Categories for GreenPost

Sep 21

2012

WNYEA White Paper: ‘A biocentric viewpoint is needed now’

Published by Dan Telvock

Canadian scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki coined the phrase “A Biocentric viewpoint is needed now,” but it’s become the mantra of a white paper that the Western New York Environmental Alliance released this week. Suzuki wrote in his first research paper after leaving his day job that environmentalism has failed because the worldview is that humans are consumers of earth, not a part of it. The white paper came from the Western New York Environmental Alliance Habitat and Natural Resources Working Group, Jay Burney, Joseph Schmidbauer, Larry Beahan and Art Klein. In it they wrote: It is time for us[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 20

2012

Grist Answers 5 Fracking Questions

Published by Dan Telvock

Got questions about hydrofracking? Turn to Grist for at least five answers. Here’s Grist’s Fracking FAQ. One tidbit that popped out at me was this: A study published in May 2011 in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found a link between methane in drinking water supplies and proximity to shale gas drilling. Seven months later, the EPA said for the first time that chemicals used in fracking had been found in drinking water in Pavillion, Wyo., home to hundreds of natural gas wells. And in July 2012, the U.S. EPA said its tests of wells around[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 18

2012

Former N. Tonawanda Brownfield Site Gets Grant

Published by Dan Telvock

A redevelopment grant from National Grid will bring more life to the former contaminated brownfield site that’s now the Buffalo Bolt Business Park on Oliver Street in North Tonawanda, the company announced Monday. The site is the former home of Buffalo Bolt Corporation and Roblin Steel. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has certified the 23-acre light-industrial and manufacturing business park as clean and shovel ready for new development after the state and city spent about $3.4 million on clean-up efforts. Lumber City Development Corporation, which helps the city with redevelopment efforts, applied for the funding. “This grant of $190,000[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 18

2012

EPA’s Brownfield Program Scrutinized

Published by Dan Telvock

The Investigative News Network coordinated an investigation of the EPA’s brownfield program and uncovered numerous problems, including richer communities getting more cleanup funding and that there aren’t enough federal dollars to get rid of the contamination at these sites across the country. The investigation also uncovered how there is a lack of monitoring and the EPA doesn’t even know how well its program is working in terms of remediating contaminated brownfields because it doesn’t have any standards for the clean-up efforts. All in all, it’s a great read and very informative. Western New York has 98 Brownfield programs. Of those[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 16

2012

‘Frack’-tured faculty at UB over shale gas study

Published by Dan Telvock

Charles F. Zukoski, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for University at Buffalo, this week called for a committee to review policies and practices for research, scholarships and publications in light of the controversy with the university’s Shale Research and Society Institute’s (SRSI) study on shale gas exploration. Artvoice also has some eye-opening documents in its investigation of the controversy. That SRSI study used data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to show that instances of pollution related to hydrofracking declined 60 percent from 2008 to August 2011 because of regulation. Hydrofracking is the practice of[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 12

2012

Peace Bridge battle reaches Elmwood Village

Published by Dan Telvock

West side residents and environmentalists who want commercial truck traffic banned on the Peace Bridge presented their case in Elmwood Village for the first time Wednesday night at Lafayette Presbyterian Church. About 30 people attended the informational meeting, which was held the same day that Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the completion of a white paper on Peace Bridge corridor air quality by the departments of Transportation, Environmental Conservation, and Health. The Buffalo West Side Environmental Defense Fund organized the meeting. Kathy Mecca, president of the west side Columbus Park Association, and Dr. Jamson S. Lwebuga-Mukasa presented the information. The west[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 11

2012

Lackawanna incinerator under study

Published by Dan Telvock

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has launched an investigation of the Lackawanna Incinerator Site on South Park Avenue that has already been noted to have high levels of lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, both carcinogens. The DEC will determine the nature and extent of contamination to the soil, surface water and groundwater on the 1.57-acre property, as well as: Identify sources of contamination. Assess the impact any contamination is having on public health and the environment. Provide information on proposed remedies. According to a DEC fact sheet, the City of Lackawanna owns the property and uses it for its[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 10

2012

Introducing iPost’s green blog

Published by Dan Telvock

My boss Jim Heaney tells me it’s been well over a decade since a media outlet in Buffalo assigned a reporter full time to cover the environment, the job I was hired to do. So I guess I’m the living embodiment of the adage “everything old is new again.” My assignment is covering environmental issues in Buffalo and Western New York. My work will include in-depth investigations, analysis, daily stories, blog posts and social media. I will be out in the community a lot, especially in the coming months to meet people and learn about what environmental challenges exist in[...]

Posted 12 years ago