LBI Neighbors

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a large raptor Sometimes called a fish hawk, it is about two feet long with a large, curved wingspread of five feet. Ospreys hunt by soaring over the water looking for their prey. This swift bird dives feet-first into water to grab live fish, its main food. Long talons and barbed pads on its feet help it carry live, slippery fish back to the nest

Ospreys like to build their nest on very high man-made structures They migrate, usually to South America, for the winter. Pesticides and land development threaten osprey habitat.

See an osprey nesting at the LBI Foundation!

Famous Fish Hawk Osprey

Fossil fuels are a serious health hazard. The EPA reported that as many as 600,000 babies are born each year with irreversible brain damage because pregnant mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish. Most of the mercury in fish comes from the nearly 500 coal-burning plants that supply half the nation’s electrical power. The burning of fossil fuels is also responsible for creating fine-particle air pollution, linked with 17,000 premature deaths each year. Those at greatest risk are the elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory or heart disease. Fine particles are easily inhaled deeply into the lungs where they can be absorbed into the bloodstream or remain embedded for long periods of time.

Clean Energy Alternatives

We now know that fossil fuels are damaging our environment, our health, and our pocketbooks. The attraction of Bay-Friendly renewable resources such as geothermal, wind, and solar power to generate electricity has never been greater. Besides being clean and renewable, geothermal, solar, and wind power require no water to operate. Moreover, for every dollar spent on energy production, studies show that more people will be employed in the process than are currently. Fuel prices will also be more stable.

Solar energy is the most popular alternative on LBI. As of this writing, there are more than 70 installations on the Island. Solar cells (also known as photovoltaic cells, or PVs) convert sunlight directly into electricity. At current power costs, a solar installation will pay for itself in eight years.

Geothermal energy uses a pump to circulate a fluid deep underground where, on LBI, the Earth’s temperature is a constant 53

Do You Know?

By 2010 on LBI, you will begin to see plug-in hybrid cars, running partly on gasoline and partly on batteries that can be recharged.These cars will be able to get over 100 miles per gallon. By 2011, you just might be recharging the batteries in your hybrid with your own small wind turbine or your own solar panels.

degrees all year long. The fluid captures warmth from the ground and uses it to heat or cool buildings. President Bush’s home in Crawford, Texas, has geothermal heating and cooling. Closer to home, the Maris Stella Retreat and Conference Center in Harvey Cedars has two buildings that use geothermal and solar power. The Retreat’s geothermal heating and cooling system consists of ten 500-ft.-deep vertical wells. Each is ten inches in diameter and contains a closed-loop pipe. The system maintains a constant temperature. Although a small amount of electricity is needed to run the heat pump and circulating pump, no electricity or fossil fuel is required as backup. In fact, these frugal Sisters of Charity sell excess energy back to the grid.

Perhaps the alternative with greatest promise, especially on LBI, is wind power. Wind turbines have been popping up around the world at a steady clip. One-tenth of Germany’s power already comes from wind; still they plan to replace all their nuclear power with renewables, especially wind. Denmark, which today gets one-fifth of its energy from wind, plans to get half by 2030. Britain, where global warming has become a major issue, hopes to produce 20% of its energy from renewables, mainly wind, by 2020. The U.S. is currently the largest producer of wind turbines in the world, most of which are sold overseas. Europe’s installed wind generation capacity is four times greater than that of the U.S.

LBI has no operating wind turbines of any size. The reason stems from public confusion about just what a wind turbine is. It is important to understand that wind turbines come in all sizes. We’ve all seen the multistory megawatt turbines used by public utilities; there are several in Atlantic City. Wind turbines also come in the micro variety. There are small wind turbines—2 ft. in diameter—that are safe, clean, unobtrusive, and efficient. Many of these smaller Bay-Friendly wind turbines that are manufactured in the U.S. use vertical axis designs that catch wind from all directions, creating smooth powerful torque to spin an electric generator. While