New York CountyEnvironmental Assessment Nassau county By: Katelyn Stancliffe Tamarac Elementary 5th grade

Aim and Methods Aim:To find more information about strengths and environmental challenges facing Nassau County

Methods: Researched using multiple websites and newspaper articles.

One website that I used was the Department of Environmental Conservation site.

Location and Terrain

Nassau county is located in southern New York, on Long Island.

• No mountain ranges• Flat• 166 miles of beaches

Terrain

Native American Communities Around 1600

The Poospatuck tribe has a preservation in Nassau County, which is one of the smallest in New York State.

Population and Location Challenges

Population- 1,349,233 (2012)• Very close to New York

city.• People commute to

work.• Challenge: More cars

which cause SMOG. This contributes to Global Warming.

Habitats and Challenges • Wetlands

• Challenges: Being filled in and built over top of for housing and industries.

• Forests• Challenges: Trees are being cut down for development.

• Little Farmland

One farm, Crossroads at Grossman’s, teaches people from the inner city about where their food comes from.

Major Industries

Social and Healthcare / Education• Important for helping in the community• Challenges: Uses a lot of gas powered vehicles causes air

pollution. • Challenges: Uses a lot of paper products that are being

thrown away

Retail Trade• Buys products from the companies that produce to sell to

consumers• Challenges: Packaging materials produce waste.

Rivers and Watersheds

• Eel Creek and the Pathogen Watershed are all watersheds in Nassau county.

• Rivers in Nassau county include Mill River.

• Challenges: Oil spills, chemical spills, and pollution are just some of the things that pollute Nassau counties water sources.

Energy

• 86% of Nassau County’s energy comes from gas.• Challenges of gas

extraction: Chemicals they use for fracking gets into groundwater, which can make people sick.

• There are no wind power or solar power plants in this county, and the county doesn’t plan on building any in the future.

Waste

• There are many landfills and incinerators but not many recycling and composting companies.

2013 – The EPA announced plans to build a water treatment system to collect liquid seeping from the Dewey Loeffel Landfill Superfund site.

• Solar Plants and Wind Plants in Nassau County

• Promoting carpooling or more energy efficient cars

• Educating more people about where their food comes from

Recommendations

References “About Nassau County.” Nassau Land Trust. Accessed April 22, 2014. https://nassaulandtrust.org/about-nassau-county. “About Us: Crossroads Farm at Grossman’s.” Nassau Land Trust. Accessed April 22, 2014.

https://nassaulandtrust.org/crossroadsfarm. Brian Nearing. “Treatment Plant to Open at Nassau Toxic Dump.” The Green Blog, November 26, 2013.

http://blog.timesunion.com/green/treatment-plant-to-open-at-nassau-toxic-dump/4499/. Nassau County. “Nassau County: Long Island, New York,” 2013. http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/. “Nassau County, New York.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, April 22, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

title=Nassau_County,_New_York&oldid=604274078. Native Languages of the Americas. “Native American Tribes of New York,” 2014. http://www.native-languages.org/york.htm. New York State DEC. “Energy and Climate: The Energy/Climate Change Connection.” New York State Department of

Environmental Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/60.html. ———. “List of Compost Facilities in New York State.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/55447.html. ———. “Nassau and Suffolk Counties: Trends in Wetland Loss.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,

2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/31989.html. ———. “NYS Watersheds: Management, Monitoring, and Assessment.” New York State Department of Environmental

Conservation, 2014. http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/60135.html. ———. “Registered Electronic Waste Recycling Facilities.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2014.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/73670.html. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. “Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site,” 2014.

http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/19/details.aspx. North American Environthon. “About Us.” North American Environthon, 2013. http://www.envirothon.org/about-us.html. NRDC. “Renewable Energy for America: Renewable Energy Map.” Natural Resources Defense Council, 2013.

http://www.nrdc.org/energy/renewables/energymap.asp. Richard Frisbie. “Early Nassau & Suffolk County History.” Hope Farm Press, 1996. http://www.hopefarm.com/nassauny.htm. US EPA. “AirCompare: Are You Breathing Clean Air? How Does Your City Compare?” AirNow, February 15, 2014.

http://www.epa.gov/aircompare/index.htm. ———. “How Clean Is the Electricity I Use? - Power Profiler | Clean Energy.” United States Environmental Protection Agency,

April 22, 2014. http://oaspub.epa.gov/powpro/ept_pack.charts. Vink, Jan. Nassau County Profile 2013. Cornell Program on Applied Demographics. Accessed March 15, 2014.

http://pad.human.cornell.edu/profiles/Nassau.pdf.