning how much of a scam recycling really is especially with low value, often contaminated scrap like plastic often is. We are learning how most plastic quickly becomes trash shortly after it’s use with no destination but an incinerator, a landfill or a burn barrel.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s all that big of deal because if anything there is a glut of landfill space out there, and if your going to burn natural gas to heat and light the cities and make oil to power the cars, your also going to make plastic. Garbage is well compacted down a landfill, a few hundred acres of dumping grounds can serve a large community for decades. Plastic in a landfill is no less biodegradable than a discarded Salisbury Steak or head of lettuce or a paper bag – it generally isn’t going to rot much – landfills are permanent resting places for waste. The compaction of the waste means there is no aerobic digestion breaking down the waste in landfills and anaerobic digestion is extremely retarded too even if it does produce some methane which is problematic if not captured properly.
Even burning plastic isn’t as bad as it once was. Municipal incinerators break down plastics down to carbon dioxide and water vapor almost entirely, especially the plastics commonly used in food packaging. With the phase out of polyvinyl chloride number 3 plastics in disposable packaging, which one used chlorine as a low cost building block, the toxicity of common plastics incinerated in a low temperature fire like a trash burn barrel on a farm or rural homestead has greatly been reduced. Sure there are plasticizers that soften the plastics and dyes but they’re a small part of the waste stream and worse of them are being phased out. Not much residue or ash is produced from incinerated plastic and if anything common discarded packaging helps the waste burn better. Plastic isn’t destroying the ozone, it contains no CFCs – even Styrofoam hasn’t blown with ozone depleting chemicals in a decade.
Plastics aren’t perfect and litter both accidental and intentional is a big issue. Animals do get sick from eating plastics, especially sea creatures. It is so easy for a plastic bag to blow out a car window and get trapped in the bushes or the trees above. It’s happened to me. Plastic bags caught in trees is a big problem in cities and areas near landfills where most of the discarded ones are ultimately buried but sometimes get caught in the wind are carried by the wind. Plastic, unless it is burned, doesn’t break down in nature – unlike paper or food waste or manure which will rot when exposed to moisture and air.
There are those who want to swap out disposable plastic for metal or glass packaging, claiming the possibility of more industrial recycling of the scrap bottles and cans. But not only are metal and glass heavier and in the case of glass prone to breakage and waste, they’re less recyclable and closed loop as people want to think. Metal and glass they becomes litter or dumped in the woods is much more harmful than common plastic packaging.
Recycling isn’t closed loop. Bimetal cans, which are relatively valued as scrap metal contain coatings and multiple metals which are only partially recovered when melted down at scrap metal facilities – a portion goes up in smoke or is landfilled as draugh. Glass can be melted down and reshaped into new glass unlimited but often its not, because it’s costly to properly separate glass into seperate colors – and again some of that still becomes waste that is skimmed off and landfilled. Because of the cost of sorting glass and contamination a lot is just crushed and used instead of gravel at landfills for roads and other areas needing back fill.
But a bigger problem with glass and metal is unlike paper and plastic it tends to accumulate in the environment more. Paper or plastic often gets burned, metal and glass just breaks up and sticks around forever. Whether it’s a farm dump, a rural homestead, a back country camp or other facility, glass and metal don’t burn so they tend to get dumped in the woods. People may be more responsible today then yesterday, hauling more to the recycling center or municipal landfill but still the vast majority of waste found in the woods dumped is metal or glass. Metal and glass leads to cuts and injury to humans, livestock and other animals. Hardware disease – a cow eats hay that has discarded metal or glass in it – is so deadly that many farmers feed magnets to cows to keep them from cutting their guts open from hunks of metal.
I am not arguing for more plastic, littering or burning of waste. I think urban recycling is important as it provides a good source of raw materials for industry, especially when collected and sorted using dual stream recycling. It also encourages rural residents to keep their ditches free of cans and glass by providing a low cost method of disposal compared to municipal landfill dumping. I think there should be more subsidy for reused milk bottles and reusable packaging but it I’m also not that concerned about it either. But regardless, post consumer recycling has a pretty minimal impact on landfill dumping, it’s oversold as a feel good measure but hardly a way to eliminate the nuisance grounds, as the Canadians call them.
Plastics have been in the news a lot lately, with the relatively low oil prices and the boom in plastics manufacturing brought on fracking. đĸī¸ A lot of the articles lately note that not only is plastic a non-renewable material, coming from the co-products of oil and gas production, it’s long chains of carbon atoms are often difficult to break down by bacteria and sunlight. Plastic is only easily broken down by heat and combustion, when the carbon molecules bond to oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other byproducts.
In many ways, I would argue that plastic is environmentally superior to metals and glass for packaging. đĨĢ Metal and glass does not break down in fire, there is no “natural” process to break it down in the environment, it must either be landfilled, buried, or brought back to industrial recycling. In many remote areas, metals and glass become litter that never leaves the land. Glass in particular is notorious, as it can break, leaving dangerous materials that can cut people’s feet, damage tires and produce a long-term nuisance. Metal — especially cans made out of iron rust — but it often lasts a long time in the woods.
The toxicity of some plastics is a concern, more then plastic becoming litter in the environment. Chances are in the back country, on the farm dump, in the woods, plastic is not piling up. It’s getting burnt.đĨ It may not biodegrade by bacteria, but there is a natural process that breaks it down, namely fire, which leaves waste metals and glass untouched. Glass is just so much nastier in the sense it breaks, and doesn’t ever leave the woods unless somebody hauls it away to the landfill.
More needs to be done to reduce the toxicity of common wastes. Replacing PVC with HDPE is a big step forward. âģI am glad to see things like soap bottles and charcoal lighter packing is no longer coming in vinyl, but instead safer plastics that produce fewer noxious chemicals when leached out to environment or burned. In urban areas, more needs to be done to recycle plastic — something that will get a boost when oil prices inevitably go back up.
Come 50 years from now, I doubt your going to find much in the way of plastics dumped in the woods. You might find metal (although less with the high value of scrap metal), glass, and certainly other things like discarded masonry and plumbing, but not plastic. â° Plastic is lightweight packaging, and while it doesn’t biodegrade, it does combust and is unlikely to have the long-term pollution problems that alternative packaging is likely to have.
I can tell you as a Democratic Party operative at times I wish the media was more of a lap dog of the party, handling our clients in the direction of spin we’d like rather than taking their own spin on the matter.
During times of national crisis, the press, including both local and traditional mainstream outlets, often tends to report events without sufficient scrutiny. This is because the press aims to demonstrate loyalty to the nation rather than appear antagonistic, and they strive to uphold the country’s positive aspects. However, the media frequently lacks independent experts who can challenge the official government narrative, and they are hesitant to involve individuals without established credentials.
I recently listened to a podcast by James Howard Kunstler, where he pointed out that this phenomenon is not new and has been observed during events like COVID-19 and conflicts such as Ukraine. I can’t help but recall the media’s consistent support during the post-9/11 period and the Iraq invasion. Similar tendencies were seen during the early stages of the Vietnam War and the Red Scare in the 1950s. Although the mainstream media eventually began to question the Vietnam War, it was only in 1968, with Walter Cronkite’s influential editorial, that a significant shift occurred. Prior to that, mainstream media rarely challenged the prevailing viewpoints, and those opposing the war were often marginalized.
Comparing today’s media behavior to the past, it’s not necessarily worse, but the internet has made it much easier to access alternative perspectives. This is undoubtedly a positive development. My suggestion is to first engage with mainstream media to understand the presented facts, and then explore alternative media sources for different viewpoints. By comparing and contrasting different perspectives, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the situation.
There is the assumption in the popular culture that the good times will go on forever — low unemployment, cheap gasoline — and that our parks and highways will remain crowded. But that assumption is dangerously foolish.
Everybody knows that the next recession is around the corner, and that only one big upset in the Middle East could put world oil markets into a tailspin. We could have gas lines or prices over $5 a gallon in six months.
We really don’t know. The economy is white hot right now, and gasoline is super cheap, but just because things are really good now, doesn’t mean things won’t change.
I often like to compare fossil fuel addiction to heroin addiction …
To which I often get response that fossil fuels aren’t chemically addicting, they don’t change the brain’s chemistry, re-wiring it to crave more and more of them. But is that true? There is a lot of evidence that humans become as addicted to fossil fuels as opioids and that the behavior around fossil fuels is very similar to a person who is addicted to heroin, although fossil fuel addiction is much more socially acceptable.
Speed, warmth, light tickle and change our brains
Humans crave speed, warmth, and light — especially colorful lights. Our fossil fuel society makes such things very possible and easy to access. How to make people happier? Go faster, make it more comfortable, make it more bright and colorful.
Spending enormous amounts of money on the habit
Fossil fuel production and consumption is an enormous part of our economy. The average household spends $1,977 a year on gasoline alone. Is that amount of money spent to incinerate refined dinosaur bones, a largely non-sensible activity, is a classic sign of an addiction.
Denial of an addiction
Most people are in denial that they have a problem with fossil fuels and energy consumption more generally. They often dismiss how much energy they consume, they make excuses that it is necessary for modern living. People often react strongly when their utility rates or gas prices go up, or efforts are made to restrict motoring by reducing the number of lanes on roads or parking spaces.
Bizarre behaviors as a result of addiction
Addicts often engage in bizarre behavior when they high. Not only are people likely to defend oil and gas development in terrible places, they’re much too willing to accept climate change, as the price of fossil-fuel freedom. Wasting energy is totally acceptable, if it makes us happy.
Seeking alternative ways to get high
How do people plan to address the climate crisis? Usually it involves building industrial wind turbines and large solar farms, and switching to electric cars. Conservation is often pushed to margins of debate. And lifestyle change is dismissed as being impractical. People — at least on paper — want to address climate change by driving to Walmart in electric car.
Driving up to Piseco Powley Road the other weekend weekend I decided to go via US 20 to Duanesville Churches Road past the Mariaville pig farm, down to Fort Hunter and then up to Gloversville via Stoners Trail.
It’s really nice farm country in the Mohawk Valley that produces the raw materials that go into a lot of foods, but most notably dairy, the nutrient rich food that goes into everything from milk for drinking to cheeses and ice cream to many other products.
Farm families have a significant legacy on their land. Many farm houses and barns are historic – they’ve housed families and livestock for generations. It’s beautiful, open country, a land that works and produces food while also providing wildlife habitats and a rural lifestyle for those who farm it or live the life in the country.
Every time I drive through Fort Hunter I tell myself I need to stop and visit the historic site and walk some of the Canalway trail, but I’m always in a hurry to get to the Adirondacks or head home. Those little villages are so cute and historic, even if in many ways they’ve been forgotten by time.
