faulker083

The foundation of a thriving downtown Rochester encompasses more than a desirable housing market. Consider the case of Flint, Michigan where a bad official decision to save money on public water infrastructure has resulted in the lead poisoning of many children and a drinking water crisis .  When you cannot drink the water, breath the air, or if your built infrastructures (transportation, water, waste, telecommunications, and energy) are crumbing, even a cheap McMansion will be undesirable. In a changing world, where the past we knew is not an indication of our future prospects, one of the most dramatic changes Rochester and its downtown hub will experience is Climate Change . Our housing market, our job prospects, our public health, and everything else we hold dear will not thrive if our environment (our life support system) is collapsing. In the past we developed and advanced under the delusion that our environment would take care of itself despite our environmental interference....

While everyone is still trying to get their heads around the Paris Agreement , as it is now called, we should probably spend a moment on what we have achieved. Humanity has finally admitted that Climate Change must be addressed on a level that will actually matter. No more fooling around. Then we should probably spend at least another moment on what the world agreed to: What are the key elements? To keep global temperatures "well below" 2.0C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times and "endeavour to limit" them even more, to 1.5C To limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100 To review each country's contribution to cutting emissions every five years so they scale up to the challenge For rich countries to help poorer nations by providing "climate finance" to adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy. ( Global clima...

This Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (D&C) article is hands down the most important local article on why  COP21 Paris  matters to Rochester. This connecting-the-dots article between Climate Change and the local consequences is crucial for our public to understand why Climate Change needs to be communicated in such a way so that the pubic backs their leaders to strongly address Climate Change. We hope to see more continual coverage of how Climate Change is affecting our region so we here in Rochester can plan for and adapt as quickly and painlessly as possible to this worldwide crisis.  Paris on the Genesee: Why it matters  As the global climate summit known as COP21 begins its second full week, Paris seems a long way away. But what happens at the climate talks there does matter here. Western New York, like everywhere, is vulnerable to severe stress and disruption as our climate warms and the weather changes. The talks by officials from 195 countries are inten...

Getting adequate media coverage on Climate Change in Rochester, NY has been a long struggle. While not openly denying Climate Change, most local media fail to connect the dots between the local consequences of this worldwide crisis. This leads the public to think that Climate Change is not a local issue that needs public support for planning and a citizenry not engaged in the crisis of our age. What may happen if mainstream media continues to bury this crisis as a separate silo of concern?  For one, these former leaders of the public communication networks may become null and void. The public will go elsewhere to find out about their reality of a warming world and leave the media that only panders to their prurient interests far behind. This is what great news coverage of last Sunday’s downtown march, complete with police escort, looks like: Rochester Rallys for Climate Justice  Over 400 people attended the Rochester March for Global Climate Action on Sunday November 30 2015. ...

Is it the job of environmentalists, renewable energy companies, and scientists to prove that renewable energy is scalable (able to replace the amount of energy we desire) now? It appears as though it is when Climate Change discussions focus on whether renewable energy is ready to fully substitute for the current energy of choice.   Environmentalist find themselves in the absurd position of having to prove -- to the public, to the media, and (even more absurdly) to economists -- that existing renewable energy options and costs can compete with fossil fuels in order to replace our dependence on fossil fuels. Many environmental groups, in their heroic attempts to appear optimistic and hopeful about a situation that  becomes more dire each day, have in effect promised that humanity can shift quickly to clean, renewable energy options (yes, I’ve been doing this myself). But is it appropriate or even useful to place responsibility for proving this extraordinary claim on the folks ex...

Due to security concerns, the public Paris Climate March is understandably canceled in Paris, making it all the more important that we march en masse locally. UPDATE: Citing the heightened security situation in Paris, the French government is prohibiting the Global Climate March planned in Paris for 29 November. While this tragedy makes it difficult to go forward with our original plans, we will still find a way for people in Paris to make the call for climate justice heard. There has never been a greater need for Global Climate Marches throughout the rest of the world, and they will continue as planned. Love will win out over fear, and our movement will win over injustice. We encourage everyone around the world to join a Global Climate March and raise their voices louder than ever. Global Climate March We need thousands to march locally to show our support for an ambitious deal that will avert the worst impacts of climate change. And yeah I know, everything is against having the medi...

The negotiations to keep greenhouse gas emissions 2C above preindustrial levels, and do so fairly, begin in Paris on November 30 th and continue through December 11 th . Humanity, which has developed and thrived in the last two centuries on a fossil fuel energy base, must quickly divert to a renewable energy base for our collective survival. The heat caused by this sudden, manmade Climate Change is jeopardizing our environment, our public health, and our way of life. While much of the public, the fossil fuel companies, and many climate change deniers still (immorally) scoff at these dire predictions, 97% of climate scientists know this to be true. Even the fossil fuel industries know this, although they have been saying otherwise. In fact, many climate scientists believe that the politically-generated goal of 2C is too high and may be too dangerous. Many are hopeful that Paris will set a more realistic emissions threshold. Success at Paris is far from a done deal. There isn’t enough...