Fairport’s municipal electric company got its first electric vehicle about a decade ago: a Ford pickup truck with a bed full of lead-acid batteries. The village and the utility it operates have a longstanding policy of embracing electrified vehicles, says village administrator Ken Moore, and Fairport has several hybrid vehicles — thankfully, much more advanced […]
environment
Posted inNews & Opinion
Our stressed-out lakes
The other day, I stumbled across an article on ThinkProgress that gives a snapshot of how climate change is affecting the Great Lakes. And it talks about some of the potential future effects on the region. But what caught my attention is a map embedded in the post. The image, developed by the Great Lakes […]
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Albion’s new landfill fight
For Albion residents and government officials, the Orleans Sanitary Landfill has been an on and off source of controversy. And right now, with a proposal to build a new landfill on the site, the controversy is definitely on.
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Poll results show fracking support differs by region
The majority of respondents to a recent Siena Research Institute poll say they support fracking. But there’s a catch. The poll results, which were released yesterday, say that 42 percent of the 822 registered voters polled support fracking and 36 percent oppose it; the numbers were the same in October, the last time Siena asked […]
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DEC to extend fracking review
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is making a move that should prevent it from having to redo its proposed high-volume hydraulic fracturing regulations. The department faces a November 29 deadline for approving the proposed regulations, which it introduced in 2011. But the state is still conducting an environmental review of fracking in shale formations, […]
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Is a natural gas-fueled industrial boom good for the planet?
It seems that any effort to address climate change is plagued by criticism that it’ll cripple economic growth. As long as fossil fuels are cheap and abundant, not just in the United States but across the globe, that dynamic will probably continue. For an idea why, consider the story published yesterday by the Washington Post, […]
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League focuses on Lake Ontario
The Rochester League of Women Voters has decided that its advocacy work will include protecting Lake Ontario and addressing issues affecting the lake. During a meeting last week, the group adopted a position drafted by the Lake Michigan League of Women Voters, an interstate organization of league chapters around Lake Michigan. The position spells out […]
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Proposed county fracking law stalls
For now, Democrats’ proposal to prohibit the county from treating fracking-related waste water won’t move forward. Last night, Republican John Howland, the chair of the County Legislature’s Environment and Public Works committee, referred the proposal to the Brooks administration for further study. He said it’s a complex issue with lots of facts coming from each […]
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Another delay in fracking review
A technicality will probably delay New York’s decision on fracking until next year. Recently, state Department of Environmental Commissioner Joseph Martens announced that the state would study the potential health impacts of high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The effort will be led by Dr. Nirav Shah, commissioner of the state Department of Health. But the study means […]
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AP: Strong regulations not enough to prevent drilling problems
Earlier this week, Earthworks released a report criticizing the inspection practices of New York and other states where drilling is occurring. But the folks at Earthworks are not the only ones examining New York’s record of regulatory enforcement of gas and oil drilling. An Associated Press article published yesterday also calls the state’s enforcement efforts […]
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Some fracking stories worth checking out
Over the past few days, several significant news stories about fracking have emerged. In addition to the developments around New York’s review of the technique. Here’s a partial roundup. • A federal judge dismissed state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit over fracking regulations for the Delaware River Basin. Schneiderman sued the Delaware River Basin Commission, […]
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Environmental group responds on fracking health study
Yesterday, state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens said that he wouldn’t agree to an independent health study of fracking. (See this post from yesterday for the statement.) Environmental and medical groups have called for such a study. They believe that high-volume hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas extraction technique that the state is reviewing, […]
