On the Alert

•Lights Out: The New York Light Pollution bill (A.5352) was vetoed by Governor Pataki on February 1. With his veto, the Governor attached a three-page veto message outlining his concerns. Ironically, most had already been addressed in a companion bill, A.9757, which he ignored. Sensible and Efficient Lighting to Enhance the Nighttime Environment (SELENE) has posted a statement on the veto, and an annotated reaction to the Governor’s veto message, on its website: http://selene-ny.org. Write the Governor, major newspapers in your area, and your state representatives expressing disapproval with the Governor’s action and reinforcing the need for light pollution legislation in New York. To join SELENE’s email listserve, send an email to: majordomo@ggw.org. Leave the subject line blank and in the body of the message, type: subscribe sensiblelighting-list and your email address. For more information, call David Higby, Environmental Advocates of NY, 518-462-5526 ext. 239 or email dhigby@eany.org.

•Bloomberg's Bombshell: When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg moved his budget release up one day to February 13, he freely admitted it was to avoid headlines like "Bloomberg's Valentine's Day Massacre." Recycling advocates can appreciate why. The mayor's proposals included the elimination of staff positions for promoting waste prevention within city agencies, slashing pilot projects for waste prevention and recycling and suspending curbside pickup of metal, glass and plastic. But perhaps the mayor's biggest shocker was his plan to personally lobby in Albany for repeal of the state bottle bill in the city and its replacement with a five cent tax on beverage containers. These schemes are not only bad environmental policy – picking up the recyclables saves 258 thousand barrels of crude oil a year, avoiding 45 thousand tons of greenhouse gas emissions – but they are bad fiscal policy as well. Getting rid of the bottle bill in the city would cause hundreds of thousands of tons of glass (currently handled without taxpayer expense) to be dumped into the city's solid waste stream, adding to the costly export of refuse to out-of-state landfills and incinerators. There are better, more cost-effective ways to save money and resources. Call EANY’s David Higby at 518-463-5526 ext. 239 or visit: www.eany.org, for updates.

•Dangerous Curbs: New York City-based Transportation Alternatives (TA) is launching Reclaiming the Sidewalks, a four-part advocacy campaign that calls for safe, clear, wide and new sidewalks. Call the Mayor’s Quality of Life Hotline at 888-677-LIFE (5433) and tell Mayor Bloomberg you are fed up with cars parking on sidewalks, news boxes, illegal vendors, crowded narrow sidewalks, broken pavement and missing curb cuts. Or email the Mayor at pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov. Call 212-629-8080 or visit www.transalt.org/sidewalks for more information.

•Capitol Connection: Spend Earth Day in Albany with hundreds of citizen activists from across the state. Earth Day Lobby Day, featuring advocacy and education and a state Capitol rally, will take place on April 22. Call EDLD Coordinator Laura DiBetta at 518-462-5526 ext. 221 or email edld@eany.org for more details.

For Your Information

Remember Rachel: A Sense of Wonder, a one-woman play about the life and work of Rachel Carson, will be performed by Kaiulani Lee at RPI’s Chapel and Cultural Center (2125 Burdett Avenue, Troy) on Friday, March 22 at 7:30PM. The performance is sponsored by the Regional Farm and Food Project, in association with other Capital District environmental, health, and educational organizations. Tickets are now on sale for $20 through RFFP (148 Central Ave., 2nd Fl., Albany; 518-427-6537) or at The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza. Senior citizens and full-time students with valid ID will be able to purchase tickets at the door for reduced rates ($10 and $5 respectively).

Shore Enough: Scenic Hudson’s Fifth Annual Great River Sweep will run April 20-28. Help clean trash from the shorelines and tributaries of the Hudson River. Coordinators are needed to organize cleanups in their communities; volunteers are needed to participate. Last year alone, more than 50 tons of trash were removed from public spaces. Free garbage bags, gloves, cleanup memorabilia and training is provided. Call Evan Weissman at the Great River Sweep Hotline, 845-473-TIDE, or email volunteer@scenichudson.org.

Great Ideas: The Great Lakes Environmental Directory is an extensive online resource of environmental information related to the Great Lakes basin. The Directory includes an online library of hundreds of Great Lakes environmental articles and contact information for over 1,000 organizations. Also included are Great Lakes activist resources, such as grants, free environmental software/downloads, advocacy tools and other environmental resources. Visit the Directory at: www.greatlakesdirectory.org.

Building Blocks: Good Jobs New York has launched a new project geared to help grassroots constituencies understand and influence the process of rebuilding lower Manhattan. Through its research and publications, Reconstruction Watch will provide these New Yorkers and the organizations that assist and represent them with timely information that they can use to participate effectively in the reconstruction process. For more information, call 212-414-9394, email gjny@ctj.org, or visit: www.goodjobsny.org.

Activists' Corner

Solid Citizens: Concerned Citizens of Cattaraugus County (CCCC) celebrated it’s 10th anniversary last year. The group’s work includes researching and distributing information to the people of Cattaraugus County and Western New York, and throughout the state. CCCC’s focus is on solid and toxic waste issues.
    CCCC recently succeeded in shutting down a garbage incinerator operated at the Franklinville Elementary School. Now the group is fighting the proposed Farmersville landfill. The dump would accept 690,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year – the county produces about 50,000 tons per year. About one million tons of permitted landfill space, 95 percent of it in Western New York, goes unused every year.
   For more information, contact CCCC at Box 23, Franklinville, NY 14737-0023, gabraham@eznet.net, or visit the group’s website, www.homestead.com/concernedcitizens, for updates on solid waste activism in NYS.

March

3: Population and Sustainability, a forum sponsored by the Population and Sustainability Committee of the Sierra Club-Rochester. Room 110, First Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Rd. (I-490). 1:00PM-3:00PM. Call Hal Bauer at 585-335-2623.

5: Public hearing on the Draft NYS Energy Plan. Department of Environmental Conservation Public Assembly Room, 625 Broadway, Albany. Sessions at 9:00AM and 1:00PM. For a copy of the Draft Energy Plan visit: www.nyserda.org or call 1-866-NYSERDA.

6: Nuclear Power, Indian Point, Terrorism, and Our Solar Future, seminar featuring Harvey Wasserman and hosted by the Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action. Benziger Hall Conference Room, Manhattanville College, Purchase. 5:00PM-7:00PM. Call 914-323-7156.

7-8: Sustaining Seascapes: The Science and Policy of Marine Resource Management, the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation’s Seventh Annual Biodiversity Symposium. American Museum of Natural History, NYC. Fees vary. Call 212-769-5200.

7-9: Safe Farms, Safe Food, Safe Futures, a conference for concerned citizens and farmers featuring author Jo Robinson. Sponsored by the Mohawk Valley Library Association. Schenectady. Fees vary. Call 518-355-2010. Also: community dialogue on 3/18 in Johnsville.

9: Building Stronger Farmers’ Markets: A Peer Workshop for Farmers’ Market Vendors, Organizers, Managers, Sponsors, and Volunteers, sponsored by Regional Farm and Food Project. St. John’s Lutheran Church, 160 Central Ave., Albany. 8:30AM-3:30PM. Call 518-427-6537.

12: Survivors Speak Out, 4th Annual NYS Breast Cancer Network Advocacy Day. Join hundreds of cancer survivors and activists in Albany lobbying for changes in health and environmental policies to prevent cancer and improve access to quality health care. Call Margaret Roberts at 518-462-4472.

19: GMO Lobby Day, sponsored by NYPIRG, Environmental Advocates of NY (EANY), NOFA-NY, NYS Greens, and others. Promote state legislation to regulate and curtail the genetic engineering of food. Meet at 107 Washington Ave., Albany. 9:30AM. Register with Audrey Thier, EANY, at athier@vgernet.net or 518-462-5526, ext. 236.

22: A Sense of Wonder, a one-woman play about the life and work of Rachel Carson, sponsored by the Regional Farm & Food Project. RPI’s Chapel and Cultural Center, 2125 Burdett Ave., Troy. 7:30PM. Seniors $10, students $5, all others $20. (See FYI.)

23: The Clean Water Act at 30: Time to Keep the Promise, presented by The Bronx Council for Environmental Quality. Manhattan College, Leo Engineering Bldg., 3825 Corlear Avenue, Bronx. 12:00PM-5:00PM. Call 718-885-3074.

April

1: Hudson River PCBs and the Health of River Communities: A Symposium for Health Professionals on the Health Impacts of PCBs. Inn at Saratoga, 231 Broadway, Saratoga. 5:30PM-9:00PM. Call Clearwater at 845-454-7673.

20: Softball tournament to benefit EPL/Environmental Advocates. Get a team together and have a ball. Team with most runs gets a prize. Lincoln Park, Albany. 12:00PM-6:00PM. Free food and beer. Call Ericka Small at 518-462-5526 ext. 234 or email: esmall@eany.org.

20-28: Scenic Hudson’s Fifth Annual Great River Sweep. Help clean trash from the shorelines and tributaries of the Hudson River. Call 845-473-TIDE. (See FYI.)

22: Earth Day Lobby Day 2002. Albany. 9:00AM-4:00PM. Call Laura DiBetta, Environmental Advocates of NY, 518-462-5526, ext. 221, or email edld@eany.org. (See On the Alert.)