Plastic Bags: UB Monster, Music Video, and Bag Bans

Plastic bags are not bio-degradable and they are accumulating in land fills, polluting our waterways and oceans, and can harm wildlife. Cutting back on plastic grocery bags will not only protect our environment, but also reduce our need for oil, the source of chemicals used to make them.

Students in the UB Environmental Network recently held an event that included the "UB Bag Monster", a creature made of 550 plastic bags and one eco-friendly UB student who wanted to make the point that plastic bags are bad for the environment.

Instead of packing groceries in single-use plastic, Do One Thing for the Environment: bring your own re-useable bags to the store.

Another group is using music and comedy to show you what you can do to oppose the plastic bag industry, as seen in the video below featuring a parody of the song "Empire State of Mind".



Bans on Plastic Bags are spreading across the U.S.

Plastic bags are outlawed in San Francisco and other California cities, including Malibu, Fairfax and Palo Alto. Bans are in effect in Westport, Connecticut, Bethel, Alaska, and Edmonds, Washington. A ban in North Carolina's Outer Banks was expanded from large retailers to all stores. Bans take effect in January in Brownsville, Texas, and Hawaii's Kauai and Maui counties.

Parts of Los Angeles County have recently banned stores from using single-use plastic bags. It bans stores from giving customers single-use plastic bags and would require them to charge 10 cents for each paper bag. The ordinance would apply to parts of the county where an estimated 1.1 million people live. Read the recent report at BuffaloNews.com.

UB Student Groups Host Major Environmental Conference

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Student environmental activists from Western and Central New York are getting ready to teach, learn and discuss New York State's environmental future at Power Shift New York 2010 on the University at Buffalo North Campus on April 16-18.

Hosted by the UB Environmental Network, the event includes three days of tours, lectures, panels, workshops, and a downtown concert. It's part of the "Define Our Decade" campaign affiliated with the Energy Action Coalition, and is expected to be the largest student-organized environmental conference at UB.

Power Shift New York involves student environmental organizations from across the state, including SUNY Geneseo's Geneseo Environmental Organization; SUNY Fredonia's Fredonia Sustainability Committee. Alfred University's Green Alfred and Cornell University's Kyoto Now.

Organizers have confirmed more than 50 speakers for the conference, including NYS Senator Antoine Thompson, Walter Simpson, former director of UB Green, and Lois Gibbs, who is nationally known for her work with the Love Canal crisis in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Gibbs, renowned author, activist and executive director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, will be speaking about her experience with environmental struggles and her current campaign to eliminate the toxic plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from schools.

Before Gibbs' speech at 11 a.m. on April 18 in Room 20, Knox Hall, organizers will set up a 25-foot-tall inflatable duck on Founders Plaza in an effort to raise awareness. "Betty the Be Safe Ducky" has been used across the country to represent the threat that PVC, commonly used in rubber duck bath toys, poses to public health and safety.

Danielle Peters, president of the UB Environmental Network and a lead organizer for the event, believes that Power Shift New York will provide valuable education and "capture the creativity of the things you can do with environmentalism."

"What people need to know is that this conference is not just for students who are active in the environment," Peters said, "but for anyone who wants to learn and improve their breadth of environmental knowledge."

"We want to learn about environmental issues, but we want to do something about the environmental issues that are going on," Peters said.

On Friday night, Power Shift NY ticketholders will have free admission to a concert at Wasteland on Main Street in downtown Buffalo, where Melissa Latimer, Revision and Paul's Grandfather will be performing.

In addition to UB EN, Power Shift NY is sponsored by the UB chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), a student organization of engineers committed to using technology for environmentally-conscious projects. ESW will hold a session to demonstrate how they built their solar-powered smoothie cart, which they will use to distribute fruity refreshments this Earth Day, April 22.

Other UB sponsors include UB Green, Student Life, the Environmental Studies program, Parking and Transportation Services, the Office of Career Services and Campus Dining and Shops, which will hold a tour of their environmentally-friendly compost system and provide breakfast for attendees on Saturday and Sunday.

Registration will continue through April 18. Tickets for Power Shift NY cost $15, and can be purchased in advance through the SBI Ticket office at the UB Student Union on North Campus or online at www.powershiftny.org Additional information about Power Shift NY 2010 is available at the Web site as well.

Students planning Environmental Summit

Power Shift NY - Regional Summit

April 16-18, 2010

WHO: Students in Buffalo, Fredonia, Geneseo, Daemen, Alfred, Cornell, and elsewhere in Western and Central NY

WHAT: Workshops, Panel Discussions, and a Direct Action

WHY: Environmental Action, Sustainability, Equity, Future Jobs

WHERE: University at Buffalo, North Campus

SEEKING: Speakers, Panelists, Event Sponsors

Power Shift New York is a not-for-profit, volunteer driven network dedicated to uniting a diverse movement of youth and student leaders to work collectively on advocating and promoting a sustainable and equitable future in New York. Student groups from every school will be encouraged to share how they have been environmentally active on their own campus and throughout their communities. With an expected attendance of 200-300 people, we hope students will leave the conference with connections to work with in the future, with new ideas, and with a motivation to continue making environmental progress beyond the conference.

We are seeking to obtain speakers and panelists to create discussion about various issues surrounding environmental sustainability, ranging from political action to sustainable business practices to how to green our own campuses. This also includes representatives from green businesses, not-for-profits, and organizations.

We are also looking for event sponsors to aid in covering the costs of this conference. This summit is being organized by student volunteers from around the region who want to make a difference in creating a sustainable future.

For additional information about the Power Shift NY Regional Summit, click here.

A Website, powershiftny.org, is under construction -- stay tuned!

Please contact Danielle Peters, dpeters3@buffalo.edu, for further information or to get involved.

CO2 Emissions Raise Global & Local Concern

On Saturday, October 24, people around the globe, and in Buffalo, participated in an International Day of Climate Action, called simply '350', to draw attention to problems associated with excessive CO2 emissions generated by burning fossil fuels and ways to solve those problems.

Why 350? A team of scientists, led by NASA climatologist Dr. James Hansen, determined that 350 ppm (parts per million) is the safe level of heat-trapping CO2 (carbon dioxide) which we must get below in order to preserve climates similar to which life on Earth is adapted. They found that throughout human civilization prior to the Industrial Revolution, before the extensive burning of fossil fuels, levels were only as high as 280. That level is far below the current level of 387, which is increasing at rate of 2 ppm per year. An intergovernmental panel comprised of over two thousand scientists has linked the rise in heat-trapping CO2 levels over time with climate change and environmental impacts that are threatening the health and well-being of people around the world. More recently, scientists have observed a connection between rising CO2 levels and increasing acidification of the world's oceans accompanying the deterioration of the ocean food web.

An international group directed by environmentalist Bill McKibben felt that world leaders must be informed of the urgent need to reduce the level of heat-trapping CO2 to at least 350. McKibben and co-founders named the group '350' to draw global attention to the science-based CO2 target of 350, a number that means the same thing in all languages. Scientific information about a safe CO2 emission target is essential for U.S. law makers aiming to cap emissions and shift to clean energy sources, as well as for world leaders seeking a strong and equitable climate treaty at the U.N. International Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

On Saturday, October 24th, people in 181 countries came together at over five-thousand '350' events around the world, calling for strong leadership and urgent action on the climate crisis. Visit 350.org to see a spectacular slide show of events around the globe. Below is a composite of photos taken at '350' events in three different countries. The photo suggests that international cooperation can help get to 350 in Copenhagen [click photo to enlarge].

Locally, there were several '350' events. On Thursday evening, Daemen College and the Sierra Club participated in a 350 event in conjunction with a talk called "Chill the Drills", about oil drilling in Alaska and climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.

On Friday, University at Buffalo students in the UB Environmental Network held a 350 march and gathered in the Student Union to inform others about 350 [click photo to enlarge].

On Saturday, the WNY Climate Action Coalition co-sponsored a teach-in and march along with other groups, including Catholic Charities, the Sierra Club, Network of Religious Communities and the energy-charged UB Environmental Network. A report on the event was published in The Buffalo News and is here.

UB Students take Green Agenda to DC

A group of University at Buffalo students traveled to Washington, DC last weekend to learn more about clean energy and green jobs, and to lobby area members of Congress for their causes. Student members of the UB Environmental Network joined 12,000 other students from every State in the nation and from other countries attending the PowerShift 2009 conference held at the DC Convention Center.

Keynote speakers, including the new director of the EPA, talked about the environment, renewable energy, green jobs and political activism. Some members of Congressional committees on energy and environment also spoke. At the end of each night, there was music and entertainment. Names of some speakers and entertainers are here.

Below is a video that gives a brief overview of PowerShift 2009:

Buffalo native, Jason Kowalski, Policy Fellow with 1Sky in DC, led a training session of 1400 students at PowerShift on lobbying Congress about legislation on climate change, clean energy and green jobs. See video, below:

Video courtesy of Brighter Planet

A photo of some of the UB students taken during a lobbying session in the office of Congress member Louise Slaughter is shown below.

[click photo to enlarge]

UB students in the photo include Steven Fleck, Michael Mason, Libby Dahl, Kristina Blank, Jordan Gerow, Tyler Manley, Danielle Peters, Esther Dsouza, and Jason Mazurowski, who provided the photo. The students also lobbied at the office of Rep. Chris Lee. Buffalo is proud of these fine young citizens and members of the UB Environmental Network !

The PowerShift Rally at the Capitol West Lawn on Lobby Day is shown in the photo below.

[photo by Carolyn Barnwell]

More information on PowerShift Lobby Day is here, including the list of over 350 Congressional meetings coordinated by the Energy Action Coalition.

UPDATES on PowerShift 2009

• TIME Magazine article: Environmentalism, Millennial-Style
• Keynote address at Power Shift by Billy Parish [video]
• What the Press Didn't Tell You, by Jesse Jenkins
• Shifting Demographics of the Climate Movement, Ben Jervey
• Global Warming 101 for Congress?, by Rachel Barge
• Rolling Stone: Jessy Tolkan, Agent of Change

Political Candidates discuss Sustainability

Candidates confirmed to attend are Jerry Schad , Sam Hoyt,
Alice Kryzan and Joe Mesi.

MAP to Allen Hall is HERE.

This event is sponsored by the student-led
UB Environmental Network

For more on Sustainability, and an informative and clever video, click here.