Think Green With These Earth Day Facts and Statistics

Earth Day is right around the corner, which means the Hudson River is on our minds now more than ever.

In New York, biodiversity includes all of the different animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms living in the state. While the exact number of species in the Empire Region is unknown, it includes tens of thousands of plants and animals, many of which are dependent on the Hudson River Estuary. Study up on these facts about our region ahead of Earth Day in the Valley.

Read up on the Hudson Valley’s eco-footprint, by the numbers:

Our region, which comprises only 13.5 percent of the land area of the entire state, contains around 85 percent of the bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species found in New York State.

Over 50 percent of the state’s population resides in the corridor bordering the estuary from Albany to New York City.

To date, over 250 projects in NYS have been funded by Return a Gift to Wildlife, a contribution made through tax returns.

Since the first Riverkeeper Sweep in 2012, volunteers removed more than 300 tons of debris from shorelines, including 1,675 tires. They’ve also planted and maintained thousands of native plants. More information on this year’s sweep on May 4 can be found here.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Riverkeeper (@riverkeeper)

Single-use plastics, such as food packaging and bottles, make up the majority of waste collected in Sweep projects. Efforts to reduce the environmental impact of these items have led to legislative action, including the 2015 Federal Microbeads Free Waters Act and a 2013 New York City bill imposing restriction on the sale or use of certain polystyrene products. 

There are more than 200 direct tributaries to the Hudson River, the DEC estimates.

In Poughkeepsie, the Hudson River’s average annual water temperature increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit between 1940 and 2011.

Over two billion gallons of sewage were poured into the Hudson River in 2018.

Biodegradable fishing line only takes five years to break down. Monofilament lines take 500!

One adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. To make up for the loss of oyster habitat from the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge construction, NYSDEC and the New York State Thruway worked to restore five acres of oyster habitat at three sites.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Hudson Valley Magazine (@hudsonvalleymag)

There are 7,000 acres of vital fish and wildlife habitat in the tidal wetlands that reside between the George Washington Bridge and Troy.

PLOS One estimates that global waters contain over 5 trillion particles of plastic, translating to over 250,000 tons.

Starting March 1, 2020, New York’s plastic bag ban went into effect. Individuals are encouraged to bring reusable bags everywhere from boutiques to the grocery store.

Over 900 plastic bottles were collected from the Hudson River in the 2021 Riverkeeper Sweep alone.

The Billion Oyster Project has restored more than 120 million live oysters and collected two million pounds of shells.

In 2021, the Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Sea Report named food wrappers, cigarette butts, and plastic beverage bottles to be the top three most common items found in U.S. waters.

Related: Celebrate Earth Day at These Events in the Hudson Valley