PUBLIC MEETING: Amherst Waterfront Revitalization Projects

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Presentation: PROTECTING OUR WATERS -- From the Lake of Betrayal to Defend the Ohiyo

The Sierra Club
Climate and Clean Energy Writers Group

Thursday, April 19, 2018 

 PROTECTING OUR WATERS

From the Lake of Betrayal to Defend the Ohiyo

By Caleb Abrams, Onödowa’ga:’ (Seneca) filmmaker and multimedia artist

Caleb’s presentation and discussion will cover impacts on water and the Seneca people from the displacement and damage caused by the Kinzua Dam to nuclear waste at West Valley. He will give an overview of the now successful Defend the Ohiyo campaign to protect the Allegheny River from a proposed frack waste facility at the river’s headwaters in Coudersport, PA. With local interest now reinvigorated towards clean-up of Cattaraugus Creek, join us and learn how to support this effort.

6:00-7:30 PM
Crane Branch Library
633 Elmwood at Highland
2nd Floor Meeting Room

Free and open to the public – writers and non-writers alike

Educational Presentation: Divest from Fossil Fuels? YES!

DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS?

YES!!

Educational Presentation

by

Rev. Peter Cook, Executive Director

NYS Council of Churches

Monday, January 22, 2018    7:00 PM

St. Joseph’s University Church - Community Hall

3269 Main St, Buffalo  14214 [Map]

SAVE THE PLANET AND THE PEOPLE

Sponsored by the Interfaith Climate Justice Community of WNY

 

The NYS Council of Churches participates in the Divest NY campaign and Rev. Cook will help ICJC focus on ways that we might become involved.  The Council of Churches also advocates for the NYS Climate and Community Protection Act, legislation that would allow NYS to reach 100% renewables by 2050 or before.   

Please plan to attend this important meeting.

 Free & open to the public.

GOOD NEWS
•    Governor Cuomo recently announced that he supports divesting New York’s public pension funds from fossil fuel companies. 
•    New York City and the State together plan to #DivestNY’s $390 billion pensions from fossil fuels: “an undeniable victory for the global divestment movement”

 

Bill McKibben, 350.org co-founder, issued the following statement:
"The dam has broken: after years of great activism,  New York has taken a massive step towards divesting from fossil fuels. Coming from the capital of world finance, this will resonate loud and clear all over the planet. It’s a crucial sign of how fast the financial pendulum is swinging away from fossil fuels.”

National Expert to Speak on Renewable Heating & Cooling

Jay Egg, a nationally-recognized expert in Renewable Heating and Air Conditioning, will speak on November 14, 2017, 6:00pm-8:00pm at UB South Campus, Hayes Hall (room 403), 3435 Main St., Buffalo. [Map]

 Free and Open to the Public

 Free parking in adjacent lots

Doors open at 5:30pm

Join the Facebook Event - Click here

For more information, visit RenewableHeatNow.org

Sponsors: NY-Geo, New Yorkers for Clean Power, Heat Smart, Frack Action, Sane Energy Project, Alliance for Green Economy

Co-Sponsors: UB School of Architecture and Planning, WNY Environmental Alliance, Citizen Action of NY, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, New York Solar Energy Society, WNY Sustainable Energy Association, PUSH Buffalo

 

Eco-Friendly Electric Buses for Buffalo?

Sierra Club Niagara Group is advocating for the NFTA to purchase ELECTRIC BUSES, which have zero emissions and so are more eco-friendly than the existing buses.

The group is hosting a consultant to make a presentation about assisting transit agencies with the transition to electric buses on Thursday, June 8th, 6:00pm at the Crane Branch Library in Buffalo.

An electric bus will be on display at the Allentown Art Festival and the Elmwood Farmers' Market on Saturday, June 10th.  

Learn more about electric buses, and how you can get a ride on one, at the event described below.

Program: Fracked Gas is a Climate Problem, Not a Solution - And Corporate Rate Increases could Impact You

TALK: Are Electric Buses Right for Buffalo and WNY?

Public Presentation: World Water Day & The Niagara River

TALK: 'Carbon Tax' - Citizens Climate Lobby

 

A New York State carbon tax bill was introduced in Sept. 2015 by two Democratic legislators, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill of Dutchess County and Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn. 

The bill, A8372 Cahil / S6037 Parker, starts taxing CO2 emissions from coal, oil, natural gas and biofuels at $35 per ton and increases the rate annually by $15/ton, to a ceiling of $185 per ton. 

The bill proposes returning 60% of revenues to low- and moderate-income households, with the remaining funds used to prepare for climate change, invest in renewable energy, and build transportation infrastructure. 

More Information on emerging developments in U.S. carbon taxing in NY State and other states is HERE.

Naomi Klein, Author and Climate Justice Activist, to Speak

CAPITALISM vs. THE CLIMATE: 
Reflections on the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference

Featuring: Naomi Klein

Sunday, January 24, 2016 – 4:00pm

Finger Lakes Community College, Canandaigua [MAP]
 

Known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization and of corporate capitalism, Naomi Klein is the author of five books, including The Shock Doctrine, a bestselling critical analysis of the history of neoliberalism, which promotes a high-consumption, ­carbon-hungry system.

Her latest book is This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate (2014). Klein writes that “Our economic system and our planetary system are now at war.” 

“There is still time to avoid catastrophic warming,” she contends, “but not within the rules of capitalism as they are currently constructed. Which is surely the best argument there has ever been for changing those rules.” 

MODERATOR: Michael Winship, an award-winning television writer and producer, will moderate the conversation with Ms. Klein.

Online Tickets $15 - PURCHASE HERE
 

TALK: Local Citizens Experience the U.N. Climate Talks in Paris

TALK: 'Truth to Power' -- November 2nd

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.

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RIVERKEEPER FORUM: Unexpected Voices of the Great Lakes

 Join  Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper this Wednesday from 6:30pm-8:30pm for a very special event at the Albright-Knox Gallery: Unexpected Voices of the Great Lakes, a panel discussion featuring internally acclaimed photographer Edward Burtynsky, whose artwork is pictured below. Burtynsky will discuss how his connection to the Great Lakes shaped his craft and the predominant theme in his images, "nature transformed through industry." The panel discussion following Burtynsky's talk will include:
    •    Allan Jamieson, a member of the Wolf Clan of the Cayuga People. He has worked with numerous native communities on issues related to water access. He is a founder of Neto, a Native American nonprofit based in Buffalo that started the Buffalo Creek Treaty Canoe Paddle held annually on the Buffalo River.
    •    Sandy Smith Cunningham, an educator from Nichols School in Buffalo whose innovative seventh-grade science curriculum teaches the principles of chemistry through the lens of the Great Lakes and environmental resources. She has been deeply involved in Great Lakes education and outreach.
    •     Jill Jedlicka, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. Jedlicka is a recognizable local expert on water quality issues and Great Lakes policy. She will provide a rare insight and reflection of her own personal journey to lead one of the world's largest Waterkeeper organizations.

The panel also will include a student from South Park High School in Buffalo who is active in his school's efforts to educate and inform a new generation about the importance of the Great Lakes and its tributaries.

This event is a collaboration between Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and the International Joint Commission's Great Lakes Water Quality Board.  


Please RSVP here. This event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York) on Wednesday, May 13 from 6:30-8:30pm!

The Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper Team

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TALK: Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Public Health

TALK: Energy Democracy! What can We Learn from Germany?

Sierra Club ~ Niagara Group

Climate and Clean Energy Writers

will feature a presentation from:

Aaron Bartley

Executive Director of PUSH Buffalo

Energy Democracy!  

What can we learn from Germany? 

Aaron recently traveled to Germany and witnessed entire communities that produce, maintain, distribute, and sell their own renewable energy. Let's hear what he learned and how PUSH Buffalo sees it applying to WNY!
 

Monday, March 2, 6:00-7:30 PM

Unitarian Universalist Church

695 Elmwood at Ferry (Garden Entrance), Buffalo

For a printable flier, click here.

Cornell Scientist to speak on Climate Change and Food Security

"Climate Change and the Future of Food" is the title of a presentation by Dr. David Walter Wolfe, a prominent climate scientist from Cornell University. The talk will be delivered on October 10th, 2014 at the University at Buffalo, South Campus. 

Dr. Wolfe, is a Professor of Plant and Soil Ecology in the Department of Horticulture at Cornell University. He has worked and published extensively in the area of agriculture and climate change.

Dr. Wolfe's presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, and a casual reception soon after. The presentation will take place in 114 Wende Hall, South Campus from 2:00-3:30 pm and it is Open to the Public.

Dr Wolfe's visit is being sponsored and organized by the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities lab, in the School of Architecture and Planning.

We are hoping you will be able to join us and add to the discussions that follow. Please send any questions you may have for Dr Wolfe to subhashn@buffalo.edu by October 7th. These questions will be used during the Q & A session.

To view a flyer for the event, click here. We would appreciate you sharing the flyer and the information about the presentation with your network.

Talks on Adventures of Ken Ilgunas - Author and UB Grad

  "Trespassing across America: One UB Grad's Epic, 1,700-mile (and sort of Illegal) Hike along the Keystone XL Pipeline." 

A TALK by 

 KEN ILGUNAS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18
3:00-5:00 p.m.
120 Clemens Hall -- UB North Campus [Map]

Read Ken Ilgunas' article published at Salon.

Ilgunas will present a different talk on TUESDAY, November 19:

"I lived in a van down by Duke University: One UB Grad's Adventurous Account of Living Debt-Free." 

1:30-3:20 p.m.

Undergraduate Academies, 17 Norton Hall -- UB North Campus [Map]

Ilgunas published a book about his adventures entitled "Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom." 

Presentation: History and Future of Industrial Buffalo

“History of the Industrial City: Buffalo, Past, Present and Future.”

~ Presented by Clinton Brown ~

Our history starts with Niagara Falls- 400 years in 40 minutes!

Monday, February 4, 2013,  7:00pm-8:00pm.

Schenck Hall, Room 202,  Daemen College [Campus Map].

Free and open to the public.

Buffalo Niagara native Clinton Brown, FAIA, is the founder of Clinton Brown Company Architecture, a full service historic preservation architecture firm.  He is active on a number of local boards including the Richardson Center Corporation that is rehabilitating the Richardson Olmsted Center. 

For a printable flyer, Click Here.

Part of the Sustainability Lecture Series supported by Daemen College’s 

Global & Local Sustainability Program

Presentation: Geothermal Heating -- April 18

WNY Sustainable Energy Association 

presents

The Reitan Speaker Series

• SPEAKER: Jens Ponikau, Geo-designer for Buffalo Geothermal Heating
• TOPIC: Everything You Wanted to Know about Geothermal Heating, but were Afraid to Ask!
• WHERE: Hallwalls - 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo
• WHEN: Wednesday April 18th at 7pm - Free & Open to All

Buffalo Geothermal is a geothermal design and installment firm offering turnkey solutions in residential and commercial applications. Currently, BGH installs between 50-60 systems per year in the Buffalo and Western New York area. They include open and closed systems, and horizontal, vertical, and pond-loop systems. 

A native of Germany, Mr. Ponikau designed and installed 120 geosystems abroad and brought this design knowledge to Western New York, where he helped found Buffalo Geothermal Heating in 2008. He has been teaching numerous seminars to architects and engineers on geothermal technologies, and also made public appearances an radio shows, schools and the home show to further educate the public. Mr. Ponikau is an International Ground Source Heat Pump Association accredited geothermal installer and a graduate of the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Come Learn about this Renewable Energy Source at HALLWALLS, which has an active Geothermal System!

We hope to see you there!