MONROE COUNTYNEW YORK

AN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSISby Dimitri Cerrone

3rd gradeTamarac Elementary School

Abstract The aim of my study was to understand the environment in Monroe County, NY. It is important to study the environmental health of counties because we need to keep ourselves and our world’s environment better for everyone. Some ways that we study environmental health include research on:

• Population (history and density)• Agriculture and Soil, Water (watersheds, rivers, lakes, and streams)• Pollution (waste management, industries, landfills, waste-to-energy, recycling, air quality,

pollution, and waste water) • Energy (nuclear, fossil fuel, and renewable power)

The top industries in Monroe County are Healthcare (15.9%), Educational Services (14.1%), and Manufacturing (11.7%). These industries are part of the issues with pollution, waste, and energy use. The soil and waters (including Great Lakes, St Lawrence river, Genesee river) have challenges with over-pollution from fertilization, and manufacturing wastes. The majority of energy is generated through Nuclear, Water power, and Fossil Fuels. Waste management is a concern because MonroeCounty is running out of room for their landfills.

Improved education has started with Climate Smart Communities, and school competitions on environmental challenges.

MAPS

It is important to study the environmental health of counties because we need to keep ourselves and our world’s environment better for everyone. They are a good size to judge environmental health instead of going by the entire state. Some ways that we study environmental health include research and questions on and about:

Population (history and density) Agriculture and Soil Water (watersheds, rivers, lakes, and streams) Pollution (waste management, industries, landfills, waste-to-energy, recycling, air

quality/pollution, and waste water) Energy (fossil fuel and renewable power)

All of these facts are available through the Internet and county offices, where researchers can find this information. Some of the facts are hard to find, though, because not many people look for information on a county level.

Methods

Rensselaer's EcoEd Research Group involves faculty and students in the development and delivery of creative, interdisciplinary environmental education to K-12 students. The goal is to extend the broad impact of humanities and social science research on environmental problems through translation into hands-on exercises through which young students develop capacity to deal effectively with environmental problems, and with complex problems in general - integrating many types of knowledge.

In EcoEd’s Upper Elementary School Research Program, young students are assigned an RPI student mentor, and with them move through a nine-week exploration of a research topic, culminating in a substantial written report and formal oral presentation.

RPI’s EcoEd Program

Timeline• 5000 BC--Lake Ontario is Formed• 1600’s—the Seneca Tribe lived in Monroe County• 1789—the first mill was built by Ebenezer Allan on the

Genesee River• 1817--Nathaniel Rochester petitioned for formation of

the county• February 23, 1821—Rochesterville Becomes the First

County Seat of Monroe County• 2007--the Lake Ontario Watershed was assessed

Monroe County is in Western NY bordering Lake Ontario. Rochester is the biggest city in Monroe County. Hamlin beach is a state park in Northwestern Monroe County on Lake Ontario. In Hamlin Beach the Pollution is a challenge for Lake Ontario because of mercury and PCB’s in sediment. Erosion is a big problem to Hamlin Beach. Invasive species are a big problem to Lake Ontario by killing local fish and affecting the food chain. Water bacteria are another challenge to people at Hamlin Beach. There’s a lot of fishing. Agriculture and farming are important parts of life in Monroe County. One way to deal with challenges in Chautauqua County is to be more careful when throwing things away. People should also make sure that they try not to cut tons of trees down to make cities grow. Also wetlands could become dry if we use all their water.

Monroe County’s Habitats

The Genesee River runs through Monroe County. Lake Ontario borders Monroe County. The watershed address is the Lake Ontario and Minor Tributaries Watershed.

Some of the challenges in my county are: over-development and pollution, such as over-fertilization/pesticide use, failure to pick up after pets, dumping auto fluids down storm drains, leaving grass clippings and leaves on paved surfaces, washing cars on the street or driveway. Erosion is also a challenge.

A good response would be to reduce pollution from fertilizers, manufacturing, chemicals, and leaks.

Water and Soil

WasteA challenge for a transfer station and landfill is that they will

run out of room. A challenge for waste-to energy stations is that they are expensive to build and operate. A challenge for recycling facilities is that it needs people to send the materials. A challenge for composting is that attracts pests such as rats and raccoons, and it smells.

A proper response would be more education for the people in Monroe County, so they will think more about recycling and composting. Also, add more composting services provided by the governments in Monroe County. The governments of Monroe County should create more waste-to-energy plants and fewer landfills.

BackgroundMy poster is about Monroe County and its environmental health. The environmental health can be evaluated by looking at the parts of a county like energy, habitats, water and soil, industries, and waste. The poster details information about the parts of the county. Some health indicators include air and water quality, and the energy mix of my county. I talk about the environmental health indicators and the conclusions about the environmental health of the county.

Using 2011 data, the top three industries in Monroe County are Healthcare and Social Assistance (15.9%), Educational Services (14.1%), and Manufacturing (11.7%).

Hospitals in the Healthcare Industry produce millions of tons of waste each year, which can be a challenge for Waste Management in Monroe County. Hospitals are also a big consumer of electricity and water. Manufacturing creates pollution that can affect the air quality and water quality in Monroe County.

With Healthcare and other industries we could recycle more paper, metals, and plastics. We could use less electricity by having more energy efficient equipment.

Industries

Monroe County gets energy today from Nuclear (28.9%), Hydroelectric (28.2%), Gas (22.2%), Coal (15.3%), Renewables (4.3%), and Oil (0.8%).

Much of the hydroelectric power comes from the Genesee River and Lake Ontario. The energy mix in Monroe County uses less Coal than the national mix. Monroe County does not have much non-hydro renewables energy, and could have less nuclear energy, gas energy, and coal energy.

Monroe County should have more windmills (wind turbines) near the coast, to generate wind power. Monroe County could use more unused plant waste from farming, for Cellulosic Biomass.

Energy

RecommendationsThe water quality is the worst part and should be improved, but the air quality is better than Essex and tied with New York city, so that is doing well. My county has two climate smart communities, and also seven high schools that are participating in the Envirothon competition. I think that they should be most concerned about the water quality. Instead of spending all of the energy on filtering, you could maintain the cleanliness of the lake and simply get a clean glass of water from the lake. It is a priority to increase the wind potential of my county and to work on improving the quality of the water

WATERSHED HEALTHWatershed name: Great Lakes and St. Lawrence

What percentage of rivers have poor water

quality?

What percentage of lakes have poor

water quality?

Overall percentage with poor water

quality?

8%

43% 51%

What percentage of rivers have good water

quality?

What percentage of lakes has good

water quality?

Overall percentage with good water

quality?

17% 0% 17%

Caption:Our watershed has more poor quality water.

AIR QUALITY YOUR COUNTY Unhealthy air days for

general population in 2012.

0

Unhealthy air days for people with asthma in

2012

2

Since 2003, has air quality for asthmatics improved or worse?

Improved

RENNSSELAER COUNTY

0 0 Improved

ESSEX COUNTY

0

4 Improved

NEW YORK COUNTY

0

2 Improved

Caption: Monroe County had more unhealthy air days for people with asthma than Rensselaer County, but had less than Essex County and the same as New York County. All four of the counties have improved.

ENERGY

What region is your county located in? NPCC Upstate NY

Type of Energy % of County Energy Composition

Renewable 4.3%

Hydroelectric 28.2%

Nuclear 28.9%

Oil 0.8%

Gas 22.2%

Coal 15.3%

The mix in my county is unhealthy because it still uses a lot of coal and gas, and does not have much renewable energy. Monroe County’s energy mix is healthier than the national

energy mix, because Monroe has more Hydro and less Coal.

Nina Rastogi, www.slate.com, “Wasting Syndrome. How much trash do hospitals produce?” October 19 2010. US Environmental Protection Agency, US Government, “Power Profiler”,

http://oaspub.epa.gov/powpro/ept_pack.charts, Feb 2014 Dave Alexander, Michigan Live, “The Great Lakes huge potential for wind energy development drives industry

interest”, http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/04/the_great_lakes_has_huge_poten.html, April 2012 Monroe County Water Authority. “2013 Annual Water Quality report.” MCWA.com, 2013. Monroe County “Government.” Monroe County.gov. 2014. Maps.google.com 2014. “Hamlin Beach State Park.” Ilovethefingerlakes.com, Jan 6 2013. Gordon Block, “Research highlights environmental threats to Lake Ontario.” Watertowndailytimes.com. Jan 9 2013.

New York State, Department of Environmental Conservation, “NYS Watersheds”, http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/60135.html

Associated Press, June 8 2012, “Lake Ontario Water Level Plan Praised, Protested”,http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Lake-Ontario-water-level-plan-praised-protested-3620712.php

Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District. http://monroecountyswcd.org/Pages/Streams.html Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District

http://monroecountyswcd.org/Forms/Newsletters/Dec_newsletter_2013.pdf Bertrand Creek Enhancement, 2008, “What are the problems in our watershed?”

http://www.bertrandcreek.ca/who-we-are.html Michael J. Garland, P.E., “Monroe County, NY Sustainability Initiatives, The Power of Waste Workshop”,

http://energy-givion.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Garland_Monroe-County-Presentation.pdf,2013.

Bibliography