Spring sprang more than a month ago, but winter-like cold is back and a little snow is possible. A few flurries are possible through Thursday afternoon, mainly in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey, but no accumulation is expected, according to the National Weather Service Mount Holly Office… “It’s been a very late spring,” said William Sciarappa, Monmouth County agricultural agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension. “It’s more like an extended winter.”… The local freeze watch follows an abnormally cold and snowy winter in New Jersey, and temperatures are expected to be largely below average for the next two to three weeks, according to David A. Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University.
Archives for April 2015
Buzz Off! Rough Winter Delayed Insect Onslaught
Just as the fierce winter in the eastern and central USA delayed the allergy season, it’s also stalled the start of the bug season. But it won’t be long before warmer temperatures spur on the usual parade of mosquitoes, termites, ants, ticks and stink bugs… Though weather affects when bugs emerge, it doesn’t necessarily affect the severity of the season. “Most people think that the cold winter we had last year and again this year would have a big impact on insect populations,” said entomologist George Hamilton of Rutgers University. Though it may have killed some of the bugs, “overall, it probably isn’t going to have much of an effect,” he said… Warmth and dryness in the West may impact insects that need water to survive, such as mosquitoes, Hamilton said. “Without water, mosquito larvae can’t survive, and that could reduce populations in some areas, at least this spring,” he said.
Butler Water Superintendent Named Operator of the Year
Keith Smith, the superintendent and water treatment operator for the Butler Water Department, has been named Operator of the Year by the New Jersey section of American Water Works Association (AWWA)… “The Harold V. Florence, Jr. Meritorious Operator Award is presented annually by the AWWA New Jersey Section to an operator who has brought a higher degree of excellence, learning, initiative, and resourcefulness to bear in the operations of a public water system,” said Frank Marascia, a member of the award committee, who is also production manager for the New Jersey American Water Co. in Short Hills… A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in environmental science, Smith also holds several advanced certifications in water management and treatment. He also lectures at Rutgers.
Rutgers Day, Seed Libraries and More
Rutgers Day, Rutgers University’s annual open house welcome and show-and-tell for New Jersey residents of all ages, is this Saturday (April 25) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m… This year’s highlights include the Tent of Bog Ideas, an Athletics Mini Combine, Alumni Weekend, and “Where Science Happens”… Where Science Happens- Visit the Engineering science fair on the Busch Campus to experience the Faraday lecture and witness how ice cream is made with liquid nitrogen. Stuffed animals will receive checkups in the Life Sciences area while sea creatures will be at arm’s length at the Marine Sciences Building. Guests may also excavate in an archaeological dig and handle 1.5 million-years-old artifacts on the Cook/Douglass Campus.
Opinion: Steering Clear of the 2 Percent Trap for Water Utilities
In 2010, New Jersey adopted restrictions on local government budgets, limiting annual increases in overall property taxes to an average of two percent per year (with certain exceptions). Recent articles and press releases have pronounced this limitatio…
National Park Celebrates Earth Day with Children’s Garden Opening
The scissors were barely through the ribbon at the borough’s newly opened children’s garden, when Mother Nature unleashed a brief Earth Day deluge on the soon-to-be growing crops. It was pretty good timing all around, said National Park School Principal Carla Bittner… “Today for Earth Day, in addition to opening the garden, we had health and wellness activities for the students, with different stations around the school,” said Bittner following the ceremony, which at the end saw about 275 students fleeing from the rain. “Rutgers Cooperative Extension had a station where the students made veggie egg rolls, with food provided by Food Corps.”… In addition, the Rutgers Cooperative Extension is expected to supplement some of the food supplies for some of the garden-related educational events at the school next year.
Film Dedicated to Late Professor George Morren Explores the Cambodian Genocide Through the Eyes of a Former Child Soldier
The widow of former SEBS human ecology professor emeritus George Morren, filmmaker Janet Gardner, produced the documentary, Lost Child – Sayon’s Journey, which is dedicated to Morren’s memory. The documentary will be shown on THIRTEEN (WNET) at 10:30 p.m. on April 30, and broadcast on public television stations nationwide. Morren played a key role in […]
Centenary College’s Earth Day Celebration Scheduled for April 25
This year, Centenary College’s Earth Week Committee welcomes members of the community to the celebration of Earth Day, which will be held on Saturday, April 25, on the front lawn of the college. This is the eighth anniversary of Centenary’s celebration of Earth Day. This family-oriented event will appeal to children of all ages… In addition, in an attempt to educate our community on Earth-related issues, the college offers a presentation on April 22, with Tony Broccoli, Professor at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. He will speak at the College at 2 p.m., in the Ferry Building, room 12… Broccoli’s presentation titled “The Climate Ahead: Global Changes, Local Impacts” focuses on the science of climate change, including a discussion of the basic physics, global observations of climate change and model projections of future climate change.
CSI UV Goggles? How to Tell If An Egg is Bad
Friend of the barfblog and current Welsh tourist, Don Schaffner of Rutgers University, has a few things to say about egg safety, especially: most of those so-called tests are BS… The theory behind the float test? Egg shells are porous, and as time goes on the egg’s liquid evaporates through the porous shell and air enters. That makes the eggs more buoyant, so some say the older an egg, the more it floats… Forget this test, says Don Schaffner, PhD, a food scientist at Rutgers the State University of New Jersey. “Eggs do take in air as they age, but the size of the air cell in the egg varies from egg to egg. So a freshly laid egg and an older egg may react similarly.” There is too much variability in air cell size from egg to egg to make this a valid test, he says… “Salmonella is the organism we are most worried about,” Schaffner says. It could be inside the egg if it was infected before it was laid, or it could be on the shell.
Rutgers Team in Award-winning Film Featured in NPR Interview
On the eve of its New York City debut on April 17, the Antarctic Edge: 70o South film team of Rutgers marine scientist Oscar Schofield, Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking director Dena Seidel and film student Gabriela Elise talk with Leonard Lopate about their collaboration on this award-winning film. Schofield reveals the changes he’s observed […]