This week, the International Joint Commission, which handles issues involving water bodies located in both the United States and Canada, has been holding meetings in Washington, D.C. Previously, environmental groups had publicly urged the commission to move its proposed water levels plan, Bv7, forward by setting public hearings. While not all of the meetings are […]
environment
Posted inNews & Opinion
Curbside compost
Rochester residents receive city-provided trash and recycling pickup, but when it comes to composting, it’s kind of a DIY thing. That’s about to change. Local residents Brent Arnold and Steve Kraft have started a city-based business, Community Composting, which will provide residential pickup of compost fodder. They’ll give subscribers a bucket for food scraps and […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Sounding the alarm on water
The Aral Sea in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan was once one of the world’s largest saltwater lakes. But in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Soviet Union ramped up agricultural programs in the sea’s basin, which included diverting the freshwater streams that fed the sea and using the water for farming. By 2010, the Aral Sea was […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Environmental groups push bi-national commission to advance lake levels plan
A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the International Joint Commission to move forward with its proposed Lake Ontario levels management plan. The IJC, a bi-national commission that handles issues involving water bodies with shared US-Canadian borders, is meeting today and tomorrow in Washington, D.C. And the environmental groups are asking the commission to […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
More EV charging stations coming to New York
A state agency announced this afternoon that it’s awarding $3.6 million toward 260 electric vehicle charging stations, which will be installed across New York. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority sent out a press release breaking down the awards, which are going to various companies. Only a couple of summaries mention specific […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Ontario cleaning up its power plants
New York’s neighbor to the north is about to shut down all of its coal-fired power plants. This year, all of the remaining coal plants in the province of Ontario will be shut down except for one small plant that will be kept as a backup for peak demand periods, says an article in Yale […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Towns focus on farmland
In Chili, nearly as much land is devoted to agriculture as is used for housing. And Wheatland, Chili’s neighbor to the south, actually has more farmland than residential acreage. Elected officials in the two western Monroe County communities have teamed up and are in the early stages of developing a plan to preserve their farmland. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Southern Tier water case with fracking ties in court today
Local anti-fracking advocates have been trying to draw attention to a court hearing, happening today, in a lawsuit against the Village of Painted Post. Painted Post officials signed a five-year agreement with a Shell subsidiary, allowing the company to withdraw over 1 million gallons of water a day from a local aquifer, says a July […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Regional cap and trade program tightens limits
Cap and trade advocates got some good news this morning: the nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has announced plans to permit fewer carbon emissions from power plants in 2014. RGGI, as the initiative is commonly known, is made of Northeastern states that banded together to impose stricter regulations on power sector greenhouse gas emissions. The […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Elected officials voice fracking concerns
As another key deadline approaches in the state’s high-volume hydraulic fracturing review, some local elected officials are speaking out about their concerns with the gas extraction technique. And they’re also sharing their concerns with the state review. Yesterday, a group of the officials, all members of Elected Officials to Protect New York, held a press […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Cats and wildlife: new focus on an old issue
I’m kind of surprised by the amount of attention and press the predatory habits of cats has received lately. The New York Times, for example, wrote an editorial, “Soft and Deadly,” encouraging cat owners to keep their pets from freely roaming outside. What’s giving the story legs is a new study published in the journal […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Greening High Falls
Friends of the GardenAerial has new renderings for its plan to remake the High Falls area into an urban green space. Representatives of the organization will unveil conceptual drawings for three installations during a February 7 event organized by the local Sierra Club. GardenAerial representatives will present concepts for an arboretum on the Pont de […]
