Urge the Senate to support Climate Security Act!

Hey everyone, I think supporting climate change legislation is the most important action each of us can do. We can recycle and reduce all we want as individuals, but to really make a difference, we have to influence politics. The Climate Security Act is currently being debated in the Senate. This bill would reduce the amout of emissions and fund conservation programs for wildlife (which are going to need the money since climate change is seriously going to wreak havoc on habitats). Please call or send an email to Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton to support this!!
Senator Schumer:
Phone: (202) 224-6542
District Phone: (212) 486-4430

Senator Clinton:
Phone: (202) 224-4451
District Phone: (212) 688-6262

Although it seems scary, all you have to do is call to say that you would like them to support the Climate Security Act to reduce global warming pollution and protect America's natural resources.
You can find out more about the bill and some talking points here:
http://online.nwf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Congress_and_Global_Warming_US_Senate

Miracle-gro recall

"New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced that DEC has suspended the New York State registration of four pesticide products manufactured by the Scotts Company. Any unregistered product may not be sold, offered for sale, distributed, or used in New York State.
The Department’s action immediately followed the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s issuance of a national-level “stop sale, use or removal” order against Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and three affiliates for illegal, unregistered, and misbranded products. The products are: SLS Halts Pro 22-0-8 Plus .28% Halts Pro (EPA Reg. No. 538-304), SLS Halts Pro 14-2-5 Plus .28% Halts Pro (EPA Reg. No. 538-304), SLS Halts Pro 0-0-7 Plus .28% Halts Pro (EPA Reg. No. 538-304) and Shake ‘N Feed All Purpose Plant Food Plus Weed Preventer (EPA Reg. No. 62355-4).
USEPA recommends that if you think you have any of these unregistered products, please look at the invalid EPA number on the label. If you see the numbers 62355-4 or 538-304, you have an unregistered pesticide. USEPA advises to store the product in a cool, dry place, such as a garage or utility shed, and to contact Scotts or your retail outlet. Do not dispose of them down the drain, in the garbage or at a community disposal site.
For more information, visit USEPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/reg5rcra/ptb/news/. Consumers with questions about the stop sale may call USEPA toll free at 1-888-838-1304 to speak with a pesticides specialist. The National Pesticide Information Center has a hotline at 1-800-858-7378. If your questions can not be answered on those lines, contact the DEC Bureau of Pesticides Management at 518-402-8768. "
(Makes you wonder about pesticides, eh?)

New Recycling Bins at the Commons!

Clifton Park has recently launched a new recycling program in the Commons, a community sports center. The introduction of the program coincided with the beginning of the recreational soccer program Saturday morning. Clifton Park councilmen Tom Paolucci and Scott Hughes as well as some of the town's G.R.E.E.N. (Government Re-Thinking Energy and Environmental Needs) committee got the word out by putting up 'Recycle: It's a Common thing' signs, and distributing stickers and pamphlets to the early-morning soccer and little league baseball players and parents. The slogan was submitted as part of a contest by a member of the Shenendehowa High School Recycling club (S.C.A.R.C.E.), and will be posted along with other environmentally-conscious slogans on the announcement board along Visher's Ferry Rd. Please support the town's recycling initiatives by utilizing the new recycling bins and letting your town representatives know that you support the new drive towards becoming more environmentally friendly!

Clifton Park tree givaway for Earth Day!

Hey everyone,
Earth day is coming up on April 23rd! Clifton Park's G.R.E.E.N committee is giving away tree seedlings at Shenendehowa SAGE’s Science Discovery Night Expo at the Gowana Middle School from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday April 23rd. The tree seedlings will be available on a first come first serve basis until the supply is exhausted. The entire press release is below:

"Councilman Paolucci stated, “In an effort to reduce carbon gases in our environment the Town GREEN Committee encourages residents to plant trees to help promote a greener, cleaner Clifton Park”. Trees serve many purposes today and now are our primary tool to help control surface/storm water run-off that backs-up storm drains, causing flooding in basements and low areas. The Committee supports events like the Science Discovery Night Expo because science provides us with the knowledge and means to balance development and nature.
Councilman Hughes reminds residents that, “scientifically and aesthetically trees are a great a means by which we can improve our environment and quality of life. I encourage Clifton Park families to take advantage of this opportunity to plant a tree and watch it grow, together with their children to a full and successful potential here in Clifton Park”."

Also! 18 seconds is a cool website about CLFs and a breakdown of which states are the most "enlightened". It only takes 18 seconds to change your lightbulb into a more efficient CLF.

As far as Saratoga County Green goes, I'm extremely proud to say that it was exactly one year ago that myself and my awesome friend Chris started this little project. I didn't think it would go anywhere at first, and it was tough getting it off the ground. I felt like we got a lot accomplished over the summer considering that we started from scratch. Unfortunately I won't be around this summer (I'll still be in Australia...hey, maybe that's not so unfortunate), but I hope that someone else from the group will pick it up. Even if SCCG doesn't reunite for the summer, I'll keep this blog updated for national news as well as local. I'm really happy that Clifton Park has a new "green" committee that is actually accomplishing things! I'm also really proud of Lisa, who is part of SCCG and is on the committee board. Although I'm moving out to bigger things than good old CP, I still want to do as much as I can to motivate people and get things moving in this town.
Cheers,
Shona

One million strong

From Al Gore and Climate Alliance:
"We're on the verge of being over one million strong and I'm asking you to join us. Please click here today to become part of the solutions to global warming:
http://wecansolveit.org/alliance
If leaders in business and government are going to make stopping climate change a priority, we need to send a loud message that we want action now. That's why I'm asking you to get involved today:"

Tasmanian Tiger

I'm in Australia for a university semester, hence the lack of updates. I learned about the now-extinct thylacine (aka tasmanian tiger) in school, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Thylacines were marsupials (like kangaroos and possoms, so it had babies in a pouch), but over time developed characterics similar to the wolves we're used to back in North America. This is called convergent evolution- when totally different organisms end up looking similar through adaptation to their environment. From about 1800-1900 in Tasmania, the thylacines were hunted on a mass scale because they were believed to be threats to farmers' sheep. They had to compete with settlers' domestic dogs for dwindling prey at around the same time that a disease was further destroying the population. The last thylacine was Benjamin, which was captured in 1933 and lived in the Hobart Zoo for three years:

I watched a few films of thylacines at this website and I found it a little sad. Some people believe that thylacines still exist in the deep woods of Tasmania, but this is highly unlikely and unproven. Extinction is forever.

Hawk at exit 10

In the past few weeks, I've seen on several (8 or more) occasions this pretty big hawk between Jonesville and the Northway, along Carlton and Van Patten Road and the surrounding area. I got a closeup in the binoculars and it appears to be a red-tailed hawk. Though my hawk identification needs improvement, it seems to be a fairly large hawk, so my guess is that it's a female, or a really healthy male. (Female birds of prey are usually larger than males of the same species). I hadn't noticed it before I came home from school in January. Has anyone else seen it?

Contests!

SCCG will have a booth at the Focus the Nation event at Shen this weekend (see last post for details).

There's an award of about $500 for young people (ages 8-16) who are working on an environmental project. http://www.grantsalert.com/grants.cfm?id=4&gid=9825 I'd strongly encourage someone to apply for that award if they have a project.

The National Wildlife Federation is now accepting entries for their annual photography contest.

There's also an essay contest for ages 8-18 about energy for the future.

Hope to see you at the Focus the Nation event this weekend!

Focus the Nation Event at Shen

Shenendehowa SCARCE Club will be hosting a national event Focus the Nation” http://www.focusthenation.org/nationalteachin.php on Sunday January 27^th from 12-4 in High School East little theatre. Dr. Steven Leibo from Russell Sage College will be speaking at 1:00 PM on Global Climate Change, what it means to you and how to solve the problem. Several groups (NYSERDA, Pride of New York, Energy Bike etc) will have displays set up on environmental topics. Please announce to your students. Hope you can bring your family and friends.

"What are they waiting for?"

"The climate crisis will be the biggest challenge facing the next president. But the top Sunday hosts don’t seem to think so. In 2007, they asked 2,275 questions, but only three mentioned global warming." - National Wildlife Federation
You can check out this video about it.