Those who can afford to reside in the Northampton area enjoy a fine quality of life for the most part. With natural resources abounding people flock here to live and enjoy the amenities which include ample drinking water and convenient trash disposal. But what if a natural or humanmade disaster were to occur? What if the area was struck by a 100-year flood or an earthquake of epic magnitude? What if a roaring hurricane paid us a visit? What then? Earthquakes and floods have the capacity to permanently alter the earth's terrain and we (or our descendants) might have to address more than we bargained for.
Michael Pritchard presents an affordable option for filtering contaminated water rendering it again drinkable. As I viewed Pritchard's talk my mind wondered to Northampton's landfill dilemma. Even without expansion the landfill is leaking leachate into the surrounding area. What would happen if a major catastrophic event occurred in its vicinity? It is possible that leachate could permeate earth's nooks and crevices in ways unforeseen should tragedy strike. This is something to consider as the landfill expansion debate continues on.
Why? Because this possible scenario adds to the costs of running a landfill, or at least it should. While critics of landfill critics bemoan elevated costs for trash removal should Northampton's landfill operation close or otherwise be altered, how do we adequately quantify the risks to the environment of either expanding the landfill or of simply leaving it where it is now? Costs to remediate the landfill will be huge, but what are the costs of perpetuating the status quo and continuing on with business as usual? Short term they may be bearable, but long term, well, I'm not so sure. In regards to how we address the less than glamorous issue of our waste generation, if we do not act now when will we?
NOTICE:
The Northampton Board of Public Works is creating a new Solid Waste Action Committee (SWAC), whose primary mission will be to plan and implement new waste reduction initiatives. The SWAC will be composed of three BPW members and four residents, with support from city staff.
Residents are encouraged to submit an application to serve on the committee. In the future the SWAC will also be seeking volunteers to assist with promotion and management at events. The application form may be obtained on-line (PDF) or by calling the DPW at 587-1570 x106. The deadline for applying is August 25 and the BPW plans to announce the appointments on August 26.
See: http://ntondpw.blogspot.com/
In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock. Music from Ten Years After that still resonates today (though it was not performed at Woodstock):
