March 20, 2020 Night

Good evening! Mostly cloudy and 56 degrees in Delmar, NY. โ˜ Breezy, ๏ธ16 mph breeze from the west ๐ŸŒฌ . The dew point is 45 degrees. It was warmer earlier on – I went for my evening walk ๐Ÿšถ this evening with just a t shirt ๐Ÿ‘š on. I sat out back for a while but it feels cold now with the wind whipping around. For the first time in a while things will drop below zero Celsius. Temperatures will drop below freezing at tomorrow around 5 am. โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Its been kind of a crazy week ๐Ÿ˜œ. It’s been a lot to navigate through with all the changes with everything closed and not having internet at home. ๐Ÿ’ป That said, I kind of like working out of my truck at least on nice sunny days. They did get me a laptop with mobile internet to use but I’m loathe to use it just because I don’t want to bring work home. ๐Ÿก I like to being able to check my social media and listen to videos while I work, so I’d rather use the public Wi-Fi. Great though watching so much nature while I work but I tell you lately, especially on nice days Five Rivers Environmental Education Center is a zoo. Managing bathroom ๐Ÿšฝ breaks is more difficult, I’ve been holding it and limiting my fluids until I can get home and use the toilet. Really trying to do the best I can to hold it all together. It’s not easy.

And then there is the economy, I’ve figured out how to make work at home work without internet by using the connection at the library ๐ŸŒ But while I’m employed, I keep wondering how long this social distancing can continue ๐Ÿ‘ช with billions lost in the economy every week. It’s not just my own losses on paper ๐ŸŽซ in the market – it’s what’s going to happen when the tax revenues stop coming in to the government and layoffs happen of government workers. I’ve actually not lost any real money on paper but a lot of my paper gains from the last few years are gone for now. But it won’t last that long. ๐Ÿ’ฐ You can’t just stop the economy and think cops ๐Ÿ‘ฎand nurses ๐Ÿฅ are going to get paid an ongoing basis with no tax revenue coming in. Things will turn around but its going to take time. No risk, no reward.

I guess in the end we will come out stronger but I’m still kind of nervous about making it all work. ๐Ÿ˜ฉ My situation is a lot better off than many people and I’ve tried to step up my hygiene but I read the statistics like everyone else and are well tuned into what the scientists are saying. I’m going to get it eventually and it won’t be fun but hopefully after the quarantine is done. Every time my nose feels a bit plugged ๐Ÿ‘ƒ I get worried but I’ve read the CDC guidance and I don’t think feeling stuffy from cleaning the mold in my apartment counts as CORVID 19, as I lack a fever or cough or trouble breathing. Stress over it all though is bad. But I’ll make it through it.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒฅ, with a low of 31 degrees at 6am. Four degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around March 29th. Northwest wind around 17 mph. In 2019, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 38 degrees. The record low of -1 occurred back in 1956.

Tonight will have a New ๐ŸŒš Moon. The Pink ๐ŸŒธ Moon is on Saturday, April 4. The darkest hour is at 1:04 am, followed by dawn at 6:31 am, and sun starting to rise at 6:59 am in the east (89ยฐ) and last for 2 minutes and 53 seconds. Sunrise is one minute and 45 seconds earlier than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ„ The golden hour ends at 7:36 am with sun in the east (96ยฐ). Tonight will have 11 hours and 47 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 55 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny ๐ŸŒž, with a high of 44 degrees at 5pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 16th. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph. The wind will make it feel a bit cold. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 48 degrees. The record high of 78 was set in 1921. 6 inches of snow fell back in 1905.โ„

Tomorrow I should run to the recycling center โ™ป to get rid of those cans and bottles. ๐Ÿถ Better check in the morning that they’re open. I also need to get to the store, especially for frozen vegetables as they were out. I have the basics and I’m not that concerned if I run out. I’m sure in a week or two this craziness will die down. ๐Ÿข Business leaders might put up with this for another week or two but at some point they’re going to get fed up an intentional crashing of the economy and governments will get starved of revenue. You can’t borrow if there are no investors.

I also want to get out somewhere away from the crowds ๐Ÿ‘ช in the woods but that’s easier said than done. With everything else closed people are pilling out in the woods. I should plan a trip to somewhere more obscure I guess where I have a chance of finding parking ๐Ÿ…ฟ. I also don’t want to go super far away. Camping โ›บ at one point was on my list but I really want to do that for two or more nights, so it’s not a quick pack and unpack. Plus I think that wind tomorrow will be real cold. It’s been such a long week I wouldn’t mind a drive way out to the country. ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ

My plan remains to take some time off from work around Easter ๐Ÿฐ and so some fishing ๐ŸŽฃ and camping โ›บ. Where I typically go there are few or no people. Probably have to get gas, โ›ฝ I might where plastic gloves fueling up or at least make sure to use lots of hand sanitizer when I go back into my truck. I’m guessing around that date will be the peak of the crisis but even as soon as that the virus might be burning itself out and things reopening. We will see. I can’t imagine they’ll ban the back country.

In four weeks on April 17 the sun will be setting in the west-northwest (285ยฐ) at 7:40 pm,๐ŸŒ„ which is 31 minutes and 59 seconds later then tonight. In 2019 on that day, we had partly sunny and temperatures between 62 and 32 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 59 and 38 degrees. The record high of 91 degrees was set back in 2002.

Looking ahead, Good Friday โœ๏ธ is in 3 weeks, May ๐Ÿ•Š is in 6 weeks, 8:30 PM Sunset ๏ธโ›ฑ๏ธ is in 11 weeks, Summer ๏ธโ›ฑ๏ธ is in 3 months and Inauguration Day 2021 ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿป is in 10 months.

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿฆ…Only 62 days remain until the start of Memorial Day Weekend!๐Ÿฆ…๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

 Armlin Hill

Landfill fridges still leaching CFCs

Landfill fridges still leaching CFCs

Old equipment such as building insulation foam, refrigerators, cooling systems, and foam insulation are still leaking ozone-destroying gases into the atmosphere, scientists have said.

Researchers have found "unexpectedly high" levels of man-made chemicals known as CFC-11 and CFC-12, which belong to a group compounds responsible for creating a hole in Earth's ozone layer known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), despite a worldwide ban on the production of these gases.

The team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US traced the source of these CFCs to "large banks" of old equipment which were manufactured before the global phase-out, which began in 20