Environment – Page 4 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors

Environment, March/April 2023 Comments Off

Mar 012023

Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors

By Jeffrey North Eagles, owls, and hawks are dying. Of the 161 Massachusetts raptors tested at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in a study between 2006 and 2010, 86% had poison residues in their liver tissue. And according to the EPA, more than 10,000 kids are poisoned by toxic chemicals left around residences, restaurants, or public parks to poison rats. Take action Proven tactics to address the problem with minimal or no rodenticide use include Integrated Pest Management plans, engaging housing authorities, affecting retail and construction site practices, and a rat poison bylaw. And please support legislation currently before the House (HD [READ MORE]

BHS Students Create Environmental Club

Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jan 032023

By Claire Hlotyak If you were to ask current high school students what issues they care about, chances are they would say climate change. From science labs to social studies discussions, I have seen that Belmont High School (BHS) students show a real passion and drive to end climate destruction. This keen interest doesn’t just end in the classroom, though. Belmont High has student-run clubs focused on learning, raising awareness, and educating our community and surrounding areas about the impact of climate change. One new BHS club is Project: Environment, run by Jessica Rui and Christina Xi. Rui and Xi [READ MORE]

Could Town Buildings Generate Solar Power?

Climate Change, Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter, Solar Power Comments Off

Jan 032023

Could Town Buildings Generate Solar Power?

By Aditya Jain and Vincent Stanton, Jr. Imagine a project that would produce a new recurring revenue stream for Belmont without any upfront cost, utilizing only town-owned land and buildings, while lowering electricity costs and helping the town achieve its green energy goals. That could be the payoff for installing photovoltaic (PV) panels on town properties. Suitable town-owned sites include non-historic buildings with large flat rooftops, parking lots, and open ground including the former incinerator site along Concord Avenue. Adding PV arrays on privately owned rooftops and parking lots could significantly expand the network of arrays and improve the economics. [READ MORE]

Lone Tree Hill Restoration Hit 2022 Milestones

Environment, January/February 2023, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jan 032023

Lone Tree Hill Restoration Hit 2022 Milestones

By Jeffrey North In 2020, the Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill (LMC) and the Judy Record Conservation Fund began a multi-year campaign to restore native plant communities in prioritized areas of the Lone Tree Hill conservation land. Step one in the restoration was to bring the invasive plant species under control. Planting natives would be a wasted effort and expense if they cannot compete with the pernicious plants that have come to occupy large swaths of our conservation lands and private yards. The work began with a broad brush, property-wide restoration survey conducted by ecological design professionals in [READ MORE]

Preserve Belmont’s Leafy Leviathans

Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jan 032023

By Fred Bouchard Tawny branches reach skyward around its diminished crown like a monk’s tonsure. Strafed by ligneous crows’ feet and tagged with a bowie knife by ”Oliver” (World War veteran?), its trunk is knobbled with rusts and growths. Golden wreaths of lichen encrust its bolus. The copper beech standing sentinel opposite the stone rail trestle in Belmont Center bears silent witness to a century and a half of local history. It was a mere sapling, perhaps part of the project when H. H. Richardson’s firm rebuilt the Unitarian Universalist Church in 1890. Wellington Station marked the adjacent train stop [READ MORE]

School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”

Climate Change, Construction and Housing, Environment, January/February 2023, Open Space, Parking Comments Off

Jan 032023

School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”

By Justin Roe Belmont Hill School submitted their long-awaited plan for the Belmont Hill woodlands area to the planning board in October. The response from Belmont’s residents was instantaneous and overwhelming in opposing the proposal. Within three weeks, Belmont’s Select Committee and Planning Board have received hundreds of letters voicing town opposition to the project. A petition in opposition has attracted over 2,200 signatures, and hundreds of lawn signs and banners are popping up in every district in Belmont. School action groups from Lexington and Waltham are taking an active role. All within a few weeks. The school presented its [READ MORE]

Letters to the Editor: Belmont Hill Plans, Bike Trails

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Climate Change, Environment, November 2022, Open Space, Parking, Plants Comments Off

Oct 312022

To the Editor: New England in the fall is renowned for its beauty—the trees are blazes of color, birds, squirrels, and other animals are busily preparing for winter, and the occasional whiff of woodsmoke floats in the air. Driving up Prospect Street, one is met with the pleasant sight of the pristine lawns and stately brick buildings of the Belmont Hill School—a self-described educator of “men of good character,” where “boys are expected to collaborate and become part of something larger than themselves.” Which is why it’s such a shame that the Belmont Hill School is apparently ignoring its own [READ MORE]

We Need to Enforce Waste Bans

Environment, November 2022, Recycling Comments Off

Oct 312022

By Janet Domenitz and Morgan Molloy Creating positive change for our climate in everyday life can be daunting, but there are ways we in the Commonwealth can make progress in the here and now. Reducing the waste we discard in landfills and incinerators reduces pollution and climate emissions. One key to reducing waste disposal is enforcing our decades-old waste ban regulations. Of the 5.6 million tons of waste we dispose of in Massachusetts each year, approximately two million tons (~40%) are banned from landfills and incinerators by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations. Some examples of banned materials are [READ MORE]

How to Reduce Your Risk from PFAS

Environment, Newsletter, November 2022 Comments Off

Oct 312022

By Adrienne S. Allen, MD PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) seem to be all around us. In August, the city of Cambridge switched its water supply, which flows from the Stony Brook Watershed into a reservoir at Fresh Pond, to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) due to high levels of PFAS in the water. This switch is costing the city $2 million per month. In July, local news reported on PFAS contamination near the Wachusett Reservoir, likely from compost made from sewage sludge. Firefighting foam used on military bases on Cape Cod has exposed residents to PFAS toxicity. Boston Mayor Michelle [READ MORE]

Why Care About Removing Invasive Plants?

Environment, November 2022, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Oct 312022

Why Care About Removing Invasive Plants?

By Joseph Hibbard and Jeffrey North The Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter has been printing articles about the perils and poisons of non-native invasive plant species on these pages for years. Readers have learned that garlic mustard changes the chemistry of the soil to gain an advantage over other plant species in forest and edge areas. Our article on black swallowwort described that plant’s deadly toxicity to Monarch butterfly larvae that mistakenly consume it instead of nourishing native milkweed. We have described how Asiatic bittersweet rapidly climbs native trees, blocks the sunlight, and eventually topples the tree while changing our viewsheds. [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Invasive Species: Ailanthus

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants, Sept/Oct 2022 Comments Off

Sep 102022

By Jeffrey North Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), typically called ailanthus, is a rapacious deciduous tree native to China. It was first introduced into the United States when it was imported as an ornamental plant to Philadelphia in 1784 and later to New York in 1820. On the West Coast, immigrants brought the plant from Asia and planted it in California in the 1850s. The tree was initially valued as a fast-growing ornamental shade tree that was tolerant of poor soils and a broad range of site conditions. It tolerates vehicle exhaust and other air pollution quite nicely. It was widely planted [READ MORE]

Alewife Brook, Little Pond Get D Grades Again

Environment, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2022, Sewers, Water Quality Comments Off

Sep 092022

Alewife Brook, Little Pond Get D Grades Again

By Meg Muckenhoupt In 1972, the Clean Water Act called for all waterways to be “fishable and swimmable” by 1983, and for all pollution discharges to end by 1985. That still hasn’t happened, as is shown by the new annual water quality report card issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Mystic River in July. All of Belmont’s brooks received a D or D+ grade because they failed to meet state E. coli bacteria standards for boating in 45% to 55% of samples taken in 2021. Site 2021 2014 Grade Total Grade Total Alewife Brook D 47% D [READ MORE]

Spare a Thought for Lone Tree Hill

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants, Sept/Oct 2022 Comments Off

Sep 092022

By Dean Hickman and Leonard Katz Between Pleasant Street and Trapelo Road to the south, Concord Avenue to the north, and Mill Street to the west, Lone Tree Hill wraps around McLean Hospital and sits above Belmont, providing us with a peaceful and secluded mix of woods and meadows where we can escape the hustle and bustle of suburban life down below. It is also Belmont’s gateway to Rock Meadow on the other side of Mill Street as well as to the more secluded trails of the Western Greenway which head west into neighboring Waltham and Lexington. Anyone looking for [READ MORE]

Wicked Hot Mystic Maps Summer Heat

Air Quality, Climate Change, Environment, Newsletter, Sept/Oct 2022 Comments Off

Sep 092022

Detail of a map of surface temperatures recorded by Wicked Hot Mystic, a collaborative project of the Museum of Science, Boston, in partnership with the Resilient Mystic River Collaborative (RMC), Mystic River Watershed Association, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. On August 12 and 13, 2021, over 80 volunteers joined MOS and MyRWA in measuring ground-level air temperature, humidity, and air particulate matter using special sensors mounted on cars and bikes. This data was collected August 12 at 3 pm. Note that the McLean conservation land is 10F cooler than surrounding areas. For more information see www.mos.org/explore/public-events/wicked-hot-mystic

Gas Leaks Are a Civil Rights Issue

Climate Change, Environment, July-August 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 212022

By Aditya Jain Governments have embraced natural gas as a “bridge fuel” to completely renewable energy sources, yet natural gas is far from a clean energy source (“It’s Time to Switch from Gas to Clean Energy,” BCF Newsletter, August/September 2021). Natural gas leaks in streets and homes cause significant public health hazards and environmental damage. Across Massachusetts, gas leaks are often underestimated by officials and underserved by gas companies. While numerous gas leaks in Belmont are listed and mapped, other communities of underrepresented minorities face the heaviest burden of this pollution. Massachusetts-based energy researchers analyzed gas leaks in different geographic [READ MORE]

What is a CISMA, and Why Do We Need One?

Environment, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jun 202022

What is a CISMA, and Why Do We Need One?

By Jeffrey North New York state has eight very large ones. Oregon has 10. Michigan has more than 20 (required by law for every county). The number of Comprehensive Invasive Species Management Associations (CISMAs) across the country is approaching 400. Massachusetts has one. But that number is likely to increase. With the likely passage of the invasive species bill (H4595), financial and administrative resources will be available for CISMAs and a host of other programs, plans, and projects for controlling invasive plants. The bill would establish an invasive species trust fund. A statewide invasive species coordinator would be appointed, along [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Invasive Species: Black Swallowwort

Environment, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jun 202022

Belmont’s Invasive Species: Black Swallowwort

By Jeffrey North Black swallowwort is a killer. Monarch butterflies mistake the plant for native common milkweed, and lay their eggs in the non-native invader, where the larvae die. Besides threatening the population of migrating monarch butterflies, it is toxic to mammals, and by crowding out food for wildlife, worsens wildlife habitat. Vincetoxicum nigrum, also known as Louise’s swallowwort or black dog-strangling vine, is a species of plant native to Europe and found primarily in Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. Black swallowwort was probably introduced to North America as an ornamental plant in the 1800s. The first sighting of Vincetoxicum [READ MORE]

Restoration Resumes on Lone Tree Hill

Environment, July-August 2022, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Jun 202022

By Jeffrey North A crew of field horticulture technicians returned to the Lone Tree Hill conservation area for their first visit in 2022 on May 20. Begun in late 2020, the work to enhance the ecological integrity of Belmont’s 80-acre conservation land site addresses the most egregious infestations of biodiversity-erasing invasive plant species. (See Restoration Projects Approved for Lone Tree Hill, BCF Newsletter, May 2021) The mission this time was to cut or pull and spray garlic mustard in bloom. As garlic mustard is one of the first plants to start actively growing in late March, leaves can be sprayed [READ MORE]

Belmont Hill School Plans To Pave Woodlands

Construction and Housing, Environment, July-August 2022 Comments Off

Jun 202022

Belmont Hill School Plans To Pave Woodlands

By Justin Roe Belmont Hill School has always held itself out to be a good neighbor and a responsible member of our community. The Belmont Hill School Sustainability Club is proud to be “Mindful of the rising importance of promoting environmentally sustainable practices and environmental stewardship in our world today and in the future . . . to reduce our school’s impact on the environment and educate faculty and students alike about environmental issues in areas such as energy consumption, waste disposal, and climate change.” These are inspiring words. Nevertheless, Belmont Hill School has recently revealed plans to pave over [READ MORE]

How Can We Control Urban Rats?

Environment, May/June 2022 Comments Off

May 082022

By Fred Bouchard Plague-ridden Saxony hired the legendary Pied Piper to toot rats out of Hamelin. Other age-old tactics—trapping, shooting, pan-banging—raise fresh collateral issues in densely populated areas, in addition to mess and noise. Chicago in recent years resorted to sniper stealth by siccing 1,000 neutered feral cats on its record rat population. Passive approaches to rat control yield slow results, as city-centric man confronts Rattus norvegicus, the world’s most populous and prolific urban mammal. Rat fertility is gaining ground as shorter, warmer winters encourage them to squeeze out an extra litter or three a year. Exterminators concur that the [READ MORE]

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