Action - Rochester, NY area Environment
RochesterEnvironment.com
Take Action for your area's environment. These actions come for non-profit and governmental (many in the form of public input forums) on issues that will affect our particular environment.
Page Contents: Actions with Specific Due Dates | On-going actions | Contact your Representatives in Government |
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.
This page is designed to bring all these requests under one roof so the Internet can facilitate these requests by various groups for aid. Look for the due date for each of the action items. I try as much as possible (because there are so many environmental online actions) to limit my listings to items that will influence the Rochester, NY area
SEARCH: Use search engine below to find anything posted since 1998.
Top Ten Things You Can Do for Rochester
Sure there are lots of top ten lists around. So why not one on the things you can do for your local environment—that system that keeps us alive and thriving? But, this list is different from the usual stuff. It’s not one of those really easy, warm and fuzzy lists of fun activities you can do in your spare time. It’ll be transformative.
This list assumes you are ready to take responsibility (as a member of the only species capable of doing so) for your presence at this critical time in our planet’s history. And, it isn’t about just your personal fulfillment thing—our environment isn’t politics, religion, a fad, or a cause; it’s science all the way down. Pollute the planet, stuff happens. Finally, in order for the effects of this list to be effective a lot (I mean billions) of humans need to do them too. In the deepest practical sense, everything you do (where you live, what you eat, what you buy, what you throw away) matters to our environment. Ready folks, here we go:
- Be engaged with the issues surrounding our local environment by monitoring the media, books, reports, and the Internet using the laws of Nature as your guide to monitor how our lifestyle is affecting our environment.
- When you consume anything--food, water, cars, gadgets, whatever—do so as though you were demonstrating how to consume for the rest of the world—considering the lifecycle of the products you buy, how they are made, how they are used, and how you get rid of them.
- When you have someplace to go, consider
all your options in order of their affect on our environment:
walking, biking, car-pooling, mass transit, and lastly a
personal vehicle.
- Conserve energy until we find a non-polluting, renewable energy source.
- Vote. If you’re doing good for our environment and your representative in government doesn’t get it, you’re just making yourself feel good without much effect.
- Recycle, reuse and encourage your local government to create a place where recycling just about everything is the norm.
- Think twice before using toxic chemicals that make your yard look like a golf course and your house like a hospital.
- Consider other species (plants and animals) and their role in sustaining our environment. Some are annoying and critical. Some are cute and a burden.
- Adopt green business practices: your business will save our environment and be able to compete with the rest of the world.
- Communicate your concerns about the state of our environment to everyone. Sustainability isn’t going to work unless everyone gets on board quickly.
Actions with Specific Due Dates:
- Action Due Date: Today
- Donate to a worthy cause: Christine Sevilla Project (Christine Sevilla Project) "Welcome to A Living Project to Preserve a Place in Christine's Honor For All to Enjoy in Perpetuity Christine's family and friends envision a natural area, including wetlands, preserved in her memory. This vision includes an educational component, like an interpretive trail to help others recognize what Christine saw - an interconnected natural community of flora and fauna, soil and water. Perhaps even an Arts and Music Festival to celebrate what Christine so treasured. "
- Action Due Date: March 22
- EPA Strengthens Smog Standard/Proposed standards, strictest to date, will protect the health of all Americans, especially children The United States Environmental Protection Agency today proposed the strictest health standards to date for smog. Smog, also known as ground-level ozone, is linked to a number of serious health problems, ranging from aggravation of asthma to increased risk of premature death in people with heart or lung disease. Ozone can even harm healthy people who work and play outdoors. The agency is proposing to replace the standards set by the previous administration, which many believe were not protective enough of human health. EPA will take public comment until March 22. The agency will hold three public hearings on the proposal: Feb. 2, 2010 in Arlington, Va. and in Houston; and Feb. 4, 2010 in Sacramento. More information: Ground-level Ozone | US EPA (January 7, 2010) [more on Air Quality in our area]
- Action Due Date: March 27, 2010 from 8:30 to
9:30pm,
- Demonstrate your concern for Energy Conservation: Earth Hour 2010: turn off your lights for one hour The Town of Brighton is officially signed up for Earth Hour 2010! On Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 8:30 to 9:30pm, join your neighbors, and hundreds of millions of people around the world by turning off your lights for one hour. --from Home Page - Color Brighton Green
- Action Due Date: April 10th, 2010 10AM
- 2:00 PM| Email
or call today to register your family, group of friends, club,
organization, scout troop, or class! Contact Ryan Loysen at
rloysen@monroecounty.gov or 585-753-7281.
- We're passing on this request from Monroe County Parks : Pick Up the Parks A new initiative from the Monroe County Department of Parks April 10th, 2010 Join us and several local recreation and environmental groups in kicking off this new local stewardship event. In this first year, we will be targeting 4 parks: Ellison, Genesee Valley, Greece Canal, and Ontario Beach Parks for clean up and other park improvements. Why just four? As you know there are 21 parks within the Monroe County Parks system. As it’s a first year event, we wanted to identify popular parks that could also accommodate our widespread community. We welcome your ideas for future projects and will certainly add more parks to the event as community support grows. Email or call today to register your family, group of friends, club, organization, scout troop, or class! Contact Ryan Loysen at rloysen@monroecounty.gov or 585-753-7281. Be sure to tell us your group size, preferred park, e-mail address, and phone number, or just come on out to one of the project sites on April 10th and register on-site. Orientation begins at 10 a.m. at each project site with refreshments and additional information. Group projects and field work will begin at 10:30 a.m. The Monroe County Parks belong to all of us, so let’s join together to keep them clean and green. Check back for additional event details, meet-up locations and park information at Parks | Monroe County, NY
Get
Involved — Great Backyard Bird Count "Your Help Will
Make a Difference The success of the Great Backyard Bird Count
depends on participants from every community to count birds across
the United States and Canada. Help spread the word in your town by
asking people to count birds for at least 15 minutes during the
count. It's fun, easy, raises awareness of birds, and provides an
important record of where the birds are--a record that scientists
can use well into the future to track how birds are faring as their
environments change. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon
invite everyone to “Count for Fun, Count for the Future.” --Great
Backyard Bird Count — Great Backyard Bird Count
We
Can Solve It The We Campaign is a project of
The Alliance for Climate
Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel
laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. The goal of the Alliance
is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the
climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100
percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10
years. Our economy, national security, and climate can’t afford to
wait.
On-going Action sites for our environment
Many local, national, and international organizations take action for our environment and make it easy for you to do so also.
- Union of Concerned
Scientists The Union of Concerned Scientists is the
leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy
environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent
scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative,
practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in
government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices.
Action Center | Union of
Concerned Scientists
- OMB Watch | Promoting open government, accountability, and citizen participation since 1983 OMB Watch exists to increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and promote active citizen participation in our democracy.
- 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. Our mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.
- 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.
- Citizens Campaign for the Environment ACTION ALERTS -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
League of Women Voters Rochester Metropolitan Area "The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy."
- Espeically useful is the LWV's yearly "A Guide to Your Elected Offi cials for Monroe County 2009 "
Contact Your New York State (Senator) and (Assembly) Representatives--from http://newyork.sierraclub.org/legislative/
You'd be surprised how influential a letter or phone call from a constituent can be to a State Senator or State Assembly Member.
- To find your State Senator's Contact Information: Go to http://www.senate.state.ny.us, click on "Senators", click on your Senator, click on "contact." To identify your State Senator: Go to http://www.senate.state.ny.us, click on "Senators", click on "search by zip code", enter your zip code.
- To find your Assembly Member's Contact Information: Go to http://www.assembly.state.ny.us, scroll to your Assembly Member, click "go", click on "contact". To identify your Assembly Member: Go to http://www.assembly.state.ny.us, click to "click here to search by zipcode", enter your zipcode, and click "search".
NYLCV - New York League of Conservation Voters | Educating and Electing for the Environment - NYLCV is a non-partisan, policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision-makers and the voters by evaluating incumbent performance and endorsing and electing environmental leaders to office in New York State.