New York County Environmental Assessment

1. New York CountyEnvironmental Assessment Nassau county By: Katelyn Stancliffe Tamarac Elementary 5th grade

2. Aim and Methods Aim: To find more information about strengths and environmental challenges facing Nassau County Methods: Researched using multiple websites and newspaper articles. One website that I used was the Department of Environmental Conservation site.

3. Location and Terrain Nassau county is located in southern New York, on Long Island. Terrain • No mountain ranges • Flat • 166 miles of beaches

4. Native American Communities Around 1600 The Poospatuck tribe has a preservation in Nassau County, which is one of the smallest in New York State.

5. Population and Location Challenges • Population- 1,349,233 (2012) • Very close to New York city. • People commute to work. • Challenge: More cars which cause SMOG. This contributes to Global Warming.

6. Habitats and Challenges • Wetlands • Challenges: Being filled in and built over top of for housing and industries. • Forests • Challenges: Trees are being cut down for development. • Little Farmland One farm, Crossroads at Grossman’s, teaches people from the inner city about where their food comes from.

7. Major Industries • Social and Healthcare / Education • Important for helping in the community • Challenges: Uses a lot of gas powered vehicles causes air pollution. • Challenges: Uses a lot of paper products that are being thrown away • Retail Trade • Buys products from the companies that produce to sell to consumers • Challenges: Packaging materials produce waste.

8. Rivers and Watersheds • Eel Creek and the Pathogen Watershed are all watersheds in Nassau county. • Rivers in Nassau county include Mill River. • Challenges: Oil spills, chemical spills, and pollution are just some of the things that pollute Nassau counties water sources.

9. Energy • 86% of Nassau County’s energy comes from gas. • Challenges of gas extraction: Chemicals they use for fracking gets into groundwater, which can make people sick. • There are no wind power or solar power plants in this county, and the county doesn’t plan on building any in the future.

10. Waste • There are many landfills and incinerators but not many recycling and composting companies. 2013 – The EPA announced plans to build a water treatment system to collect liquid seeping from the Dewey Loeffel Landfill Superfund site.

11. Recommendations • Solar Plants and Wind Plants in Nassau County • Promoting carpooling or more energy efficient cars • Educating more people about where their food comes from

12. References • “About Nassau County.” Nassau Land Trust. Accessed April 22, 2014. https://nassaulandtrust.org/about-nassau-county. • “About Us: Crossroads Farm at Grossman’s.” Nassau Land Trust. Accessed April 22, 2014. https://nassaulandtrust.org/crossroadsfarm. • Brian Nearing. “Treatment Plant to Open at Nassau Toxic Dump.” The Green Blog, November 26, 2013. http://blog.timesunion.com/green/treatment-plant-to-open-at-nassau-toxic-dump/4499/. • Nassau County. “Nassau County: Long Island, New York,” 2013. http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/. • “Nassau County, New York.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, April 22, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nassau_County,_New_York&oldid=604274078. • Native Languages of the Americas. “Native American Tribes of New York,” 2014. http://www.native-languages.org/york.htm. • New York State DEC. “Energy and Climate: The Energy/Climate Change Connection.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/60.html. • ———. “List of Compost Facilities in New York State.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/55447.html. • ———. “Nassau and Suffolk Counties: Trends in Wetland Loss.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/31989.html. • ———. “NYS Watersheds: Management, Monitoring, and Assessment.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/60135.html. • ———. “Registered Electronic Waste Recycling Facilities.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/73670.html. • New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. “Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site,” 2014. http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/19/details.aspx. • North American Environthon. “About Us.” North American Environthon, 2013. http://www.envirothon.org/about-us.html. • NRDC. “Renewable Energy for America: Renewable Energy Map.” Natural Resources Defense Council, 2013. http://www.nrdc.org/energy/renewables/energymap.asp. • Richard Frisbie. “Early Nassau & Suffolk County History.” Hope Farm Press, 1996. http://www.hopefarm.com/nassauny.htm. • US EPA. “AirCompare: Are You Breathing Clean Air? How Does Your City Compare?” AirNow, February 15, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/aircompare/index.htm. • ———. “How Clean Is the Electricity I Use? - Power Profiler | Clean Energy.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, April 22, 2014. http://oaspub.epa.gov/powpro/ept_pack.charts. • Vink, Jan. Nassau County Profile 2013. Cornell Program on Applied Demographics. Accessed March 15, 2014. http://pad.human.cornell.edu/profiles/Nassau.pdf.