Visit us on the web at www.fcwc.org

WestchesterEnvironmentPublished by Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Inc. Dedicated to environmental

planning and education in Westchester County Vol. 2010 No.2 Spring 2010Printed on recycled paper

FCWC’s Redesigned Web Site Launches in AprilFCWC is pleased to announce the launch of our newly designed website at www.FCWC.org by mid April!

The new website, with a vibrant look and new logo, highlights our current initiatives, lists upcoming FCWC and other area events and provides information on our member organiza-tions. We have started a list of “Green Resources” which includes old favorites such as the Westchester Environmental Directory (currently undergoing updating), as well as book rec-ommendations and favorite websites. We also added new features such as a Facebook page that allows us to share events and information in real time with members, a blog to keep you posted on the latest green news and green events and action alerts on important environmental issues you can participate in, located conveniently on the front page.

Please e-mail us at info@fcwc.org to let us know what you think. Feedback is crucial to continuously improve upon this site and best utilize it as a tool for advocacy and education.

We thank our website designers, board and staff members who have made this launch a suc-cess, in particular: Judith Martin, Sharon Pickett and Adiel Gavish as well as littleb design.

After Copenhagen - Next StepsBy Richard Ottinger, Dean Emeritus, Pace University Law School

The Copenhagen climate conference was by no means the disastrous failure depicted in much of the press. While it did not achieve the major commitments of emission reductions required to meet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

requirements for avoiding catastrophic consequences and did not end in a binding treaty, the organizers of the conference had made it clear at the outset that this could not be expected in a time of unprecedented global recession and with so many complex issues to be resolved. Indeed, it will be a miraculous accomplishment to achieve these goals at the next meeting in Mexico in November 2010.

The conference made major strides, however, in bringing the emerging nations (Brazil, South Africa, India & China) to the table. The commitments of the U. S. and European coun-tries to developing countries of $30 billion by 2012 and $100 billion annually by 2020 are of major significance. The progress on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and technology transfer is important.

Much remains to be done. The consequences of inaction are so serious that the outstand-ing challenges simply must be met. In my view, the key requirements are:

1. Obtaining global commitments in the range of 25-40% emission reductions by 2020 and 80% by 2050 and their allocations;

2. Getting a substantial majority of countries to sign on to the Copenhagen Accord;

3. Determining whether a top-down or bottom up commitment of emission reductions will be adopted;

FCWC Annual Meeting to be at Beczak Center in Yonkers

By Staff FCWC will hold its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, June 1st, the usual week for this meeting, but this year we’ll enjoy views of the Hudson River from the Beczak Envi-ronmental Center in Yonkers during the event. This year we will also recognize several outstanding student environmentalists, as we last did in 2006 when FCWC inaugurated our first Edith G. Read Award for students who exhibit the same spirit, and enthusiasm as Edith. Join us and network with FCWC members and friends for this popular picnic gathering. For information call the FCWC office at 914-422-4053.

4. Determining the procedures by which agreement will be reached under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to avoid the requirement of unanimity, or adopting another forum for making the decisions;

5. Distributing the quick-start $30 billion to developing countries very rapidly and the sources, disbursement methodology and conditions of this and the $100 billion annual transfer;

6. Tying down verification requirements;

7. Educating the public about the realities of climate change and the consequences of inadequate mitigation and adaptation.

These will be major challenges, but if the will is there, I think they can be met.

Dean Ottinger was one of FCWC’s honor-ees at our Benefit last fall. He attended the Copenhagen conference as a delegate of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources to the United Nations (IUCN) and the Grantmakers Asso-ciation; and is Board Chair Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

Presidents’ Message

Page 2 WESTCHESTER ENVIRONMENT Vol 2010 No 2

Westchester Environment is published byFederated Conservationistsof Westchester County, Inc.

E House ~ 78 North BroadwayWhite Plains, NY 10603

(914) 422-4053info@fcwc.orgwww.fcwc.org

Adiel Gavish – Program Director

Board of DirectorsSteven Levy and Sharon Pickett – Co-Presidents

Jason Klein - Vice PresidentJudith Martin – Vice President

Robert Carroll – SecretaryLaurence O’Connell and

Carolyn Cunningham Co-Treasurers

Jan Blaire, Lisa Copeland,

Herbert Fox, Robert Funicello, Carole Griffiths, Cesare Manfredi, Maureen Morgan, Oreon Sandler,

Nortrud W. Spero, Frederick W. Turner

WE Newsletter Staff: Carolyn Cunningham

Jeff Green, Production and Website

Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Inc. is a coalition of environmental organizations and

individuals. Represented in it is a diversity of opinions. The FCWC Board of Directors takes positions on some

environmental issues. Signed articles appearing in Westchester Environment are the views of the authors

and not necessarily those of the FCWC Board.

Time to Walk the WalkBy Steven J. Levy, Co-President

Unless you’re living on some desolate island, which surely would be very energy efficient, every day we hear, read, speak the watchwords of being green, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing climate change, reducing carbon footprints,

renewable energy, sustainability, energy efficiency and so on.

As a nation and here in the County of Westchester, we’ve come a long way from our environmental activities of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. We’ve made many positive advances. Yes, the FCWC is still concerned about the Hudson River, Davids Island, and open space, but the days of dumping motor oil in the sewer system or in the back of the repair garage, lighting fires to burn leaves and other garbage, throwing newspapers and bottles into land fills, inhaling black smoke spewing from buses, trucks and apartment houses, still may occur but is not the norm. Our air and waterways are dramatically cleaner. But we still have work to do given the explosion in energy use world wide and increased waste. We have learned of Global Warming/Climate Change since this time and, whether you are a believer or not, everyone can surely agree as a society we must increase energy efficiency and reduce/reuse waste streams. As a community, we must all have a stake and commitment to this effort - in order to achieve a sustainable future for the collective well being of people

As a whole, we all desire to do the right thing personally and at work. But changing our lifestyle and habits may not be easy particularly in these days of poor economic conditions. We don’t have to change our way of life entirely. Efforts to purchase energy star appliances, bring plastic bags to the supermarket and leave our recyclables for street pick-up are not enough. Purchasing the Prius or using electric hybrid busses is not enough. These efforts are great and necessary but we need to do more, plenty more.

John Nolon on Transit Oriented Development

By Sharon Pickett, Co-President

John Nolon isn’t your run of the mill environmentalist. Sure, he recycles, turns off the lights when he leaves the room, thinks before he prints out emails and has been known to return toner cartridges. But John Nolon takes activism to the next level. John is the

James A. Hopkins Professor of Law at Pace University School of Law in White Plains, the founder of Pace’s innovative Land Use Law Center and Visiting Professor at the Yale School

of Forestry and Environmental Studies. I sat down with John recently at his home in Tarrytown and asked him how individuals, municipalities and businesses can achieve something as vast as managing climate change by something as down to earth (literally!) as managing development.

Nolon, his colleagues and students are convinced that Transit Oriented Development - offering more energy-efficient, affordable housing near public transit – is one important way to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Working with urban areas in the lower Hudson Valley, the group is offer-ing innovative strategies to make these areas as livable as possible.

The challenges facing these municipali-ties, according to Nolon, spring from the U.S. Census Bureau’s projections that by 2030 the population of the U. S. will increase by 100 million people – most of whom will want to live in urban areas. “Why urban areas?” I asked. “Simply because these predominately younger people will want the exciting, vibrant environment the urban setting provides, don’t want to commute to work, want to live within walking distance of shops and leisure activi-ties, and dislike the idea, and costs, of a two car household” said Nolon , “making these urban areas popular, trendy places to live and work”.

As we all know, today there is no silver bullet to replace fossil fuels and to halt or eliminate the runaway issues of waste and lack of energy efficiency let alone significantly reduce greenhouse emissions. As a result, locally, regionally, nationally and around the world there are multiple initiatives un-derway. In Westchester County over a dozen municipalities have been implementing plans to reduce their carbon footprint. The County began a program four years ago; The Gover-nor has created a Climate Change Advisory Panel; Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) is charged with producing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) under the guidelines of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by governors from eleven northeastern states. The U.S. EPA has recently announced their new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS 2) regulation while discussions move forward for a new Energy Climate Bill.

These are all important and necessary initiatives. But we must do more. We need a total culture change. We must change habits and instill good stewardship in ourselves, busi-nesses, and most importantly, in our children. The result will be a healthier and less costly , and more efficient place to live.

Nolon and his students from both his pro-grams at Yale and Pace are working together to help municipalities meet these challenges. By compiling new land use plans, updating zoning ordinances, and developing modern energy and green building codes, they have assembled a database of information that can be used as a resource by local officials and advocates to build new (or modify existing) earth-friendly structures. These structures will use less energy and water, produce less run-off and carbon emissions per capita, encourage mass transit, are pedestrian and bicycle friendly and provide settings for social interactions and an active community. An example of this work can be seen in the recent development of the Yonkers waterfront, with its vibrant restaurants, market rate housing and, lively central business district.

So yes, it appears that we can attempt to manage the effects of climate change by managing how we develop our urban areas, and John Nolon and his students are showing us how it can be done.

Vol 2010 No 2 WESTCHESTER ENVIRONMENT Page 3

FCWC welcomes articles from our members.

Please email them to: fcwc@fcwc.org

or call Carolyn Cunninghman at: (914) 422-4053

Should I Care? Bottled Water vs Tap Water

By Staff

Elizabeth Royte, prize-winning author of Bottlemania: Big Business, Local Springs, and the Battle over America’s Drinking Water, will speak about the global fresh water crisis, the backlash against bottled water and its carbon footprint, and the future of this vital

resource at a FCWC sponsored meeting on Tuesday, May 4th at Wainwright House in Rye.

In the follow-up to Garbage Land, her influential investigation into our modern trash crisis, Ms. Royte ventures to Fryeburg, Maine, to look deep into the source of Poland Spring water. Royte examines the state of tap water today, and the social impact of water-hungry multinationals sinking ever more pumps into tiny rural towns. Whether it’s water favored by bottled water connoisseurs or water in cheap plastic bottles, sales of bottled water have jumped by billions of dollars since Perrier became popular in the 1980s. So which is better, bottled or tap? Learn about how we can protect ourselves and our right to know what is in our drinking water. (See the Calendar on page four for details.)

FCWC Co-sponsors Series on Energy Efficient Homes

By Staff

As part of its efforts to encourage green building, FCWC is the co-sponsor of a series of educational panel presentations entitled “Building Blocks for an Energy Efficient Home.” To date presentations have been made to residents in Larchmont, Rye, and

Ossining. FCWC does not endorse the companies involved, but is eager to have this kind of energy saving information widely presented to the public. The participating companies include Green Home Consulting and Murphy Brothers Contracting. Over 90 people have heard the presentations to date and future meetings are scheduled in April.

Green Home Consulting provides an overview of how to make your home more energy efficient. Green Star Energy Services describes how they perform energy audits and install high performance insulation; Encon Heating and Air Conditioning focuses primarily on geo-thermal heating and cooling systems and Mercury Solar covers the topic of solar photovoltaics. Thus far each of the formal presentations was followed by lively conversation and questions over coffee and pastries. Future meetings (listed in our Calendar on page 4) are scheduled for

Pelham, Bedford and Scarsdale during April. We encourage all interested to attend.

Water Concerns Raised by Marcellus Shale and Hydrofracking

By Carolyn Cunningham

The May 21 meeting of “Conversations on Conservation” (C of C) will be devoted to the urgent topic of drilling, or hydraulic “fracking”, for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale regions of the state and the environmental concerns caused by this activity. Marcellus

Shale can be found in various regions of southern and central New York State including the area west of the Hudson River that encompasses much of our New York City (and Westchester) drinking water watershed.

The sponsors of these “C of C” meetings (FCWC, Westchester County Parks Department and others), will have a speaker to present the gas industry point of view, as well as one or more to present environmentalists’ concerns about this process, which appears to pit the need for natural gas against our even greater need for clean drinking water. Katherine Nadeau of New York Environmental Advocates will present environmental concerns regarding the huge amounts of water and the hundreds of chemicals used in the process that result in polluted waste water as well as the current lack of regulation.

The format of C of C meetings (early morning café) allows plenty of time for audience questions of the experts and discussion. The meeting will be at the Pace Pleasantville Campus. Please call the FCWC office 914-422-4053 or Westchester County Parks Department’s Mindy Swope 914-864-7047 for reservations and details.

Save The Date!

FCWC’S Annual Meeting

Tuesday, June 1st, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

At the Beczak Environmental Center

in Yonkers

Come to picnic and for the

Edith G. Read Awards for Outstanding

Student Environmentalists

FCWC Thanks

The Ruth and Seymour Klein Family Fund

and the Sharon Pickett and Paul

Mazzilli Family Fund

for their 2010 Grant Support.

Published by:Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Inc.

E House78 North BroadwayWhite Plains, NY 10603

Pho: (914) 422-4053 FAX: (914) 289-0539 Inside: Hydrofracking - Bottled vs Tap - www.fcwc.org

WestchesterEnvironment

Vol. 2010 No. 2 Spring 2010

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FCWC Events Calendar

During the months of April AnD mAy

Exhibit on environmental hero, Edith G. Read, by Rye Historical Society at the Square House in Rye. Edith was a long time FCWC Board member, and is commemorated in The Edith G Read Wildlife Sanctuary adjacent to Playland Park. For directions to Square House call: 914-967-7588.

April 5, 19 AnD 28

FCWC’s “Building Blocks for an Energy Efficient Home” presentations to be held in Pelham (5th), Bedford (19th) and Scarsdale (28th). Panel presentations on green home building, money-saving energy solutions, and government “green” tax incentives. Contact admin1@greenhomeswestchester.com or call the FCWC office at (914) 422-4053 for de-tails. Suggested $10 dollar donation to benefit FCWC. (See article on page 3.)

sunDAy, April 11th

Saw Mill River Coalition’s Free a Tree DayAll Vine-Cuttings take place at our Farragut Avenue restoration site in Hastings-On-Hud-son exit 13 off the Saw Mill Parkway. Call the The Free-A-Tree project, which organizes and supports volunteers in their efforts to remove the invasive vines, rescue native vegetation, restore the stream buffer, and preserve the area’s biodiversity. E-mail emily@ground-workhv.org or call 914-375-2151. Rain Date: Sunday, April 18th.

WeDnesDAy, April 14

7:30 p.m. - Sierra Club Meeting on the Mar-cellus Shale. Chris W. Burger will speak on the Marcellus Shale Gas Plan, giving history, explaining how gas is extracted, and impacts (positive and negative), Mr. Burger is a re-source management consultant, and college instructor. A free event held at the Greenburgh Nature Center, 99 Dromore Road, Scarsdale. Tel: 914-723-3470 for information.

sAturDAy, April 17

1:00 p.m. - Rain Gardening. Join Groundwork Hudson Valley Director of River Programs, Ann-Marie Mitroff, at the Irvington Public Library for her information-packed lecture on rain gardening as part of a day-long series of environmental talks. No RSVP required. 12 South Astor St., Irvington, 914-375-2151.

sunDAy, April 18

Westchester County’s Earth Day West-chester 2010, celebration of green, sustain-able living at the Kensico Dam Plaza. From live entertainment to a local farmers market to “green” raffle prizes to a “green” exhibit featuring all kinds of practical sustainable approaches, there’s something for every fam-ily member, all school ages and all types of businesses. Call (914) 813-5425.

tuesDAy, April 20

6:00-9:00 p.m. - Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF) Students for a Sustainable Future EXPO’10- Building GREEN SCHOOLS and COMMUNITIES to-gether! Held at Pace University, Pleasantville. Featuring interactive exhibits to help students, teachers, parents, administrators and building personnel go green and integrate sustainability into curriculum, campus and community! 6:15 pm Keynote - Deb Johnson, Academic Direc-tor of Sustainability, Pratt Institute. Students are free, Adults $10. Learn more at: www.celfeducation.org

thursDAy, April 22

10am - 4pm - Riverside High School Earth Day Celebration at Yonkers Riverside High School. Join students, faculty and the Yonkers Green Policy Task Force to celebrate Earth Month with environmental activities and exhibits plus Groundwork Hudson Valley’s vine cutting on Kennedy Blvd. with River-side students; and more. 565 Warburton Ave, Yonkers. 914-376-8425.

tuesDAy, mAy 4

1:00 p.m. - FCWC’s presentation of Bottle-mania with Elizabeth Royte, author of Bottlemania, at Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave. in Rye. (See article pg. 3.) Bottlemania makes a case for protecting public water supplies and for improving our water infrastructure. Co-sponsors for the event are Rye Country Day School Environmental Club and Environmental Advocacy Groups of Rye. Call FCWC for details (914) 422-4053.

Coming in July

Summer Adventures on the Hudson at Bec-zak Environmental Education Center. Children love hands-on fun and learning at our beautiful nature center and riverfront park!

Session 1: Exploration and adventure on the river. July 12-16, ages 10-12, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, $350. Session 2: Young naturalists experience the greenest fun in the valley! July 19-23, ages 7-9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, $350.Session 3: Friendships, teamwork, activi-ties and games! July 26- 30, ages 5-6,10:00 am – 2:00 pm, $250.

Register with Vicky Garufi, Director of Educa-tion, Beczak Environmental Education Cen-ter, 35 Alexander Street, Yonkers, vgarufi@beczak.org / 914.377.1900 x 12