Author: jlryan4181

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What is Grasscycling?

By Judy Ryan

August 6, 2021

As environmentally conscious citizens, we dutifully carry our bins of plastic, glass, metal and paper to the curb each week.  In addition, many village residents drag to the curb heavy bags of grass clippings.

It turns out that’s a chore we can give up without guilt.  Grasscycling means leaving grass clippings in place to nourish our lawns with nitrogen and other organic nutrients. Clippings also hold in moisture, and if we add proper lawn watering techniques, we can significantly reduce water usage.  According to Planet Natural, the EPA “estimates that watering lawns accounts for 30-60% of water [usage] in summer.” 

I’ve gleaned my information from a myriad of excellent websites (listed below). Information is available from environmentally focused organizations, but also from businesses selling lawn products.  Some are geared to those obsessive about their lawns, and some are for the rest of us. Cornell Cooperative Extension offers three detailed pages of information about lawn care without pesticides.  Gardening Know How assures me that “you’re probably already [grasscycling] and just didn’t know.  Essentially, it is “mow and go.”

An old adage is that not removing grass clippings can lead to thatch (a mat of tangled grass), but grasscycling can actually prevent the growth of thatch.  Only if clippings settle in clumps is there a risk of thatch.  In that case, use a rake to spread out the clumps evenly over your lawn.

Here are some tips from Planet Natural:

  1. Don’t cut the lawn too short.  Cut no more than 1/3 of a blade.  Taller grass exposes more leaf surface to the sun, and also shades the soil from rapid evaporation.
  2. Make sure your mower blades are sharp, so as not to tear grass.
  3. Let grass clippings settle on their own – only take a rake to clumps.
  4. Water thoroughly but not often.  Thorough watering encourages deep root systems; it’s shallow roots that can lead to thatch.  And make sure grass is dry before you water.  It’s best to water in the early morning, when the air is cooler and water won’t evaporate too quickly. 
  5. It’s a good idea to add high quality organic fertilizer in the spring, but you’ll need less because of the nitrogen in the clippings. 
  6. It isn’t necessary to buy a mulching mower, but if you do, it can mulch leaves directly into your lawn in the fall.  This also contributes to a healthier lawn  … but more about that in the fall.
  7. We don’t see old-fashioned push mowers much any more, but the newer ones are lightweight, easy to maneuver, and their spinning blades are ideal for clipping grass.  You can skip your walk that day!

A blog on Lawnstarter’s website quotes Cassy Aoyagi, a landscaper in Los Angeles, where droughts are intensifying: “Grass is 80% water, so in essence you’re watering your lawn a bit by leaving clippings in place.”  According to Planet Natural, “Much of [our] money for lawn products goes to those that degrade the soil, pollute any water they reach, and pose … health threats to humans, … pets, and wildlife….” The writer states that “60-70 million birds die from pesticide poisoning each year in the US alone.” 

Yard waste in landfills is another major issue on a planet filled with garbage.  Since 1980 yard waste in landfills has been reduced from 27 million tons to 10.8 million tons according to the Lawnstarter blog.   Many states have passed laws limiting or banning yard clippings in their landfills.  Composting grass clippings has become common.  But leaving most of them in place remains the healthiest option for your lawn, as regular mowing and mulching “provide a barrier to weed seeds, preventing them from taking root.”

Since we’re heading into late summer, you may want to check the Cornell University Cooperative Extension website to learn how to prepare and plant your lawn in September, as the air cools.  Even us “mow and go” folks can follow some of its simple tips, like loosening soil compaction and incorporating topsoil, if needed, into the soil beneath.  Others can dig into its extensive information about a truly beautiful pesticide-free lawn.

Grasscyling is not a burden.  It makes lawn care easier, requiring only that we leave grass clippings in place, water with care, and fertilize organically only in spring. It turns out that the practice of leaving grass clippings on our lawns is a win for our lawns, a win for our environment, and a win for the health of everyone.    

http://www.lawnstarter.com/blog

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com

https://www.planetnatural.com

https://www.rocklandcce.org

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Why Regulate Gasoline-Powered Leaf Blowers?

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

The Village of Upper Nyack will hold a public hearing April 15, 2021, to consider the adoption of a “Noise Law of the Village of Upper Nyack.”

https://www.uppernyack-ny.us/home/news/proposed-noise-law-village-upper-nyack-1

Included in the law is a section regulating gasoline powered leaf blowers by date and times of operation. The hearing will be conducted on Zoom, and is open to all Village of Upper Nyack residents. When I co-founded the Upper Nyack Green Committee, I knew little about noise and air pollution from gas blowers. I was concerned about pollution from cars, factories, and coal plants, I cared about preserving trees, worried about soil erosion and the health of animal species. It was fellow Green Committee members who educated me about the health risks of gas blowers. In fall, 2019, they presented a gas blower regulation proposal to the Upper Nyack Village Board about those risks.

(https://www.uppernyack-ny.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif5116/f/news/uppernyackleafblowerregulationproposal.pdf)

I didn’t know that the exhaust from two-stroke engines, which characterize most gas blowers, contains fine particulate matter, heavy metals and carcinogens. I didn’t think about the fact that the dust they threw up (which did burn my eyes) was of course soil particles, containing fertilizer, mold and even feces. I had no idea what a dangerous mix my developing grandchildren were breathing into their bodies. And I didn’t know that the sound level was was as high as 95 to 115 decibels, substantially higher than the maximum of 85 decibels that is safe for our ears. We would all prefer to be free to do what we like on our property. We’d all like to use whatever equipment is most efficient on our lawns and gardens.

We’d certainly like to use any we own, whenever we like. But in the last year, we’ve learned a global lesson in the importance of giving up our freedom for the sake of community health and safety. Gas blowers may not be as deadly as the Coronavirus, but their steady use does threaten our health, and the safe development of growing children. Furthermore, there are folks who suffer more than others from the pollution from gas blowers: people with asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions.

Most of us hate the noise of blowers, but there are villagers who suffer acutely from the sound. Those with tinnitus, or a debilitating condition called hyperacusis, have a sensitivity to sound that can be highly painful. I have a friend whose younger brother suffers from a sensory processing disorder, accompanied by hyperacusis. He screams when he hears a blower, and doesn’t stop until it does. Others with hearing issues suffer as well. Many properties in our village are contiguous to three or four others. Sometimes two or three blowers will move across one lawn, just six or eight feet from each other, tripling the decibel level.

Why regulate only gas blowers? For reasons of everyone’s health. Electric blowers don’t blow exhaust into the air around us. And they aren’t as loud. They do blow soil particles, and particles of whatever else the soil contains. They can erode garden beds. But they are not the same threat to the community. In a letter to the New York Times, responding to a discussion of Covid restrictions, Lisa Lombardi wrote, “Your freedom stops where it puts others at risk.” This is the message in Upper Nyack’s proposed Noise Law, which includes the regulation of gasoline-powered blowers.

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Know the Issues about PFAS in Rockland’s Drinking Water

I fill two glasses of tap water for our supper.  It looks pristine.  It tastes okay.  I pour it into a kettle for tea or coffee several times a day. I fill a bottle with it when we’re traveling.  I use it for cooking, and in humidifiers.  I hear stories on the news at night about communities worldwide where no running water is available, and I count my blessings.  As I should. 

And yet … as a member of the Rockland Sierra Club, I begin to receive emails about PFAS, including their presence in the water we in Upper Nyack receive from the Suez Water Company.  I read that New York State has established new standards for the amount of PFAS allowed in water in New York State.  I receive a letter from Suez telling me that they have not achieved these standards, but are working on the problem.  I am assured by them that the level of PFAS in my water is safe, not a threat to my health.   I receive an email from the Rockland Sierra Club telling me it’s not clear that ANY level of PFAS is safe. 

What are PFAS anyway?  According to Riverkeeper, PFAS refers to “per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.  This is a class of chemicals that includes thousands of individual chemicals”, including PFOA  (Perfluorooctanoic acid acid) and PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid).( https://www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Public-Report-2019-Rockland-PFAS-data-Analysis-and-Observations.pdf)  PFAS are called “forever chemicals,” because their chemistry “keeps them from breaking down under typical environmental conditions.  They can persist indefinitely in the human body, affecting one’s health over a lifetime.”   

(https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/forever-chemicals-are-widespread-in-u-s-drinking-water/)

PFAS became known to the public in 1999 when a high profile case against the Dupont Chemical Company was filed by Robert Bilott, a lawyer representing a farmer in Parkersburg, West Virginia, whose cattle had been dying from PFOS flowing from the company’s landfill into nearby streams.  Birth defects and a variety of cancers plagued the people of Parkersburg. Bilott’s ongoing lawsuits resulted in a 2017 settlement with Dupont for $671 million.

In New York State the communities of Newburgh and Hoosick Falls were discovered in 2015 and 2016 to have dangerous levels of PFAS in their water. The contamination was linked to specific polluters near their communities, which were held accountable by the New York State Department of Conservation. In Rockland County there is not the same cause for alarm.  But complacency in response to any level of PFAS is a risk.  Most of us carry it in our bodies. 

PFAS are found in a variety of products we use or are exposed to, including Teflon cookware, firefighting foam, water repellent fabric, paints and varnishes, food packaging, boots, and beauty products. Any ingredient beginning with “fluoro,” or including it in a longer name, contains PFAS chemicals.  According to the American Chemical Society, they are “persistent, cumulative, mobile and hazardous.” In addition, “adverse effects of PFAS can occur in several bodily systems, with the developing immune system being particularly sensitive.” They are linked to a number of cancers, including testicular, thyroid and colon.  Exposure to the chemicals can occur throughout their life cycles.  (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00255k)  

In August 2019 New York State adopted new drinking water standards setting maximum contaminant levels (MCL’s) of 10 parts per trillion (10 ppt) each for PFOA and PFOS (20 ppt total for these 2).   New York State also requires a maximum level of one part per billion (1ppb) for 1.4 doxane, the first state to monitor this contaminant.  Water systems are given the responsibility of reporting exceedances to their local health department.   Although the New York Department of Health states that MCL’s in drinking water “are set far below levels that cause health effects,” the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, states that “government scientists in New Jersey and Germany indicate that a safe level in drinking water may be zero,” given that there is widespread exposure from other sources.  https://www.ewg.org/pfaschemicals/what-are-forever-chemicals.html

I return to Suez’s website and read, “Rockland’s drinking water continues to be acceptable for all uses.”  “Acceptable,” I note, not “safe.”  The company states that to fully install treatment will take less than three years. That seems like a big window of time.

To be fair, Suez water comes from a large variety of sources, including a number of wells. Riverkeeper says that its system may be “uniquely complex,” stating that there are 42 “on ramps” to the Suez supply, 40 of which are individual wells, pairs of wells or well fields.  PFAS treatment “will likely have have to be applied to multiple wells, rather than a single water treatment plant.”  In addition, the sources of PFAS are unclear, probably a number of polluters, not just one.  Although our levels of PFAS are not, as far as we know, alarming, Suez must be held accountable by the public to follow through quickly, thoroughly and transparently on its promise to meet NY standards.  It must be encouraged to strive for even higher standards, as must New York State.  Other states, including Michigan and Vermont, have established more stringent laws regulating PFAS.

According to Seth Siegel, the author of Troubled Water: What’s Wrong with What We Drink, St. Martin’s Press, 2019, in Europe “the burden is supposed to be on the chemical company to prove that the chemical is harmless before it can be reproduced.”  Siegel acknowledges that implementation and enforcement have not been consistent, but the approach is a welcome one, in contrast to the US policy of chemicals being “welcomed into commerce unless and until they are proven harmful.”

I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information, and the impact of the award winning documentary, “The Devil we Know,” which tells the story of Dupont’s introducing Teflon into thousands of products worldwide, while dumping its toxic waste into the river near its Parkersburg, West Virginia plant.  This water was responsible for multiple cancers, the agonizing deaths of a herd of cattle, and facial deformities in infants. Internal memos at Dupont document the company’s fears of financial loss if the truth about the toxicity of their landfills was revealed, and its attempts to conceal the danger to the community.

What can I do about my own community’s water safety?   The Rockland Sierra Club and the Rockland Water Coalition were sponsors of two informative meetings, on January 7 and February 8 of this year.  At the second meeting, focused on action, Eric Weltman, a Senior Organizer at Food and Water Watch in New York City, forcefully advocated for lobbying Governor Andrew Cuomo.  “He can be a hero,” stated Weltman, noting that  New York can be a leader in setting a goal of no detectable levels of PFAS in drinking water in any of our communities.  Ultimately, says Weltman, the governor is responsible for the work of state agencies, such as the Department of Health (DEH) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).   The Rockland Water Coalition urges each of us to call Governor Cuomo, asking him to assure that PFAS chemicals are removed from state water supply systems as quickly and completely as possible.  Sign the Coalition’s petition: http://www.rocklandwatercoalition.org/know-the-issues/what-we-support/

Follow up with a letter or email with “specific asks” spelled out by Weltman:

1) Require testing and treatment of all wells.

2) Be as transparent and specific as he was during the early Covid crisis, and provide information online.

3) Offer free testing by the DEH for all local wells, including those on private property.

4) Hold polluters accountable for payment of clean-up.

5) Provide up-to-date information to health care providers, and assure free blood tests to residents through the DEH. 

6) Assure that public meetings are held.

7) Regulate ALL PFAS, and regulate them as a class.

The last request is essential, as PFAS now number in the thousands, and new ones have been created by industries by chemical tweak as regulations on old ones have been put in place. 

Advocacy by citizens works.  I remind myself that although I’m only one voice, my voice can be heard.  I wouldn’t think of not voting in a state or federal election.  My obligation to be heard on the issue of safe water for myself, my children, my grandchildren, my fellow citizens can begin in Rockland County, and in New York State.

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In Praise of Green

I write in praise of green – and of yellow, pink, white, purple, magenta, red – of all the glorious colors of spring unfolding in this strange April of 2020. We in the northern hemisphere have the great good luck of sheltering in place just as spring bathes us in color, sound, and fragrance.


Our yards and neighborhoods soothe us, invite us to exercise, call children to play. People of all ages are tiring of screens. Children are playing on swing sets, throwing balls, racing to capture the flag. Parents are urging children to go outside, find something to do, play with their brothers and sisters as children did before play dates and structured athletics filled their days. I like to think that imaginations are flourishing in new ways.


Time slows as it stretches out before us. Senses are sharpened. I see things I haven’t before.Sitting in a lawn chair, I gaze into our massive black cherry tree – can it be 100 years old? – its blossoms blazing against the blue sky. I watch its shadows, its soft movement of branches in a light wind, the brilliance of its white flowers. It feeds my hunger for something that isn’t virtual,something alive, moving within my reach. Each day I walk our garden, noticing another 1/4 inch of a green shoot, finally a bloom – first snowdrops, then crocuses, daffodils, now tulips. Peony shrubs are growing larger, hostas are emerging, the leaves of Japanese maples add russet red to the spring palate. The scent of our viburnum sweetens the air.

Why is animal life more compelling? A squirrel sits on a boulder munching contentedly on something he’s dug up from the earth. Suddenly he scampers up an oak tree, another squirrel in hot pursuit. A game? There’s plenty of food to go around. A blue jay and a robin battle for territory or a turn in the birdbath. I listen to birdsong, wishing my friend from Audubon were with me, to identify calls. Occasionally a turkey or two make an appearance. Coffee in hand, I stand at the window and watch for a long time, noticing birds in the trailing vinca, a fern unfurling, new red growth on the andromeda. A friend said to me once, at a period of deep grief in her life, “I have a visceral need for something alive.”

We’re grieving now – for lost loved ones, for new grandchildren we can’t hug or touch, for lost jobs,for life as we know it. For freedom to come and go, to travel from home, to walk or run in parks welove, to rip off our masks and gloves, to throw our arms around friends and family. Enough of Zoom, Skype, face time, virtual concerts and streaming films.


People who haven’t walked and hiked with enthusiasm are discovering their importance. Sadly,their urgency to be outdoors has outdistanced their caution and consideration for others, so parks have closed. It’s probable, though, that more people than ever are feeling the loss of woodland trails, of walks by a river or lake, of wide fields where children can run. We’re staying home, driving less, enjoying the quiet as gas blowers are silenced. We know that people are suffering from layoffs, landscapers are hurting, the price for giving up business as usual is too high. But maybe -just maybe – the benefits of cleaner air, the reassurance of spring returning, our hunger for life unfolding, our need for the earth – are becoming essential to more of us.


I’m reminded of a poem by Wendell Berry. I’ll end my reflections with his words. I hope you’ll listen to them too, read by the poet.

https://audioboom.com/posts/3556168-the-peace-of-wild-things-read-by-wendell-berry

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

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The Sounds of Summer

by Judy Ryan and Suzanne Buchauer

Early in the morning, I awake to the sound of birdsong.  Soon I hear the thwack of a tennis ball on the nearby court, the chatter of children playing in the yard next door, a splash of water in the pool across the street.  I love these sounds.

By 9AM (or earlier) the mowing and blowing begins.  Sometimes just next door, sometimes in as many as six properties well within earshot of our own.  Most are gas powered, and I’ve seen two landscapers within feet of each other blowing in tandem across a lawn free from any detritus that I can see.  The sound is deafening (literally), especially for the landscapers – some, but not all of who wear ear protectors.  The noise rises and falls until sunset. 

How many of us know that …

  • eighty-five decibels of sound can damage your hearing?  Leaf blowers operate at 80-115 decibels, depending on distance from the blow.
  • winds of up to 250 miles per hour are produced by leaf blowers, which damage small and delicate plants and blow away your precious topsoil?
  • pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and hydrocarbons are emitted? In addition, oil particles, fertilizer, mold, pollen, and feces are kicked up in the dust of the blowers. In spring allergy sufferers are especially impacted. 
  • one hour of leaf blowing with a gas blower creates as much air pollution as driving from Nyack to Memphis?
  • acids, fine particulate matter, heavy metals, and carcinogens are emitted with the exhaust of two stroke gas blowers, since about 30 percent of the gas and oil do not burn completely?
  • gas spillage happens almost every time a blower is filled?  On average, four ounces are spilled, which means that in the US, approximately 17 million gallons of gas are spilled per year, contaminating ground water.

What can we do to raise awareness among our friends, family, neighbors and landscapers?

  • Talk to our family, friends and landscapers.  Information is key to making good choices. 

What can we do to help?

  • Sweep or rake leaves and clipping from beds and sidewalks.
  • Lower our standards for lawns. Mulch leaves instead of blowing them. Mulching lawnmowers are able to break them down right away.  Mulched leaves can be left on our lawns to decompose.  The plant matter breaks down and helps feed the lawn, resulting in less need for fertilizer.
  • Encourage our landscapers to limit their use of gas powered leaf blowers, and to consider a move to electric. Electric blowers are quieter and produce a small fraction of pollutants.  Blowing is rarely necessary in summer, and often just redistributes pollutants, wafting them through the atmosphere, and back into our noses and yards. 

Noise and air pollution have received increased attention from citizens, who are asking their towns and villages to consider ordinances to regulate them.  The Upper Nyack Green Committee is working on ways to lessen the sounds and smells of gas mowing and blowing in our village, while considering the needs and preferences of landscapers and homeowners alike.  Stay tuned for more.

So many happy summer sounds are drowned out by mowing and blowing. And how many of us remember the lovely sound of silence?

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Arbor Day in Upper Nyack

Arbor Day, April 27, was blustery and cool, dampening attendance but not the spirit of Upper Nyack’s Arbor Day celebration at the Old Stone Church.  Flowers and snacks of fruit, cheese and chocolate made an inviting centerpiece for Mayor Karen Tarapata’s table of books and flyers about trees, including a children’s book.  She provided an extensive list of online resources (see PDF).   She also set up a table for kids, with natural materials for art projects, and packets of wildflowers to take home.  A newly planted Kousa dogwood tree, provided by the village, graced the outdoor garden, where new shrubs had been planted by the Garden Club of Nyack. The village’s support of planting native tree species in our community was promoted by the distribution to residents of 15 saplings of dogwood, eastern red cedar and paper birch (in 1-gallon containers).  They were generously provided by resident Bill Schmidt. It is anticipated that additional saplings will be available in the fall.  The Tree Committee of the Green Committee offered additional handouts, including Tree Facts and a list of tree species suitable for our area (see PDF’s).  

Information about CCA (Community Choice Aggregation)  was available at a table supplied with fliers and other info regarding the proposal to bring low-cost renewable electricity to the village.  Mike Gordon, a representative from Joule Energy, a CCA administrator, was there to answer questions.  (https://www.joulecommunity.com). He and Jeff Domanski, whose company does outreach for Joule, engaged with a number of interested villagers.  A flyer provided by the Green Committee is available as a PDF.

The Green Committee also offered information about noise pollution, including a poster and handouts on the benefits of electric mowers and leaf blowers.  Specific data on the high rates of noise and air pollution created by gas landscaping machines was included as well.  Residents were reminded that our hearing and emotional well-being, as well as our lungs, are affected by the sound levels in our neighborhoods. (see attached PDF’s).  Other communities have put regulations in place.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lvKX7UIYWM&feature=youtu.be)

Following the event at the Old Stone Meeting House, Mayor Tarapata led a walk through the Cason property, christened River Hook Park. The village community has been clear in its preference for a passive park, and the mayor favors planting of native trees, shrubs, and flowering plants for pollinators.  She’s also considering a playground of wood stumps and simple structures.   The village was given 16 lilac bushes for the Preserve. The mayor is looking for volunteers Saturday, May 11 at 11 AM to help plant them on the property. Meet at the Broadway entrance.

Arbor Day reminds us that trees are providers of beauty, peace, and shade, and provide safe habitats for the natural creatures around us. They capture carbon dioxide, and are crucial to the survival of our planet. If every day were arbor day, the world would be a greener, cooler, and healthier home for us all.

The Green Committee is an advisory and advocacy group made up of Upper Nyack residents working toward the environmental health and resiliency of our village in the face of climate change.  Issues of concern include air and noise pollution; tree planting designed to survive extreme weather; water conservation, sewers and drainage; green landscaping; more use of renewable energy sources; and education of the public in these areas and others of concern to residents. For more information, please contact Judy Ryan at jlryan4181@aol.com or 845 358-4322.