As with many, I was a part of the silent majority– someone concerned about “the environment” and “pollution”. But the thought of saving whales or polar bears seemed daunting and I sat on the sidelines thinking any action I took would be insignificant.
In 2014, I saw the documentary “Gasland” (Josh Fox's anti-fracking movie with the scene with the burning tap water), and for the first time I took the phrase “Think Global – Act Local” to heart. I wrote my first letter to the editor during the run up to the New York State administrative ban on hydrofracking.
I also joined a successful effort to have our town ban hydrofracking. I have subsequently become a regular contributor to several newspapers, writing on a wide variety of topics (for a sample, visit https://niagarasierraclub.org/writers-group/ published-writers/). But it took several years to find an issue that I could specialize on. For that, I have to thank the Chinese Government and their “National Sword” policy. Their ban on importing plastic waste caused chaos in recycling programs everywhere.
Much of my focus in the past two years has been on waste issues. I started with the lowest hanging fruit, Styrofoam containers and polystyrene utensils. I created a presentation and the Facebook group Bring NYC’s Styrofoam Ban to My Hometown! https://www.facebook.com/groups/2098476837129562/ to support efforts to get local single use legislation passed, including working with the City of Buffalo on their pending Styrofoam legislation. I have also been watching other non-plastic waste issues in the state, such as small and large scale food waste composting, radioactive waste at the Hakes Landfill in Steuben County, the lithium ion battery recycling proposal in Endicott, and the proposal to incinerate PFAS firefighting foams in Cohoes.