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Crossing The Sound
A blog dedicated to the protection, conservation, & education concerning the Long Island Sound.
What’s To Come of the EPA?
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency has been under scrutiny. Bills such as The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 includes amendments that would nullify some provisions in the 1972 Clean Water Act.
According to Reuters, “the bill would hamstring the agency’s ability to update water quality standards” and grant states the power to regulate water quality.
Supporters of this bill are optimistic that the job market will flourish and the local economies will be booming.
However, since 2006, the Long Island Sound Study division has been giving out grants to help further scientific research concerning the nation’s water quality.
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, “along with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the State of New York, we are one of the founding sponsors and participants in the LISS,” said Corinne Fitting, supervising environmental analyst. In addition, DEEP also oversees policies, goals, and funding.
In the past 5 years, the Long Island Sound Study has spent $6,990,971 in grants, research projects, and to create educational opportunities. The graphs below illustrate the total amount of large and small grants given out by the EPA.
From the time this program was implemented, there has been a 55 percent increase in the amount of funds, with 2010 being the year in which the most money was donated.
In spending a lot of money on environmental research, there has been talk in the national government to cut some funding. In April 2011, the EPA drew up a “shut-down” plan incase of a “funding hiatus.”
“Well I think that’s how the debate is usually framed. Environment versus jobs or environment versus money,” said Mark Tedesco, director of the Long Island Sound offices. “In many cases a strong environment is supportive of a strong economy.”
According to The Washington Post, in the event of an EPA shut down, over 17,700 employees would lose their jobs.
Tedesco seemed confident that the EPA wouldn’t be dismantled even with recent legislation citing the fact that the EPA has in fact passed regulations, which has improved air and water quality.
Despite the improvements seen after the passage of the Clean Water Act, Tedesco stressed the importance of individual actions.
“It’s not all about regulations and mandates it’s also about creating a spirited stewardship so individuals know that what they do individually makes a difference.”
Mark Tedesco, Long Island Sound Study Director
Long Island Sound Experiences Google Map
Please help me in creating a discussion about the Long Island Sound. Add a point on the map recounting a memory or experience. You can add text, photo, or video, it is all up to you.
View Long Island Sound Experiences in a larger map
How To Add A Point:
In order to do this, you have to be logged into a Gmail account AND NOT ON GOOGLE CHROME.
Click ‘View Long Island Sound Experiences in Larger Map’ Then Click ‘Edit’
Click ‘Add a Placemark’ in the top left corner
Place the point where you want it
Add your Name, E-mail, a Title, Description, and whatever else you’d like.
By: Regina Galluzzo
Jeff Barna, Connecticut’s Local Fisherman.
But fine’s polite I’d rather things more profound."
By: Ken Vasquez (via http://www.kenvasquezphoto.com/)
Student Athlete Ethical Issues
from which life first arose,
should now be threatened by
the activities of one form of that life.
But the sea, though changed in a sinister way,
will continue to exist:
the threat is rather to life itself."
