RENewsletter | April 26, 2009

 

The Free environmental newsletter from RochesterEnvironment.com  

“Our Environment is changing: Keep up with the Change.”

[04/19/09– 04/26/09]

 

* Need to vent? | Go to my blog: Environmental Thoughts - Rochester, NY

 

Opening Salvo | NewsLinks | Daily Updates | Events | Environmental Site of the Month | Take Action |

 

[Hyperlinks work by CTRL + click to follow a link]

 

*** The February Environmental Site of the Month Award goes to The Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes http://www.preservethefingerlakes.com/    Go to Award.

__________________________________________

 

Opening Salvo:  “Sacrificing Beauty”

 

In their efforts to preserve the aesthetics of their community under the looming threat of renewable energy, the folks over at Cleveland’s city council may be ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater.’ In their haste to get in front of the potential problems a new energy infrastructure might entail, they maybe be crippling our ability to keep our way of life. OK, that’s a bit strong, but let me go on.

 

Ostensibly, Cleveland city council wants to make sure that their new wind farms don’t become a ‘visual nuisance’ or ‘unsafe.’  They think, and I quote the reporter: “…civic beauty should not be sacrificed on the altar of sustainability.” (April 15, 2009) Cleveland proposes ordinance to regulate aesthetics and safety of wind turbines - Arts - Cleveland.com  In truth, they may be merely trying to stop a form of energy they just don’t like.

 

Let’s take the safety issue first: It’s laudable that Cleveland (and many other communities mentioned in the article) city council should ensure the safety of newly placed wind turbines given the horrific results of many other forms of energy production. For several generations energy production has poisoned our air, water, and ground.  But, isn’t safety the bailiwick of engineers?  Adequately train the engineers in green technology so that the blades don’t fall off or the turbines aren’t placed in a bird migration corridor and things will be just fine. Though annoying to some people, a badly placed wind turbine is not like placing a nuclear plant on a fault line, or a mountain-top removal site upwind of a children’s school.      

 

Now the ‘visual nuisance’ thing: I can appreciate that a planning board of a large city would want the advice of professional architects to make sure something as tall and striking as a wind turbine or even a wind farm would fit into what is perceived by the political and business elite as the visual beauty of their city. But, should their guiding principle be to place Beauty over Sustainability? Does this even make sense?

 

Admittedly, it’s a great line, indicative of Hollywood and even Keats: “Civic beauty should not be sacrificed on the altar of sustainability.” How many films have our eyes moisten at the sight of Beauty, rather than be compromised or besmirched, perishes in a conflagration of perversity? And, John Keats’s immortal line:” Truth is beauty and Beauty truth, that is all you know and all that you need to know." Beauty, as Truth--as say, physical comeliness, a great enduring principle, as a skyline—who would want them sacrificed to anything? Great line.

 

But, think about the absurdity of this position: Beauty should trump our future, our way of life. For, if you continue to base your future on an energy mode that is unsustainable, (like coal or nuclear) by definition that means it goes kaput. If you have a phantom economy instead of a sustainable one, you get a Recession.

 

Sustainability for a planning board, a politician, a citizen, even an architect should be their Holy Grail, a Beauty for which all should be willing to sacrifice on any altar.  If something is not sustainable, it ends. Period. Sustainability is Beauty; you cannot sacrifice your future and be there to appreciate it too.

 

 

FrankRegan@RochesterEnvironment.com  (Click on my email for feedback)

 

__________________________________________

 

NewsLinks – Environmental NewsLinks – [Highlights of major environmental stories concerning our area from the past week]

 

·         Aquatic Invaders

·         NYS Health Dept. Immunization Registry Wind Award

·         Victor Park - Mountain Bikes

·         White Deer

·         Reducing Pesticides in our Parks

·         Great Lakes Off Shore Wind Farms

·         Dems: "Climate Smart Communities"

·         Victory Gardens

·         The "Green Jobs/Green Homes" Program

·         Landfill Study Moves Forward

·         Bigger Better Bottle Bill News

·         Off-shore Wind Farms

·         Green Party: Action on Climate Change and more

·         DEC on Dirty Diesel

·         Animals & Circus

·         Green Technology

·         Nuclear Plant Acquisition

·         Warmer Winters

·         Zebra Mussels Lake Erie

·         Arbor Day - NYS DEC

·         Canandaigua Sewer System

·         Grease to Fuel

·         Garbage to Fuel

·         Burning Toxic Waste

·         Turkey Season

·         Ash Trees in Trouble

·         Results Sierra Club Food Forum

·         CLEAN SWEEP COMING

 ___________________________________________

 

Updates – Daily Updates – [Connecting the dots on Rochester’s environment. Find out what’s going on environmentally in our area—and why you should care? Clicking on -DISCUSSION – will take you to my blog “Environmental Thoughts, NY, where you can add your comments.]

 

• 4/25/09 - Taking back our streets. Last evening, while on my way to City Hall to attend the lecture by Dr. Stephen Schneider: “Climate Change: Adapting to What We Can't Prevent, and Preventing What We Can't Adapt to”, my walk was diverted by many bicyclists circling the Liberty Pole. I stopped by and asked someone “What was going on?”  It was weekly reminder by Critical Mass that bikes are a transportation mode in this community and others as well.  I had ridden in Critical Mass bike ride years ago and I was happy to see it flourishing and keeping in the public eye the importance that automobile drivers share the road with their non-gas-guzzling friends.  Some I know, even though they are good bicyclers, feel uncomfortable biking in our city streets—which they have a complete legal right to do.  So, I suggest a bicycling course (Biking Rochester Traffic Class A biking class on how to prepare to commute by bicycle and using your bicycle for utilitarian purposes This bike course is Free and Open to the Public, though we ask that you send us an application to reserve a spot.  ) that we (the Sierra Club of Rochester) and the Rochester Bicycling Club are presenting on.  To find out more about Critical Mass here in Rochester, check out this site:  Critical Mass - Rochester Wiki "Critical Mass is a group bicycle ride which takes place at regular intervals (usually on a monthly basis) whose purpose is to "celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists' right to the road." Although it is a nationwide movement, there is no centralized organizational structure, and there are no official leaders. The CM group in Rochester has been in existence since 1998."
• 4/25/09 - Maybe Smart Growth this time around instead of Urban Sprawl: With the advent of placing a high-speed rail system from Buffalo to Albany (and then to New York City) mean much needs to be designed about our communities transportation infrastructure.  Accomplishing this goal of high-speed rail at this stage may be a lot of talk, and even if so it’s talk at a high level—a level where federal stimulus funds will be available.  If this has the remotest possibility of happening, we need to begin thinking about how this will influence our area’s highways, streets, bus systems, locations of new businesses and private homes.  We’ll be growing (as we always are) and maybe if we do our homework, we can do it smartly through Smart Growth: Smart Growth | US EPA "EPA helps communities grow in ways that expand economic opportunity, protect public health and the environment, and create and enhance the places that people love. Through research, tools, partnerships, case studies, grants, and technical assistance, EPA is helping America's communities turn their visions of the future into reality."
• 4/24/09 - If our birds are in trouble, so are we.  Help monitor the state of our birds from the people who do it best: All About Birds Website: New and Improved! We've just relaunched the All About Birds website with rich new multimedia features. Watch videos of  White-winged Crossbills extracting pine seeds with their remarkable bills--or take a journey with our crew to the Arctic in search of Snowy Owls and Ivory Gulls. Enjoy our multimedia galleries of hummingbirds or hawks. Check out the new "Building Skills" section with photo carousels highlighting the keys to bird identification. Peruse some of our 51 species accounts with newly updated information and photos--or read our latest articles about birds, bird watching, and photography. For a guide to what's new, visit our Round Robin blog. Or go straight to All About Birds and explore now! We are grateful for the generosity of the many friends and members of the Lab who make possible our work possible, including the creation of free resources such as All About Birds to improve the appreciation and understanding of birds.
• 4/24/09 - Our Environment and Our Jobs: What we don't know and what we want to know. What we know is that our environment and our economy (most critical our local economy) are in trouble. We know that the previous presidential administration was dismissive of our environmental problems and didn’t quite believe in anthropogenic climate change.  We know that the present Obama administration ‘get’s it’ on our environment and intends to both right our environment and our economy.  We know that US stimulus plan monies are coming to our area because the Obama administration is talking about federal funds for a Albany to Buffalo (through Rochester) high speed rail being on of the ten corridors in this nation our country is willing to spend to increase jobs and help our environment.  What we don’t know is how you and I are going to benefit from all this change.  Are we, the common folk here in the Rochester area, going to see a rise in jobs and are those jobs going to help mitigate climate change?  Maybe this idea is the key: Green Jobs/Green Homes NY: An unprecedented statewide initiative to retrofit one million homes in five years | Green Jobs/Green Homes NY (GJ/GH NY) is a blueprint for mass-scale greening over five years. The program will make New York homes energy efficient, lower fossil fuel emissions, and combat climate change. It will save households an average of 30-40% of energy consumption, produce around 60,000 quality green jobs and obviate the need to site new power plants."
• 4/23/09- Check out EPA & Rochester: Rochester CARE Collaborative | Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) | US EPA Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) is an EPA technical assistance and grant program that offers an innovative way for a community to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in the local environment.
• 4/23/09 - Check out their new website: Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition Between the Ontario County Landfill in Stanley, New York and the Seneca Meadows Landfill in Seneca Falls, 9,000 tons of garbage are trucked into the northern Finger Lakes every day. It comes from New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York City, over 40 New York Counties and Canada. Our beautiful region has become the garbage capital of New York State. 
• 4/22/09 - The city of Rochester has revamped its website and restructured their green initiative page to be very helpful in gauging the level of environmental conservation in our city government. The new page pretty much covers the gamut of what a city government should be doing and what information they should be providing the public—in a lean and easy-to-find way.  Check it out: City of Rochester | Green Initiatives "Rochester’s Green Team, developed to update and expand environmental compliance policy and coordinate cross-departmental efforts, continues the City's tradition of outstanding environmental stewardship." - City of Rochester
• 4/22/09 - No doubt, one of the things that the Internet does best is pass along information.  Sometimes important information—like tracking “real-time immunization medical records”. New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS) The goal of the new immunization information system is to establish a complete, accurate, secure, real-time immunization medical record that is easily accessible and promotes public health by fully immunizing all individuals appropriate to age and risk.
• 4/21/09- Find out about fixing our transportation infrastructure: Transportation For America Transportation for America has formed a broad coalition of housing, environmental, public health, urban planning, transportation, equitable development, and other organizations. We’re all seeking to align our national, state, and local transportation policies with an array of issues like economic opportunity, climate change, energy security, health, housing and community development.
• 4/20/09- Rochester Committee for Scientific Information "The Rochester Committee for Scientific Information was formed from this nucleus of scientists and concerned citizens who had developed an effective method of working together. They then decided to explore the problems of water pollution in the Rochester and Monroe County area. These environmental interests have continued to broaden over recent decades."

 _________________________________________________

 

Events – Rochester Environmental Events Calendar – [The most complete listing of all environmental events around the Rochester, New York area.]  If you don’t see your event, or know of a local environmental event, please send me the info: FrankRegan@RochesterEnvironment.com with (EV event) in the subject line.

 

• BRADDOCK BAY RAPTOR RESEARCH BIRD OF PREY DAYS PROGRAM AND SCHEDULE TO BE PUBLISHED A.S.A.P. BUT NO LATER THAN THE WEEK OF APRIL 19, 2009.   See the schedule of events for a complete list of activities and times. Who: Braddock Bay Raptor Research What: Bird of Prey Days -- Activities for everyone! When: 7:00 p.m. Friday evening, April 24; 7:30 a.m -4:00 p.m Saturday and Sunday, April 25 & 26, 2009 Where: Friday, Millennium Lodge at Greece Canal Park, 241 Elmgrove Road, Greece Saturday and Sunday,   Braddock Bay Park Lodge , 199 East Manitou Road, Greece. For more information: Call 585-BOP-LIVE (585-267-5483) or visit our website at www.bbrr.org
• Earth First! Roadshow Where: Small World Bakery, 972 S Plymouth Ave, Rochester, NY When: Thursday, April 30th @ 7pm The Earth First! Roadshow is crossing the country this spring with the goal of renewing a grassroots ecological direct action movement in the U.S. We are looking to network and collaborate with groups, with the intent of bridging gaps of age and experience that exist in the environmental movement and inspiring people to join the frontlines of the fight for the Earth in some new and exciting ways. Although Earth First! has been involved in a wide array of issues, we have always rooted ourselves in the defense of the wild. And the battleground for wild ecosystems has changed in some very substantial ways over the past few years. The global acceptance of human-induced climate change has blazed a trail for promoting deep and lasting social changes with unprecedented urgency. There’s a critical moment in front of us, the window between being too lazy and too late, where people are becoming inspired to stand up for the planet and recognize our connection to it. While Earth First! has been promoting immediate urgent action since its inception 28 years ago, this past September even Al Gore started promoting civil disobedience for the environment. But those of us paying attention to the bigger picture see that the pending ecological collapse demands a broader reaction than just blocking a few new coal plants. The greed and arr ogance that resulted in fossil fuel driving climate change has also manifested in so many other destructive ways that can’t be ignored. The call that Gore made, for “young people blocking bulldozers” must be applied to much more than just coal plants and more than just young people. We need to defend every intact ecosystem and begin the process of restoring whats been destroyed; its going to take all of us giving it all we got. And that’s why the Earth First! Roadshow is coming through.. We will be presenting a theatrical history of EF!, offering trainings for safe and strategic direct actions/civil disobedience. and making eco-action irresistible!
• Friday 1 May 2009 Conference on Sustainability Ethics Tentative speakers: Braden Allenby (Lincoln Professor of Engineering & Ethics, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and of Law, Arizona State University) Bryan Norton (Distinguished Professor in Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology) Paul Thompson (W. K. Kellog Chair in Agricultural, Food, & Community Ethics, Michigan State University) William Shutkin (Director, Initiative for Sustainable Development and Chair in Sustainable Development, University of Colorado at Boulder) Sponsored by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the Provost, Student Affairs, the Sustainability Institute, and the Hale Chair of Applied Ethics
• Lima Planning Sustainability Fair in the Spring   Exciting plans are taking shape in Lima. A group of residents and local officials, with diverse interests in environmental conservation, renewable energy sources, historic preservation, protection of local agriculture, and downtown renewal and revitalization, have been coming together to plan a multi-faceted "Sustainability Fair" to be held at the Lima Town Hall, 7321 East Main St Lima, NY 14485 on Saturday May 2nd (10:00AM to 4: 00PM).   The goal of the fair is to foster awareness of our overuse of the earth's resources, and to promote changes in everyday practices that will enable people to save money, and reduce energy and resource consumption. As we collectively learn how to make more sustainable choices, we contribute to the conservation of these vital assets for future generations.   The group understands "Sustainability" as:   'the ability to meet our present needs for the earth's resources without compromising that of future generations to meet theirs.'   The all-day fair will include activities, information, and fun for all ages, including: • talks on "Small Scale Renewable Energy Options" and "Why Historic Preservation Is Green"; • tours of a local "green house," and several recently restored historic downtown buildings;• exhibits by vendors of green products and services, as well as by high school students, scouts, and other groups; • supervised, eco-friendly crafts and films for kids • an environmental poster contest for older children:• a workshop on practical techniques for making older homes more energy efficient; • videos on environmental issues and  simple practical tips for reducing our own carbon footprints; • a continuous slide show of Lima's 58 National Register structures.   So please save the date for Lima's "Sustainability Fair" on May 2nd at the Lima Town Hall, and check our website for more details as they emerge (www.greenlima.com). If you are interested in helping to plan this community event, or helping that day as a volunteer, please contact us through the website.   The fair will be free and open to everyone, from far and wide. We are hoping to help promote Lima as a small, forward-thinking town that is proud of its past, but preparing for the future.
• SAVE THE DATE! - SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2009 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - FREE* COMPUTER & ELECTRONICS - RECYCLING EVENT - FOR RESIDENTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES - May 2  from 9am-1pm. Town of Pittsford Electronics Recycling Event for Pittsford residents and small businesses. Bring items to Pittsford Highway Department, 60 Golf Avenue. Items you can bring include computers, laptops, modems, servers, peripherals, GPS units, cell phones, fax machines, copies, CD players, IT, AV and telecommunications equipment. NO refrigerators, microwaves or other household appliances. A fee of $10 for each tv and fee of $5 for each monitor. Preventing Landfill E-waste. For a complete list and events on other dates, contact www.Maventech.com
• Montezuma Audubon Center Wildlife Festival Montezuma Audubon Center's 3rd Annual Wildlife Festival Saturday May 2nd, 10AM to 4PM | 2295 State Route 89, Savannah, NY  This year's theme is "Farming for Wildlife -- celebrating habitat enhancement and local farms
• Sunday, May 3, 1PM, Cordwood Construction Seminar, at Rochester Contemporary Art Center at 137 East Ave., Presentation by Peter Turkow, Rochester Green Living in collaboration with P.L.A.N.T. and the Center for Sustainable Living. This seminar will be a shortened version of a 2-day workshop, Peter will be hosting in August. For more information contact Peter Turkow at Rochestergreenliving@gmail.com or call 585-200-0526, Donation $1.00 http://www.living-sustainably.org/calendar/ 
• Sunday, May 3, 1PM, Celebrate Arbor Day and plant some trees at beautiful Odonata Sanctuary, Odonata Sanctuary at 20 Parrish Road off Rt. 64 in Honeoye Falls, Bring the whole family and help plant trees in celebration of Arbor Day. Wear old clothes and bring a dish to pass if you want to stay for the pot luck dinner. Trees seedlings (8 to 12 inches in size) and planting tools will be provided., Info: Bill Bross at 585-615-6255, Free Event http://www.living-sustainably.org/calendar/
• May 6, 2009 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Announcing an open forum on The New Gas Drilling: What Local Governments Can Do h Women fs Community Building, 100 W. Seneca Street, Ithaca Presenters: ¡Dr. William Pammer, Commissioner, Planning and Environmental Management for Sullivan County (Monticello), NY ¡Dr. Stephen Penningroth, Executive Director, Community Science Institute, Ithaca, NY Over 2000 Tompkins County land owners, and thousands more in the surrounding Southern Tier, have signed leases to permit Marcellus Shale gas drilling on their property. Many expect to see drilling begin later this year, perhaps as early as summer. While some welcome the drilling and others dread it, a common concern for all is the protection of our clean water and air, our land, and our quality of life*. **NY State law (Environmental Conservation Article 23) took the ability to regulate most aspects of gas drilling activity away from towns, and gave it to the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) instead. This leaves many local legislators and community members wondering just what they can do to protect our critical resources given these constraints. The Sullivan County, NY Drilling Task Force has been working for many months on answering just this question.*** Dr. Pammer will describe the work of the Gas Drilling Task Force in Sullivan County. The group investigated possible impacts and the authority of local municipal governments. Their recently released Task Force Report outlines 21 recommendations that will be presented to their County Legislature. You can see a newspaper story about the report at http://www.sc-democrat.com/news/002February/20/news.htm and the *full* report on the Sullivan County Division of Planning website: http://www.scgnet.us/index.asp?orgid=610&storyTypeID=&sid=&.
• Rabies FREE clinic | Thurs, May 7 | Town of Pittsford The Town of Pittsford will hold its 14th annual Rabies Clinic on Thursday, 5/7, from 4:30 to 7:30PM at the town's Highway Garage, 60 Golf Avenue. All dogs must be leashed and cats must be in a carrier. Vaccinations will be good for one year unless prior rabies certificates are presented at the time of the clinic. Staff will be on hand to issue dog licenses to town residents. If you have questions about the FREE clinic, please call Animal Control at 248-6240. --from Home Page | Town of Pittsford
• Updated Press Release Migratory Bird Festival -- expanded opening-night art exhibit, with book preview, and live raptor program April 21, 2009, for immediate release until May 8-10, 2009 Contact:    David Semple 585-223-8369    or    dsemple@birdcor.org   Event Title:    7th Annual Bird Festival — Celebrating Birds in Culture Event Dates:    Friday, May 8 (6 to 9 p.m.); Saturday, May 9 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.); and Sunday, May 10, 2009 (Noon to 4 p.m. with “early-bird” Mother’s Day nature walk at 10 a.m.)   Location:    Braddock Bay Park, 199 E. Manitou Rd (at Lake Ontario State Parkway), Town of Greece Presented by:    BirdCOR & Genesee Valley Audubon Society Phone:    585-223-8369 Web site:    www.birdcor.org   Newly added to the program: Fungi artist Marie Heerkens will be among the gifted artists exhibiting on the opening night of the festival -- opening 6:00 p.m., Friday, May 8.  Heerkens (of Fairport) is nationally known for her illustrations of plants and animals, and her unique mushroom art.  As previously announced: The other artists participating on opening night include Raymond Easton and Robert McNamara.  Easton (of Penfield) will exhibit his exquisite bird paintings and will sign a limited number of 2009-25th Anniversary Audubon Wildlife Conservation Stamp sets which he was commissioned to paint.  Illustrator McNamara (of Cleveland, NY) will join festival organizer and contributing author David Semple (of Fairport) to preview the forthcoming book Birding the Great Lakes Seaway Trail.  Rounding out the evening program will be a live raptor presentation by Anne Schnell (of Hilton).
• Household hazardous waste collection | Sat, 5/16 | Town of Pittsford Start your spring-cleaning by properly recycling household hazardous waste. Most HHW (paint, flammables and other chemicals from home-use) is safe when used and stored properly. When they become unwanted and are disposed of improperly, these household wastes can become environmental hazards. The towns of Pittsford and Perinton and the villages of East Rochester, Fairport and Pittsford and the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services (DES) have joined forces to hold an appointment-only Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection Saturday, 5/16, 8AM – 12N at the Perinton Highway Garage, 100 Cobb’s Lane. --from Home Page | Town of Pittsford
• 12th ANNUAL ADK OUTDOOR EXPO Saturday, June 13, 2009 9 am - 4 pm Mendon Ponds Park Beach Area Have you ever wanted to just try a canoe or kayak but didn't know where to go? Have you ever wondered if there was a club with your outdoor interests? Here's your chance! The Genesee Valley Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club is hosting the 12th Annual Outdoor Expo on Saturday June 13th from 9:00 - 4:00 on the beach at Mendon Ponds Park. The Genesee Valley Chapter has organized this event with YOU in mind! Just come see what you can do in the Rochester area! Demonstrations, discussions and activities will be offered all day on a wide variety of outdoor related topics. This is the perfect opportunity to connect with people that share the same interests as you all in one location! The annual Expo attracts hundreds of people who attend more than twenty workshops on various aspects of outdoor activities. Attendees also view and inspect outdoor gear and try out canoes and kayaks on the Hundred Acre Pond. ADK, other local outdoor clubs, and local outdoor retailers present all of the events. With music provided by the Golden Link Folk Singing Society
• Weed Walk - June 6, 2009 at 9:30 AM, Horizon Hill Conservation Area -151 Garnsey Road, Perinton, NY; 73 acres. A natural area which includes a scenic section of the Crescent trail and a small parking area. ."Learn to recognize several Invasive Plant Species affecting Monroe County, and visit the scenic Horizon Hill section of Perinton's Crescent Trail. Experts will answer your questions." More info here: Weed Walk
• FLOW (For the Love of Water)  Monday, June 15th at 6:45 PM to 9:00 PM at the Henrietta Public Library, Henrietta, NY
• Help Clean Up the World and put your activity on the global environmental map!   Held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Clean Up the World is one of the world’s largest community-based environmental campaigns with an estimated 35 million volunteers from 120 countries participating annually in environmental activities.   Join the campaign and put your group and its activity on the global environmental map by visiting activities.cleanuptheworld.org .  Activities can be conducted year round, however the campaign’s flagship event, Clean Up the World Weekend (18-20 September 2009) is a global celebration of the environmental actions and achievements of participants.   Joining Clean Up the World is simple: ■ Register online: http//:activities.cleanuptheworld.org ■ Email: info@cleanuptheworld.org ■ Visit: www.cleanuptheworld.org ■ Call: +61 2 9692 0700 ■ Post: 18 Bridge Road, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia. Clean Up Clean Up the World partners with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to inspire and assist communities to "clean up, fix up and conserve their local environment" through carrying out initiatives ranging from waste removal and tree planting to water and energy conservation projects. Clean Up the World and its participating organisations mobilise an estimated 35 million volunteers from more than 120 countries annually.

_________________________________________________

 

Action – Take Action - Often, I receive request to pass on alerts, petitions, Public Comments on local developments, and environmental items needing action by the Rochester Community and around the world. I’ll keep Actions posted until their due date. 

 

• 4/24/09 -**ACTION** - TUES, APRIL 28, 2009 4:00pm - location TBA - Monroe County Legislature's Recreation and Education Committee meets to decide whether to adopt the draft ELLISON PARK MASTER PLAN, including opening Tryon Park and Irondequoit Bay Park West to MOUNTAIN BIKING ON EXISTING FOOT TRAILS. Read about the issues: http://www.parkspreservation.org/ Let your opinions be heard by the committee: Mary Valerio R monroe3@monroecounty.gov , Glenn Gamble D gamble_g1@yahoo.com , Jeff Adair R monroe12@monroecounty.gov , Carmen Gumina D carmen.gumina@gmail.com , Ciaran Hanna R c.hanna@hpneun.com

 

 

__________________________________________________

 

Award – Environmental Site of the Month Award – [On the last Sunday of each month, we present an environmental award for the Rochester-area environmental web site or blog that best promotes the need to protect and offers solutions for our area's environmental issues.]

 

• This April 27^th 2009 Environmental Site of the Month Award goes to a group who has taken it upon themselves to project our Finger Lakes.  This web site explains their position, offers ways the public can help, takes on the new efforts to extract gas from around the Finger Lakes and the potential repercussions of that.  Their voices should be heard and their web site does just that.

 

The Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes http://www.preservethefingerlakes.com/  We are a group of progressive individuals committed to preserving the natural beauty and the purity of the water in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. The scenic lakes and majestic natural scenery make the Region worth preserving. The topography ranges from steep hills and valleys to gently rolling hills and valleys. The region is home to a large agricultural community that includes a thriving Mennonite population. Some of the various types of agriculture include dairy and crop farms, grape vineyards, and apple orchards