Volunteers - Spring Shoreline Sweep

Volunteers Still Needed for Spring Shoreline Sweep The Spring Shoreline Sweep is this Saturday, April 17th, from 9am to noon. Volunteers will be cleaning our area parks and waterways at over 30 locations all over Western New York. Large groups, small groups, and individuals of all ages are welcome to participate! More volunteers are especially needed at Houghton Park in Buffalo, North Creek Drive Park in Cheektowaga, the north end of Squaw Island Park in Buffalo, and along Scajaquada Creek in Buffalo (meeting at the American Legion Post 1041 at 533 Amherst Street). For more info or to sign up, contact Adrienne at (716) 852-7483 or akina@bnriverkeeper.org. For a complete list of sites, a map, and to register, Click Here . Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt and after the cleanup, all are invited to a picnic at the American Legion on Amherst Street in Buffalo. Come and enjoy a free meal for a job well done!

Volunteers - Spring Shoreline Sweep

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is seeking citizens to join the Spring Shoreline Sweep, to help clean up the shorelines in Western New York on Saturday, April 17, 9:00am to noon. We encourage all volunteers to participate in the movement to beautify Buffalo and Niagara’s waterways.

Families, community groups, employee groups, service clubs, scouts and individuals can help at 37 sites across Erie and Niagara Counties. Sites in great need of volunteers include: Scajaquada Creek, Broderick Park, Hoyt Lake, Seneca Bluffs, South Park, and more. For a complete list of sites, a map, and to register, Click Here .

For additional information, contact Adrienne Kina at 716.852.RIVER (7483) ext. 19, or akina@bnriverkeeper.org.


Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper cleanups are a part of, and made possible by, the Great American Cleanup, a nation-wide effort to Keep American Beautiful.

In the NEWS

Steel Winds project will add six windmills
Six new windmills will be built on the old Bethlehem Steel site this year. According to First Wind spokesman John Lamontagne, the new towers will be about 240 feet tall, and with the blades, the windmills will be about 400 feet tall, the same as the eight turbines that the company operates along the Lackawanna shoreline.

The Thruway Authority will seek proposals from the wind turbine industry to assess the feasibility of constructing smaller windmills at six Thruway sites in Western NY: Batavia, Eden-Angola, Silver Creek, Dunkirk, Westfield and Ripley.

The plan is part of Gov. Paterson’s objective of meeting 45% of NY electricity needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Read the report in The Buffalo News.


Water-focused group tries to steer government money to clean up Buffalo

BUFFALO, New York – When the state of New York and this post-industrial city don’t have the resources to seek government funding for water preservation projects, Julie Barrett O’Neill’s staff step in.

“There is a lack of capacity at the state and city level,” said the executive director of nonprofit group Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, which works to promote, preserve and protect the environments of the Buffalo and Niagara rivers. “There’s not a lot of infrastructure so we have to step in.”

So far the 20 or so staff at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper have brought up to $12 million in funding to Buffalo, with another $50 million to come over the next two years.

The group is now looking at ways to access some of the $475 million set aside by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as part of the Great Lakes Initiative, aimed at restoring the Great Lakes. Together the Great Lakes contain 22 percent of the world’s fresh water.

Read the full report at Reuters.com.


Report finds region ripe for green economic future

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise on Tuesday rolled out what it called “third-party validation” that the alternative energy industry can hold the key to turning this part of the Rust Belt green.

“With its diverse manufacturing heritage and skilled work force, the region can become a key asset in U. S. efforts to expand its competitive presence in emerging green industries and technologies,” wrote consultant Keith W. Rabin, president of KWR International.

The 162-page report, commissioned by Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and funded by a grant from the electric utility National Grid, argued that such factors as idled industrial facilities, skilled work force, varied educational institutions and strategic location should position the region to respond to the nation’s call for renewable, secure and environmentally friendly energy sources.

Beyond the idled factories and the underemployed worker base, Rabin said, Western New York offers the climate and resources necessary to generate wind, solar and water power, plus the transportation network necessary to ship products that could be manufactured here.

Read the report by George Pyle in The Buffalo News.

For a Buffalo Niagara Enterprise Summary Report on the green economy and Western New York’s alternative-energy manufacturing potential, click here.


US Department of Labor announces $150 million in ‘Pathways Out of Poverty’ training grants for green jobs
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced $150 million in green jobs training grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The "Pathways Out of Poverty" grants — as the group of funding awards is known — will support programs that help disadvantaged populations find ways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

"These Pathways Out of Poverty grants will help workers in disadvantaged communities gain access to the good, safe and prosperous jobs of the 21st century green economy,"said Secretary Solis. "Green jobs present tremendous opportunities for people who have the core skills and competencies needed in such well-paying and rapidly growing industries as energy efficiency and renewable energy."

Through the 38 grants awards announced today, targeted populations will receive recruitment and referral services; basic skills, work-readiness and occupational skills training; supportive services to help overcome barriers to employment; and other services at times and locations that are easily accessible. Through these programs, participants will receive certifications and on-the-job training that will lead to employment.

The press release is here.

NOTE: A search of grant recipient cities in upstate NY found Rochester and Syracuse, but not Buffalo.

Restoring Greatness to the Great Lakes

Last year I posted a report on the need to clean up the Great Lakes, including then presidential candidate Obama's campaign promise to do just that.

President Obama has now signed legislation approving $475 million of funding as part of his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Realizing the importance and scope of the cleanup, he has promised that the funding will add up to $5 billion over five years.

As reported by Jerry Zremski in The Buffalo News on November 6, 2009:

The funding greatly enhances the odds that Buffalo will receive federal funding for a $60 million project to remove contaminated sediments from the Buffalo River, said Julie O'Neill, executive director of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. It also boosts the chances of winning local funding for a habitat rehabilitation project on the Niagara River, O'Neill said.

Cited today in an Buffalo News Editorial entitled "Help for the lakes":

Not only will it help put Americans to work during this jobless recovery, it also takes advantage of the Great Lakes Compact, the 2008 agreement by the eight Great Lakes states to do their part to preserve the lakes. Tourism and fishing industries should also benefit, and with Buffalo’s waterfront about to take a giant leap ahead, that’s more good news for Western New York, whose fishing opportunities are unique.

See also earlier Re-ENERGIZE BUFFALO posts dealing with the Great Lakes.

Celebrate Boundary Waters Treaty: June 12

Friday, June 12, 5pm-11pm, Central Warf, Buffalo River

[click image to enlarge]

For more information about the Boundary Waters Treaty, read the article at Buffalo Rising and visit the website for Our Shared Waters.

Riverkeeper Jobs & Internships

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper has several openings for jobs and internships:

• Office Manager
• Americorps Volunteer Coordinator
• Outreach & Communications Assistant Intern
• Riverwatch Assistant Intern
• Greenway Coordinator

"Everyone has the RIGHT to clean water"

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper 'Spring Shoreline Sweep'

Cleanup crew at Broderick Park along the Niagara River in Buffalo

For additional photos including participants not shown, click here.

To visit the Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper Web site, click here.