Fighting against climate change is critical to our survival, and to keep it up, celebrating wins along the way means everything. That’s why we’re sharing some of the best recent regional moves on the global-warming front, starting with this first installment.
Consider these bits of good news to be green energy we can all use to build on the momentum and keep up the progress! The only way we can make things better is one step at a time, starting where we live.
$3M set for invasive species prevention in NYS
This year, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced almost $3 million in grants for 43 projects geared toward fighting the spread of invasive species across New York State. The grants, a part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Invasive Species Grant Program, will help fund the targeted prevention of many invasive species on our lands and in our waters.
Here in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, you don’t have to look far to find them; your own backyard could be home to plenty of pesky, but edible, non-natives like garlic mustard, phragmites, and more. Wooly adelgids threaten the essential Eastern Hemlocks in our forests, and spotted lanternflies continue to creep their way across the East Coast. Some regional organizations, like the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s Conservation Dog Program, are hard at work sniffing out them and other invasives in the field. Of the nearly $3 million, more than $420,000 will go toward six programs in six counties in the Hudson Valley: Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Westchester, Rockland, and Sullivan.
“Mohonk Preserve has received a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Invasive Species Grant Program in support of a project to implement early detection, rapid response, and controls for Spotted Lanternfly,” Associate Director of Conservation Science & Research Megan Napoli at the Mohonk Preserve, a grant recipient, said in a statement.
City of Beacon launches tree-planting pilot
The City of Beacon has launched a tree purchasing pilot program to inspire homeowners to plant trees on their property. The pilot program, organized by the city’s Tree Advisor Committee, recently sold several types of trees, including white oak, red maple, and more for almost half off retail.
Besides beautifying your surroundings, planting trees has the added benefits of removing carbon from the air, boosting property values, and, on a large enough scale, can lead to a cooling effect for a city or region.
“Building on its designation as an Arbor Day Foundation Tree City, Beacon is championing community-driven environmental stewardship with its Tree Purchasing Program,” Mark Price, Beacon’s recreation director, and Pete Bailey, chair of the Tree Advisory Committee, said in a joint statement. “With robust community support, the program aims to amplify tree-planting efforts, thereby enriching the cityscape while promoting both biodiversity and ecological resilience.”
Reforestation is helping stave off warming in the Eastern U.S.
A recent study on reforestation and cooling in the eastern U.S. gives more credence to the cooling power of trees. A group of researchers wanted to figure out the cause behind a “warming hole” that’s partially spared the eastern U.S., particularly the southeast, from global heating this past century. Through an extensive analysis of satellite data and decades worth of weather data, they were able to determine that the regrowth in forests during the 20th century had a drastic effect on temperatures in parts of the country.
After three centuries of deforestation caused by European colonization, American reforestation efforts starting in the 1930s were successful in restoring around 37 million acres of woodlands. The Hudson Valley’s trees have also seen significant reforestation, with 61% of the region being forested as of 2020 (including an ambitious recent planting at Scenic Hudson’s Mawignack Preserve).
Those renewed woodlands now help cool the Northeast and Southeast (by 1.8-3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with the strongest cooling happening in the summer, when temperatures lower by 3.6-9 degrees Fahrenheit. Trees cool an area by taking up water in the ground through their roots and release it as water vapor in the air through their leaves. The researchers noted that changes in irrigation patterns and aerosol pollution might have contributed to the cooler temperatures as well.
