ONONDAGA COUNTY NEW YORK

AN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS by SAMANTHA WEST 5th grade, Tamarac Elementary

Abstract The aim of my study is to find the pollution, energy, waste, and habitat environmental health of Onondaga County. For this research I used government websites, search terms, and newspaper articles. From all the research I did I learned: 1.The Marcellus Shale goes through the middle of Onondaga County. 2.Onondaga County has one renewable energy site, a wind powered plant. Onondaga county has no renewable energy sites planned. 3.Onondaga county is mostly rural but Syracuse is very urban.

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Methods It is important to study counties to compare the energy, waste, and water environmental health. There are 62 counties in New York State. They are different in many ways but one of those ways are they have all different lengths and widths. By studying counties, researchers can ask why different counties have different environmental health issues.

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TimeLine County Timeline 350 million years ago Formation of the Catskills Mountains which run through most of Onondaga County. 1600s Onondaga Indians lived in Onondaga County near Onondaga Lake. 1700s 1772: Herkimer County was founded 1794: Onondaga County formed from Herkimer County

Parts of a County: Habitat In Onondaga County there are many habitats. The Onondaga County Lake has endangered species like the bog turtle. Onondaga Lake is a place where animals live. There is an ongoing problem in Onondaga Lake about pollution, and the problem is trying to be fixed. One challenge in Onondaga County is the Onondaga Lake pollution. It had a major impact on amphibians and reptiles in their number diversity and location. The animals were found only in water and land habitats that were not in contact with Onondaga Lake waters. Onondaga Lake has been called the most polluted lake in the US. Much of the water’s intake includes very filthy water from the nearby cities. The Onondaga Lake water problem can be fixed and is being fixed by the Onondaga Lake partnership. They are monitoring chemical, physical, and biological elements in the watershed. The program assesses a number of the lakes, wildlife tracking, fish and plants

Parts of a County: Water One water resource in my county is Onondaga Lake. The development patterns have impacted the water quality in the lake. One challenge for water in Onondaga County is the water quality. The water quality in Onondaga County has been and still is an ongoing problem. The Water Environment Protection volunteers went down to Onondaga Lake and tested the water. The water comes out polluted. Water monitoring and filtering in the water can be done to protect the water. Water monitoring sees how the water improved or decreased. Also, filtering so people can drink the water. Image: A bog turtle, native to Onondaga Lake. Image from Wikipedia.

Parts of a County: Waste One water resource in my county is Onondaga Lake. The development patterns have impacted the water quality in the lake. One challenge for water in Onondaga County is the water quality. The water quality in Onondaga County has been and still is an ongoing problem. The Water Environment Protection volunteers went down to Onondaga Lake and tested the water. The water comes out polluted. Water monitoring and filtering in the water can be done to protect the water. Water monitoring sees how the water improved or decreased. Also, filtering so people can drink the water. Water monitoring at Onondaga Lake. Image from:

Parts of a County: Energy In my county non-hydro renewable is equal to the national average. The hydro is 28.2 % with the national average at 6.2%. In my county coal is 15.32% compared to the national coal production of 44.82%. My county energy mixture of nuclear, oil, and gas is comparable to the national average. One challenge in my county is to decrease coal, gas, and oil consumption. All forms of electricity have some level of environmental impact. The challenge is the small amount of usage of renewable sources such as solar and wind. A challenge is educating the county on reducing emissions through actions like changing light bulbs, using less water, and recycling. The EPA's clean energy programs are designed to help energy consumers in all sectors. By improving the knowledge about clean energy technology to the citizens, hopefully, will increase the renewable energy. This will bring the usage down of coal, gas, and oil.

Parts of a County: Industries One Industry is the Health care industry; this industry provides jobs for the county and medical attention for the sick. From 2007 to 2011 educational services, healthcare and social assistance sectors employs 29.31% of Onondaga County. Another industry is retail trade, which is the second largest employer in Onondaga County. The food service is the most popular stores in the industry. Onondaga County has 36 manufacturing plants, including meat and dairy processers, bakery, and beverage bottlers. Manufacturing is 6% in Onondaga County indicating food processing is more important to local economy, which is 4% state wide. One challenge in the health care industry is pollution because people can get sick from the pollution if the ingest it. This industry could cause pollution, consuming large amounts of energy, and gas emissions. Another challenge in the retail trade is that they don’t have enough stores or money for purchasing their products. Poverty is an issues in Onondaga county. 10% of families live below poverty and in the city of Syracuse poverty is 27.42%. How to solve the pollution problem is to have the hospitals join the Water Environment Protection program. The WEP aims to reduce pollutants discharged from industries. How to solve the retail trade problem about no stores or money is build stores to make more jobs so people have money. Or you can higher the minimum wage.

Background My county was founded on March 12, It was founded because Albany County split into three parts. Onondaga County was organized on June 6, The County was formed from Herkimer. The county is 781 square miles. The county seat is Syracuse. It was called Onondaga County because of the Native American tribe called Onondaga Tribe. The Onondaga Tribe was in Onondaga County. The Onondaga Tribe originally lived in New York State. Many Onondaga Tribe people still live there today, though others fled to Ontario, Canada in the 1700s. The Onondaga Tribe had its own government, laws, police, and services just like a small country. Most people speak English today, but their native language is Onondaga. Onondaga men were in charge of hunting and war. Onondaga women were in charge of farming, property and family. Both genders took part in storytelling, art and music and traditional medicine. The Onondaga people lived in longhouses, which were large wood-frame buildings covered with sheets of elm bark. These longhouses were up to 100 feet longs, and each one housed an entire clan (as many as 60 people).

Recommendations Climate Change The climate change is happening because people are burning more fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These gases are called greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide, a heat trapping gas into the atmosphere changing the climate. Warmer temperatures are causing melting glaciers and stronger storms. Impact In New York the fastest rising temperature was in 1970, with state temperature rising 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit and water warming 4 degrees Fahrenheit. The winter snow cover is decreasing and spring comes an average of one week earlier than it did a decade ago. By mid-century New York's winter temperatures are said to rise another 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit to 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and summer by 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit to 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Current global emissions of greenhouse gases could result in sea levels in New York to rise up to 31 inches. The winter snow cover will likely be reduced to affect the recreation industry. CONCLUSION It is important to study counties to learn from their actions and how they deal with important problems. Two key features in Onondaga County are Onondaga Lake and Syracuse. My county’s environmental health is bad because of all the pollution in Onondaga Lake and in Syracuse. The OCCRA is helping the environmental issues that face my county. The important environmental challenges in my county are changing the energy usage from coal to hydro renewable. I hope you visit Onondaga County sometime.

Sources Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: Native American Tribes of New York United States Environmental Protection Agency: oaspub.epa.gov epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/reduce.html epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-programs/index.html New York State Watersheds: Management, Monitoring and Assessment United States Census Bureau census.gov Onondaga County Government ongov.net Onondaga Citizens League Onondagacitizensleague.org Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: Waste in Onondaga County: Industries in Onondaga County: “2013 Onondaga County Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan” Cynthia B. Morrow, MD, MPH, Commissioner of Health Rebecca Shultz, MPH, Director, Bureau of Surveillance and Statistics published by the Onondaga County Health Department (2013). Onondaga County Department Of Water Environment Protection ongov.net/wep/aboutus.html