News February 2007

• Hamlin wind tower committee faces overflow crowd Moratorium on tower placement to be considered - Questions, criticism and bewilderment characterized the exchanges made by attendees in the full-to-overflowing meeting room at the Town of Hamlin offices during the February 20 wind tower committee meeting. Several individuals called for the meeting to be canceled and rescheduled at a larger venue so those individuals who were forced to stand in the hall could hear and have their comments heard. (FEB 25, 07) Westside News Inc.
• News - First Wind Turbine Up in Lackawanna LACKAWANNA, N.Y. (AP) -- There's a wind farm growing at a site outside Buffalo that used to produce steel. Construction of the first wind turbine has been completed at the former Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna, on Lake Erie just south of Buffalo. Earlier this week workers attached the three 150-foot-long blades to a tower. (Feb 22, 07) WGRZ.com
• From Brewery to Gas Tank—Ethanol Plant Proposed - 13WHAM.com Right now it just goes into the sewer, but Monroe County has ideas for turning the beer byproduct into energy.  (March 04, 07) 13WHAM.com
• DEC announces "State of Lake Ontario" meetings - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Wednesday announced three upcoming public meetings to discuss Lake Ontario fisheries. The ninth annual "State of Lake Ontario" public meetings will be held in Monroe, Niagara, and Oswego counties. Wednesday, March 14, 2007: 7-10 p.m. at the Ingel Auditorium, in Building 4 (Student Union) on the Rochester Institute of Technology campus, Rochester, Monroe County. The meeting is co-hosted by RIT and the Monroe County Fishery Advisory Board. New York State News on the Net!
• Future of Two Finger Lakes in Question - 13WHAM.com Whether Hemlock Lake in Livingston County and Canadice Lake in Ontario County remain the last Finger Lakes untouched by anything more than Mother Nature could be decided by next year. (March 3, 07) 13WHAM.com
• Cool Cars Fuel Rochester Economy - 13WHAM.com (Rochester, N.Y.) -- Visitors to the Greater Rochester Car Show learned that many of these cars of the future are not only shiny and cool-looking, but that are good for both the environment and for the local economy. (March 2, 07) 13WHAM.com
• TheStar.com - News - Grading greenbelt's guardians Advocates' report sees positive moves but also glaring areas for improvement, like cutting highways to remote projects - The greenbelt that's intended to curb sprawl and preserve natural areas in the Golden Horseshoe won't survive unless the province gets much tougher about protecting it, says a report to be released today. Development is already slated for at least one part of the 720,000-hectare band of farmland, forests and meadows that stretches from Niagara Falls to Peterborough, and north to Lake Simcoe. (March 1, 07) TheStar.com
• Governor Wants Expanded Deposit Law - ALBANY, N.Y. Recycling advocates from across the state headed to Albany Tuesday to support Governor Eliot Spitzer's bottle deposit proposal.  (Feb 27, 07) R News: As It Happens, Where It Happens
• MPNnow.com: Gorham wants more time on turbine law - The Town Board has proposed extending a moratorium on wind farms for 90 days. GORHAM — The town’s moratorium on wind farms expired last Wednesday, but officials want to extend it 90 more days while they finish up work on a law to regulate turbines. A hearing on the extension is set for Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall. (Feb 28, 07) MPNnow.com: Rochester and Western Finger Lakes News, Entertainment, Sports, Opinions, Photos and More
• Local bird flu research aids FDA - Findings from vaccine study presented to federal panel — The federal government is one step closer to approving a vaccine against bird flu, in part due to research at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit. An advisory panel said Tuesday that the vaccine currently being studied is safe and effective and should continue to be stockpiled in the event a new strain of influenza poses a threat to the United States. But there is evidence that the current vaccine still wouldn't protect many people against the H5N1 strain of bird flu. (February 28, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• New York assists in eliminating pest that kills ash trees - The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Department of Environmental Conservation Monday announced the state's response to help the State of Maryland eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer, a destructive invasive forest health pest that causes a high rate of mortality in infested native ash trees. - (Feb 28, 07) New York State News on the Net!
• DEC announces the 2006 black bear harvest - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Tuesday announced the results for the 2006 black bear hunting seasons. Big Game hunters harvested 318 bears in the Adirondack bear range, 113 bears in the Allegany bear range, and 365 bears in the Catskill bear range.  (Feb 28, 07) New York State News on the Net!
• Clinton promotes plan for 'greenprint' in area - Senator tours school building that uses fuel cell  — EAST ROCHESTER — U.S. senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stopped in East Rochester on Monday to unveil a 12-step plan to help the environment and the local economy. The plan, "Greenprint Rochester, New York: Turning Green into Growth," is the result of a conference that Clinton organized last fall with Greater Rochester Enterprise and the U.S. Green Building Council. More than 50 local leaders, architects, engineers, city planners and business people gathered to discuss ways that the Rochester region could develop, promote and use alternative energy sources. (February 27, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• Bottle bill plan likely faces fight  — ALBANY — Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal to expand the state's bottle-deposit law to juices, water and other beverages could turn out to be one of his toughest fights this year. About 50 groups are lined up to lobby for or against it, with opponents claiming the plan amounts to a $200 million tax increase. (February 24, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• Flu widespread in NY, but mild locally - The New York State Health Department is reporting that influenza is now widespread based on reports of the illness from 55 counties, including New York City. A 4-month-old from Oneida County died from the flu earlier this month. And the state health department reports that, compared with previous years, there have been more flu-related hospitalizations reported among younger age groups this year throughout New York state. (Feb 23, 07) Democrat & Chronicle
• EPA fines contractor for destroying wetlands outside Rochester - A local utility contractor working outside of Rochester, New York will be required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restore wetlands it filled illegally, and pay a $5,000 penalty for the violation of federal law. (Feb 22, 07) New York State News on the Net!
• Buffalo News - Powering up 'Steel Winds' First of 8 giant turbines completed at old Bethlehem site - One windmill up - seven more to go. The first of eight massive wind turbines that will make up the "Steel Winds" wind farm at the old Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna was completed Monday afternoon as workers attached the three 153-foot-long blades to a tower. ( Feb 21, 07) The Buffalo News
• State Health Department: Flu Widespread in New York Upstate Infant Death Linked to Flu Complications ALBANY – February 22, 2007 – The New York State Department of Health today announced that influenza (flu) has been classified as "widespread" in New York based on laboratory confirmed cases and reports of influenza outbreaks in 55 counties including New York City. The death of a four-month-old infant from Oneida County was reported earlier this month from complications resulting from Type A influenza. This is the second childhood death reported this year in New York believed to be related to flu. (Feb 22, 07) New York State Department of Health
• DEC extends emergency regulation to help Prevent spread of VHS - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Tuesday announced that the emergency regulations to help prevent the spread of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia to additional waters in the state have been extended. The 21-day extension took place on February 16, 2007, and will continue the existing provisions which were enacted on November 21, 2006, that limit the release, possession, and taking of certain bait and other live fish species. (Feb 21, 07) New York State News on the Net!
• MPNnow.com: Perinton seeks ban on outdoor furnaces A public has the chance to weigh in on the decision Feb. 28. PERINTON – To keep the environment clean and neighbors smoke free, leaders in the town of Perinton wants to partially ban outdoor wood-burning furnaces in most places. The proposed law would only allow residents with five acres or more to operate the devices used to heat homes and hot water. (Feb 20, 07) MPNnow.com: Rochester and Western Finger Lakes News, Entertainment, Sports, Opinions, Photos and More
• Penfield adds 82 acres of open space to town - PENFIELD — The Town of Penfield has added 82 acres to its open-space program. (Feb 20, 07) Democrat & Chronicle
• Seneca County communities at odds over water - WATERLOO - Seneca County officials north and south of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal are at odds over water. Those in Seneca County Water District 1, which serves southern parts of the county, are considering building their own water treatment plant and not relying on water supplied indirectly through the village of Waterloo. The village claims it needs revenues from the south county to maintain the plant. It went into debt in 2001 to upgrade the plant to accommodate the new Five Points Correctional Facility at the former Seneca Army Depot. (Feb 17, 07) Finger Lakes Times Online
• NYS Conservation Tax Credit New York State Conservation Easement Tax Credit Beginning with the 2006 tax year, this innovative Conservation Easement Tax Credit will give New York State landowners whose land is restricted by a conservation easement an annual refund of 25% of the property taxes paid on that land, up to $5,000 per year. It is available to all owners of conservation easement-restricted land, regardless of when the easement was created, provided that the easement was wholly or partially donated to a public or private conservation agency (a governmental body or any qualified private or not-for-profit charitable corporation or trust). --from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Protecting NY's Environment and Managing its Natural Resources
• Noted community health expert coming to Rochester - Tom Farley, MD, MPH is the Chairman of the Department of Community Health at Tulane University in New Orleans. He is the co-author of Prescription for a Healthy Nation. The Journal of the American Medical Association hailed his “important message that should be shared with everyone” as “perhaps the best solution to this nation’s health care woes.”
  • Says Dr. Farley “In America we spend nearly twice as much for health care as any other nation. So why are we among the sickest people in the industrialized world? Something is wrong about the way we are approaching health in the United States. We don’t need another health care reform plan, we need a new way to think about health.”
  • Dr. Farley will be coming to Rochester as part of a lecture series co-sponsored by Pediatric Links with the Community, the Environmental Health Sciences Center and the Center for Community Health of the University of Rochester, as well as the Rochester Regional Community Design Center.
  • Dr. Farley will talk about “Healthscaping: Improving our lives by fixing our everyday world” with a focus on hot health topics including childhood obesity. Lectures will be at 8:00 am on Tuesday, March 20 in the Twig Auditorium at Rochester General Hospital, and at 8:30 am on Wednesday, March 21 in the Class of ’62 Auditorium at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Farley will be signing books and presenting a broader discussion of community health issues on Tuesday, March 20 at 7:00 pm at St. Monica’s Church located at 831 Genesee Street. There is free parking in the lot next to the church.
  • These talks should be fascinating and informative for people interested in how good public policy could dramatically improve our health. All talks are open to the public. For additional information, please visit www.plccare.org  or call (585) 273-3737 or (585) 273-5942.
• Author to talk about his book — BRIGHTON — Edward Wilson — a Harvard University biology professor and author named by Time magazine as among "America's 25 Most Influential People" — will talk about his new book, The Creation: A Meeting of Science and Religion, at 7 p.m. March 5 in Monroe Community College's Brighton Campus Theater. (February 17, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• Cornell scientists find quick test to detect deadly fish virus ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) -- A new test will help scientists quickly detect a fast-spreading aquatic virus that threatens the Great Lakes fishing industry, according to its developers at Cornell University. Current tests for the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus involve culturing cells and can take up to a month. The new technique, which measures viral genetic material, takes only 24 hours to identify the virus, said Paul Bowser, a Cornell professor of aquatic animal medicine. (Feb 15, 07) The Ithaca Journal - www.theithacajournal.com - Ithaca, NY
• New EPA rules could mean cleaner burning school buses - News - MSNBC.com Somebody is finally doing something about that smelly, dirty exhaust from school buses. And that somebody is the United States government. The Environmental Protection Agency has new clean air rules for diesel school buses. New buses should burn 90 percent cleaner when it comes to soot and 95 percent cleaner when it comes to nitrogen oxide. But the new school buses are expensive, and retrofitting older ones isn't cheap either. (Feb 12, 07) Rochester, NY news from WHEC-TV - MSNBC.com
• Students invited to join in environment competition State Senator George D. Maziarz and other elected officials have called for local student entries for the 16th annual "I*MA*GREEN*NATION" Celebration, a statewide competition that encourages student awareness of environmental issues. The State-sponsored competition is open to students in grades one through eight, and includes an awards presentation at the State Capitol in Albany on Tuesday, May 15, where winners will receive award medals, view submissions by their fellow students from around the state, and have the opportunity to tour the seat of state government. (Feb 11, 07) Westside News Inc.
• Upstate senator demands action on chemical landfils ALBANY - Twenty years after New York passed a law requiring the redistribution and phasing out of chemical-waste landfills, the state is no closer to completing a plan, lawmakers and environmental advocates said yesterday. Sen. George Maziarz, R-Niagara County, proposed a bill that would compel the state Department of Environmental Conservation to comply with the 1987 law. The measure also aims to update the law to reflect advancements made in the disposal of hazardous waste. (Feb 13, 07) THE JOURNAL NEWS: LOHUD.COM
• City, Water Authority to talk about future — Monroe County Water Authority and Rochester officials are scheduled to begin discussions this month that will shape the future of both water systems. City officials and Water Authority officials say all options are on the table — including consolidation. But Mayor Robert Duffy said this week that the city would want a greatly restructured authority board before it can agree to a merged system. (February 9, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• 'Fish Ebola virus' threatens lakes A resurgent Lake Michigan salmon fishery that survived a devastating bacterial disease in the 1980s and '90s might soon face its greatest threat: an imported disease that biologists call "Ebola virus for fish." Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, is sweeping across the Great Lakes, leaving thousands of dead fish in its wake. Like the Ebola virus in humans that has killed thousands in Africa, VHS makes fish bleed to death from their eyes and other orifices. VHS does not affect humans. (Feb 11, 07) MLive.com: Everything Michigan
• IJC's 13th Biennial Report Calls for Strong Great Lakes Accountability Framework by the two National Governments - CHICAGO. In its Thirteenth Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, released today, the International Joint Commission recommends that the governments of Canada and the United States create and apply an uncommonly strong Accountability Framework for Great Lakes restoration and protection under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. (Feb 10, 07)  IJC-CMI
• Suburban Spotlight: Scrub put to diesel fumes - Retrofitted school buses in Greece, Fairport and Livonia will run cleaner - Unpleasant and unhealthful diesel fumes from school buses will be a thing of the past soon in the Greece Central School District and two other local districts. The district is retrofitting its bus fleet with equipment that will significantly lower diesel emissions. The equipment, called diesel oxidation catalysts (DOC) and closed crankcase filtration (CCF) systems, also is being installed in the Fairport School District, the Livonia School District in Livingston County and another downstate district. (February 4, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• Monroe County Health Department grants target lead poisoning - The Monroe County Department of Public Health is providing up to $5,000 to qualified city property owners to reimburse costs associated with reducing lead hazards. (Feb 10, 2007) New York State News on the Net!
• Fish disease poses no known threat to human health - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation reported that a fish virus, Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN), was found recently in samples of trout from the hatchery on the Connetquot River State Park Preserve on Long Island. There is no known health threat to humans who handle or consume fish that contain the IPN virus, but IPN is considered a serious fish disease capable of causing extensive mortality in young trout. (Feb 10, 2007) New York State News on the Net!
• City, Water Authority to talk about future — Monroe County Water Authority and Rochester officials are scheduled to begin discussions this month that will shape the future of both water systems. City officials and Water Authority officials say all options are on the table — including consolidation. But Mayor Robert Duffy said this week that the city would want a greatly restructured authority board before it can agree to a merged system. (February 9, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• Backyard sanctuary in Victor - Couple attracts wildlife with two ponds and an array of plants - — VICTOR — What started out as a way to add a little beauty to their back yard has blossomed into a full-fledged bird and wildlife sanctuary (February 7, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• NYSERDA hydrogen development and demo contracts awarded - A $790,751 project with a General Motors, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester and Cornell University consortium will work to develop and integrate novel materials for use as hydrogen fuel cell components. A $635,350 project with the Toro Company, Niagara Falls, will demonstrate the use of a hydrogen fuel cell-hybrid electric turf maintenance fleet. (Jan 07) New York State News on the Net!
• Joyous swan song - Centuries of overhunting bled the Atlantic and Midwestern trumpeter swan populations to the point that they were thought extinct in the United States by the 1940s. But since that time, environmentalists and wildlife workers have imported trumpeters back to the eastern United States from areas where they were discovered to still thrive, such as Alaska and the hot springs of Yellowstone Park. Bean has set out to amend a problem that arose from the trumpeters' displacement. The swans now residing in the area outlying Lake Ontario - between 300 and 500, he estimates - do not know to migrate eastward because the instinct was not inherited from their forbears in the western states. The climate does not threaten the swans themselves. (Jan 05, 07) http://www.auburnpub.com/
• MPNnow.com: Wind power blowing into Webster Wind turbines are already in Webster, but its lakeside could be seeing more in the future. Wind power may be blowing into Webster, but few realize it is already there. Last December, a wind test tower was placed on the Phillips Road sewer treatment plant in Webster. This tower is used to gather meteorological data about wind currents to determine if there are suitable conditions for a wind tower at this location. (Feb 5, 07) MPNnow.com: Rochester and Western Finger Lakes News, Entertainment, Sports, Opinions, Photos and More

• Brooks receives environmental award — Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks received a statewide award today from the New York Water Environment Association. Brooks received the “Frank E. VanLare Award,” which goes to an elected official who undertakes environmental initiatives. VanLare was a former Rochester councilman and state Senator who helped develop the state’s Pure Waters program. (February 5, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle
• DEC announces first statewide invasive plant conference - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Friday announced that the Invasive Plant Council of New York State will be holding its first statewide conference titled, "Invasive Plants on the Horizon and More." The gathering will be held at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road in Albany on February 7 and 8, 2007. New York State News on the Net!
• Authoritative Report Confirms Human Activity Driving Global Warming WASHINGTON—After six years of assessing climate science research from around the world, the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has solidified the scientific understanding that key heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere "have increased markedly as a result of human activities," and the "net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming." The report states that evidence of the climate's warming "is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level." (Jan 02, 07) Union of Concerned Scientists
• PoughkeepsieJournal.com - American eels don’t qualify as endangered, feds decide The Fish and Wildlife Service will not list the American eel as an endangered species, despite evidence of steep declines of the strange fish in some river systems. Because the eel shows resiliency in many rivers, it is not in imminent danger of becoming extinct, biologist Heather Bell told reporters Tuesday. (Jan 31, 07) Poughkeepsie Journal
• Pandemic Flu Index Created - When pandemic flu hits, which experts say is not a question of if but when, the nation will likely not have a vaccine ready to go. That's why experts are taking other measures to prepare. National health leaders have created the Pandemic Severity Index that is modeled after the way hurricanes are categorized. - (Feb 2, 07) R News: As It Happens, Where It Happens
• Pandemic Influenza: Progress Made and Challenges Ahead | CDC News Statement of Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H. Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Published: January 24, 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Panel Issues Bleak Report on Climate Change - New York Times PARIS, Feb. 2 — In a bleak and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate change scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is "unequivocal" and that human activity is the main driver, "very likely" causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950. The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia
• PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Global warming panel blunt about rising temperatures, bleak future PARIS — A panel of international scientists predicted Friday that global warming will continue for centuries no matter how much people control pollution, in a bleak report that blamed humans for killer heat waves, devastating droughts and stronger storms. The report said people were “very likely” the cause of global warming — the strongest conclusion to date — and placed the burden on governments to take action. “It’s later than we think,” said Susan Solomon, co-chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Feb 02, 07) Poughkeepsie Journal
• PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Spitzer releases state budget ENVIRONMENT -The governor would increase the Environmental Protection Fund, which goes to preserve open space and aid pollution cleanups among other projects, to $250 million from $225 million. The state would add 166 new employees, combined, at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Parks Department and Adirondack Park Agency. (Feb 02, 07) Poughkeepsie Journal