NEW, THIRD EDITION of our English Give a Wolf a Break Today brochure -The Biodiversity/Vegetarian Outreach Committee educates about the link between the adoption by humans of a plant-based diet and protection of habitat for wildlife, as well as other environmental benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet. We have produced a brochure Give a Wolf a Break Today: Go "Veggie" in English (new edition) and Spanish. The new, 3rd edition of the English version includes added sections on climate change and invasive species.

Global Warming - by Bob Siegel - This has certainly been an interesting winter for our climate. Here in Rochester, it started out with exceptionally mild weather. People were delighted to be walking around in shirtsleeves in early January, while at the same time trying to ignore a nagging sense of disquiet reminding them of what Al Gore’s film had so recently and so successfully pointed out about the impact of our contemporary machinery on the greater machinery that makes our planet inhabitable. Officially, this "warm spell" was attributed to El Nino. But as Tim Flannery points out in The Weather Makers, El Nino cycles have been getting longer and warmer over the past thirty years due to unprecedented warming in the Pacific Ocean, a direct result of the greenhouse effect. Last year was, in fact, the warmest American year on record. The recent warm spell was a good time for reflection, even as farmers worried whether it would ever freeze hard enough to kill off last year’s insects.

The New Monroe County 48 Hour Neighborhood Notification Law - Victory: Bill on pesticide alerts OK'd - Monroe legislators put county in line with state notification law - After months of public debate on science, privacy and public health, on Tuesday night Monroe County adopted a controversial state law that restricts pesticide use. According to the Neighbor Notification Law, companies that use liquid pesticides will be required to give their client's neighbors 48 hours of notice by mail each time they spray. It's a state law that passed five years ago in Albany, with an opt-in provision for counties. Monroe is the 13th county to pass the measure. In April, it was adopted by the five boroughs of New York City, which are technically counties. (June 15, 2005) Democrat & Chronicle

Watering Sprawl Update -by Hugh Mitchell -On March 8th Sierra Club held a news conference protesting the Monroe Country Water Authority’s plans to construct an unnecessary large new water treatment plant in Webster. We backed up our claims by releasing to the public our six page study titled Watering Sprawl written by Jack Bradigan-Spula and funded by the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club. The essence of our argument is that construction of a new 50 million gallon a day plant may force the City to sell their water system to the Authority who have a record of aggressively expanding their pipes over the whole region. If they buy the City system we feel it could present a threat to the rare and beautiful upland watershed of Hemlock and Canadice Lakes. Even if a deal can be worked out to preserve these Finger Lake treasures, the City reservoir water will be released to encourage sprawl development along the route 5 & 20 corridor and other areas south of Rochester.

Watering Sprawl - New Webster Water Treatment Plant Unnecessary - by  Hugh Mitchell-A new Sierra Club "Green Paper," written by Jack Bradigan Spula and funded by the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club, reveals that the huge new water treatment plant in Webster, proposed by the Monroe County Water Authority (MCWA), is an extremely expensive and unnecessary development which will contribute significantly to sprawl in the Monroe - Finger Lakes region. This study, which will soon be available to members and later to the public, is written in "news style." It sets the proposed project in a larger context and includes a number of interviews with key actors knowledgeable about the Webster plant development. Despite the fact that contracts on the plant are expected soon, there has been limited public information and no public debate on the merits of the project.

Eastern Coyotes No other North American animal has more misinformation perpetuated about it than the Eastern Coyote. Just the sight of a coyote gives most people an adrenalin rush that makes them think they have to 'do something' about the presence of this animal.  Learn what can be done to protect our pets and how we can best avoid conflicts. Learn the natural history of coyotes and sort myth from fact.