RENewsletter | February 19, 2012 - Rochester Environmental News

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

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[02/12/2011 – 02/19/2012]

* Got news? | Go to my blog: Environmental Thoughts - Rochester, NY or Tweet me @ http://twitter.com/#!/FrankRrrr On Twitter and Facebook 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 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

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

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Opening Salvo: “Blinded by the media despite billions from Super PACs”

The Fairness Doctrine died in 1987 and was finally put to rest last August. Here is a glimpse of our last attempt to have a conversation about critical matters:

“The policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission that became known as the "Fairness Doctrine" is an attempt to ensure that all coverage of controversial issues by a broadcast station be balanced and fair. The FCC took the view, in 1949, that station licensees were "public trustees," and as such had an obligation to afford reasonable opportunity for discussion of contrasting points of view on controversial issues of public importance. The Commission later held that stations were also obligated to actively seek out issues of importance to their community and air programming that addressed those issues. With the deregulation sweep of the Reagan Administration during the 1980s, the Commission dissolved the fairness doctrine.”FAIRNESS DOCTRINE - The Museum of Broadcast Communications

It’s worth resurrecting the doctrine for a moment to ask this: When are we going to have a conversation about Climate Change in our country? Though our cable channels and Internet sites are flooded with all kinds of media, from the competent to those bordering on the criminally insane, there is almost no place where the majority of US citizens can come together to listen to each other on critical issues. Instead, there are silos of views spewing out information—with an agenda. We are being blinded by media incapable of crossing political and ideological boundaries.

That’s too bad because while we wait for a forum where we can talk, we’re going to cook. Something as basic and as dull potatoes as greenhouse gases warming our atmosphere, something we should all be thinking about, has been turned into something so vitriolic that we won’t even bring it up as we come to a presidential election this fall. Though four years apart and despite billions of dollars poured into the media from Super PACs, this presidential election will have no conversation about the most important issue of this century. There is no other format any more to discuss this issue at a level where all can hear.

We cannot force the media to address this issue. We cannot force presidential candidates to answer how they would address Climate Change. We cannot address Climate Change ourselves, it’s too big.

We can wait. And, that seems to be what most are doing. But waiting is about the worst thing we can do because the problem is one of physics, not politics. And Climate Change, like time, waits for no one.

If we still had The Fairness Doctrine, I wonder if Climate Change could be forced on the media. And if so, what would we say to each other?

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

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

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

2/18/2012 - Possible scenario if GOP presidential candidate gets elected? Seems possible given their ‘tude towards Climate Change. BBC News - Canadian government is 'muzzling its scientists' The Canadian government has been accused of "muzzling" its scientists. Speakers at a major science meeting being held in Canada said communication of vital research on health and environment issues is being suppressed. (February 17, 2012) BBC News - Home
2/18/2012 - Where do Americans really stand on Climate Change? Maybe it’s not so bad as the major pollsters say. Why Global Warming Still Considered Target Of Skepticism For Americans Gallup and Pew polls show that the percentage of Americans that believe in climate change now hovers around 50 percent, but Krosnick's latest poll -- which asked the question in a more detailed way -- suggests the figure is 83 percent -- up from 79 percent in 1997. Of the global warming believers, the majority also reported thinking that the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities play a role. The trend held after the researchers broke the data down by political party: 66 percent of Republicans said climate change is happening. Further, not a single U.S. state had a majority opinion on the skeptical side, noted Krosnick. Even in Oklahoma, the home of one of the country's most outspoken skeptics, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a large majority of the people polled agreed with the scientific consensus. (2/17/2012) Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
2/17/2012 - Few actions that we can do to adapt and mitigate Climate Change can have the effect of planting trees. Trees are carbon sinks that work. Plant a tree, lots of them. DEC'S Saratoga Tree Nursery Kicks off Annual Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale and Giveaway - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Landowners Can Take Advantage of Low-Cost Native Plants, Schools Can Get Them Free More than 50 species of trees and shrubs are now available to schools and public and private landowners at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Saratoga Tree Nursery, DEC announced today. The Saratoga Tree Nursery provides trees for erosion control, wildlife habitat, reforestation and other uses. (February 14, 2012) New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
2/17/2012 - Don’t miss this great article on Fracking by Bill McKibben. Bill really gets at the heart of why it would be so disastrous to Frack in NYS, or any other place for that matter. Few are able to articulate the real danger our addiction to fossil fuel represents for mankind at this point in time. We keep searching for that cheap energy source to fuel a way of life that is chewing up our environment—as if we haven’t learned a thing about our environment in the past one hundred years. Check out this important article and spread it far and wide. Why Not Frack? by Bill McKibben | The New York Review of Books "As the International Energy Agency reported last summer, the numbers are significant: their projections for a “Golden Age of Gas” scenario have atmospheric concentrations of CO2 peaking at 650 parts per million and temperature rising 3.5 degrees Celsius, far higher than all the experts believe is safe. In September, the National Center for Atmospheric Research tried to combine all the known data—everything from methane leakage in coal mines to the cooling effects of coal-fired sulfur pollution—and concluded, in the words of the scientist Tom Wigley, that the switch to natural gas “would do little to help solve the climate problem.” " Table of Contents - March 8, 2012 | The New York Review of Books
2/16/2012 - What are we going to say about Climate Change in a couple of decades? We are at an incredible time in our history where it is impolitic to talk about the most important issue of our century. Even when our representatives bring out bills to upgrade our water infrastructure and increase the effectiveness of our emergency response systems, they do not mention Climate Change. This is absurd because both these issues are a part any NYS climate action plan, which attempt to ready our state for extreme weather events coming up. more...
2/16/2012 - Help make nuclear power more safe: ACTION: 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
2/16/2012 - Learn about buying the right light bulb for your home and your planet from the experts:New Ways to Look at Buying Light Bulbs Tips from NYSERDA for Consumers New lighting choices and light bulb packaging are showing up on store shelves due to energy efficiency standards launched nationwide at the beginning of January. This means shopping for light bulbs is different than it’s been in the past. The new standards require that light bulbs be 25 percent more efficient than traditional incandescents. The first changes, which began in January, are to 100-watt bulbs, followed by 75-, 60- and 40-watt bulbs over the next two years. In addition, new packaging for light bulbs will make it easier to compare bulbs that use different technologies, such as incandescents, Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs), halogens and Light Emitting Diodes (LED). New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
2/15/2012 - Find out about this fascinating series on LOCALIZATION: ECONOMY, FOOD AND ENERGY:WINTER SERIES ON LOCALIZATION 10 regional organizations are sponsoring a series on LOCALIZATION: ECONOMY, FOOD AND ENERGY" at the Brighton Town Hall Lower Auditorium, 2300 Elmwood Ave., in Rochester beginning Wednesday, February 22. Co-sponsors will have information tables at 6:30 pm followed by programs starting promptly at 7 pm. The February 22 movie, the "Economics of Happiness", features voices from 6 continents including Vandana Shiva, David Korten, and Bill McKibben among others. It describes a world moving in two opposite directions: government and big business promoting globalization and consolidation of corporate power, while communities are coming together to resist and build human scale, ecological economies based on "Localization". more...
2/15/2012 - You’d think Climate science would just be science, but alas it is something else in the US--intrigue Leak Shows How Heartland Institute Works to Discredit Climate Science The inner workings of a libertarian think tank working to discredit the established science on climate change have been exposed by a leak of confidential documents detailing its strategy and fundraising networks. DeSmogBlog, which broke the story, said it had received the confidential documents from an "insider" at the Heartland Institute, which is based in Chicago. The blog monitors industry efforts to discredit climate science.
2/15/2012 - Our warming world is going to need more folks who understand science to adapt. Here’s a place to do that: Bachelors of Science » Search 320+ Online Bachelors of Science Degrees "Bachelorsofscience.com was created in 2009 by Aileen Stillman. I created this site as a former biology undergraduate student and later doctoral candidate who wanted to help potential students, in particular other women, explore the Bachelor of Science degree. I quickly realized there are no decent websites on the internet that provide students with a list of schools that offer the program after trying to direct women I was counseling as to their degree options. After spending time on campus websites and researching what schools offered, I decided to make a site that had all the information in one place. "
2/15/2012 - Recycle for our environment and get funds too: Get paid for recycling: Presentation on Feb 16 | Thursday, February 16, 6:30pm. Brighton Memorial Library, 2300 Elmwood Avenue. Free. With Monroe County's agreement to begin accepting all #1 through #7 plastics for curb-side recycling, our community is making progress in improving its environmental footprint. What if your household, business, or institution could actually get paid for the recycling you are already doing? There is an opportunity to take our recycling to another level without additional effort. Color Brighton Green has invited Jason Buck of Recyclebank (www.recyclebank.com) to make a multi-media presentation on how it pays households, businesses and institutions for the recycling they already do! No extra work, just rewards. Recyclebank rewards people for taking every day green actions with points that can be redeemed as discounts and deals from local and national businesses. Learn how recycling can earn you rewards at the businesses you use every day. The more you recycle, the more you earn...and the better for the environment and your wallet. For more information, contact Cheryl Frank at info@ColorBrightonGreen.org. 241-3078 or cherylmfrank@yahoo.com
2/14/2012 - Why Climate Change suggests more likelihood of extreme weather events—short video on that. On Home Runs and Steroids, Heat and CO2 - NYTimes.com#bXpulseX#bXpulseX "I’ve written repeatedly about experiments in climate and energy communication and education that mesh the arts and science. Examples include student-created “explainers” on geo-engineering and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Here’s some background on a new, and much discussed, effort (below), which compares the impact of steroid use on home run production to the impact of accumulating greenhouse gases on the frequency of weather extremes: " (February 13, 2012) Natural Resources and the Environment - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
2/14/2012 - Green Drinks meeting Thursday : Green Drinks - February Third Thursday, February 16 th, 2012, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm, at American Association of University Women Read More
2/14/2012 - According to Climate Change studies putting redundancy and resiliency into our telecommunications systems is critical. Major storms tend to disrupt land lines when telephone poles go down and wireless communications go awry if the cell towers are disrupted. Also, if an extreme weather events, heat wave, floods, or hurricanes knock out power for several days, even those with cell phones many not be able to charge them up. Or, TV and radio Stations might not be able to broadcast (think Hurricane Katrina) and a system of Ham radio stations could help our telecommunications resiliency in prolonged severe weather or when one major storm follows another—as predicted by Climate Change in our area. So, this is a good idea as long as the issues related to increased extreme weather are factored in. Gillibrand: Funds needed to handle major disasters - Canandaigua, NY - MPNnow Finger Lakes, N.Y. — U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand released a letter today urging Senate and House negotiators trying to agree on details of extending the payroll tax cut, to include funds that she said would help first responders in dealing with major disasters. (February 14, 2012) Home - Canandaigua, NY - MPNnow
2/13/2012 - The largest and longest running Rochester, NY Earth Day event is coming up. Here’s what we know so far: "14th Annual Environmental Forum, April 19- you’re the first to know! Thursday, April 19, doors open at 6pm Water! Here in upstate New York, we may not think access to clean water is or ever could be much of a problem. We live in the Great Lakes Basin, on the shore of bountiful Lake Ontario and near the beautiful Finger Lakes. We use both as sources of drinking water and are fortunate to be able to do so. But the threats of hydro-fracking and climate change loom large—our precious water may be greatly depleted. Seem far-fetched for such large supplies of water? In the past 40 years, the Aral Sea-- the world’s fourth largest lake in the 1960s, the equivalent volume of Lake Huron and Lake Erie combined-- has been drained 90% to grow cotton in the desert. Could the same thing happen here? On April 19th, join us for an evening with Jim Olson, a Michigan environmental attorney who has been fighting for 40 years for everyone’s right to the clean water that sustains life. Jim is a worldwide leader in protecting water as a “common good” against those who would privatize water to make a profit, leaving those who cannot pay to go without. Jim’s legal efforts are based on the premise that all of us and future generations have a right to clean drinking water. Jim appears in the film “Blue Gold: Water Wars,” and was responsible for a significant victory over one of the Nestle Company’s bottling operations which was adversely impacting the Muskegon River. We are privileged to be bringing him to Rochester. After Jim speaks, he and several panelists-- experts in the fields of the challenges we face regarding water depletion-- will answer your questions. You will not want to miss this Forum! "
2/13/2012 - Uproar over the ‘mystery illness’ in Leroy, NYThe hue and cry over the ‘mystery illness in Leroy, N.Y. for all I can tell is a true mystery: Why are several people in the same locality exhibiting similar symptoms? I can understand school and town officials’ desire to halt a hysterical reaction in the press that might bring unwanted and unnecessary concern to their community. Once started, it’s hard to keep a community functioning effectively if the press has made a spectacle of your community that invites all kinds of fears and disruptions. 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.

February 2012

Tuesday, February 21; 7:30 PM | Central United Methodist Church, 17 Nanticoke Ave. , Endicott, NY
- "Home Rule, The Rights of Municipalities, and Hydrofracking in New York State" Mayor Matt Ryan- "Protecting Our Water and Public Health through a Two-Year Moratorium" Erin Riddle will begin with a brief introduction about "home rule" in the New York State Constitution and the right of municipalities to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the community. Mayor Matt Ryan will talk about the City of Binghamton's two-year moratorium on hydrofracking. Mayor Ryan feels that municipalities need to protect their own environment in face of the inadequacies of the state's SGEIS. He also believes that the state's Oil & Gas Law says that a municipality can't regulate oil and gas production but it doesn't say that a municipality can't have a moratorium or ban.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012: 7 - 9:30 p.m. at the Ingel Auditorium, in Building 4 (Student Union) on the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) campus, Rochester (Monroe County). The meeting is co-hosted by RIT and the Monroe County Fishery Advisory Board.
- DEC Announces "State of Lake Ontario" Meetings - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced three upcoming public meetings to discuss Lake Ontario fisheries. The annual "State of Lake Ontario" public meetings will be held in Niagara, Monroe and Oswego counties during February and March. "DEC is committed to science-based management of Lake Ontario fisheries to maintain high-quality angling opportunities and associated economic benefits," DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said. "The State of Lake Ontario meetings provide an excellent opportunity for individuals interested in the lake to interact with the scientists who study its fisheries." (February 13, 2012) Press Releases - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

March 2012

7-9 pm, Thursday, March 15. | Thomas Ryan Community Center, 360 Webster Avenue, Rochester, NY
- MOVIE SHOWING Gas Prices Going Up: Why? Gas prices have been increasing for more than a decade, with some wild gyrations along the way. Is this likely to be a long-term trend? To help answer this question, a free showing of "Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash" is offered by Beechwood Transition Initiative and Juanita Ball (482-5419) at the Thomas Ryan Community Center, 360 Webster Avenue, in Rochester, 7-9 pm, Thursday, March 15. Juanita is planning to have free popcorn on hand! Crude Awakening is a 2006 documentary by award-winning filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack. It examines our world-wide dependence on petroleum and the possible consequences of peaking petroleum production.

April 2012

14th Annual Environmental Forum, April 19- you’re the first to know! Thursday, April 19, doors open at 6pm Water!
- Here in upstate New York, we may not think access to clean water is or ever could be much of a problem. We live in the Great Lakes Basin, on the shore of bountiful Lake Ontario and near the beautiful Finger Lakes. We use both as sources of drinking water and are fortunate to be able to do so. But the threats of hydro-fracking and climate change loom large—our precious water may be greatly depleted. Seem far-fetched for such large supplies of water? In the past 40 years, the Aral Sea-- the world’s fourth largest lake in the 1960s, the equivalent volume of Lake Huron and Lake Erie combined-- has been drained 90% to grow cotton in the desert. Could the same thing happen here? On April 19th, join us for an evening with Jim Olson, a Michigan environmental attorney who has been fighting for 40 years for everyone’s right to the clean water that sustains life. Jim is a worldwide leader in protecting water as a “common good” against those who would privatize water to make a profit, leaving those who cannot pay to go without. Jim’s legal efforts are based on the premise that all of us and future generations have a right to clean drinking water. Jim appears in the film “Blue Gold: Water Wars,” and was responsible for a significant victory over one of the Nestle Company’s bottling operations which was adversely impacting the Muskegon River. We are privileged to be bringing him to Rochester. After Jim speaks, he and several panelists-- experts in the fields of the challenges we face regarding water depletion-- will answer your questions. You will not want to miss this Forum! " more...
Friday, April 27, 2012 At "The Links" in East Syracuse, New York
- Eighth Annual Symposium on Energy in the 21st Century | DescriptionofSymposium A Division of Synapse Sustainability Trust Inc. Looking Ahead to a Future in Renewable Energy A Local & Global Perspective Friday, April 27, 2012 At "The Links" in East Syracuse, New York Symposium on April 27, 2012. Registration opens today. This Symposium is noted as one of the most important energy conferences in the Northeast. This will be a very well attended Symposium and I encourage you to register ASAP. Last year we closed registration early at 360 attendees. This year we are going global, and including successful models of energy sustainability from other countries. Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser, will be flying in from Berlin exclusively for this Symposium to speak Germany's success in using renewable energy, particularly solar voltaic. Willett Kempton, Ph.D, Visiting Professor at Denmarks Tekniske Universitet, will be speaking on Denmark's model, particularly in wind energy. Other esteemed speakers include Garry Brown, Chairman PSC, Laura Morton, Senior Advisor for Renewable Energy, U.S.D.O.E, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Paul Tonko, Congressman, Nathanael Green, Director of Renewable Energy Policy, NRDC, Michael Gerrard, Director Climate Center, Columbia Law School, and Kit Kennedy, Counsel to Air & Energy Program, NRDC, who will be the moderator. Our keynote will be Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Included in the program is greetings from Frank Murray, President & CEO NYSERDA, and Joe Martens and, Commisioner DEC. We are giving a special award to Joanie Mahoney, County Executive of Onondaga County for her exceptional work. This will be a landmark Symposium!!

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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.

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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.]