RMA Presents “Our Greenwich Environment – Looking to the Future for our Children and Grandchildren”
By Michael Abrahams
At the April 17 meeting of the Retired Men’s Association, Peter Berg introduced the speaker, Beth Evans, Greenwich Director of Environmental Affairs. She oversees both the Conservation Commission and the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency. The title of her talk was “Our Greenwich Environment – Looking to the Future for our Children and Grandchildren.”
Beth discussed her activities as Director of Environmental Affairs for the Town of Greenwich. She explained that her devotion to sociobiology—how humans interact with their environment— had its roots in her family background, her early exposure to the outdoors, and her high school paper on the environment. She then transitioned to the history of environmental concerns in the United States starting with the establishment of first National Park, Yellowstone, in 1872.
If in the future we want our grandchildren to enjoy the outdoors and wilderness areas, she said that we have some work to do. She cited the recognition of environmental issues that in a way began in 1963 with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a wakeup call about the environmental impacts of human activities. In the 1970’s major concerns included DDT, acid rain, and tainted water. She cited the local successful impact of the 1966 Endangered Species Act: currently in Greenwich there are 44 egret and bald eagle nests. She mentioned the 1970 Clean Air Act and showed photos of the haze in New York City at that time, comparing it to the haze over New York City last summer due to the forest fires in Canada. She commented that air quality has not improved on the same order as some other metrics.
Speaking as a scientist she stated that we have known about environmental impacts for over a century but only now have important data. Take global warming. Today the earth is warming at an increasing rate, by three degrees over North America since 1970. Last year was the warmest year on record and there are fewer cold periods, leading to higher winter rainfall and more flooding. There has been a full month expansion in the growing season, which has led to an advance in invasive species. Also, rapid changes in temperature leads to stronger storms. There is an increased risk of wildfires, a 15% increase in precipitation, more frequent flash flooding, and damage to homes and crops.
What can we do? We need to consider the future. The Town of Greenwich has developed a Climate Resiliency Plan. We conducted a survey on the impact of climate change locally, which drew 609 responses. Flooding, extreme weather events, and poor air quality were the top three concerns. There is a need to map out a path forward. We also need to be mindful of how our individual actions impact the larger good. For example, in gardens, we should use native plants. Beth showed that compared with nonnative plants, native plants have longer roots that are more drought resistant, and are better for the soil and insects on which we depend for pollination. Her department has a list of such plants. Beth brought two books that provide lists, and you can also visit the Conservation Department for more information. In summary, we should make the earth a better place for our children and grandchildren. Listeners were referred to the bimonthly Greenwich Sustainability Newsletter, found here: https://conta.cc/3IfeYhm.
Following the presentation there was an extended Q&A, covering questions related to environmental issues. A number of the questions related to flooding and the impact of future construction and impervious surfaces.
The talk can be viewed by going to the RMA website at https://greenwichrma.org, and clicking on “Speakers.”
The RMA’s upcoming presentation, “A Conversation with Steve Gelbs – Reporter and Studio Host for SNY,” is scheduled for 11 AM on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Steve Gelbs, born in Queens but raised in Greenwich, graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2009. He joined Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling in 2015 as a member of SportsNet New York’s Emmy Award-winning New York Mets broadcast team. In addition to his role as Mets Field Reporter, Gelbs is also SNY’s Jets Studio programming host, which includes SNY’s exclusive pre- and post-game shows throughout the Jets season. He joined SNY in 2013 as an anchor and sports reporter contributing to the network’s sports and entertainment shows. He is a regular contributor on “Baseball Night in New York” and “Mets Hot Stove.”
Prior to joining SNY, Steve spent a year and a half at MSG Network. On the TV side of MSG, Steve served as a host of the “MSG 150” during Knicks and Rangers telecasts, as well as a host for the network’s college basketball coverage. On MSG Radio, Steve hosted pre-game, post-game, and intermission reports for select Rangers games.
Steve’s presentation will offer some background on living the dream that so many young sports enthusiasts aspire to. He’ll share insights into players, his unique approach to engaging team players during spring training, team plane traveling stories, and some of the often overlooked challenges to an incredibly lengthy sports season.
The event is open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to participate in a Q&A session following the presentation.
To stream the presentation by Steve Gelbs at 11 AM on Wednesday, May 1, click on https://bit.ly/30IBj21. This presentation will also be available on local public access TV channels, Verizon FIOS channel 24 and Optimum (Cablevision) channel 79.
Note: The views expressed in these presentations are those of the speakers. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. Any member of the public who would like to receive a weekly email announcement of future speakers should send a request to members@greenwichrma.org. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, or contact members@greenwichrma.org.
