RENewsletter November 4, 2012

RENewsletter | November 4, 2012

The Free environmental newsletter from RochesterEnvironment.com

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

[10/28/2012 – 11/04/2012]

Opening Salvo: “Frankenstorm slams into US elections”

No doubt you and your loved ones have been inconvenienced (or worse) by this week’s Hurricane Sandy—the Frankenstorm. Its unprecedented ferocity wreaked bloody havoc on our lives. Probably a lot more when we get a chance to evaluate everything. Yet remarkably this “once in a century” storm (closely following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, another “once in a century” storm) has been stomping steadily towards us for a long time, just as predicted by Climate Change theory. Our present trajectory-- business as usual—ensures more of them.

Mainstream media anticipated this storm’s potential for damage and helped keep many from harm’s way, but there was little connecting the dots on this extreme weather event and Climate Change.

As ‘Frankenstorm’ Barrels Towards East Coast, Newspaper Coverage Ignores Connection To Climate Change Media have dubbed the hurricane barreling toward the mid-Atlantic and northeast a “Frankenstorm.” But despite the hysteria surrounding Hurricane Sandy, not one major newspaper has reported the scientifically established link that carbon pollution fuels more extreme weather. In the last week, Sandy has been mentioned in at least 94 stories in major newspapers. Yet a Nexis search found that zero of these stories mentioned “climate change,” “global warming,” or even “extreme weather.” (October 26, 2012) Think Progress Climate Progress [more on Climate Change in our area]

But you can’t keep a big storm down. Hurricane Sandy has left many of our politicians stunned—not just by the damage to their constituency’s lives, property and infrastructure, but to their own political prospects. And that makes news!

Romney is reeling as he has to endure the backlash from his absurd position on privatizing disasters.

ROMNEY: “We cannot — we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.” Mitt Romney: Federal Disaster Relief For Tornado And Flood Victims Is ‘Immoral,’ ‘Makes No Sense At All’ (June 14, 2011) ThinkProgress.

As The New Yorker notes Romney Has a Christie Problem and a FEMA Problem. The Romney statement about FEMA highlights the absurdity of Climate Change denial. At the end of a disaster, it will be your government who rescues you, keeps you safe, and makes sure your city gets put back together again. With Climate Change the buck does stops at the government and no amount of rhetorical gymnastics is going make the privatization of disasters recovery a rational prospect. Rent-a-cop doesn’t just have the same clout as the National Guard.

Governor Cuomo, allegedly running for president in 2016, happened upon some artful doublespeak on Climate Change and the hurricane this week. According to this San Francisco Chronicle article ‘Climate change is a reality…we are vulnerable’, Cuomo said: “It’s a longer conversation, but I think part of learning from this is the recognition that climate change is a reality, extreme weather is a reality, it is a reality that we are vulnerable”. However, in the same conversation, Cuomo also said: “People will debate whether or not there is climate change…,That’s a whole political debate that I don’t want to get into.” Cuomo: Helicopter Survey of Sandy Damage "Disturbing" (October 31, 2012) WXXI News. But sadly, Climate Change demands leadership not equivocation. The catastrophes caused by extreme weather due to Climate Change cannot be accomplished by a leader who doesn’t lead. (Maybe the reason why Cuomo even considers the idea of Fracking New York is because he doesn’t understand Climate Change. Hmmm…)

Not to be unsullied, Hurricane Sandy has thrown some pie in President Obama’s face also—making his Climate Silence position dodgy.

Revealed: the day Obama chose a strategy of silence on climate change Sandy has blown climate change back on the agenda – and many believe the White House was wrong when it decided in 2009 that climate change was not a winning political message The invitation to the White House in the spring of 2009 struck Barack Obama's allies in the environmental movement as a big moment: a clear sign that climate change was on his radar and that the president was eager to get to work. The event was indeed a turning point, but not the one campaigners expected. Instead, it marked a strategic decision by the White House to downplay climate change – avoiding the very word – a decision some campaigners on the guest list say produced the strange absence of climate change from the 2012 campaign, until hurricane Sandy blew it right back on the political agenda. (November 1, 2012) The Guardian

Climate Silence was a bad political strategy for both Mitt and Obama and it may not be so kind to Cuomo either—because nature (physics) cares not for politics. Yet, we might sympathize with their frustration at the public: It’s probably an American cultural anomaly that the burden of proof for Climate Change be placed on those claiming that increasing greenhouse gases results in planetary warming and an increase in extreme weather events. Wouldn’t it make more sense for those who continually deny Climate Change to prove that millions and millions of tons of fossil fuel emissions were going somewhere else than our atmosphere and our oceans and warming all that up?

Anyway, that’s what we do: blame the victims and the whistle blowers. Doubt in something as inconvenient as Climate Change persists. Granted, there is a lot of science missing from a problem we have been avoiding for a long time and disinclined to fund. To get a sense of the deep quagmire caused by this dearth of information and the moral problem of “wait until there’s proof” read the excellent article in Two Views of a Storm in Climate Context (October 30, 2012) in DotEarth that questions the link between Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change, and be sure to read all the exchanges with Dan Miller.

Climate Change is a problem that took a long time to develop and it will take a long time to address. Politicians must balance between the practical problem of getting votes and the need for strong leadership on this issue. This great human-caused warming presents a political quagmire of biblical proportions that will probably take a century or more to work itself out—but we don’t have that long. The reason that it is so important for the public to understand climate change is that while the argument between scientists goes on about the exact relationship between Climate Change and any particular storm or extreme event, the public will get impatient. Any politician promising not to increase their taxes and affording the public the lure of climate denial will always have an advantage over another politician who understands the threat and only promises more taxes to fortify the government’s role in adapting to and mitigating Climate Change. Should our leaders simply pander to the prevailing political wind, a wind that will ensure more Climate Change?

Not in the real world. While Climate Silence may work politically at times, it will not work when a Frankenstorm hits just before an election. A disaster is nature’s way of giving your political strategizing a reality check. But if the public continually throws out leaders trying to address the long, tedious, and expensive problem of Climate Change, we will not be prepared for those Frankenstorms coming at us even if those politicians win.

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]

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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.]

11/03/2012 - The problems Pennsylvania is experiencing with Fracking is a teaching moment for New York. PA regulators using incomplete water testing reports to dismiss claims of contamination Environmental regulators in Pennsylvania regularly withheld results of drinking water tests while dismissing claims of contamination from hydraulic fracturing operations, according to testimony from a high-ranking official at the Department of Environmental Protection. (November 2, 2012) Innovation Trail [more on Fracking in our area]
11/03/2012 - Be interesting to know how our Rochester, NY schools are doing on recycling. Schools fail at recycling Lack of comprehensive plan a major problem; some improvements on the horizon | Buffalo’s public school system’s recycling efforts are even less ambitious than those of the city. Most schools aren’t even recycling bottles and cans, and the ones that do are only recycling paper and cardboard on a regular basis. “Most schools are not recycling,” said Andy Goldstein, the city’s former recycling coordinator said last month on WUFO-AM. (November 2, 2012) Investigative Post [more on Recycling in our area]
11/03/2012 - This is a topic that is not being investigated or even mentioned in our Rochester, NY area media, even though Rochester sits on the Great Lakes: connecting the dots between Climate Change and “…more toxic algae blooms and larger dead zones unless more conservation is undertaken.." When your Great Lakes fishing drops off and you increasingly can’t swim in the Great Lakes, you’re going to want to know why. If the government and private institutions want funding to solve this problem, the public needs to understand what is going on. Climate Change Likely To Increase Lake Erie Algae Blooms And Dead Zones, According To U-Michigan Ecologist Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of intense spring rain storms in the Great Lakes region throughout this century and will likely add to the number of harmful algal blooms and "dead zones" in Lake Erie, unless additional conservation actions are taken, according to a University of Michigan aquatic ecologist. Climate models suggest that the number of intense spring rain storms in the region could double by the end of the century, contributing to an overall 30 to 40 percent increase in spring precipitation, said Donald Scavia, director of the U-M’s Graham Sustainability Institute. (September 12, 2012) MSNRE Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment [more on Climate Change in our area]
11/03/2012 - Got kids? Some thoughts on Climate Change by Climatologist Dr. James E. Hansen that are understandable to all: Nov. 1, 2012: Butterfly Report + Jeremiah, the Frog. Letter to my oldest grandchild. - from Climatologist Dr. James E. Hansen
11/02/2012 - Actually, Governor Cuomo did mention Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change according to this San Francisco Chronicle article “It’s a longer conversation, but I think part of learning from this is the recognition that climate change is a reality, extreme weather is a reality, it is a reality that we are vulnerable,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said. Cuomo:” from ‘Climate change is a reality…we are vulnerable’ Where WXXI says Cuomo said ““People will debate whether or not there is climate change,” said Cuomo. “That’s a whole political debate that I don’t want to get into”.” So, whatever version of what Cuomo said, or what quotes may or may not have been cherry-picked by any one media, why wouldn’t someone elected into our government to preserve and protect our citizens want to lead on an issue as critical as Climate Change? Who, if not the governor of New York State, can speak for our state as our state warms? All Climate Change studies that include New York State say we must get moving in adapting our telecommunications, transportation, and public health and who would that fall to but the governor? Cuomo: Helicopter Survey of Sandy Damage "Disturbing" Governor Cuomo says the state and city will have to build back better, in anticipation of what he says is likely more coastal storm flooding in the future. He says he’ll be convening meetings on how to do that shortly. The governor, who’s stated already that he believes extreme weather occurrences are here to stay, skirted the line on what’s become a political controversy over global warming. “People will debate whether or not there is climate change,” said Cuomo. “That’s a whole political debate that I don’t want to get into”. Cuomo say he instead wants to discuss the “frequency of extreme weather situations”, which he says is “way up” (October 31, 2012) WXXI News
11/02/2012 - Climate Silence was a bad political strategy for both Mitt and Obama. But there’s still time to debate Climate Change before elections. Don’t let it be said that this generation failed future generations by ignoring Climate Change at a critical point—the 2012 Presidential elections. Revealed: the day Obama chose a strategy of silence on climate change Sandy has blown climate change back on the agenda – and many believe the White House was wrong when it decided in 2009 that climate change was not a winning political message nvitation to the White House in the spring of 2009 struck Barack Obama's allies in the environmental movement as a big moment: a clear sign that climate change was on his radar and that the president was eager to get to work. The event was indeed a turning point, but not the one campaigners expected. Instead, it marked a strategic decision by the White House to downplay climate change – avoiding the very word – a decision some campaigners on the guestlist say produced the strange absence of climate change from the 2012 campaign, until hurricane Sandy blew it right back on the political agenda. (November 1, 2012) The Guardian [more on Climate Change in our area]
11/02/2012 - The best-laid plans of men… will not adequately adapt to Climate Change unless those plans are actually planning for Climate Change. Planning for Climate Change is going to require all businesses, governments, and the public to be on board for adequately protecting and adapting our way of life to a warming planet. Like theFukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the consequences of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, when disasters strike, many different things will happen at once because the weaknesses of our telecommunications, transportation, and public health systems will all fail at their weakest point. Ad hoc preparations for a world crisis will not do. We should heed the official and non-official Climate Change studies, which have already spelled out what we need to do to protect ourselves from Climate Change and turn down the planet’s temperature. But that job cannot be left to any single institution, government, business, or group. All of us are going to have to get onboard. NYU Hospital’s Backup System Undone by Key Part in Flooded Basement (November 1, 2012) The hospital also built a new, flood-resistant house for pumps that draw fuel from the hospital’s sealed underground tank and feed it to the generators that make electricity when New York City’s power fails. One vulnerability remained, and it proved to be the system’s Achilles Heel. A portion of the hospital’s power distribution circuits, which direct the generated electricity out into various areas of the hospital, were located in the hosp ProPublica
11/02/2012 - Much of what is said about Buffalo’s recycling failure can probably be said about Rochester, NY and Monroe County’s efforts. We are probably below the national average recycling rate, but it’s difficult to determine what our region’s recycling rate is, a figure that can be compared with other communities around the state, or the nation for that matter. It would be great if one of our local mainstream news media took on the task of finding out exactly what our recycling rate is so we could at least compare that rate with Buffalo. The point of all this would be critical feedback for both our governments and the public on we are doing on recycling. Recycling is critical in reducing waste and preserving our natural resources and recycling can help reduce Climate Change. (Read Stop Trashing the Climate ) City's Recycling Program Lags Behind National Average City Hall’s halfhearted efforts to increase its anemic recycling rate in Buffalo are plagued by a failure to enforce laws, educate the public, or act on a host of recommendations, Investigative Post has found. The result: Buffalo’s recycling rate is less than half the national average, costing Buffalo taxpayers more than $1 million in potential savings. A new green tote program that allows residents to place all recyclables in one container has increased Buffalo’s dismal curbside recycling rate to about 16 percent this summer. But there has been slippage since. (November 1, 2012) ArtVoice
11/02/2012 - Just discovered this new media model in Buffalo. Really, check ‘Investigative Post’ out. Is this the media future for local investigative journalism in our Western New York State Region? Maybe we can develop something like this in Rochester, NY. Like their Facebook page and get them noticed. Investigative Post"Investigative Post is a non-profit investigative reporting center focused on issues of importance to Buffalo and Western New York. It has struck distribution deals with a number of media outlets, most notably WGRZ 2 On Your Side, and is partnering with journalism programs at colleges and universities in Western New York to help develop young journalists. Investigative Post launched in February under the direction of Jim Heaney, a former investigative reporter with The Buffalo News. Lee Coppola, a former investigative reporter, federal prosecutor and journalism school dean, serves as president of the board. Other board members include Tom Toles, a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist."
11/01/2012 - Even the NYS Governor Cuomo mention Climate Change and Hurricane Sandy. Mitt and Obama end the Climate Silence. Cuomo: ‘Climate change is a reality…we are vulnerable’ New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo doubled-down on his suggestion Tuesday that climate change is responsible for the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, and said there should be more conversation about “a systemic solution long-term, because this is really a long-term issue.” (October 31, 2012) San Francisco Chronicle [more on Climate Change in our area]
11/01/2012 - Please don’t delay Security Analysis any longer. Future Commanders in Chiefs need to know Climate Change security issues. The National Academies last report [American’s Climate Choices] clearly states connection between national security and Climate Change. Let’s end Climate Silence. Effects of Climate Change on U.S. National Security Scientific evidence indicates that the global climate is moving outside the bounds of past experience and can be expected to put new stresses on societies around the world, prompting examination of a variety of plausible scenarios through which climate change might pose or alter security risks for the United States. Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis, a new report from the National Research Council, offers recommendations to improve understanding of the links between climate and security, monitoring and analysis of the factors linking climate change to security risks, and the ability to anticipate potential security risks arising from climate phenomena. (November 1, 2012) News from the National Academies
11/01/2012 - More calls to end Climate Silence in 2012 presidential elections. Sandy puts climate change back on the US election agenda Bill Clinton and Al Gore among those calling for fresh focus on issue that neither candidate mentioned in televised debates | The images of a paralysed New York City at the mercy of Hurricane Sandy's wall of water have forced climate change on to the political agenda in the final week of the 2012 presidential election campaign. Even before Sandy made landfall political commentators were debating whether the storm would be better for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. In any event it has brought forth statements from prominent Democrats and elected officials on climate change and spurred public debate about the neglected topic (October 31, 2012) The Guardian [more on Climate Change in our area]
11/01/2012 - Very good essay by Arianna Huffington about how our political system can work during a disaster and this part about why Climate Change needs to be a part of Hurricane Sandy coverage. How Hurricane Sandy Downgraded the Election and Upgraded Our Barn-Raising Spirit "But our election season is drawing to a close without any serious discussion about climate change. "The irony is that the two presidential candidates decided not to speak about climate change, and now they are seeing the climate speak to them," said Mike Tidwell, director of Maryland's Chesapeake Climate Action Network and author of the 2006 climate change book, The Ravaging Tide. "That's really what's happening here. The climate is now speaking to them -- and to everyone else." Michael Mann, physicist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State says that, while we can't conclusively blame any one storm on climate change, "we can see that climate change is playing a role in setting the context for these storms, in particular the record levels of North Atlantic ocean warmth that is available to feed these storms with energy and moisture." And according to research by the German reinsurance company Munich Re, there's been "a nearly quintupled number of weather-related loss events in North America for the past three decades." Last month, a report issued by Yale and George Mason universities found that 74 percent of American people believe that "global warming is affecting weather in the United States." And that was before Hurricane Sandy. " The Huffington Post
10/31/2012 - Mirror, mirror on the wall…Though Democracy Now’s NYC office slammed down by Hurricane Sandy their coverage of the storm is the best, most responsible of all! Democracy Now! "A DAILY INDEPENDENT GLOBAL NEWS HOUR With Amy Goodman & Juan González"
10/31/2012 - Got solutions to Climate Change in our region? You have until November 15 to request funds: Climate Grant Program The Climate Grants Program provides grant awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 (USD) for projects that engage communities in preparing for and responding to climate change impacts, including engagement in decision-making that takes climate change impacts into account. Freshwater Future
10/30/2012 - Great local news story that answers many important questions about the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Rochester, NY region, except they forgot to ask this question: Is Climate Change connected to this extreme weather event and if so what are local officials doing to educate the public and plan for similar events—as predicted by Climate Change studies that pertain to our region? Hurricane Sandy Impact on Greater Rochester How is Hurricane Sandy impacting you? Do you have friends or family in the hardest hit areas? What's happening in your neighborhood? WXXI News wants to hear your story. Leave a comment at the bottom of this article, or send us your story and pictures to our newsroom email. You can also reach us on Twitter@WXXINews. (October 30, 2012) WXXI News.
10/30/2012 - Climate Change is making us sicker. Can we Climate Silence ourselves out of that Obama and Romney? Climate change adding sting to mosquito bite, says WHO report NEW DELHI: The warning is ominous — climate change and global warming will make vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria - already causing havoc in the country more lethal. A landmark report on climate change and health, published by the World Health Organization on Monday, said that in the last 100 years, the world has warmed by approximately 0.75 degree Celsius. Over the last 25 years, the rate of global warming has accelerated, at over 0.18 degree Celsius per decade. Global health will suffer a loss of $2 billion-$4 billion per year by 2030 due to climate change. (October 30, 2012) The Economic Times [more on Environmental Health in our area]
10/30/2012 - Here’s the major study connecting the dots between Climate Change andpublic health from World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization 2012 that the US mainstream media is falling all over itself to avoid. It’s only 68 pages. It can be easily read while listening to a sports analysis. ATLAS OF HEALTH AND CLIMATE from World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization 2012 | "Human health is profoundly affected by weather and climate. Extreme weather events kill tens of thousands of people every year and undermine the physical and psychological health of millions. Droughts directly affect nutrition and the incidence of diseases associated with malnutrition. Floods and cyclones can trigger outbreaks of infectious diseases and damage hospitals and other health infrastructure, overwhelming health services just when they are needed most. Climate variability also has important consequences for health. It influences diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, which kill millions annually and cause illness and suffering for hundreds of millions more. Long-term climate change threatens to exacerbate today’s problems while undermining tomorrow’s health systems, infrastructure, social protection systems, and supplies of food, water, and other ecosystem products and services that are vital for human health. "
10/30/2012 - Wouldn’t it make sense to find out more about the state of our fresh water around NYS before Fracking it? The Great Lakes have some of world’s most concentrated plastic pollution Plastic pollutants circulate in pockets of the Great Lakes at concentrations higher than any other body of water on Earth, according to a recent State University of New York study. The study is the first to look at plastic pollutants in the Great Lakes. It is part of a larger global endeavor to understand the origin and prevalence of plastic pollution in water and was conducted with the Los Angeles-based 5 Gyres Institute (October 29, 2012) Great Lakes Echo [more on Great Lakes in our area]
10/30/2012 - Chance to help make Midtown Redevelopment Project more environmentally and pedestrian friendly. Public Meeting on Open Space and Public Realm Designs for the Midtown Redevelopment Project 11/1/2012 at 5:30 PM to 11/1/2012 at 6:30 PM | The City of Rochester will hold a public informational meeting to present designs for the open space and public realm portion of the Midtown Redevelopment Project. The presentation will feature design plans for the new streets, sidewalks, and streetscape features within the site, as well as plans for the open spaces and plazas. The option of adding public art to the site will be discussed. The meeting will also cover development planned and currently underway, temporary uses of parcels awaiting development, and an overall project schedule. Location: The Kate Gleason Auditorium in the Bausch and Lomb Building at the Central Library, 115 South Ave. City of Rochester
10/29/2012 - Rather than using expert reports that connect extreme weather and increase of diseases to Climate Change as ‘a tool for prevention’ most likely in the US this report and others like it will be used to ignore and dismiss because we are heavily into Climate Change denial over here. Sorry, rest of world, we’d like to help, but our minds are completely clogged by the zillions of dollar bills that have been stuffed into our political process and we are hopeless at the moment. But please come back and talk to us when the Arctic completely melts in a few years and maybe we can schedule a talk or something. New UN manual explores 'climate-sensitive diseases' GENEVA -- The two UN agencies for health and weather services have created a new "atlas" of scientific data that they say offers fresh evidence of the links between climate change to outbreaks of meningitis, malaria and other diseases. (October 29, 2012) CTV News[more on Climate Change in our area]

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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.

November 2012

Monday, November 5, 7-9PM: Interlaken Elementary School Auditorium, 8326 Main St., Interlaken 14847
- Effects of Hydrofracking on Our Community Speakers: Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, Dr. Bill Podulka
Wednesday November 7: Tompkins County Public Library, Borg Warner Room (101 E. Green St., Ithaca NY 14850). 6:30 pm:
- HYDRILLA GROUP PLANS PUBLIC UPDATE, THANKS VOLUNTEERS November 7 in Ithaca Wednesday November 7, Ithaca: Efforts to stop the spread of hydrilla in Cayuga Inlet 2012 are succeeding. Additional treatments will be needed to eradicate the weed say the organizers of a public information session to be held on Wednesday, November 7 at 7:00 pm in the Borg Warner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E. Green Street in Ithaca (see info about 6.30 Hydrilla Hunter reception, below). Topics to be covered include an overview of hydrilla control efforts in 2012; protocol and results of monitoring for drinking water safety; and the protocol, results and interpretation of plant monitoring for herbicide effectiveness. Time for questions will be included. Presenters include Roxy Johnson, City of Ithaca Watershed Coordinator; Anne Wildman of the Tompkins County Health Department; and Bob Johnson, aquatic plant ecologist. Sharon Anderson, Environmental Issue Team Leader at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County will moderate. A reception at 6:30 pm will recognize the work of volunteer "Hydrilla Hunters" and others who monitored the lake and inlet all summer and who helped inform the community of ways to prevent hydrilla's spread. Refreshments will be served, and John Abel of the West Shore Homeowners Association will give a brief talk. The reception and information session are both free and open to the public, and are sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, the Hydrilla Task Force of the Cayuga Lake Watershed, and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network.
Thursday November 8, 2012 10:30 AM - 12:00 | To join the webinar, go to http://www.webdialogs.com, click the "Join a meeting" button and enter Conference ID 78425 in the "Meeting Login" screen. On your telephone, dial 1-866-394-2346 and enter conference call code 1982360347# when prompted.
- Climate Smart Community Webinar Date Thursday November 8, 2012 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Contact Office of Climate Changeclimatechange@gw.dec.state.ny.us Additional Informationhttp://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/50845.html Description An exclusive tour of unwasteNY.org…the Public Service Commission created unwasteNY.com to help homeowners and businesses develop custom plans to eliminate energy waste, reducing both costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Smart Communities can promote use of this money-saving tool as an important part of their outreach programs. The webinar will be accessible to anyone via an Internet connection and telephone. Webinar participants must use the telephone call-in number; no audio signal will be transmitted over the Internet. To join the webinar, go to http://www.webdialogs.com, click the "Join a meeting" button and enter Conference ID 78425 in the "Meeting Login" screen. On your telephone, dial 1-866-394-2346 and enter conference call code 1982360347# when prompted.
November 8th noon to 1PM learn about how Climate Change will impact our area via a webinar. Learn about it here and sign up. It’s free:
- Up Next: Communicating with the Public about Climate Change 8NOV12:00 - 1:00 ET Teresa Myers Public Policy, Education This webinar will present research from an ongoing program conducted by George Mason University and Yale University analyzing Americans’ interpretations of and responses to climate change. The research segments the American public into six audiences along a spectrum of concern and issue engagement: from the Alarmed, who are convinced of the reality and danger of climate change, and who are highly supportive of personal and political actions to mitigate the threat, to the Dismissive, who are equally convinced that climate change is not occurring and that no response should be made. The Six Americas are not very different demographically, but are dramatically different in their beliefs and actions, as well as their basic values and political orientations. This webinar will provide information about: -from ChangingClimate
Thursday November 8: Seneca Falls Public Library, Littlejohn Community Meeting Room (47 Cayuga St., Seneca Falls NY 13148).
- 6:00 – 8 pm: Hydrilla Hunters Thank You & Public Information Meeting:Take part in a reception and thank-you event for all the folks who have been helping keep an eye out for hydrilla this past summer. We will also have speakers to update us: Roxy Johnston, City of Ithaca, will report on the hydrilla situation in Cayuga Lake during 2012. Bob Natale, City of Auburn, will speak about Asian clams and other invasives. Speakers may be added. No charge. Refreshments served. Co-sponsored by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and the Hydrilla Task Force of the Cayuga Lake Watershed.www.cayugalake.org Contact: steward@cayugalake.org
November, 14, 2012, 4:30pm-6:00pm, Burchfield Penny Art Center 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo
- PUBLIC FORUM: Feed in Tariff - Best way to bring renewable energy to WNY - League of Women Voters and Sierra Club, 4:30pm-6:00pm, Burchfield Penny Art Center 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo --from RE-Energize Buffalo
November 14, 24 Hours of Reality http://climaterealityproject.org/
- Major online Climate Change event with former Vice-President Al Gore: The Time Is Now | On November 14, It’s time to talk Dirty Dirty fossil fuels have created a world of Dirty Weather. Together we can stop the climate crisis. Join us for the 24-hour global live-streaming event when the world stands up for reality. The Climate Reality Project
Friday, November 30, 5-9 PM; Saturday, December 1, 10 AM-2 PM Place: First Unitarian Church of Rochester 220 South Winton Road Rochester NY 14610
- METRO JUSTICE’S 31st ANNUAL ALTERNATIVE FAIR Date/Time: Friday, November 30, 5-9 PM; Saturday, December 1, 10 AM-2 PM Place: First Unitarian Church of Rochester 220 South Winton Road Rochester NY 14610 Cost: $3 suggested donation for ages 12+. Children under 12 free. FREE CHILD CARE. DOOR PRIZES. Description: FAMILY HOLIDAY SHOPPING with a conscience – at Metro Justice’s 31st annual Alternative Fair, featuring thousands of fair trade, earth friendly, and locally produced goods that support a just and sustainable world. Holiday shopping for the whole family, including clothing, toys, non-competitive games, pottery, and jewelry hand crafted by local artists, fair trade imports, and more, at prices the whole family can afford. Door prizes, food, music, and information tables by local progressive organizations will be available. The Alternative Fair is an annual fund-raising event for Metro Justice (www.metrojustice.org) , an independent, grass-roots, progressive membership organization that works for human rights, equality and economic and environmental justice by raising community awareness and engaging in non-violent action. Accessibility: The building is handicap accessible

December 2012

December 3, 2012 | 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM | Louise Slaughter Hall (formerly the CIMS Building) on the RIT campus REGISTER HERE
- 2012 Community Salute to the Environment Join us at the area's premier networking opportunity with up to 200+ individuals from government, business and industry, civic and environmental groups, professionals and citizens concerned about the environment in our region in attendance. Keynote speaker: Leecia Eve, J.D., Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Economic Development, New York State Topic: Economic Development and Environmental Protection December 3, 2012 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM Tours of the newly-constructed $38 million, LEED Platinum home of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM Reception, Dinner, Awards and Program Louise Slaughter Hall (formerly the CIMS Building) on the RIT campus. See our website for details (click here) -from Center for Environmental Initiatives (CEI)and Finger Lakes region through education, collaboration and informed action

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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
- As Climate Change increase the changes of combined sewer overflows due to increase frequency of heavy rain fall in the spring, this issue will become more critical. We must plan for this and it will be expensive, but more so if we wait. Take action here: 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. Urge Congress and the president to support sustained and increased investment in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Help keep untreated sewage out of the Great Lakes! --fromAlliance for the Great Lakes
ACTION: Due Date: Now
- Sign this online petition against Fracking in Monroe County: Prohibit All Fracking Related Activities on Monroe County Properties, NY Last Tuesday, over 4, 000 petition signatures to ban all Fracking and related activities were delivered to Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and members of the Monroe County Legislature. But presumably that wasn’t enough because the press didn’t even show up. Here’s the news that the local news media couldn’t bother themselves to print: Thousands Sign Petition to Ban Fracking and Related Activities On Monroe County Properties. Don't let New York State become a Resource Curse. It would be great if we could march into the Monroe County Legislature next time and fork over 20,000 signatures. Maybe that will wake our local government up to the fact that Fracking must be stopped here and in New York State. Find out more about this petition and download hard copies for your church group or other organization here. Numbers count. Don't be sorry after the fact, act now.
ACTION: Due Date: Now
- When you think of how mad/crazy folks are for Fracking in NYS and that the fossil fuel industry gets billions each year in tax subsidies, taking away the tax credit for renewable energy is horrific. Take action on this critical issue: SAVE USA WIND JOBS "Don’t let wind and solar and other renewable energy die so the fossil fuel industry can thrive and warm the planet. SAVE USA WIND JOBS Congress is currently in recess and will reconvene for a “lame duck” session following the November 6th elections. We need to keep reminding our legislators of the urgency of extending the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) as soon as they return to session throughout this recess period. We urge you to write to your legislators today." from Power of Wind
ACTION: Due Date: Now
- Help get the word out about Climate Change, from a local perspective: When you consider that so many people are uninformed about Climate Change because of the media that won’t connect the dots between the recent rise in extreme events Climate Change and some spectacularly popular media which outright dissembles (Read: Fox News Climate Coverage 93% Wrong, Report Finds ) on the science of Climate Change, we need other outlets to inform the public in this planetary crisis. To help understand Climate Change from a local perspective, help out this local film get off the ground and into the public arena. COMFORT ZONE A Film about Climate -- and Change COMFORT ZONE is almost ready for distribution, but we need your help! The film has been almost six years in the making, and now we are weeks away from being able to release it. But we need YOUR help to make it over the line. Comfort Zone makes a global crisis into a personal issue. The film strikes a nerve whether or not you accept that climate change is real, whether or not you believe that human beings are responsible. The filmmakers, once the documenters, became the documented. The film is grappling with powerful questions that we ourselves could not skirt, and that all of us will need to confront. The filming is complete. The editing is complete. People are asking us for the film. But we can't take the final steps without you. And your donation will be tax-deductible, because Comfort Zone is fiscally sponsored by New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT), a 501(c)(3) organization.
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: 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
- 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

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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.]