news

MSNBC - Tap local resources, not bottled water

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:51:45 -0600

Bottled isn’t necessarily safer than tap — and it’s definitely less eco-friendly

By Marisa BelgerTODAYShow.com contributor

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27785919/

Riverkeeper Press Room

Queens Chronicle - Polluted creek may have cleaner future

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:12:04 -0600

www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm

Riverkeeper Press Room

Journal News - Tougher rules sought on sewage dumping

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:11:04 -0600

www.lohud.com/article/2008811120375

Riverkeeper Press Room

Riverkeeper calls on Gov. Paterson

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:58:58 -0500

August 13th, 2008
Riverkeeper calls on Gov. Paterson

NYS Governor David Paterson

Tarrytown - At a press conference with Queens City Councilman Gennaro today, Riverkeeper called on Governor Paterson to designate the New York City Watershed permanently "off-limits" for natural gas drilling. "Riverkeeper agrees with the state’s decision to update its outdated environmental review for gas drilling in New York’s portion of the vast Marcellus Shale formation. The state must take the logical next step and enact a ban on gas drilling in the NYC Watershed," said Phillip Musegaas, Riverkeeper Policy Director.

According to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the entire West-of-Hudson portion of the NYC Watershed sits on top of the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation containing natural gas that underlies portions of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states. To extract the natural gas from the shale, oil companies would inject toxic chemicals, sand, and up to one million gallons of water under high pressure into shale formations. This toxic brew would then be extracted, or leaked to the surface, potentially posing a risk of contaminating local groundwater, and the city’s drinking water reservoirs.

In 1997, New York State, Riverkeeper and numerous other parties signed the historic NYC Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which recognized that clean drinking water is vital to the health, social and economic well-being of all New Yorkers and must be protected.

"The state must honor its commitment in the MOA to protect this critical resource, which supplies half the state’s population with unfiltered drinking water on a daily basis. It is our duty to safeguard this water supply for all current and future generations," said James L. Simpson, Staff Attorney with Riverkeeper’s Watershed Program. "If gas drilling contaminates the reservoirs, New York’s filtration avoidance determination (FAD) would be put at risk, potentially costing the city $10 billion to build a filtration plant," said Mr. Simpson.

"It’s important to look for new and alternative sources of energy, but not at the expense of drinking water quality, not at the expense of New York’s watershed areas and not at the expense of city taxpayers to the tune of billions of dollars," said New York City Councilman James F. Gennaro, City Council Environmental Protection Committee Chair.

About Riverkeeper

Riverkeeper is an independent member-supported environmental organization. Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect the ecological integrity of the Hudson River and its tributaries, and to safeguard the drinking water supply of New York City and the lower Hudson Valley. For more information, please visit www.riverkeeper.org

Riverkeeper Press Room

New Video Game “Pac”s a Punch for Southern Forests

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:39:36 -0500

Southern Environmental Organization Releases Packaging Man Video Game; New Environmental Twist on the Classic Video Game

Asheville, NC " This morning, Dogwood Alliance launched an environmentally themed video game, Packaging Man, to raise awareness about the destructive impact fast food paper packaging has on Southern forests. The game which is a new take on the classic video game, Pac-Man, follows the exploits of the hero Packaging Man as he works to save forest creatures by collecting excessive packaging and recycling it, all the while avoiding the “evil” fast food corporate executives.

“Our fast food lifestyle is burying us in an avalanche of excessive packaging and waste,” said Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director for Dogwood Alliance. “Rising from this giant pile of waste, our hero Packaging Man has emerged to take on the Packaging monsters.”

The production of fast food packaging drives the continued destruction of Southern forests, the largest paper producing region in the world. Paper companies like International Paper (NYSE: IP) are clear-cutting forests, including some of the most special forests like the endangered wetland forests of the mid-Atlantic coast in Virginia and North Carolina to make fast food packaging. Major customers of the big packaging mills of this region include packaging include McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Arby’s (NYSE: TRY), Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN), and YUM! Brands corporate parent of KFC and Taco Bell.

“Southern forests, the jewel of the American landscape, are being destroyed to bring you fried chicken, burgers and fries, and super-sized convenience in a glut of wrappers, boxes and cups,” continued Quaranda. “Join the fun and help our hero Packaging Man escape from the corporate evil-doers, recycle all of that excess packaging, and protect our Southern forests.”

Excessive fast food packaging waste is a serious problem in North America:
--Fast food packaging makes up 20% of all litter.
--15 percent of the landfill mass--as much as 30 million tons a year--is food packaging.
--83% of the packaging used for food and drink is made of some form of paper or other wood-fiber material.
--The average person in the U.S. produces 300 lbs of packaging waste each year

“We developed this game in order to reach out to a whole new audience and engage and educate them about an important range of environmental issues,” stated Quaranda. “We believe that everyone from Generation Y to armchair activists will love this game. We are proud of this achievement and hope slacktivists from across the world will join Packaging Man in the fight!”

To join the fun, play Packaging Man at: http://www.nofreerefills.org/files/packman/packman.html

Dogwood Alliance

7/29/08: Journal NewsFeds OK Entergy's plan to spin off nuke biz

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:36:49 -0500

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/NEWS02/807290385/1025/NEWS09

Riverkeeper Press Room

7/12/08: Poughkeepsie Journal - Cement firm: We’ve not seen Catskill landfill pollution

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:17:39 -0500

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080712/NEWS12/80712019/0/NEWS02

Riverkeeper Press Room

7/12/08: Journal News - DEC examines United Water plans for treatment test site

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:15:49 -0500

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080712/NEWS03/807120383/1019/NEWS03

Riverkeeper Press Room

7/15/08: Journal News - Health & environmental concerns raised at Haverstraw public hearing on Hudson River water treatment

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:14:31 -0500

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/NEWS03/807150382/1019/NEWS03

Riverkeeper Press Room

7/11/08: Mid Hudson News - Riverkeeper serves notice of intent to sue Lehigh Cement Company

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:10:54 -0500

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/July08/11/RivKp_LeCemCo-11Jul08.html

Riverkeeper Press Room

6/26: Art Daily.org - Olafur Eliasson's The New York City Waterfalls Opens at Four Waterfront Locations

gchambers@riverkeeper.org — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:17:11 -0500

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=24905

Riverkeeper Press Room

Climate Change News I

Nina Michelle Schwartz — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:29:38 -0500

Text

The Climate Crowd