While we’ve had some seasonable or even above normal weather lately, it seems like mid-May may be on the coolish side of things, although that means 50s and 60s not 30s and 40s, as it is May.
Why the Pine Bush is Special
Walking around the Albany Pine Bush Preserve with the crowds of people and children, the roar of the traffic, and dark gray skies I have to wonder what I’m fighting for with so much wild, open country not all that far away, often with public lands totaling thousands of not tens of thousands of acres of contiguous acres.
But public lands close to home are important. The Pine Bush is a unique ecosystem that is critically endangered. Walk around it, especially late at night once the crowds have left and you will understand why it is special. It’s not the traffic noise or the crowds but the coyote and the deer, the mystical trees swaying above, the fields of lupine and Karner Blue when visited the right time of the year.
Now it’s unlikely in our lifetimes that the Albany Pine Bush Preserve will become the wilderness it once was before the train, streetcar and later the automobile, it sure is nice to preserve and fight for what is remaining. It’s something that I can fight for close to home, something that shows citizens like myself can make a difference in my own community.
While I love the mountains and the small town, like so many of us I must live in the city to make money and survive for now. The Pine Bush is a battle in my own backyard, a fight worth fighting for all those who can’t escape to distant wilderness or need a wild space close to home that protects several important endangered species.
Indian Point Nuclear Plant Shuts Down, and New York Races for Wind Power – Bloomberg
One of the pair of active nuclear reactors within blast radius of Manhattan made a federal safety watch-list back in 1993. That’s when regulators cited Unit 3 at the Indian Point Energy Center for leaky coolant pipes and faltering engineering support. Shortly thereafter a control-room operator tested positive for marijuana and cocaine. But none of that helped activists’ long quest to turn off the nuclear plant.
Up until Friday, when Indian Point’s final reactor will be shut down, dogged opposition from environmentalists and safety advocates failed for decades to shut it down permanently. The two reactors produced about 2.1 gigawatts of power for nearly 45 years—enough to meet a quarter of demand from New York City, without emitting greenhouse gas.
This should be a milestone for activists who spent more than a generation trying to remove the nuclear shadow over the biggest U.S. metropolis. It has instead brought into focus a different anxiety: global warming. In the intervening years concern over greenhouse gas has become paramount, and the deactivation of Indian Point comes with a certain—if temporary—increase in planet-warming pollution.
New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant closes after 59 years of operation – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
The Indian Point Energy Center (Indian Point) permanently stopped generating electricity on April 30, 2021, when it retired its last operating nuclear reactor, Unit 3, earlier than originally planned. The Indian Point nuclear power plant began operations in 1962 and produced over 565 terawatthours (TWh) of electricity in the 59 years it was open. The Unit 3 retirement removes almost 1,040 megawatts (MW) of nuclear generating capacity from New York State, leaving about 3,200 MW of remaining nuclear capacity at three plants in upstate New York.
Indian Point is located in Buchanan, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. The plant had three pressurized water reactors. Unit 1 began operations in 1962 and shut down in 1974. Units 2 and 3 began operations in 1974 and 1976, respectively; Unit 2 retired in April 2020. The Consolidated Edison grid system distributed the plant’s electricity to the five boroughs of New York City and neighboring Westchester County.
Wind gusts today will be as fast as 55 mph, the state speed limit
Wind gusts today will be as fast as 55 mph, the state speed limit. 🌬
Or maybe it’s like the DOT website, that caps traffic speed at 55 mph on their current traffic reports.