RENewsletter January 10, 2010

RENewsletter | January 10, 2010

The Free environmental newsletter from RochesterEnvironment.com

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

[1/03/09– 1/10/2010]

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

* Found an important Rochester environmental story from a credible source that you think needs attention? Please, SEND ME THE LINK.

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

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Opening Salvo: “Green Business As Usual”

Depending on your point of view, the Recession is either chugging along nicely (though cruelly) or it’s showing signs of a cascading collapse. Meaning, the banks we bailed out last year are thriving and many businesses are holding on, but job loss is dreadful. “The pace of layoffs has slowed sharply in recent months, but businesses still cut 85,000 net jobs in December, the Labor Department said.” (U.S. job loss report is blow to still-fragile recovery 1/09/10- washingtonpost.com)

All these job losses make you wonder how we are going to recover our economy. Who is going to buy all that stuff from businesses if most of us are broke, can’t get loans, and are losing our houses? We could ask the rich (who horde a wildly disproportional share of the wealth in our country) to go out and spend more money. But, how many sneakers can even a rich person wear?

The answer could be a greening of our economy, creating new businesses and environmentally friendly business models that would catch the new green wave. Rather it should be the way out of this Recession. Since the beginning of the Recession, there has been a lot of fanfare about retrofitting our economy with green sector jobs—fixing our water infrastructure, conserving energy, creating renewable energy jobs, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions--but, realistically, those still waiting for the green job revolution to sweep them up are going to be very disappointed. They’re going to miss the trickle beneath their feet that was supposed to be a flood. The good news is that the green job revolution is happening, but proceeding so slowly you wouldn’t notice. The bad news is that it’s pretty much business as usual: Bankers, insurance companies, and mortgage lenders got most of our tax dollars in the bailout. The public got extensions on their layoff benefits, but even that is now drying up.

This is our present reality: Businesses are not hiring and training people off the street to help these businesses become environmentally friendly. Grants are granted to those who retrofit and train people who already have jobs. There’s no wave of new jobs, no massive FDR-like jobs programs to restart our economy. There are just the same old craven scams on the Internet and the same old jobs that were out there before the Recession but for some reason never get filled. You can go back to school to get green training but no guarantee of a job. Shell out more money in a desperate time for a slim chance at a job.

Thus, a very neat and quiet Recession. Politicians keep feeling sorry for people out of jobs, and businesses keep battening down their hatches, tossing out their employees, while we ignore the warnings of climate change: “Nearly half of the asset managers surveyed, or 44 percent, said they don't consider emerging climate risks a financial threat to their clients' money.” Does Your Money Manager Worry About Climate Change Risk? The Odds Are 50-50 – 1/07/10 NYTimes.com Doesn’t seem to be a system based on reality or one that is going to thrive any time soon.

It could be different. It could be something other than a slow (but getting faster) steady collapse of the American work force and our environment. Businesses could take a leap of faith in their ability to move to a new economy (that Europe and others are moving to) and retrofit their business to go green, from the top down, inside out. Hire new people and train them to comply with strict environmental standards, making their commitment to sustainability so obvious that we’d all start to feel good again about our future.

Here’s the way I see it: If the public doesn’t drive the new green economy, they won’t get new jobs. The public can drive the new green economy by refusing to buy or invest in companies not going green or vote for any who don’t provide green jobs, or listen to a media that doesn’t tell us what is actually going on.

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

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

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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.]

1/09/2010 - What are our neighbors Thinking about Climate Change? As you know, the boundaries we set up to define our property, our towns, counties, states, and counties are simply ignored by Nature. The only boundaries that Nature knows are the laws of physics. That’s why we over here in the Rochester, NY region should care about what our friends across Lake Ontario are thinking of doing about Climate Change. It will matter how our neighbors address climate change: Check this out: Climate Change Adapting to in Ontario: Report of the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation November 2009 "Preface - As part of the government’s Climate Change Action Plan, the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation was appointed by the Minister of the Environment in December 2007. The Panel’s mandate was “to help the Ontario government, municipalities and Ontarians prepare and plan for the impact of climate change in areas such as public health, environment, infrastructure, and economy”. "
1/09/2010 - Climate Changes Affect on our Economy: If you plan to be economically viable long into the future, you might be concerned if your stocks are being managed by people who don't consider future Climate Changes issues to be pertinent to economic forecasting: Check out this troubling story: Does Your Money Manager Worry About Climate Change Risk? The Odds Are 50-50 - NYTimes.com Most money managers overseeing trillions of dollars in investments are ignoring many risks that climate change poses to the assets they operate for corporations, governments and other institutions, according to a new analysis. (January 7, 2010) The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
1/09/2010 - Our Environmental Health: Learn all about the flu, the pandemic, and why you should get vaccinated: Flu.gov "H1N1 flu shots are widely available and everyone is urged to get vaccinated. Protect yourself in case there is a third flu wave this winter. "
1/08/2010 - Should We Care What Climate Change Will Do To Others? Here in the Finger Lakes/Great Lakes area, we have a lot of fresh clean drinking water. Should we care that a lot of the world’s peoples don’t? Should we just dismiss this Climate Change rage because we think we won’t get hit immediately like many others around the world? How should a people with a lot of fresh clean water be thinking in a world where billions don’t have fresh clean water? Check this out: Mideast Water Crisis Brings Misery, Uncertainty : NPR Should We Care What Climate Change Will Do To Others? Here in the Finger Lakes/Great Lakes area, we have a lot of fresh clean drinking water. Should we care that a lot of the world’s peoples don’t? Should we just dismiss this Climate Change rage because we think we won’t get hit immediately like many others around the world? How should a people with a lot of fresh clean water be thinking in a world where billions don’t have fresh clean water? (January 7, 20100) NPR News
1/08/2010 - Suggest an Award: In these strange days when we still don’t appreciate the importance of our environment in our lives or in our economy, those who do focus on making our way of life sustainable go unnoticed by the community. And, despite all the talk and heralding in the news, there aren’t many actual Green Jobs out there for the ordinary folk to attain—even thought it’s obvious we need to retrofit our economy to help our environment. So, in the meantime, while we strive to ‘get it’ on the environment (hey, according to a new poll only 44% of large corporate stock companies make their decisions based on Climate Change implications) let’s direct our attention to those who have given leadership in our area and help make our environment a sustainable one. 01/07/2010: EPA Seeks Nominations for Prestigious Environmental Award Contact Information: Chris Sebastian (212) 637-3597, sebastian.chris@epa.gov (New York, N.Y.) Do you know a person, organization, or a business, union, or government official who works tirelessly to make the world a cleaner and healthier place? Then nominate them for a prestigious EPA Environmental Quality Award, which recognizes environmental leadership and the dedication of those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in 2009 to improve the environment in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
1/07, 2010 - Addressing Jobs & Climate Change: I don’t think it should necessarily be the case that we should make significant changes to address Climate Change only if they produce jobs—though I do think they can and should go hand-in-hand. Morally, we as a people should address and make changes to in anticipation of Climate Change regardless. But, in the case of Climate Change we should also reshape our economy to reflect what it rarely does—the actually cost to our environment. So, let’s address Climate Change and create new green jobs at the same time as this study suggests: Study Says Mich. Climate Plan Would Boost Economy - ABC News Michigan could gain a significant economic boost and thousands of new jobs by reducing emissions of gases that cause climate change, according to an analysis released Monday. The report by the Center for Climate Strategies said a plan devised last year for battling global warming in Michigan would help limit the state's heat-trapping gas emissions over the next 15 years. ABCNews.com - Breaking news, politics, online news, world news, feature stories, celebrity interviews and more - ABC News (January 4, 09)
1/07/2010 - Fishing Nowadays: Fishing for the everyday fisherman used to be easy back in the day. Now, with pollution, invasive species, and other environmental bottlenecks, you're going to have to learn a lot of rules before you go out and buy some equipment and get a day off to fish. Everyone who has an impact on our environment (actually that's all of us) including recreational fishermen are going to have to learn the rules. Note Baitfish Regulations - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation "Green List Baitfish The following baitfish are the only species that can be purchased and used in any water body in New York where it is legal to use fish as bait. These baitfish are commonly used throughout New York and are not considered to be a threat to other native New York fish species (except for trout in waters where baitfish use is prohibited). " -from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1/06/2010 - Yet another way to get involved with our area's environment: Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Review - 2007 On January 14, 2010, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm Central Time (2:00 - 4:00 pm Eastern), Environment Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency will hold a binational webinar for Great Lakes partners, stakeholders and the public. The purpose is to inform all of the process for negotiations between the governments of the United States and Canada to amend the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The webinar will provide opportunity for questions and answers. Join us for a Webinar on January 14. Register here: GoToWebinar : Webinars Made Easy. Award-Winning Web Casting & Online Seminar Hosting Software
1/06/09 - A good way to learn about Living Green, or sustainably, is to check out these short environmental tip online videos from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation -- DECTV - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation ""DEC TV" Kicks off New Year with Green Household Tips for Saving Money, Energy Web Page Offers Videos on How Small Acts Can Add Up to Big Savings The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is kicking off the New Year by presenting a series of online videos highlighting small actions that can add up to big household savings this winter. Each day this week, "DEC TV" will provide green tips for saving money and energy in the kitchen, bathroom, basement and other areas. "
1/06/2010 - What chemicals are considered toxic to our environment and how to find out about them: Existing Chemicals | OPPT | US EPA "EPA's existing chemicals programs address pollution prevention, risk assessment, hazard and exposure assessment and/or characterization, and risk management for chemicals substances in commercial use. The Agency uses statutory authorities, including the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), as well as voluntary activities in its implementation of these programs. " -from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1/05/2010 - I recommend anyone who cares about Climate Change to read this excellent editorial on the ability to for the public to 'get it' on this critical issue. We tend to argue Climate Change like we do all partisan issues, if we don't get this issue right all of us cook, including our children. On issues like global warming and evolution, scientists need to speak up "The battle over the science of global warming has long been a street fight between mainstream researchers and skeptics. But never have the scientists received such a deep wound as when, in late November, a large trove of e-mails and documents stolen from the Climatic Research Unit at Britain's University of East Anglia were released onto the Web. In the ensuing "Climategate" scandal, scientists were accused of withholding information, suppressing dissent, manipulating data and more. But while the controversy has receded, it may have done lasting damage to science's reputation: Last month, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 40 percent of Americans distrust what scientists say about the environment, a considerable increase from April 2007. Meanwhile, public belief in the science of global warming is in decline. " --from washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines
1/05/2010 - What we’re reading: Dr. James Hansen’s new book Storms of My Grandchildren is a must if you want the Climate Change threat clarified. Dr. Hansen struggles to help the public understand the true climate threat in a age where so many ignore, refuse, or actively discourage others from understanding the critical and complex science that backs the Climate Change issue.
1/05/09 - Stay current with Climate Change information from Dr. James Hansen: Makiko's Page What Path is the Real World Following? Makiko Sato & James Hansen Columbia University web page maintained by Makiko Sato (mhs119@columbia.edu) Our aim is to help people understand global climate change — and how the factors that drive climate are changing. We start with climate diagnostics — people are usually most interested in climate change itself. But cause-and-effect analysis requires also data on climate forcings (which drive climate change) and feedbacks (which amplify or diminish climate change).
1/04/2010 - One of the main thesises of RochesterEnvironment.com is that our media is not doing their job and informing us adequately about our environment. RochesterEnvironment.com is an attempt to bridge that gap. Some proof for the allegation that the media doesn't give our Environment its proper attention is discussed in this interesting article and graph: The Greatest Story Rarely Told - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com "The diagram, drawn by compiling weekly news summaries from Journalism.org, contains not even a postage-stamp-size space for coverage of climate — or the environment as a whole, for that matter. While Joe Romm recently published a list of journalists who had moved furthest from what he considers excellence in climate coverage in 2009 (yours truly included), the absence of coverage didn’t make his cut. "
1/04/2010 - Our electric grid doesn't have to be a dirty grid. It can be a clean grid like what they're thinking of in Europe: Sun, wind and wave-powered: Europe unites to build renewable energy 'supergrid' | Environment | The Guardian It would connect turbines off the wind-lashed north coast of Scotland with Germany's vast arrays of solar panels, and join the power of waves crashing on to the Belgian and Danish coasts with the hydro-electric dams nestled in Norway's fjords: Europe's first electricity grid dedicated to renewable power will become a political reality this month, as nine countries formally draw up plans to link their clean energy projects around the North Sea. (January 3, 2010) Latest news, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk
1/04/2010 - Curb Climate Change at the local level, very local - us. Here's a short calculator for you own carbon footprints: WWF Footprint Calculator "Worried about your impact on the environment? The way we use the planet's resources makes up our ecological footprint. Measuring yours takes less than 5 minutes and could set you on a life-changing journey... "

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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.

Jan 10, 2010 - Sat, Jan 16, 2010 - Rochester City Hall 30 Church St. Rochester, NY 14614
- Pointsettia Display at Lamberton Conservatory Growing Together: Community Garden Conference - Location: Rochester City Hall 30 Church St. Rochester, NY 14614 Free parking available at City Hall. 9-NOON Morning Bus Tour ($15). 12:45pm-5:30pm How-To Community Garden ($10) Register on website Rochester Roots Questions: Call Jan McDonald at 585-232-1463.
Saturday, Jan. 16. Canandaigua's Wildlife Defenders host free event Jan. 16
- Canandaigua's Wildlife Defenders host free event Jan. 16 - Canandaigua, NY - MPNnow Canandaigua, N.Y. — The Canandaigua Elementary School will host a free Wildlife Defenders education program Saturday, Jan. 16. (January 7, 2010) MPNnow Home RSS Anyone interested in attending the free event is encouraged to reserve a place by sending an e-mail to harrisa@canandaiguaschools.org . If the 11 a.m. performance fills up, a second will be added at 1 p.m. [more on Environmental Education]
January 20, 2010 Wednesday |Penfield Community Center on 1985 Baird Road in the Ruth Braman Room, Penfield, NY
- Penfield's Habitat: The Birds of Winter Presented by Richard Ashworth. Richard Ashworth has been an active birder for over 40 years, first in his native England, he was active with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (like our Audubon Society) and he is past president of the Rochester Birding Association. In this presentation, he will share his photographs of our local birds and explain the importance of habitat preservation, not only in our backyards, but in our community as well. This meeting will be held at the Penfield Community Center on 1985 Baird Road in the Ruth Braman Room on Wednesday, January 20 from 7 - 8:30 pm. Please join us to learn more about Penfield’s precious environmental assets. -- PENFIELD GREEN INITIATIVE Planning Committee The voice for Penfield’s environmental assets!
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 -
- Monroe County Household Hazardous Waste Collection - APPOINTMENT REQUIRED. THIS IS THE ONLY DATE LISTED SO FAR IN 2010. Make an appointment by clicking on the GREEN date and time you want on this webpage Monroe County HHW

Friday, January 29, 2010 Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm | Carlson Auditorium (Room 1125), Building 76, RIT, Henrietta, NY
- After Copenhagen: Capitalism and Environmental Crisis Date: Friday, January 29, 2010 Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm Location: Carlson Auditorium (Room 1125), Building 76, RIT, Henrietta, NY NYC environmental writer and climate activist, Chris Williams, is coming to the Rochester Institute of Technology to lead a discussion focused around struggling for a sustainable society. • What went wrong at Copenhagen? • Can capitalism ever be “sustainable”? Can we avoid environmental crisis under capitalism? • Would a socialist society be “sustainable”? What would it look like? • What does it mean for a society to be “sustainable”? Join us for an exploration of these questions and more. There is a requested Admission of $2 for students/$5 for non-students, but nobody will be turned away for lacking money.

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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.

Action Due Date: January 14, 2010 | GoToWebinar : Webinars Made Easy. Award-Winning Web Casting & Online Seminar Hosting Software
- Yet another way to get involved with our area's environment: Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Review - 2007 On January 14, 2010, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm Central Time (2:00 - 4:00 pm Eastern), Environment Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency will hold a binational webinar for Great Lakes partners, stakeholders and the public. The purpose is to inform all of the process for negotiations between the governments of the United States and Canada to amend the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The webinar will provide opportunity for questions and answers. Join us for a Webinar on January 14. Register here: GoToWebinar : Webinars Made Easy. Award-Winning Web Casting & Online Seminar Hosting Software
Action Due Date: Next Count: February 12-15, 2010
- Get Involved — Great Backyard Bird Count "Your Help Will Make a Difference The success of the Great Backyard Bird Count depends on participants from every community to count birds across the United States and Canada. Help spread the word in your town by asking people to count birds for at least 15 minutes during the count. It's fun, easy, raises awareness of birds, and provides an important record of where the birds are--a record that scientists can use well into the future to track how birds are faring as their environments change. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon invite everyone to “Count for Fun, Count for the Future.” --Great Backyard Bird Count — Great Backyard Bird Count
Action Due Date: EPA will take public comment for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. |
- EPA Strengthens Smog Standard/Proposed standards, strictest to date, will protect the health of all Americans, especially children The United States Environmental Protection Agency today proposed the strictest health standards to date for smog. Smog, also known as ground-level ozone, is linked to a number of serious health problems, ranging from aggravation of asthma to increased risk of premature death in people with heart or lung disease. Ozone can even harm healthy people who work and play outdoors. The agency is proposing to replace the standards set by the previous administration, which many believe were not protective enough of human health. EPA will take public comment for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. The agency will hold three public hearings on the proposal: Feb. 2, 2010 in Arlington, Va. and in Houston; and Feb. 4, 2010 in Sacramento. More information: http://www.epa.gov/groundlevelozone (January 7, 2010) [more on Air Quality in our area]

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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.]