Recently, a group of senior undergraduate students from the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University presented design ideas for the Little Ferry waterfront at the borough council meeting March 10… Under the direction of Dr. Wolfram Hoefer, associate professor and graduate program director for department as well as associate professor at Centers for Urban Environmental Sustainability, the students developed seven different possible plans for rebuilding the borough based upon the Rebuild by Design proposal for the Meadowlands region… “It is about resiliency,” said Hoefer. “The goal is to provide the students with real world experience and inform and educate the borough so they have an informed position.”
Rain, Fog and Melting Snow but No Flooding in North Jersey Forecast
Despite Saturday’s rainfall and melting snow, flooding is unlikely in North Jersey over the next couple of weeks, climate experts say. But that does not mean that the threat can be written off entirely this season… Most parts of Bergen and Passaic counties collected about a half-inch to an inch of rain in 15 hours Saturday and the area’s rivers were keeping well within their banks… The potential for flooding down the road depends primarily on how fast residual snow pack melts, which in turn depends on how quickly temperatures rise, said Dave Robinson, state climatologist at Rutgers University… The melt so far this March has been “well-behaved,” Robinson said. Temperatures have climbed into the mid-40s and even 50s during the day but remained below freezing at night. Rivers that have been swollen for parts of the day have had time to recover.
Winter Was a Near Record Breaker, But Relief Is In Sight
Ready to pack Old Man Winter’s bags and toss him out the door, no doubt with a crowd of neighbors cheering you on? If you’ve had enough of the winter of 2014-15, New Jersey Climatologist Dr. David Robinson says it is with good reason, and also that relief is on the way… Blame it all on the pattern of the jet stream, which for the second winter in a row, dipped to the south allowing polar air to infiltrate the Northeast, but “February will go down as one of the more intense wintery months on record, not only for the cold but for the persistent snow cover and the frequent snow events,” Robinson said… But putting the winter talk aside, area residents can take comfort in Robinson’s words “For those who have had enough of winter, it’s safe to say things will be looking up.”
EPA Considering Hackensack River for Cleanup Plan
In an acknowledgment that the Hackensack River remains seriously polluted with a century of industrial waste, the federal government will consider adding the river to the federal Superfund list, a program reserved for the country’s most contaminated sites… In addition, research conducted by Rutgers’ Judith Weiss over the past decade has showed that the mercury and PCBs in the Hackensack’s sediment are still so high that crabs and bluefish exhibit extremely odd behavior, making it hard for them to catch prey… “Are there environmental impairments in the Hackensack? I believe there are,” said Beth Ravit, the Rutgers University professor in charge of the study on the use of oysters to clean up the river.
Are superfoods actually super?
First it was blueberries, spinach and salmon. Then it was wheatgrass, green tea and any kind of nut. Now it’s kale, quinoa and pumpkin seeds. Next week- who knows? If you’re confounded by the number of foods that have been named “superfoods” over the years, you’re not alone… The European Union took a definitive stance in 2007 when it banned use of the term “superfood” on packaging unless the claim could be supported by scientific evidence. The United States has no such ban, however, and while there’s general consensus as to what the word refers to — a food that’s rich in vitamins, antioxidants or other nutrients- it’s still “purely a marketing term,” said Dr. Ilya Raskin, a professor at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
