1. Crown
3 times width of root ball3 times width of root ball
Root
ball
3 times width of root ball
DUGAN RADWIN, ENVIRONMENT EDITOR 845-437-4841 dradwin@poughkeepsiejournal.com SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2007 7B
EARTH
TALK
About our Environment
Questions & Answers
WHILEYOU
WEREOUT
RIVERLIFE
Which countries that
signed the Kyoto Pro-
tocol, which set goals
for reducing global
warming emissions, are fulfill-
ing or surpassing their com-
mitments? Which are falling
short and why?
— Dan S.,
via e-mail
As of the end of 2006,
169 countries had
signed the Kyoto Pro-
tocol, an agreement
forged in Kyoto, Japan in 1997
calling on the world’s indus-
trialized nations to cut emis-
sions of so-called “green-
house gases” thought to be
contributing to global warm-
ing. The pact called for a 5.2
percent reduction overall in
the release of six pollutants-
carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, sulfur hexaflu-
oride, hydrochlorofluorocar-
bons (HCFCs) and perfluoro-
carbons (PFCs)-by 2012 in
relation to 1990 levels.
Although the agreement
was hammered out 10 years
ago, its emissions standards
did not take effect until Feb-
ruary 2005. As such, signato-
ry countries have only begun
making changes, and no one
has yet done a comprehen-
sive study of progress. United
Nations research shows most
of the 36 European countries
that signed onto the Kyoto
Protocol are not on track to
meet their goals by 2012.
The 27-member-nation
European Union, which as a
block is one of the largest
global warming polluters, is
likely to meet its collective
goal. This is in large part
because Eastern European
states shut down or modern-
ized heavy polluting Soviet-
era industries in the 1990s.
The United Kingdom is also
on track to meet its goals,
thanks mostly to a switch
from coal-fired power plants
to cleaner burning natural
gas. Germany and France
hope to meet their commit-
ments, largely through a pro-
gram of subsidies for develop-
ing non-polluting energy
sources. Sweden expects to
overachieve on its targets
thanks to a hefty carbon tax
on polluting industries and
big investments in alternative
energy sources.
Canada falling short
Topping the list of Kyoto
slackers is Canada, which last
year became the first signato-
ry country to announce it
would not meet its Kyoto tar-
get of a 6 percent emissions
cut by 2012. New oil produc-
tion in the tar sands of Alberta
has instead forced Canada’s
greenhouse gas emissions up
significantly. Japan is also lag-
ging. If no further measures
are taken, the United Nations
forecasts Japan’s emissions
will grow 6 percent by 2012.
But Japan’s environment min-
istry says implementation of
market-based incentives in
2008 should help Japan meet
its goal.
The United States and
Australia don’t have to worry
about meeting any goals, as
neither country signed the
Kyoto pact, even though
together the two account for
30 percent of the world’s
greenhouse gas emissions.
President Bush does not sup-
port mandatory emissions
caps, arguing they would
cause irreparable harm to the
U.S. economy. He also com-
plains developing nations are
not being held to the same
standards as the rest of the
world. With the U.S. on the
sidelines, the efforts of dozens
of other nations could end up
being immaterial in the fight
against global warming.
Got an environmental question? Send it
to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental
Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport,
CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.
com/earthtalk/thisweek or e-mail:
earthtalk@emagazine.com Read past
columns at: www.emagazine.com/
earthtalk/archives.php
Q
A
I Kyoto Protocol: http://
unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/
background/items/2878.php
I United Nations Climate
Change Page: http://clim
atechange.unep.net
On the Web
A report released Tuesday by
the U.S. Public Interest
Research Group linked pollu-
tants to negative health effects,
based on information from the
Toxic Release Inventory,a pub-
lic right-to-know program that
requires industrial facilities to
disclose their toxic releases.
Here are some numbers includ-
ed in the report.
1.5 billion
Tons of toxic pollutants linked
to serious health effects
released in 2004 alone by
U.S. industrial facilities.
600
Toxic chemicals emitted from
the country’s largest facilities
each year.
70 million
Pounds of known carcinogens
released by the facilities in
one year to the air and water.
826 million
Pounds of neurotoxins
released to the air and water
during the same time period.
608 million
Carcinogens, developmental
toxicants and reproductive
toxicants U.S. industry report-
ed releasing to land in 2004.
80%
How many of these releases
were made by the metal min-
ing industry.
24%
Releases of carcinogens into
the air and water in 2004,
within only 20 U.S. counties.
40%
How many of the nation’s
developmental toxicant releas-
es took place in Tennessee,
Texas and Illinois in 2004.
70%
How many reproductive toxi-
cant releases these states
were responsible for in 2004.
2,631
Grams of dioxins—one of the
most dangerous substances
known to science—to the air
and water in 2004 by U.S.
facilities. The chemical indus-
try and electric utilities
released the most dioxins.
57%
Amount the EPA reported the
TRI has helped to reduce
toxic pollution nationwide
since its inception in 1988.
Despite this success, the EPA
With the season winding
down, we have managed to
make 25 gallons of maple
syrup this season. Killdeer
have made it back, and
turkey vultures are again
soaring overhead.
Jon Powell
Round Top
March 23
This item is from the Hudson River
E-Almanac, edited by Tom Lake for
the Hudson River Estuary Program of
the Department of Environmental Con-
servation. To relieve the E-Almanac, e-
mail hrep@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Write E-
Almanac in the subject line
1:Dig a hole no deeper than the soil in which the
tree was originally grown. The width of the hole
should be at least three times the diameter of the root
ball, container or the spread of the roots in the case of
bare root trees.
2:After digging the hole, make sure the center
part is raised a bit to avoid water pooling. Use
a fork to work the bottom of the hole, allowing the
roots to better penetrate the soil.
3:Remove the container or burlap surrounding
the tree. Use your fingers to gently loosen its
roots.
4:Position the tree upright in the hole. Backfill the
soil with a combination of peat moss, compost-
ed manure and topsoil a couple of inches at a time. Pat
it down gently with your hands, removing air pockets.
5:Be sure to leave the “crown” (where the
roots and top meet) about two inches
above the ground.
6:Place 2-4 inches of mulch
around the base of the tree.
This will keep moisture in and moder-
ate the soil temperature. Leave a 1-2
inch clear perimeter around the trunk.
7:Water your tree: Keep the soil
moist, but not soaked. Check
the soil below your layer of mulch;
when it is dry, it is time to water.
Steps to take
By Dugan Radwin
Poughkeepsie Journal
Vegetation along streams isn’t only
pretty — it also serves an important
purpose.
Streamside plants benefit the envi-
ronmentbyimprovingwaterquality,min-
imizing the effects of adjacent develop-
ment and providing habitat for animals
along the water, said Scott Cuppett,
Watershed Program Coordinator for the
Department of Environmental Conser-
vation’s Hudson River Estuary Program.
Tapping the beneficial effects of
streamside vegetation is one of the aims
ofanewinitiativefromtheHudsonRiver
Estuary Program, which will team this
April with local watershed groups to
replant vegetation along local streams.
DEC Urban Forester Lou Sebesta said
16,000 seedlings will arrive in mid-April
and be distributed among various
local groups to plant on their chosen
streams. The bushes will include dog-
woods, willows and buttonbush —
plants whose branches won’t stop the
water, but tend to slow and filter it. They
will be seedlings, barely two feet tall,
and watershed groups will have about
a week to plant them.
Pollution reduced
Cuppett said the program aims to
get people interested in the relation-
ship between streams and the vegeta-
tion around them. He said having a cor-
ridor of vegetation along a stream can
reduce the input of pollutants from adja-
cent sources.
“Trees and shrubs would use the
nutrients, and as water flows across the
surface, sediment would be trapped …
and a lot of nutrients are attached to
soil,” Cuppett said.
The plants to be used are also
wildlife-friendly. Birds are drawn to the
fruit of the dogwoods, and the bushes
provide birds and other wildlife with
shelter.
Sebesta said development along
streams damages the environment
because impervious surfaces — such
as parking lots, roads, roofs, gutters and
driveways — don’t let water filter nat-
urally into the aquifer. The water runs
off rapidly from these surfaces, hitting
the streams in a short amount of time
and causing stream levels to rise sig-
nificantly, creating turbulence.
The turbulent water has a lot of ero-
sion power. Not only does it carry con-
taminants from parking lots and other
impervious surfaces, it also erodes the
stream banks.
“If you can plant some vegetation
or restore the natural stream vegeta-
tion, the brushy nature of a lot of these
streamside plants … can actually help
to stabilize the banks and keep them
from washing out,” Sebesta said.
Plant a seedling,
restore a stream
Members of the Fishkill Creek
Watershed Committee plant
seedlings along Creek Bend
Road in East Fishkill in April
2006.
Courtesy photos by Fred Robbins
Source: Journal research
The Associated Press
DARWIN, Australia —
An environmental group
said Tuesday it captured a
“monster” toad the size of a
small dog. With a body the
size of a football and weigh-
ing nearly 2 pounds, the toad
is among the largest speci-
mens ever captured in Aus-
tralia, Frogwatch coordina-
tor Graeme Sawyer said.
“It’s huge, to put it mild-
ly,”hesaid.“Thebiggesttoads
are usually females but this
one was a rampant male ... I
would hate to meet his big
sister.”
Cane toads were import-
ed from South America dur-
ing the 1930s in a failed
attempt to control beetles on
Australia’s northern sugar
caneplantations.Thepoison-
ous toads have proven fatal
to Australia’s delicate ecosys-
tems,killingmillionsofnative
animals from snakes to small
crocodiles that eat them.
As part of its so-called
“Toad Buster” project, Frog-
watch conducts regular raids
on local water holes, blind-
ing the toads with bright
lights, then scooping them
up by the dozen.
Share your expertise
The Environment section
features contributions from
scientists and other experts
who can write engagingly
about relevant environmen-
tal issues for a general
audience in the mid Hud-
son Valley. Are you hosting
a conference? Giving a
talk? Have you recently
completed research?
Share your expertise in
articles of 800 words or
less. Pitch story ideas to
Dugan Radwin at dradwin
@poughkeepsiejournal.
com
Program aims to fight pollution, erosion
Please see Planting, 8B
Mammoth toad
found inAustralia
The Associated Press
In this photo supplied by Frogwatch, Graeme Sawyer holds
a 15-inch-long cane toad near Darwin, Australia, Monday.
How to help
Newly planted trees do best when planted during moderate temper-
ature and rainfall. Spring and fall are generally the best planting sea-
sons. Here are some basic steps:
‘We’re doing what we can in
a natural way to restore the
streams to their natural state.’
Lou Sebesta
DEC urban forester
To participate in the Hudson River Estu-
ary Program’s Riparian Buffer Planting
Project, contact Program Coordinator
Andrew Dorsey at 845-831-8780 ext.
327 or e-mail acdorsey@gw.dec.state.us
Resources
I The county soil and water conservation
districts sell tree and shrub seedlings
each spring. Prices vary.
In Dutchess County, e-mail dutchess@
ny.nacdnet.org or visit www.dutchess.
ny.nacdnet.org or call 845-677-8011
ext. 3. In Ulster County, visit www.
co.ulster.ny.us/resources/conserva
tion.html or call 845-883-7162 ext. 5.
I The Arbor Day Foundation offers 10
tree seedlings to new members for a $10
fee. Visit www.arborday.org/shopping/
memberships/memberships.cfm or
send a check to National Arbor Day
Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska
City, NE 68410.
I Cornell Cooperative Extension’s
Stand By Your Stream Program also
has streamside planting information:
www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/wetlands/
streams/sbys.htm

2. A near miss
Burning objects en-
tering Earth’s atmos-
phere narrowly mis-
sed a Chilean airlin-
er preparing to land in New
Zealand. The pilot of a LAN
Chile jetliner said he saw pieces
of burning “space junk” about
40 seconds of flight time in front
of the aircraft, as well as behind
the plane. Examination of the air-
craft after it landed showed it
had not been hit. New Zealand
authorities had been warned by
the Russian government an
obsolete satellite was about to
fall into the Pacific. NASA said
debrisre-enteredtheatmosphere
12 hours after the pilot’s report,
leading them to believe the
objects were probably meteors.
Indonesian rumblings
Indonesian officials
evacuated about 15,000
people on islands near
Komba, an uninhabit-
ed island in the Flores Sea shak-
en by tremors from a volcano.
Fishermen who sometimes land
there were advised to remain
more than a mile offshore. Res-
idents in nearby villages said
their groundwater supply sud-
denly turned salty after Mount
Batutara started rumbling.
Tropical cyclones
ICyclone Kara dren-
chedareasofAustralia
battered by three
storms since January.
I The South Pacific island
nation of Vanuatu was skirted
by Category 2 Cyclone Becky.
Remnants of the storm caused
flash flooding in far northern
New Zealand after the area
received the equivalent of two
months of rainfall in 24 hours.
Butterfly roadblock
Taiwan launched an
unprecedented pro-
gram to protect up to
a million butterflies as
they crossed a busy highway.
Drivers on an elevated section
of the freeway were warned to
expect delays when clouds of
up to 11,000 butterflies per
minute caused officials to block
the roadway. This is the first year
such a closure has been
enforced. Authorities also erect-
ed a net along the highway to
force the insects to fly above the
traffic. Ultraviolet lights were
placed beneath the road to
lure the light-sensitive insects
under traffic lanes.
Caterpillar invasion
A ravenous caterpillar
rarely seen in Uganda
invaded farms and
fields across the East
African nation, caus-
ing concern about famine. The
insect was identified as lepi-
doptera, first observed in Ugan-
da in 1913. It has appeared sev-
eral times since then, causing
damage to cassava, potato and
banana crops. Farmers in the
worst-affected areas sprayed
crops with a mixture of ash and
water to repel the insects.
Bangladesh tempest
Hailstorms on Bang-
ladesh’ssouthcoastleft
at least 10 people dead
and injured nearly 300
others. The storm had winds of
up to 60 mph that wrecked
homes, uprooted trees and tore
apart terraces built for rice
crops. Survivors said the storm
lasted about 20 minutes.
Earthquakes
I Western Japan was
rocked by a 6.9 mag-
nitude temblor that
killed one person and injured
nearly 200 others. More than 880
buildings were damaged, 59
destroyed. Aftershocks prompt-
ed hundreds of people to stay
outdoors for the two days.
I Houses on the Greek island
of Cephalonia were damaged by
a 5.9 magnitude quake that
caused parts of the island’s air-
port to collapse. The quake also
damaged prized antiquities at
Cephalonia’s Argostoli Museum.
I Earth movements were also
felt in Iran, Vanuatu and around
Kansas City.
Distributed by: Universal Press Syndicate
www.earthweek.com
© MMVII Earth Environment Service
Earthweek: A diary of the planet By Steve Newman
Sebesta said the bushes allow
silt to settle along the banks
instead of being washed out by
the turbulent water. Bushes are
more effective than grass along
streambanksbecausegrasslacks
the necessary root armoring.
Grass is very prone to
washout and erosion because its
rootsarefineanddon’tpenetrate
very deeply. Because tree roots
are more extensive and inter-
laced,theydoabetterjobofslow-
ing streamside erosion.
Streams adopted by water-
shed groups are set for replant-
ing under the program. Cuppett
said people interested in help-
ing should contact Program
Coordinator Andrew Dorsey,
who can refer people to groups
in their communities.
One group that will partici-
pate is the Fishkill Creek Water-
shed Committee, which has
worked with the DEC on
replantingforthelastthreeyears.
Committee Chairman Dan
Troge said seedlings wouldn’t
be planted directly on the
streamsides, but from about
three feet back as far as possi-
ble into the adjacent land.
“The wider the buffer, the
greater the creative potential is.
... The trees and the grasses all
strain out the pollution," Troge
said.Hesaid10feetwasminimal.
Seedlings are vulnerable
Newly planted seedlings have
to be protected, because they are
so small they are susceptible to
hazards such as ATVs and lawn-
mowers. Troge said the plants
take over after a couple of years.
Cuppett said the stream-
plantingprogramwasanewven-
ture that would likely expand
along with development.
Troge said he expected such
efforts to become increasingly
important.
“With the prospect of glob-
al warming, some scientists
believe there will be more rad-
ical weather, that we will have
downpours and drought ... and
when the [soil] dries, it becomes
dust, and if there’s nothing to
draw water through it as a root
will do, it becomes very prone
to blowing away like it did in the
dust bowls ... in the ’20s and ’30s.”
Building sustainable buffers on
steamsides could help prevent
this, he said.
Planting something, Sebesta
said, is not necessarily a silver
bullet because streams are
sometimes at such risk, they’re
already being caved out from
underneath. The whole bank
may end up being washed out
by the force of the streams and
the power of the currents.
“We’re doing what we can in
a natural way to restore the
streams to their natural state.
Where it’s possible, I think it cer-
tainly can help. It’s one part of
thepicture—it’sakindofacoor-
dinated approach,” Sebesta said.
Regulations also a factor
He said regulations by com-
munities, such as watershed laws
restricting development with-
in so many feet of streams, are
another part of the process. DEC
also has state wetlands restric-
tions on development.
Cuppett said people can pro-
tectstreamsontheirpropertyby
keeping development away and
leaving native vegetation intact.
“You don’t want to put devel-
opment right up against a
stream,” Cuppett said. “You
want to set it back.”
For homeowners whose
streams have lost their natural
buffers, seedlings are available
from the county soil and water
conservation districts in Ulster
andDutchessaswellastheArbor
Day Foundation.
Troge said many people
think a rolling lawn going right
to the stream’s edge is beauti-
ful. People who enjoy living by
the water may feel streamside
plants would block their views,
he said, but the plants can cre-
ate a window into nature.
“The number one thing that
a homeowner could do to stop
streamerosionisnottocuttothe
water’s edge, to let it grow natu-
ral. The benefits are more than
just the erosion of the stream,
you’llendupgettinglocalwildlife.
Theinsectswillcomein,butthen
the predators will come in, the
frogs, and then there’ll be a
whole circle of life,” Troge said.
Reach Dugan Radwin at
dradwin@poughkeepsiejournal.com or
845-437-4841
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8B ENVIRONMENT SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2007 POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL
Planting: Runoff can
pollute, erode streams
Continued from 7B
‘You don’t want to put
development right up
against a stream. You
want to set it back.’
Scott Cuppett
Watershed Program Coordinator
Hudson Valley Estuary Program