Gregory Kurgansky
Professor Alexandratos
Seminar 3
September 21st, 2015
Bioblitz Essay
In 2001, the largest operating landfill in the world was closed, as the last barge dumped its final ton of garbage onto one of the nine sections of Fresh Kills. Surprisingly enough, this humungous dump was located in Staten Island, one of the big apple’s own boroughs. As stated by Eric Goldstein, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, “The removal of noxious odors, a significant decrease in local water pollution and a redefining of the borough’s identity and a restoration of community pride.” This statement was truly delineated by my observations of Fresh Kills during Bioblitz, as the area is now green and up and coming.
There were a multitude of great experiences such as being able to put on waders and enter the estuary, in order to net as many species of shellfish, fish, and other marine organisms as we could. Although I had the experience of sinking into quick mud twice, we were able to conduct much research that relates to our class in multiple ways. Firstly, after recovering samples in the water, our group ran oxygen tests and identified that the O2 levels were at the minimal level possible. Hence, this result delineated the fact that the marine life in the estuary of Arthur Kill was in danger. The more organisms that grow there, the less oxygen is available to them and therefore there is an immediate need to continue cleanup efforts. Furthermore, after realizing the different amounts of garbage that was dumped on the area of Staten Island, I decided to research what we discussed in class over the past few weeks.
By looking at the extremely interesting documentary on Fresh Kills with Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Governor Pataki, it was evident that there are underlying problems that still exist. Although, the layers of the dump and nearby waters were adequately covered in order to prevent leaching, we still have not solved the problem with where to put our trash. Furthermore, there are recycling plants in Staten Island and wastewater treatment plants, which is inevitably much better than it was before. However, there are still great concerns because there was “no comprehensive, long-term plan for what to do with the city’s waste.” The New York City Department of Sanitation made a plan and dumped our trash into out-of-state landfills. This however, just kicked the can down the road, as our trash production has increased and the cost per ton has skyrocketed from $60 to $97 a ton. Therefore in addition to the numerous health concerns that the city has transferred to a different state, this is the biggest negative consequence of closing Fresh Kills.
Overall, the trip to Bioblitz was truly an eye-opener and also painted a picture to represent what we studied in class. The tremendous amount of garbage that was dumped was depicted by the heights of the Fresh Kills mountains, and the barely present levels of oxygen showed that we have to continue to revive Fresh Kills as well as addressing the issue of what we do with our garbage. The land we have is limited and as society expands, the great the issue at hand becomes.
