Poisoning the water in Tenafly, New Jersey, Bergen County, 07670

Walking along the Tenakill Brook, a feeder to United Water, the source of Tenafly's drinking water, the water that we use for cooking washing and all our other needs has once again been infused with an herbicide, a poison. which herbicide was used I cannot tell you. I was surprised to see the yellow border, a tell-tale sign of spray after reading an artticle in The New York Times about New Jersey's strict new rules regarding its water supply. The photograph was taken on Monday, April 23, 2012.
The herbicide is on the surface, but of course it washes down into the brook, a few feet away and it also leaches into the soil and reaches the water in that way. Tenafly's municipal government is responsible for this irresponsible act. Ultimately it is the consumer of the water who pays dearly. Disease may not be immediate, although it could be, but it affects all persons: the foetus in the womb, newborns, toddlers, mothers, fathers, the mature and older persons, indeed the entire population. Why has autism skyrocketed and other diseases? Environmental factors are causative agents and if a person's genetic make-up predisposes her/him to a particular disease, this insidious malign chemical (s) may well damage the person in later years. And then who is to say what "caused" the cancer or the disease the person is burdened with. No one will know what happened to the water in the Tenakill Brook in Tenafly in April 2012.

Polluted Drinking Water: Tenafly, NJ, 07670 PETROCHEMCALS

I was almost felled by the stench of gasoline and or other varietites of petrochemicals that were leaking into the Tenakill Brook, Tenafly, NJ 07670, heading directly to United Water, where our town's water is processed for drinking, bathing and other uses in our homes. This is truly dangerous; a carcinogen and deadly. If the fumes were sufficient to make me feel faint, what happens when some of these chemicals remain in the water and we ingest them? Would you feed your baby, toddler, adolescent gasoline? Would you drink it and would you give it to an ill or elderly person. Clean our waterway and stop dumping these chemicals into the Tenakill Brook. Now that we have rid ourselves of geese let us turn to the pollutants that befoul and poison our water.

Telephone Wires Above Ground, Telephone Wires Below Ground

Manhattan, NYC, Broadway, 109th Street looking north
Tenafly, New Jersey, looking east, November 1, 2011

storms, wind storms, hurricanes, lightning, and almost all meteorological phenomena almost invariably cause power failures in the suburbs. no heat and no light for days (still counting in Bergen County since the 31 October, 2011 storm. yet the power companies, the utilities, rake in huge profits. too costly they argue to place the lines underground. but we are living in the 21st century, yet our streets in the suburbs and in rural areas resemble the nineteenth century. why are so many European countries, for instance The Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, to name only a few, free of these anachronisms? why should customers pay the incredibly high rates charged for power services when the grids always fail, the lines collapse, the posts keel over. it is time for a change and that change should be now.

ALERT: Again, Pollution in Tenafly, Bergen County, N.J.

Seen on Monday August 22, 2011, in the Tenakill Brook. Petrochemicals floating on the surface. The Tenakill Brook is a feeding stream that United Water uses as a source of water for Bergen County. These chemicals are harmful to the environment and even trace amounts in drinking water have serious potential for contributing to myriad diseases, such as cancers and possibly to autism. Where do the petro--chemicals come from? It is said that people pour such matter into sewers. Is this true? Perhaps some of it leaks from gas stations , but a considerable amount is on roadways, where trucks leak gasoline as do cars. This washes into roadway drains, and thence feed into streams, such as The Tenakill Brook. What can be done to solve the problem? Surely, not acknowledging that a problem exists is not a solution.

The petrochemicals are visible in the slick areas, where grey matter is visible.

The measure that is visible in the first picture was introduced to record water levels. It was never used, apparently, and over years has declined to the right and has long been a collector of debris that has accumulated around it. It has been noted. When Rutgers University sent teams to study water in Tenafly for pollutants, in particular E Coli, the measure was pointed out to them, but it was not removed. It was also brought to the attention of Tenafly and it still remains in place. Why?

Tenafly Commons: Pollution in Bergen County, 07670

Tenafly has grown a barrier around its Pond to hide pollution, I believe. Originally the idea was to prevent water fowl, that may carry the bacterium e coli from swimming in the Pond by planting bushes and flowers around the pond's perimeter. But the fowl are long gone, eaten by hawks and killed by chemicals and other pollutants in the water. What Tenafly has lost is its Pond, one of the most charming aspects of The Commons, the one park where old and young, visitors and residents, could relax and recreate. When I moved to Tenafly in the early 1970s a few ducks swam in the water in the spring and summer and in the winter the pond froze, making it a lovely natural skating area, used by many of the families of Tenafly. It gave the town an old- fashioned "homey" feel that has been lost as more and more fenced in areas have taken away what was once a the pastoral, the ideal of the greater garden designer Frederick Law Olmsted.

The town residents were never told or consulted about the municipal government's plans for the Pond. But now its policty is apparent. Plants and trees sown in fall 2010 that are inhospitable have completely encircled the pond and threaten to make the pond a marsh as the plants advance into the water. Trees resembling locusts are covered with piercing thorns; wild asters are rampant. Lovely to look at in the early fall, when blossoming, the asters are a menace once the flowers drop and the seeds appear. These too are sharp and attach to clothing and to fur. The height of all these plants is astounding and the pond now can only be viewed from bridges at the east and west ends of the pond. (It is ironic that Tenafly's presence on the Web shows the Pond with cherry trees in bloom and the water clearly visible from all sides.) Pity the child who wanders into this 6 six- foot high jungle and cannot find a path out. How terrifed that youngster would be, especially if it wandered towards the water and fell into the pond. It could not be seen and its parents would be horrified by what had transpired. In fact the paths are gone that ringed the pond last year. Apparently no thought was given by the Town Council, the Mayor and garden maintenance to what could happen, what dangers existed in this absurd growth. If the aim was to prevent refuse from falling into the pond, the plan has failed. There is refuse at present; the same plastic bags and bottles are still bobbing around in the water and green tennis balls too. The oxygen in the pond is low as algae bloom attests and as always there are chemical flows that can be observed on the water's surface. As the Council and Mayor may know, the wildlife that once lived in the pond is dead and despite the attempt to plant some flowers to "prettify" the greenery, the birds that once lived in the pond area are gone as are the turtles, the fish--except for a few goldfish that were dropped into the pond to give it a semblance of life-- and most notable of all is the loss of butterflies. These have been eaten by carnivorous dragon flies. Yes there are many bees and that is a good thing, but for most persons who would like to look at the water as they were once able to do, the bees will certainly give them pause. Local towns such as Demarest have solved the goose problem and today their waterway, the Tenakill Brook, looks lovely. The government in Demarest planted aroudn the perimeter but did not use overkill to keep the birds at bay. Tenafly has gone over the top and now we truly have a mess that few in Tenafly enjoy. How many people want to see "weeds" where once they could sit at their ease and gaze at the floating world, the water with all its reflections.

The Dead Heron (Blue Heron?): seen on 3/2/2011: pollution

The dead Blue Heron encountered on the path alongside of the Tenakill Brook, Tenafly 07670, Bergen County, New Jersey. (unable to examine bird scientifically, I am not certain that I have identified the bird correctly.) The body of the heron was not in the water but on the brook's bank. Had it returned to the brook from a winter stay elsewhere or did it live through the eternal winter of 2010-2011 in Tenafly, managing somehow to survive the ordeal of cold, snow and ice? Such birds can overwinter, surprisingly. Holding my dog on a lead while I photographed was difficult, since she wanted to inspect the stream although I doubt that the dead animal would have interested her. From prior experience, I have learned that well-nourished pets will avoid close contact with a dead animal, although if the creature has been torn apart, it might try to snatch a fragment of the carcass. I show the find spot and pollutants in surrounding water. What cannot be doubted is the presence of gasoline: its noxious but beautiful "rainbow" color. Why is so much petroleum visible in the water? It is said by Tenafly's Newsletter to originate from the disposal of gasoline into the sewer system. But this is dubious. Who today in Tenafly is an self -made auto mechanic? Far more likely are gas stations and petroleum /gasoline leaks from vehicles. This matter runs-off from pavement into sewers. But the greatest amount may not be from leaky cars in this town, but from heavy vehicles used by various public services: snow removal trucks, leaf removal trucks and so forth. I cannot count how many times I have seen such vehicles leave behind a trail of petroleum. It is time for Tenafly and neighboring towns to check town vehicles and fix them if in fact they are leaking this deadly matter. Carcinogens, that is agents that contribute directly to cancer, are present in vehicular fuel. If these poisons did not flow into the Tenakill Brook but miraculously disappeared the problem would be solved. But miracles are unknown in this realm. The Tenakill Brook carries gasoline and other pollutants into the water supply to United Water that provides water for this town and others in the region.

Is the heron "the canary in the mine?"

Death of a Tenafly Inhabitant: The Great Blue Heron. Pollution?

On March 2, 2011, I noticed that a body was lying on the bank of the Tenakill Brook, Tenafly, New Jersey, 07670. For so many years I had seen herons of this type walk in the brook and when approached they lift off, with a wing spread that was astonishing. It was Tenafly's Big Bird. Now it is no more. Unable to haul it away and do an autopsy, I could not determine why it had died: age, attack by another animal, disease or was it the pollutants in the brook that caused cancers or weakened the animal's immune system? Only a scientific examination could pinpoint its death. I mourn this beautiful creature, probably the last of its kind in Tenafly.

Pollution in Tenafly, New Jersey, 07670: wht a surprise

Tenakill Brook, near Middle School. Is this gasoline? It is going up the Tenaill to United Water, the source of our drinking water.

transfiguring what is: art and fact

The Tenakill Brook, Tenafly New Jersey, probably one of the most polluted water sources in Bergen Country, a source that is used by the company United Water to provide water to Tenafly, New Jersey (07670) and other nearby towns, can be transfigured by art, that is its appearance, but the water is no less harmful despite its transcendent aspect thanks to the magic of sunlight.

War: it is only a game when played in Tenafly, N.J. 07670

Preparing our future warriors at an elementary school in Tenafly, New Jersey, Bergen County, USA. Of course the children (most) in Tenafly do not know war at first hand, but so many children worldwide do. These boys are not blameworthy, but their parents are. Shame! I have not witnessed a mass exodus of Tenafly's citizens to join a theater of war. This toy is only a game, but may it not prepare the child for a world where "the other " is blown into bloody fragments through no fault of their own? A child caught in a zone where drones drop bombs has no role to play in making decisions which might cause her / his destruction. Those are the forgotten ones; the Tenafly children, on the other hand, expect to live a long life and threats to their safety are exaggerated, so much so that they cannot imagine a world where they are caught within a theater of war and experience the true terror of it. Let us not give our children these colorful but deadly models. Yes, you might say the toy does no harm and it is clear that the designers and manufacturers have taken safety into account. Yet how ironic it is that the bright cheerful colors, the colors of the disneyfied world make the very concept of such instruments of death cheerful.