OP-ED; GLOBAL WARMING

Global Warming Should Not be a Political Football

For the last seven years, the President has avoided the global warming debate by denying its existence, then recognizing it but saying humans had nothing to do with it, and now he claims that he wants to solve it. He was better off avoiding it.

He shunned the 1997 Kyoto Accords, and said that if the Chinese don’t have to comply, the United States shouldn’t have to either. In doing this, he drew the ire of the entire international community, let alone legions of climate scientists, environmentalists, and other activists who want the planet to survive the human assault on it.

But now he wants to do something “parallel” to Kyoto. And Bush has angered everyone that had wanted, even pleaded, him to act in the process.

The president is looking to convene meetings with the 10 or 15 highest polluting countries over the next 18 months in order to choose a plan of action for the future. Now that would sound reasonable, but that is what German Chancellor Angela Merkel is already doing when she hosts the Group of 8 summit next week. Why does the president need to repeat someone else’s work? Especially when the other party’s work is so much better—it doesn’t make any sense.

As I said earlier, Bush has angered many in this announcement. Merkel’s minister of the environment, Sigmar Gabriel, called the plan a “Trojan horse.”

German newspapers have said that Bush’s plan torpedoes Merkel’s agenda, which was comprehensive, calling for a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 and a 20 percent increase in efficiency by 2020. The White House rejected such ambition, saying it crossed multiple “red lines.”

Leading climate scientists have said that even these cuts are modest, but that they will offset some of the most catastrophic effects of global warming.

By playing politics with global warming, the administration has flouted international will, scientific analysis and the pleas of the American public. Enough playing around with the Europeans already. It is time to finally see failure on its face and accept the European initiative.

Al Gore may be the American celebrity behind the movement…but he is not the real face of the problem. The tsunami or hurricane that takes out the D.C. area, submerges Long Island and Manhattan, and all but decimates the US east coast is more like it.

The “inconvenient truth” is right here: your time is up, Mr. President. Holding meetings to decide what to do until you leave office is not going to be any more effective than your stalling and grandstanding has been for the last seven years. Stop leaving current problems for your successors and take action now.

Now that you conveniently recognize the problem, maybe you should join the solution. Hard caps on emissions won’t come from the free market: deregulation brought us the wonderful legacy of Enron. They won’t necessarily come from technology, either. Don’t place bets on something you don’t know whether it will pan out.

ALBUM REVIEW; QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE- ERA VULGARIS

Queens of the Stone Age- Era Vulgaris
4/5
Interscope Records

“My generation’s for sale,” snarls Josh Homme in the fifth record of his project (for lack of a better term) Queens of the Stone Age. “It beats a steady job.” Well, that’s for sure.

Homme treads new ground on this record: we dig even deeper into the nether regions of his mind, where the acid mixes with the pot, mushrooms with the c-c-c-cocaine!!! The psychadelia is everywhere.

He has called it dark and electronic, and apparently “sort of like a construction worker.” We are experiencing a new kind of cool—unabashed ultra-masculinity, but sleazy and dirty enough to bring the girls in too.

The cool manifests itself in the texture and feel of the record. Not only does it want you to be listening to it while in a 1970’s-era muscle car, you have to be chasing someone at 100mph in the Dodge Avenger from “Death Proof,” which itself is homage to “Vanishing Point,” the ultimate car-chase movie.

Robotic guitar riffs are at the skeleton of the record. “Turning On The Screw” gets caught in its own riff, which loops, crescendos, and seems to be skipping for almost two minutes, but that’s your mind being dragged through the mud. “3’s and 7’s” is an inverted Nirvana blast.

Like any Queens album, there are all sorts of special guests, but you’d never know it, since you can’t hear them. Julian Casablancas of The Strokes plays a Casio synth guitar and sings backing vocals on “Sick, Sick, Sick,” but it is impossible to hear him over Homme’s jagged guitar racket.

Interestingly, the title track featuring Trent Reznor was cut from the album, but you can find it anywhere on the Internet, because Homme sent it to everyone on his mailing list with a message encouraging members to “upload it and spray it like time released graffitti (sic) on the websites of places it does not belong."

Where former bassist Nick Oliveri’s presence was sorely lacking on the previous release Lullabies to Paralyze, it is not nearly as apparent here. Yes, the crazed melodic foil to Josh’s cool is gone, but in its place is something truly depraved, just as Oliveri would have wanted.

NEWS; NEW DEAN OF STUDENTS

President Stuart Rabinowitz announced in a statement May 31 that the University has hired a new dean of students, Peter Libman. He will report to Sandra Johnson, Vice President for Student Affairs.

Libman will be responsible for oversight of the new office of community standards, which has not yet taken shape, but is expected to take over judicial affairs for the University. “We want to broaden the scope of the office, to incorporate tolerance, and a sense of community,” Libman said.

He will also be responsible for the office of residential programs, orientation and new student programs, multicultural and international student programs, commuting student affairs, student leadership and activities, recreation and intramural sports, the wellness center and the interfaith center.

Libman most recently was a participant in the New York City Board of Education Leadership Academy, according to the statement. Prior to his work at the Leadership Academy, he held the senior student affairs position at the School of American Ballet and other positions at Columbia University, Barnard College and Clemson University.

He holds a master of education degree from Clemson University and an S.A.S (advanced certificate program) in educational administration from Baruch College.

Libman sees himself as an advocate for students. “That’s what I’m all about,” he said. “I want to be a friendly face around Hofstra.”

Libman is replacing Gina Crantz, who took a position as Vice President of Student Affairs and dean of students at Albright College. “We are very privileged to have him join the Hofstra community,” Johnson said.

NEWS; 'BIGGER BETTER BOTTLE BILL' (TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY)

After spearheading the movement for depositing bottles of carbonated beverages 25 years ago, Suffolk County was the location chosen to push for a “Bigger Better Bottle Bill.”

The proposed legislation would enable the public to return bottles of noncarbonated beverages, such as water, tea and sports drinks, for the same five-cent refund given for carbonated bottle deposits. The five cents, which manufacturers currently keep when a bottle is not recycled in a deposit machine, would instead be put into an environmental conservation fund. Opponents say the bill is ineffective, detrimental to business and costly.

Alexander “Pete” Grannis, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, in his first official visit to Long Island, joined Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian Foley and other environmental advocates to announce the latest push at Brookhaven Town Hall in a press conference last Wednesday morning, May 23.

Grannis was one of the original sponsors of the Bottle Bill. June 15^th marks the 25^th anniversary of the state’s returnable container deposit law.

“It’s a real tribute to the people and the legislators of Suffolk County, they are more forward-looking than the State but we are quick to follow,” Grannis said. “Even a great law needs a tune-up.”

The bill is currently stuck in the State Legislature, but Grannis wants it to pass before lawmakers go home June 21 for summer vacation. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has endorsed the bill and indicated he would sign it into law upon passage.

“Now it’s time to strengthen and modernize the bottle bill by including new categories of containers—like fruit juices, bottled water and sports drinks—that barely existed in 1982 when it was passed,” Spitzer said in a statement provided by the D.E.C.

Opponents say the bill will increase costs to consumers without any benefits. “The proposal makes the mandate larger but removes its funding,” said Jonathan Pierce, spokesman for New Yorkers for Real Recycling Reform, a group which represents beverage distributors and store owners. The drinks will cost up to 15 cents more than they do now, he said.

By taking the five-cent deposit out of the hands of the distributors and placing it into an environmental protection fund, the state is betting that people will not recycle the bottles, he added. “That is bad public policy.”

According to Grannis, noncarbonated drinks now make up more than 25 percent of the market share of bottled beverages, while they only constituted a “minute” portion of drink sales in 1982. These bottles make up more than 60 percent of the beverage containers cleaned up around the Hudson River, according to a study of the area, he added.

Grannis estimated that there would be up to 3 billion noncarbonated beverage bottles returned each year with the passage of the bill, and unreturned deposits would net the state over $100 million annually, which he said could be used for land acquisition and preservation, estuary maintenance and other environmentally friendly initiatives.

Foley endorsed the bill at the press conference. “There is strong, local bipartisan support for this legislation,” he said. “This is going to be important for our waste management department, because with the passage of this legislation, we [the town] will save, at minimum, $100,000 a year in cost avoidance.”

Many organizations, including some national groups, support the expanded bottle deposit legislation. Over twenty editorial boards, including Newsday, have all endorsed the bill as well.

*A different version focused on the Hofstra community appeared in the Summer issue of The Chronicle.

NEWS; PUBLIC OPPOSES PROPOSED CELL TOWER (PORT TIMES RECORD)

Nearly 60 residents filled the Comsewogue public library room where the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Civic Association held its monthly meeting to protest the proposed location of a 90-foot cell tower by T-Mobile.

The cell tower would be located at the corner of Old Town Road and Norwood Avenue, on the property of North Shore Jewish Center. In the immediate vicinity of the location of the proposed tower are two schools, Ward Melville High School and Norwood Elementary School.

Andrew Overton, a representative from T-Mobile, came to the meeting to present the site proposal, which the company was not entirely satisfied with either. “This is the worst possible location for us,” he said, repeatedly. “The only redeeming quality about this location is that it is not a residential use. I can’t imagine a worse site from a zoning perspective and a community perspective.”

It would be used to cover a signal area 1 mile in diameter.

Flaurie Green and other residents wrote a petition letter to the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Center calling for them to oppose the installation of the tower. “A 90-foot cell tower is completely inconsistent with the residential nature of the adjacent Norwood Avenue and immediate surrounding community,” it said.

By the end of the meeting, Green said she had already collected over 400 signatures. She has also sent the letter to the CEO of T-Mobile, Robert Dotson, State Assemblyman Steve Engelbright (D-Setauket), Suffolk County Deputy Presiding Officer Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Port Jefferson Station) and Town Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld (D-East Setauket).

The company has not taken any definitive action yet on the matter, Overton added. In order to build the tower, the company must acquire a variance to existing zoning laws, which requires a hearing in front of the Brookhaven Town Zoning Board.

Overton described a lengthy process that involves searching for a location to place the cell antenna. Whenever possible, Overton said, the company looks to collocate with other wireless companies on existing towers or structures. If there is no existing structure, the company looks to locate on industrially or commercially zoned property.

When the company cannot find property on commercially zoned property, it looks for rooftops or poles in residentially zoned areas to place the antenna. In this case, they could not find any existing structure, and are proposing to build a new one.

T-Mobile has not gone to the hearing for this location yet, Overton said. “We need to find a place that is leasable, zoneable and buildable.”

They have driven through the area to look for suitable locations, however. Once they found this location, T-Mobile administered a “crane test.”

A crane test involves the company hanging an antenna on a crane, affixing it at the location desired and testing the strength of the signal, to see if building the tower at that location will successfully cover the signal area.

One resident had pictures of her four sons playing in her backyard, with the crane test visible in the background. “Why aren’t you hiring a team of engineers to find a better way to put this?” she asked. “Find other places.”

Every time a question was asked, residents would add a comment at once, creating a chaotic situation. Civic Association President Lou Antoniello had to shush the crowd multiple times for the discussion to take place. “We need the same passion at a town board meeting—if it ever gets that far.”

Residents were concerned about their health and the health of their children. “I have a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year old son,” one resident said. “I do not want them near these things.”

Other residents just simply do not want to look at it. “I don’t want this eyesore in my backyard,” one said. “Everyone of us that is here tonight, we shouldn’t let it get to our government officials. We walk, we picket, we have signs, they will know and understand we don’t want this in our backyards.”

T-Mobile has to provide a certain measure of cellular service everywhere in the United States, according to federal law. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that one be able to call emergency 911 services from any phone service provider anywhere in the US.

The Act also says that residents’ health cannot be a determining factor in the location of a proposed cell tower.

The meeting also allowed for an attorney to present the development of a branch building for All-Pro Siding Company. The ancillary office will be on Industrial Road near a Cablevision building. Also, Dr. Lee Koppelman presented a case to conduct a “hamlet study” on Port Jefferson Station-Terryville to give it direction for any future development.

NEWS; IMPROVEMENTS OF CR97 NICOLLS ROAD (TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY)

A study of County Road 97, or Nicolls Road, by the Suffolk County Department of Public Works for long-term improvements to the north-south corridor is almost complete, but the Department is looking to make short-term changes in the near future.

The County held an “informational open house” last Wednesday for residents to see the proposed changes and allow for questions to be answered by public works officials on hand.

The short-term improvements are concentrated areas north of the Long Island Expressway, by County Road 16, or Portion Road, the traffic signaled intersection at Horseblock Place, the main entrance of Suffolk County Community College and the South Coleman road intersection.

At Portion Road, the exit ramp from southbound Nicolls to eastbound Portion would be removed. A new left-turn lane would be installed from westbound Portion to southbound Nicolls. Leeds Boulevard would receive a left turn and right turn lanes onto Portion. Leeds would also get a new traffic signal.

The intersection at Horseblock Place would lose its center median and its traffic signal. There would no longer be any left turns whatsoever at the intersection, only right turns. New right-turn lanes and a new acceleration-deceleration lane northbound on Nicolls would be added.

At the entrance to the College, there would be dual left-turn lanes into and out of campus, as well as a new acceleration lane for northbound Nicolls.

South Coleman Road would see major changes as well. A new left-turn lane into the College would be built, as well as the addition of dual right-turn lanes onto campus. Dual left-turn lanes onto southbound Nicolls would be added. Dual left-turn lanes would also be added to southbound Nicolls to turn onto South Coleman.

The short-term improvements, as proposed, would cost $2.2 million and would be completed by 2009. The county would not have to acquire any new property and they would completely fund it, with no federal or state aid.

These proposals came the same day New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) called for a Federal Highway Administration safety audit of Nassau and Suffolk County roadways.

Residents living near the proposed road changes were skeptical of how much good they will do. “[The] improvements will make things worse,” said Hector Guzman, who lives at 657 College Road, in Farmingville; his mailbox has been knocked over multiple times by careening cars. “They [the students] will keep traveling on College Road, making even more traffic. The road on Horseblock gets very slippery when it is wet and the drain gets clogged.”

Doris Scanlon lives at 653 College Road, Farmingville, and vehicles hit her house three times, until she had a guardrail put up in front of it five years ago. “This won’t do anything,” she said. “I don’t think it’s going to help me [at all.]”

Other residents were weighing the positives and the negatives. “With the light being eliminated from Horseblock Place, there may be less noise,” Mr. and Mrs. Lysen, from 3 Joseph Court in Farmingville, said. They did not want to give their first names. “But it will [also] create more traffic on Horseblock Road.”

Residents did not like the idea of increased traffic on local roads rather than on Nicolls Road. “I don’t like that they’re going to get rid of the ramp onto Portion Road,” said Anthony Ferrara, who lives on 39 Leeds Boulevard in Farmingville. “They’ll be dumped onto Leeds. There is a blind spot where they want to have [drivers] go. That road is busy as it is.”

Officials at the Department of Public Works disagreed with residents’ complaints. “I think it will help them,” said James Peterman, Assistant to the Chief Engineer. “Right now there are a lot of people in traffic with a short fuse. The purpose of this is to alleviate congestion.”

“When we increase capacity and lower congestion, there will be less accidents, less sideswipes and less rear-end collisions,” William Hillman, the Chief Engineer, added.