Coronavirus lockdowns have led to a dramatic decline in traffic and a pollutant linked to burning fossil fuels.
pollution
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Revel in the details: John Kastner’s consumer hell
Rochester-based illustrator John Kastner’s work is rooted in a deep concern with the environment. He’s become known for the social criticism he injects into his chaotic cartoon realms in gouache on matte board. His newest work, “Filthy Animal’s Plasticrap,” incorporates plastic trash he’s picked up on walks to and from work. And leading up to […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Federal microbead ban is now law
Starting July 1, 2017, manufacturers will no longer be allowed to include plastic microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products. The House and Senate passed legislation establishing the ban earlier this month, and President Barack Obama signed the final bill yesterday. Previously, several states banned microbeads and major retail chains such as Wegmans announced plans […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Who’s worrying about the water?
Much of California is coping with a severe, multi-year drought. The state’s water supplies and reservoirs are depleted, urban residents are now required to limit their water use, and many farms in the state are losing their crops. By comparison, the Rochester region is hydrologically gifted. Lake Ontario provides people, farms, and businesses with massive […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Honeoye Falls braces for new limits
The Village of Honeoye Falls will use a $30,000 state grant to study the future of its waste water treatment plant. Officials expect that the plant’s treated water will eventually be subject to new limits on the amounts of phosphorous and copper it can contain, says village administrator Greg Emerson. Village leaders say that they […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Agencies stock Genesee River with young sturgeon
A group of county, state, and federal organizations released more than 1,000 lake sturgeon fingerlings into the Genesee River today. The fish were hatched in June at the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Oneida fish hatchery. Early this afternoon, a DEC boat took them to Seth Green Island where they were released. The sturgeon will […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Schumer wants polluter tax reinstated to boost Superfund program
The former Diaz Chemical site in the Village of Holley is something of a poster child for state and federal Superfund programs. Back in 2002, the plant accidentally released a 75-gallon steam cloud laced with chemicals, including some so potent that, even as they spread through the air and dissipated over the village, they wrecked […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Kodak and EPA agree on clean-up plan for Eastman Business Park
When a bankruptcy court decided that Kodak could emerge from Chapter 11, its permission was contingent on the company’s ability to reach a deal with the federal Environmental Protection Agency regarding pollution at the site. Kodak and the EPA have made that deal. Specifically, the EPA has endorsed the 2013 settlement between the New York […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Paper details plastics pollution in several Great Lakes
Researchers have released a new paper on microplastics in the Great Lakes and in it they say that the concentration of plastic fragments in many cases exceeds that of the world’s oceans. The paper was written by researchers from the 5 Gyres Institute and SUNY Fredonia and covers samples from Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Two brownfield projects get state money
Two state grants will allow Rochester and neighborhood officials to move forward on two brownfield and community redevelopment projects. Late last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office announced that the South Genesee Implementation Strategy — a project that includes the Vacuum Oil site in southwest Rochester — will receive $868,500, and the Bull’s Head Revitalization Plan […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
More good news for sturgeon
Approximately 10 years ago, federal, state, and university scientists took a gamble and reintroduced lake sturgeon into the Genesee River. They believed that the river’s water quality and pollution levels had improved enough that the fish could survive, grow, and ultimately reproduce. And so far, they’ve been right. The fish are growing at good rates, […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Lakes love
A bipartisan group of House representatives called the Great Lakes Caucus has introduced legislation that would provide significant funding to improve water quality in the lakes. | The bill would reauthorize and fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Great Lakes Legacy Act, and the Great Lakes National Program Office. It would also create the […]
