Environmental issues in New York State include water, waste disposal, hydraulic fracturing,

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

, and invasive species.

Water

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

there are a multitude of water issues. In 2016 there was a harmful

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

(HABs). There are a multitude of bodies of water that are being affected by this for example,

Chautauqua Lake Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The lake is approximately long and wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately . The maximum depth is about . The shoreline is about of w ...

was reported with (HABs) as well as a high toxin report. In Cattaraugus County the

Allegheny Reservoir The Allegheny Reservoir (also known as Kinzua Lake and unofficially as Lake Perfidy) is a reservoir along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and New York, USA. It was created in 1965 by the construction of the Kinzua Dam along the river. Lake Per ...

* was confirmed with algal blooms but no toxins. There are many more than 50 affected by (HABs). In 1984, the "State Acid Deposition Control Act" (SADCA) required the reduction of SO₂ emissions from existing sources and further

NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropo ...

emission controls on new sources in New York State." Issues other causing and or helping the acid rain continue is power plants and automobiles. The environmental impact is eroding the ornamental facades, but it also messes with the sensitivity of an ecosystem like the Adirondack Mountains because the acid rains impacts the adequate soil buffering capacity to counter the acids deposited to it.

New York State's waste disposal management

There are a multitude of different types of waste that is disposed in York State some of them being

household hazardous waste Household hazardous waste (HHW) was a term coined by Dave Galvin from Seattle, Washington in 1982 as part of the fulfillment of a US EPA grant. This new term was reflective of the recent passage of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of ...

(HHW), construction and demolition debris,

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

/commercial waste, regulated medical waste, waste tires, used oil, and much more. Some of the issues that York State faces is there are so many different kinds of waste that needs to be disposed of and there is not enough room for it to go.

High-volume hydraulic fracturing

High-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York State(NYS) is no longer a problem but was earlier. Problems with this were contamination of drinking water. It polluted the air with tons of natural gas that was pumped from the ground. The drinking water at point was flammable when pedestrians and home owners would light their drinking water on fire. The smell of the gases impacted homeowners health very badly making some sick. But also it took up a lot of space and affected the living lifestyles of those that were near the sites where they pumped. Another impacted was habitat loss due to the large structures.

Air quality

According to the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History The organization was founded in 1904 to figh ...

's report ''State of the Air 2012'',

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

received a grade of 'C' for

ground-level ozone Ground-level ozone (O3), also known as surface-level ozone and tropospheric ozone, is a trace gas in the troposphere (the lowest level of the atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere), with an average concentration of 20–30 parts per billion by v ...

. That means Monroe County had four orange-alert days. That's up from the 2011 report when we had got an 'F'. Back in 2004, Rochester was ranked 43rd worst metropolitan area for air quality. (Dirty Air, Dirty Power.) And, the last time the EPA measured Monroe County for ground-level ozone in 1997, we received a 'marginal' grade, up from the previous 'non attainment' grade.

Invasive species

In New York State there are a multitude of different invasive species including the Asian carp, the

zebra mussel The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...

emerald ash borer The emerald ash borer (''Agrilus planipennis''), also known by the acronym EAB, is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia that feeds on ash species. Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed undern ...

purple loosestrife ''Lythrum salicaria'' or purple loosestrifeFlora of NW Europe''Lythrum salicaria'' is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Pr ...

, the

goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

and more. An unfortunate byproduct of world travel and trade is the introduction of unwanted invasive species. Shipping pallets and crates, luggage, the ballast water of boats and even people can unintentionally transport invasive plants, insects and diseases to new areas. Without knowing that they would become problematic, some species have been introduced intentionally for use in landscaping, agriculture and other purposes. Invasive species impact all aspects of life, from recreation to livelihood.

Spotted knapweed ''Centaurea stoebe'', the spotted knapweed or panicled knapweed, is a species of ''Centaurea'' native to eastern Europe, although it has spread to North America, where it is considered an invasive species. It forms a tumbleweed, helping to in ...

is an invasive plant that can take over crop fields, limiting crop production and feed for livestock.

Hemlock woolly adelgid The hemlock woolly adelgid (; ''Adelges tsugae''), or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera (true bugs) native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees (''Tsuga'' spp.; ''Picea'' spp.). In its native range, HWA ...

is an invasive insect that exfoliates and kills hemlock trees, a key species in maintaining important habitat along waterways.

References

{{Reflist Environmental issues in New York (state)