Sustainability

Sustainable Agriculture and Projects

Since 2012, the NCSS has been supporting Hofstra’s sustainability program’s student community garden. In May 2019, they installed two raised beds, one of which is wheelchair accessible (click here for more). Over the last five years, Hofstra University has hosted three food conferences and established an active Slow Food chapter in 2018. Hofstra also has a popular food studies minor program. Recently, Hofstra partnered with Elija Farm to conduct a feasibility study to establish a Farm-to-School program using Hofstra’s greenhouses. Annetta Centrella-Vitale is the coordinator of all things related to our agricultural programs.

LINAP Collaborative Project

Through a partnership between Hofstra University and the Town of Hempstead (ToH) Department of Conservation and Waterways, a water quality grant was awarded through the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP) initiative to continue and expand water quality monitoring that the ToH has performed for approximately five decades. In addition, Hofstra University and the ToH are analyzing historic water quality records for trends and gaps using advanced geostatistical time series analysis. This program provides a cost-effective means to monitor nitrogen inputs to the south shore of Long Island. The collaborative project is led by Dr. Steve Raciti, Department of Biology at Hofstra University.

Long Beach Sun-posium Event

The City of Long Beach and Hofstra University’s sustainability program partnered to present the Long Beach SUN-posium in October 2018 at the Long Beach Library Auditorium. The free event included a panel of environmental experts that discussed various local initiatives focused on energy, water, and waste, followed by a public Q&A session. Participants learned about solar rooftop research conducted in Long Beach (led by Dr. Sandra Garren, director of Sustainability Research at the National Center for Suburban Sustainability); the city’s sustainability initiatives; and energy program incentives offered by various agencies including PSEG-LI, Green Homes Long Island, and Community Development Corporation of Long Island (Presentation).

Canada Geese on Long Island Study

In suburban Long Island, the conflict between the large Canada geese population and residents and business owners has received tremendous attention. While some of us enjoy these large birds in our coastal and natural settings, others of us find them a nuisance due to their waste, noise, and presence on our roadways and runways. This report, authored by graduate student Christina Knoll with Dr. Russell Burke, Department of Geology, and Robert Brinkmann, then director of Sustainability Research at the NCSS, provides an assessment of the history and status of Canada geese on Long Island. It includes current management strategies and policy initiatives along with recommendations and resources that will be of use to residents, wildlife managers, local officials, residents, and business owners across Long Island.

Streets Sweeping on Long Island: Understanding Current Practices

Street sweeping has become one of the most important tools for managing stormwater quality throughout the United States. How we manage street sweeping in our villages impacts stormwater pollution, waste management, and, of course, government budgets. While street sweeping is largely thought of as an urban issue, the number of suburban roadways regularly swept throughout the United States is staggering. Each day, fleets of street sweepers drive the suburban roads and cul-de-sacs of Long Island. Yet how do we manage street sweeping in Long Island? This report, “Street Sweeping on Long Island: Understanding Current Practices”, provides a starting point for better understanding suburban street sweeping and stormwater management. We hope that this project will be of use as we find ways to solve the vexing problem of non-point pollution on Long Island. The study was presented as part of a larger presentation on MS4 Stormwater Requirements at a Joint Protection Committee Meeting in Roslyn Harbor in May 2015 (Presentation).

Harvard Long Island Study

This creative and forward-thinking book, The Storm, the Strife, and Everyday Life: Sea Changes in the Suburbs presents the results of a design studio at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in fall 2014, under the supervision of Harvard Professor Daniel D’Oca. The studio, which was generously sponsored by the Horace and Amy Hagedorn Fund in the New York Community Trust, the Long Island Community Foundation, and the Rauch Foundation, invited graduate students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design to take stock of how Long Island is changing. Then, with advice from NCSS Executive Dean Lawrence Levy, who wrote a foreword to the book, the Harvard students used this research to work with community-based partners to help their communities confront today’s demographic and environmental realities.

Superstorm Sandy Evacuation Study in Long Beach, New York

Hofstra professors Dr. E. Christa Farmer (Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability), Dr. Mary Anne Trasciatti (Department of Rhetoric), and Dr. Elisabeth Ploran (Department of Psychology) conducted an interdisciplinary project analyzing how residents of Long Beach, New York, made decisions about evacuating ahead of Superstorm Sandy, which ravaged coastal areas of Long Island in October 2012. The project, “Evaluating Evacuation Decision-Making Processes Among Residents of Long Beach, NY before Superstorm Sandy: Lessons for the Role of Authority and Language in Storm Warnings,” was supported by a $121,286 grant from the Connecticut Sea Grant project (funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), as well as The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University®. The project includes conducting interviews with Long Beach residents, many of whom ignored warnings to evacuate for Superstorm Sandy, to determine the messaging and sources of information that carried the most weight in their decision-making.

Pulp and Paper Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study

In 2012, The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® was contracted by a major publication company to conduct an analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the pulp and paper industry. The study, “Comparative analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from the pulp and paper industry of selected countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America,” was led by then doctoral student, Sandra Garren with Dr. Robert Brinkmann, then director of Sustainability Research at the Center. The study evaluated GHG emissions from the loss of forests, the energy use of recycled paper products, and from transportation of recycled papers across oceans.

Long Island Demographic Change Studies

The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University® was contracted to provide demographic data to a banking client in three phases of study. The core research was presented at a national conference in 2013. The presentation includes a map series that shows the geospatial distribution of demographic change between 2000 and 2010 and considered total population, population change, young adults (aged 18 to 34), ethnic groups, and household income changes in communities across Long Island.

Introduction to Sustainability, by Dr. Robert Brinkmann, is the first major textbook to review major themes in the cutting-edge field of sustainability. The text includes material on the development of the field of sustainability; environmental sustainability issues like water, food, and energy; social sustainability themes like environmental justice and transportation; and economic sustainability topics like green businesses and economic development. Interspersed with many fascinating case studies and text boxes that encourage students to deeply explore the material, Dr. Brinkmann’s book allows students to see the world in new ways while also encouraging them to become part of the change needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the planet.

The Storm, the Strife, and Everyday Life: Sea Changes in the Suburbs - This creative and forward-thinking book presents the results of a design studio at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in fall, 2014, under the supervision of Harvard Professor Daniel D’Oca. The studio, which was generously sponsored by the Horace and Amy Hagedorn Fund in the NY Community Trust, the Long Island Community Foundation, and the Rauch Foundation, invited graduate students of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design to take stock of how Long Island is changing. Then, with advice from NCSS Executive Dean Lawrence Levy, who wrote a foreword to the book, the Harvard students used this research to work with community-based partners to help their communities confront today’s demographic and environmental realities.

Florida Sinkholes - This first comprehensive book about Florida sinkholes is an easy-to-follow guide to understanding how sinkholes form and what to do about them. City planners, construction managers, developers, and homeowners alike will find this book invaluable because of the heavy impact and increasing frequency of sinkhole formation in the state. Packing an abundance of sound scientific fact into frank, readable language, this book examines case studies of notable sinkholes, explains karst – the Swiss cheese-like formations of soluble rock that underlie Florida’s peninsula – and reviews practical concerns like structural damage, repairs, and insurance problems related to sinkholes.