RENewsletter | July 5, 2009
The Free environmental newsletter from RochesterEnvironment.com
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/>
"Our Environment is changing: Keep up with the Change."
[06/28/09- 07/05/09]
* Need to vent? | Go to my blog: Environmental
<http://rochesterenvironmentny.blogspot.com/> Thoughts - Rochester, NY
Opening <> Salvo | NewsLinks <> | Daily Updates <> | Events <> |
Environmental Site of the Month <> | Take Action <> |
[Hyperlinks work by CTRL + click to follow a link]
__________________________________________
Opening Salvo: "Good Well Water"
Everyone has the right to clean, potable water. Even people in the United
States using well water. This is not a fact, or ideology, or belief, or some
mental quirk or disposition of mine. No reasonable person can argue this
point reasonably.
However, "There
<http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090703/NEWS01/907030339...
RSS01> are no statewide or county laws that require testing of wells in
Monroe County, and no enforceable water-quality standards that apply to
private supplies." (6/03/ 09 Democrat and Chronicle) So, the issue about
getting clean, potable drinking well water from a well is somehow different
from drinking municipal waters, which do have an enforceable standard.
There, as it seems, is the rub.
Several assumptions apparently provide the basis for the state of New York
allowing one set of residents to be under the regulatory umbrella for clean
drinking water and another who are on their own. Caveat emptor: or rather,
let the drinkers beware if they aren't hooked up to public waters.
Assumption One: "Water
<http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090608/NEWS01/906080313...
RSS01> gotten from the ground is more pure, tastes better, and toxin free."
But, that view is outdated. "More than 51,000 private wells in New Jersey
have been tested since this first-in-the-nation law went into effect in
2002, and 12 percent of them were found to be contaminated with at least one
pollutant, according to state officials." (6/08/09 Democrat and Chronicle)
There's no reason to think that New York State wells would not produce
figures just as grisly. Let's test all our wells and find out.
Assumption Two: "There are already plenty of recommendations and guidelines
for well users, so there's no need for another litigious intervention into
our lives." That's true; there is no lack of information provided by state
officials on guideless for safe, potable, drinking water from New York State
wells. Find out about New York State guidelines on Drinking
<http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/water/drinking> Water
Protection Program and especially Appendix
<http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/water/drinking/part5/appe...
ndex.htm> 5-B: Standards for Water Wells and Supplemental Information and
also, from the DEC Water Well Program -
<http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4997.html> NYS Dept. of Environmental
Conservation. But, there were guidelines for lead poisoning in homes and
they were largely ignored until laws for lead abatement came about. Millions
of children grew up poisoned by lead.
Assumption Three: "If your well water is not potable, simply buy bottled
water." The bottled water industry, which grows exponentially as our wells
fail, loves that. They are reaping the benefits of this assumption by taking
your water (from our lakes and streams) and selling it back to you at a far
higher price that you are paying for gasoline. Related is the issue that
most bottled water comes in plastic containers that get land filled and
leach into our ground water because the bottled water people spend millions
lobbying against recycling laws that would include these plastic containers.
Assumption Four: "If you pass a law that every well must be regulated by the
state, then there will be a great confusion as to who pays for cleaning up
the bad wells." Of course, in our country the burden of proof is put on the
victim, therefore it seems obvious that well users should just put up with
the risk. However, in a world of manmade pollution (pesticides, agricultural
overflows, landfills, brownfields we aren't cleaning up, gasoline additives,
old dumps, old orchards that were heavily sprayed with chemicals) and
natural contaminants (heavy metals and arsenic) it's an unrealistic and
unfair burden to place on well users. We have for too long allowed the
practice of using our planet as a dump. We stopped the practice of throwing
our garbage out the windows into our streets as we did until recent times,
and we can stop allowing dangerous waste into the very ground we get our
water.
Assumption Five: "It's too expensive." That's not an argument, that's a
detail for economists. Bankers since all those deregulations figured out how
to make billions from nothing: they can use their big brains to figure out
how to get all our wells tested. Besides, think of the wonderful database
that would be available about the true picture of our ground pollution if we
regulated wells as we do our municipal drinking water.
There are probably a lot of other assumptions as to why we don't regulate
well water. But, at the end of the day, they're bad assumptions. By not
regulating our wells and mandating that they we tested thoroughly and often
we blind ourselves to the extent of our pollution. That may please our
present polluters; but it only ratchets up the amount of toxins in our
water. Like with many other environmental issues, we are confusing our past
ideas of individual rights and the specter of Big Government lording over
our lives with what we are learning about the wholesale effects of our way
of living on our environment. Pollution eventually goes somewhere-into our
air, our ground, water, our children, and our future-it does not just
magically disappear. If we don't start understanding that a sustainable
environment is not only a right, but the foundation of our existence, we are
going to go the way of the dodo bird.
FrankRe...@RochesterEnvironment.com
<mailto:FrankRe...@RochesterEnvironment.com?subject=I'm%20contacting%20you%2
0from%20the%20RENewsletter> (Click on my email for feedback)
__________________________________________
NewsLinks - Environmental <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm>
NewsLinks - [Highlights of major environmental stories concerning our area
from the past week]
* Water <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Project Via
Recovery Act
* Recession <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Aging
Cars Pollute
* New <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> York Wells -
No Standards
* Tomatoes <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Blight
* Flu <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Decreasing
Here
* Environment <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> and
Plastics
* Off-Shore <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Wind NYS
* 900,00 <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> for
Specialty Crops
* NYS <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Organic
Vegetable Protection Guide
* Swimming <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Woes
* Plant <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Fungus in
Plattsburg
* Green <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Money in NYS
* 4rh <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Death Swine
Flu Suffolk Co.
* Richmond <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Water
City Water
* Landfilled <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm>
Hazardous Waste Buffalo
* Great <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Lakes
Restoration Monies
* Electric <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Vehicle
Grid
* June <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> is Rabies
Month
* Lead <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Poisoning
Testing in Children
* Precautions <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> -
Swine Flu
* Temporary <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Dumps
* Landfill <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Stuff
Origins
* Emerald <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/news.htm> Ash Borer
Update
___________________________________________
Updates - Daily Updates
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/Daily%20Updates.htm> - [Connecting the
dots on Rochester's environment. Find out what's going on environmentally in
our area-and why you should care? Clicking on
<http://rochesterenvironmentny.blogspot.com/> -DISCUSSION - will take you to
my blog "Environmental Thoughts, NY, where you can add your comments.]
* 7/04/09 - We agree that we need to curb C02 that we put into our
atmosphere, But how and how much? Listen to this debate: Recorded Jun 10
2009 Chevron + Sierra Club: Drilling
<http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/09/09-06commonground-audio.html>
for Common Ground DAVE O'REILLY, CARL POPE, ALAN MURRAY --from the
Commonwealth Club <http://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/>
* 7/02/09 - Lots of opportunities to be in and about Nature this
summer: Sterling Park Home
<http://www.cayuganet.org/sterlingpark/index.html> Page, Cayuga County New
York Check out
<http://www.cayuganet.org/sterlingpark/center/center/events.html> events:
For further information, questions, or reservations please call the Nature
Center at 315-947-6143 or email s...@co.cayuga.ny.us The Friends of The
Sterling Nature Center PO Box 216 Sterling, New York 13156 (315) 947-6143
* 7/01/09 - Get in touch with the
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/food.htm> Food you eat (in our area)
and our environment: For the Love of Food
<http://www.savorlife.com/main_food.htm> Tune in to learn about Rochester,
NY's best-kept culinary secrets. Hear restaurant recommendations,
interviews with chefs and specialty food providers.
* 7/01/09 - Green
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/Green%20Business.htm> Jobs - Learning
from others. Perhaps New Yorkers can learn about Green Jobs in the Michigan
<http://www.milmi.org/admin/uploadedPublications/1604_GreenReport_E.pdf>
Green Job Report.
_________________________________________________
Events - Rochester <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/calendar.htm>
Environmental Events Calendar - [The most complete listing of all
environmental events around the Rochester, New York area.] If you don't see
your event, or know of a local environmental event, please send me the info:
FrankRe...@RochesterEnvironment.com with (EV event) in the subject line.
* Genesee Valley Audubon society presents Painting Birds in Pastel by
artist, Gloria Betlem July 16 & 23, 7-9 pm Two delightful Tuesday evenings
This workshop is for those who like to express themselves artistically and
who love birds! Some drawing experience will help you as you learn how to
apply the luminous pastel colors which so perfectly express those of our
fair feathered friends, and we explore bird shape, color, and expression.
$40 REGISTRATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY JULY 9 please send by July 6 for
registration info: CALL 585-739-2124 or email globe...@aol.com or
wwww.gloriabetlem.com - (studio schedule) Where: Betlem~Divers Studio
6414 S. Lima Rd, Livonia Instructor: Gloria Betlem, MFA is an award winning
artist and teacher, with over thirty years experience as a pastel artist.
Her teaching style embraces your individual needs with exceptional
sensitivity and ability to communicate. She received a grant from New York
State Council on the Arts this year for her bird paintings which will be
shown this fall. Keep this date! Exhibition: "THE BIRDS" September 26 & 27,
1-5 PM Chip Holt Nature Center, Vitale Park, Lakeville, NY
* Think
<http://www.mpnnow.com/news/x998776947/Think-Green-at-the-RMSC> Green' at
the RMSC - Canandaigua, NY - MPNnow Rochester, N.Y. - The Rochester Museum
and Science Center will offer a new Family Friday program about
conservationism and environmentalism on July 24 from 12-4 p.m. (June 22, 09)
Home <http://www.mpnnow.com/> - Canandaigua, NY - MPNnow
* New York Green Fest 2009 <http://nygreenfest.org/> Share ideas and
skills for sustainable living and Green politics, August 7-9, in Alfred, NY.
Learn how to build your own wind turbine, produce videos for the internet,
make tofu, make poetry, grow nut trees, and build an earth oven. Discuss
economics as a cultural system, sustainable cities, the rights of nature,
local sovereignty, the reality of renewable energy and liberation ecology.
Listen to our plenary speakers: Virginia Rasmussen and Cyril Mychelako on
the Politics of Sustainability, Art Weaver and Dan Miner on Sustainable
Energy, Joel Kovel and Tony Gronowicz on Politics and Nature, Bill Kauffman
and Lyn Gerry on Regionalism and Sustainability, and Steve Welzer and Jason
Nabewaniec on Visioning a Green Future. Green Fest 2009 will be held on the
campus of Alfred University <http://alfred.edu/> in Alfred
<http://alfredny.org/> , NY. Alfred is in rural Allegany
<http://www.discoveralleganycounty.com/> County, 80 miles south of
Rochester. The Short Line <http://www.coachusa.com/shortline/ss.tickets.asp>
Bus runs several buses daily between Alfred, Westchester, New York City and
Long Island. Green Fest will arrange buses from Rochester for attendees.
* <http://www.hb2009.org/home> Healthy Buildings 2009
(http://www.hb2009.org), an international conference and exhibition
showcasing innovations in indoor environmental quality and healthy and
sustainable environmental technology, will be held in US for the first time
in 12 years, September 13-17, 2009. Hosted by the Syracuse Center of
Excellence and Syracuse University, ISIAQ's signature conference will draw
more than 1,000 researchers and professionals from the disciplines of
architecture, building products and services, engineering, indoor
environmental quality, public health, urban planning, and workplace
performance from more than 42 different countries. HB2009 includes
remarkable plenary speakers such as Rick Fedrizzi, Founder of USGBC, as well
as Dr. Eduardo de Oliveira Fernandes of the University of Porto in Portugal,
Dr. Yuguo Li of the University of Hong Kong, and Dr. Shin-ichi Tanabe of
Waseda University in Japan; who have each made immense contributions to the
body of research in indoor air quality and related fields. The exhibition
(http://hb2009.org/exhibition), featuring the latest advancements in green
and clean technologies and innovation, will also showcase "OppEx," an
Opportunity Exchange (http://hb2009.org/opportunity_exchange) that will
include industry-leader keynote speakers; healthy buildings and clean and
green technology product and service demonstrations; technology transfer
ideas from world-class research universities; and many more opportunities
for intellectual collisions among attendees. In today's uncertain economic
climate, the benefit of international exchange and engagement is critical.
HB2009 offers researchers, professionals, and community planners a unique
opportunity to think strategically about the direction of industry and
technology through academic and industry collaboration in a world going
green. For more information about the conference and exhibition please visit
our website at www.hb2009.org, or contact clmat...@syr.edu. Also, in
addition to the rates currently listed on the web site, there is also a $25
one-day exhibition pass for those wishing to be a part of HB2009 on a
limited budget.
* Help Clean Up the World and put your activity on the global
environmental map! Held in partnership with the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), Clean Up the World is one of the world's largest
community-based environmental campaigns with an estimated 35 million
volunteers from 120 countries participating annually in environmental
activities. Join the campaign and put your group and its activity on the
global environmental map by visiting activities.cleanuptheworld.org
<http://activities.cleanuptheworld.org/index.html?lang_id=en> . Activities
can be conducted year round, however the campaign's flagship event, Clean Up
the World Weekend (18-20 September 2009) is a global celebration of the
environmental actions and achievements of participants. Joining Clean Up
the World is simple: │ Register online:
http//:activities.cleanuptheworld.org
<http://activities.cleanuptheworld.org/index.html?lang_id=en> │ Email:
i...@cleanuptheworld.org │ Visit: www.cleanuptheworld.org
<http://www.cleanuptheworld.org/> │ Call: +61 2 9692 0700 │ Post: 18 Bridge
Road, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia. Clean Up
<http://www.cleanuptheworld.org/en> Clean Up the World partners with the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to inspire and assist
communities to "clean up, fix up and conserve their local environment"
through carrying out initiatives ranging from waste removal and tree
planting to water and energy conservation projects. Clean Up the World and
its participating organisations mobilise an estimated 35 million volunteers
from more than 120 countries annually.
* October 24, 2009 is <http://www.350.org/> INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE
ACTION DAY, and is being coordinated by 350.org, the grassroots organizing
brainchild of Bill McKibben. The idea is to mobilize grassroots groups all
over the world to hold highly visible public / media events on 10/24/09.
Each event should highlight the number 350-the maximum global atmospheric
concentration of carbon dioxide (in parts per million- ppm) that is safe for
the long term. We are already up to 387, and increasing. For more details:
http://www.350.org/ We need to do something in Rochester, and to be worth
doing, it should be a coordinated effort between several groups, and
something creative, eye-catching:. Media-worthy! That's the point-to have
media worldwide show that there is a groundswell of popular support for a
global treaty (successor to Kyoto), and that therefore world leaders must
craft a plan to bring levels down to 350 ppm by the time they leave the
international climate talks in Copenhagen in December of this year. Are you
interested in helping? If this is to be done, we would need people to:
Reach out to other groups/ organizations to see what they are doing, and try
to coordinate (for all I know, there is already an effort planned that we
could work with) Be creative- come up with a good location / "shtick" to
make it media-worthy Recruit others Contact media
_________________________________________________
Action - Take <http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/action.htm> Action -
Often, I receive request to pass on alerts, petitions, Public Comments on
local developments, and environmental items needing action by the Rochester
Community and around the world. I'll keep Actions posted until their due
date.
* I'm passing on this interesting proposal: Clean Water, Clean Air and
Green Jobs Bond Act. For those of us [the public] who helped the banks who
almost failed save our bailout monies, now it's time for us to consider a
bill that would protect our environment and help create green jobs. So, on
the face of it, this bill seems especially timely: the proposed
<http://www.gbcnys.agc.org/public/GBCnews/09/09.03.19BondAct.pdf> Clean
Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Bond Act - A writer suggests: "The $5
Billion Clean Water, Clean Air & Green Jobs Bond Act of 2009 as it is
proposed would vastly expand opportunities for conservation beyond state and
federally funded programs and initiatives. Voter-approved bond proceeds
would be utilized for state environmental projects that protect our water,
land and air and create jobs. Funding created through this initiative would
make long-term improvements to our environmental infrastructure and natural
resources, energy efficiency, transit, building weatherization, public
health protection and economic development. The Bond Act would build upon
the federal stimulus and provide a significant investment to further New
York's economic recovery through environmentally friendly capital
investments. It was our intent in the development of this proposal to
have the largest economic benefit as possible and in areas where their were
natural fits - seek to elevate some of the burdens put on local
municipalities - such as wastewater and drinking water infrastructure,
energy efficiency program, brownfields cleanup and environmental remediation
program funding, as well as traditional conservation efforts like the
protection of open space, habitat restoration and parks. As you will see
from the attached draft case statement, there are areas that could have a
significant benefit regions across the state - including the Rochester
area." Here's more Working
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/images/2009.3.19%20WORKING%20DRAF...
S%202009%20Environmental%20Bond%20CASE%20STATEMENT.doc> Daft NYS 2009
Environmental Bond Case Statement | ASSEMBLY
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/images/ASSEMBLY%20STANDING%20COMM...
20ON%20ENVIRONMENTAL%20CONSERVATION.doc> STANDING COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
__________________________________________________
Award - Environmental
<http://www.rochesterenvironment.com/Environmental%20Site%20Award.htm> Site
of the Month Award - [On the last Sunday of each month, we present an
environmental award for the Rochester-area environmental web site or blog
that best promotes the need to protect and offers solutions for our area's
environmental issues.]
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