As I was venturing to my biology class from Old Main to Health Science early Friday afternoon, I noticed the storm drain (pictured left) seemed to be clogged with some debris and litter. As I continued on, I came across this storm drain on the right, completely congested to the point where water pooled around it. Although this is not my "usual" spot where I reflect and observe- any pressing polluting matter at Canisius College is my business as it directly affects my area in the quad.
Mayor Bryon W. Brown, Buffalo's Major who happens to live right near campus, considered littering to be an infraction to the "Zero Tolerance Anti-Crime Program."
According to State Law:
A. No person shall place, deposit, leave, litter, throw, cast or dump or cause to be placed, deposited, left, littered, thrown, cast or dumped or permit any servant, agent, employee or other person under his control to place, deposit, leave, litter, throw, cast or dump any waste of any kind on any street, sidewalk or right-of-way (including the curbline), public park, public place or any real property or premises within the City of Buffalo without the lawful consent of the owner or lawful consent of the occupant in possession thereof; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall authorize or permit any action that would be otherwise prohibited, but for such consent, by any law. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the dumping of solid waste in an authorized municipal dumping ground.
B. The owner, operator, registrant and any occupants of a vehicle involved in the placing, depositing, leaving, littering, throwing, casting or dumping of any waste on any street, curbline, public park, public place or on any real property or premises within the City of Buffalo without the lawful consent of the owner or the lawful consent of the occupant in possession thereof shall be jointly and severally liable for the penalties imposed pursuant to this article and shall each be guilty of a violation; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall authorize or permit any action that would be otherwise prohibited, but for such consent, by any law.
My question to you is after seeing all the support to stop littering on our college community area, why have I never heard of any students being issued a ticket for polluting our environment or even a warning? Although there are laws that are meant to prohibit littering, law enforcement more or less ignores these "minor" infractions. It must not be until all the storm drains become clogged and streets flood until action is taken. Clearly Buffaloians have no conception of the Precautionary Principle and do not see the harm in throwing their trash into the streets.
In other news-
This week in my Environmental Sociology course, my class watched Blue Vinyl, a documentary filmed by Judith Helfand, who was upset that her parents were re-siding their house with blue vinyl. "She set out (with co-director Daniel B. Gold) to discover how vinyl is made and why, according to some scientists, it is the most hazardous of synthetic materials. Along the way, she meets industry representatives who tell her the key chemical ingredient in vinyl, chloride, is no more toxic than table salt. She also travels to Venice, Italy, to meet with families of vinyl factory workers dead or dying from chemical exposure, and she visits an intrepid, Louisiana attorney who has sued American vinyl manufacturers on behalf of severely injured former employees."
Go figure I stumbled upon this billboard sign in Buffalo a day after completing the film...
This juxtaposition, where one person is saying vinyl is healthy and the other believes it is dangerous), reminds me of the a ongoing debate right here in Buffalo, NY over air pollution.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory- area code 14208 (Canisius College/Hamlin Park) is considered to be a very healthy community to live in as there are zero "One-site Releases and On-site Transfer" locations. However, this report by the EPA does not consider the very polluted town and city of Tonawanda just a few miles away, not to mention Love Canal in Niagara Falls.
This report by the EPA makes it clear that the only way you will learn the truth about your environment is to adopt environmental stewardship and to take proper care of your surroundings on the most local level possible!
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