Tag: Environment

Apr 18

2013

NY’s toxic disposal of mercury thermostats

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New York has a dismal record when it comes to collecting thermostats that contain mercury and legislation that might help hasn’t passed both chambers for years. The result is that these toxic thermostats end up in landfills and leach into land and water—nearly a ton of mercury annually in New York alone.  Keeping mercury out of landfills and the environment is important because it is a toxic pollutant that can make fish inedible and cause brain and liver damage, along with behavioral and developmental problems in children and fetuses. The EPA conducted a study in 2004 that found more than[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 4

2013

Peace Bridge road project not a done deal

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Governor Andrew Cuomo a month ago announced a project to reconfigure traffic routes leading to and from the Peace Bridge as all but a done deal. Not so fast. The $22 million project faces a review that officials want to expedite to finish in a year. Part of the process involves something that project planners have resisted to this point, but which Cuomo advocated for when he was running for governor: consulting with neighborhoods populated with low-income residents and minorities on projects with potential health and environmental consequences. State officials believe the project will improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 4

2013

Asian carp invasion of Great Lakes looms

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By Justin Sondel Two boys stood at the end of a dock off the shore of Grand Island on a hot day last July casting fishing lines into the shallow water, time after time pulling up small rock bass from the edges of the Niagara River. The boys are Parker and Connor Cinelli, two of Chris Cinelli’s sons. They are waiting for their dad to finish preparing his 2025 Lund Pro V, which Chris describes as the Cadillac of fishing boats, before they head out onto the largest freshwater system in the world for an afternoon of angling. Chris, a[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 2

2013

Cuomo: Tonawanda health report “very troubling”

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One of the nation’s biggest environmental trials wrapped up last week in federal court in Buffalo against Tonawanda Coke, almost a month after the state Department of Health released a report that found elevated levels of cancer and birth defects in neighborhoods that surround that industrial corridor. Gov. Andrew Cuomo was at University at Buffalo this morning to talk about the recently passed state budget and afterwards the press was ushered behind a black curtain in a tight corner to shout out questions on a range of topics. Someone may not have gotten the governor up to speed on how[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 13

2013

Buffalo a little greener in Lower West Side

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In the summer it is not unusual to see children swimming in Black Rock Canal directly across from a pipe that can spew untreated sewer, storm runoff and toxic industrial chemicals into the water. As gross and dangerous as that sounds, the following details may not be for those with weak stomachs. Consider yourself warned. Each year about 52 million gallons of untreated storm runoff, industrial waste water and sewage enter Black Rock Canal. There are 14 permitted overflow pipes in this canal alone. Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper says some of the bacteria tests it conducted in the canal showed E. coli[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 12

2013

New York hydrofracking decision soon?

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Health Commissioner Shah says he could have a decision to the governor in a few weeks on whether to allow hydraulic fracturing. Neither the governor nor Shah said they need to wait for the results of a study that will look at health histories of scores of people living near natural gas wells.

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 5

2013

Recycling gains traction in Buffalo schools

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More Buffalo schools are using green totes to recycle that will help boost the city’s recycling rate. Investigative Post reported in November that only two schools were using the totes that were distributed to residents early last year, and that the district wasn’t doing much otherwise to promote recycling, although some individuals schools were. Since then, 13 more schools have started using the city’s green totes. Allied Waste has also agreed to accept all recyclables in Dumpsters that had only accepted cardboard and paper. “In the current pilot, we have 15 sites that are recycling with the green totes/city program[...]

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post