Health, Safety & the Environment

Greenwich Times reported on 5/23/09 that parents of students at Western Middle School in Greenwich become enraged when school officials recommended cancelling the eighth grade field trip to Washington D.C., a traditional rite of passage at Greenwich middle schools.  School officials were acting on the recommendation of local and state health officials, and an independent health expert, who expressed concern about the spread of swine flu virus on the trip after a sixth grade student was diagnosed with the illness.  The view expressed by  some parents was that if their kids were going to be around other children anyway, better to exposed to flu gaping at our nation’s historic monuments. One mom said, “If you keep school open, you have kids [who may have been infected] sharing the same cafeteria, the same music room, the same gymnasium, so they’re much more likely to get sick. They’d be better off getting them out to Washington, D.C.”  What can these parents be thinking?   The Greenwich teachers who accompany the children to Washington,  D.C. should not be forced into the position of medical caretakers in the event that children were to become ill on the trip.  Having one, let alone several, children suffering from flu in a D.C. hotel (where the kids on these trips are bunked several to a room dorm style) places teachers in the  untenable position of dealing with a contingency for which they were not trained and  should not be required to suffer through.  If a child becomes sick at school, he or she can be taken care of at home.  If a child develops flu in D.C., the options are very different.  In this morning’s Time, a parent was justifiably upset at the loss of the several hundred dollars he had laid out for his child’s trip.  However regrettable this financial loss, the Town has acted responsibly and correctly.  Forget the legal liability issue.  It’s about personal responsibility!  As members of the Greenwich community, we all have an obligation to think about how our actions potentially affect others and to act accordingly.  Earlier in the week,  school officials  were informed too late that a student tested positive for an unknown strain of flu (which turned out to be swine flu) had been permitted by his parents to join classmates on a sixth-grade field trip.  Unfortunately, neither the child’s physician nor parents informed the school that the boy was ill.   I am sure that the sixth grader in question pleaded with his parents to be permitted to attend the field trip (or maybe the field trip took place on the au pair’s day off), but in these situations personal responsibility demands that we all think about how our actions can influence others.  The child should have stayed home from school and the school should have been alerted.  Greenwich is a wonderful community. It would be an even more wonderful community if we all supported our school officials when they have to make their most painful  decisions on health and safety issues and if we, as parents, recognized that we have duties and obligations as citizens that we can’t ignore….ever!

For mass transit to work along the U.S. 95 corridor between Greenwich and New Haven, it must be quick, reliable and reasonable in cost.  Commuters who presently drive to work are not going to lured from the expressway if there isn’t plentiful covered parking at the trains stations (for inclement weather) where they park and reliable bus service on the other end to convey them to their office buildings.  I agree with Lile Gibbons, Greenwich’s state representative, when she offers her support for installing EZPass tolls along Connecticut’s highways.  But I part company with Ms. Gibbons when she urges that toll monies collected be deposited into the state transportation fund to improve our highways.  Well-maintained highways are certainly necessary to the public welfare and Connecticut’s highways could use the money.  But imagine what it will be like 10 years from now sitting in traffic on U.S. 95 if there is no improvement in mass transit!  No matter how much toll money is collected, U.S. 95 will remain a nighmare until drivers find another means of getting to work.  Toll monies should be placed in a fund dedicated to improving mass transit and getting us off U.S. 95.  If the State is going to tax drivers  for using the highways, it might as well put the money to judicious use.  It will take enormous political will and leadership from Hartford to commit to improving mass transit, but as conditions increasingly worsen on the roads, what alternative do we have?

In January, the Greenwich Planning & Zoning Commission (“P&Z”) denied a proposal by Aquarion Water Co. of Connecticut (“Aquarion”) to expand the size of an existing, but aging, water tank and construct a chemical storage facility at its Putnam Water and Filter Plant on DeKraft Road in mid-country Greenwich.  Aquarion is appealing the P&Z’s decision to the Department of Public Utility Control (“DPUC”), which regulates rates and services of Connecticut utilities.  According to Aquarion, the ancient 1920′s era plant and clearwell holding tank are far below industry standards and cannot adequately serve the 52,000 people the utility services in Greenwich and Westchester.  Aquarion’s Press Release indicates that the proposed work will cost some $25,000,000.  For their part, area homeowners believe the proposed facility is too large for the existing site on Butternut Hollow Road and that their homes are not adequately shielded from the proposed expansion.  Based upon the facts reported in this morning’s Greenwich Time, it is fairly clear that Aquarion has a legitimate need to upgrade its operation to better service the community.  However, there is a perception, accurate or not, that Aquarion has not been responsive to the homeowners’ concerns on the plant issue.  Our experience in these types of disputes is that effective corporate communication and outreach can go a long way to resolving homeowner disputes.  First Selectman Peter Tesei has asked DPUC to deny Aquarion’s appeal of P&Z’s ruling.  Tesei was troubled that there had never been effective dialogue between Aquarion and its neighbors.  Did Aquarion “reach out” to the Town, an important stakeholder,  before Tesei came out on the side of the residents?  George Logan, Aquarion’s embattled Director of Capital and Planning, apparently did meet with the Town and neighbors before the P&Z plans were filed and, according to Logan, Aquarion’s proposed plan was modified as a result of that meeting.  However, if this plant expansion is as important as Aquarion claims it to be, the Company should be doing a better job of listening and communicating.  At the very least, establishing a better record of communication with residents would be helpful from an Aquarion public relations standpoint. Arguments in the case begin Thursday at DPUC’s offices in New Britain, far from Butternut Hollow Road.  It is unfortunate for both Greenwich homeowners and Aquarion that the resolution of the problem has been taken out of their hands and given over to the lawyers upstate.  An opportunity for effective dialogue with homeowners in Greenwich has apparently been lost, at least for the present.  Disputes over the siting of facilities or the expansion of existing facilities can often be effectively addressed through dialogue.  We all have an interest in receiving plentiful and affordable water in our community.  Let’s work harder to resolve these issues through face-to-face negotiaton.

Citing concerns over exposure to swine flu, a Greenwich private school, Greenwich Academy, cancelled an upcoming fourth grade field trip to New York City, according to the Greenwich Time. Will GA parent take a cue from the school and cancel planned family outings this weekend to the theatre and the ball park? Has GA taken to heart Vice President Joe Biden’s advice to his family that he would not fly on a commercial airline or ride the IRT subway in Manhattan to avoid contracting illness?   Biden’s website does not report on last week’s flu gaffes and correctly links readers to authoritative sources of scientific information about swine flu.  Reasonable precautions that families can take to protect themselves from flu are discussed in a thoughtful article by Lauran Neergaard that appeared in the Greenwich Time last week.  Her common sense advice. Cover your coughs and sneezes, with a tissue that you throw away or by sneezing into your elbow rather than your hand. (Yuck!)  Wash hands frequently; if soap and water are not available, hand gels can substitute. Stay home if you’re sick and keep children home from school if they are.

In the absence of any new news about swine flu, some television news programs are running stories that may be generating as yet unwarranted public concern about the health risks posed by  swine flu and the immediacy of those risks.  In confronting any potential health concern, it is vital that the public seek responsible sources of information and tune out everything (and everyone) else!  In this morning’s New York Times,  Tara Parker-Pope has authored a thoughtful health column titled “Worry? Relax? Buy Face Mask? Answers on Flu“  Perhaps the most important point she makes is that  swine flu, although it may be formally classified as a “pandemic“, is a fairly mild form of flu from which most patients make a full recovery.  Of course, any kind of flu is a significant health concern, particularly for at-risk groups, such as seniors, young children and people with weakened immune systems.  During the average flu season, Ms. Parker-Pope reports, 150 people succumb to the flu every day during flu season.  This statistic, although not comforting, offers some perspective on flu concerns in general.  This new flu bug has raised red flags among health officials, however, because it is comprised of four genetic elements, rather than the customary two, and has been shown to infect large numbers of people quickly.  Some health experts have raised a concern that this relatively mild flu strain may evolve into a more virulent flu next Fall.  However, based upon all of the scientific evidence analyzed to date, there does not appear to be any imminent risk at the present time.  If there is an even a remote likelihood of this aberrant strain of flu evolving into a more serious flu at a later date, our government should have months to prepare a response and initiate appropriate precautionary measures.  Tired of conflicting media reports about flu risk?  Check out the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) web-site for your best up-to-date authoritative information on flu prevention and response.

A great resource for information on Connecticut energy issues is the Connecticut Energy Guide published by the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (“CTLCV Education Fund”).  It provides both homeowners and businesses with good tips for reducing their energy usage and energy costs.  For example, if you install solar electric or solar water heating systems in your home, you may be eligible for a partial federal tax credit and a  sales and use tax exemption from Connecticut.  If the perusing the Energy Guide whets your appetite for a more indepth analysis of ALL of the environmental issues facing Connecticut residents  today, take a look at the Connecticut Environmental Briefing Book, which is another publication of the CTCLV Education Fund.  The briefing book, which is prepared in conjunction with environmental groups throughout the state, lays out in detail all of the policy issues involving our state’s natural resources. It discusses everything from beverage container recycling to clean cars.  The Briefing Book is required reading for every state legislator and grass roots activist. The mission of the CTLCV Education Fund, 501(c)(3)  is to strengthen Connecticut’s environmental movement through education and by involving citizens in state and local public policy decisions regarding the state’s natural resources.  Altlhough the CTLCV Education Fund, and its sister organization, CTLCV, which is directly involved in electoral politics, often fly under the public’s radar screen, elected officials are well aware that their failure to obtain CTLCV’s endorsement at election time can make or break their candidacy among environmental voters.