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Frequent Questions
- Why are waste management issues important?
- During an incident, when should waste management issues begin to be considered?
- Who makes waste management-related decisions?
- Do waste management facilities have to accept the waste transported to them?
- Who should I contact if I have a waste management-related question?
- Which waste management option does EPA prefer?
- If a treatment option is chosen as the preferred waste management approach for a particular waste, does a disposal option also need to be identified?
- Is the information presented on this website applicable to smaller incidents as well?
Why are waste management issues important?
Nearly every incident, whether man-made or natural, will involve the management of waste. In fact, waste management can account for a significant portion of the overall cost of an incident and is an important part of the long-term recovery from an incident. Until all applicable materials are properly managed, recovery from an incident is not complete. In addition, some materials are toxic to the environment and human health. Therefore, if these materials are not properly managed in a timely fashion, the damage resulting from the incident could be exacerbated.
During an incident, when should waste management issues begin to be considered?
State, local, and tribal governments should begin considering waste management-related issues before an incident even occurs. Pre-incident planning and preparation are vital for efficient and successful waste management operations. Thinking ahead about waste management considerations, such as storage space, transportation, identification of surrounding waste facilities, and possible routes to them, and writing a waste management plan can save valuable time and money during an actual incident. If there is no waste management plan to follow, waste management issues should start being considered as soon as possible during an incident. The generation of waste can occur anytime during an incident.
Who makes waste management-related decisions?
State, local, and tribal governments are the primary decision-makers for waste management-related issues. The federal government may become involved in the decision-making process when state, local, and tribal governments request support. During an incident, EPA can provide technical information and assistance to decision-makers at the state, local, and tribal levels and will work with the other federal agencies involved.
Do waste management facilities have to accept the waste transported to them?
No, waste management facilities, including landfills and incinerators, do not have to accept the waste transported to them. Therefore, it is very important to know which facilities accept what kind of waste and identify alternate facilities, preferably before an incident occurs. To help ensure that their waste will be accepted during an incident, communities can contact facilities in advance of an incident or, to go a step further, negotiate agreements with waste management facilities to accept waste in the event of an incident. We recommend that communities develop a waste management plan, which includes identifying waste management facilities and possible alternatives, as part of their preparations for an incident. Careful waste management planning by communities can save time and money during an incident.
Who should I contact if I have a waste management-related question?
State, local, and tribal governments should be the first point of contact for waste management-related questions. EPA also can provide technical assistance on waste management-related issues. Contact EPA for assistance.
Which waste management option does EPA prefer?
While EPA's waste management hierarchy generally prefers that wastes be reused or recycled, EPA recognizes that, in the context of homeland security incidents, the appropriate waste management option depends primarily on the event itself, the type of waste needing to be managed, the quantity of waste generated, and other situation-specific factors, as well as time and cost considerations. Any chosen waste management option must protect human health and the environment.
If a treatment option is chosen as the preferred waste management approach for a particular waste, does a disposal option also need to be identified?
Waste that is treated will also require recycling or disposal in accordance with applicable regulations. Treating the waste only changes the characteristics (e.g., size, toxicity) of the waste; the waste generally will still need to be sent for recycling or disposed of. However, there may be advantages to treating the waste, such as reducing its size or toxicity. Also, some waste may need to be treated before it can be recycled or before a disposal facility will accept it. It also is important to note that waste treatment options may generate their own waste, which would need to be managed. However, the benefits of treating the waste before recycling or ultimate disposal may offset the inconvenience of having to manage this additional waste stream.
Is the information presented on this website applicable to smaller incidents as well?
The information on this website is applicable to all types of incidents, including smaller incidents. For example, a tornado involving only one locality may not rise to the level of a homeland security incident, but the waste management options for natural disaster debris are just as applicable in this situation.


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|Softball » News » Schedule » Roster » Coaches » Statistics
ETSU softball splits Saturday's doubleheader with UNCG
Saturday, March 29, 2003Johnson City, Tenn. (Mar. 29, 2003) - East Tennessee State split its doubleheader with Southern Conference opponent UNC Greensboro Saturday. The Buccaneers (14-13, 2-3 SoCon) earned a 5-3 victory in game one; however, UNCG (22-7, 4-1 SoCon) bounced back in the nightcap by defeating ETSU 12-4 in six innings. ETSU got on the scoreboard first in game one when Jessica Lonsinger (Dale City, Va.) scored on a fielder's choice, but the Spartans evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning on a solo homerun by junior Penny Thompson (Franklin, N.C.). In the top of the sixth inning, UNCG took over its first lead of the game when Kim Benningfield (Levittown, Pa.) scored the go-ahead run on a RBI single by Joni Gomez (Hope Mills, N.C.) to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Spartans. The Bucs were able to retaliate in the bottom half of the frame, but not without some help from their opponent. Lonsinger got things started by smacking a RBI single to centerfield to score sophomore Lindsay Lane (Erwin, Tenn.). Then, Mary Beth Hazelwood's (Knoxville, Tenn.) line drive got past UNCG's leftfielder, as Sheryl Clark (Bradenton, Fla.) and Katie Lewis (Erwin, Tenn.) came around to score. The costly two-run error proved to be the difference in the game. ETSU junior Tiffany McVay (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) earned the complete-game victory, improving to 7-4 on the mound for the Buccaneers this season. The loss was credited to Spartan freshman Melissa Johnson (Oak Park, Calif.). Miranda Byerly (Candler, N.C.) led ETSU at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Thompson was a perfect 2-for-2 for UNCG. In game two, the Spartans didn't hesitate in their attempt to garner redemption. The visitors exploded for five runs in the first frame, thanks in large part to RBI doubles from Thompson, Moran, and sophomore catcher Christine Sweeney (West Palm Beach, Fla.). ETSU managed to cut the Spartan's lead in the bottom of the second inning, as Clark crossed home plate on a single by Rhea Holler (Peoria, Ariz.). From there the two teams went back-and-forth in the slight drizzle, trading two runs each in the fourth inning. But UNCG extended its lead to 10-3 in the top half of the fifth highlighted by Hubbard's triple, which scored Jennifer Aguilar (San Jose, Calif.). The Spartans added two more runs in the top of the sixth to take a 12-3 advantage, until McVay's solo homerun with two outs in the bottom half of the frame made it the final score of 12-4. Julia McChain (Dale City, Va.) was credited with the loss after lasting just 2/3 of an inning. Jennifer Fraser (Chattanooga, Tenn.) came in and pitched just over four innings of relief, allowing 11 hits and seven earned runs. Jolene Holthaus (Sidney, Ohio) finished the game on the mound for the Bucs, tallying a strikeout and a walk. The Spartans relied on Johnson for the complete-game victory. Johnson allowed nine hits, three earned runs and struck out six. On offense, UNCG had six players who boasted a multi-hit game. As a team, the Spartans slugged out 14 hits in the contest, which was one shy of tying their season-high for hits in a game. The two teams will wrap-up their weekend series on Sunday, Mar. 30 with one game beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Kiwanis Park in Johnson City.
Softball Archives
2002-03 Softball

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Dene Thomas, president of Fort Lewis College, has been reviewed by faculty and students to help the board of trustees decide whether or not to renew the contract for another three years.
"Fort Lewis College offers accessible, high quality, baccalaureate liberal arts education to a diverse student population, preparing citizens for the common good in an increasingly complex world."
La Plata County Thrive! Living Wage Coalition is hosting their annual spring event on Wednesday, April 15. An afternoon presentation is scheduled at Fort Lewis College at 4 p.m. in Noble Hall and a second presentation will take place at the Durango Public Library on Wednesday, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
In the last few years, the issue of racial bias in the justice system has consistently been making national headlines.
The Campus Sustainability Council has voiced concerns about their proposals for grant money to be used in projects over the summer. The CSC is a new organization that wishes to provide less ecological impact for the Fort Lewis College community.
The Associated Students of Fort Lewis College elections came to a close yesterday, the final results of which saw Lindley Gallegos and Jacob Smith elected to the positions of president and vice-president, respectively.
According to the annual statistical report published by the Colorado judicial branch for 2014 there were 458 combined driving under influence and driving while ability impaired arrests in Colorado's 6th District. The 6th District is an area that is made up of La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan county.
The Fort Lewis College theatre department's next and final production of their season is "The Producers," a musical by Mel Brooks. The production premieres this Friday, April 3 in FLC's Mainstage Theatre located in the Theatre Building at 7:30 p.m.


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Blixa Bargeld (born Hans Christian Emmerich on 12 January 1959) is a composer, author, actor, singer, musician, performer and lecturer in a number of artistic fields. He is best known for his studio work and tours with the groups Einstürzende Neubauten and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
This area is intended for discussion only. If you have a question about your order, or require customer service you can get in touch via our Customer Service Area. Comments enquiring about existing orders, including personal details, or with questions will be deleted.


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Goals: NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission set down a large, mobile laboratory - the rover Curiosity - using precision landing technology that makes many of Mars' most intriguing regions viable destinations for the first time.
During a 23 month prime mission, Curiosity will analyze dozens of samples drilled from rocks or scooped from the ground as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. Its assignment: Investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life.
Accomplishments: The technology test was a success. The rover was delivered safely to the surface of Mars and immediately began sending back stunning images and science. Some top findings:


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Scent of A Woman
Driven by an extravagant, tour-de-force performance by Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman is the story of Frank Slade (Pacino), a blind, retired army colonel who hires Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a poor college student on the verge of expulsion, to take care of him over Thanksgiving weekend. At the beginning of the weekend, Frank takes Charlie to New York, where he reveals to the student that he intends to visit his family, have a few terrific meals, sleep with a beautiful woman and, finally, commit suicide. The film follows the mis-matched pair over the course of the weekend, as they learn about life through their series of adventures. Though the story is a little contrived and predictable, it pulls all the right strings, thanks to O'Donnell's sympathetic supporting role and Pacino's powerful lead performance, for which he won his first Academy Award. Scent of a Woman is based on the 1975 Italian film Profumo Di Donna.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Cast: Al Pacino, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar
Produced by: Ronald L. Schwary
Directed by: Martin Brest
Written by: Giovanni Arpino, Bo Goldman
Running time: 2hr 37min
Opens: Dec 23, 1992 Limited
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Hang tight!
Recipe by Heather Walker
"This is a really moist muffin if you don't overwork the batter. I'm a 'muffin snob' and I find myself making this same recipe over and over again! You'll never want to make a boxed blueberry muffin again."
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2 cups
all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons
baking powder
1/2 teaspoon
1 1/2 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups
fresh blueberries
1/2 cup
3/4 cup
white sugar
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon
lemon zest
1/2 cup
2 tablespoons
all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons
white sugar
1/2 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons
butter, diced
Look no further-if I could give this a 10, I would! But please do this: double the lemon zest and add 1/4 c. brown sugar. I bake these for a local farm and art market, they go fast! Yum!
Eh. Lots of extra work for average muffins, in my opinion. I think the muffins would come out nicer if you just add the milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture all at once; the way the recipe is written, it's difficult to NOT overwork the batter. I probably won't try it again, though; it just wasn't anything exciting. Nice, predictable, okay muffins. Frankly, I liked the batter more than the muffins. And just in case you're considering it: These do NOT ship well. I baked them, let them cool, and shipped them two-day express all in the same day, and they were rancid when they arrived.
671 Ratings
We loved this muffin recipe! They didn't last long! I used frozen blueberries and they came out really nicely. Will definitely make these again! Thank you!
Quick and simple to mix up, these are beautiful muffins, plump and rounded with a delicate, light golden streusel top. They're moist and delicious with just a hint of fresh lemon that complements the blueberries well. For those who believe these to be bland or tasteless, muffins are by their nature not as rich or sweet as cakes, or muffins described as muffins but really ARE cakes. This is a perfect blueberry MUFFIN recipe!
These were fabulous--even with my healthier changes!
I used whole wheat flour, half splenda and half white sugar, egg substitute, and apple sauce in place of the butter. I added 1/2 cup more blueberries and used half brown and half white sugars in the crumble on top. These are amazing--we can't keep ourselves away!!
Thanks for the great recipe!!
This recipe is great!!! Really tasty. I substituted brown sugar for the white in the streusel topping and added 1/4 tsp vanilla to it too. I also put 2 cups of blueberries into the muffins instead of 1 1/2. The muffins turned out wonderful, really moist and delicious.
This is a really great muffin. People love the topping which makes it sweet enough. I think it needs more lemon zest or lemon juice. Orange extract also gives it good additional flavor.
To make large muffins increase bake time to 40-45min.
Great blueberry muffins, even though I left out the lemon zest. The topping was wonderful, next time I'll use brown sugar instead of white as other reviewers have suggested. I made a few without the topping and they turned out great as well. These muffins are filled with blueberries and have a nice consistency.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Streusel Topped Blueberry Muffins
Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 266
Calories from Fat: 98
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See how to make simple, delicious blueberry muffins.
See how to make big bakery-style blueberry muffins!
These muffins are so moist and flavorful, you won't believe they're healthy, too!


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Steady-Temp Double Wall Beer Glasses - Set of 2
A must have for beer enthusiasts!
Keep cool drinks cool!
Cheers to this glassware for pulling double duty! Its unique 16 oz. hand-blown, double-wall design provides extra insulation, so your beer stays at its proper serving temperature regardless of how long you've held the glass. It also creates a "suspended" visual effect for a compelling presentation. Stable, durable design made of lead-free crystal. Dishwasher safe.
Dimensions: 3.5" L x 3.5" W x 6" H; 1 lb.
Steady-Temp Double Wall Beer Glasses - Set of 2
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Cut, pry, scrape and chisel your way out of nearly any situation
Also known as The Cop Tool, this Tactical Escape Knife was designed by a police officer with more than twenty years of experience. If you find yourself in a jam, it can be used as a lever, chisel, belt cutter, scraping tool, or as a multifunctional knife. Small, compact and extremely effective, the bead blasted blade is made of 440C stainless steel thats built to take abuse. G-10 fiberglass epoxy handle for excellent grip. Equipped with a 1¾"W aggressively serrated blade, a sharp chisel tip and a seatbelt/cord cutter on the backside of the blade. Also includes lanyard fob and leather sheath with a clip for boot or belt use.
Reviewed by 1 customer
Best Uses
As a cop, I've broken my share of knife tips. This solves all my real world use of scraping, prying, cutting and even breaking windows. I find it very useful in my shop too, and around our land doing chores. It's more than a knife, and more useful than a pry bar. Great job and vintage Duluth quality!
Tactical Knife w/Sheath
Item: 66760


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The reading list
"German tanks rolled toward Stalingrad as if leading a holiday parade in Berlin. Luftwaffe planes had pounded Soviet defenses for weeks, scattering the enemy and clearing the way for the ground assault. Through binoculars, the Germans could see smoke rising from the burning city. Victory seemed almost in hand.
"Suddenly, shells exploded all around. Soviet antiaircraft crews had cranked down the barrels of their 37mm guns and opened fire. Their aim was a bit wild, but the barrage brought the Germans up short. Halting their advance, the tankers organized a counterattack. Stukas joined in, swooping down on the three dozen batteries, which had no infantry support. The fighting raged for hours until one by one, the Russian guns fell silent. Only later did the Germans learn that the men who had stood against them that day in August 1942 were not men at all.
"What Soviet writer Vasily Grossman described as 'the first page of the Stalingrad defense' had been authored chiefly by teenage girls, volunteers of the 1077th Antiaircraft Regiment, a unit assembled from the city's high schools. A bunch of women – kids, no less. Many had fought to the death, impressing the enemy. Said one Wehrmacht officer, "It is completely wrong to describe Russian women as 'soldiers in skirts.'"
"The girls of Stalingrad weren't the only women to inspire shock and awe in World War II."
– From "Women Warriors" at historynet.com
A quiz
What word is derived from the Proto-Polynesian alofa, its meanings including "love," "compassion" and "mercy"?
Wisdom of the ages
"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." – Benjamin Franklin
Cudrrent wisdom
"The question now is simple. Do we have the resolve as a people, as a country, as a government to finally put this issue behind us? I believe that we do." – President Obama, outlining broad proposals for putting millions of illegal immigrants on a clear path to citizenship while cracking down on businesses that employ people illegally.
Quiz answer
Snob words
antipathetic (an-ti-puh-THET-ik), adj. – opposed, averse or contrary; having or showing antipathy, as in: "The editorial writer found it hard not to be antipathetic to the City Council's entire dreary agenda."
Today in history
On this date in 1940, Frank Sinatra made his singing debut with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra – in Indianapolis; so how come he always sang about New York and Chicago?
Now you know
A dog most likely interprets a smiling person as baring their teeth and could consider it an act of aggression.


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midpoint (2007-03)
Eight grownups + two children = one home
Full House
by Stephanie Piper
"How old are your children?," a new acquaintance asks me. I shrug and smile. I forget, I answer, only half kidding. Really old.
They're not, of course, not by any objective standard. But they're not kids anymore, either. They're full-fledged, mortgage-paying grownups. One of them is even a parent, a fact that still takes me by surprise each time he and his family visit and I wake with a start to realize that the baby crying down the hall is not crying for me.
I get up anyway and make my way to the kitchen, planning cups of cocoa and words of wisdom for the night vigil. I'm on vacation this week; I can rock the little one until dawn if need be.
Then I turn a corner and come upon a scene that stops me in my tracks. My oldest son is seated on the couch in the dimly lit den, his arm around my youngest son, who is holding his fretful toddler. The two adults are singing the favorite lullaby of their childhood: Sail, baby, sail/over the western sea/only please remember/to come back to me. They sway together gently in rhythm to the old song. I move away from the door and creep back to bed. It seems they have the situation covered.
Teach them to take care of themselves, a wise mother of 10 children once told me. And teach them to take care of each other. Then, no matter what happens, they'll never be alone in the world.
Visits from adult children get plenty of ink in advice columns, I've noticed. There's a lot of hand-wringing about colliding values and generational issues and too many wet towels on the bathroom floor. I'm not saying our capacity-crowd-everyone-home holidays are stress-free. Eight grownups and two tiny children under one roof create a fair amount of domestic chaos. But by and large, it's the cheerful kind. As long as everyone's healthy and fed and reasonably clean, I can live with the guest cooks who use every pot in the kitchen and step around the spilled juice and crumbled Saltines. As long as we all sit down at the dining room table and linger over dessert and laugh out loud at the old stories, as long as we listen to each other and bear with each other and accept our differences as more interesting than annoying, I can deal with shoes in the front hall and unfolded laundry everywhere and someone playing the piano way too fortissimo.
My three sons are grownups now. They sailed a long time ago, over the western sea and far beyond. They sailed away to college and junior years abroad and first jobs in big cities. They sailed into passion and loss and heartbreak and unemployment and they sailed back out again into calm waters and clear skies. Now, once or twice a year, they sail back home and put in at the old port.
I've learned over time that it's not refitting or overhauling they're after on these trips. My life lessons were imparted decades ago; some of them printed and some of them didn't. The guaranteed recipe for holiday harmony is to make peace with what is.
They are grownups now, with grownup worries and real-life problems. I've got a few of my own. We may not share them all in our brief time together, but in this bursting-at-the-seams house, we share another kind of transparency. For a handful of days and nights, we see ourselves as we are: unguarded, unadorned, and safe in one another's care.


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TV and Movie
With so many of your favorite famous men in TV shows and movies, we had to design our men's TV and Movie costumes to look just like them. These styles capture the pure greatness of these fictional men, from Captain America to comedians on Saturday Night Live. We have only the best of these fun outfits, so you can have the best Halloween experience imaginable. Be sure to check out our whole section, because have a huge stock. You are sure to find your favorites.
Batman Zentai Skinsuit Men's Costume
Men's The Watchmen Rorschach Costume
Adult Deluxe Red M&M Character Costume
Adult Deluxe Yellow M&M Character Costume
Sesame Street Big Bird Adult Costume
Angry Birds Black Bird Costume for Adults
Ezio Assassin's Creed Costume for Men
Top Gun Paratrooper Costume for Adults
Star Trek the Movie Adult Deluxe Gold Shirt
Deluxe Green Hornet Costume for Men
Men's Bikini Bottom Starfish Costume
Hooded Huntsman Costume for Adults
Deluxe Men's Green Lantern Muscle Chest Costume
Adult's Military Coat with Sash
Adult The Batman Classic Costume
Barney Rubble Flintstones Men's Costume
Collector's Edition Adult Batman Costume
Captain Jack Sparrow Theatrical Quality Costume for Men
More and more amazing shows are aired with every passing year, which is why this section is constantly being updated. We make it our goal to always bring you the best and most up-to-date Halloween styles you can possibly enjoy. If a new blockbuster movie comes out, you better believe we will have one of the characters represented here in time for Halloween.
Like all of our items, our TV and movie costumes are designed for comfort and affordability. We want you to look good while feeling great. Halloween is a holiday about being on your feet, and these will help keep you looking sharp while you party the night away. Check out our accessories as well, so you can have any piece you need to complete your iconic look.


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On the latest episode of "Being Human," , cheekily-entitled "(Dead) Girls Just Want to Have Fun," the gang is in relatively high spirits (no pun intended), save maybe Aidan, what with the whole va More »
Being Human is back with a whole load of changes. The werewolf, the vampire and the ghost are no more. Now it's more like the human, the zombie and the vampires. Things are very different for our dear More »
"(Dead) Girls Just Want to Have Fun" marked a return to the precarious balance between angst and lulz that, when Being Human wants to, it manages quite well. http://www.tv.com/news/being-human-dead-gi More »
" (Dead) Girls Just Want to Have Fun " was a turning point episode. Not one that broke any new ground in itself, but set the stage for the rest of the season. I think it did a pretty smash up job, and More »
Being Human (US) "(Dead) Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" Season 3 episode 2 airs on Monday, Jan 21 on Syfy (9-10 p.m. ET) on Syfy. Show Summary : The new season of "Being Human " picks up 15 months afte More »


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- Gwynne Mhuireach
- Eugene, OR
- United States
Student in Landscape Architecture, University of Oregon
This conversation is closed.
Does urban "green" harbor healthier microbes?
We evolved in natural environments, characterized mainly by soil, water, vegetation, and the innumerable microorganisms associated with each. Many researchers have observed linkages between human well-being and exposure to green space, including mental restoration, reductions in disease and mortality, better birth outcomes, and decreased crime and violence. Explanations for why these benefits are observed are often based on the idea that humans are evolutionarily predisposed to prefer environmental settings that confer survival advantages, namely landscapes that are similar to the savannas and woodlands that humans are thought to have inhabited for thousands of years. Is it possible that vegetation is a source of the microbes we have co-evolved with over the millennium and whose presence we may require for physical and psychological health?
Westernized societies are plagued with increasing rates of auto-immune disorders. A recent study in New York City has shown that kids in neighborhoods with more street trees are less likely to have asthma, after controlling for socioeconomic factors. Several other research studies have found that children exposed to higher environmental diversity (i.e. living on a farm or forested rural setting versus living in a city) were exposed to higher microbial diversity and had lower rates of asthma and allergic disposition.
If we could quantify the relationships among human health, microbial diversity and urban green space, would it change the way we design cities? Should we put a higher priority on providing adequate green space for all urban residents? Majora Carter says, "Race and class are extremely reliable indicators as to where one might find the good stuff, like parks and trees, and where one might find the bad stuff, like power plants and waste facilities." How can planners and designers ensure that all city residents will have a positive and equitable microbial experience as they interact with the invisible urban microbiome?
May 24 2013: A different way to think about cities and urban planning could be through the lens of ecosystem services, both provided for and by cities. Ecosystem services are the processes and conditions through which natural ecosystems help sustain human life. They are usually divided into categories: Provisioning services (products such as food and water obtained from ecosystems), Regulating services (benefits from regulation of ecosystem processes like regulation of water and climate), Supporting services (services necessary for other ecosystem services, e.g. cycling of oxygen, water and nutrients) and Cultural services (non-material benefits obtained through ecosystems). If urban planners begin to focus on cities in such a context, that could help cities become more sustainable and improve the quality of life for people in the cities.
An example is water cycling. Water is vital for life on Earth but climate change is predicted to change precipitation cycles, likely requiring communities to plan for floods and droughts. More impermeable surfaces mean that water can't naturally go into soil, where it can become purified, potentially leaving more water with a higher concentration of pollutants. Urban green (parks, trees, green roofs) would allow for more water to enter soil, purify itself, and re-enter the water cycle. Also, soil biodiversity and quality are linked to water regulation and purification. Planning cities to allow for the cycling of water could increase people's quality of life, and provide for the soil and biodiversity surrounding the city, which would help the growth of plants and other crops used for human consumption. I think seeing cities as one, important part of a much larger ecosystem will be necessary in the future city planning to make cities sustainable in the face of climate change and population growth.
Jannson 2013 Ecological Economics 86:285-291 http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy.uoregon.edu/science/article/pii/S0921800912002388
May 24 2013: Great idea, Christine. I think there has been interest in urban ecosystem services for quite a while; see, for example:
Bolund, Per, and Sven Hunhammar. "Ecosystem services in urban areas." Ecological economics 29.2 (1999): 293-301. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800999000130]
Oberndorfer, Erica, et al. "Green roofs as urban ecosystems: ecological structures, functions, and services." Bioscience 57.10 (2007): 823-833. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1641/B571005]
Tratalos, Jamie, et al. "Urban form, biodiversity potential and ecosystem services." Landscape and urban planning 83.4 (2007): 308-317. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204607001375]
If microbial community diversity were confirmed to have a human health benefit, it would be interesting to suggest that maintenance of that diversity through urban green space is also an ecosystem service.
Sandra Mayne
May 24 2013: I agree that looking at the ecosystems services provided by green spaces is an excellent idea, and I think many cities are starting to implement this change. In regards to water filtration, I have noticed throughout Portland, many parking lots, for example the Fred Meyers on Hawthorne, have been reconstructed to include bioretention cells (depressed areas covered by vegetation to allow for filtration and infiltration), and the EPA has a page dedicated to better storm water management that include green roofs, the elimination of curbs, and permeable pavement, all of which could be beneficial to alleviate some precipitation stresses due to climate change.
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I particularly liked Christine's comment about considering cities a part of a larger ecosystem, and while looking at the benefits ecosystem services provide us, adding green spaces allows us to provide services to many of the species that are currently being threatened by our urban sprawl. With the current declines in biodiversity we are facing worldwide it is important to try to alleviate this as much as possible when planning for future development. Green spaces if designed correctly can provide stepping stones for migratory birds, and other animal populations allowing them to persist in developed areas. The Audubon Society is currently implementing a program to provide urban oases for migratory song birds.
Green spaces can be our ecosystem service!
http://ct.audubon.org/urban-oases-migrating-songbirdsMay 22 2013: Green roofs are a potentially great way to introduce green space into already developed cities, but what about equal access? Those who are likely to be able to afford creating a green space are also more likely to be able to afford getting out of the city to areas with more green space. Thus, my question is this how might a planner want to incorporate/tackle this issue of wanting to develop green spaces in a city with little open space to develop so all would have access and the benefits (e.g. health and aesthetically speaking)?
May 22 2013: What if green roofs were required by building code? They have numerous other benefits, like reducing building energy use for cooling and decreasing the urban heat island effect.
May 22 2013: OK so you totally need to check out last year's TED Convo where we cover this (http://www.ted.com/conversations/11577/if_green_roofs_were_mandatory.html). Also today my Biological Diversity Class is talking about rooftop beekeeping http://www.ted.com/conversations/18440/can_urban_beehives_increase_fo.html.
Which makes me think .... I wonder how efforts like urban beehives influence the urban microbiome?
ben head
May 22 2013: That is a good question, even in that other discussion I don't think anyone had considered the impact of bees on the urban microbiome.
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I almost think that in this case, the impact of the urban microbiome on bees may be a larger concern than the impact of bees on the urban microbiome. Surely bees have their own endemic microbes, but cities already have a substantial insect population, so I'm not sure how much bees could contribute to the present urban microbial cloud, especially in a way that affects human health. However, with all the concerns of colony collapse threatening bees, it may be wise to examine the health and robustness of bee colonies already in cities (Paris is apparently an urban bee hotspot). Also studying whether making bees more cosmopolitan and widely spread will increase the spread of bee diseases and parasites, and if this significantly negatively impacts their well-being.May 22 2013: One would expect that urban beehives would help with the pollination of flowers which would have positive benefits for the surrounding area. However this one article points out in NYC there actually was a lack of flowers for the bee population to pollinate and thus in some areas you get an over concentration of bees: http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/jun/25/urban-bees-may-be-running-out-foraging-ground/
Sandra Mayne
May 22 2013: I think this just supports the need for more green space in urban areas, especially if we are incorporating urban beehives. I think it is also important to construct the green spaces with native vegetation, so that the pollinators are matched with the species they have co-evolved with, this would maximize benefits to the flowers and the beesMay 22 2013: In Eugene, it was only recently that we were even allowed to build green roofs. THere are now specs for green roof construction and these have to have a permit and pass inspection. Portland is well ahead of us in the progression of moving toward more green building practices. They are like our older sibling and we follow their lead.
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May 22 2013: Of course, in Eugene we have problems with maintaining greenroofs over the summer. They often need to be watered during the dry months of the summer.May 22 2013: Wow Ben you flipped it. So this makes me think about the impact of the urban microbiome on the health of urban gardens and urban spaces. I wonder if there is a link? I wouldn't be surprised.May 22 2013: In addition to green roofs, some countries are also incorporating green walls into their city design. In 1994, Toronto displayed an indoor green wall that was used for bio-filtration. It might be interesting to consider adding indoor green walls inside hospitals to increase healthy microbial diversity. I think the more green space included in urban areas the better, and including them in building code is a great idea
May 25 2013: Sandra, check out these green walls: http://gsky.com/green-walls/. This is also in response to a comment by Ben. This technology will allow for further development of green space in cities so it won't be limited to roof tops. Plus the amount of diversity that can occur with these walls has the potential to significantly expand the urban microbiome because of how many green walls can be added throughout a city.May 22 2013: The first thing to understand for any city planner that wanted to improve the "green" in a city would be how far the effect of microbial "gardens" reached? Do the effects of a green area of the city reach people a mile away or 200 ft away? If money is spent in affluent areas to improve biodiversity does that reach people living in poorer areas?
May 22 2013: Great point. We have been thinking about the BioBE Center http://biobe.uoregon.edu/ about the spatial distance of a person's microbial "aura". You are taking this to another level and thinking about the spatial distance of a green space "aura".May 25 2013: This comment highlights the importance to make sure that the distribution of new green spaces are not clustered in only affluent areas, but they are distributed across a city so everyone can benefit from them.
Ryan Covey
May 22 2013: Given what I've witnessed in Columbus, cities can make concerted efforts to add green space by including it in any redevelopment process. Most of the new construction/redevelopment around Columbus has included green roofs, tree-lined streets, parks, and mini gardens. All of these areas are not necessarily in affluent locations. Convincing the owner of every building to spend the money to develop a green roof may not be possible, when cities undergo redevelopment of a once non-green area, they have the ability to make it green regardless of the socioeconomic status of the people found in the area.
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May 22 2013: What do you think are the major factors that influence change in city planning? How much is scientific data used? Do you think that microbiome data, if it is ultimately shown to have strong links to health, would play a role?
May 23 2013: I think both environmental sustainability and green spaces are becoming a prominent part of city planning because science has elucidated how our environment affects our physical and mental health, which in turn affects other factors such as crime rates. Local organizations such as Beyond Toxics (http://www.beyondtoxics.org/) in Eugene are working to reduce environmental/health risks due to pesticides and air pollution in low-income neighborhoods. They also have a "healthy bee" campaign that is working to create more pesticide-free garden areas in Eugene.
I think if there is a connection between microbial diversity and human health this will strengthen the argument for green spaces, in addition to the evidence that they may improve mental health and reduce obesity.May 25 2013: Sonja, here is a good article on the use and development of green roofs in Seattle. http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/greenbuilding/docs/dpdp020213.pdfMay 22 2013: Since the trend seems to be packing more people into the city without expanding the boundaries how do we add green to the cities to improve microbial diversity? Would green roofs add enough "green" to improve diversity?
May 22 2013: There was a talk at at the Ecological Society of America last year on microbes and greenroofs. They were studying soil microbes in greenroofs as compared to parks and found that in general the greenroofs did not contribute significantly to the microbial diversity. There was a possibility this was due to the recent introduction of greenroofs as compared to parks. http://eco.confex.com/eco/2012/preliminaryprogram/abstract_39736.htm
May 22 2013: Awesome I am seeing Noah Fierer tomorrow at this meeting http://microbiologybuiltenvironment.weebly.com/. It will be great to chat with him about this research.May 22 2013: I'm realizing now though that the title of the abstract is about airborne diversity, whereas the content is about soils. Did the research team mention anything about this disjunct? I am wondering if they decided that the soils question was more important than the air question?
May 22 2013: I don't know the correlation between soil and airborne microbes. However, there is significant variability in airborne microbes temporally as well as spatially. This study http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016920460300197X by Fierer et al. in 2008 tried to understand the microbial diversity through time.
ben head
May 22 2013: If we really are focusing on increasing the density of cities to prevent sprawl, I'm not sure if roofs alone would be enough green space (although they would certainly help!), with such a high concentration of people per area. Better placement of parks and more trees on streets could be another big contributor to making sure mroe people have ready access to green spaces and the health benefits they confer, be they microbial, psychological, or, more likely, a mix of both.
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If cities really start to get dense enough, perhaps terraced gardens/parks in high rise buildings will become more widespread; I think these are already being experimented with in Italy.
May 22 2013: I think this becomes a lot easier once we identify specific "helpful" microbes and which plants promote their growth.May 22 2013: Why are we trying to increase densities in cities and preventing urban sprawl in the first place? I guess a better question is how? Is it that people would rather live in the city then in a rural area? Or are we as a society trying to convince more and more people this is what we should do?
ben head
May 22 2013: I'm not one of the most architecturally inclined, but my understand is that it's largely to increase people's proximity to things to allow more walkable cities, better public transport, and less need for cars. Also there is probably a goal of not spreading urban spaces further out than they need to be, for the sake of the environments that would be pushed out of the way.May 22 2013: The global population is expected to increase by more than a third in the next 30 years. In the US they are projecting a 79% increase in developed area. The exact amount varies by region, but that is a lot of land being converted from 'natural' area to development. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016920460300197X Denser cities could reduce this impact.
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Ryan Covey
May 22 2013: People usually want to live in cities for jobs, activities, better access to resources, etc. Living in a rural area isn't bad, but the sprawl element is an issue because of the amount of wasted resources/energy that result from urban sprawl. Not only is there the pollution issue of traveling, but in many locations where "sprawl" occurs, development has removed either critical farm land or ecosystems. The focus shouldn't just be on having people live in cities, but wherever people are living, have those cities develop in a sustainable way with their eyes towards the future and possible future population expansion. It seems many cities have been too focused on the now and not planning their cities accordingly for future population expansion.May 22 2013: Yes Janielle - spot on. I don't think it's only that we're trying to increase densities in cities. It's my understanding that the rise of megacities is happening whether we like it or not.
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Laurel you might like this - from the Financial Times http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/a4c94be4-6ad6-11e2-9871-00144feab49a.html#axzz2U2riJMU3May 22 2013: Oooh I love that you just brought up green roofs! Check out this TED Convo from one of my classes last year.
http://www.ted.com/conversations/11577/if_green_roofs_were_mandatory.htmlMay 24 2013: Green roofs are a great idea and provide so many benefits from storm water management to improving the costs of the heat island effect to aesthetic value. One perhaps often overlooked benefit is the opportunity to create thousands of new jobs. If 1% of the United States' roof space in communities where the population is over 50,000 were converted to Green Roofs, it would create 190,000 new jobs. (http://www.greenroofs.org/about/greenroofbenefits)
Here is something else to consider when thinking about Green Roofs: Many need to be planted with species that can withstand sometimes harsh environments. (UV radiation, wind, etc.) Here is an article from Scientific American explaining how these species may not be beneficial at all. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-manhattans-green-roofs-dont-work-how-to-fix-them
Don Anderson
May 22 2013: With the studies of city vs. rural kids I have to wonder how much diet was a factor.
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I'm thinking rural kids are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables grown in microbe diverse healthy soil, were as city kids are likely eating fruits and vegetables grown in chemically treated soil.
As to auto-immune disorders there are much bigger factors then microbe health that contribute to the odds in getting one. (Low vitamin D due to poor diet and/or lack of sun, high stress, and in my case having "O-" blood type.) So rather or not microbes is a factor, it weakens the agreement for healthy microbe environments when you hint there is a strong connection.
May 24 2013: I completely agree with you that there are probably numerous different factors that might contribute to the rise in auto-immune disorders. I think it is an interesting question to think that maybe more microbial diversity might be better for us than less, since that idea conflicts with the hyper-sanitation trends. This paper has more information:
Heederik, Dick, and Erika von Mutius. "Does diversity of environmental microbial exposure matter for the occurrence of allergy and asthma?." Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2012). [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091674912002552]May 22 2013: If data suggests a link between health and proximity to green space, the next hurdle will affecting policy that will not only benefit the wealthy. How will we make sure that an equal distribution of green space is developed in poor and wealthy communities?
May 22 2013: This will have to be something that is not privately funded but publicly funded. If it improves our health then it is going to benefit our entire society with less trips to the hospital and a healthier working population.May 22 2013: It is my sense after spending time at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation yesterday - http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/features-and-articles/what-s-next-health.html -
that a number of big health care providers across the US are investing in health equity. So I think it would fall into that class of efforts.
May 22 2013: One approach to closing the inequality gap in regards to green space is brownfield restoration. A lot of low income projects are adjacent to abandoned industrial sites can be restored to green space. These spaces often are contaminated and have to be dealt with.The following article gives a great example of this.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/anti.12009/fullMay 25 2013: Sometimes you don't need policy, just people willing to make a change. A number of good examples are found in this article: http://www.csupomona.edu/~tgyoung/Creating_Community_Greenspace.pdf.May 22 2013: I would be interested in seeing any data from New York City comparing rates and appearances of auto-immune disorders of people living in the heart of the city compared with those who live close to Central Park.
May 22 2013: There was a paper published by Hanski et al. (which we all read for class) http://www.pnas.org/content/109/21/8334.long that correlated auto-immune disorders of kids in houses to the diversity of vegetation surrounding their homes and the diversity of bacteria on their skin (higher plant diversity correlated with higher skin microbiome diversity and lower allergy risk).
What do you think could be done in this type of study that would go beyond correlation? How could we get at mechanism?
May 22 2013: Another paper similar to the Hanski et al. article: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1007302May 22 2013: I think to get at a mechanism we would have to investigate what microbes are associated with asthma and other allergies and auto-immune disorders and if inoculation (or de-inoculation) of any particular strain or set of strains could be found to induce asthma/allergies or another type of auto-immune disorder in mice, or another model system.
Such a study (or more likely set of studies) would predicate upon researchers actually knowing what causes asthma, and I don't know if that's known yet or not.
May 22 2013: I agree - and I believe this would entail research on the human microbiome.May 24 2013: Discover magazine actually mentions the (what I believe to be the aforementioned article in PNAS). It really gets at this idea of being around microbes and plants may contribute to preventing allergies under that the hypersensitivity results from underexposure to microbes, a thought that I and others on this conversation have mentioned: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=36985#.UZ_lpJxaT7o.
It is interesting to think that part of what keeps our microbial biome in check actually is the diversity and that the lack of microbial diversity can have a negative impact on our health. Moreover as of late there has been a large push for less use of anti-bacterial soap and antibiotics out of concern of resistant bacteria strands arising.
Another question to consider that is a little off topic is what household products are we using in part to clean as well as reduce our exposure to harmful microbes that may negatively impact the microbial diversity in a household/office environment and in turn people's health.
Here is a recent article about a prevalent anti-bacterial chemical, triclosan and the ongoing safety review by the FDA of its use in household products such as antibacterial soap : http://globalnews.ca/news/529843/fda-wrapping-up-safety-review-of-chemical-in-antibacterial-soap-after-40-years-of-delays/.
It is curious to think that our attempt to remove "bad" microbes using cleaning products actually may itself have health risks.May 22 2013: I just think that yes, more research needs to be done (at least for allergies) instead of just correlating low allergy occurrences with living proximity to green spaces. I grew up in the country and have had ridiculous grass allergies my whole life. I also have a friend that grew up in the country that has very bad allergies. There are a lot of factors that could come into play: regional specificity, type of microbes, etc.
Making cities more green is absolutely a great idea in my eyes, but on the allergy side, increasing greenery could increase people's disposition to acquiring an allergy, especially if current research suggests that the urban population has a higher incidence of it.
I know there is a whole lot more involved in this idea but there is my input on the allergy side
May 22 2013: Hi Laurel - I would need to research it more but I'm not sure that the evidence so far points to having a higher risk of allergies in the country versus the city. Check out this TED Convo my biological diversity class just hosted http://www.ted.com/conversations/18008/purell_now_bacteri_ell_later.htmlMay 22 2013: The "CIties and Biological Diversity Outlook" cites this study as evidence for the impact of street trees on asthma prevalence in NYC children: http://jech.bmj.com/content/62/7/647.short
May 22 2013: What about people who work in office buildings or spaces that are sealed with mechanically circulated air? Jessica, Prucia Buscell mentioned your research in her blog "Learning to Tend our Microbial Gardens" (http://www.plexusinstitute.org/blogpost/656763/160814/Learning-to-Tend-Our-Microbial-Gardens) that today's indoor living lifestyle has contributed to a microbial mono-culture, and may in part be associated with asthma and allergies development, what steps do you think can be taken to modify existing building where windows don't open?
May 22 2013: Gwynne will know the most about this. It has to do with building code, what it takes to change code, and how long it takes.May 22 2013: Here is an interesting method to incorporate green space into the workplace:
Amazon.com is planning on building integrated artificial biomes (greenhouses) to serve as work spaces on their new campus in Seattle. I think if this is successful it could potentially change the way we plan to build in the future. I wonder if these artificial biomes will harbor the same amount of microbial diversity as a natural space?May 22 2013: Or, maybe look at stress hormone levels of folks who regularly go to parks and other such green spaces compared to folks who don't. An article in NYT Well section reported that people who live near parks have lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and children with an attention deficit disorder can concentrate better on cognitive tests after walking through a park. A study reported on in the article found that subjects who spent ~25min walking through a park had lower levels of 'brain fatigue' compared to subjects who spent ~25min walking through an urban area. Since the article just reported on differences in stress levels of adults who lived near parks, it would be interesting to see if regularly using parks can be as effective for stress hormones as just living 'near' a park (whatever near means here).
However, most of the information out there seems to point to the huge benefits of access to parks and other green spaces, even if we don't know all the reasons for their benefits, so it seems like we should be planning cities with access to parks in mind.
May 22 2013: Is this really the fact the park exists or that these people that live near parks exercise and thus exhibit lower stress levels? Pretty et al. 2006 IJEHR (and later publications as well) suggests this may be in part a synergistic result http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09603120500155963#.UZ0DWbW1HAQMay 22 2013: There are also a lot of studies in Asia that have looked at physical mechanisms behind the immune benefits of "forest bathing," for example: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12199-008-0068-3#page-1May 22 2013: Do you have ideas about how we might tease apart the different mechanisms at play? If stress hormone levels are reduced by spending time in green spaces - how do we figure out what the cause is? How do we know if it is due to the urban microbiome or, for example, a direct impact on physiology/brain function?May 22 2013: Digging into the CHNA I see this outcome-action framework which includes the built environment as a key element http://assessment.communitycommons.org/images/CHNA-Outcome-Action-Indicators.pdf. But it's really focused on access to healthy food and access to physical activity. What would it look like to integrate into this framework information about the built environment microbiome?
May 22 2013: I like how the CHNA framework uses mapping to visualize relationships between socioeconomic indicators and health outcomes, but what if the spatial scale at which health data is accessible is not the same as the scale at which microbial communities show variation?May 22 2013: I just met with someone from Kaiser who told me about the Community Health Needs Assessment http://assessment.communitycommons.org/CHNA/. Right now it sounds like Kaiser is linking physicians up with data from the communities where patients live, for example on airborne particular matter. I am thinking that it would be amazing one day to incorporate data on the urban microbiome with this database, as well as clinical data, to explore the potential links between health and the urban microbiome.
May 22 2013: This sounds like a great idea to me. It seems challenging to do research that links spatially explicit health data with environmental and microbial data in the U.S. because of the need to protect people's privacy.
May 22 2013: I haven't really been able to find many longitudinal studies on the link between microbial diversity and human health but that might give us great incite into what microbes are important and how they influence human health.
May 24 2013: I think that if you look for particular ways microbes may be important and therein by influence human health, e.g. environment and asthma you are more likely to find longitudinal studies. Take for example the study by Arrandale et al. 2011 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3094407/) who take a look at exposure assessment studies of childhood asthma and look at ways to improve future exposure assessment studies. One reason for carrying about the quality of such assessments is that longitudinal studies are quite costly and time intensive. The Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (UREA) is a study by Gern et al. (2011) http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2466/9/17 specifically studies what immune responses trigger asthma in inner-city children. They looked at children from birth until age 7 for the following cities: Baltimore, Boston, New York City, and St. Louis. That study was collecting data for 7 years before being able to fully analyze the data. Longitudinal data once is created is great and can be very insightful, however it takes time to compile and thus can kind of be like a "hail mary" for researchers to invest in such a gamble of a research project.May 22 2013: This could be a good way to get more information about the the negative effects of pollution. Maybe a(nother) problem with air pollution is that it decreases the diversity of airborne microbes or the abundance of 'good' microbes.
May 24 2013: I have been trying to find a paper on the effects of air pollution on microbial diversity but haven't found anything yet. I did find this paper that talk about the effect of indoor air pollution on health http://www.jmsmd.net/images/Indoor_Air_Pollution_Health_Effects.pdf. It only mentions microbes very briefly but does say that some of these pollutants can kill microbes. With a population that is increasing its time spent indoor it will be important to improve air quality both indoors and outdoors.
May 24 2013: Your point about time spent indoors is important. In the U.S., we spend over 90% of our lives inside buildings [http://energy.lbl.gov/ied/pdf/LBNL-47713.pdf], so researchers have been looking at indoor air quality a lot. I think something that has been less studied is the strength of the link between indoors and outdoors, and how the quality of the immediate outdoor context might influence indoor air generally and airborne microbes specifically. Studies have shown that indoor airborne microbial communities tend to be similar to outdoor airborne microbial communities in buildings that ventilate with outdoor air, like buildings designed to use natural ventilation and many residences that lack a/c [for example, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12047/abstract]. It is less clear how the dominant airborne microbial communities in the immediate vicinity vary by neighborhood characteristics and over time.