by Kelly Dixon, Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council
on April 14, 2012
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 In this article in the Earth Week series, Kelly Dixon of the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council shares how the website, GoodGoingWNY.com, benefits drivers looking to save money and help the environment.
Whether your daily commute is 10 miles or 50 miles, you and your wallet are probably feeling the strain of higher fuel prices. For those who are looking to go green and save a little green, Good Going WNY is a free website for travelers and other ride-seekers to find transportation alternatives, including carpooling, the location of park and ride lots, taking the bus or Metrorail, and bicycling.
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by Megan Mills Hoffman, Western New York Land Conservancy
on April 14, 2012
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 In this next article in the Earth Week series, Megan Mills Hoffman, Development Coordinator at Western New York Land Conservancy, shares how farmers Bree Bacon and Richard Woodbridge are restoring their family's historical 100-acre farm in Lockport.
When two people make a decision to return as the next generation to settle their family’s historical 100-acre farm, things are bound to become interesting. When those two people come from a long family farming legacy, with experience in Arizona, California, Russia, and India, they’re sure to carry a vision big enough to inspire a region.
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by Mark Rountree, Erie County Department of Environment and Planning
on April 14, 2012
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Photo by Damon Bay on Getty Images
The next part of our Earth Week series features articles on "Growing - Local and sustainable food and gardening options in WNY." In the first article in the series, Mark Rountree a planner for the Erie county Department of Environment and Planning and staff to the Erie County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board talks about the significance of local agriculture in maintaining a low carbon footprint and how Erie County engaged in an 18-month planning process to create a plan to protect agriculture and farmland in Erie County.
In the United States, the average grocery store's produce travels nearly 1,500 miles between the farm where it was grown and your refrigerator.
Our food is trucked across the country, hauled in freighter ships over oceans, and flown around the world. A tremendous amount of fossil fuel is burned to transport foods such long distances, releasing carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and other pollutants that contribute to global climate change, acid rain, smog, and air and sea pollution. The refrigeration required to keep our fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats from spoiling during their long journeys burn even more fossil fuel. In contrast, local and regional food systems produce 17 times less CO2.
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by Terry Yonker, Great Lakes Wind Collaborative
on April 14, 2012
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OPINION / COMMENTARY
In this Earth Week feature article, Terry Yonker of the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative shares scientific predictions of how climate change will impact Western New York and the Great Lakes, and why the need for more renewable energy resources.
 Ian and I sat together, each observing the same glacial scene and coming to two separate conclusions: climate change is a hoax and climate change is a reality.
We were amongst many other scientists and non scientists who traveled together to Antarctica on a Russian Academy of Sciences research vessel in early January. We observed calving glaciers and massive icebergs, expansive penguin and seabird colonies, breeching whales and predatory sea mammals, and a continent that is changing almost imperceptibly, but changing nevertheless. Sea ice extent, krill populations that serve as the base of the Antarctic food chain, and glacial mass are all decreasing. For those of us who were involved in research on Antarctic climate since the early 1960’s, the changes are profound.
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by Lauren Makeyenko, Tifft Nature Preserve
on April 12, 2012
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In this next article in the Earth Week series, Lauren Makeyenko of the Buffalo Museum of Science / Tifft Nature Preserve talks about the blue, green, and brown stories of Tifft Nature Preserve and updates us on Tiffts plan for the future.
 Tifft Nature Preserve is a 264-acre urban nature preserve, operated by the Buffalo Museum of Science, which is dedicated to protection of the site’s natural resources, scientific research, environmental education, and public enjoyment.
Located in South Buffalo, the area was formerly used as a farm, stockyard, railhead/shipping center, and dumping facility until a group of concerned citizens successfully petitioned the City of Buffalo to create a nature preserve on the property in the early 1970’s. Despite the industrial history of the site, this recovering brownfield provides valuable wildlife habitat and needed green space within the city limits.
Major habitats on the preserve include a 75-acre remnant cattail marsh, woodlands, grasslands, ponds, lake and a small stream. In addition to the cattail marsh, which is the largest remnant wetland in Erie County and provides nesting habitat for rare marsh birds, Tifft Nature Preserve is an important stop-over site for migrating birds. In 1998, the preserve earned the distinction of "Important Bird Area" in New York State by the National Audubon Society.
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