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Time to rename it the Oily River?
By adamg on Tue, 12/10/2024 - 8:02pm
Near the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Ryan Hatcher went for a walk along the Fenway and Park Drive stretch of the Muddy River between 1 and 1:30 p.m. today, took some photos and reports on the headache-inducing smell:
Lots more signs of oil today compared to yesterday. Also there were a lot more impacted birds along the river when compared to yesterday. The smell of oil was very strong from 300 Fenway (Simmons) to the MFA. Enough to give me a headache.
There was no sign of mitigation crews in the area.
Hope this gets cleaned up soon, but all the incoming rain will likely just spread it around.
Oiled goose at Clemente Field:
GBH reported today that state environmental officials are still looking for an exact source of the oil, which entered the river near the northern end of Leverett Pond, across from the Brook House on the Brookline side.
Earlier:
Sunday: Oil flows into Muddy River on Boston/Brookline line, coating, endangering birds.
Monday: Wildlife rehabbers in hazmat suits, volunteers try to save more waterfowl from the Muddy River, which still reeks of oil.
Monday: Brookline says source of Muddy River oil leak still undetermined.
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Comments
How is heating oil still a thing?
It almost seems like coal now. I think there are like 3 people left in our neighborhood who still use it and haven't converted to gas.
Just seems to be standard practice to convert when your burner dies.
Not everyone's burner has died
And not all of us have access to gas (my end of my street doesn't). Not to mention that gas is also really bad environmentally (gas leaks all over the place) and every once again explodes rather impressively.
Newer options
Our gas burner became unreliable so we went for the minisplit installation incentives.
This has the added benefit of AC without all the noise.
Mini splits are better for the environment...
... but they are still noisy. Many in my neighborhood are significantly noisier than in-window AC units. At least from the outside, to all of us neighbors who have to listen.
If anyone out there is considering getting a mini-split, please be considerate enough to not put the external unit at the edge of your lot directly facing your neighbor's house. Noise pollution might not cause global warming but it's still very obnoxious.
okay!
Thanks for the suggestion. I have a neighbor who mows obsessively. He mows his tiny plot more than they mow Fenway Park. And he has a 747-level loud vacuum attachment.
I need some minisplits.
Nice if you have the money
A lot of housing in New England is heated with oil. The owners can't afford costly conversions.
Mass $ave
Mass $ave is your friend here. There's lots of money out there to convert people away from oil and gas. Low interest loans to help purchase and get it installed.
It's just a pain to get. Just alot of paperwork and running around. But a 20k heating system at a fraction of the cost.
Oh and part of this also will get them to pay for blow-in insulation, which is key to many homes in our area (including mine) that were built prior to 1945 with plaster and lathe (vs drywall and insulation).
It won't
It won't cover the costs to get many of these structures up to code as they need to be for blow-in insulation.
"a fraction of the cost" is not nothing. It's really disingenuous to scratch your head and say "gosh, why are people still using that dirty oil" when you just don't understand at all how few resources these people have.
No what is disingenuous
No what is disingenuous how you seem to comment on something that you clearly know nothing about. Please have a seat because you don't know.
I've gone thru this program and saved 10's of thousands of dollars. I am WELL aware of what it took to get it. Its clear you don't. It's a great program.
And why should Mass Save pay for this? It would be like ordering a gas stove from Home Depot, then telling home depot they have to pay to have the gas piping putting in order to install the stove. It just doesn't make any sense. They are just there for the stove, nothing else.
If the environment isn't setup to do something (construction wise), you need to remedy this issue first. This is YOUR problem, not Mass Save's. And frankly in terms of these 'issues' you speak of are related to very old electrical wiring, which should be replaced regardless because it is a huge fire hazard (let alone not really functional for modern day appliances). Your insurance company and/or municipality may force you to upgrade if you make any changes to your home. Simply put, you'd have to do this anyways at some point and find a way to pay for it. And frankly, having a home with this style wiring in this day in age.. its a known that at some point you will have to fix and or replace it.
And as far as "a fraction of the cost". Fine we can have no program and less people can switch. I'd rather have a program that helped me pay for *some* of the costs vs none. I have many friends out of state that I tell how I had the state pay for insulation and a new heating system for pennies on the dollar, and they all look at me with envy. We should be grateful we live in a state where there is funding to do so. Many do not.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Wow
What a list of things to do before Home Depot delivers a stove...
It's almost like you understand that there could be a lot of hidden costs to pay before someone even pays for the Home Depot stove... Yet you only talk about the pennies on the dollar... As if you are completely tone deaf to the FACT that some people don't even have 2 pennies after paying for the mortgage and taxes and such.
Oh, act your age
No reason why they should. But if you think about it for a minute and don't just fire from the hip, you'll probably figure out that it's money that many people don't have; hence the answer to the question "why are people still heating with oil?"
So, back home in Maine most
So, back home in Maine most people have oil because the cost of propane historically has been much higher, and there are few gas lines.
Lots of people have been adding Ductless Minis or in some cases Ducted HVAC Heat Pumps, but still have the Oil furnace for the sub 20F days. They may be somewhat less common than they used to be, but they still happen.
Some of the newest installs do an integrated propane system with the Heat Pumps where it transitions over when it gets to cold.
I think that if you have an Oil burner that is newish, its likely a better environmental plan to use Biodiesel / Bioheat until the burner dies, rather than incur the upstart and replacement cost for a gas system, especially with all the improvements coming in Heat Pumps these days.
Go to RewiringAmerica.com.
Go to RewiringAmerica.com. The rebates and credits for switching to a Heat Pump basically pay for installing one.
Probably better do it sooner than later. Can’t imagine Trump will let the serfs have anything nice.
I live near Forest Hills
I live near Forest Hills Cemetery and every night the geese fly back to this direction at night. Since this hazmat crisis, we have not heard or seen them. Good thing it is near Longwood Medical area for emergency medical care . Government sleeping at the wheel. Sinful and definitely criminal.
:(
I have no love for Canadian Geese but this makes me sad.
Poor bird, they don't deserve this. Not their fault
I'll donate the Dawn
If someone else gives it a bath.
Thanks, UHub
For continuing to cover this story.
Agree.
Agree.
I've looked at the other news sources in town and while they cover it. None of them are asking "Where is this coming from. Who's fault is it for this easily prevented environmental disaster"
Its sad that the media coverage amounts to "There was nothing that could have been done to prevent this"
inaccurate media bashing
I don’t know what news sources you are looking at but both major newspapers and all the local broadcast newsrooms I monitor daily (3 network affiliates + fox + 7) have brought up concerns of source and accountability wrt the spill - every day since it first occurred.
There’s plenty to critique about local media but I don’t think they’re downplaying this particular story.
(I also think your characterization of this mess as “easily prevented” is a bit overly optimistic.)
I wonder
How do you trace something like this?
Follow the sheen
Seriously. Put a camera in the culvert from which it poured into Leverett Pond and see where the oil sheen ends. Then see if there's a leaking tank there.
The birds were affected, not
The birds were affected, not “impacted.” It’s not too late to reverse course on “impacted,” “gifted” and the like.
impact
I think people like to write "impact" so that they don't have to remember whether they mean affect or effect.
We drive out of this valley
We drive out of this valley
Down to where the fields were green
We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh, down to the river we'd ride