By Mai Mai Margules, TEAC Landscape Committee                                 

For the past several weeks my favorite time of day has been evening twilight, there is a soft glow in the sky following sunset yet it is not completely dark. Sitting on our front porch and gazing into the garden we begin to see a myriad of tiny flashing lights, firefly courtship season is in full swing! 

Fireflies or lightning bugs are beetles in the the family Lampyridae and undergo a complete metamorphosis comprised of four life stages, egg, larvae, pupa and adult. In the summer females lay their eggs in moist areas, under leaf litter, mulch or in logs. Firefly larvae, “glowworms”, are voracious predators of soft bodied insects like slugs and snails. They will spend approximately 2 years underground / in leaf litter before pupating into the adult stage.

In early summer we are enchanted by the light show of adult fireflies who have emerged from the ground and leaf litter to find a mate. Bioluminescence is key in the firefly courtship ritual. Fireflies have light organs under their abdomens that produce the compound luciferin. Luciferin combined with oxygen undergoes a chemical reaction known as bioluminescence that produces light with almost no heat. Even the eggs and larvae of some species glow. Adult males emit tiny flashes while flying to attract females, while females often remain on the ground or plants and respond to the males' flashes with their own flash. While we enjoy the mystical beauty of the fireflies it is indeed fleeting, as adults only live a few weeks above ground and devote all their energy to finding a mate. (Xerxes Society)

Fireflies like other beneficial insects are disappearing and urgently need our help to survive. Threats from habitat loss, pesticides and light pollution can be reversed if we all take some simple steps on our own properties. Below are some key recommendations from the Xerxes Society that we can all follow to ensure that the magic of fireflies will exist for our children. A wonderful book for young children to introduce them to these “jewels of the night” is Fireflies in the Night by Judy Hawes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826282.Fireflies_in_the_Night.  So, on these sultry early July evenings, step outside and look for the fleeting twinkles of fireflies in the night and take steps to ensure that these enchanted evenings will be there to enjoy for years to come!

Help Fireflies in Your Yard

• Leave the Leaves - Leave fallen leaves and logs where possible. Firefly larvae need moist areas, like leaf litter and rotting logs year round  to grow. Leave areas of your yard wild. Undisturbed areas offer shelter and food for fireflies throughout their life cycle. 

• Plant Native Plants - Create healthy habitat by replacing some of the lawn area with native plants and grasses that support fireflies and the insects they prey on.

• Mow lawn areas at a higher setting - To leave some space for fireflies to shelter. This is also beneficial for your grass.

• Do Not Use Pesticides - These kill fireflies and other beneficial insects, this includes pesticide coated seeds in pre treated grass mixes. 

• Provide Water - A water feature or shallow bowl with stones can help. Ideally ensure that some soil areas on your property remain moist by leaving leaves, mulch and groundcovers that help retain moisture year round

• Reduce Light Pollution - Artificial lighting is a major reason we are losing our fireflies. Turn off/ reduce outdoor lighting whenever possible. Artificial lighting harms fireflies and other nocturnal animals like moths and bats by interfering with their communication and mating rituals. Here are some firefly friendly lighting tips from the Xerxes Society.

• Turn out lights you aren’t using! - This can be done in many ways:

1. Remove lights that only serve a cosmetic purpose, such as tree lights and facade lighting.
2. Turn off as many other outdoor lights as you can—darkness is best for fireflies.
3. Install motion activators that turn off your lights when no one is around.
4. Install timers that turn off your lights when you are not likely to be around (such as after you normally go to bed) and when fireflies are active, which is dusk through dawn in summer months.
5. Opt for red LEDs over blue white LEDs or use red gel filters over lights.
6. Use shields or covers to direct light down and away from the night sky.

Repair Cafes in July

• July 26, Irvington, Eileen Fisher, Two Bridge St, 11-3
• July 26, Yorktown Heights, Grace Church, 3830 Gomer St, 11-3
• July Repair Cafe Calendar: PDF  PNG 

By Dean Gallea, TEAC Energy and Sustainability Committee
 

What We Face for the Environment in the Budget Reconciliation Bill

On July 3rd, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, as it's commonly known, which was promptly signed into law by the President. This omnibus bill has many provisions that reduce Federal expenditures on environmental sustainability, intended to both fund tax cuts for high-income earners and corporations, and bolster fossil-fuel interests.

According to Bedford 2030, “Buried in its 900+ pages for Westchester residents is the rollback of major federal tax credits for home upgrades, heat pumps, solar panels, EVs, and more. If signed into law by the President, these incentives will vanish by the end of the year or sooner, costing homeowners thousands in savings.”

Bedford 2030 breaks down exactly what's at risk, what you can still claim, and how to make smart moves before it’s too late. One tip: Going solar just became even more urgent—and easier—thanks to local programs like Solarize. Whether you're a homeowner, renter, or business, their guide will help you save money and protect the planet.

NY HEAT Act Rebranded and Awaiting Assembly Passage

The long-awaited NY Home Energy Affordable Transition (NY-HEAT) Act passed the NY Senate, but was not voted in the Assembly before their summer recess. It has wide public support, both up and downstate. If passed and signed by the Governor, it would shave energy-bill costs for a significant number of Westchester residents, and further the State’s GHG-reduction goals. The Assembly sponsors have pared the Act down and rebranded it as “The Customer Savings and Reliability Act” to address Assembly concerns. We hope that the revised Act will pass in the next session. Meanwhile, part of the revision was the removal of one provision into a separate bill that DID pass, and awaits Hochul’s signature. It removes a rate-payer-financed subsidy to gas utilities for new customer connections.

Issues With Sustainable Computing

An article in the July issue of IEEE Computing Technology covers the enormous energy needs of the huge data centers being built and used for new computer-based Information Communication Technologies (ICT) like generative AI, image search and Cryptocurrency processing. The OECD recently reported that “ICT contributes from 2.1% to 3.9% of the world’s total GHG emissions. This GHG contribution is on par with the aviation industry, and it is rising.” Engineers are working on ways to increase the efficiency of computing, and “substantial enhancements ... are possible to significantly improve the environmental footprint of computing.” But if data centers are allowed to use fossil-fueled generation to power their growth, the incentives will be fewer. Local laws governing them should require renewable energy as well as cooling systems that do not use drinking or irrigation water sources.

Little-Known EV Economics 101

The EV automaker Tesla has fallen on some hard times, and this last quarter showed a profit of merely $405 million. But more interestingly, it would have been a loss of $190 million had Tesla not sold “emissions credits” of $595 million to fossil-fueled carmakers. In the view of some, Tesla’s not so much in the car business, but in the business of selling the right to pollute, since they help GM sell Chevy Tahoes that get 15 mpg. The same holds true for other EV makers, but Tesla stands out.

From the Federal Register, July 1, 2025: “The [Air Force] is rescinding its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations because the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) NEPA regulations, which they were meant to supplement, have been rescinded. … This action was necessitated by and is consistent with Executive Order, Unleashing American Energy, in which [the President] rescinded President Carter’s E.O., Relating to Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality.”