Sustainable Finger Lakes Recipient of the Belle Sherman Elementary School 3rd Graders’ 2022 Fundraiser

Every year the third-grade teachers at Belle Sherman Elementary School— Josh Dresen, Austin Fay, andEric Reiff–engage their students in at least one local and one international fundraiser. In 2022,Sustainable Finger Lakes was chosen to receive the local donation. For their fundraiser, the Belle Sherman Elementary third grade classes worked together to produce apoetry book. They…

Sustainable Finger Lakes at Southside Community Center Block Party in October

On October 29th, Holly Hutchinson, our Finger Lakes Climate Fund Coordinator, and Milena Bimpong, our Tenant Engagement Coordinator, did tabling at the Southside Community Center block party. Members of the community enjoyed food, music, and a raffle drawing while learning about Ithaca’s organizations and initiatives focused on sustainability, which included Cornell Cooperative Extension, HeatSmart Tompkins,…

Seneca Meadows Landfill Tells Green Group to Yank Defamatory Criticism From Its Website; SLG Says ‘No, We Won’t be Bullied’

Seneca Lake Guardian, a nonprofit organization focused on the protection of the Finger Lakes, will not back down on their criticism towards Seneca Meadows Inc. landfill, despite SMI taking legal action. Read this article by Peter Mantius for more information: https://waterfrontonline.blog/2022/12/13/seneca-meadows-landfill-tells-green-group-to-yank-defamatory-criticism-from-its-website-slg-says-no-we-wont-be-bullied/

New York’s New Cryptomining Law Will Spotlight Industry’s Massive Energy Use, Greenhouse Gas Emissions

New York’s new cryptomining law, which will establish a two-year moratorium on new or renewed permits for proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining operations, won’t affect New York’s two fossil-fuel-powered proof-of-work Bitcoin mining operations. However, this law is expected to draw attention to how cryptomining harms the environment. Read this blog post by Peter Mantius for more information:…

Greenidge Sounds New Alarms About Its Financial Condition in SEC Filing, Says Cash Expected to Run Out in March

Greenidge Generation LLC is facing financial struggles after losing mining revenues, which will now make it more difficult for the company to meet its debt payments. Read this article by Peter Mantius for more information: https://waterfrontonline.blog/2022/11/15/greenidge-sounds-new-alarms-about-its-financial-condition-in-sec-filing-says-cash-expected-to-run-out-in-march/

A new coalition for civic engagement forms in Ithaca: Your Voice + Your Vote

Your Voice + Your Vote, or YV2, is a new coalition of organizations that aims to promote civic engagement in Ithaca. The kickoff event for YV2 will be on Saturday, November 5th at the Southside Community Center from 12 to 2 pm. Read this Ithaca Voice article by Jimmy Jordan for more information: https://ithacavoice.com/2022/11/a-new-coalition-for-civic-engagement-is-forming-in-ithaca-your-voice-your-vote/

Finger Lakes Republicans United Against Popular Environmental Bond Issue on Ballot as ‘Proposal 1’

New York Proposal 1, the Environmental Bond Measure, calls for issuing $4.20 billion in general obligation bonds to finance climate change mitigation (including clean energy initiatives), flood-risk reduction, water infrastructure, and land conservation and recreation. This proposal will be included in New York 2022 election ballots. State legislators from the Finger Lakes region have been…

Farmland Runoff, Intense Storms Raise Phosphorus Loads That Drive HABs in Seneca-Keuka Watershed, Study Finds

The Nine Element Plan (9E), which aims to cut phosphorus pollution in the Seneca-Keuka Watershed, has finally been approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of State. Read this blog post by Peter Mantius to learn more: https://waterfrontonline.blog/2022/10/22/farmland-runoff-intense-storms-raise-phosphorus-loads-that-drive-habs-in-seneca-keuka-watershed-study-finds/

MyCoast NY: A New Tool for Community Science

Free webinar Tuesday, October 25th 6pm Does your neighborhood or community flood? Are you looking for meaningful ways to get involved? New York Sea Grant is hosting an informational webinar to promote a new statewide community science tool called MyCoast NY, a new a platform for sharing and viewing photos of local flooding and storm…

Stop Greenidge’s Title V Permit Renewal!

Read more below on how to advocate for the rejection of Greenidge Generating Station’s Air Title V Facility Permit renewal. If the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation approves their permit renewal, this will have dangerous environmental impacts. Public Hearings: Legislative public comment hearings will be held virtually on Monday October 24, 2022, at 1:00 pm…

Leachate from Seneca Meadows Blamed for ‘Sewer Gas’ Stench Incident in May; One Firm Asks: How Dangerous Was It?

Back in May, businesses located near the Seneca Meadows Inc. landfill reported a sewer gas stench from within their buildings, which was suspected to be hydrogen sulfide gas from leachate. The landfill was then ordered to stop pumping leachate into Seneca Falls’ sewer system. The hazardous effects of this incident are now being investigated. Read…

Urge Gov. Hochul to Stop Subsidizing the Fossil Fuel Industry!

To those representing organizations: The End Fossil Subsidies Coalition has written an organizational sign-on letter to Governor Hochul and Legislative Leadership, urging them to eliminate non-essential tax subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The Fossil Fuel Subsidy Elimination Act would remove over $300 million of these subsidies. This coalition letter calls for Governor Hochul, Senators,…