Tag: Environment

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 11 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 11 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 11 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 11 years ago

Nov 15

2012

DEC idling on enforcement

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Diesel fumes permeate the air near the gate to the Peace Bridge Duty Free store as nearby trucks idle in traffic and parking lots. The idling trucks are a sore spot for residents of the West Side that borders the bridge and its plaza on the American side. Diesel fumes contribute to air pollution believed to be partly responsible for health problems – including asthma rates nearly four times higher than the national average – among residents on the city’s lower West Side, according to Dr. Jamson S. Lwebuga-Mukasa, a leading researcher of air quality in the neighborhood. The World Health[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Nov 15

2012

Perfect day to start recycling

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Today is the perfect day to start recycling if you haven’t already. Why? Because it is America Recycles Day. This morning, the Buffalo Recycling Alliance gave an award to the Community Charter School on Edison Avenue, which I mentioned in this article about the city school system’s challenges with boosting recycling in all of the schools. About 25 students were in attendance for the award and then there was an assembly on recycling at the school for all elementary students. There was a lot of excitement in the room as the students realized they were being recognized for recycling. “Not everyone[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Nov 7

2012

Obama finally mentions global warming

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Although it only lasted about a second, the president finally mentioned global warming outside of the MTV interview he did last month. In his victory speech this morning after defeating Mitt Romney, Obama may have signaled that he’s going to end his silence on global warming during his second term. Here’s what he said early this morning in Chicago: “But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Nov 6

2012

Being more sustainable…

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Sustainability is the new big thing. Although it is a long-term approach, sustainability makes a clear connection with the environment, the economy and how we live in the world. What level of social responsibility do you take to live a more sustainable lifestyle? To see sustainability on a local level, check out this interview that Kristen Kaszubowski, the social media assistant for GrowWNY, did with  Aliesa Adelman, a sustainable design coordinator at Wendel Companies. One portion of the interview that struck me was when Kaszubowski asked how one could be more sustainable in their daily practices. Recycling is one way to live[...]

Posted 11 years ago
Investigative Post

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