Here is a list of things you can do to help our Rochester-area environment: This is a working list that I have developed over the years of things you can do to help our Rochester-area environment.  It's meant to be skimmed over quickly and linked to see if there's something you can tweak in your daily life to help our environment.

(Photo: Irondequoit Bay looking on to Lake Ontario)

  Green Living - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Ideas, tips and resources for making environmentally responsible choices in your daily life  Bookmark this page and check the "10 Things" list below for seasonally updated actions you can take to live greener right now! 10 Things You Can Do to Help The Environment Right Now - Gas Saving Tips: How to get the most out of every gallon of gas, reduce air pollution and cut greenhouse gases Motor vehicles are the single largest contributor to ground-level ozone. Vehicles also emit greenhouse gases and pollutants that form smog.  New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

This is a great program from Goodwill and Dell for the Rochester area for recycling those old computers--Get the RECONNECT FACT SHEET jobs, environmental y important--no way should we be seeing electronics on the curbside for garbage pickup:--from The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI)-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester, Inc.

Ride a bike.

Action needed on Rochester -area Environment Issues

Great Place to learn how to live Green: GreenTips Home (Index) from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

When biking, take your cellular phone and report road rage against bikers!

(News links on how Rochester people are living more environmentally friendly)

1. Good for your community: Good for your environment. Did you know that tagging Monarch butterflies are a a good way to monitor our environmental health? If your community has not already joined in this great program by Seneca Park Zoo, sponsored by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation , then you ought to check it out: The Butterfly Beltway Project  “Seneca Park Zoo has launched another exciting season of sharing the beauty and wonder of butterflies with the citizens of western New York. Thanks to the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation (DMJF), our seasonal onsite butterfly experience will re-opened in June, while our offsite Butterfly Beltway garden-planting project kicked off in mid-May. Each year since 2002, we have added new gardens to the Butterfly Beltway, and as a result, our tally of gardens sits at 73. We plant gardens at senior-living centers and at facilities that serve urban youth, disabled youth, youth-at-risk, or other special-needs children. Each garden has special kinds of flowers that attract butterflies for feeding and egg-laying purposes. The gardens also provide critical shelter and rest areas for 75 local species of butterflies.”

2. Some interesting info from the EPA, how to be more environmentally friendly:   Environmental Stewardship | US EPA "Environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality shared by all those whose actions affect the environment. Everyday, more than 300 million Americans make countless choices that can impact our environment. By being an active environmental steward you can reduce those impacts and make a difference in the kind of world we live in today and pass on to future generations." - from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

3. What can you do to prevent Global Warming? From the recent Rochester Regional Group of the Sierra Club program – Solutions For Global Warming – has come an excellent small brochure that will help you do many things specifically to mitigate the effects of Global Warming in our area. Check out this brochure. (It’s a PDF file and you’ll need Adobe® Reader®. ) to open and print it.  The brochure: What you Can Do About Global Global Warming.  -- Please download and distribute this brochure widely.  (Also, tell your printer to flip the image on the short edge when it makes the duplex copy.

4. Join in the Discussions: As you learn from this site and book and even (slowly) the major media about the implications of Climate Change, there are many online opportunities to join in discussions how to lighten our human footprints on our environment. Many of the online newspapers of the local media have made it easy to join in discussion pertaining to news stories, and some of those pertain to our local environment. Check out my page News Sources and go to one of the news links and find a local environmental story and join in their bogs or chats. Some news links that are especially easy to use are The Democrat and Chronicle, The City Newspaper, and The Messenger Post Newspapers that allows you to “share your thoughts.”
5. On April 14, a new organization called Step It Up 2007 is inviting organizations to hold rallies and events across the country. So far, over 300 events are planned in 39 states. Please go to http://stepitup2007.org/ and join one or create an event in your community. It can be as humble as a sign, as entertaining as theater, or as bold as a mass demonstration.
6. As the issue of Global Warming moves to another level (most have moved from denial to acceptance), you can do your part by helping convince those who have not been on top of this issue and must come kicking and screaming to the fact that man-made climate change threatens future generations—like soon. So here’s a comprehensive online thesis on how to discuss the issue of Global Warming with remaining skeptics: WWF - How to answer the claims of a Climate Change Sceptic
7. If you are retiring and care deeply about your local environment, you might consider joining your town board, where you will have an important voice on the sustainability of our community
8. Read: How and What to Recycle in Monroe County -The following containers, paper materials and license plates (defaced) should be placed in your recycling box and taken to the curb before 6:30 a.m. on your regular trash collection day.
9. Don't throw that old computer and paraphernalia in the garbage: The Home Computer Program recycles donated computers. These recycled computers go to urban students. So far, over 1,000 students, many from Josh Lofton High School (Rochester, NY) have received computers.
10. By purchasing the right seafood, you can support sustainable fishing and responsible fish farming practices. View our list of the fifteen or so best and worst fish to buy, from Alaskan pollock to snapper and swordfish. http://www.environmentaldefense.org/pubs/FactSheets/s_fishchoices.html
11. Donate your car to the American Lung Association
12. If you have a dumpster, check it for raccoons or other innocent animals that have become trapped in it before dumping. 
13. Global Warming is real, it's here, most scientists don't dispute it: Find out Ten Ways you can do to stop Global Warming.--from the Sierra Club. 
14. Get involved in your neighborhood --from Care2.com
15. Go to Green Solitaire's list of major action centers on the Internet and get involved online.  Numbers do count. 
16. How Can I Help The Environment? --from Care2.com Get environmental ideas for others: Helping the environment can be easy if you just think about it as incorporating little green tips into your life. And the best tips can be learned from other people's knowledge and experience. So use this discussion format as a simple, fun place to learn what you can do help the environment.
17. Recycle: Reuse plastic & paper bags.
18. Thinking of leaving your land to Nature instead of developers?  Find out how from The Land Trust Alliance, who  promotes voluntary land conservation and strengthens the land trust movement by providing the leadership, information, skills and resources land trusts need to conserve land for the benefit of communities and natural systems.
19. At Environmental Defense they have plenty of ideas about ways you can help the environment. Here are a few to help get you started.  
20. Tell a Friend:  NRDC's earthsmartcars campaign aims to revolutionize the auto industry. How? By mobilizing consumers to demand that automakers put these "earthsmartcars" on the road. Encourage your friends, family and colleagues to sign our earthsmartcars pledge and put in Important notices.
21. Bee homes next to golf courses will help reduce the effects on the environment of golf course by helping to pollinate flowers near the the golf course.
22. When investing in stock choose green.  There are sites on the Interned which list these stock companies.  Here's some ideas: Green Investing - Guide to Socially Responsible investing - Care2.com - Some investment funds offer different green - Stocks & Economy - MSNBC.com - Sierra Club Mutual Funds
23. Join a local environmental group. Rochester has over 80 Environmentalists.
24. Help identify alien species and report them.
25. Keep track of your representatives on the environment.  Contact them and let them know you are concerned about how they represent you.
26. Write letters to the editor to our local news media: D&C's feedback page, Getting in Touch with Us from RochesterToday.com, WWw.10NBC.com's E-mail.
27. Most important, express your concerns to anyone who will listen.
28. Donate, instead of trashing, your old clothing to our area's charity organizations, like Volunteers of America. 
29. Cut Your Heating Bill with an Energy Audit  To call for your own RG&E energy audit just call 1-800-724-2176.
30. Thinking of ways you can help your environment in your everyday life? Go to Earth Resource Foundation Home's FOURTEEN WAYS YOU CAN HELP FROM HOME
31. Call in illegal dumping: Democrat & Chronicle: Sneaky trash haulers dump on city To report suspected dumping in Rochester, call the Department of Environmental Services at (585) 428-5990 or go to its Web site, www.cityofrochester.gov Complaints also can be filed with the NET offices: A (Sectors 1 & 2) 1494 Dewey Ave. (585) 428-7610 - B (Sector 3) 492 Lyell Ave. (585) 428-7620 - C (Sectors 4 & 5) 998 Genesee St. (585) 428-7630 - D (Sectors 6 & 7) 846 S. Clinton Ave. (585) 428-7640 - E (Sector 8) 212 Webster Ave. (585) 428-7650 - F (Sectors 9 & 10) 500 Norton St. (585) 428-7660
32.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle "Monroe County has expanded its list of items that can be put in blue boxes for curbside recycling. The list now also includes paper boxes, such as cereal, cracker and tissue boxes, clean pizza boxes that have been flattened, unwanted mail, advertisements and brochures, home office paper, files and shredded paper, all kinds of envelopes, paperback and hardcover books, school papers, gift wrap and tubes from paper towels and from toilet paper.. --some of the items on the expanded list are listed on at the end of the blue pages of the new telephone book." --Democrat & Chronicle: Monroe expanding its recycling program
33. Want a quick easy way to to protect the natural integrity of the Finger Lakes Region? - Land Trust giving goes online! Here's an easy new way  You can now use your credit card to donate, join, give a gift membership online!
34. Notice a case of Environmental Justice? Contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Environmental Justice The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Justice Program Hotline A toll-free hotline devoted to environmental justice issues (1-866-229-0497). Join Mailing List Add your name and address to the NYS DEC's mailing list. Environmental justice is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
35. Thinking of Food and our Environment, think of helping our area's needed: FOODLINK: Fighting Waste, Fighting Want - Founded over 25 years ago by Tom Ferraro, FOODLINK has grown to serve a 10 county area in the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. As a member of America’s Second Harvest, FOODLINK obtains and redistributes over 6 million pounds of food annually to a network of over 550 programs. - FOODLINK • 936 Exchange Street • Rochester, NY 14608 • P: (585) 328-3380 • F: (585) 328-9951
36. How can the average citizen help our environment? Try these ideas: Turn the Tide Turn the Tide is an innovative program that Americans are using to make a difference for our environment. Turn the Tide offers nine simple actions almost anyone can take and then instantly shows the positive impact of each reported action.
37. GreenTips Environmental ideas in action --from Union of Concerned Scientists UCS is an independent nonprofit alliance of more than 100,000 concerned citizens and scientists. We augment rigorous scientific analysis with innovative thinking and committed citizen advocacy to build a cleaner, healthier environment and a safer world.
38. Hey Mr. Green - Sierra Club Got a question about any environmental topic? Ask Sierra's attitudinal advice columnist, Mr. Green. No subject is too challenging, too wonky, too lame, or otherwise unwelcome. Whether your inquiry is about environmental philosophy and literature or about how to build a deck without destroying a forest, Mr. Green wants to hear from you. --from Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
39. This sounds like a good Federal Environmental program: EPA | Community Action for a Renewed Environment The new Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is a competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for communities to take action to reduce toxic pollution. Through CARE, communities create local collaborative partnerships that implement local solutions to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize exposure to toxic pollutants.
40. Here's a way you can help our environment locally: Welcome to My Yard Counts! — My Yard Counts My Yard Counts! My Yard Counts! is a new citizen-science project that collects information about birds around residences in rural, suburban, and urban settings. Researchers are hoping to identify the features in yards that are most important to birds. Participants spend 20 minutes watching birds near their homes once a week from April to August. Data will be collected through the online eBird program. To learn more and to sign up for this free project, go to http://www.birds.cornell.edu/MyYardCounts  < http://www.birds.cornell.edu/MyYardCounts > .
41. Here's something you can do for the environment from The National Wildlife Federation: Take your garden to the next level! Turn your backyard into a wildlife-friendly habitat and help celebrate 70 years of conservation! Through NWF's Backyard Wildlife Habitat^TM (BWH) program, you can take a hands-on approach in helping wildlife - wherever you live! It doesn't matter if your home is a farm in the country, a house in the suburbs, or even an apartment in the city; it's easy to create a habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Our BWH program gives you all the information you'll need! For over 30 years, NWF's Backyard Wildlife Habitat sites have helped to make a place for wildlife in the modern world, while at the same time helping both kids and adults connect with the nature just outside their door. To date, we've certified over 60,000 habitat sites-special places that provide the essentials for attracting enjoyable wildlife. And now, in celebration of the National Wildlife Federation's 70^th anniversary this year, we've set forth a goal of certifying the 70,000^th Backyard Wildlife Habitat site. Certify your yard today and you can help get us there!
42. RGRTA - Rideshare This program helps you and our environment. "With Rideshare you can form a carpool, join an existing one or find the best bus route to work. Carpool with one other person and cut your driving costs in half. Add a third and save even more! Sign your carpool up for the Preferred Parking Program and reserve a parking place in one of the downtown municipal garages." --from RGRTA
43. Global Warming and other high profile environmental issues have grabbed public concern, but few think about Stormwater pollution. And yet, the things we do around the home—wash our car, our pet’s droppings, chemicals we use on our lawns, grass clippings, repairing our house and property, and maintaining our swimming pools—can have a profound effect on our area’s water quality. These are things that each of us can do to prevent contamination to our area’s waters, by learning about the potential pollutants going down our drains and into our area’s sewers and into our streams, rivers, and lakes. Check out The Stormwater Coalition of Monroe County and especially print out this important flyer and post it so you can remember. Make Your Home the Solution to Stormwater Pollution

44. Call in illegal dumping: Democrat & Chronicle: Sneaky trash haulers dump on city To report suspected dumping in Rochester, call the Department of Environmental Services at (585) 428-5990 or go to its Web site, www.cityofrochester.gov Complaints also can be filed with the NET offices: A (Sectors 1 & 2) 1494 Dewey Ave. (585) 428-7610 - B (Sector 3) 492 Lyell Ave. (585) 428-7620 - C (Sectors 4 & 5) 998 Genesee St. (585) 428-7630 - D (Sectors 6 & 7) 846 S. Clinton Ave. (585) 428-7640 - E (Sector 8) 212 Webster Ave. (585) 428-7650 - F (Sectors 9 & 10) 500 Norton St. (585) 428-7660

45. Got an Environmental Problem?  NYSDEC Environmental Justice Program: Send to: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Environmental Justice., 625 Broadway, 14th Floor, Albany, NY, 12233-1500.  Phone: 518- 402- 8556, FAX: 518-402-9018. Toll-free Environmental Justice hotline 1-866-229-0497, or e-mail at ej@gw.dec.state.ny.us What is Environmental Justice? Environmental Justice is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

46. Here's an excellent way to find out out environmental threats near you by using your Internet connection.  EcoThreat.org - Welcome to the hub for information about pollution sources in New York State. This site lets you zoom to maps of your community and view the top environmental concerns, find out about each pollution source, and learn how to take action. --from Citizen's Environmental Coalition

47. Critical Mass: The worldwide web-wheel of the organized coincidence known as Critical Mass. Critical Mass is a monthly event occurring in hundreds of cities worldwide. Cyclists ride in a group through the city streets to celebrate cycling, fossil-fuel-free transportation, redefining of the social space of our cities and reclaim autonomy in an automobile dominated society. It's loads of fun too. The revolution is riding a bike! ROCHESTER CRITICAL MASS MAY BIKE RIDE!! Meet every last Friday of the month at 5:15 to ride at 5:30 at the Church of the Annunciation, 962 East Ave. Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride assert cyclists' right to the road. The idea started in San Francisco in September 1992, and quickly spread to cities all over the world. Critical Mass is a monthly worldwide two-hour (more or less), non-athletic, non-competitive, free bike ride to educate the auto-bound to the simplicity of travel by bicycle and to draw attention to the rights of urban cyclists. ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE IS ENCOURAGED TO COME RIDE WITH US! IT'S FUN, IT'S OUTDOORS - LET'S SHOW ROCHESTER THAT CYCLISTS ARE EVERYWHERE!

48. Vote.com is a fully interactive web site designed to give Internet users a voice on important public issues and other topics. The Internet is filled with chances for us to listen and read. This site gives us a chance to speak out and to be heard. When you vote on a topic listed on our site, we'll send an immediate e-mail to significant decision makers like your congressional representative, your Senators, and the President telling them how you feel.

49. How are your representatives voting for the environment?  Check up on them below using your zip code - from The League of Conservation Voters, www.lcv.org , is the political voice of the national environmental movement and is working full-time to elect a pro-environment Congress and White House in 2004 and beyond.

50. If you’re not a member of Rochesterians Against the Misuse of Pesticides (RAMP), you’re missing out on a lot of important environmental health articles in our area. RAMP has been instrumental in changing many environmental health policies in our area and informing us of those issues that our major media just won’t touch. But, you can’t assess them online, so make a small donation and get their newsletter. All you have to do is contact Audrey anewcomb@localnet.com  and let them know that you want to join up and receive their important newsletter. And, let them know that RochesterEnvironment.com suggested it.

51. Donations, especially Rochester-area donations, are a great way to recycle. Instead of throwing out those old clothes, furniture or appliances, why not donate them to a local worthy cause. Check out Friends Helping Friends - "We need the donations of furniture, household items, clothing, old appliances and just about anything that's NOT GARBAGE. We can use it or find someone else who can use it. We will pick up from your home and will do clear outs." --from Friends Helping Friends

52. Sometimes there are a few who choose environmental science for their careers.  We need these people.  Check out a careen in Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science Program  --from SUNY Brockport

53. What are some things that you can do personally about Climate Change? The World Wildlife Foundation has some pointers, ten of them: WWF - Take action at home

54. Who best to get news and information about what you can do to life more environmentally friendly than the Environmental Protection Agency? They’ve got a new newsletter that comes to your e-mail each month, sign up: Go Green! | EPA Newsroom | US EPA

55. Get some good tips on living more green in the Rochester area: HOME DESIGN 2007: Easy being green - Arts & Entertainment - Rochester City Newspaper Think the green lifestyle is hard, inconvenient, or expensive? Think again. Between added costs to your heating and energy bills and the negative impact on the environment, the lifestyle of modern convenience is increasingly becoming truly hard living. (Oct. 3, 2007) Rochester City Newspaper

56. Buying a new car? Get the facts and rules about fuel economy  2008 Fuel Economy Tests EPA has changed the way it estimates MPG. Starting in model year 2008, estimates will reflect the effects of Faster Speeds & Acceleration Air Conditioner Use Colder Outside Temperatures -- Fuel Economy

57. What can you do about Global Warming? Ten Personal Solutions to Global Warming Individual choices can have an impact on global climate change. Reducing your family's heat-trapping emissions does not mean forgoing modern conveniences; it means making smart choices and using energy-efficient products, which may require an additional investment up front, but often pay you back in energy savings within a couple of years. --from Union of Concerned Scientists

58. Let There Be (Fluorescent) Light "A provision in the 2007 energy bill requires lightbulbs to be 30 percent more energy-efficient starting in 2012—a standard that will effectively phase out traditional incandescent bulbs. But why wait? Today’s compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) already use 50 to 80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. If every U.S. household replaced just one incandescent bulb with a CFL, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates we would reduce global warming pollution by an amount equivalent to taking more than 800,000 cars off the road." --from Union of Concerned Scientists

59. Driving more environmentally friendly from New York State Department of Motor Vehicles - NYS DMV - NYSDMV - Driver - Vehicle -- Drive NY Clean "A Consumer Guide to Readiness Monitor Failures as Part of the New York State Vehicle Inspection Program"

60. Make your home Green, is a great way for Helping Out. Renewable Energy Works! "Renewable Energy Works! was founded by Bill LaBine in 1992 to bring renewable energy systems to western New York. The main thrust of the business was selling and installing solar electric (photovoltaic) and wind electric systems. Bill also serviced and installed solar thermal systems (solar hot water, solar hot air). Bill also contracted as an Energy Specialist for Xerox's Office of Energy Management for several years. Major accomplishments include the first utility intertied (net-metered) solar electric systems in both RG&E and Niagara Mohawk territories. Bill was very active in the New York Solar Energy Industry Association, serving on the board and as vice-president for several years."
61. Proper Disposal of Household Prescriptions and Over-the-Counter Drugs - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Do NOT flush or pour unwanted, unused or expired medications down the drain. This includes expired and unused prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. --from New York State Department of Health
62. Car Pooling in Rochester: Another way to save energy using computers (along with transportations systems move products from here to there with fewer empty loads) is car pooling.  Car pooling works if you have a large pool of potential drivers and passengers so the car pool systems can accommodate more routes and schedules.  Here are some of the places I’ve found online trying to fill up vehicles with passengers and reduce energy costs around Rochester.
    • eRideShare.com Carpool / Rideshare Community “eRideShare.com is a FREE service for connecting commuters, or travelers going the same way. We hope that you'll find this service a good way to commute or travel inexpensively, and maybe even make a few friends.
    • RSS feed for craigslist | rideshare in rochester, NY Carpool Rochester 14609 → Wester (NY) 14580 Rideshare New York Lift Share United States Vanpool USA en
63.  Helping Out, good tips on saving fuel from the Green Living - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Ideas, tips and resources for making environmentally responsible choices in your daily life  Bookmark this page and check the "10 Things" list below for seasonally updated actions you can take to live greener right now! 10 Things You Can Do to Help The Environment Right Now - Gas Saving Tips: How to get the most out of every gallon of gas, reduce air pollution and cut greenhouse gases Motor vehicles are the single largest contributor to ground-level ozone. Vehicles also emit greenhouse gases and pollutants that form smog.  New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

     

     

Join the most effective and influential environmental group in Rochester, The Rochester Regional Group of the Sierra Club.