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Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

              by Bruce B. Beckley

Issue #132, December, 2002
Greetings

Calcium falls into the category of either too much or too little. A common element, calcium composes 3.6 percent of the earth’s crust. Calcium carbonate and other compounds are used in formulating paint, toothpaste and deicing compounds. It gets added to milk (too much) to strengthen bone structure (too little).

In the too little category, researchers at the Cornell Ornithological Laboratory recently issued a report titled “The Mystery of Peeling Paint and Missing Snails”. Have you been troubled by blue jays peeling and eating paint chips from your home? Deborah Jasak up in Hopkinton was. She took her concern to the Lab where scientists discovered that blue jays often consume more than twice as much calcium as do other bird species.

Northeastern soils are naturally poor in calcium, and acid rain has further reduced it in many areas. Blue Jays, constantly searching for sources of calcium, have discovered that house paint contains calcium carbonate in its pigment. Flaking paint is an easy calcium source, but what else might it contain? Crushed eggshells are a better source and can be offered, especially during nesting season.

Calcium turns out to be a factor also in the mystery of a declining wood thrush population. The second mystery has features in common with the first. The wood thrush is declining across much of its range, and forest fragmentation is known to be a major factor in its decline. Lab scientists found that breeding success of wood thrushes decreased most significantly in areas with the highest levels of acid rain. Why?

Apparently acid rain reduces the number of snails and other calcium-rich foods in the forest understory. Some snails are now rare in parts of the thrush’s range and the bird’s reproductive rates are declining accordingly.

As we write this, the use of deicing chemicals on town roads is being reviewed. The ACC has expressed its concern to the Selectmen over salt usage, especially where there are maple trees, homeowner wells and underlying aquifers. After the Christmas snowstorm the road crews did a super job of pushing the foot of snow to the shoulders. Management’s decision on salt application had the roads wet and black by 8 AM the next morning. Cars and trucks were able to travel Baboosic Lake Road at their accustomed 40 mph as if it were their beholden right to speed regardless of weather conditions. Is that necessary when weighed in the balance with environmental costs?

The Appalachian Mountain Club passes on some green resolutions towards making big environmental changes one step at a time. Some have more practicality than others but there’s one that strikes home as Amherst reviews its recycling facilities in the face of the waste burden of 300 tons per month we all generate.

The AMC suggests stop buying bottled water. In the U.S., bottled water sales have tripled in the last 10 years, and by 2005, Americans are expected to down 7.2 billion gallons annually. Bottled water takes a heavy toll in terms of manufacturing, packaging waste, and transportation, and is held to looser contamination standards than tap water. There is very little evidence that it is any cleaner or healthier; in fact, many brand are simply filtered tap water.

Resolutions bring us to wishing you the very best for the New Year – a year of happy trails, good sportsmanship, of pure outdoor enjoyment and the personal satisfaction with your support of some conservation activity. Remember: A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. And, as one of our Christmas greetings prayed “Inspire Peace”. We could add to that: “ Inspire peace between human-kind and the natural world we share”.

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