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Levitan, Lois C
Senior Extension Associate
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Positions
- Senior Extension Associate, Communication (COMM), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
Directs Recycling Agricultural Plastics Project, developing recycling infrastructure and markets, and Environmental Risk Analysis Program, helping citizens and policy-makers balance levels of concern with levels of risk and social impact.
Research Areas
- adult and extension education
- agroforestry
- breast cancer
- city and regional planning
- communication
- community development
- entomology
- environmental sciences
- integrated pest management
- land use
- pest management
- pesticide management
- resource policy and management
- risk analysis and assessment
- rural development
- sustainable agriculture
- toxicology
- waste management
Websites
- Extension
- Research
- Publications
- Teaching
- Service
- Background
- Other
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Extension
Research
research activities
principal investigator on
- RECYCLING AG PLASTICS PROJECT awarded by NYS DEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION 2008 - 2013
submitted impact statement
- Recycling Agricultural Plastics as a Means of Reducing Dioxin Emissions and other Environmental/Health Risks
- Recycling Agricultural Plastics as a Means of Reducing Dioxin Emissions and other Environmental/Health Risks
- Avoiding pollution and saving farmers money by recycling agricultural plastic films
- Advocating pesticide life cycle stewardship
- Advocating pesticide life cycle stewardship
- Advocating pesticide life cycle stewardship
Publications
individual publications
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academic article
- "How-To" and "Why": Assessing Enviro-Social Impacts of Pesticides. Crop Protection. 19:629-638. 2000
- Assessing Environmental Impacts of Alternative Approaches to Controlling Apple Pests. Northeast Sustainable Apple Production. 5:9-13. 1995
- Assessing the relative environmental impacts of agricultural pesticides: The quest for a holistic method. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 55:153-168. 1995
- Pesticides: Where Do They Go?. Journal of Pesticide Reform. 7:2-5. 1988
- Applying Pesticides. Letters. Bioscience. 36:514-515. 1986
- Pesticides: Amounts Applied and Amounts Reaching Pests. Bioscience. 36:86-91. 1986
- Solar Energy, Land, and Biota. Sun World. 8. 1984
- The Soil Invertebrate Community of Composting Toilets. Ecol. Bulletin. 25:577-580. 1977
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article
- Developing an Agricultural Plastics Recycling Program 2010
- New York State Policy on Burning Agricultural Plastics 2010
- RAPP BigFoot Update 2010
- Recycling Agricultural Plastics Project - Summary for Albany 2010
- Using a BigFoot Agricultural Plastics Baler 2010
- Assessing environmental impacts of alternative approaches to controlling apple pests 1995
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book
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booksection
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chapter
- Risk. Pollution A to Z. 2003
- Land, Energy and Agricultural Production in Costa Rica. Quantifying Sustainable Development. 2000
- For Love or Money: Nonmonetary Economic Arrangements Among Rural Households in Central New York. Research In Rural Sociology and Development. 149-172. 1991
- Pesticides: Amounts Applied and Amounts Reaching Pests. Handbook of Pest Management in Agriculture. 1991
- Solar Energy Technologies: Land, Energy and Other Resources. Environmental Biology. 1984
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conference paper
- Not by Wine Alone: Environmental Impacts, Risks and Consequences of Viticulture. Proceedings of the 11th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, October 2001. 169-175. 2002
- How Many Ways Can We Skin this Cat Called Earth? Risks and Constraints to the Bio-Based Economy. Proceedings of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Annual Meeting, The Biobased Economy of the Twenty-First Century: Agriculture Expanding Into Health, Energy, Chemicals and Materials. 139-153. 2000
- The Challenge of Assessing & Communicating Relative Risks as Knowledge Is Evolving. Proceedings of the West Nile Virus Action Workshop, 19-21 January 2000. 2000
- An Overview of Pesticide Impact Assessment Systems (a.k.a. "Pesticide Risk Indicators") based on Indexing or Ranking Pesticides by Environmental Impact. OECD Workshop on Pesticide Risk Indicators, 21-23 April, 1997, Copenhagen, Denmark. 1997
- Environmental impact assessment: The Quest for a holistic picture. Proceedings of the 3rd National IPM Symposium/Workshop Broadening Support for 21st Century IPM. 40-58. 1997
- Environmental impact assessment: The Quest for a holistic picture. Proceedings of the 3rd National IPM Symposium/Workshop: Broadening Support for 21st Century IPM. 40-58. 1997
- Tools for Assessing Environmental Impacts: Emerging Approaches for Different Objectives. Proceedings of the Third National IPM Symposium/Workshop. February 1996. 130-131. 1997
- Economic Development in the Context of Environmentally-Sensitive Regional Planning. Communities and Watershed Planning: Shaping a Research Agenda. A Conference Proceedings (July 29, 1994). 19-30. 1994
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conference poster
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document part
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manual
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report
- Agricultural Plastic Film Recycling: Feasibility and Options in the Central Leatherstocking-Upper Catskill Region of New York State. 85. 2005
- Dioxins. Reducing Dioxin Emissions by Recycling Agricultural Plastics 2005
- National Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (NPSA): PESP Strategy 2005-2006 2005
- Approved List of Pesticides for Use on County of Santa Clara Properties. 29. 2004
- Use and Disposal of Agricultural Plastics 2004
- "Best Management Practices" (BMPs) & Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Resources & Recommendations 2003
- A.K.A. Pesticide Risk Indicators 2003
- Improving Communication & Understanding of Risks: Lessons from West Nile Virus 2003
- Pesticide Risk Indicator Resources 2003
- Pesticide Risk Indicators 2003
- Pesticides & their Non-Target Impacts: Sources of Data & Information 2003
- Quality-of-Life, Sustainability, & Other Environmental Indicators 2003
- Recycling Agricultural Plastics in New York State 2003
- Understanding Risk & Risk-based Decision Making 2003
- West Nile Virus Outbreak, Update 2001 2001
- Dose-Effect Relationships 1999
- Population Dynamics of the Gypsy Moth: An Annotated Bibliography 1978
- Cooperation Agreement between NYS DEC and SWCDs for Management of the BigFoot Plastics Balers 2010
- Plastics Baler Training Requirement and Trainee Release 2010
- Operating a Dairy Farm - Getting Information: Dealing with Low Milk Prices, Getting Rid of Used Bale Wrap, Computers, Phones, Magazines, Salesmen, Cows, Websites... 2009
- Agricultural Plastics Recycling 2006
- Big Foot Baler for baling agricultural films 2006
- Progress & Partners in Recycling Agricultural Plastics 2006
- Discussion Paper: Life Cycle Stewardship and Extended Product Responsibility—A New Paradigm for Pesticide Stewardship 2005
- Talk to Us about Recycling Agricultural and Other Plastic Films 2005
featured in archived article
speaker at Cornell event
Teaching
Service
outreach overview
- For several years my Outreach and Extension programs have both focused on developing systems to recycle the plastics used in agriculture so that these energy- and resource-rich materials can be reclaimed rather than treated as waste. As waste they are either (i) burned in open fires on-farm, releasing polluting emissions of highly toxic dioxins, heavy metals and harmful particulates; (ii) buried or stashed on-farm, possibly clogging waterways and machinery, attracting vermin and mosquitoes, and detracting from the rural aesthetic that attracts tourism; or (iii) buried in landfills where their resource value is wasted. As founder and leader of the Recycling Agricultural Plastics Project (RAPP), I conceptualize and frame this work as a tangible means to foster sustainability. RAPP operates at the intersection of agriculture, health and environmental protection, and regional economic development. RAPP works at every scale and part of the system, from implementing local recycling programs to providing leadership for a nationwide agricultural plastics product stewardship movement. Since 2008 RAPP has worked in close collaboration with Extension Associations and Soil and Water Conservation Districts across NYS to implement agricultural plastics recycling. These efforts have been considerably hampered by the global economic meltdown, which has slowed the development of markets for recyclable plastics, and by the impact of the economic crisis on state and local governments, which has made for erratic funding and and a stressful climate in both the agricultural and recycling communities. The need for and interest in agricultural plastics recycling in NYS was augmented in October 2009 by enactment of regulations prohibiting open burning of plastics on farms and elsewhere. Ideally, RAPP offers a legal and cost effective alternative for farmers. However, due to delay in receiving promised funding from NYS, this ideal has been slow to be realized. In October 2010 RAPP purchased six mobile "BigFoot" balers for compacting agricultural film so it can be efficiently transported to market. RAPP arranged for local management by SWCDs, and is training personnel and farmers to use the balers. RAPP works to raise awareness of the agricultural plastics disposal/recycling issue more broadly, presenting workshops throughout NY and New England (the latter by means of a cooperative project with the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association). This work is building bridges between agricultural and solid waste communities of interest. Beyond RAPP’s work with Extension, SWCDs and farmers, much of our effort is in "seeding the idea” among plastics manufacturers of using agricultural plastics as feedstock to manufacture new products. I have tried to prioritize regional manufacturers in order to minimize the transportation (and hence the carbon) footprint of agricultural plastics, as well as to promote the regional rural economy. Since 2008 I have been in communication with and vetted several dozen potential markets for used agricultural plastics. Market development efforts are carried out in close collaboration with a small group of colleagues working under the umbrella of TPSA (The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance, an organization whose mission has expanded beyond its name). We seek out, vet and network among potential markets for reclaiming these plastics for new uses. For several years I have played a lead role in organizing a national/international workgroup under the TPSA umbrella to tackle this issue and others, including: chain of custody, developing standards for agricultural film recycling, and engaging product manufacturers in redesign and stewardship. Our group organized the first ever Agricultural Film Product Stewardship Workshop, which took place at the Feb 2009 TPSA Conference, with subsequent workshops at the 2010 and forthcoming 2011 conferences. During 2010 RAPP efforts expanded into two new areas: (1) We have been advising on projects undertaken by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Program to recycle the insecticide-impregnated netting used for vector control in the tropics, primarily as a control for malaria. (2) We have focused efforts on developing consumer markets for products made from recycled agricultural plastics. Towards these ends we are initiating development of a national ecolabel to identify and certify these products, and within NYS working with the Buy Recycled Alliance of New York (BRANY), a committee of the New York State Association for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (NYSAR3).
service to the profession
- Buy Recycled Alliance of New York, Committee of NYSAR3 Committee Member 2010 -
- TPSA Agricultural Film Recycling Market Development Group Chairperson 2009 -
- TPSA Workgroup on Agricultural Plastics Management Chairperson 2009 -
- Environmental Health Risks in Communities PWT Chairperson 2003 -
- Gamma Sigma Delta Member 1983 -
- Phi Kappa Phi Member 1975 -
- Recycling Ag Plastics Project Program Leader 2007 - 2012
- AI-SPER-0203DF692AB0001097E Program Organizer 2010 - 2011
- AI-SPER-0203DF692AB0001097D Program Organizer 2010
- Health Canada Member 2010
- University of Arkansas, Dept Animal Science, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, Prof Dirk Philipp advisory re: agricultural plastics recycling 2010
- Virginia Technical Institute, Agricultural Byproduct Utilization Biological Systems Engineering - VT Virginia Cooperative Extension advisory re: agricultural plastics recycling 2010
- Wisconsin Legislative Committee on Recycling advisory re: agricultural plastics recycling 2010
- World Health Organization and United Nations Environment Program External advisor on project to recycle insecticide-impregnated netting for vector control 2010
- Oregon State University, External advisor to graduate student External advisor to graduate student on EPA P3 research project on plastic film mulch 2009 - 2010
- The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance, Ag Plastics Management Workgroup Convener - 2008
- The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Board Member 2006 - 2007
- 2007 International Working Conference of The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Program Organizer 2007
- The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Secretary 2005 - 2006
- The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Conference Program Chair - 2006
- Conference Planning Committee, The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance Committee Member - 2004
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Natural Resource Policy and Planning, Cornell University 1994
- M.S. in Natural Resource Policy and Planning, Cornell University 1988
- B.S. in Forest Ecology, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1975
awards and honors
- 2007 Stewardship Award, 2007
- 2006 US EPA Resource Conservation Challenge National Semi-Finalist in the selection of projects for the Toxic Chemicals of National Concern Program, for the US EPA Region 2-funded project Reducing Dioxin Emissions by Recycling Agricultural Plastics., 2006
- Enhancing International Science Networks Fellowship, Victoria, Australia, 2001
Other
college
- CALS
name prefix
- Dr.