Environment

Bacteria in the water at Morris Grove

penny rich — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:40:35 -0600

Why are more folks not talking about the bacteria in the water at Morris Grove Elementary? OWASA submits to test after test with the water bacteria free, so the bacteria is developing after the water leaves OWASA and is piped through the schools system. I cannot find information anywherethat states what is being done to correct this problem. Am I the only oneoutraged at this? These are our children, some getting sick from drinking tainted water. Is there a plan in place to correct this?

CANCELLED! Movie: 'Who Killed the Electric Car' at the Trains

sammy slade — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:08:35 -0600

APOLOGIES, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO A CONFLICT OF SCHEDULING BY THE STATION AT SOUTHERN RAIL

Any members of Freecycle?

Priscilla Murphy — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:53:35 -0600

I heard reference to http://freecycle.org on the radio yesterday, described as an organization to promote free exchange or donation of unwanted things that ought not to go to the landfill and still possibly useful. There is an Orange County group - is anyone here a member? How does it work?

A Sad Day For Orange County

randallwilliams — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:32:56 -0600

Thursday, December 11, marks a dark moment in Orange County’s history. At the County Commissioners’ meeting that night, all the attending Commissioners, except one, voted to pursue the placement of a Waste Transfer Station in the heart of Orange County’s farming district and alongside the Cane Creek Reservoir.

Live tweeting waste transfer hearing at the Commish

Ruby Sinreich — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:25:24 -0600

Among other things on the County Commissioners agenda tonight the siting of the proposed waste transfer station. John Rees, an avid cyclist who lives in Dogwood Acres, is there and posting updates via Twitter. Here are his updated posts in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest):

Community Organizing takes off in Orange County

jcb — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:30:06 -0600

From OCOC press release as printed in News of Orange County:

County-wide grassroots effort will hold Dec. 7 meeting
On Sunday, Dec. 7, 300 leaders from 23 faith-based institutions in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough will gather at 5 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill to launch a new agenda called "One County for All." The Church is located at 300 E. Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill.

The event is viewed as a new model for multi-ethnic interfaith collaboration in Orange County. The Orange County Organizing Committee (OCOC) seeks to bring about change on affordable housing, living wages, environmental justice, education, healthcare, and quality of life for immigrant families.
read more

What to do with all the deer?

Rickie White — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:41:23 -0600

A blog post over at the News and Observer site highlights the requests made by citizens in Carrboro and Pittsboro to allow bow hunting in the city limits to help control the deer population. Having lived for a bit in the Chicago area where deer started depleting the forest preserves of all sensitive plant species in the 1980's, I'm particularly sensitive to the effects of deer on sensitive ecosystems. I also know that the deer population, without natural predators, continues to put more and more pressure on plants as time goes by in our area. Bolin Creek spring wildflowers are particularly sensitive to deer overpopulation since they green up before other plants leaf on and they provide sustenance for the herds at their hungriest time.

Missing Acorns?

Terri Buckner — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:31:59 -0600

I spent Saturday raking leaves and noticed that this year, unlike past years, there were no acorns hitting me on the head. There were no acorns buried under the fallen leaves. There were no acorns!

Today's Washington Post confirms that it's not just my yard.

The idea seemed too crazy to Rod Simmons, a measured, careful field botanist. Naturalists in Arlington County couldn't find any acorns. None. No hickory nuts, either. Then he went out to look for himself. He came up with nothing. Nothing crunched underfoot. Nothing hit him on the head.

Last year was a bumper crop in my yard and the plump squirrels attest to that. But this winter they are going to be in trouble. Are others also missing their annual acorn crop?

Are phone books equivalent to garbage?

Jose — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:28:43 -0600

I was in my house a couple Saturdays ago and I heard something outside and I assumed it was the mailman putting mail in the box. Then a bit later I heard something again. Why would the mailman come twice? So I went out and looked and in addition to the mail in the mailbox there was a nearly 1,200 page phone book on my stoop.

And then again the other day I came home from work and there was another phone book on my stoop, this one over 1,200 pages.

How can it be legal for people to come to your house and put a big, heavy thing that you didn't ask for on your doorstep? Can I get rid of it by putting it on someone elses doorstep?

A Plan for a Plan

TBlake — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:52:06 -0600

I went to the OCBoCC meeting on Monday about the transfer station. I came away more convinced than ever that locating a transfer station in a rural farming or residential area is a bad idea. I think a lot of good reasons for it being a bad idea were put forth, and as I took notes I realized that the OCBoCC all know most of these arguments and reasons not to do this, so rehashing it is not of any particular benefit. What I think has not been done yet is to put together an outline/timeline of an alternative that involves all of the potential players and describes the benefits with an end goal in mind.

So, rather than rehash, I thought I could take a stab at a plan for a plan. Obviously the outline below is a strawman (the 21st century equivalent of the back of a napkin) and needs refinement. A lot would need to happen and a lot could happen in parallel. I think you'll get the gist though.

First:

Convince yourselves and the community at large.