Witnessing Niagara Falls

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my trip to Richmond, Va. This past weekend, I traveled to Niagara Falls (New York and Ontario) as part of the Northeastern Concert Band’s annual tour.

Having never seen Niagara Falls, I was looking forward to witnessing one of North America’s top natural features first hand. On our way there, we stopped on the American side at Niagara Falls State Park. This perspective afforded a side view of American Falls. Although it was neat to see the rapids and water dropping over the edge, it was not a view I would equate with other natural wonders like the Grand Canyon.

But, my viewpoint soon changed when, the following day, we saw both American Falls and Horseshoe Falls from several vantage points near the skyscraper-like hotels and casinos that dot the Canadian side. Here, the view was truly spectacular with water cascading down in incredible volumes at ferocious speeds and billowing clouds of water spray arching up towards the sky. And, at night, the falls and mist were lit in a varying array of colors, adding another element to the spectacle. This view clearly ranks with the Grand Canyon and the top of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington as the most amazing natural features I have seen firsthand.

It is also interesting to witness the contrast between the natural beauty of the Falls and the man-made aspects in the skyscrapers and light display. While I would ordinarily say that the latter objects interfered or ruined the natural ones, in this case they seemed to work in harmony.

One of our performances at a retirement community in Welland, Ontario was covered by the city’s newspaper, the Welland Tribune. For a relatively small city (pop. 50,331 according to Statistics Canada) surrounded largely by very rural farmland (which we experienced first hand when we made a few wrong turns – I knew I should have brought my GPS.), I was surprised to see a fairly developed Web site. It is especially unexpected given Welland is close to Niagara Falls, which has its own daily paper published by the same company that owns the Tribune, and falls within the Toronto dailies' coverage areas. Regardless, it was nice to receive a small write-up and picture of our band.





Below are several pictures from the trip:

American Falls from New York.

American Falls from Canada.

Horseshoe Falls from Canada.

Take a Virtual Tour of Yosemite National Park

In its latest update to its popular online mapping program, Google announced users can now explore Street View images of Yosemite National Park.

This is a pretty neat way to see one of America's natural treasures, so take a look. And here's a link explaining how to embed Street View although I cannot get it to embed in Blogger for some reason.

Maple Syrup and Climate Change

Continuing with my recent focus on global warming and in light of the fact that it is prime maple sugar season (as evidenced by a recent Boston.com travel special), it is time to delve a little deeper into how climate change could impact this New England tradition.

With warmer temperatures and more erratic weather, the ideal maple syrup harvesting climate is slowly shifting northward into Canada according to a Christian Science Monitor article.

The story sights a rather striking statistic: in the 1950’s 80 percent of the world’s maple syrup production came from the United States with the remaining 20 percent coming from Canada. But, by 2005 (when the story was published), those percentages were reversed.

So, what caused this spike? As this story explains (and I have learned first hand through research for another course I am taking at Northeastern this semester – the Environment in 2090), if a projected 6 to 10 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature by the end of the century holds true, maple trees will have slowly migrated north, leaving oak and hickory trees as the predominant species.

The maples simply will not be able to adapt to different levels of pests, air pollution and other stress factors caused by the warmer temperatures. Meanwhile, oak and hickory trees will be much less affected, leading to their predominance.

Of course it is not only the disappearance of maples that is hurting syrup production. When the temperature drops below freezing, the sap is pulled out of the tree branches and into its roots. Then, when the mercury rises above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, that sap is expelled through the tree’s wounds (such as a hole dug by a syrup harvester).

So, with less dips below freezing, there are less opportunities to for the syrup to be expelled and, therefore, a worse season. For an alternative explanation of this, take a look at the Christian Science Monitor story. Although it is a few years old, it does a great job explaining the phenomena. And, for a graphic representation, check out Boston.com’s feature linked to in the first paragraph of this post. It also has discussion forums and a map of maple sugar farms throughout New England.

Iceberg Collapse

In contrast to my last post about climate change, CNN.com is providing fairly in-depth coverage of another global warming indicator about as far away from New England as one can get and still be on Earth– the collapse of an Antarctic ice chunk.

The collapse covered 220 square miles of ice and leaves another massive ice shelf approximately seven times the size of Manhattan in danger of collapsing, according to the article. While this is a story worth discussing in itself, I want to devote this entry to examining how CNN.com is covering the collapse, as it is one of the better environmental online packages I have seen.

In addition to two print stories (here and here), the Web site provides a link to raw video of aerial shots from the British Antarctic Survey. This video gives a great perspective of the volume of ice impacted and presents tangible evidence of climate change that readers can grasp.

They also include a graphic showing where the Wilkins Ice Shelf (where the collapse occurred) is located on Antarctica (it is near the South American side of the continent). And, to really hammer home the magnitude of the collapse, CNN.com published a series of satellite photos accompanied by explanatory text showing the progression of the collapse, which was first noticed when a large chunk broke away on Feb. 28.

Besides the typical links to related topics and articles, CNN.com implemented one other interesting online feature – they provided links to external blogs that had linked to the article. This is a great way to supply a multitude of additional resources for those interested in further study on the topic. And, the external bloggers are more likely to link to CNN.com content once they realize their blog is publicized on CNN’s site, leading to more exposure for CNN.

So, whether a reader wanted a quick glimpse at what happened in Antarctica or a more in-depth study of the issue, he or she could find it through the CNN.com platform for this story. And that approach is an excellent way to enhance exposure on the impacts of climate change.

Sensing Climate Change

It may still feel like winter here in New England with temperatures stuck in the 40s but across the United States the telltale signs of spring are coming earlier as a result of global warming, according to an Associated Press article published in the Eagle Tribune.

And unlike other indicators of climate change such as melting glaciers, these can be felt by Americans with all five senses. We can see trees blooming quicker, smell flower fragrances sooner, hear the birds chirp earlier, suffer from increased allergies and taste the honey, which is reaching its peak production faster this spring, according to the article.

There may still be some snow on the ground this Easter up in southern New Hampshire (where I’m spending the holiday) but some of the bushes are already showing green leaves. Although northern New England may have just gone through some blizzard-like conditions setting a new seasonal snowfall record in Caribou, Maine, from cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., to heavy maple pollen in Philadelphia, the AP story shows spring is springing earlier in many parts of the United States.

So, have similar trends been seen in New England? According to New England Integrated Sciences and Assessment, the amount of time until lake ice-out has decreased by 20-30 days in the Boston area from 1971 to 2000, with less of a drop as one travels closer to Canada. Meanwhile, from 1971 to 2001, average seasonal snowfall plummeted more than 40 inches in some isolated pockets of New England (It should be noted, though, that places along the South Shore and in Rhode Island and Connecticut saw slight increases in snowfall during that time period.) And, sea level has risen approximately 9 inches in Boston since 1930, with slightly less dramatic changes observed along the Maine coast.

Ultimately, what does all this mean? According to the New England Climate Coalition, by 2100, Boston’s climate could resemble modern day Charlotte, N.C. or Atlanta. And that change could significantly hurt leaf peeping, skiing and maple syrup making in New England. Of course, the region could experience expanded golf and beach seasons.

To see and download in an Excel format additional climate change data from the New England Integrated Sciences and Assessment, check out this link.

Delay to Enactment Date of N.H. Shoreland Protection Act Ammendment?

According to an article in the Laconia Citizen, the enactment date of a long-heralded (by environmentalists, anyway) enhancement to the state’s Shoreland Protection Act may be pushed back from April 1 to July 1 if an amendment before the state Senate passes.

The amendment was proposed after waterfront landowners and builders were worried that the sate Department of Environmental Services (DES) is still finalizing specific details of the new Shoreland Protection Act with April 1 just around the corner, the Citizen reported.

Naturally, this delay most radically impacts Lake Winnipesaukee, the state’s largest lake with approximately 288 miles of shoreline and officially 253 islands (local lore says there is an island for every day of the year if you include some rocky “up-croppings”).

As I have mentioned previously on this blog, my family has owned a place on one of Winnipesaukee’s islands for decades and I have been spending summer weekends there my entire life. We have kept our place largely the same as it was when my family ran the property as a parent’s camp, only cutting down trees when they were dead or posed a significant safety or property damage threat and allowing the wild berry bushes and other natural trees and plants that propagate the shoreline to grow at will.

Unfortunately, far too many summer cabins have been demolished and replaced by large mansion-like homes. To exacerbate problems, the property owners around the lake have clear cut or significantly reduced the natural plant and tree growth in exchange for wide swaths of lawns and beaches.

These actions have made a tougher Shoreland Protection Act a necessity in order to maintain the habitats that support families of loons and other aquatic species. Fortunately, the New Hampshire legislature stepped up and revised the act, closing several loopholes and requiring a state permit for all construction work done within 250 feet of a shoreline. Here and here are links to discussion forums relating to the act.

It is unfortunate that the legislature is now considering pushing the start date back to July 1 although the landowners and builders have legitimate concerns. They cannot reasonably be expected to comply with a law that’s parameters have not been finalized less than two weeks before it was to be implemented. Perhaps the real question that needs some investigating is why didn’t DES finalize the rules sooner?

Thoughts on 9Neighbors

In my Reinventing the News class today, we were introduced to 9Neighbors, a news aggregation Web site that sorts its links by readers comments for Boston and the surrounding towns of Cambridge, Newton and Somerville.

Having the site sorted by the highest ranked story brings to light some of the quirkier links rather than the most important or newsworthy. To solve this, there should at least be an option (if not the default option) to have the posts sorted by newsworthiness as determined by an editor rather than the masses. That said, if the site is going for a slice of life approach, it works well as is.

Interestingly, as one digs deeper into the site and delves into specific categories, one obtains varied perspectives that shed more light on an incident than a traditional news account does. For example, under the Central Square section, the top three links (as of Monday afternoon) involve a pedestrian accident that happened this morning. One is the traditional news account, the other a first person perspective and the third is a post from Universal Hub that links to the other two (and provides a neat virtual image of the intersection through Google Map’s Street View, but that is a topic for another day). Being able to access these varying viewpoints on the same incident from one platform is an incredible resource.

At the same time, though, the Central Square page raises a key issue. The headlines of two of the links contain different facts - that the person is dead or just critically injured. Without a timestamp, it is unclear whether the person was injured and subsequently died or if both sites have conflicting information until digging deeper. This is a perfect place for someone at 9Neighbors to write an in-house blurb with the latest information.

So, as a slice of life, community networking Web site, 9Neighbors is wonderful. But, there is nothing that would make more inclined to read it instead of the Cambridge Chronicle’s Wicked Local site for Cambridge news. I might, however, turn to it to access first person perspectives sometimes not linked to on traditional news sites.

Radio Boston on the Future of Newspapers

After listening to Friday’s Radio Boston show on the future of newspapers, I agree with much of what was said. First, in regard to the recent rounds of buyouts that forced the Boston Globe to eliminate its national and foreign correspondents (except for their Washington bureau), I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. As Globe editor Marty Baron pointed out on the show, the paper was never marketed as a national paper and is not distributed nationally. Therefore, why shouldn’t they use wire content or stories from their parent company, the New York Times, which has long been regarded as a prominent national and international news media force.

On the broadcast, Globe journalist Stephen Kurkjian was correct when he said the paper is focusing on the beats that are important to Bostonians, namely public safety, health, education, the environment and investigative reporting. Those are the lifeblood of the Globe and what readers want and expect to see when they pick up a newspaper. Therefore, if they start cutting their local staff, then we, as news consumers, and the paper have a problem because there would be no other widely read source with the credibility of the Globe left. Maybe online blogging/news reporting sites like Cape Cod Today can eventually step up to fill that gap, but they are not ready yet.

While on the topic of blogs, Kurkjian raised an interesting, but I think somewhat incorrect, point about the lack of editing with blogs being a determent whereas traditional media has a rigorous prepublication review process. Although there is typically no initial review with blogs, if someone writes something extremely controversial or inaccurate, a reader with the opposing viewpoint/correct information will most likely leave a comment, or e-mail the blogger noting his or her mistake. Of course, the beauty of an online medium is that a mistake can be corrected immediately whereas a newspaper would have to wait for the next edition (yes, they can post a correction on their Web site, but that may not reach everyone who read the initial inaccuracy).

This is where news sites like Cape Cod Today could represent the future of the media, as Dan Kennedy noted on Radio Boston. With its Web site, readers can access news reports that have gone through the traditional reporting and editing practices and the more unregulated blogs through one platform.

Besides Cape Cod Today, a Southern Massachusetts regional paper is expanding their blog presence. In their recent Web site redesign, the Patriot Ledger placed much more emphasis on blogs by linking to off-site content and hosting a few blogs by non-Ledger bloggers and Ledger staff. What we are not seeing from traditional news sites that Cape Cod Today is focusing on, is the community aspect, most notably an extensive business and services directory. Ultimately, I think news organizations will be moving more and more towards this type of medium, which encourages accurate reporting and a free marketplace of ideas – two principals that have long been considered essential to our country and journalism.

Hopefully, newspapers and other media outlets will be able to successfully make this transformation and somehow reap profits from their Web sites. There is still a tremendous desire for journalistic skills and excellence, just in a different form than Americans have traditionally preferred.

Report: Climate Change to Endanger Transportation Network

Public transportation has long been applauded as a “green” way to commute or travel. Ironically, a new report suggests the environmental problems transportation is trying to alleviate (namely, climate change) could threaten the smooth, efficient operation of such systems.

The report, produced by the National Research Council, indicates the biggest impacts to transportation will be from coastal flooding. It is no secret that the world’s oceans are rising from melting glaciers, among other factors. Naturally, higher ocean levels mean daily tides and abnormal storm surges will reach further inland, threatening to repeatedly flood railroads, airport runways and highways.

This is of great concern to New England, when one notes the number of major transportation corridors that run near the Atlantic. Heading north from New York City, Interstate 95 closely parallels the Connecticut coast through the major cities of Stamford, Bridgeport and New Haven. The highway then reconnects with the ocean in Providence, R.I., and Portsmouth, N.H. before paralleling the New Hampshire and Maine coasts into Portland. Meanwhile, Amtrak’s heavily traveled Northeast Corridor follows a similar coastal route. This does not even include Boston’s Logan Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport which are perched right on Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, respectively.

The report lists greater temperature extremes and stronger storms and hurricanes as other potential climate-related transportation threats.

So, is it a doomsday for transportation in the United States? Not necessarily, as the report notes some positive effects of climate change. For example, melting ice will open new and shorter shipping lanes and less snowfall will mean governments will have to spend less clearing roadways (well, maybe that latter argument is less strong after this winter).

But, ultimately, protecting the country’s infrastructure will require extensive mitigation efforts by transportation planners and federal, state and local government bodies and agencies. These groups need to adapt existing infrastructure to the changes and compensate for a warming climate in all future projects. How exactly that can be accomplished and funded will be the true challenge of the next few years. Otherwise, we may need a duck boat to travel from New York to Boston.

Farm Conservation

I was pleased to read an Eagle Tribune story detailing the beginnings of efforts to permanently protect four of the five remaining farms in my hometown of Windham, N.H.

The project, called the Farmland Initiatives program, will include applying for water source protection, Land and Community Heritage and federal farm protection funding, according to the story. As with any major municipal undertaking, this will most likely require the approval (and money) of Windham voters, something the town has traditionally supported in the past.

Having seen several other farms in the area transformed into housing subdivisions, I am happy to read that they are beginning to examine and advocate for protecting some of Windham’s rapidly disappearing open space.

Once a quiet, rural, summer oasis, various housing booms and the construction of Interstate 93 have transformed the town into a suburb of Manchester, N.H. and Boston. With the first steps of the controversial widening of Route 93 already occurring in neighboring Salem, N.H., it is only a matter of time before the wider highway spurs a new wave of construction, threatening to destroy the remaining undeveloped land.

This is a phenomenon occurring throughout Southern New Hampshire which could permanently destroy the region’s wildlife and wild lands. Ethan Nedeau described the trend best in this excerpt from an article published in the January/February 2006 issue of Wildlife Journal.

I was seven years old when I first rode in an airplane. My lasting memory was looking down upon the distant landscape with awe — imagining the sources of
twinkling lights, and reconciling my earth-bound perspective of the seacoast
with this new aerial view. My eyes traced the strands of lights that connected
the larger clusters, scanned the smattering of lights toward the horizon, and
looked for faint lights in dark areas.
In the last 25 years, New Hampshire’s population has grown by 330,000
people and the population is expected to grow by 350,000 more in the next 20
years. Lights across the landscape at night have multiplied even more than
people have. Clusters have grown and merged. Smatterings have become
concentrations. Dark areas have shrunk to islands in an illuminated landscape. I
imagine how startlingly we could demonstrate population growth with nighttime
photographs of southern New Hampshire over the past four centuries, condensed
into a ten-second clip, showing the supernova of which we are in the midst.

Clearly, Nedeau’s interesting depiction of population growth and development, compared to the lights visible from an airplane indicates that preservation work is essential to keep at least some semblance of a rural feel in Southern New Hampshire. People should not have to travel to Bear Brook State Park or Pawtuckaway State Park to experience large tracts of natural land in the region.

That said, if these properties are conserved, the land would most likely continue as a working farm. Why not go one step further and stop farming the land, letting nature gradually return it to a truly natural state. Certainly a farm is much better than a subdivision but wouldn’t a field of tall grasses dotted with some young tree saplings be even better?

CAA Tournament Pictures

Here are two pictures from the CAA tournament I mentioned in my previous post. The first is during the Delaware-Drexel game that preceded Northeastern's opening contest while the second is from NU's first game. Even though the stands are not that full, those who were in attendance were very energetic. I tried to include these in the initial post but Blogger would not let me upload them earlier.

CAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Today’s entry is a brief departure from commenting on the environment. Since I just returned yesterday from playing in Northeastern’s pep band at the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament in Richmond, Va., I decided to share some of my experiences on the trip.

Northeastern advanced to the quarterfinals by beating James Madison before losing to George Mason, ending the Huskies season. Having never been to a tournament before, I was surprised to see how charged the atmosphere was, given there were many empty seats in the Richmond Coliseum. There was a certain buzz in the arena that is almost indescribable but easily felt, even from the band’s seats behind the hoop.

In the opening round, Northeastern jumped out to a large lead in the first half and was able to withstand a James Madison run in the second to advance. Though Northeastern – which had to travel among the farthest of any team – had few fans in attendance, there was still much positive energy and lots of Husky cheers. I left that game with a hoarse voice from yelling so much.

Sadly, the second game was less exciting. Though NU did grab a lead briefly, George Mason quickly developed a commanding lead at the half. Northeastern played better in the second frame, closing the gap to 5 points with only a few minutes to go, but was not able to overcome George Mason. Interestingly, during this game, NU had the backing of a group of vocal Virginia Commonwealth University fans who wanted to see George Mason knocked out.

Since both games were at night, I had free time to explore the city. Richmond is an interesting mix of modern skyscrapers and historic landmarks, statues, buildings and museums. A free Civil War museum located along the banks of the James River provided a great overview of Richmond’s role in the conflict and contained some interesting artifacts including a drum and various weapons and ammunition.

Although a little hilly, the city is very walkable since the downtown area is laid out in a grid pattern. And, because of the contrast between a modern city and the Civil War historical sites, the feel changes dramatically after only walking a few blocks. The only major downside is the wind, especially near the James River or when traversing it.

Overall, it was a great experience and I am looking forward to hopefully returning to Richmond for next year’s tournament.