Association to Preserve Cape Cod - this week... |
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| Hide Under Your Desk by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director
Remember those nuclear bomb drills from the '50s and '60s where kids were instructed to hide under their desks to be protected from nuclear blast fallout? Absurd, right? Fast forward to 2022 and, faced with evidence that Holtec’s contract workers were exposed to inhaled radioactivity, Holtec’s response is to tell workers to face away from the radioactive airflow. That response was so absurd that even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the enabler of the nuclear industrial complex, told them they had to do more.
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What is this all about? News reports over the weekend revealed that the NRC inspection of Holtec decommissioning process cited equipment problems and human exposure to radiation. Incredibly, the NRC deemed these incidents as “non-cited violations,” which I guess means that we know you did this wrong, but we are giving you not just a mulligan, but it won’t even be on your record. I am not going to get into what is wrong with NRC oversight in general but raise this today because of what it tells us about what the protections we can, or really can’t, expect from the NRC and Holtec when it comes to the release of radioactivity into Cape Cod Bay.
The answer? Expect something fallaciously reassuring that falls somewhere between “hide under your desk” and “turn your back to the wind,” all with as little concern for our collective personal and economic well-being as was expressed for the contaminated workers. In other words, expect the worst because Holtec has been told that exposing human beings to radiation isn’t even worth an on-the-record citation. What possible deterrent is there in their minds when it comes to releasing radioactivity into Cape Cod Bay? Probably not much.
To make matters worse, perhaps, is the news that Holtec plans to release radioactive water into the Hudson this spring without the support of state environmental officials. Change the plant name and the receiving water and there is almost no difference between what we face and what is planned for New York. It is simply more insight into Holtec’s corporate M.O.
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APCC Request for Proposals for Weir Creek Tidal Restoration
APCC is seeking experienced and qualified consultant(s) and/or engineering firm(s) to complete feasibility studies, alternatives analysis and design plans for the tidal restoration of Weir Creek. The purpose of this project is to complete early planning and design for this tidal restoration including: a comprehensive Hydraulic and Hydrologic study; an alternatives analysis for culvert design to maximize ecological restoration and minimize flooding to low-lying properties; site survey and existing conditions plan; and preliminary design plans (30/60%) for the preferred alternative.
The project period is March of 2023 through June 30, 2024. Proposals are due no later than 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023. A Zoom meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 28th at 2 p.m. to answer questions from bidders. Contact [email protected] for questions. Download the full RFP with information and details here. |
APCC is Accepting Applications for Seasonal and Year Round Positions |
We are accepting applications for the following positions
For more information on these position openings, CLICK HERE. |
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Photo Credits: Falmouth Rod and Gun Club
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Water Quality Monitoring–Childs River
Restoration of the Childs River was completed in September of 2021. APCC is collaborating with the Falmouth Rod and Gun Club and the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve (WBNERR) to continue water quality monitoring to track changes in the river’s health. Samples are brought back to the WBNERR laboratory for processing.
Jordan Mora (above right), restoration ecologist at APCC, assists with filtering water samples collected last week. Ryan Clark (above left), stewardship coordinator at WBNERR, is overseeing 2023 water sampling and analysis in collaboration with APCC and the Falmouth Rod and Gun Club. |
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A Cape Cod Stormwater Story by Bernadette Ericson
Once upon a time, during the lives of some who still live here, there was a vernal pool. In the spring, many peepers vied to be the loudest in order to attract a mate. The peepers could be heard not only in the pool but in other wetlands throughout the island. The vernal pool and wetlands would dry during the warm summer months, but by then the tadpoles had undergone metamorphosis, transforming into small frogs, beginning their lives on land and becoming future peepers. There was a time when many would scamper through the land at dusk. Eastern box turtles were plentiful, often seen in yards and, unfortunately, also on the roads. Pink lady slippers graced yards and the sides of the roads.
In the spring now, peepers are no longer heard. Years can go by without a single box turtle sighting. It is almost impossible to find a lady slipper. It all happened “not with a bang, but a whimper” (T.S. Eliot). Yes, there is climate change, for so many years ignored by most and still, for the most part, an afterthought in planning.
Today on the island, there are more houses with landscaping, more people, more cars and trucks. The vernal pool is now an isolated vegetated wetland (IVW) filled in with debris and stormwater runoff, devoid of peepers and tadpoles. A salt marsh has been filled in with landscaping wood chips. The causeway connecting the island to the village floods at high tide, especially during the new and full moon. If there is a storm during a new or full moon, flooding can be much worse.
“You either have to be part of the solution or you are going to be part of the problem.” (Eldridge Cleaver) What do you see when you look around your home and neighborhood, especially during and after a heavy rainstorm? If you see stormwater flooding, you can make landscape changes to reduce the potential for increases in runoff quantity by minimizing impervious surfaces and maximizing infiltration of stormwater runoff.
Here are two web resources to learn more about managing stormwater: how to build a rain garden and EPA Soak Up the Rain. |
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The 2023 Land to Sea Speaker series is hosted by Clean Ocean Access through funding from SNEP and sponsored by the Horsley Witten Group.
Jordan Mora, APCC restoration ecologist, will provide a presentation focused on why humans and ecosystems benefit from improved stormwater management through green infrastructure practices. She will draw upon experiences and lessons learned from two green stormwater infrastructure projects that APCC has managed over the last six years on Cape Cod: one regional-scale project targeting public boat ramps and one watershed-scale project geared towards nutrient mitigation.
This is an online presentation. Tuesday, February 21st, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. To register CLICK HERE. |
The Jewels of Cape Cod ~ Our Freshwater Ponds |
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Pond Stories is a collection of writings and other media from Cape Codders and visitors who love the 890 local ponds that dot the Cape. We hope this collection of stories awakens your inner environmentalist to think deeper about our human impacts to these unique bodies of water. |
Send us your favorite pond photo, story, poem, video, artwork—we want to share with everyone why the Cape's ponds and lakes are so special! Email your pond connection to [email protected] |
Have a favorite pond? Want to connect with others who are active in protecting their ponds? Join the Cape Cod Ponds Network. For more information about past meetings of the Pond Network and to sign up (scroll down the page), click here. The next meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, February 27th.
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February's hybrid Open House will include an overview of AVANGRID’s work in Barnstable and the Commonwealth Wind project. Commonwealth Wind proposes a cable landing underneath the Dowses Beach parking lot in Osterville. You can find out more at CommonwealthWind.com/events. Thursday, February 23
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the Osterville Library, 43 Wianno Ave, Osterville or attend via ZOOM
If you have any technical issues with Zoom, please contact Rachel Lake at [email protected] |
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SAVE THE DATE! Thursday, May 11th at 7 p.m.
For an APCC Film Event The Erie Situation with panel discussion to follow
at the Cape Cinema, Dennis Tickets $15 through Cape Cinema
Proceeds support APCC |
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The Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod is a group of organizations promoting native plants and pollinator-friendly land care practices to create a boat load of safe oases for our native bees, butterflies and a whole host of other pollinators that are crucial to the health of our ecosystems. Join us! It's easy. There are no fees. You just need to pledge to ADD native plants, SUBTRACT a little lawn, AVOID yard chemicals, especially pesticides, and LEAVE the leaves. And, help us spread the word. If you wish, please get on the map to show your support of pollinators!
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-finder
~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location. |
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Golden Alexanders, Zizea aurea |
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| Rain Barrels for Cape Cod Order online from Upcycle Products
$99 each includes FedEx shipping to your door APCC receives a portion of the proceeds.
For more information, click here.
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| APCC Enewsletters. Our weekly newsletters will now be archived on our website and easily shared.
Here, you can find past newsletters from July 2022 on.
Share this with your friends and they can sign up HERE. |
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Are you thinking of going solar? We hope so! In partnership with SUNPOWER BY E2 SOLAR in Dennis, APCC receives $500 for every solar installation when APCC is named as referral. |
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| Thank you to the homeowners who just contracted to install solar panels through E2 Solar. May the sun always shine for you! |
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Expressions Gallery, 578 Main Street, Chatham
CLICK HERE |
Ocean to Office. APCC has partnered with EXPRESSIONS, a fine art photography gallery located in Chatham center, to provide Cape businesses the opportunity to beautify their offices with coastal photography while directly supporting protection of our cherished environment. This special offering gives back to APCC. CLICK HERE to learn more. |
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Thank you to our business sponsors |
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