Science Museum: What On Earth? Play, Create, Imagine

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NYS Senator Stands Up for Climate Science in the Face of Ignorance

By David Kowalski .

Senator Brad Hoylman, ranking member of the NY State Conservation Committee, called out the Senate majority for ignoring the term 'climate change' in their Earth Day Resolution.

Speaking in the senate chambers, he implored the legislative body that "we be mindful as public policy makers of the solemn responsibility to be good stewards of our planet."

Holyman said “There is an oversight in the resolution, which I feel obligated to point out, that there is no mention of climate change. The two words 'climate change' do not appear in the resolution.”

“It has to be [an oversight]. This is Earth Day, not Flat Earth Day. And the science, Mr. president, is clear.”   

Holyman cited scientific facts drawn from reports from the International Panel on Climate Change and cited by the NY City panel on Climate Change: rising temperatures, increasing precipitation, heat waves, extreme weather, sea level rise, and flooding of New York City, the most densely populated city on Earth.

“We should be mindful of the economic impact of climate change. With extreme weather events predicted to increase, we have to be prepared for economic impacts including infrastructure damage, rebuilding costs. The direct costs of Superstorm Sandy alone was $71.4 Billion,” he said.

“We are dooming our children’s future unless we act now.”

“Now the Peoples Climate March … 350,000 people attended it. It was in my district less than a year ago, but what have we done to address it?"

"Where is NY State’s Climate Action Plan? Who’s in charge of Climate Change in NY State? Can you name that person? I can’t.”

Hoylman concluded, “Mr. President, I support this [Earth Day] Resolution, but urge my colleagues, as we move forward in this legislative session, to take decisive steps to reverse global warming and climate change."

Senator Hoylman's full testimony delivered in the senate chambers can be viewed in a video here.

The Earth Day Resolution passed by the Senate GOP majority omitted the phrase “climate change” because some legislators objected to the words, according to a Capital New York report.

Republican Senator John DeFrancisco said it was a "politically correct term" and cast doubt on the notion the Earth was warming because his city saw record cold this winter.

“It was global warming a few years ago, and I can attest, being from Syracuse, New York, that the globe wasn't warming around Syracuse this winter. So by putting a label to good environmental practices is a very risky thing and that's why [climate change] was not put in this resolution,”  DeFrancisco said.

Buffalo News editorial cartoon by Pulitzer-Prize Winner Adam Zyglis

Senator DeFrancisco is ignorant of the fact that global warming is not simply evaluated by determining the temperature in his home district of Syracuse NY.

Global warming is assessed by measuring temperatures at numerous locations on land around the world as well as in the oceans that make up more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface. Measurements are made over time and the global average temperature is determined.

So, while it was brutally cold this winter in Syracuse, across NY state and elsewhere in the Eastern U.S., most all other regions on land and in oceans around planet Earth showed above average warming according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Results of NOAA's global temperature analysis are displayed on world maps for the months of January (click here) and February (below).

Earth Day Talk: Our Warming Planet, Climate Change and Smart Solutions

Our Warming Planet, Climate Change and Smart Solutions

Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00pm

The presenter will talk about how he became interested in these topics, the scientific evidence for human-caused global warming, and some of the impacts of climate change. He will wrap up with smart solutions to curb warming and climate change, and what people can do to help preserve the vital environment of our planet.

David Kowalski is a retired research professor and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club Niagara Group and the Conservation Committee of the local chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club.

 Free and Open to the Public

REGISTER by Phone: 716-689-4922
LOCATION: Audubon Library, 350 John James Audubon Parkway, Amherst, NY [MAP]

Earth Day Lobby Day in Albany

The 23rd Annual Earth Day Lobby Day will be held on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 at the State Capitol in Albany, New York. 

Hundreds of citizens from every corner of New York State will meet with their state lawmakers and show their support for the environment. This year's Earth Day Lobby Day will focus on critically important environmental issues such as expanding solar energy, curbing greenhouse gas emissions, keeping toxic chemicals out of children’s products, and protecting New York from the dangers of hydrofracking.

Specifically we will be lobbying on the following environmental “Super Bills”:

• Fracking Moratorium and Health Impacts Assessment: A5424A/S4236A
• Climate Protection Act: A6327, S735
• New York Solar Bill: A5060/S2522
• Child Safe Products Act: A6328/S4614

This year, for the first time ever, the environmental community will also join together in calling for Campaign Finance Reform as a key plank in our legislative platform. Too often, good environmental bills are blocked in the state legislature because of big spending by special interests. Reform of Albany's "pay to play" system is needed and long-overdue.

Earth Day Lobby Day 2013 is being sponsored by Adirondack Council, Adirondack Mountain Club, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Citizen Action of New York, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Clean and Healthy New York, Environmental Advocates of New York, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York Interfaith Power and Light, New York League of Conservation Voters, New York Public Interest Research Group, Open Space Institute/Alliance for NYS Parks, Parks & Trails New York, Protect the Adirondacks, Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, Vote Solar Initiative, and other organizations.

The day’s events will last from 9:30 to 3:00. The morning program will take place in Hearing Room C of the Legislative Office Building. You must be registered to participate in afternoon lobbying activities.

 If you have any questions, please contact Diana Pedi at dpedi@nypirg.org. 

EARTH DAY SCREENING: A Fierce Green Fire - The Battle for a Living Planet

• WHEN: Monday, April 22 at 7:00 P.M.

• WHERE: Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo

• PRESENTER: Roger Cook

 Spanning 50 years of grassroots and global activism, this Sundance documentary brings to light the vital stories of the environmental movement where people fought -- and succeeded -- against enormous odds.

From halting dams in the Grand Canyon to fighting toxic waste at Love Canal; from Greenpeace to Chico Mendes; from climate change to the promise of transforming our civilization, A Fierce Green Fire is "nothing less than the history of environmentalism itself." (Los Angeles Times)

From the Academy Award-nominated director of "Berkeley in the Sixties", and narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones and Isabel Allende.
Watch the Trailer:


This screening is Free -- Donations are welcome.

Green Frontier: Clean Energy Roundtable

• WHAT: Roundtable Discussion on Clean Energy

• WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 2pm-4pm

• WHERE: Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo

Speakers at the Roundtable will address various aspects of the energy issue and are Lynda Schneekloth, Rita Yelda, Bill Nowak and Walter Simpson.  It promises to be a lively, interesting, and Earth Day-relevant event.

Free and Open to Public

To see an event flier, click here. 

Greenwashing: Corporations Pretending to be Green

~ Upcoming 'Earth Day' is open-season for greenwashing ~

It's not easy being green. Behaving in environmentally-friendly ways that protect and preserve fresh water, clean air, fertile land, forests, oceans and all living species takes considerable effort.

However, corporations have found an easy way to be green -- by greenwashing to create a pro-environmental image. Greenwashing is used as a marketing tool to sell products, employing pictures of green forests, clear blue skies and clean waterways. Greenwashing is also used as a public relations tool to distract people from corporate activities that degrade or harm the environment.

Remember 'clean coal'? Have you seen any evidence of this? Me neither. But the absence of its existence didn't stop the industry from promoting clean coal in expensive ads on TV and billboards and in newspapers. The industry got so caught up in their own hype that they actually tried to brand dirty coal as green -- an example of unabashed greenwashing by the industry.

Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, but is it green? Think about how the industry is now extracting gas: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale rock deep underground. This process is new, risky and pollutes water. Fracking uses millions of gallons of fresh water per well, adds some toxic chemicals, and extracts hazardous and radioactive chemicals as well as brine from the shale. Poisoned wastewater returns with the gas to the surface of the Earth. There is no proven method to cleanup this hazardous wastewater. It has polluted rivers that supply drinking water, and contaminated land, roads, forests and streams through spills and illegal dumping. Frack wastewater is currently being injected deep underground in western states and in nearby Ohio where it has caused earthquakes. Methane gas leakage, evaporation of volatile organic chemicals, and gas compressor stations cause air pollution. Does any of this sound environmentally-friendly and green?

The shale-gas fracking industry is now trying to cleanup their public image through greenwashing by sponsoring environmentally-friendly groups.

The Buffalo Sabres "Green Team" is an environmentally-friendly group. As stated on their website, "The Buffalo Sabres are dedicated to the sustainability of the environment in Western New York and Southern Ontario through the “Blue & Gold Make Green Initiative”. The organization is committed to creating programming to help our fans reduce their environmental footprint and at the same time, educate Sabres fans on conservation issues, teaching fans how to be greener, and directing them to additional resources where they can learn more about environmental issues."

The Sabres "Green Team" is to be applauded for their noble, environmental efforts.

But look at the corporate logos of sponsors for the "Green Team". The first three are involved in shale-gas fracking! The association of these sponsors with the "Green Team" is another example of corporate greenwashing: associating environmentally-harmful industries with an environmentally-friendly group, the "Green Team". This is shameful on the part of these corporate sponsors!

This year the Sabres "Green Team" has a new logo, which is shown below.
 

The same three shale-gas fracking industries are again sponsors. The fourth sponsor, MODERN Recycling company, is the only one that could be considered to be green.

Traditionally, it becomes open-season for greenwashing as 'Earth Day' (April 22) approaches. Environmental groups and organizations who aim to be good stewards of the Earth need to beware of partnering with sponsors seeking only to green their corporate image. Even partnering with an authentic "Green Team" can indirectly make you partners with an environmentally-harmful corporate sponsor, like the shale-gas fracking industry. Know your partners, not by their green sheen but by how their work impacts the environment and humanity.

Green Drinks - Buffalo/Niagara Chapter

THURSDAY, April, 21, 6:00 PM

This is going to be a BIG event, so remember to bring plenty of business cards!

Please arrive before 6:30 p.m. - special Earth Day New Era caps are limited in supply!

We'll present the NFTA Good Going transportation awards, have a very short presentation of the GrowWNY.com web resource and plenty of good food, libation and live music too!

Details and map are here.

Win Grant for Favorite Enviro Group

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OFFERS $1,000 MINI-GRANT PRIZES

FOR WNY RESIDENTS PARTICIPATING IN EARTH DAY

Winners will direct a $1,000 mini-grant to the environmental nonprofit of their choice

April 13, 2010, Buffalo, NY—Individuals participating in local Earth Day festivities now have the opportunity to win a $1,000 mini-grant award for their favorite environmental nonprofit organization from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. The organization announced two opportunities for mini-grant prizes with the goal of increasing the region’s participation in Earth Day and in environmentally friendly activities year-round.

Restoring and preserving the region’s natural environment is a key focus area for the Foundation and last year its donors gave more than $500,000 to support environmental work.

“The Community Foundation is dedicated to supporting efforts that restore and preserve our region’s natural environment, and every single person can do something to help,” said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President/CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. “By acting together on Earth Day and every day we can have a positive environmental impact that will be felt by generations to come. We hope that by offering this additional incentive, an increased number of individuals will take part in the many local activities planned to celebrate this 40^th anniversary of Earth Day.”

To be entered for the chance to direct a $1,000 mini-grant:

• Visit Ecology & Environment’s Buffalo Niagara Earth Day web site (www.BuffaloEarthDay.com) before Tuesday, April 20, 2010, and pledge how you will participate in Earth Day activities.

• Stop by the Green Expo at the Walden Galleria Mall on Saturday April 17 to sign up and learn more about how to reduce your carbon footprint.

Winners will be selected at random and announced at the Earth Day Celebration press event on April 22 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Buffalo at 12:00 noon and at the Buffalo Niagara Green Expo at the Walden Galleria Mall at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 17.

The mini-grants can only be awarded to nonprofit 501(c)(3) environmental organizations.

EVENTS: FRIDAY April 18

Friday, 11am to 2pm

Envirofair at Buffalo City Hall

Get a free Compact Fluorescent Light bulb, reusable bag and tree seedling
Click here for more information

Friday, 6pm to 8pm

Earth Day Forum: Clean Air ~ Clean Water

at the Buffalo Museum of Science

Sponsored by NYS Senator Antoine M. Thompson

Features panelists from:

• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
• NYS Attorney General's Office
• CAO Environmental Justice Office
• Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper
• NY Public Interest Research Group
• Green Party
• Buffalo Environmental Management Commission

~ The DEC Nursery has graciously donated 500 seedlings to distribute ~