VIDEO & SLIDESHOW: Albany Rally to Break Free from Fossil Fuels

By David Kowalski

Members of the Climate Justice Coalition of WNY, the Sierra Club Niagara Group as well as concerned citizens rode a bus from Buffalo to a Rally in Albany on May 14, 2016 calling on NY State to end our dependence on polluting fossil fuels and shift to clean, renewable energy.

This rally was part of Global Actions held on six continents and in several U.S. cities during that week. People around the world stood up to say to say Break Free from Fossil Fuel and Keep It in the GROUND!

We joined over 1000 concerned citizens in Albany to say NO to new fracked gas & oil pipelines and NO to explosive oil trains ('bomb trains'), whose risk of derailment is threatening the safety of our communities in Buffalo, Albany and elsewhere in the state.

We said YES to Clean, Renewable Energy necessary to end global warming pollution, curb climate change, create new jobs and ensure justice for communities at risk.

Here is a 1 minute MUSIC VIDEO made from photos that I shot at the rally:

 Music credit: "Who's Gonna Stand Up?" by Neil Young & Crazy Horse band

Below is a link to a SLIDESHOW that contains photos and a few video clips of the rally and the march to the railroad tracks at the Port of Albany.

To access the SLIDESHOW, Click Here

HINTS for navigating the SLIDESHOW after you open it:

- Hover the mouse pointer over a photo to see the Caption.

- Click on a photo to view it, and Click again to Enlarge it to full size.

Environmental activists from around the region march down Pearl Street to the Port of Albany on Saturday, May 14, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The demonstration delayed oil train traffic at the Port of Albany to raise awareness for the region's opposition to all fossil fuels. The event was part of a weeklong global effort called Break Free From Fossil Fuels. (Photo: Cindy Schultz / Times Union) 

Press coverage: Albany protest: 5 arrested after oil train delayed
ALBANY — A daylong effort to block crude oil trains brought hundreds of people near the Port of Albany, where they sat on train tracks and listened to speeches, sang and discussed nationwide and local environmental issues.
The Albany event on Saturday, organized by the coalition Break Free From Fossil Fuels, was one of several around the country and world this month.

Read more in the online report at the Albany Times Union: Click Here

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For a livable climate and a just transition to renewable energy, 

 fossil fuels must be kept in the ground!

Albany Rally: Break Free From Fossil Fuels - Hop on the Bus!

For a livable climate and a just transition to renewable energy, fossil fuels must be kept in the ground.

 
The Climate Justice Coalition of WNY and the Sierra Club Niagara Group have chartered a bus from Buffalo to a Rally in Albany on Saturday, May 14th calling on NY State to Break Free from Fossil Fuels.

Join concerned citizens to say NO to new fracked gas & oil pipelines and storage, as well as explosive oil trains in our communities. Say YES to clean, renewable energy sources.

This rally is part of a Global Action to Break Free from Fossil Fuels. We will join with thousands of people around the world standing up to say,  KEEP IT IN THE GROUND!

It is time to move toward 100% Renewable Energy!

BUS from BUFFALO: leaving at 5:00 AM from the University at Buffalo South Campus Park & Ride lot on Main Street near the Metro Station. 

ALBANY RALLY will begin at 10:00 AM in Lincoln Park, Eagle St. Entrance, between Morton Ave. & Park Ave.  [Map]

Groups from some areas of the Northeast are being trained and will participate in direct action. We will be there to rally and stand in solidarity, not to participate in the direct action.
 

 For more info on the Albany Rally, Click HERE

ALBANY RALLY: Break Free from Fossil Fuels - May 14th

Public Meeting: Threats Posed by Derailment of Explosive Oil Trains in WNY

CLIMATE JUSTICE COALITION OF WNY 

Did you know that highly explosive Bakken Crude Oil Trains are traveling through our towns and the city of Buffalo neighborhoods here in Western NY? You are invited to learn more about this potentially disastrous situation and meet the small dedicated group that is working to investigate and take action to protect our homes, families and businesses. Please Join Us!

WNY Drilling Defense Meeting
Thursday, April 7 at 6:00 PM
Crane Branch Library (Upstairs)
633 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY

 
Please Join Us  
Let's act to Protect WNY

Read about derailments and explosions of dangerous oil trains rolling across Erie County, WNY and the USA:

- Ban the Bomb Trains Traveling through Buffalo & Erie County
- Oil tankers: Danger on the rails, CNN Report
- Why oil-by-rail is an explosive disaster waiting to happen
- Bombs on the railway:” CP train that derailed in Watertown (Ohio) was carrying Bakken crude oil
- Crude Oil Transportation: A Timeline of Failure

Environmental NEWS

Why solar panels won’t solve climate change 
Interview: The environmental movement should shift its emphasis from personal responsibility to political change, says activist Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org  

Economists and engineers are ahead in terms of finding solutions, according to McKibben. “Economists – left, right and centre – have been saying we need to put a price on carbon to reflect the damage it does. And engineers have said we need government effort to take advantage of new renewable technologies. Up to now we can’t have these things, because of the power of the fossil-fuel industry.”  

McKibben says that the most important thing people can do is join together with others to fight against large fossil-fuel infrastructure projects and encourage investors to stop giving money to the fossil-fuel industry.

Described by Time magazine as the planet’s best green journalist, and by the Boston Globe as the United States’ most distinguished environmentalist, McKibben made his first visit to Ireland, to speak at Meeting the Challenge of Climate Justice: From Evidence to Action.

Read more at IrishTimes.com


Pope Francis, science and government are reframing climate change
The long-anticipated encyclical by Pope Francis to the world on the environment was released mid-June. The Lancet Commission, a distinguished United Kingdom-based health body, the following week released its report on health and climate change.
 
Pope Francis has already changed the conversation in the Catholic Church by prioritizing issues of justice and mercy. He holds a unique status today as a moral leader not only of Christians but of all peoples of the world. He has used that moral authority to call for a needed moral conversion about what he considers the interconnected issues of the environment, the poor, humanity, global development and peace.

Health professionals and scientists are also changing the conversation by calling attention to the ways in which environmental destruction, such as climate change, threatens human health and well-being. We feel the effects through more severe storms, risks of infectious diseases, food scarcity and more. There is strong evidence that the world’s poor are among the most vulnerable — a common-sense, but often overlooked, fact that Lancet and the encyclical spotlight. The Lancet report shows that combating climate change is an unprecedented opportunity to advance health, equitable development and sustainability.

Read more at SeattleTimes.com

Two Years After Oil Train Disaster, Profound Scars Remain in Lac-Mégantic
Activists prepare for demonstrations across Canada and US this week to 'Stop Oil Trains'

A week of direct actions across Canada and the U.S. to stop so-called "bomb trains" began on Monday, the two-year anniversary of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, when an unmanned train with 72 tankers carrying 30,000 gallons of crude oil careened into a small town in the Canadian province of Quebec, where it derailed, exploded, and killed 47 people.

Decontamination work continues to this day at the crash site, but was suspended at noon for a moment of silence. Later in the day, church bells will ring out 47 times at Lac-Mégantic's St. Agnes Church.

On every level, recovery in the small community has been challenging. 

Read more at CommonDreams.org

Thousands March in Toronto, Urge Canada to Turn Away From a Fossil Fuel Economy
 Labor unions, student groups, indigenous communities, and environmentalists joined forces for the Jobs, Justice and Climate march, which activists called the most diverse climate mobilization in Canadian history.

The rally was timed to bring attention to the cause ahead of this week's Climate Summit of the Americas in Toronto, this fall's Canadian federal election, and the highly-anticipated UN Paris climate talks in November, which aim to bring together world leaders in legally-binding climate change solutions. 

Read more at VICE News


The EPA Just Banned the Chemicals That Helped Save the Ozone Layer 
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) can be as much as 10,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. 

"This rule will not only reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, but also encourage greater use and development of the next generation of safer HFC alternatives," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said.

"Tackling HFCs is a no-brainer," said Jason Kowalski, the US policy director of 350.org, which advocates for action on climate change. To restrict them is to go after "low-hanging fruit," he told VICE News, adding that the real issue in the climate change fight is the degree to which the Obama administration is willing to battle the fossil fuel industry.  

Read more at VICE News


Letter: How we heat, cool our homes matters 
The recently adopted New York State Energy Plan recognizes that in New York, we generate more greenhouse gases heating our buildings than by generating electricity. Heating and cooling our buildings efficiently with renewable energy will become increasingly more urgent as we address the challenge of climate change.

Read more at BuffaloNews.com


NY State Tax Incentives to Heat and Cool Homes Efficiently using Heat Pumps 
The potential for widespread adoption of heat pumps (shallow ground-source, aka 'geothermal') in New York was recently boosted by the passage of bills in the State Senate and Assembly. Final approval of these important pieces of legislation is now in the hands of Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Urge Governor Cuomo to cut both energy bills and fossil fuel pollution by signing an online petition. Click Here to go to the petition.


State adds funds to budget in case of coal plant shutdown
 The allocation of $19 million in the state budget that’s designed to help communities affected by retiring coal plants was hailed Monday by the local Just Transition coalition. The coalition has been planning for the possibility of the retirement of the Huntley Generating Plant in the Town of Tonawanda.

Reduced operations at the Huntley plant have resulted in decreased tax revenue received by the town, Erie County and the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Schools. While environmental advocates urge the transition from coal-powered electrical generation to clean energy, it’s also anticipated that a full shutdown of that plant could have devastating economic impacts on labor and the community.

Read more at BuffaloNews.com

TALK: Bakken Oil Trains in NY - What You Need to Know

Presentation by

Sandy Steubing, Lead Organizer
People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PAUSE)

WHEN: Saturday, May 16 -- 2pm-3:30pm
WHERE: Crane Branch Library (Upstairs), 633 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo

Large volumes of explosive Bakken oil are being transported by tank  rail cars. The oil comes from North Dakota and much of this oil is  destined to refineries on the east coast. This year, North America is  averaging one Bakken oil train derailment per month and each  derailment results in multiple explosions and fires.

Many of these Bakken oil trains travel through densely populated urban areas such as Buffalo NY on their eastward journey to Albany NY or Philadelphia, PA.

Sandy Steubing, lead organizer for People of Albany United for Safe Energy (PAUSE), is on an Upstate New York tour lecturing about the  many "bomb" trains coming through Buffalo and Upstate NY. She will  focus on the environmental justice of those living near the rail  tracks, and the effects of extreme energy extraction on climate change.

Sandy began her activism in the early 1960's in San Francisco. She  brings with her a huge depth of knowledge to bear on the many dangers  posed by the Bakken oil trains.

Submitted by Charley Bowman, RenewableEnergy@WNYPeace.org

Sponsored by the Renewable Energy Task Force of the WNY Peace Center, Mothers Out Front (Rochester), and Food & Water Watch (RYelda@gmail.com).

Aftermath of oil train derailment and explosion in W. Va.. Foundation of a burned-out home at bottom.

[Click image to enlarge]

Community Meeting: Stop the 'Bomb' Trains

Western NY Drilling Defense Community Meeting:

Stop the 'Bomb' Trains!

Crane Branch Library - upstairs - 633 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo  

Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 6 p.m.

RSVP on Facebook & Invite Friends: click here.

[Click image to enlarge]

Every week trains loaded with volatile crude oil fracked in North Dakota's Bakken shale travel through New York communities at 30 to 40 miles an hour. The DOT-111 tankers used to haul oil are defective and prone to explode in derailments. Bakken oil trains from North Dakota are traveling across New York State and through the City of Buffalo.

With very little public awareness and no study of environmental impacts, the oil industry has made New York a dangerous pipeline for crude oil that snakes thousands of miles by rail, barge and ship from oil fields in North Dakota and elsewhere, to refineries on both coasts. Because they present an immediate danger to public health, we must work to halt the transport of oil trains. Join us in stopping the 'bomb' trains!

We will also be discussing next steps in the anti-fracking campaign in New York, including increased focus on renewable energy. These meetings are open to all!