RENewsletter | September 16, 2012

The Free environmental newsletter from RochesterEnvironment.com

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

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[09/09/2012 – 09/16/2012]

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

Opening Salvo:  “Atheists most concerned about Climate Change?”

If you think about such things at all, I would speculate that the group most concerned about the specter of Climate Change is atheists.  After all, if you don’t believe in a supreme being or an afterlife, reality is all you get.  *No exit. 

I’m not really trying to pit one group against another vying for the most concerned about Climate Change award.  I am simply puzzled at how much of our minds are occupied by things that don’t exist, when something so heavily upon us like Climate Change gets very little attention.   It’s a strange way to exist.

It’s strange because Atheists are those who believe that this world is as good as it gets.  Heaven is on Earth, you reap what you sow, no supernatural intervention, no redemption, and certainly no indulgences.   If you warm the planet by burning fossil fuels, you get hot.  And so do your children, especially your children.  If there is any salvation, it would be the recognition that we are all in this together, and we would all benefit greatly if we pulled together and got ourselves out of this mess we created.  We will all reap the consequences—some of which is going on now—if we continue business as usual, and we will all benefit from addressing it by putting our way of life on a sustainable path.

All this talk about Atheists and Climate Change probably annoys some zealots who believe that Climate Change itself is an atheists’ plot (though I fail to see how we would benefit from it as it’s going to get hot whether there’s a hell or not).  And I don’t understand why any would fear a group of dedicated loners who are notoriously bad at congregating anywhere about anything.   We Atheists benefit greatly by the power of believers to assemble and tackle problems in great numbers.  

Alas, there is no poll on whether Atheists are more concerned about Climate Change (and I wouldn’t believe those polls anyways) but it just seems reasonable for those who don’t believe that magic plays a role in our future (or our past for that matter) would want the best possible world for the longest time.  Atheists, like everyone else, must bow to the power of Nature that has produced our quarrelsome species.  

In the four billion years of life on this planet (three billon of which consisted of nothing larger than a single cell), it is a profound mystery as to why we would believe that introducing billions of tons of CO2 wouldn’t rapidly warm the planet, far faster than it has ever warmed before.  Does our salvation depend on avoiding the biological constraints that have always framed our existence?  

In truth, the only salivation for any of us is the future.   It is where we are all going, despite what we believe.  If we throw all our waste and heat into the future, to have a fossil-fuel-burning existence today, then a hot future is what we (and all other life forms on this planet) will have.

*I’ve been pondering this complete-and-utter annihilation-upon-death problem that arises with Atheism and there just may be a way out.  It goes like this:  If quantum physics works on the macro level, as it does on the quantum level, then because all positions of a particle are possible, we would be able to travel back in time, in infinite parallel worlds, and survive forever.  If.

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

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* Got news? | Go to my blog: Environmental Thoughts - Rochester, NY or Tweet me @ http://twitter.com/#!/FrankRrrr   On Twitter and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RochesterEnvironment  and Examiner/RochesterEnvironment, I post local environmental events, news, and commentary as soon as it happens.  If you think this newsletter, which continually informs our community on our local environmental news, events, actions, is worthwhile, please encourage others to sign up.  We who care about our environment and future need to ‘Occupy’ the Rochester media to change how the public views environmental news.

The great conundrum of our times is that in a time of rapidly occurring Climate Change and a rapid disintegration of the environment that we need to thrive and survive, mainstream media still marginalizes environmental concerns. [Check often for this continually updated list on the possible consequences of Climate Change in our region--supported by facts.] If there isn’t a quick and substantial change in how environmental concerns are reported, edited, and chosen in mainstream media, the public will continue to believe that environmental concerns are merely special interest matters, issues they can avoid if they choose.  How can we inform the public and monitor our environment without abridging our Freedoms--in enough time to safe ourselves?

Anything else you're interested in is not going to happen if you can't breathe the air and drink the water. Don't sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet. -- Carl Sagan

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

• Fracking boosters point to poll 
• Greentopia turns spotlight on innovation 
• Rochester Institute of Technology to end bottled water sales
• International Coastal Cleanup events are coming up Sept. 15 and 22
• West Nile case count jumps another 36% in Ontario  
• Social scientists look at global 'feeding frenzy' for land 
• Can NY find Economic Powerhouse in Offshore Wind? 
• Wildlife refuge gets expansion money 
• Town of Perinton adopts local law banning hydrofracking 
• Nuclear Power Plant Sloppy With Security? 
• Montezuma Wildlife Refuge Gets Expansion Money 
• Shale Gas Outrage Rally and March in Philadelphia Sept. 20 
• Worst Of West Nile Epidemic Appears To Be Over 
• Astonishing' Arctic Ice Melt Sets New Record 
• On the Fate of Asia’s Great Rivers 
• Poll shows increased support for fracking 
• Digging into organics at Wegmans' Canandaigua farm 
• Cuomo promises no quick decision on fracking, expects lawsuits to follow either way
• Cleanup too big, or too little? A tale of two towns 
• People react to news of West Nile virus case 
• Erie Co. Death Associated With West Nile 
• Asian Carp & the Great Lakes: Industries worry about basin separation (Part 2) 
• Two more Le Roy students diagnosed with tic-like symptoms
• Scientists tackle Lake Erie algae 
• Case of West Nile virus reported in Monroe County 
•  Monroe County reports first case of West Nile 
• New York Is Lagging as Seas and Risks Rise, Critics Warn 
• When Heat Kills: Global Warming As Public Health Threat 
• America Is Only Nation Where Climate Scientists Face Organized Harassment 
• Pa. to release Marcellus Shale impact fee data 
• Hydrofracking rally planned for City Hall 
• Status on New York Fracking Decision 
• Project provides bird migration forecasts to inform conservation, climate change 
• In U.S., 2012 so far is hottest year on record 
• Andrew Cuomo: No rush to decide fracking 
• Southern Tier communities at the crossroads 
• Climate change expert calls for nuclear power 'binge' to avert global warming 
• Where do the Dems and GOP stand on energy and the environment? 
• Climate Change Stress Killing Forests, and Why it Matters 

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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.]

• 9/14/2012 - Film BIDDER 70 a great success in Rochester, NY.  Last night at the beautifully designed Forest Cinema  35 State St. in Rochester, NY 14614 ‘Bidder 70’ played to a full house of Rochesterians hungry to see the story of our newest Climate Change hero. The Rochester’s Greentopia Film Festival  showed the story of Tim DeChristopher’s heroic effort to do something concrete about Climate Change to a full house to very engaged audience. 
• 9/14/2012 - Online article seems like a good encapsulation of the Fracking crisis in NYS.  But, unless it discusses the threat to Home Rule and includes “The Sky is Pink” {http://vimeo.com/44367635} it’s not ‘everything’.   Everything you ever wanted to know about fracking* *But you were afraid to ask? Here are some answers. When the Innovation Trail reporting project launched in 2010, we made it a priority to cover the hydrofracking debate in New York. Here's a quick recap featuring some of our reports from the past two years: (September 14, 2012)  Innovation Trail
• 9/14/2012 - You don’t really get the threat of Fracking in NYS until you get the threat to Home Rule: Home Rule and Fracking "In separate decisions issued in late February 2012, two upstate judges have independently ruled that local municipalities in New York are allowed to prohibit natural gas drilling within their boundaries. The courts based their decisions on the legislative history of the state’s Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law (OGSML) and on prior mining law decisions that clearly establish the authority of townships, villages and counties in New York State to dictate land uses under the zoning authority granted them by the state.  While the rulings in favor of either or both of the involved towns (Dryden in Tomkins County and Middlefield in Otsego County) may be appealed, these two solidly and concisely reasoned opinions greatly bolster the efforts of towns willing to exercise Home Rule authority to protect themselves from the dangerous and unhealthy practices of fracking.  For more detail on these two decisions please read Municipalities and Natural Gas Extraction…What the Frack? by Ronald Steinvurzel and Jessica Buno in the New York Law Journal. "Catskill Mountainkeeper
• 9/14/2012 - Think there is at least a scintilla of evidence that Fracking might not be a good idea and you should do something about it, go here: Help Halt Fracking "In recent years, the dangers of fracking have become more apparent, as Nick Kusnetz reports in The Nation. In 2011 the EPA linked the practice directly to groundwater pollution while public heath researchers have found that intensive drilling and fracking has pushed smog levels in some rural western valleys beyond those of Los Angeles. Yet, fracking continues apace in numerous mid-Atlantic and Western states and New York, the only state to date with significant shale gas reserves to prevent energy companies from fracking, is currently weighing whether to allow the practice."The Nation
• 9/13/2012 - Now that Fracking has had its way with Pennsylvania, they don’t seem all that crazy about it anymore.   Shale Gas Outrage Rally and March in Philadelphia Sept. 20 On Thursday, Sept. 20, while Philadelphia’s Convention Center buzzes indoors with Marcellus Shale lobbyists, politicians and policymakers, a coalition of citizens’ groups alarmed by the acute and cumulative impacts of shale gas drilling will make their core message, “Stop Fracking Now,” clearly heard outside the convention hall at a rally. Led by the Philadelphia-based nonprofit group Protecting Our Waters, Shale Gas Outrageorganizers bring together sobering concerns about drilling’s negative impacts on local communities and economies: air, soil and water pollution, public safety, climate change and political corruption. (September 12, 2012)  EcoWatch [more on Fracking in our area]
• 9/13/2012 - Still time to get your tickets for Bidder 70, a film about moving out of your comfort zone to solve Climate Change.  Read my short article: “Bidder 70,” not DeChristopher, coming to Rochester, NY to talk about Climate Change” – Then, we’ll see ya Friday: BIDDER 70 Friday, September 14, 2012 from 6:45 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT) Rochester, NY  - Get Tickets - "Watch the Trailer Now One day in December 2008, 27-year-old Tim DeChristopher arrived at a Bureau of Land Management auction as a protestor; a few hours later, he left as nothing less than a hero. His spur-of-the-moment decision to impersonate a bidder (the “Bidder 70” of the film’s title) and fraudulently offer $1.8 million for 22,000 acres of Utah wilderness earmarked for oil exploration immediately propelled him to the front lines of environmental activism – and into the crosshairs of a federal prosecution that ultimately led to a two-year prison sentence. Thoughtful, optimistic and inspirational, Bidder 70 explores the nature of activism, and echoes DeChristopher’s commitment to his cause. " Greentopia Film Festival
• 9/13/2012 -Maybe we are not completely dysfunctional on solving Climate Change, we have examples…   Montreal Protocol: What can UN climate negotiators learn from the ozone treaty? The ratification of the Montreal Protocol was one of the international community’s finest hours. Faced with a clear and present danger, states united to cut the emission of dangerous gases that threatened a vital part of the planet. Politicians listened to the science, and despite strong and well-funded protests from the aerosol industry they agreed to sign a treaty phasing out their production. In 2009, the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol became the first treaties in history to achieve universal ratification. Given the current state of the UN climate talks – it’s worth reflecting on how this came about. (September 13, 2012) Responding to Climate Change
• 9/13/2012 - Story about Climate Change from one of our best Climate Change writers:At Edge of Peruvian Andes, Tracking Impacts of Warming The Andes in eastern Peru, with steep slopes and remarkable biodiversity, are what one scientist calls a “perfect laboratory” for studying the effects of climate change. E360 contributor Elizabeth Kolbert trekked there with researchers seeking to determine if tree populations can move uphill fast enough to survive warming temperatures. September 10, 2012) Environment 360
• 9/12/12 - Some scientists say that the increases in harmful Algae booms are affected by Climate Change: Climate Change and Harmful Algal Blooms “Climate change has the potential to affect the occurrence and severity of HABs because the growth, toxicity, and geographic distributions of HAB species (like all phytoplankton) are impacted by environmental variability. Additionally, the susceptibility of shellfish, fish, and marine animals to the impacts of HABs can be exacerbated by other stressors that are also caused by climate changes.” –from The Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research(CSCOR).  So many some should connect the dots between the present state of Lake Erie and Climate Change.  Just a thought: Scientists tackle Lake Erie algaeToxic bloom is one of many environmental problems facing lake Cleveland — Scientists gathered this week to discuss the health of the Great Lakes said Monday that recent environmental threats plaguing Lake Erie — from low water levels to the possibility of Asian carp — are diverting attention from a larger, looming threat: toxic algae blooms. So far this year, water levels have been well below their historical averages. Scientists recently discovered DNA evidence of Asian carp in the lake for the first time. And a significant fish kill along the shore near Cleveland in July was repeated last week on the Canadian side of the lake near Chatham. (September 11, 2012) The Detroilt News [more on Great Lakes in our area]
• 9/12/2012 - This short article by Jeremy Moule, environmental reporter for Rochester City Newspaper, reminds us that NASA scientists put out a video that demonstrates how quickly our planet has warmed in the last thirty years.  This article also reminds us that we have at least one news reporter in the Rochester region who understandsClimate Change and is able to connect the dots with local events.  We are living in a world that is warming, where vector-driven disease like West Nile Virus will increase because of Climate Change.   Trying to understand the world we live in without connecting the dots with extreme weather and the other consequences of a warming planet will be like trying to explain why ships disappear over the horizon to those who still believe they are living on a flat planet.  Global warming, YouTube style Earlier this year, the folks at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies put together a video that shows how temperatures have changed across the planet from 1880 to 2011. The last 30 years are especially scary, particularly if you watch what's happening in the Arctic, where the largest temperature changes are occuring.  (September 11, 2012)Rochester City Newspaper
• 9/11/2012 - Maybe New York State should drop Fracking altogether and focus on Climate Change  New York Is Lagging as Seas and Risks Rise, Critics Warn With a 520-mile-long coast lined largely by teeming roads and fragile infrastructure, New York City is gingerly facing up to the intertwined threats posed by rising seas and ever-more-severe storm flooding. So far, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has commissioned exhaustive research on the challenge of climate change. His administration is expanding wetlands to accommodate surging tides, installing green roofs to absorb rainwater and prodding property owners to move boilers out of flood-prone basements. But even as city officials earn high marks for environmental awareness, critics say New York is moving too slowly to address the potential for flooding that could paralyze transportation, cripple the low-lying financial district and temporarily drive hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.  (September 10, 2012)  New York Times [more on Climate Change in our area]
• 9/11/2012 - We don’t really understand Climate Change if we don’t understand the immediate threat to public health  When Heat Kills: Global Warming As Public Health Threat The current poster child for global warming is a polar bear, sitting on a melting iceberg. Some health officials argue the symbol should, instead, be a child. That's because emerging science shows that people respond more favorably to warnings about climate change when it's portrayed as a health issue rather than as an environmental problem. Epidemiologist George Luber at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the most obvious risk from a warming world is killer heat. A deadly heat wave that struck Chicago in 1995 made many people aware of how disastrous sustained high temperatures can be. (Septeember 10, 2012) NPR News[more on Climate Change in our area]
• 9/11/2012 - If Fracking is such a great idea for NYS, why are there so many moratoriums against it? Maybe they know something.  Current High Volume Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing Drilling Bans and Moratoria in NY State Many communities in New York state have banded together to limit or delay shale gas drilling in their municipalities. Below is a map and list of areas where this is occurring. These are updated weekly by our New York affiliate, Karen Edelstein. Click on the images to zoom in or print them. If any of the maps look incorrect, please contact Karen: edelstein@fractracker.org. Archived maps can be found at the bottom of this page.
• 9/11/2012 - Event against Fracking in New York State this Saturday:  "Water is Life Music Festival Saturday, September 15, 2012, 11:00am until 9:00pm Onondaga Nation Athletic Field, Onondaga Nation Territory, off of Route 11A south of Syracuse map A music festival to celebrate community and support the fight against fracking!  FREE ADMISSION - Cosponsored by the Onondaga Nation and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation. With The Fabulous Ripcords, Joe Driscoll, Colleen Kattau and Some Guys, D.R.E.A.M. Freedom Revival, Cornbred, Thousands of One, and The Gunrunners. NEW!  Join us at 9:30 AM for a 1-mile Walk for Water, starting from the Pavilion at the Athletic Fields.  The Ahkwesasne Women Singers will also be there to get us started on the right foot.  Please note that this event is drug & alcohol free, and people should plan on bringing lawn chairs.  Spread the word on Facebook!  Volunteers are needed for the event - contact the Onondaga Nation Communications Office 315-492-1922 Find out what's happening in the fight against fracking!  Speakers include: Award-winning ecologist and author  Sandra Steingraber;  Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation and respected international speaker on Climate Change issues;  Nadia Steinzor of the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project;  Wes Gillingham of Catskill Mountainkeepers and NYers Against Fracking;  Joseph Heath, General Counsel to the Onondaga Nation and expert in lease termination and town bans;  Carol French & Carolyn Knapp, affected landowners from Bradford Co., PA;  Michael Gorr of  Shaleshock CNY;  Renee Vogelsang of Frack Action;  Katherine Nadeau of Environmental Advocates of NY;  Sarah Eckel of Citizens Campaign for the Environment;  and more!  The festival atmosphere will be completed by good food, info tables, and Native arts and crafts for sale.  Please join us! PARTIAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE ROCKEFELLER BROTHERS FUND "
• 9/11/2012 - I suspect the impact fee of Solar Power for renewable energy for NYS is vanishingly small compared to Fracking.  Pa. to release Marcellus Shale impact fee dataHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania state officials will announce how much money drillers paid to offset the impact of natural gas wells sunk in 2011. A state law signed in February imposes a so-called "impact fee" on energy companies exploring the Marcellus Shale gas field. Drillers must pay $50,000 for each horizontally drilled well and $10,000 for each vertical well. The money was due Sept. 1. (September 10, 2012)auburnpub.com [more on Fracking in our area]
• 9/11/2012 - Bird migration patterns and Climate Change—just one great way to monitor Climate Change.  Project provides bird migration forecasts to inform conservation, climate change Some of the broader goals of forecasting the seasonal migration of hundreds of millions of birds are to improve conservation, better understand the effects of climate change, and predict and mitigate potential environmental threats, said ornithologist Andrew Farnsworth, a Cornell research associate based in New York City, in describing BirdCast, a collaborative project between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and six partner institutions. In addressing members of the media at an Inside Cornell event Sept. 6 at the Cornell ILR Conference Center in New York City, Farnsworth said that BirdCast integrates biology, computer science and conservation. (September 10, 2012) Cornell Chronicle Online [more onClimate Change in our area] 
• 9/10/2012 - Quite a jump in Climate Change perceptions from out-right denial to a position where some believe only geo-engineering can save us.  That’s quite a span of attitudes considering the science and level of concern involved in the warming of our planet.  In both extremes lay great danger for us all. Climate change expert calls for nuclear power 'binge' to avert global warming Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University, warns CO2 levels are rising at a faster than exponential rate | A leading British academic has called for accelerated research into futuristic geo-engineering and a worldwide nuclear power station "binge" to avoid runaway global warming. (Setember 9, 2012) The Guardian  [more on Climate Change in our area]  
• 9/10/2012 - As our political leaders try to mollify us over the safety of Fracking in New York State, we have serious doubts:  Check out the Google “Fraccidents Map” The country is in the midst of an unprecedented gas drilling boom — brought on by a controversial technology called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” Along with this fracking-fueled gas rush have come troubling reports of poisoned drinking water, polluted air, mysterious animal deaths, industrial disasters and explosions. We call them “Fraccidents.” This map is a sampling of some of the high profile incidents related to the country’s gas drilling boom.  (September 9, 2012) News From Underground
• 9/10/2012 - Let me see if I get this.  The fossil fuel industry melts Arctic ice because of Climate Change then gets to ship through the warmed water and drill for more fossil fuels too.  What a great deal for them.  As Sea Ice Fades, The Arctic Becomes A Nautical Highway The timing couldn’t have been better: just a week or so after scientists announced the greatest meltback of Arctic sea ice on record, three adventurers declared they’d slipped through the McClure Strait in Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, thus achieving the first-ever sailboat trek through the northernmost part of the fabled Northwest Passage. Together, the two events made it abundantly clear that the Arctic is warming dramatically. That in turn could posegreat risks to Arctic wildlife, accelerate warming elsewhere on the planet, trigger the release of greenhouse gases frozen in the permafrost and sea floor, and disrupt weather patterns around the world.  Spetember 7, 2012)  Climate Central
• 9/08/2012 - ESSAY: Addressing Climate Change in Rochester, NY by biking to Greentopia Of course bicycling is a great way to get around town, a method that’s fun and healthy.  Think of bicycling as a way of curbing our national obesity crisis, or releasing those endorphins (that natural feel-good sensation after you’ve worked out). Not to mention (but which I will) all the benefits of not buying, financing,  maintaining, insuring, fueling, and parking that gas-guzzling goliath that consumes a big part of your paycheck. But that’s not all.  There’s a loftier way of looking at active transportation (walking and bicycling), a way that makes an existential statement about our present collective consciousness.  Ok, that’s a little too lofty.  Let me ratchet that down a bit.  Let me see…  How about I use an anecdote?  more...

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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. Also, be sure to check other calendars and environmental series for multi-day events.

September 2012

• September 10th - 16th - High Falls region, Rochester, NY
  • Greentopia 2012 Greentopia 2012 is a week-long celebration of inspiration through art, music, organic and locally grown food and beverages, ideas and activism. The expanded event will contain four programmatic aspects, which include Greentopia Innovation, Greentopia Film, Greentopia Music and Greentopia EcoFest. In its first year the event drew between 18-20,000 people to the historic High Falls district. Through how-to workshops and cutting-edge films, visitors learned about big green ideas and how to apply them creatively in everyday life. There are special family activities, a community recycled art installation, mouthwatering organic and local food and beverages, and all kinds of live music. Businesses and organizations showcased products and programs that help to restore the planet, promote green living – even save consumers some money.
• Saturday, September 15, 2012, 11:00am until 9:00pm Onondaga Nation Athletic Field, Onondaga Nation Territory, off of Route 11A south of Syracuse map
  • "Water is Life Music Festival Saturday, September 15, 2012, 11:00am until 9:00pm Onondaga Nation Athletic Field, Onondaga Nation Territory, off of Route 11A south of Syracuse map A music festival to celebrate community and support the fight against fracking!  FREE ADMISSION - Cosponsored by the Onondaga Nation and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation. With The Fabulous Ripcords, Joe Driscoll, Colleen Kattau and Some Guys, D.R.E.A.M. Freedom Revival, Cornbred, Thousands of One, and The Gunrunners. NEW!  Join us at 9:30 AM for a 1-mile Walk for Water, starting from the Pavilion at the Athletic Fields.  The Ahkwesasne Women Singers will also be there to get us started on the right foot.  Please note that this event is drug & alcohol free, and people should plan on bringing lawn chairs.  Spread the word on Facebook!  Volunteers are needed for the event - contact the Onondaga Nation Communications Office 315-492-1922 Find out what's happening in the fight against fracking!  Speakers include: Award-winning ecologist and author  Sandra Steingraber;  Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation and respected international speaker on Climate Change issues;  Nadia Steinzor of the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project; Wes Gillingham of Catskill Mountainkeepers and NYers Against Fracking;  Joseph Heath, General Counsel to the Onondaga Nation and expert in lease termination and town bans;  Carol French & Carolyn Knapp, affected landowners from Bradford Co., PA;  Michael Gorr of  Shaleshock CNY;  Renee Vogelsang of Frack Action;  Katherine Nadeau of Environmental Advocates of NY;  Sarah Eckel of Citizens Campaign for the Environment;  and more!  The festival atmosphere will be completed by good food, info tables, and Native arts and crafts for sale.  Please join us! PARTIAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE ROCKEFELLER BROTHERS FUND "

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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: Now.
  • Feel like you’re stuck in an energy rut?  You crave energy but almost everything out there warms the planet.  How about Clean Energy Victory Bonds? There’s no getting around it: If you give the fossil fuel billions in tax subsidies they will take it and not give it back; and when they melt the Arctic with their greenhouse gases, they see opportunity with the pristine Arctic environment and start drilling.  So what are you going to do?  Why not launch a public effort to fund renewable energy, energy that won’t pollute the planet and warm it up beyond our sustainability level, with the collective might our own monies like we did back in World War Two?  Victory Bonds.  Help push this bill to put renewable energy out in front: Clean Energy Victory Bonds On August 2, Representative Bob Filner and 10 cosponsors introduced the Clean Energy Victory Bonds Act of 2012, H.R. 6275 in the House of Representatives. The bill, officially entitled “To promote the domestic development and deployment of clean energy technologies required for the 21st century,” will allow all Americans to invest in Treasury Bonds for as little as $25 each that will fund a clean energy future. The $50 billion raised from the bonds will fund clean energy programs that support wind, solar, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles in the United States.
• ACTION: Due Date: soon as project needs to be completed by Oct. 31st.
  • Are you an expert bicyclist?  You can help update local bicycling map and help increase active transportation in our area and decrease greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Help Update the Greater Rochester Area Bicycling Map Several years ago, members of the Rochester Bicycling Club (RBC) helped to rate selected roads in the City of Rochester, surrounding Monroe County, and nearby towns in Wayne, Ontario, and Livingston Counties. These road ratings were used by the Genesee Transportation Council (GTC) to develop the 2009 Edition of the Greater Rochester Area Bicycling Map. 20,000 copies of the map were printed by the GTC and distributed throughout the bicycling community by members of the RBC and others. It is time to update the map and we need the help of experienced road cyclists Rochester Cycling Allinace
• ACTION:  Due Date: Friday, 9/21, 5-8PM:
  • Make Peace, Don't Frack: "Friday, 9/21, 5-8PM: International Day of Peace,  Make Peace, Don't Frack  Gather at Cobbs Hill Park, Lake Riley, Rochester  Wear blue to honor the purity of our water and air!  Be heard—come make a sign or banner voicing your concern, fear, frustration. Bring a white or blue shirt to stencil a message on! Learn—participate in a direct action training and learn about civil disobedience. Mourn—walk to the reservoir and take part in a ritual to mourn how current power structures and policymakers mistreat the earth. Network—meet and join with other concerned community members. Family-friendly. Bring people of all ages! Please support the earth by walking, biking, busing, or carpooling. Sponsored by the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and other folks who care.  "
• ACTION: Call Governor Cuomo Today.
  • Stopping Fracking in New York State may be the most important thing you do today.  Tell Governor Cuomo that Fracking is not a good idea for New York; don’t give into despair that this cannot be stopped; and, make sure your children can’t blame you for not trying stopping this disaster that will befall them.     "Despite a record-breaking 74,000 public comments, we still need your help to make Governor Cuomo hear that fracking has yet to be proven safe.  It will only take you a couple of minutes.    Please tell Governor Cuomo not to put New Yorkers' health at risk.  Call 1-866-584-6799  and leave a simple message like,  "Protect New York's water, land and air by not permitting fracking in New York.  Instead, support renewable energy that will bring good, long-term jobs to New Yorkers!"  This phone number goes through Food & Water Watch who is keeping track of the number of calls,  and is directed to a recording from the Governor's office asking for your name, address and comments.   This is part of a state-wide initiative to get a record number of calls in to Governor Cuomo this August. PLEASE MAKE THAT CALL THIS WEEK!!! "
• ACTION: Due Date: Now
  • Got bicycle experience, why not help Rochester, NY develop a better bicycling map so traveling for short distances will increase and become safer, and decrease greenhouse gases.  Help Update the Greater Rochester Area Bicycling Map Several years ago, members of the Rochester Bicycling Club (RBC) helped to rate selected roads in the City of Rochester, surrounding Monroe County, and nearby towns in Wayne, Ontario, and Livingston Counties. These road ratings were used by the Genesee Transportation Council (GTC) to develop the 2009 Edition of the Greater Rochester Area Bicycling Map. 20,000 copies of the map were printed by the GTC and distributed throughout the bicycling community by members of the RBC and others. (September 2, 2012) Rochester Cycling Alliance
• ACTION: Due Date: The public may submit comments on the plan to the DEC through Oct. 3 by emailing cbtheoba@gw.dec.state.ny.us or calling (585) 226-5354.
  • Make public comment on contaminated site in our region:  - Public comment sought on environmental cleanup on Penfield Road The town of Penfield is accepting public comments on an environmental cleanup strategy planned for contaminated property on Penfield Road, the site of a proposed car wash. The property at 1600 Penfield Road was home to Carriage Cleantown, a dry cleaning business, from 1961 until 2005. Testing dating back to 2002 shows elevated concentrations of dry-cleaning chemicals in the soil and groundwater at the site, in some cases tens of thousands of times above acceptable levels, according to a report from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. . (August 27, 2012) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle [more onBrownfields in our area]
• ACTION: Due date: Now
  • Let’s stop assuming that our Great Lakes is a toilet for industry and our sewer systems.  Help Keep Sewage Out of the Great Lakes Billions of gallons of combined raw sewage and storm runoff are dumped into the Great Lakes each year. Raw sewage, trash and personal hygiene products — along with industrial wastewater, household chemicals, urban runoff, herbicides and pesticides — often flow into the lakes after heavy rains.   Bacteria, viruses and other pathogens in untreated sewage pose a significant health risk and are one of the causes of Great Lakes beach closings and swimming advisories. Trash can float in the water and pollute shorelines for miles. Swimmers at many beaches face multiple closings a year, and boaters can find themselves traversing waters littered with an offensive blend of garbage and sewage. Help Us Reach 5,000 Signatures Sign the Petition and Share It with Your Friends --fromAlliance for the Great Lakes
• ACTION: Due Date now
  • Learn about Plan Bv7 – a new approach to regulation of water levels and flows on the Great Lakes from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River | The Nature Conservancy and Restore Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River - Citizens Campaign for the Environment and sign the petition online. Save the River - Water Levels Petition "Support a Healthy Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River! The International Joint Commission (IJC) recently released water levels management plan – called Plan BV7 – for the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The new plan will make significant progress in protecting the health of the River and Lake, while providing greater economic opportunities for industry and continuing to provide protection for shoreline property owners from erosion and flooding. "--from Save the River - Riverkeeper of the Upper St. Lawrence River
• ACTION: Due Date: Now
  • Environment Petition: Prohibit All Fracking Related Activities on Monroe County Properties, NY | Change.org "The magnitude of New York State’s upcoming decision to permit and regulate high-volume, slick-water, horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) demands immediate attention and action by our County Legislature to ensure self-determination and the health and safety of our community. "
• ACTION: Due Date: Now
  • Tired of meteorologists failing to connect the dots between Climate Change and our daily weather?  Do something about it. Take action:     Forecast the Facts WE NEED OUR TV METEOROLOGISTS TO REPORT THE FACTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE. According to a recent national survey, more than half of TV weather reporters don’t believe in human-induced climate change. Meanwhile, their viewers are facing unprecedented climate-change induced heat waves, droughts, and flooding.
• ACTION: Due Date: Now
  • Tell the NRC: Expand emergency evacuation zones Today, NIRS and 37 other organizations submitted a formal Petition for Rulemaking to the NRC to expand emergency evacuation zones around U.S. nuclear reactors and make other improvements in emergency preparedness. We're calling this the Nuclear 911 campaign. You can join us as a co-petitioner below! The widespread radioactive contamination caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster (and Chernobyl before it) makes clear that the current 10 mile Emergency Planning Zones in the U.S. are woefully inadequate to protect the American people. "Nuclear Information and Resource Service - NIRS
• ACTION: Due Date: Now
  • What to do something concrete about solving Climate Change?  Go here: "Are you passionate about changing the conversation about the climate crisis? Are you interested in leading the climate movement? What if I said you have the chance to be personally trained by Al Gore to educate others about climate change? This summer, you could have that chance. I'd like to invite you to apply to be one of our esteemed Climate Reality Presenters -- impassioned volunteer leaders who bring the reality of climate change to people around the world. We call our grassroots network of Presenters the heart of our Climate Leadership Corps. Learn more: "Climate Reality "To reveal the complete truth about the climate crisis in a way that ignites the moral courage in each of us. "Climate Reality | Climate Reality Training Application
•  ACTION: Due date: Now
  • Take action for our Great Lakes "Speak Out Now to Set the U.S.-Canada Strategy for Protecting our Great Lakes The health of our Great Lakes is threatened by new challenges — including invasive species, climate change, habitat loss and emerging contaminants. The United States and Canada are now completing negotiations on an updated version of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, a binational agreemet to address Great Lakes threats. " from Alliance for the Great Lakes

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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.]