Tag: Environment

Jan 18

2013

Lack of ice in Great Lakes threatens economy, ecology

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There is less ice cover on the Great Lakes, which poses numerous economic and ecological problems, scientists say. The map above is a snapshot of the Great Lakes for January 17, showing very little ice cover so far. Normally, Lake Erie would be iced over by the second week of February. For example, watch this ice coverage video that shows each winter day, frame by frame, in 2007. George Leshkevich, a physical scientist with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said that while there is variability in the data, trends show there is less ice coverage on the Great Lakes over the past 40[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Jan 11

2013

Is climate change ‘rampaging our planet?’

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I find it ironic that after writing about Buffalo shattering its annual average temperature in 2012 that we may experience a weekend with 60 degree temperatures. In January? Really? Jay Burney, who founded the Learning Sustainability Campaign, believes too many people are in denial about climate change. His Dec. 2 opinion piece in The Buffalo News contends that rising temperatures and its impacts have reached an emergency level in Western New York. One of the first meetings I attended when I moved here was the Western New York Environmental Alliance’s quarterly meeting at the Marcy Casino in Delaware Park. The WNYEA is a[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Jan 10

2013

Buffalo shatters temperature record

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Some weather experts believe the record-breaking heat in 2012 is a warning that the frequency of extreme weather will increase in Western New York and the nation. The average temperature in the United States for 2012 was 55.3 degrees, which is 3.2 degrees above the 20th Century average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s State of the Climate report. The new record national average temperature is 1 degree hotter than the previous one, set in 1998. The temperature climbed even more in Buffalo. In 1998, Buffalo recorded its highest average temperature at 50.9 degrees. This record was shattered in 2012 by[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Nov 28

2012

Texting out idling trucks around Peace Bridge

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More light may be shed on just how big of a problem idling trucks are for the Lower West Side. The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and the Clean Air Coalition of WNY launched a program this week called Grow 716 that allows people to text a six-digit number whenever they see an idling heavy-duty engine truck or bus in the Lower West Side. The foundation provided the technology and the Clean Air Coalition will be responsible for the outreach campaign. This is how it works: If you see an idling truck in the Lower West Side, text TRUCK to[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Nov 25

2012

Q&A: Stephanie Simeon

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Stephanie Simeon is executive director of Heart of the City Neighborhoods, a non-profit housing development corporation serving Buffalo’s Lower West Side. Simeon, 31, is a native of Brooklyn who moved to Buffalo to attend the University at Buffalo, where she earned an undergraduate degree in social science and master’s degree in urban planning. She serves on the board of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women. Last year she was selected by Business First as one of the region’s top 40 young people under 40. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Simeon on Nov. 20. A 4 minute, 45[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Nov 21

2012

Become an environmental crime stopper

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Polluting a stream and getting away with it? Violating the Clean Air Act without detection? Now, anyone with a smartphone can help bust abusers of the environment. New York State Crime Stoppers announced a new phone app that makes it very easy for people to instantly report environmental crimes to the appropriate agency. Cellfare created the app in collaboration with Crime Stoppers, Waterkeeper Alliance, state police and local law enforcement agencies across the state. Not only is there an “Environmental Tip Submit” button, but users can also send tips of other criminal activity, such as robberies and assaults. I just downloaded the app and gave[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Nov 19

2012

UB pulls plug on Shale Institute

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The dark cloud is dissipating over the University at Buffalo and its short-lived Shale Resources and Society Institute. UB President Satish K. Tripathi announced Monday he has closed the institute. The decision comes seven months after the institute released a controversial study that claimed instances of pollution related to the process of natural gas drilling called hydrofracking declined 60 percent from 2008 to August 2011 because of regulation in Pennsylvania. As a result, the Marcellus industry cut incidences of environmental violations by more than half in three years, the study claimed. Artvoice exposed the institute before the university ever announced its existence, raising questions[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Nov 15

2012

Breaking down the idling story

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Yes, it’s true that diesel truck engines run cleaner than they did a decade ago. But it doesn’t mean you should go ahead and inhale the fumes from thousands of trucks on a daily basis. There’s a law in New York that prohibits heavy-duty diesel engines from idling for more than five minutes under normal circumstances and that law is not being enforced, especially on the Lower West Side, where there is a long history of respiratory problems. That’s the basis of my report published on investigativepost.org and broadcast on WGRZ TV. The lack of enforcement here is not a[...]

Posted 13 years ago
Investigative Post