John Waldman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823249855
- eISBN:
- 9780823252589
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823249855.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
Though there have been many improvements, New York Harbor still faces many problems. Among them are climate change, sea level rise, alien species, combined sewer overflows, and lingering chemical ...
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Though there have been many improvements, New York Harbor still faces many problems. Among them are climate change, sea level rise, alien species, combined sewer overflows, and lingering chemical contamination. But the health of the Harbor continues to be protected to an unprecedented degree, and it also is being used for novel hands-on education programs.Less
Though there have been many improvements, New York Harbor still faces many problems. Among them are climate change, sea level rise, alien species, combined sewer overflows, and lingering chemical contamination. But the health of the Harbor continues to be protected to an unprecedented degree, and it also is being used for novel hands-on education programs.
John Waldman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823249855
- eISBN:
- 9780823252589
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823249855.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
New York Harbor is a sprawling network of tidal bays, inlets, channels, and creeks set within both the broader Hudson Estuary and the urban matrix of New York City. Many natural habitats may be ...
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New York Harbor is a sprawling network of tidal bays, inlets, channels, and creeks set within both the broader Hudson Estuary and the urban matrix of New York City. Many natural habitats may be found in the Harbor, from freshwater and brackish wetlands, to boulder and bedrock shores, to sand beaches, that together with strong seasonal temperature swings results in high biodiversity. This diversity includes odd tropical fishes that arrive via the Gulf Stream, local fish and shellfish of high historical or contemporary importance for food and sport such as oysters, sturgeon, eels, and striped bass, and recovered populations of wading birds such as herons, egrets, and ibis. With the great immigrant waves at the end of the nineteenth century New York's population swelled, but with no sewage treatment, all human wastes entered the Harbor's waters in raw form and accreting to as much as ten-feet thick, overwhelming the Harbor's animal life. This ecological and human health crisis led to slow actions and improvements in controlling pollution, but none more so than the Clean Water Act of 1972. New York Harbor has experienced profound physical alteration since the Colonial era, including dredged channels, filling of wetlands, creation of artificial islands, construction of piers and sea walls, and the blasting of reefs hazardous to navigation, such as in Hell Gate in the East River. A recent emphasis on habitat restoration is partly the product of cleaner water allowing the return of life. The state of the environment of New York Harbor is very different from its pre-Colonial condition but it has recovered to a reasonable level of ecological functionality. Its legacy of polluted sediments remains but is slowly improving, as are other indicators of overall ecological health, but it still faces concerns such as climate change, sea level rise, alien species, combined sewer overflows, and lingering chemical contamination. The Harbor also has been rediscovered as a recreational and educational amenity.Less
New York Harbor is a sprawling network of tidal bays, inlets, channels, and creeks set within both the broader Hudson Estuary and the urban matrix of New York City. Many natural habitats may be found in the Harbor, from freshwater and brackish wetlands, to boulder and bedrock shores, to sand beaches, that together with strong seasonal temperature swings results in high biodiversity. This diversity includes odd tropical fishes that arrive via the Gulf Stream, local fish and shellfish of high historical or contemporary importance for food and sport such as oysters, sturgeon, eels, and striped bass, and recovered populations of wading birds such as herons, egrets, and ibis. With the great immigrant waves at the end of the nineteenth century New York's population swelled, but with no sewage treatment, all human wastes entered the Harbor's waters in raw form and accreting to as much as ten-feet thick, overwhelming the Harbor's animal life. This ecological and human health crisis led to slow actions and improvements in controlling pollution, but none more so than the Clean Water Act of 1972. New York Harbor has experienced profound physical alteration since the Colonial era, including dredged channels, filling of wetlands, creation of artificial islands, construction of piers and sea walls, and the blasting of reefs hazardous to navigation, such as in Hell Gate in the East River. A recent emphasis on habitat restoration is partly the product of cleaner water allowing the return of life. The state of the environment of New York Harbor is very different from its pre-Colonial condition but it has recovered to a reasonable level of ecological functionality. Its legacy of polluted sediments remains but is slowly improving, as are other indicators of overall ecological health, but it still faces concerns such as climate change, sea level rise, alien species, combined sewer overflows, and lingering chemical contamination. The Harbor also has been rediscovered as a recreational and educational amenity.
Annu Jalais
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9789888528684
- eISBN:
- 9789888754526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888528684.003.0005
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
Singapore the ‘garden city’ has been a longstanding trope used by government officials to promote tourism and actively entice the world’s cosmopolitan well-heeled and moneyed to come and work, or ...
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Singapore the ‘garden city’ has been a longstanding trope used by government officials to promote tourism and actively entice the world’s cosmopolitan well-heeled and moneyed to come and work, or settle, in the small cityscape. Nature in Singapore is primarily seen by the Government as a resource ‘that can be shaped to economic and national development objectives’ (Yuen 1996:968); and indeed, what strikes visitors to this ‘garden city’ is its cleanliness, orderliness, and greenery. But if ‘nature’ in Singapore is a matter of top-down governmental control (of both city-state aesthetics and economy), ‘nature’ has also been the realm for those wanting to rebel against the Government. In other words, politics in Singapore has often revolved around citizens taking up cat- and crow-culling, the saving of graveyards, or specific conservation issues as ways of resisting Governmental prerogatives. In light of the recent writings on the meaning of ‘nature’ and ‘non-humans’ — explored through supposed ‘eco-farms’ for ‘agri-tainment’, fishing and foraging, and the culling of cats and crows — the paper explores the tension between ‘development’ and ‘culture’ in the context of the city-state of Singapore.Less
Singapore the ‘garden city’ has been a longstanding trope used by government officials to promote tourism and actively entice the world’s cosmopolitan well-heeled and moneyed to come and work, or settle, in the small cityscape. Nature in Singapore is primarily seen by the Government as a resource ‘that can be shaped to economic and national development objectives’ (Yuen 1996:968); and indeed, what strikes visitors to this ‘garden city’ is its cleanliness, orderliness, and greenery. But if ‘nature’ in Singapore is a matter of top-down governmental control (of both city-state aesthetics and economy), ‘nature’ has also been the realm for those wanting to rebel against the Government. In other words, politics in Singapore has often revolved around citizens taking up cat- and crow-culling, the saving of graveyards, or specific conservation issues as ways of resisting Governmental prerogatives. In light of the recent writings on the meaning of ‘nature’ and ‘non-humans’ — explored through supposed ‘eco-farms’ for ‘agri-tainment’, fishing and foraging, and the culling of cats and crows — the paper explores the tension between ‘development’ and ‘culture’ in the context of the city-state of Singapore.
