Updates January 05

• 01/14/05 **ACTION** Please Take a moment of your time to contact Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks (countyexecutive@monroecounty.gov) and show your support for the 48 Neighborhood Notification Bill (http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/pesticid/neighbor.htm ) that will give neighbors a chance to be warned when pesticide spraying is occurring near them.  You can also go to the online contact form at the Monroe County site: http://www.monroecounty.gov/org51.asp?orgID=51&custompage=contact  It is very important that Maggie Brooks knows that her community is behind this very important bill that has been passed in eight other New York State Counties.
•  01/31/05 --**EVENT** Public hearings on Deer Hunting, public regarding changes that might be made to New York's deer hunting programs: Deer Season Changes Under Consideration - A series of statewide meetings to be held during the month of February to solicit public comments on several proposed changes to future deer hunting seasons and discuss the results of the 2004 deer season in New York. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Protecting NY's Environment and Managing its Natural Resources 1. February 9th (Wednesday) 7-9pm - Canandaigua Elementary School. 96 West Gibson St. Canandaigua. Directions: From the Thruway, take either Exit 44 and go south on Rte. 332, or Exit 43 and go south on Rte. 21. The school is 1000 feet west of the intersection of Main (Rte 332) and Rte. 21. --2.February 10th (Thursday) 7-9pm - Churchville Chili Senior High School. 5786 Buffalo Rd. Churchville. Directions: Take Interstate 490 west to Rt. 259, exit 4. Turn right onto NY 259/Union St. Turn left onto NY 33/Buffalo Rd.
•  01/31/05 -- Get a full environmental report from The Green Sheet: This month's THE GREEN SHEET Vol. 10 - No. 1 January 2005 is out by Environmental Advocates - THE GREEN SHEET is produced monthly by Environmental Advocates of New York. Voluntary annual subscriptions of $15 are encouraged. Free subscriptions are available via email and on the Web at: http://www.eany.org
•  01/30/05 - Again, quietly and without much fanfare coming out of the Monroe County Executive's office comes a major change in a long-term environmental policy:  Like last month's change on county's position on the expansion of Seneca Park Zoo, is Maggie Brooks decision on the possible passage of the 48 Hour Pesticide Neighborhood Notification Bill.  The passage of this important bill that would require the applicators of certain pesticides having to notify neighbors of possible drifting pesticides--instead of answering to those whom request it-- is a major shift in policy for Monroe County.  We enthusiastically endorse this bill, which will alert people when pesticide spraying is done next to their homes. A lot of groups, including myself, have worked a long time on the passage of this critical environmental bill.  County starts work on pesticide bill - (January 28, 2005) — Lawyers for Monroe County started work Thursday on drafting a proposed law that would require residential pesticide applicators to give neighbors 48 hours notice before spraying. It would make Monroe only the eighth county among the state's 62 counties to opt into New York's Neighborhood Notification law, passed in 2000. The bill will be introduced as early as next month, said Larry Staub, spokesman for county executive Maggie Brooks. (January 30, 2005) . Democrat and Chronicle
•  01/30/05 - Global Warming is Real and there are going to be changes -  'Dangerous' Global Warming Possible by 2026 - WWF - OSLO (Reuters) - World temperatures could surge in just two decades to a threshold likely to trigger dangerous disruptions to the earth's climate, the WWF environmental group said on Sunday. It said the Arctic region was warming fastest, threatening the livelihoods of indigenous hunters by thawing the polar ice-cap and driving species like polar bears toward extinction by the end of the century. Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.com  Get the report by the World Wildlife Fund: WWF - the conservation organization Climate change impacts on nature worse than thought
•  01/29/05  - Fast Ferry update: To file a complaint to obtain a refund from the Canadian American Transportation System (CATS), please call 800-771-7755 -For full details, see the Democrat and Chronicle article at: State, CATS work on ferry refunds - Threat spurs company to negotiate customer complaints (January 22, 2005) — The state Attorney General's Office and Rochester's high-speed ferry company are working on an agreement to settle more than 1,000 consumer complaints made against the private firm. The state threatened last week to sue Canadian American Transportation Systems, saying the company has failed to provide refunds for unhappy customers who were left with useless tickets and gift certificates when the popular ferry service shut down suddenly in September.  
•  01/23/05 -- CAUSE Of The Month -- Be sure to check out the latest environmental Cause of the Month: Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge In the upcoming Congress, the spectacular Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will be under attack as never before. Congressional leaders have already announced plans to open the Arctic Refuge to oil development threatening the polar bears, musk oxen, wolves, millions of migratory birds, caribou and hundreds of other species that call it home. The industrial disturbance would be immense and spills inevitable. And for what? At most, a few months' supply of oil that would not come on line for at least ten years. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is not a path to energy independence or lower prices at the pump. Tell your elected officials to protect the Arctic Refuge today! Current Action Needed: Please sign the petition below that asks your senators and representative to oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge.
•  01/23/05-- **MY THOUGHTS** The State of local environmental news: As I am dependant on online versions of our Rochester-area news sources for ferreting out all the news about our environment, the news scene changes regularly.  Some news services get better, some stay about the same, and some get worse.  Recently, I've been stopping over at Westside News Inc. Westside News Inc. and found them very attuned to our environment.  They also have have saved a lot of their editions, here: http://westsidenewsonline.com/archives.html  RNews.com, from RoadRunner. not only has environmental news stories often, but they archive them for over a week.  Archiving news stories is important because we don't often check for environmental news stories every day and often, as it is with environmental stories, we won't know the importance of a stories until things develop down the road.  Thus, being able to back and check up on the original story is very useful.  Previously, one of the best sources for environmental news online was Messenger Post Newspapers but since they required online payment for each newspaper, it's difficult to use what would otherwise be a very comprehensive service.  And of course, since Jack Bradigan Spula, left City Newspaper There has been quite a turnaround the in depth and breath of great environmental news for Rochester.  One of the most important environmental news sources for our community has dried up. TV news usually is far worse on the reporting of environmental news because this medium caters to quick flashy stories, which is not the way environmental stories usually unfold.  The print medium is better for environmental stories because they can take the time to explain in detail why a particular story is important, instead of simply try an please their audience's sensational and prurient desires.  Online news stories are the best of all because they can be reached by anyone around the world, they are automatically archived for further research by anyone, and they can be linked to other articles to show and explain a trend in-depth.  Why does all this matter? Read Proprietary Information
•  01/22/05 -- When you think about Brownfields and how complicated and slow it is for the state to get these abandoned industrial waste sites cleaned up, think about federal plans to leave it up to industry to clean up and monitor their affect on our environment.  Councilmen call for release of state 'brownfields' funds -  Money to clean industrial sites has been held up by disagreement in Albany on how to distribute grants - Gridlock in Albany could cost West Brighton tens of thousands of dollars that could be used to clean up industrial sites in that neighborhood, City Council members charged yesterday. City Councilman Michael McMahon (D-North Shore) joined Environmental Protection Committee chairman James Gennaro (D-Queens) and other Council members in calling upon the state's political leaders to agree on a deal allowing several million dollars in grant money to go to community groups seeking to clean up polluted industrial sites known as "brownfields." SILive.com: Everything Staten Island
•  01/22/05 -- I have to applaud the continual attention that Monroe County, under Maggie Brooks (Monroe County Executive), attention to Monroe County's Recycling efforts.  I keep coming across stories to improvements to our county's Recycling program.  Everyone should be recycling.  Recycling Center Upgrades - County Marks America Recycles Day with Improvements at Recycling Center - State Grant Allows for Expansion of Paper Recycling - In recognition of America Recycles Day (November 15, 2004), Monroe County announced the completion of a two-year, $1.6 million project to upgrade the Monroe County Recycling Center. The equipment improvements will allow increased efficiency and enhanced recycling for the community. Monroe County
•  01/22/05 -- Despite changes in the laws about Wetlands on the federal level ( White House to Relax Some Environmental Regulations The Bush administration announced today that it would ease some Clinton administration regulations covering wetlands and streams, saying the changes would reduce unnecessary paperwork. (January 15, 2002) The New York Times on the Web) , New York State still takes our wetlands and the Clean Water Act seriously. SPITZER HAILS FEDERAL DECISION ON ONONDAGA COUNTY WETLAND Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today hailed a decision by the federal government to apply protective regulations to a sensitive wetland in Onondaga County. The decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers means that a 19-acre parcel in the Town of Lysander will be considered a protected federal wetland. The site is slated for development as a housing subdivision.  "I applaud this decision," Spitzer said. "Wetlands are vital natural resources that improve water quality, prevent flooding and provide essential habitat to wildlife. I hope this reversal signals a broader decision by the Bush administration to conform its wetland policy to the mandates of the Clean Water Act and provide greater protections for critical wetlands throughout the state and nation."  (January 22, 2005)  Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
•  01/20/05 -- Your lawn and their pesticides: The use of pesticides and how these chemicals affect our environment is going to be concern for a long time.  Is it worth having the perfect lawn at the price of polluting our environment in a very profound way? Right now, there's quite a different attitude between how Canada views this problem and how we do in the state.  Here's a story about pesticides in New York State:STATES PETITION EPA TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM PESTICIDES  and here's a recent story in Canada:   The Globe and Mail: Lawn-care opponents mark turf 'The gloves are off,' ad says, signalling pesticide industry's desire to step up fight - Fearing that the Canadian movement to ban the use of pesticides on lawns will take root in the United States, the American lawn-care industry has thrown down the gauntlet. "The gloves are off," declares an industry ad running in trade magazines under a picture of masculine-looking leather gardening gloves lying atop a lush green lawn. globeandmail.com - Canada's best source for news continuously updated from The Globe and Mail
•  01/14/05 --**EVENT** Wind energy conference -  Jan. 26 conference will examine western N.Y.'s 'air power' future. - Jan. 26 conference will examine western N.Y.'s 'air power' future. — BATAVIA — Wind power is coming to western New York, apparently in a big way. As farmers and other land owners have been asked in recent months to sell, lease or use their land to harness wind energy, a Jan. 26 conference, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension and Genesee Community College, aims to answer questions about the issue. If you go What: Wind energy conference. When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26. - Where: Genesee Community College, 1 College Road, Batavia. Registration: Must be made by Jan. 20. Call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County at (585) 343-3040, ext. 112, or visit the extension office at 420 E. Main St., Batavia. Registration also can be done at www.cce.cornell.edu/genesee . (January 17, 2005) Democrat and Chronicle
•  01/15/04-- **MY THOUGHTS**  Of course, it's not as much fun for some as blasting away at crows while drinking beer, but the attempt by the US Department of Agriculture in Auburn, NY to rid itself of crows seems a far more sensible and humane way of ridding a community of pests.  Each year, a tavern in Syracuse, NY sponsors a crow shoot for its patrons to rid the a city of crows by blasting away at the forest crows (because shooting crows in the city is illegal) which has absolutely no effect on the city crows--which is the alleged problem.  USDA Rids Auburn Of Crow Problem - There seem to be fewer crows in Auburn today than there were a week ago. That's thanks to a weeklong crow-scaring test by the US Department of Agriculture. (January 15, 2005)  R News: As It Happens, Where It Happens
•  01/15/05 -- Read the latest form the DEC: Environment DEC - New York's Online Newsletter about the Environment Welcome to Environment DEC, DEC's online newsletter. Each issue of Environment DEC presents news about New York State's environment, natural resources and DEC's environmental quality programs. Look for a new Environment DEC at the beginning of each month.
•  01/15/04 -- Get an update on Lead Poisoning: Living on Earth: The Secret Life of Lead "If you, like most of us, don’t work in a scientific field, chances are the only time research grabs your attention is when the results of a study make headlines. But that’s just one brief, albeit important point in the scientific process. Behind those results are years of hard work, false starts and moments of inspiration." --from Living On Earth: Saturday, January 15, 2005
•  01/15/05 -- Energy: In the future we are going to have to have a predominance of clean and safe energy.  Nuclear energy, in terms of global warming is clean, but it is not safe.  Given China's secrecy in the beginning of the SARS breakout in their country, where the numbers of SARA cases advanced rapidly without knowledge from the outside world, how responsible do you think China will be if their are any accidents in their nuclear plants? The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > China Promotes Another Boom: Nuclear Power By 2010, planners predict a quadrupling of nuclear output to 16 billion kilowatt-hours and a doubling of that figure by 2015. And with commercial nuclear energy programs dead or stagnant in the United States and most of Europe, Western and other developers of nuclear plant technology are lining up to sell reactors and other equipment to the Chinese, whose purchasing decisions alone will determine in many instances who survives in the business. --The New York Times > International News
•  01/14/05 **ACTION** Environmental Photography Contest -- Show off Rochester's best environmental sites. Brooks Announces County Environmental Photography Competition - This year's competition is entitled " Capturing Monroe County's Environmental Treasures". Entry form is available on this page Photography Competition -- from Monroe County
•  01/14/05 -- You know, you should RECYCLE: Find all the areas around Rochester, New York to Reuse and Recycle EIA Environment: Consumer Education Initiative (CEI) - Reuse And Recycle Programs for New York --from EIA Environment: Consumer Education Initiative (CEI) - The EIA Consumer Education Initiative or "CEI" is a web-based information resource that provides consumers and others with information on recycling and reuse opportunities for used electronics. Participating manufacturers include an industry statement in a variety of media, including owner's manuals, company web sites, and product literature, directing consumers to the CEI web page where consumers can find recycling and reuse opportunities for used electronics in their area.
•  01/14/05 - - What to do with that old computer? Computer Take Back Campaign The goal of the Computer TakeBack Campaign is to protect the health and well being of electronics users, workers, and the communities where electronics are produced and discarded by requiring consumer electronics manufacturers and brand owners to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products, through effective public policy requirements or enforceable agreements.
•  01/14/04 -- Want to be an environmentally conscious consumer? Have Greentips delivered to your inbox every month—FREE! Subscribe today. --from The Union of Concerned Scientists
  
•  01/14/05 -- How to test farms & nearby water sources.  A useful guide to environmental groups who want to check up on farms and pollution: Putting Factory Farms to the Test: A Guide to Community-based Water Monitoring -Changes in farming practices over the last 60 years have dramatically increased the potential to harm the environment and human health, especially in the livestock sector. Large intensive livestock operations can increase the risk of environmental contamination from harmful bacteria, foul odours and toxic vapours. As a result of such effects, citizens are becoming concerned about large livestock operations in their communities. Putting Factory Farms to the Test is a manual designed to help community groups monitor the effects of local factory farms on nearby water sources. The manual is a step-by-step guide to help community groups start their monitoring program, collect samples, manage data and put the results to good use in the community. --from Environmental Defence Canada
•  01/08/05 -- What are the effects of using salt on our roads in the winter?  What is the price we are paying in keeping our roads safe for our cars by using salt? Find out from this article: PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Salt goes off road and into water
•  01/07/05 -- Maybe this recycling program by the EPA will work: EPA: Plug-In To eCycling Plug-In To eCycling is a consumer electronics campaign working to increase the number of electronic devices collected and safely recycled in the United States. Launched in January 2003, Plug-In To eCycling is one component of EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), a national effort to find flexible, yet more protective ways to conserve our valuable resources.
•  01/02/04 -- Thanks for helping me update.  A visitor to this site reminded me that many of my Humane Societies are out of date.  Since I began listing Humane Societies there has been many updates to the humane societies in and around Rochester.  Also, most humane societies have web sites and there are also more comprehensive listing of them for New York State.  One of the problems of maintaining a site as large as RochesterEnvironment.com is that websites come and go and there are always news ones to be found.  When I get a note from a visitor about a change of address or new Rochester, it helps me catalogue the sites on RochesterEnvironment.com.  Check out all the humane and animals societies in and around Rochester. 
•  01/01/04 -- Happy New Year.  The new RENewsletter is completed for December 2004.  Lots of important environmental information, news, events, action items, updates.