Comments on: 30-Day Challenge: Triple Dog Dared–Now What?

By: Susan Polese

Susan Polese — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:30:34 +0000

I want to gear myself up to do just the same. The challenge for me is feeding my little ones (9 and 12) healthy stuff – bought locally – that they will like. Any suggestions my favorite food guru??? I’m sure others are faced with the same dilemma. – Susan Polese

By: Maia

Maia — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:06:58 +0000

Wow, thanks for sharing that. I’m definitely going to look into it. Could it be that oysters are on my horizon after all?

By: Soundbounder

Soundbounder — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:59:49 +0000

Wikipedia is painting the entire 100 miles of the Sound as one and the same.
The hypoxia issues are real, but it exists mostly in the western end of the Sound. That’s not where the oysters are coming from.
Good luck with your quest.

By: Maia

Maia — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:37:50 +0000

Thanks, Gian. I’m looking forward to it.

And just to be clear, if I thought shellfish from the Sound were safe to eat, I’d be happy as a clam–no pun intended.

By: Gian

Gian — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:27:34 +0000

This sounds like a VERY interesting challenge and I look for to hearing how you navigate through it. As a native Long Islander, I am in total agreement with you about NOT eating oysters (or other shell fish for that matter) from the sound. I do love so many local things that I can get here on the Island, but food from the sound is not one of them! Bon apetite!

By: Maia

Maia — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:51:24 +0000

Thanks for the comment and you raise a good point. However, as much as I would love to eat oysters from the Sound, I have serious reservations. In the early 90s I worked for ConnPIRG in support of a cleaner Long Island Sound. After reading your post, I did a little research with hope that perhaps things have improved. Here’s an excerpt from what I found on Wikipedia:

“Major environmental problems currently affecting the Sound include hypoxia, toxic substance and pathogen contamination, debris and other man-made pollution, and overdevelopment. Industrial pollution includes mercury influx from the hatting industry in Danbury, Connecticut.

New York City and other municipal sewage systems have long dumped nitrogen, among other pollutants, into the Sound, which contributes to hypoxia. By 1994 a plan to reduce the dumping of nitrogen into the Sound was agreed to by the federal government and the states of New York and Connecticut. The goal was to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the Sound by 58.5 percent as of 2014. New York City agreed with New York state and Connecticut to reduce nitrogen levels in 1998, but backed off its commitment and was sued by the state. In early 2006 the city agreed to lower nitrogen emissions and was given until 2017 to meet its reduction goals. By 2007, $617 million had been spent in upgrading sewage treatment plants, with 39 out of 104 retrofitted with devices to remove nitrogen.

A 2007 report by the Long Island Sound Study, a project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said the nitrogen flow is down 20 percent since 1994. But a study released in June 2007 by the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality stated that in 2006 the area affected by hypoxia was a bit larger than in 1991.”

So to answer your question, until and unless things improve I’ve decided not to eat oysters from the Sound.

By: Soundbounder

Soundbounder — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:06:00 +0000

You won’t eat oysters from Long Island Sound? That seems misguided to me.