Sierra Club Niagara Group Announces Annual Awards

The Sierra Club Niagara Group held its Annual Awards Dinner on Monday, May 6, 2013. This year they recognized two outstanding citizens of Western New York as well as to announce the winners of our Environmental Education contest.

The Blake Reeves Award, given in honor of the founder of the Niagara Group of the Sierra Club, this year went to Joanne Hameister of the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Water. Since the mid-1970s, Hameister and a group of dedicated citizens have been our regional “watchdogs” and provided public oversight on the nuclear waste facility only 30 miles from Buffalo.  Hameister’s expertise in research and statistics have protected us from misguided and easily misinterpreted studies endlessly prepared by DOE and NYSERDA as the agencies continue to postpone a decision on the final clean-up of this site.  This has been a labor of love and compassion, and required perseverance, knowledge and communication skills.

David Kowalski received the Bruce Kershner Award, an award designed to honor a person who has continued to fight tirelessly on behalf of an environmental issue in the way that Kershner fought for old growth forests. Kowalski has worked to protect the land, air and waters of New York State in his ongoing and evidence-based critique of the proposed deep horizontal hydrofracking.  His education of the public on this matter and the creation of the informative blog, “Re-Energize Buffalo” have been very effective in the ongoing protection of our natural resources.

Sierra Club Niagara Group also presenting a certificate and monetary support for Environmental Education to two WNY teachers whose work is being recognized:  Kevin Powers of Nichols School and Melisa Dettbarn of Pembroke High School.  Powers helped to develop an interdisciplinary curriculum, “A Rising Tide” into the schools that will address the theme of environmental refugees, especially those displaced by climate change.  Ms. Dettbarn’s Applied Science class created an on-line field guide to the trails near their school.  

Walking Relay and Fair for Renewable Energy

SUNDAY, April 28 Event 

calling for the 

Expansion of Clean, Renewable Energy in NY

Niagara County, NY -- On Sunday, April 28 at 1:00 pm the Niagara Group of the Sierra Club and the Beyond Coal Campaign are sponsoring a Walking Relay for Renewables and Renewable Energy Fair, hosted by Singer Farm Naturals.

Moms, dads, kids, students, activists, and community members will pass a solar torch from the nearby Somerset coal-fired power station to Singer Farm Naturals, a farm business powered by wind and solar energy. This event symbolizes moving beyond coal, gas, and nuclear to a clean, renewable energy economy for New York.

Relay for Renewables is part of Sierra Club’s WNY Clean Energy Campaign kick-off featuring billboards, print ads, and grassroots events throughout the region – calling on Governor Cuomo to meet and extend New York’s renewable energy commitments. Dirty-fuel sources like coal are responsible for 40% of New York State’s greenhouse gas emissions.

WHAT: Walking Relay for Renewables and Renewable Energy Fair featuring family
friendly activities, a solar-powered band, food, and great presentations on
solar, wind, geothermal, and energy efficiency.

WHEN:          Sunday, April 28 -- Relay Ceremony begins at 1:00pm

WHERE:        Singer Farm Naturals, 6730 Lake Road (Route 18) Appleton, NY [Map]

WHO:             Hosted by Tom and Vivianne Szulist at Singer Farm Naturals 
                        Sponsored by Niagara Sierra Club and the Beyond Coal Campaign
                        Music by Solar Punch

Renewable Energy Fair starts after the Relay.
Participants to include renewable energy companies Solar Liberty and Simply Solar, and Speakers: 
Tom Thompson: New York Solar Energy Society
Frank Westgate (wind),
Tom Szulist  (efficiency),
Bill Nowak (geothermal)

POSTER:  Click here.

Environmental Policy: Heading for a 'Silent Spring'?

Art Klein, member of the Niagara Group of the Sierra Club, wrote a very interesting article entitled "The Echoes of Rachel Carson – Our Dilemma" in the group's newsletter.

The story begins with Art's recollections of fifty years ago after reading "The Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. It was the birth of the modern environmental movement. The tale moves through the creation of the EPA, the banning of DDT, the loopholes, and ultimately the undeserved character assassination of Rachel Carson. And then there were the echoes of legitimate insights by citizens about Love Canal, and now the controversial process of hydrofracking. Following each of these environmental and human insults, we see more orchestrated doubts cast on well-intentioned people and groups by business and industry.

Art Klein's story ends with challenges and questions for the Niagara Group, but these merit quoting here since they're ones that all people concerned about the environment and humanity must face:
"Our Sierra challenges are two-fold, and not light. First, we must ensure our own state does not threaten the future of our water by permitting hydrofracking in New York. Second, we must work to ensure our Great Lakes do not become contaminated. Our tasks are mighty and noble, and our resolve cannot be weak. It may not be stylish to urge greater Federal Regulation, but obviously bereft of reasonable and rational controls, we are headed for perilous times. If we fail, how can we justify our greedy exploitation of temporary fuel in exchange for poisoned water wells? What will happen to our fragile water system of the future? What will we tell our children and grandchildren? After fifty years of an inadequate effort to protect the environment and human health, will WE, in this generation, be the ones to create a Silent Spring?"
 
Art Klein's article is well-worth reading, and you can view it in its entirety on the Sierra Club Niagara Group's website.

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Editorial reflections:

 

"So extraordinary is Nature with her choicest treasures, spending plant beauty as she spends sunshine, pouring it forth into land and sea, garden and desert. And so the beauty of lilies falls on angels and men, bears and squirrels, wolves and sheep, birds and bees...."

-- John Muir, Founder of the Sierra Club