“All we’re asking for is for the type of planet we were born on. It’s not radical,” said Bill McKibben in the Rutgers University Student Center (New Brunswick, NJ) on Monday, February 4, 2013. “Radicalism is the scientists of fossil fuel companies who are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere more than any human has […]
Author: lindsaymcnamara
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Bottled Water? What’s next? Bagged Air?
In college, I was involved with the Delaware Environmental Institute Student Programs Committee, where we encouraged students to become more “bottled water aware” and offered alternatives to buying bottled water (see Bottled Water Awareness on Campus). After graduation, I began working for an ocean advocacy non-profit, where we also try to discourage our network of citizens, […]
I was so excited to move back into my apartment in Sea Bright on Thursday night. As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed a few things along the curb, but didn’t think too much of it. When I woke up on Friday morning, I took a drive through town before work and was amazed […]
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How to Help Restore the Shore
Through all of the destruction and heartbreak caused by Super storm Sandy, I hope that we learn to respect nature’s boundaries. Sandy has brought an opportunity to rebuild smartly and stop over building in floodplains. The storm has also shown the value of wetlands and their ability to store and absorb rainwater. I hope that […]
According to the Hidden Risk Report, a publication from the Biodiversity Research Institute in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, “invertivores” are greatly affected by mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. Songbirds and bats are referred to as invertivores because they eat a variety of invertebrate species like spiders, snails and worms; not just insects. Invertivores […]
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) called air pollution victims “unidentified and imaginary” (Browning). In reality, air pollution victims are quite real. Coal combustion in the nation releases approximately 48 tons of mercury each year. Mercury is a neurotoxin causing mental retardation and lost productivity (in terms of IQ decline). According to Trasande et. al, direct costs […]
Environmental policies are systemically intertwined with science, politics, economics and history. Effective environmental policies improve public health, environmental justice concerns and take flora and fauna into consideration. Beyond law and regulation, there is a feedback loop between environmental policy and environmental advocacy. Advocates may push for new legislation or new legislation may empower advocates. In […]
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Eyeless Shrimp?
As a “Millennial,” the constant bombarding of information on the web has become engrained in my daily routine. I am able to access news stories and reports in the blink of an eye. I can read my Twitter timeline for up-to-the-second information from various environmental groups. On the surface, this seems to be a clear […]
Changes to the water, air and land in coal country have caused trouble for vast amounts of biodiversity in the region. The biodiversity of the Appalachian headwater streams is second only to the tropics. The southern Appalachian mountains are home to the greatest diversity of salamanders on the globe, accounting for 18% of the known […]
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Mountaintop Removal in Appalachia
The Appalachian region of the United States, extending from southern New York to northern Mississippi, is home to more than 25 million people in 420 counties across 13 states. The majority of the Appalachian population is poor whites dispersed over large rural areas. The Appalachian economy is extremely reliant on mountaintop removal (MTR) mining, despite […]
Beachy Birder Adventures 