Back in the Paddle Again

It has been a while since my last post. Unfortunately, numerous family issues have kept me from both my boat and my laptop, but after a difficult Spring, I am hopeful for a wonderful summer. After all, this summer will bring, among other things, Baby Paddler. Needless to say, my wife and I are very excited.

I have been in the boat quite a few times, mostly to relax, but I have numerous ideas for future posts.

The question that I am asked the most is "is the Hudson clean"? I always reply yes, but I will know for sure this summer. When I was a kid, a good friend of my family was an oceanographer who worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. He studied waterways all over the world. But if you would have asked him what his favorite study was, he would have told you about the research he did on the salt pond located behind his house. Following in his footsteps, I will be doing my own official study this summer - of the Hudson River. I will be looking at the health (or lack thereof) of the Hudson by studying and quantifying the dissolved oxygen, coliform, pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate levels, phosphate levels and turbidity of our waterfront. Think of it as a grown-ups science fair project. I will post all results right here on Hoboken Paddler.

And, of course, I will also be posting pictures of our ever changing waterfront.

NASA's View of Earth

On Thursday, President Obama addressed the United States about the future of NASA. That same day, European flights were grounded due to an Icelandic volcano eruption. There is a connection.

President Obama’s recent support for NASA has been met with many opinions about the direction of our space program. His vision for NASA includes a push to Mars in the next 25 years, continued support of current space science endeavors, and increased support for partnerships with private space organizations. It also includes the scrapping of the constellation program at a time when we are retiring the space shuttle program - and any chance of a return to the moon.

My opinion is that the space program is of utmost importance. It is my belief that one day – many years from now - when students learn about the great civilization known as the United States, the first bullet-point discussed will be the achievements of our space program - highlighted by our six visits to the moon’s surface. As stated previously on this blog, I believe that our country’s scientific endeavors are the key to our country’s economic power and future. I personally would like to see funding increase for NASA. I know that at this time many people are concerned about government spending, but spending on NASA (one tenth of one percent of our GDP) is one of our best investments.

What does this have to do with volcanoes in Iceland? NASA teaches us as much about our Earth as it does about space. Currently, the world is monitoring Iceland’s volcanoes from our space satellites and space station. Our understanding of the volcano, the glaciers that feed the large plume clouds, and the weather patterns that carry the ash, are all because we have funded NASA. American satellites will help scientists tell the world when it will be ok to return to air flight. They will also help scientists understand how the volcanic ash will affect our atmosphere and environment. Above is a satellite picture of the volcano from space.

Toll Brothers City Living

Available for immediate occupancy! These newly designed Toll Brothers ultra modern condominiums come complete with both electricity and plumbing. Toll’s signature square buildings highlighted by square windows situated on square parking lots - without any of those pretentious, interesting architectural features- virtually sell themselves. They tell you everything you need to know about the high quality that Toll Brothers' customers have come to expect. Pets allowed – especially feral cats. Free sleek, modern storage shipping containers also available for purchase and immediate delivery worldwide.

I'm where?

On Sunday, this baby seal was spotted in the Hudson. According to CBS news, the seal did not appear to be in distress. I hope it makes its way back to safety - and away from the prying eye of the Jersey City Paparazzi. Good luck little fella.

Paddler Politics

Lately, the only thing more unpredictable than the weather is politics. We have a liberal President who wants to drill off-shore, and a conservative governor who wants to protect our shore lines. Yes, you read that correctly.

Here’s my take on the drilling:
Our President is conceding to off shore drilling. This may be for multiple reasons. One, it is a gesture to reach across the aisle in an effort to drum up support for soon-to-be-released legislation on climate change. Face it, this keeps the “drill, baby, drill” conservatives happy. Two, Russia is already wild-catting our east coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Imagine a Russian version of Daniel Day Lewis' character in There Will Be Blood: “I drink your milkshake”! Although it will take years before any oil comes online from this endeavor, this is a huge environmental gamble for our president. There are millions of acres off our coastline and 130 more million acres of arctic land at stake. I’ve always been a supporter of Mr. Obama, but hope the decisions he makes today aren’t regrettable years from now.

How do you make a conservative governor an environmentalist? Simple, have the democrats propose off-shore drilling. Come on, Chris Christie, now isn’t the time to be a hypocrite.

I know I’m an environmentalist, and I know I lean slightly left, but remember, I also pay taxes (a lot of taxes) in this city and state. So here are a few opinions on the topic of spending:

On union contracts – both locally and state-wide:
I admire Chris Christie’s attempts to cut state spending. Our largest costs, simply, are our state and local workers – from teachers to fire fighters. Gov. Christie has been getting photo-ops in municipalities that have had their unions cut or freeze spending. I personally think that in this time of recession (which, in my opinion, would have been a depression if not for the actions of our president) the local labor unions should take pay freezes. Whenever times are tough, we expect our unions to take pay cuts, though I also believe that when times get good again, we should say these same people deserve increased pay. So that is what I am proposing. Unions should take the cuts now, but have an incentive for when the good times return. Is it that hard to have pay increases written into contracts that are equal to the rate of inflation?

On the Tea Party:
The tea party's arguments would hold more water if only they were throwing tea into rivers when the previous presidential administration was running up a seven trillion dollar debt. I'm all for fiscal responsibility, but the party's hypocrisy is laughable.

On local politics:
I did it. I watched all five hours of channel 78’s coverage of March 17’s city council meeting. I’m disgusted – and not just because the meeting went on until 2am. Dawn Zimmer and Beth Mason were supposed to be the type of politicians that would change Hoboken for the better. Instead they bicker and attack each other through talking heads like Michael Lenz, Hoboken Revolt, and Lane Bajardi.

The truth is, the budget couldn’t be fixed in a year. A 25% tax decrease was not only improbable, but impossible. Dawn Zimmer should never have promised such a decrease knowing full well it could not be delivered.

Believe it or not, I think the politicians of our city (Dawn Zimmer, Beth Mason, Michael Lenz, Michael Russo, Lane Bajardi [he's not an elected official - yet], in particular) are all very intelligent AND well intentioned. Further, I think the city is on the right track.

I hope that our elected officials can put their differences aside and get our taxes under control. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to move to another town - and paddle in rivers free of tea and oil!

A River Runs Through It

Norman Maclean said "eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it". In this case, the river was the Passaic.

The Passaic River floods at a depth of seven feet. This week, the Passaic River was twelve. The flooding has left thousands of homes underwater. Watching the images of people escaping their Little Falls homes by boat should be a reminder to our politicians that green space needs to be protected now. How much are we going to spend on the numerous “state of emergencies” caused by floods before we realize that rivers like the Passaic are the watershed of our highlands? Approximately, 1,000 square miles of runoff flows from Northwest New Jersey into rivers like the Passaic.

New Jersey, in an effort to increase local town and county tax revenues, has permitted vast amounts of construction – homes, malls, commercial buildings, parking lots, and roads- in the New Jersey highland area. This has caused an increase in the rain and snow run-off into our small rivers and tributaries. Further, the water flows over more pavement and concrete – making our creeks, rivers, and oceans dirtier than ever. The soil and plant-life that normally cleanses the water naturally is no longer there.

We must preserve what remains of our highlands and open green spaces. To learn more and do your part, click here.

Sadly, the flooding isn’t going to get better, but it can get worse. It is time to protect our highlands.

Time to Build an Ark (...or Buy a Good Umbrella)

Hoboken hates rain. It's infrastructure, roads and sewer lines originally built on wetland, were never intended to house 40,000 plus people in 5 story condos. There is little drainage (i.e. green space), and when the river is at high tide (see tide chart to the right), there is no place for the water to go. That is the reason the water table is so high in the west end that I could kayak to Fiores.

To make matters worse, there was another article in this week's Reporter about the cost of fixing the rotting piers - currently projected to be 12 million dollars. Couldn't anyone have foreseen the inevitable collapse of piers built on the wooden pylons from 10o years ago? The erosion from rain only exacerbates the problems with our piers.

I know we don't live in Seattle, but the windy rains we get living next to the big river are strong enough that you would think Hobokenites would invest in one very important item - a good, strong umbrella. Nothing has been funnier in the last few days than watching people huddle under their wonky chinatown special, metal poking out in all directions. People, buy a good umbrella! It is worth investing in quality materials that last a long time. Do you hear that, Mayor?

Warm Wishes

I have a ski day planned for Wednesday, but today's 40 plus degree weather is reminding me that spring is around the corner. My New Zealand friends are probably laughing that 40 degree weather would cause thoughts of sunny days of t-shirts, but those who live north of the equator know this winter has been brutal. Washington Street is packed with strollers (people walking slowly) and strollers. It is a great day. The snow is melting quickly. I'll be back in the Hudson in no time.

Snow Day!

There are few things I enjoy more than a snow day! The storm (don't call it a blizzard) that came to Hoboken last Wednesday left us all reminiscing about days sledding, hot chocolate, and snow ball fights. And although I spent my snow day in a much more refined way than I would've in childhood, snow days still bring me the same excitement I had 30 years ago.

Living in Hoboken makes snow days even better! My wife and I walked to Anthony Davids for brunch (pic. above), and then watched movies throughout the afternoon. It was such a good day, I decided to spend the next day skiing!

So fingers crossed- they are calling for six more inches of snow on Monday night!

Some Things Change, Some (Must) Stay the Same

The needed changes to the Hoboken Waterfront, especially near Stevens, are long overdue. I am excited that Stevens has decided to finally clean up their most expensive piece of real estate and, better yet, make the waterfront more accessible for residents. So far, they have removed the large experimental tower. I only hope that they don’t continue to build upon the old wooden pier structures. Above and below are a few pictures I took today of the area surrounding Steven’s waterfront. (The picture at the bottom was taken from the mural above.)

Last night I saw a show at Maxwells. Maxwells is one of many reasons I love living in the mile square city. It is one of those places that provides a pulse to the otherwise lifeless establishments of Hoboken. There are others, of course – D.C.’s, Louise and Jerry’s, Empire Coffee, the studios at Newman Leather, Grimaldi’s- to name a few. But last night was disappointing. Let’s face it, New Jersey has its reputations and stereotypes for a reason. And unfortunately, last night, those stereotypes were standing next to me at a sold out show. They were drunk, wore too much perfume, talked loudly, and wouldn’t shut their mouths for the entire show. I know that Hoboken has more than its fair share of these people, but I always thought they would keep to the establishments that cater to them – like the places that offer flipcup tournaments. I’d like to think that the places that made Hoboken a destination in the first place will continue to be patronized by those who appreciate them. And the rest can practice flip cup.

Small City, Big Business

Barnes and Noble in Hoboken is closing. I am sure many in town are not surprised. After all, the high cost of Hoboken commercial real estate, extremely deep discounts offered by competitors on books, and the recent popularity of electronic books- all created the perfect storm- large enough to blow the bookstore giant from our landscape.

And (with my condolences to its workers) I say good riddance!

Barnes and Noble is the perfect example of what is wrong with large corporate America taking advantage of our little city. Big box retailers are happy to come to town when times are good and their incredibly bottom-line driven procedures provide retail services as long as they stay far enough in the black. However, as soon as times get tough, they pull up the tent and skip town. And why shouldn’t they? They have no ties to our city. The executives that made the decision to close Barnes and Noble don’t live in Hoboken. They never will. Nor will they care about its residence or the town’s long-term economic stability.

I am always frustrated when I hear fellow Hobokenites wish for big box retailers like Gap or Banana Republic to come to town. They are too short-sighted to realize they too will stay only if times are good, put out businesses that otherwise would have grown, and leave town as soon as they enter the red.

I am not saying that any bookstore could’ve survived in this economic landscape. I also know many people liked shopping at Barnes and Noble. But I hope Barnes and Noble's closure reminds us how important it is to support those shops who have shop owners who live among us. Put simply, shop at stores who care about Hoboken.

I should also add that this should be a lesson to Hoboken’s commercial real estate landlords hoping to cash in on big box retailer profits. If a retail giant like Barnes and Noble can go out of business and that doesn’t scare you back down to earth – and get you to appreciate a reasonable monthy rent and long term lease- nothing will. Your property too can sit empty for years- like the space that occupied Ted and Joes restaurant. What a shame.

Bottom line- buy local- and now buy books at Symposia. You’ll be glad you did.

P.S. For more stories on the local economy, you might want to check out my friend’s blog.

Haiti and Hope

I am attaching today’s NYTimes Science Times article on the Caribbean tectonic plate. It explains why the Haiti Earthquake happened- and why it was so devastating. I also want to attach another article – one more hopeful- about two Haitian orphans who were adopted in the aftermath.

A Sunny Solution to Everything

Thomas Friedman's opinion today in the New York Times is everything I want to say on this blog, albeit written much better. He states:

"...I am more convinced than ever that when historians look back at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, they will say that the most important thing to happen was not the Great Recession, but China’s Green Leap Forward. The Beijing leadership clearly understands that the E.T. — Energy Technology — revolution is both a necessity and an opportunity, and they do not intend to miss it.

We, by contrast, intend to fix Afghanistan. Have a nice day."

Many people in the United States want our government focused on one task, a solution to fix our economy and put people back to work - and rightfully so. As someone who studied more Darwin than Keynes in college, I admit that my few hours listening to Bloomberg Radio in no way make me an economics expert. But here is what I know: We cannot simply save ourselves out of a recession. We must spend money. And if we are to spend our way out of this, then let us spend money on solutions that create real jobs. The Chinese understand this. Why don't we? There should be no reason why we are not the world leaders in wind, solar, nuclear, and alternative energy technologies.

Here are some difficult facts to swallow: In the 1970's our country produced nearly 20 million new jobs. In the 1980's our country produced nearly 20 million new jobs. In the 1990's, you guessed it, our country produced nearly 20 million new jobs. The 2000's? Less than 500,000 new jobs were produced between 2000 and 2010. Moreover, many of the jobs produced in the last ten years were in the service industry, Starbucks and Walmart jobs. These jobs are unsustainable without a manufacturing foundation to our economy. With our nation's population increasing, this trend is troubling.

My humble opinion: our government resources must be placed in the hands of our scientists. Like the Apollo missions in the 1960's, a program that spun off millions of new jobs, the green revolution has the power to change the world, and the U.S. for the better. It will ideally accomplish the ultimate trifecta, create new jobs, decrease our dependence on world oil, and make the Earth a cleaner place to live. Moreover, it can provide incentive to our youth to focus their education into growing fields of study that our country so desperately needs - science, math, and engineering.

Can it really be as simple as "science is the answer"? I hope so. What can I say, I'm an optimist. I prefer kayaking, not dumping tea, in our waterways.

Merry Christmas and a Cleaner New Year!

The recent snow storm should not sway anyone from the facts pertaining to climate change. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, has increased from approximately 280 parts per million (ppm) in our atmosphere in the late 1800's to close to 400 ppm today. Average temperature, precipitation, and sea levels have all increased. They will continue to do so. Although not everyone agrees to what magnitude humans have influenced these changes, or how bleak our future looks because of it, it does not change the fact that each decade is getting, on average, warmer.

"Hope"enhagen, as many were calling it, did not pan out as many had, well, hoped. World leaders could not find much common ground. How could they? After all, many Americans are still ignorant to the fact that climate change is occuring at all, much less that we have anything to do with it. The United States produces the second highest totals of carbon, following China (China, and its billion plus people surpassed the U.S. in carbon emissions in 2006). The U.S. must lead the way, but our politicians, elected by naysayer constituents, will likely do little to nothing.

It is the holidays so I want to leave you with some good news. New Jeresy is doing more than most states. NJ is looking to trim its global warming pollution to 1990 levels by 2020, and by 80% by 2050. Further, most Hobokenites live simply, in small apartments, and have small carbon footprints. The average house in the US is over 2500 square feet, while in 1973, it was less than 1200 square feet. I know very few people living in Hoboken heating and cooling a 2500 square foot apartment. So feel good about the way you are living - and here's to a happy, healthy, and cleaner 2010!

The above Life photograph is of the Hudson frozen over. I remember this happening in 2000. Will it happen again this year?

Ski or Stay and Shop?

That was the decision I had to make on Sunday. I wanted to head out to PA and get in my first day of skiing this season. After putting my skis in the car, warming up with a cup of java, and filling up the gas tank, I headed out of town and into... rain. So the season is starting slowly. Really slowly. This time last year, I had made 100's of runs. It makes me more thankful for my days on the slopes in New Zealand this past August. I posted a pic. above of Mount Raupehu- where I skied the sides of an active volcano. Normally I post pics on this site for my readers. That one's for me. Here's hoping I'll be strapped to my planks soon.

After doing a U-eey at the NJ turnpike tollbooths, I decided that if I can't do want I want, ski, I might as well do what I have to. It's that time of year again. Time to head to the malls, the outlets, and the grocery store. Time to spend my hard earned cash. Time to go shopping.

If I had to rank every activity of my life on a scale of one to sucks, shopping would be close to sucks. Now, before you start thinking Christmas Grinch, I have sound reason for my angst. See, I'm the guy that stands in line behind the woman that buys a four dollar item that doesn't have a bar code, the guy behind the man at the Starbucks that can't decide what kind of tea he wants, the guy behind the lady who chooses to sign up for another credit card, and the guy at the deli counter waiting for the couple buying an 1/8 of a pound of 14 different meats.

I'm sure some of my luck has something to do with my lack of natural shopping savvy, though much of it has to do with where I shop. Living across from NYC, I shop at some of the largest and most populated places. So this year, I will do my best to grow my grinchy christmas heart. This year I have decided to limit my exposure to shopping mayhem. This year I am going to exclusively shop in Hoboken. I will support my local businesses while trying to maintain that elusive holiday spirit. Walking into Hoboken's "mom and pop" shops feels so much different than Macy's. And frankly, the gifts tend to be more thoughtful. So while we wait for snow, I'd suggest you do the same. Happy holidays!