Home › Local Realities and Personal Opportunities to Affect Environmental Concerns

Local Realities and Personal Opportunities to Affect Environmental Concerns

Local Realities and Personal Opportunities to Affect Environmental Concerns

ISSUE #42 – August 15, 2023

Editor’s Note

Multiple days of humid summer weather that reached above 90 degrees. Bursts of torrential rainstorms. Tornado warnings and watches. Whether you believe this is climate change or not, this is extreme weather, and it is weather that has been hitting New Jersey this summer. Scientists and over 175 nations worldwide agree that there are things that can be done to slow down or reverse the extreme changes in weather and better protect our environment. Do you?

In this August issue of Princeton Perspectives, we will take a look at some of the things that you, as an individual, can control if you want to, in Local Realities and Personal Opportunities to Affect Environmental Concerns. You can choose to read on with an eye on what changes others have made that you might want to try, or you may still find yourself with continued questions about the science of climate change. Either way, we hope that you will read on to learn more about our region of the state and country and what things are like here. Read more…

In This Issue

Perspectives Revisited

SPONSORED BY

The Pulse of Princeton: What’s something you’ve personally done to benefit the environment?

Perspectives Revisited

In the June 2023 issue, Trials and Tribulations Around Town: What’s the Best Way to Move Forward?, we shared some tips from the Princeton Police Department about things happening around town and the best ways to keep yourself safe in the article 21st Century Policing in Princeton Works to Build Relationships and Enhance Safety. Though not mentioned in that article, vehicle and home burglaries are two more things to be vigilant about. Since July 1st, there have been vehicle burglaries at 3 different Princeton residences and one shed burglary. At one of them, two vehicles were attacked at the same home, one in the driveway and another in the garage and the suspect used the garage door opener from one to access the other. All were left unlocked. Princeton Police Department’s Capt. Tash advises, “Make sure your cars are locked, even when parked in the garage. And even if the cars are locked, do not leave valuables in plains sight. Most of our vehicle burglaries are opportunistic crimes that may have been prevented if the doors were locked.”

Have you noticed spotted lanternflies in your neighborhood lately? Last summer, when they were simply everywhere, we wrote about them in the July 2022 issue Nuisance or a Necessity? Physical Changes You May Encounter Around Princeton in the article They’re Quieter and Prettier Than Cicadas, but Spotted Lanternflies are a Nuisance. In anticipation of their return this summer, the NJ Department of Agriculture offered grants to counties and municipalities to try and curb their infestation. A research project led by students at PRISMS hopes to have benefitted the Princeton area, too, because throughout the year the students have gone to private homes upon request, destroying eggs and setting up traps. If you haven’t yet seen nymphs (black with white spots) or mature lanternflies (red and black with white spots) you may be in luck, as those forms have arrived, with the adults with large wings due to appear this month.