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RochesterEnvironment.com

Daily Updates for October 2009 

RochesterEnvironment.com

These Daily Updates for this month represent just one month in over a decade of connecting the dots on our area's environmental situation.

Find out what’s going on environmentally in our area—and why you should care?  

These daily updates pertain to what is going on in our environment in Rochester & around the world. Although I do not see RochesterEnvironment.com, or Global Environmental Resources, as environmental activist sites, I do view them as active. They are active conduits for all the environmental news, services, links, and an on-going discovery for the potential role that I believe the Internet will play in environmentalism. Your local news media is not doing its job in informing the public on the breath and depth of our environmental problems, so you are going to have to get on the Internet. 

• 10/30/09 - New Bottle Bill Regulation: Like the new regulations or not, there will be less plastic bottles littering our state and less going into our landfills because this sort of legislation works. It works simply because people may throw away what they perceive as trash, but they won’t throw away money. Many people scour our city streets for deposit-able bottle to supplement or have an income at all. However, the recent rash of stories on the new bottle bill regulation is not on the benefits to our environment that removing a zillion plastic bottles from our land will bring about-- it is the new regulation’s effect on local businesses.  Think about it: What is more important the health of our environment, or the keeping the way we run our economy?  (The Recession how is that working for you?) We can alter how our regulations will affect business; once our environment gets compromised by pollution, it’s the dickens getting it back on track.  Here’s the real issue: If we spread the repercussions of changing our economy to include the health of our environment—say, increasing deposits on all potential recyclable products and adequately compensating those businesses that must reclaim these bottles by spreading out the economic effects of the changes in new regulations--there wouldn’t be so many wrongly-focused articles on environmental regulations and environmentalists verses businesses.  If we all got engaged in our environmental situation and all took responsibility, we would affect change for a sustainable economy and environment without many the few take the hit.  See: WXXI: Nickel Deposits on Water Bottles Takes Effect Saturday (2009-10-28) ALBANY, NEW YORK (WXXI) - The state's newest version of the bottle deposit law takes effect Saturday, and the purchase of bottled water will require a five cent deposit, just like beer and soda bottles. (October 28, 09) WXXI | Go Public. [more on Recycling in our area]    
• 10/28/09 - A salute to those helping Smart Growth and working against Urban Sprawl by making sure there is good housing for all in our community: Flower City Habitat for Humanity - Rochester, NY Flower City Habitat for Humanity is the Rochester affiliate of the nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry of Habitat for Humanity, International, working globally to eliminate poverty housing through the creation of decent, affordable homes in partnership with families, volunteers and donors.
• 10/27/09 - What did Bill McKibben think of his 350.org's efforts (where many events occurred in the Rochester area) on getting the media and policy makers to 'get it' on the importance of Climate Change: Bill McKibben on International Climate Action Day | Grist Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world turned out for last Saturday’s International Day of Climate Action. The global climate event was organized by 350.org. Grist caught up with 350’s founder, writer Bill McKibben, in New York’s Times Square. McKibben talked about the event, the worldwide turnout and what it may all mean for the upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen this December.
• 10/27/09 - Getting commuters to consider the bike instead of the car--thinking out of the box.  Here's an interesting web site with an interesting way to encourage commuters to ride their bike to work: 2009 Bike Commute Challenge "The Bike Commute Challenge is a friendly competition to see who can get more people biking to work in September. "
• 10/26/09 - Not Asleep At the Wheel.  While our local media was asleep at the wheel, not reporting on local events in the world-wide 350.org heralding the importance of doing something about keeping our carbon dioxide percentage at 350ppm instead of the 387ppm, 350.org and RIT anticipated mainstream media neglect.  Take a look at the spectacular turnout for just one of the 350.org events in our area Picasa Web Albums - RITinnovation - 350 Bike Summ... then contact your local news source and ask them why they didn’t cover it.  
• 10/24/09 - We're awake and it's 6:20 AM and we're getting ready to ride in one of the Rochester, NY's 350.org events.  Hopefully, we'll have a photograph of some aspect of the event which will be heard around the world - 350.org "On 24 October, people in 181 countries are coming together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history. At over 5200 events around the world, people are gathering to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis."
• 10/24/09 - You can hold that we need energy and that our area has lots of natural gas we can dig up for that.  You cannot hold that there won't be a price to pay, as the planet warms up with more use of fossil fuels and possible contamination issues arise: Don't just cop a tude: Get informed about gas drilling in our area: Buried Secrets: Gas Drilling’s Environmental Threat - ProPublica "21 of 31 drilling states have no regulations specific to hydraulic fracturing of 31 drilling states have detailed regulations guiding hydraulic fracturing drilling states require that fracturing chemicals be disclosed states require that the volume of fluid left underground after fracturing be recorded 
• 10/24/09 - The Green Party of Monroe County  has some thoughts on Dirlling on the Marcellus Gas Shale: Green Party of Monroe County: What impact will Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale have on our Water, Environment and Economy? 
• 10/23.09 - ACTION  - Think long and hard about gas drilling in our area: Citizens Campaign for the Environment CITIZENS CAMPAIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ACTION ALERT! TELL ALBANY TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE AND PROTECT WATER The public needs 120 days to review massive new draft oil and gas drilling regulations On September 30, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) finally released the long-awaited Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DSGEIS) for Oil & Gas Drilling in New York. The document is over 800 pages long, and Albany is only giving the people 60 days to review it. Tell Albany it cannot ignore the people! New Yorkers must be able to understand and weigh in on this issue. Meaningful input from the public is essential for a healthy democracy. --from CCE - Water Protection Public Health Energy Renewable Policy Toxic Wildlife Chemical Contamination Subscribe Newsletter Jobs Calendar Pollution Air Quality Advocacy Farmingdale White Plains Albany Syracuse Buffalo
• 10/23/09 - If you haven’t been reading the series of article on the state of our clean drinking waters from the New York Times Toxic Waters - Series - The New York Times, here’s a chance to hear all about it.   Toxic Waters: Regulatory Absence Allows Chemical, Coal and Farm Industries to Pollute US Water Supplies "Toxic Waters: Regulatory Absence Allows Chemical, Coal and Farm Industries to Pollute US Water Supplies We speak to New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg about the latest in his investigative series “Toxic Waters,” which examines the worsening pollution in the nation’s water systems." --from democracynow.com
• 1022/09 - Good cause to curb our toxic intake: Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families is a groundbreaking coalition of diverse groups united by their common concern about toxic chemicals in our homes, places of work, and products we use every day.
• 10/21/09 - Reminding you of the first is a series of important lectures about the future design of our city--starting Tonight: “Reshaping Rochester” lecture series RRCDC: Rochester Regional Community Design Center The Rochester Regional Community Design Center (RRCDC) invites you to attend an exciting medley of lectures, exhibitions and discussions centering on how Rochester can revitalize itself through excellence in urban design. Click here for the flyer:  5th ReShaping Rochester
• 10/21/09 - Why should we care about bats?  We are living through a massive die-off of our bat populations due to White Nose Syndrome and it does matter.  This story has been brought up at various times by mainstream media, but if our media were focused more (a lot more) on our environment, which begat us and keeps us alive, the decimation of a critical species in our area would be more well know and more monies allocated to remedy this situation.  Check out: Battle for Bats Video "The Story of White Nose Syndrome"  
• 10/21/09 - We attended an interesting program last evening on how Climate Change is and will further affect the Arctic rim of Alaska. Tuning into mainstream media on the repercussions of oil drilling in the Alaskan arctic, whose attempts are to ‘balance’ the coverage between the interests of the oil companies and the state of the environment, doesn’t give you the insight into the extent of the threat of what drilling and spilling oil in a most fragile environment means to the rest of us.  Check out Chill the Drills - Sierra Club "To the north of the Arctic Circle and beyond Alaska's Brooks Range mountains lies America's Arctic — the final frontier in American conservation. From Point Hope on Alaska's far western edge, to the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the east, this land — and the seas that surround it — are our single most endangered national treasure." 
• 10/19/09 - Media Misses Major Environmental Story: Because it is such a major change in burning trash, I have been amazed at the lack of public response to the DEC’s Ban on Open Burning. [New Regulation on Open Burning Takes Effect Oct. 14 - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation    (October 5, 09) ] So, here’s an interesting article that gets the revolutionary change this enhanced regulation will bring: Burned up over burn barrel ban -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:2903: "My retort to that is, policing a barrel ban is not going to be much easier, not in the back country. And there's an awful lot of New York that's back country. Getting the cooperation of burn barrelers, and working with them, would have been a smarter approach."
• 10/10/09 - From -- Safe Drilling Now! you can vote on Drilling for Natural Gas in our area, but the questions are very limited and don't even address the issue of getting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which this burning this type of Natural Resource will produce: Online Poll by Senator Libous
• 10/19/09 - Tracking Climate Change reveals new websites on this issue almost everyday.  I try to focus Climate Rochester on how Global Warming with affect Rochester, NY’s climate, but, of course, we’re all connect weather-wise.  Here are my latest finds on Climate Change: The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has launched Climate Compass a blog featuring timely viewpoints and expert insights on issues critical to the  climate conversation. Key topics to be covered include Senate legislation, the Copenhagen climate talks, Obama administration actions, climate science, low-carbon technology, and corporate and individual strategies to address climate change.  Also, ClimateEthics.org “ClimateEthics.org is a commentary site on climate change science and policymaking by those working on climate change ethics. The site is intended for policymakers, interested public, and journalists. We aim to provide a quick response in the form of ethical comments on issues in contention in climate change policy formation around the world and provide insights on aspects of climate change science that raise ethical issues and thus are in need of attention by policymakers.” | RealClimate “RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. We aim to provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion here is restricted to scientific topics and will not get involved in any political or economic implications of the science.” | Sacramento Bee -- Sierra Summit  | Climate Feedback “Climate Feedback is a blog hosted by Nature Reports: Climate Change to facilitate lively and informative discussion on the science and wider implications of global warming. The blog aims to be an informal forum for debate and commentary on climate science in our journals and others, in the news, and in the world at large.”
• 10/18/09 - RIT Climate Change Action Awareness Week – Monday Oct. 19th  – Saturday Oct. 24th:  Are you ready for an ambitious, fair and binding global climate deal? Join us as we call on world leaders to pass climate policies grounded in the latest science and strong enough to get us back to 350ppm. http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/gwteachin/350/
• 10/18/09 - Environmental Thoughts - Rochester, NY: 350 Why It Matters 350 Why It Matters “350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in ‘Parts Per Million’ in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.” –from Understanding 350 | 350.org Several events are going on in Rochester this coming Saturday for the 350.org and we hope you will attend one. If enough people demonstrate in a positive way that they acknowledge the problem of Climate Change and are willing to make their voice heard, it might make a difference. It’s all on 350.org.   more...
• 10/18/09 - Special Calendar notice: Thank you for your overwhelming response to the forum on natural gas production in New York State on October 19th! Pre-registration is closed (as of 10/17 afternoon) because we have exceeded the room capacity. We are adding a follow-up meeting later in October. To be invited to the follow-up meeting, email info@fmce.org  with Subject="NYS Natural Gas - Follow Up Meeting". More action items and information on our Announcements page. Doors open to the public at 6:30pm. If you are already pre-registered, please arrive promptly.  At 7pm, "No Show" seats will be released to "walk-ins" on a first-come, first-serve basis. http://fmce.org/  
• 10/17/09 - Keep up on all the Swine Flu News at the New York Times: Swine Flu (H1N1) - The New York Times " The outbreak of swine flu that was first detected in Mexico was declared a global pandemic on June 11, 2009, in the first designation by the World Health Organization of a worldwide pandemic in 41 years.  The heightened alert followed an emergency meeting with flu experts in Geneva that convened after a sharp rise in cases in Australia, and rising numbers in Britain, Japan, Chile and elsewhere. But the pandemic is "moderate" in severity, according to Margaret Chan, the organization's director general, with the overwhelming majority of patients experiencing only mild symptoms and a full recovery, often in the absence of any medical treatment " - The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
• 10/16/09 - Because we don't get it on energy, have we left ourselves vulnerable in the world economy?  Check out this interesting article: America's Offshore Wind Race is On: Can the US Compete with Canada? | SolveClimate.com For years the promise of North America's first offshore wind farm has been just that – a promise. The reality has been a big disappointment: proposals pigeonholed by Bush-era dirty energy policies and NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) opposition.  (October 15, 09) Solve Climate Chronicles for a New America
• 10/16/09 - Tracking those Green Jobs: How many jobs have created using Federal Stimulus monies in Monroe County? Zip. Check it out and keep track here: AP News : LimaOhio.com
• 10/16/09 - Note from a friend: Some programs to education yourself on the Marcellus Gas Shale Drilling: Essential Dissent: Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling and Water (1) | WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio - The Diane Rehm Show for Wednesday September 23, 2009 | Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation | New York State Paves Way for Gas Drilling With Release of Environmental Review - ProPublica | Water Contamination Concerns Linger For Shale Gas : NPR | Marcellus Shale - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation
• 10/15/09 - Ways you can help our Parks: New round of funding available for park and trail groups  Grants aim to boost organizational capacity   Parks & Trails New York is offering a new round of Capacity Building Grants for park and trail groups in New York State. The grants, of up to $3,000, will strengthen not-for-profit organizations that are working to build and protect parks and trails in communities across the state --- helping to not only provide places for close-to-home, healthy physical activity but also generate additional tourist dollars to strengthen local economies.  The goal of the program is to enable not-for-profits to: better fulfill their missions; improve their reach, effectiveness, and impact; leverage more resources; and increase community support for and involvement in park and trail planning, development, and stewardship.  Funds can be used to assist with activities associated with organizational start-up and development, training, communications, and volunteer recruitment and management.   The deadline for submitting applications is November 20, 2009. For more information, email Parks & Trails New York or call 518-434-1583. --from Parks & Trails New York - expanding, protecting and promoting a network of parks, trails and open spaces
• 10/14/09 - Please note: Donate Recycle Reuse has been updated on our Recycling page. Use Donate Recycle Reuse to find Rochester-area places to easilty recycle various items.
• 10/14/09 - Be a part of monitoring Climate Change: Climate Interactive "Climate Interactive is building a community that creates, shares, and uses credible models, accessible simulations, and related media in order to improve the way leaders and citizens around the world think about the climate.  Our purpose is to get these sims and insights into the world as accessible products so they can be tweaked, enhanced, translated,  distributed and used to power change around the world. We’re building sims that are easy to use by climate analysts, communicators, and leaders of many types, and that provide immediate feedback, so users can see the results of different scenarios on atmospheric carbon levels and temperature. And we're sharing our own analysis  so that leaders have access to powerful insights. In particular, the "Climate Action Initiative" which includes policy leaders such as Dr. Robert Corell is using our simulations to make change at the highest levels of governments."
• 10/13/09 - H1N1 Updates": There's a lot of hype and misinformation about the H1N1 flu, so stay abreast of this issue from the New York State Department of Health : Press Releases
• 10/13/09 - Get the facts on lawn chemicals from the EPA: The Facts About Lawn Chemicals  Lawn chemicals are the fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides used in lawn and garden care. When lawn chemicals are applied improperly, they can run off into streams, harming fish and other animals and contaminating our drinking water.
• 10/12/09 - Good way to help monitor our environment and have fun: Project FeederWatch Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. FeederWatchers periodically count the birds they see at their feeders from November through early April and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. FeederWatch data help scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.
• 10/12/09 - Message from Al Gore: 350.org "On October 24th ordinary citizens will come together in a series of events, rallies, demonstrations and public art projects all designed to do one thing: bring awareness to an important number -- 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide. During the last two years, the scientific community has made very clear that it's the maximum safe level for carbon in the atmosphere, at least if we want to have a planet "similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted." In more than 130 countries, people are organizing thousands of actions that will take those three digits and sear them into the planet's consciousness. Visit http://350.org and find an event near you. "
• 10/09/09 - Green Leaders? Could our region be leading the way to clean up Brownfields and creating sites for renewable Energy? Green Shoots from Brown Fields: Scientific American Uncle Sam looks to eliminate the biggest hurdle to expanding renewable energy--the need for suitable sites to place commercial-scale wind and solar farms--by reusing hundreds of old mines, landfills and industrial sites When the Bethlehem Steel mill in Lackawanna, N.Y., finally shut its doors for good eight years ago, it took away thousands of jobs and left behind a polluted and unsightly mess. Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American
• 10/09/09 - Coyote Dread: Because the issue of the Eastern Coyotes among us has come up in the news, I wanted to make a reference to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation who reminds us the coyotes are an ‘integral part of our ecosystem.’  As we have exterminated most of the top predators in our area in the last couple of centuries (bears, wolves, cougars used to rule), we have a proliferation of deer and our environment has altered a lot.  My point is that when it comes to coyotes there are much misinformation and prejudice about this creature whirling about—sometimes resulting in coyote killing contests.  This is not how we should be reacting to ‘integral part of our ecosystem’ in this time.  We should be reacting as stewards of our environment, which we are now.  Coyote Conflicts - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation The Eastern coyote is firmly established in New York. They live in New York as an integral part of our ecosystem. People and coyotes can usually coexist if the natural fear of people that coyotes have is maintained.
• 10/08/09 - No more Open Burning: Long needed, I was surprised to see this new state regulation from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) just appear on the DEC press releases.  I haven’t seen a mainstream media item on this, but it’s big news.  Preventing the open burning of household trash in outlying communities, in light of what we know about Dixons and other air pollutants and global warming should have been enacted a long time ago. So, without much fanfare and unlike the brouhaha over the new bottle bill, this regulation, this new regulation should  fill a gaping hole in our state’s air quality laws.  Check out: New Regulation on Open Burning Takes Effect Oct. 14 - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Taking a step to reduce harmful air pollutants and help prevent wildfires, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has extended restrictions on the open burning of residential waste effective Oct. 14. The open burning of residential waste will be prohibited in all communities statewide, regardless of population, with exceptions for burning tree limbs and branches at limited times and other certain circumstances (detailed below). Previously, the ban applied only in towns with populations of 20,000 or more. The New York State Environmental Board approved this state regulation on Sept. 1.  (October 5, 09) Press Releases - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation [more on Air Quality in our area]
• 10/08/09 -Event Oct 24th It’s the Environment folks! If you are looking for a local event for the 350.org string of environmental events (October 24th) check out RIT’s program [4214] 350 Climate Action Festival | 350.org   What is 350.org?  Mission | 350.org “350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis--the solutions that science and justice demand.”
• 10/08/09 - Event notes from a friend: "As you may know, the Rochester Regional Community Design Center has a great lineup of speakers booked for this year’s “Reshaping Rochester” lecture series.  Many of these speakers are national leaders who focus on the built environment and public health, community, and economic implications. The full schedule is posted at www.rrcdc.org.  
• 10/07/09 - Take Public Action Online for our environment: If you are serious about taking action for our environment, one may is to monitor and offer public comment on various governmental agencies, like the EPA, responsible for sustaining our environment.  This site is a one-stop shop for monitoring all federal agencies and using your citizen voice Regulations.gov Regulations.gov is your online source for U.S. government regulations from nearly 300 federal agencies. Regulations.gov is your source for U.S. government regulations and related documents. On this site you can find, read and comment on documents. Share your knowledge and make your voice count.
• 10/06/09 - Good encapsulation as to why we are not focusing on something so important as Climate Change: Op-Ed Columnist - Cassandras of Climate - NYTimes.com Every once in a while I feel despair over the fate of the planet. If you’ve been following climate science, you know what I mean: the sense that we’re hurtling toward catastrophe but nobody wants to hear about it or do anything to avert it.National News - The New York Times (October 27, 09)
• 10/06/09 - Good Resource for finding out and doing something about Climate Change: The Climate Project The Climate Project (TCP) began in June 2006 as a commitment by former US Vice President Al Gore to train 1,000 Americans to become Presenters and to give the slideshow from his Academy Award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth. The class of "First Fifty" Presenters were trained in Nashville, Tennessee, which is the home of its international headquarters. TCP now has more than 3,000 Presenters who have reached an audience of more than 5 million people worldwide and its reach continues to grow.
• 10/06/09 - Find out what environmental issues may be facing our National Parks do to Climate Change: NATIONAL PARKS IN PERIL THE THREATS OF CLIMATE DISRUPTION A Report by The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and Natural Resources Defense Council
• 10/06/09 - [Green Business]Good help for businesses who want to become more environmentally friendly from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Check out: Help for Businesses - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Across New York State we see examples that prove that businesses that employ sound environmental decisions in their operations are the strongest, most successful enterprises around. Whether you need help with a permit application (contact the appropriate Regional Permit Administrator), or are interested in finding ways to make your business more green (contact Allan Geisendorfer, DEC's designee to the Pollution Prevention and Environmental Compliance Coordinating Council, by email or phone 518-402-9469), building a partnership with DEC early in the process is the best way to achieve a successful outcome: one that's good for the environment and great for your bottom line. --from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• 10/01/09 - Where's that pollution? A report (37 pages) that should be on your reading list this week is the new report by the International Joint Commission because it's about "programs to abate, control and prevent pollution from municipal sources entering the Great Lakes System.” The report’s object: The objective was to survey existing programs aimed at controlling surface-water pollution and to provide an overview of the current situation." And, he current situation is not pretty.  Not only is one of the largest fresh water systems in the world, which is in and is our backyard, being compromised, the municipal sewage overflow, which is integral to our environmental health (a point that doesn’t usually get high prominence in mainstream media because they don’t know how to quantify it) is also affecting the fishing and tourist industries—which do get a high profile in our mainstream media. Anyway, if you don’t have time to read this report, you should see that your congress person does.     International Joint Commission - News room IJC Releases 14th Biennial Report WINDSOR, Ontario - The International Joint Commission today released its Fourteenth Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality. Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (Article VII), the International Joint Commission reports to the federal, state and provincial governments biennially concerning its findings on their progress toward achieving the Agreement’s general and specific objectives. The Commission’s report, which is released to the public, is also to assess the effectiveness of programs and other measures undertaken pursuant to the Agreement