Ecology Success Stories: A Cary Fellow’s optimism

Ecology Success Stories:
A Cary Fellow’s optimism

With the ban of DDT, the bald eagle has come back from 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to 71,400 nesting pairs and was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007.

Seaq68 via Pixabay

MILLBROOK — In today’s world of climate change worry, Peter Groffman, research fellow at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, gave a lecture of hope for the future of the environment.

Groffman “studies urban ecology and how climate change alters microbial processes that support plant growth and air and water quality.” He is the president-elect of the Ecological Society of America and teaches at the City University of New York and Brooklyn College.

He began with the example of how the bald eagle has made a comeback.

Groffman said, “When I was a kid, there were no bald eagles.” In 1963, in the lower forty-eight states, there were 417 nesting pairs of eagles. That has grown to 71,400 nesting pairs.

The cause of the eagle’s dwindling population was traced to the pesticide DDT. DDT is not “directly toxic” to bald eagles, but when used to spray an area of mosquitoes to combat diseases such as malaria, it washed into streams. There it got on insects living in the water. These insects were eaten by bigger insects, who in turn were eaten by fish, who were then eaten by bigger fish, and these fish were eaten by bald eagles.

“In each stage of the food chain, the DDT is bio-accumulated,” said Groffman and in the eagles, the DDT caused their eggshells to be thin. So, thin that when the parent eagles sat on the nest, they crushed the eggs and the babies died.

“How did they figure this out?” asked Groffman. He said, “You need to know something about birds, something about fish, something about hydrology and microbiology, and you had to understand the connection between the different parts of the landscape.”

Scientist Rachel Carson (author of “Silent Spring”) put this all together and the solution was to ban DDT.

Groffman stressed the steps in solving any ecological problem: Identify the problem, find a solution, get the solution implemented (which is not always easy to accomplish), and track the success.

He said it was important that different branches of science work together and realize the “connectivity of soil, water, air, insects, fish and birds.”

Groffman talked about acid rain next. “Acid rain is a very clear success story.” Acid rain comes from “the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal.”

When coal is burned it gives off sulfur and nitrogen which combine to form sulfuric acid, and this comes to earth in precipitation and makes streams acidic and has a “negative impact” on animals, plants, and fish. It can cause “dead lakes” where fish and vegetation die.

To solve this problem, he said, “an understanding of chemistry, fish, atmospheric chemistry and hydrology” was needed.

The solution was to “get sulfur out of coal” which happened with the Clean Air Act of 1990. In tracking this solution, scientists found that there is much less acidity in water and soil and plants and organisms are recovering.

Another area of success has been noticed with eutrophication of bodies of water. Fertilizers used to grow crops can wash into streams and pollute them. This can cause algae to grow, die and decompose. The bacteria causing the decomposition “sucks the oxygen out” of the water which then has no oxygen and fish and vegetation die.

Scientists found that phosphorus was causing this problem. The solution was the Clean Water Act of 1972 which “removed phosphorus from detergents” and helped manage “sources of pollutants in the landscape”.

The result is cleaner water in rivers, streams, and lakes.

Groffman stated they’ve learned that today’s problems require a new way of doing science in which “We need everybody on board.” As with the solution of the bald eagles, many disciplines of science need to work together.

Groffman explained that implementing solutions can be difficult. “If we propose solutions that are a real pain in the neck for people, they’re not going to do them. If they don’t do it, we back slide.”

In France, one of the leading nations in fighting climate change, there was recently resistance to a New Green Energy Tax on fuel. Yellow vest protesters took to the streets to make their displeasure known. Groffman said that “how solutions affect people is important to consider.”

Increases in the use of solar energy and wind energy in the last couple of decades are positive signs in the fight against global warming.

Groffman mentioned that there is criticism that the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and action on global warming were delayed by governmental agencies wanting more research done. The International governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been recommending actions such as lowering carbon energy use and behavioral and lifestyle changes since the 1970’s and in the 1990’s declared that action needed to be taken with no more delays.

The last stage in finding solutions to ecological problems is an important one: tracking the success for any “wobbles” or “squeals” which may indicate the solution is failing or having problems.

Groffman said that current challenges are climate change and Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCP’s). Drugs and microplastics in PPCP’s are dumped down drains, get into sewers, and into water systems. But he declared, “I’m going to argue that science is evolving to meet these problems.”

Latest News

Back to school
Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — The first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 4, at Webutuck Elementary School went smoothly, with teachers enthusiastically greeting the eager young students disembarking from buses. Excitement was measurable, with only a few tears from parents, but school began anyway.


Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton’s Demitasse shutters Main Street storefront, goes digital

Demitasse owner Hayden McIntosh Geer said she is excited by the shift to online sales.

Photo by Hayden McIntosh Geer

MILLERTON — Some might have argued that launching an in-person retail business during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t advisable. But against all odds, Demitasse in Millerton managed not only to build a thriving, mission-based brand in a small storefront on Main Street, it developed a loyal customer base and provided a welcoming space for visitors. Last week, Demitasse announced it is closing-up shop and moving fully online.

“We are excited,” said owner Hayden McIntosh Geer, who opened Demitasse with her husband, Richard, in 2020. “Though we will miss our customers and the camaraderie on Main Street, it feels right and there was no second guessing.”

Keep ReadingShow less
New Millerton police cruisers arrive to replace fire-ravaged vehicles

Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik shows off the new gear. Brand new police cruisers arrived last week.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received two new patrol cars to replace vehicles destroyed in the February 2025 fire at the Village Water and Highway Department.

The new Ford Interceptors are custom-built for law enforcement. “They’re more rugged than a Ford Explorer,” said Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik, noting the all-wheel drive, heavy-duty suspension and larger tires and engine. “They call it the ‘Police Package.’”

Keep ReadingShow less
Fashion Feeds on track to raise $100,000 for Food of Life Food Pantry

Erin Rollins of Millbrook in the Fashion Feed booth, open year round, at the Millbrook Antiques Mall. All proceeds from Fashion Feeds go to the Food of Life Pantry.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLBROOK – In a time when optimism and unity can feel elusive, sometimes a walk down Franklin Avenue is enough to feed the soul. With Millbrook Community Day just around the corner, one highlight will be Fashion Feeds, a community effort led by Millbrook native Erin Rollins, whose mission is to fight local hunger.

The concept is simple. People donate new or gently used designer fashion, which is sold at affordable prices, and all proceeds benefit The Food of Life/Comida de Vida Pantry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia.

Keep ReadingShow less