SEPTEMBER 2021
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
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This month: Appreciate the health of the Lakes, learn more about hydrogen, explore heat pump technology, take a hike, come to a Swap, propagate your seeds, and join our LIVE meeting at Pierson park Thursday evening, September 2 at 7:00!

IT'S NOT A POOL:
BIO-BLAST TREATMENT AT THE LAKES
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By Catherine Ruhland, Lakes Committee

Did you spy three of these at the Lakes last week and wonder what the heck was going on? You were witnessing a Lake Savers “Bio Blast” treatment.


 

 

The "pools" were full of trillions of microscopic, organic, non-genetically modified biological organisms which are pumped into our upper lake to “eat” the increasingly larger amounts of algae that float in the water as well as some of the organic material that lies on the bottom of the lake.

A company called Lake Savers has been consulting with the Village of Tarrytown for over ten years working on different natural methods for reducing the algae growing in the lakes. The last few years they have done what they call a “Bio-Blast” in the early summer and then again in the later summer (this past week).

This effort, together with the aeration (bubblers that pump oxygen into the water) which helps break down plant material in the water (both floating and on the bottom) and the addition of dark dye earlier in the year which reduces the sun’s ability to promote algae growth, are all natural ways to try and reduce the growth of algae and slowly reduce accumulated phosphorus.

Two years ago, the village also harvested large amounts of algae growing in the upper lake with a specially equipped boat. Lake Savers has also placed charcoal filtration at one of the main inlets to the upper Tarrytown Lake.

While chemical herbicides and algaecides can be used, their side-effects include the accumulation of poisonous ingredients in the sediment on the bottom of the lakes and increasing resistance of the algae to those chemicals.

Watch this quick video to learn more.

https://everbluelakes.com/bioblast-bacteria-treatment/

By Dean Gallea, TEAC Co-chair
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You may have seen them: Articles in popular media extolling transportation’s “Hydrogen Future”, a nod towards the “greenness” everyone associates with a fuel that, when combined with oxygen to release the energy stored in its atomic bonds, leaves only water behind. 

Some may remember the experiment in high-school chemistry class: Two test tubes inverted in a beaker of salty water, current from a battery electrolytically dissociating it into its components - two parts hydrogen to one of oxygen. Wait for the bubbling gases to fill the test tubes - and light a match under the hydrogen one to elicit a “pop”, a flash, and a mist of water coating the tube. A fun demonstration of the simplest principle of electrolysis, converting one form of energy to another.

Commercial hydrogen production isn’t like that. Precious little is made electrolytically: Bulk hydrogen is usually produced by “steam reforming” methane or natural gas, currently the cheapest way. One downside to this process is that its byproducts are CO2, CO and other greenhouse gases (GHG), gaining its product the moniker “gray hydrogen”. And, even if some of these are captured and sequestered (thus producing “blue hydrogen”), there is still the use of natural gas in an energy-intensive process to make it.

Discounting for now a few other hydrogen production methods that may release less GHG but still use carbon-based fuels (or nuclear radiation, god forbid!), we are left with good old water electrolysis. With new methods like Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) cells, electrolysis has the potential for 86+% thermal efficiency in converting electricity to hydrogen, at a production cost competitive with carbon-fueled methods. This is “green hydrogen”.

So, 86% thermal conversion efficiency – the ratio of energy needed to produce the hydrogen to the energy it produces when burned – sounds pretty good, right? Even charging your EV’s lithium battery from ConEd electricity loses more than 14% in the process before the power reaches the car’s wheels. So, using a hydrogen-to-electricity fuel cell should be good, right?

Here’s the rub: There are many more impediments to efficient hydrogen production using the currently-scarce renewable resources needed. Let’s look at two scenarios.

1. Green hydrogen that’s produced near where it’s used: The potential for renewable power to supplant carbon-based generation is greatest in populated areas, exactly where the industry is aiming the push to hydrogen as a green fuel. It makes no sense, then, to “downcycle” precious kilowatt-hours of renewable power through the complex, loss-prone process of creating and storing hydrogen, then generating electricity from it later. Instead, the green electrical energy is better used to directly reduce the need for carbon-fueled “brown” energy. Even if, down the road, there is more renewable power in a region than needed for immediate use, smart-grid technologies can kick in to charge electric vehicles or storage batteries. It’s really hard to envision a circumstance in which there is green electricity with no place to go, at least until we’ve reached the elusive zero-carbon future.

2. Green hydrogen that’s produced far from where it will be used: This is the “off-grid” case, where – say, in an equatorial desert for solar, a distant mountain ridge or offshore for wind, or at a geothermal hot spring – there is lots of potential for green generation but little potential for nearby use. There, electrolytically-produced hydrogen could be produced and stored, and then transported hundreds of miles to where it could be used. But, the need for transportation is a major issue, and the costs and inefficiencies in concentrating the hydrogen and moving it in specialized tankers on highways or waterways to a site where the fuel can be used decreases the value of it significantly, to the point where it is not economically feasible.

So, on balance, hydrogen doesn’t appear to be a practical solution for carbon-free terrestrial energy in the near future. There is an area of transportation, though, where using hydrogen could be advantageous: The replacement of carbon fuels in ships (dirty bunker oil) and planes (jet fuel). In these cases, the weight of the alternative fuel is important, and hydrogen has a higher energy storage-to-weight ratio than does present battery technology. There are developments in these areas that bear watching, though with an eye towards detecting greenwashing - touting sustainability where it is not - in the technologies. 

https://www.reuters.com/article/shipping-energy-hydrogen-focus-int/first-wave-of-ships-explore-green-hydrogen-as-route-to-net-zero-idUSKBN27F18U 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210401-the-worlds-first-commercial-hydrogen-plane 

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Discover customized clean heating and cooling solutions for your home, understand how energy efficiency can save you money and energy, plus, learn about financial incentives and rebates offered by NYSERDA and Con Ed. Join us in-person at the Warner Library or on zoom on Wednesday, September 22 to meet the contractors and hear from your neighbors!

 

 

The Villages of Irvington, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, alongside the Irvington Green Policy Task Force, Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council and Sleepy Hollow Environmental Advisory Committee have partnered with Sustainable Westchester to bring EnergySmart Homes Rivertowns to our community.

 

 Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/1fLn9KI6G 

 

MELANCHOLIA:
THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN
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By Mai Mai Margules

 

In September, many of our perennial “stars” begin to fade and a new cycle in the garden begins to emerge. Now color comes from native goldenrods, asters, sunflowers, blue mist flowers, Joe Pye weed and native grasses that will nurture pollinators and birds as Fall approaches.


Goldfinch on anise hyssop, late summer
 

Seed Collection

This is a perfect time to collect seed and prepare for new plantings. Natives such as milkweed, echinacea, bee balm, rudbeckia and bee balm are all going to seed now.

A general rule is to wait until the seed heads and adjoining stem are brown and dry and seeds come off easily when gently pulled. Once you have removed seed heads, dry them for several days, separate the seeds from the chaff, and store them in paper bags (not plastic, as plastic can allow moisture and mildew to collect).


"Ripe" echinacea seed head, with seeds

There are lots of great videos on youtube demonstrating the step by step process for identifying and collecting seeds for specific plants. 

Propagating milkweed is a priority for many of us as we expand our efforts to save endangered monarchs. Collecting milkweed seeds and separating the seeds from the fluff requires a couple of extra steps and good timing. Mature milkweed seeds in the pod are dark brown; if harvested too early they will be immature and not viable. If you wait until the pod opens the seeds are ripe but you will need to separate the floss from the seed for long term storage, a painstaking activity.

If you have a milkweed pod that shows signs of being mature (dry stem, changing color), gently pull along the pod seam, if ripe it will easily open. Then hold the white fluff in one hand and pull the seeds off with the other. Again, there are many online videos demonstrating the process in detail. Don’t collect seeds from pods that have lots of the red milkweed beetles on them. Once you collect the seeds, dry and store them until you are ready to plant.   

Milkweed seeds can be directly sown outdoors in the fall. Just cover the seeds with ¼ “ of soil and water.  Milkweed, as well as many other natives, requires a period of cold stratification before being planted in the spring. This is a great winter project which we will discuss in detail in our December newsletter. So if you aren't ready to plant now, keep your seeds in a cool, dry place until it is time to winter stratify in January.

Fall Planting

Fall is a wonderful and vastly underrated time for planting native perennials. All of our garden enthusiasm bursts out in spring as we emerge from the cold days of winter. For many, it seems counterintuitive to plant in the fall when the garden shows signs of going into dormancy.  In fact, many of our native perennials are best planted in the fall when the soil is warm and roots have time to become well established before winter. Just be sure to plant at least 6 weeks before the ground freezes solid. Early fall planting provides plants a head start to develop strong root systems before the following spring.

Also, there is a good selection of mature native perennials and plant plugs available now that are often scarce in the spring. Check your local nurseries for native plants, many may even be on sale as their foliage begins to go dormant. 

A great affordable source for native plant plugs is Zoe’s Plants in Ardsley. For local plant plug pick-up, email mickey@zoesplants.com with your name and contact information. A bi-monthly update on current surplus inventory and info on how to make plant requests/orders will be provided.

Additionally WCC’s Native Plant Center will be holding its annual fall plant sale at Rosedale Nurseries in Hawthorne, 51 Saw Mill River Rd. on 9/11 and 9/12 from 9am to 5:30pm. A large selection of native trees, shrubs, perennials and native grasses are available. Volunteers from the Native Plant Center will be there to advise and answer questions. 

So, as you see, September is a busy month for native plant gardeners. Whether you collect seed, plant or just sit back and enjoy watching the birds and pollinators forage, enjoy your fall garden!


Fall garden, with milkweed (foreground), orange cosmos and echinacea (coneflower).

DON'T THROW IT OUT:
GIVE/TAKE AT THE SWAP
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Bring your clean, good-condition, quality items to swap for something new!
Sunday, September 12 - 10am-4pm
Located outdoors at The Hastings Flea!
131 Southside Ave, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706