Radio Chatskill

As nearly half of the global population cast their votes this year, politics dominated many headlines. However, science and the natural world also captured significant public interest. 

In his year end reflection, our resident science guy Joe Johnson highlights some of the year's most captivating science stories—from the solar eclipse and the mysteries of the sun to the rise of artificial intelligence and the fascinating world of the humble fruit fly.

A homeowner’s backyard in Orange County, New York, has yielded a significant paleontological discovery: a complete mastodon jaw, the first such find in the state in over 11 years. The jawbone, along with additional bone fragments, was unearthed by researchers from the New York State Museum and SUNY Orange. 

Radio Catskill's Patricio Robayo spoke to Dr. Cory Harris, Chair of SUNY Orange’s Behavioral Sciences Department, about the ancient find. 

Homeowners discovered two teeth hidden by plant fronds on their property.  Further investigation revealed two more teeth just beneath the surface.  Excavation efforts by the Museum and SUNY Orange staff led to the recovery of the complete adult mastodon jaw, a piece of a toe bone, and a rib fragment. 

“When I found the teeth and examined them in my hands, I knew they were something special and decided to call in the experts,” said the homeowner. “I’m thrilled that our property has yielded such an important find for the scientific community.”

With over 150 mastodon fossils found statewide to date, this find adds to the collection of Ice Age inhabitants in the area. With over 150 discovered to date, approximately one-third have been found in Orange County, solidifying the region's importance as a hotspot for these ancient relatives of modern elephants. 

“This discovery is a testament to the rich paleontological history of New York and the ongoing efforts to understand its past,” said Dr. Robert Feranec, director of Research & Collections and curator of Ice Age Animals at the New York State Museum.  “This mastodon jaw provides a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this magnificent species, which will enhance our understanding of the Ice Age ecosystems from this region."

The fossils will undergo carbon dating and a comprehensive analysis to glean insights into the mastodon’s age, diet, and habitat.  After preservation and scientific study, public programming in 2025 will feature the artifacts.

The New York State Museum encourages the public to report any similar discoveries to local authorities, emphasizing the potential of each find to contribute significantly to the understanding of New York's rich paleontological history. 

Former President Jimmy Carter died at 100 on Sunday, December 29. 

He was a peanut farmer turned President. A humanitarian, statesman, novelist, Nobel Prize Laureate….and fly fisherman.

Forty years ago, President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter made an historic five-day visit to Sullivan County. The Carters were invited to come and fish the Beaverkill and participate in fundraising events for the recently-formed Catskill Fly Fishing Center.

Judy Van Put is a long-time member of the NYS Outdoor Writers Association, and she was one of the community members who hosted and fished with the president and first lady on their 1984 visit. She shared her memories of the Carters' visit in 1984. 

Governor Kathy Hochul has signed the Climate Change Superfund Act into law, making New York the second state in the country to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for climate impacts.  

The Climate Superfund law signed by the Democrat the day after Christmas establishes a Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program, intended to raise $75 billion over 25 years from oil and gas companies blamed for contributing to climate impacts like flooding and severe heat.

Environmental advocates and state legislators alike hailed the development.

Third Act Upstate New York climate activist Michael Richardson says the science supporting the law is clear.

 "The production and burning of fossil fuel is the primary cause of the climate disruption that we're suffering from. With the signing of this Climate Change Superfund Act, which might want to be called the Taxpayer Relief Act, big oil will at long last be held accountable for the damage they sow upon our communities, and they cannot continue to make exorbitant profits, which they've been making over the past few years by not paying for the destructive consequences," said Richardson.

State Assemblymember John McDonald of the 108th district, a Democrat, expects court challenges.

"People can be happy about it today, and you know, I support it, and who knows, hopefully it'll be successful, but like anything else, I also think it's going to be subject to years and years of litigation, which still puts us in this very difficult spot that we need to make positive and accurate changes to recognize that the climate is changing. And by same token, we need to be mindful the fact that we need to make sure that these changes don't have a negative, adverse impact on the average family's household, if anything has been learned in the last several years, but particularly last election, affordability is first and foremost in people's minds," McDonald said.

The American Petroleum Institute responded to a request for comment by email, stating “This type of legislation represents nothing more than a punitive new fee on American energy, and we are evaluating our options moving forward.”

In May, Vermont became the first state with such a law. Elena Mihaly is the Vice President for the Conservation Law Foundation of Vermont.

 "We are thrilled that New York is now an ally with Vermont in enacting this kind of climate accountability legislation to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for their fair share in the costs of climate pollution to the states of Vermont and New York, and we actually had a preview of what the American Petroleum Institute's concerns are with the laws, because they filed comments in the New York and Vermont legislatures during the adoption of both of the laws that kind of laid out what they felt was either unconstitutional or other concerns with the law. And in Vermont, we had the benefit of that to help make sure that we shaped the law to be defensible to all of those concerns. So we feel very confident about the defensibility of the law, and we are moving forward," Mihaly said. 

Blair Horner is with the New York Public Interest Research Group: "I think there'll be a bunch of other states are going to follow what New York does, because the staggering costs of climate change are not going away. And there's two choices, either the taxpayers pay for it, or the oil companies pay for it. We think it should be the oil companies," said Horner. 

Richardson adds "As the next legislative session begins here in January, we need to move beyond the incrementalism that has happened from the legislature and the governor in funding and implementing our landmark climate act. We have all the knowledge and tools to transition this New York state economy from fossil fuels to renewables. All that is needed is, quite candidly, the political courage and the political will. Now that's been demonstrated after two years of effort on this climate change Superfund bill, and it is landmark in the sense that there are now four other states that are queued up to follow the lead, from Vermont and New York," Richardson said. 

Hochul said lawmakers agreed to several changes “to address implementation and operational concerns,” including giving the state Department of Environmental Conservation additional time to create the program.

From The New York Public News Network | WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock music and arts festival, is calling on artists and artisans to submit proposals for commemorative works of art in honor of the iconic Message Tree. 

The tree, a 60-foot red maple, played a central role during the original festival as a gathering spot for attendees who left messages, notes, and well-wishes pinned to its bark. It became a symbol of the peace, love, and unity that defined the Woodstock experience. Fifty-five years after Woodstock, the Message Tree was cut down in September due to its poor health and safety concerns.

We spoke to Dr. Neal V. Hitch, senior curator at the Museum at Bethel Woods about the effort to preserve and honor this iconic piece of history.

It's the most wonderful time of the year and the busiest for holiday travel. Beginning Saturday through New Year’s Day, AAA estimates a record 119 million Americans will be in planes, trains, and automobiles, more than the previous record set in 2019.

Patricia Kuepper-Artessa of AAA Northeast says that’s only accounting for people driving over the ten day span.  She says the worst times to get the trip started are this weekend and right after Christmas. 

Joe Johnson is our resident science guy and he highlights science stories that caught his eye. In this episode, Johnson brings us warnings from scientists about careless experimentation with 'mirror life forms' that could be deadly to humans and destroy the environment; how a particle accelerator helped discover the lost works of Archimedes; and a discovery by astronomers of an unusual exoplanet with a long "tail" of gas trailing behind it, not unlike a comet.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation now plans to permanently destroy the standing Skinners Falls Bridge, reversing its prior stated intention of dismantling the bridge and storing its pieces for later use, according to The River Reporter.

This decision comes after an October inspection report which recommended repairs to the bridge and did not mention demolition as a possibility. The project team announced the reversal and new option for the first time at a virtual public meeting on December 17. 

The Skinners Falls Bridge crosses the Delaware River, connecting the communities of Milanville, PA, and Skinners Falls, NY and has been closed to traffic since 2019. 

We spoke to Liam Mayo from The River Reporter who attended the meeting.

In this episode of 'Kaatscast,' host Brett Barry delves into the fascinating world of the North American porcupine with Uldis Roze, the world's foremost expert on this mysterious and lovable Catskills rodent.

Hear about the porcupine's habitat preferences, diet, mating behaviors, and unique defense mechanisms. Roze addresses common misconceptions, shares personal encounters, and reveals insights from his decades-long research, including the discovery of the molecule responsible for the porcupine's distinctive smell.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill on Friday that would have mandated local community involvement before the closure of a hospital or specific units.

The bill, which was passed by state lawmakers in June, aimed to establish a process for hospital closures, requiring the state Department of Health to hold public forums and issue reports on the potential impact before any facility shut down.

However, in her veto message, Hochul stated that the bill did not adequately address the practical challenges hospitals face. She emphasized that she would instead instruct the state Department of Health to introduce reforms to the current closure procedures.

The bill, called the Local Input for Community Hospitals Act (LICH Act), was named in reference to the closure of Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn in 2014, which occurred despite significant community opposition.

We spoke with Lois Uttley, co-founder of Community Voices for Health System Accountability, a statewide collaboration of health and human service advocates, and Mark Hannay, Director of Metro New York Health Care for All, a multi-constituency health care justice coalition.