Albany Rally -- No to Fracking, Yes to Renewable Energy

New York Crossroads

Rally to Stop Fracking and Demand Renewable Energy!

 

On Monday, June 17, 2013, citizens from across New York—from Long Island to Niagara Falls—will arrive in Albany to demand freedom from dirty energy, calling on Governor Cuomo to reject fracking and lead the nation in building a renewable energy economy here and now in New York.

At this march and rally, the anti-fracking movement will, for the first time, join with business leaders, faith leaders, health professionals, elected officials, farmers, and youth to demand the renewable energy jobs that our families and communities want and deserve.

• What: Stop Fracking and Demand Renewable Energy 
• When: Monday, June 17th, 12pm-3pm 
• Where: Rally and March on East Capitol Lawn, Albany 
• Buffalo/Rochester Bus: Reserve Seat Now: Click Here 

Sponsored by New Yorkers Against Fracking, Food & Water Watch, Frack Action, Catskill Mountainkeeper, United for Action, NYPIRG, Citizens Environmental Coalition, Western NY Drilling Defense, Alliance for a Green Economy and many more to be announced.

Erie County Community Forum - June 3 at 6pm

League of Women Voters Luncheon, Speaker and Awards

The League of Women Voters Buffalo/Niagara invites you to join us at our

2013 Annual Meeting Luncheon

Ripples of Hope*

Protocol Restaurant, 6766 Transit Road, Williamsville, 14221

Saturday, June 15

Luncheon will be served at noon

Guest Speaker

Katherine Bodde

Katharine, New York Civil Liberties Union Policy Council and member of the State Wide Steering Committee for the Women’s Equality Agenda, will  speak about Governor Cuomo’s ten item Agenda that is scheduled to be presented as a bill in the state legislature on June 17. 

            
The League will also recognize Erin Heaney, Director of the Clean Air Coalition with the  Making Democracy Work Award and Anne Huberman with the Joan K. Bozer Leadership Award.  Both of these fine women will be out of town on June 15.

Luncheon cost is $25 for League members and $30 for guests

    Mail reservations payable to LWVBN to LWVBN, 1272 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY  14209  by June 10, 2013.

*Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.                                                                                                                                                                                 Robert F. Kennedy, June 6, 1966

Bill McKibben Addresses Climate Crisis at UB Commencement

Bill McKibben speaking to UB graduates - D.Kowalski photo

Bill McKibben, world-renowned author, environmentalist and educator, delivered the 2013 commencement address of the University at Buffalo's School of Architecture and Planning on May 10.

McKibben wrote The End of Nature (1989), the first book on global warming for a general audience, and more recently, Eaarth - Making a Life on a Tough New Planet (20
10).

McKibben founded the global climate action campaign, 350.org, and has been steadfast in demanding that political leaders take steps to address the climate crisis.

In his address to the graduates, McKibben cited Superstorm Sandy, which he said "drove the Atlantic Ocean into the New York subway system." He added, "If you had any doubts about the vulnerability of our technological civilization to the new and souped-up Nature we are creating, that should have ended."

McKibben urged the graduates to call for change, referring to the climate crisis as "one of the central tests of your life, a test of both your skill and your character." He said "your training is now not just an end to a profitable rewarding career, but something that our society badly, badly needs."

VIDEO: It opens with Robert G. Shibley, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, followed by an introduction of Bill McKibben by Subhashni Raj (3:54), Masters Degree recipient and a Pacific-350 organizer from Fiji. Subsequently, Shibley presented McKibben with the Dean's Medal (8:00), and then Bill McKibben delivered his address to the graduates, faculty and guests (11:22 to 29:00). 

Watch the video on YouTube: Click here.

UPDATE May 21, 2013: A TRANSCRIPT of Bill McKibben's speech and transcripts of the introductions and the medal presentation were kindly provided by Alan Oberst. To view the transcripts, Click Here.

Reinstein Woods Summer 2013 Program Schedule

Even though the weather has been a mix of winter, spring, and summer lately, June is just a few weeks away and it is a great time to get out to Reinstein Woods for a visit! Join us to learn about plants, bugs, bats, and many other topics over the summer.

The summer 2013 schedule of programs for June through August 2013 is now available online. See http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1977.html to scroll through the events happening in the next 30 days. You can also download the Summer Public Programs brochure (PDF, 66 KB) on the this page.  Click on http://www.dec.ny.gov/calendar/View.html?calendar_id=6 to view the full schedule for each month.  There are many family-friendly programs throughout the summer season, as well as the Friends of Reinstein's annual Meander in the Woods fundraiser on June 15.

We hope to see you out at Reinstein Woods this summer!
 

Bike to Work and Get Fueled En Route -- May 13-17

Bike to Work Week Features Daily Fueling Stations For Bike Commuters

What:  May 13-17 is National Bike to Work Week; in Buffalo GObike has partnered with four local businesses and one non-profit to put on a bicycle commuter breakfast “fueling station” for each day of the week.

Who: GObike Buffalo, Sweet_ness 7 Café, Café Taza, Five Points Bakery, Ashker’s Café and Juice Bar, Golden Cup Café, and GOBNMC.

Why: To encourage people to bike to work!

 

Who Should Attend:  All bicycle commuters on their way to work.

When:  Monday May 13th, 8-10am: Sweet_ness 7, 220 Grant St.
Tuesday May 14th, 8-10am: Cafe Taza (w/ Five Points Bakery), 100 Elmwood Ave.
Wednesday May 15th, 7-9am: Ashker’s Cafe and Juice Bar, 1002 Elmwood Ave.
Thursday May 16th, 7:30-9:30am: Golden Cup Cafe, 883 Jefferson St.
Friday May 17th, 6:30-10am: With GOBNMC, 929 Washington St.

GO Bike Buffalo for Dinner, Book and Film

“Dinner and Bikes” Make Buffalo a Stop on Their Northeastern Tour

What:  Vegan chef Joshua Ploeg, Portland based author Elly Blue and author/documentarian Joe Biel are a traveling trio who will put on a dynamic evening that will be both delicious and inspiring.  Josh Ploeg will serve up a gourmet vegan and gluten free buffet; Elly Blue will present about transportation equity and the bicycling movement, and Joe Biel will show an excerpt from his forthcoming documentary "Aftermass" about the history of bicycling in Portland.  Suggested donation $10 for adults, $5 for children; Register online, click here.

Who: GObike Buffalo, Massachusetts Avenue Project, Burning Books

Who Should Attend:  Those interested in both bicycle advocacy and delicious food.

When: Saturday, May 11, 5-8pm

Where: Massachusetts Ave. Project Office, 271 Grant St.  Register Online Here.

Bill McKibben to Deliver Commencement Address

Bill McKibben, Author, Educator, Environmentalist, to Deliver Commencement Address, Receive Dean's Medal

The School of Architecture and Planning Commencement will be held on Friday, May 10, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre, North Campus of the University at Buffalo. The event is open to the public.

Special seating is available in the balcony area for guests who will be attending the ceremony that are not directly connected to the graduates. No tickets are required to attend.

As this event is a celebration for the students, you are invited to stay for the full program.  However, since this occasion represents a special opportunity to hear Bill McKibben speak about important issues in today’s fragile world, a musical interlude will be included after his speech to allow guests to quietly exit the auditorium. 

Bill McKibben is the author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with The End of Nature in 1989, which is regarded as the first book for a general audience on climate change. He is a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, which has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. Time Magazine called him 'the planet's best green journalist' and the Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was 'probably the country's most important environmentalist.' Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, he holds honorary degrees from a dozen colleges, including the Universities of Massachusetts and Maine, the State University of New York, and Whittier and Colgate Colleges. In 2011 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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.