Sierra Club Niagara Group: Making Buffalo Environmentally Friendly

Environmental issues are a major and pressing threat facing the world, and it is essentially up to this generation to try and fix things before it's too late. Environmentalists around the globe regularly group together to try and initiate some sort of local, national, or perhaps even global change to try and undo the damage we have inflicted upon the natural world. One of those groups is called the Sierra Club - a national organization composed of over 3.5 million members that is dedicated to preserving Earth's natural resources and making the world healthier. The Buffalo-Niagara area is fortunate to have a local subgroup of this organization that focuses on making change in our area, and I had the privilege to interview the chair of the group, Sarah Schultz.

As the chair of the group, Schultz is essentially the organizing administrator and overseer of around 3,600 volunteers. In addition, she manages monthly meetings where group members assemble to discuss current and future projects. On top of all this, she is also a full time and committed member. With responsibilities as daunting as these, one might ask how she got to this point and how it all started. Interestingly enough, the inspiration blossomed from a speech by Margaret Atwood given at a UB Distinguished Speaker's Series. Schultz recalls how Atwood said that the best way to make change is to get involved in an organization. Being an avid "tree hugger" at home, Schultz sought out a volunteer-directed, grassroots organization whose beliefs aligned with her own. It was then that she found and joined the Sierra Group Niagara Club. She has consistently been involved since joining nearly 10 years ago.

Margaret Atwood, popular author of "The Handmaid's Tale" and active environmental activist, inspired Sarah Schultz to get involved

Getting involved in the Sierra Club was almost like an extension of an already huge part of Shultz's life. As stated before, she is an active tree hugger at home. She drives an electric car, has had solar panels installed at her house, and does virtually anything that will help lessen her effect on the environment. This passion for the environment stems from her desire to leave the world healthy for her grandchildren and also from what she described as her moral obligation to nature. She feels that it is the responsibility of both her and every other human on the planet to do everything in their power to undo the damage we have done. For this reason, becoming chair of the Sierra Club Niagara Group has been less of a job and more of a pursuit of both moral fulfillment and interest.

Schultz is so committed to the Sierra Club that she does not mind mixing together things from their social media accounts and her own personal accounts. Some people may see work and personal life as two separate entities that should be kept separate, but this is not the case for her. In her words, "it is who I am." She wants to see the health of the environment improve and will promote that at work and on her own time.

For the majority of the interview Schultz talked to me about just some of the many incredible projects this group has been working on. While the following list of projects is by no means exhaustive, and the descriptions of each one are fairly brief, it does provide insight to how truly miraculous this organization is. They are involved in just about every issue facing the environment that you can think of. If you want to learn more about some of these projects, I will leave their official website at the bottom of the article.

Northern Access Pipeline

The Northern Access Pipeline is a proposed project by National Fuel to build 97 miles of pipeline throughout the Southern Tier to move fracked gas from Pennsylvania to a Canadian pipeline underneath the Niagara River. The pipeline will cross 180 streams, 270 wetlands, and 7 ponds which could potentially contaminate the water sources and jeopardize their biological integrity. The pipeline would also include 2 compressor stations that spew toxins into the air. It is important to note that there is no benefit to the people who live in the areas that will be affected by this pipeline because none of the gas will go to them. The Sierra Group played a pivotal role in getting this project denied through rallies, public hearings, and legislative lobbies. The group also formed a coalition with Native Americans and landowners whose properties would be affected by the pipeline to fight the project. Their initial efforts were victorious, resulting in a denial from Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). However, this denial was deemed invalid by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) because the DEC missed a deadline to issue it. The DEC has since issued another denial, but National Grid has claimed that they are able to legally disregard it. Because of this, the Sierra Group will once again come together to fight it.

Sarah Schultz (holding the white "Thank you Gov Cuomo!" sign) and other Sierra Club members at a 2017 rally in Albany

Renewable Energy: Wind, Solar, and Geothermal

Renewable energy is obviously a huge interest for environmentalists, and the Sierra Group has multiple projects dedicated to this topic. The group supports the goal to make New York State fully powered by renewable energy sources by the year 2030. They focus on promoting awareness of projects that include renewable energy, such as the Lighthouse Wind Project, and educate the public on the benefits of renewable energy. For example, just a couple of weeks ago the group sent a representative down South to give a lecture on the benefits of wind energy, encouraging people to vote in favor of these projects. In another project, the group was the driving force behind putting solar panels on the roofs of 19 Buffalo Public Schools. Just recently, 3 more schools agreed to have solar panels installed on their roofs. The solar panels account for about 20% of the energy used by the school. Other impressive facts regarding this project can be seen on this flyer: file:///C:/Users/jre42/Downloads/Buffalo-School-District-Solar-Install.pdf

Electrifying the NFTA

According to Schultz, one the group's most successful projects to date would be getting the Niagara Frontier Transport Authority (NFTA) to switch their entire fleet to electric buses. A huge step was recently taken in this project when the NFTA was granted $2.5 million to buy 8 - 10 electric buses as well as an updated garage with the equipment necessary to charge them. Not only will this help reduce the carbon footprint of the city, but it will also set a standard by which other major cities will also (hopefully) follow, if they haven't done so already.

While these projects, and many others, are usually discussed at monthly meetings, Schultz said that the group also utilizes an app called Meetup to keep in contact with members. They also have a Twitter and Facebook page that are sometimes used to give notice about events, but Meetup is where it is planned and set up by the group. All official business is handled through the group's official email, which Schultz monitors. An official website for the group contains all the information about current projects how to get involved. I plan on working with Schultz to optimize the use of their social media to try and reach more people!

As if these major projects aren't enough, the group also has a number of other functions that they regularly do. For example, the group supports the projects of other organizations in the area. Recently they have been working with the Massachusetts Avenue Project to provide locally sourced, ethically labored, sustainably raised, and healthy food to public schools. The group also has face-to-face conversations with political candidates during campaign season and offer their endorsement so long as the candidate agrees to stick to any promises they make regarding the environment. When needed, they will go and lobby current political figures to demand for more change. The group works around the clock and addresses environmental issues in any way they can.

The Niagara Group also contributes to environmental efforts beyond the Buffalo-Niagara area. A major movement the group has recently been in support of is called the Transportation and Climate Initiative. This is an agreement between 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia to try and improve transportation and reduce the carbon emissions of the transportation systems. They obviously had a huge impact on this initiative when they made the NFTA pursue electric buses. This goes to show that, while local issues are of highest priority, the group is also sure to play their part in national and even global efforts to save the environment.

Despite the group's efforts being in the best interest of the environment (and thus mankind as we know it), they have a surprising amount of backlash, the most notable being from a movement known as "Not In My Backyard." Supporters of this movement are homeowners who oppose sustainable energy sources because they would quite literally be in their backyards (on their property). They worry that the installation of wind turbines and solar panels would lower their property value due to their size and noise (as well as a number of other excuses). While the group definitely faces some friction with this opposition, it never deters them from their mission of making sustainable energy our main energy source.

For people who want to get involved in any sort of organizing or social change, Schultz suggests the following: get an idea of what your interests are and what you are passionate about, take some time to go to different groups and see if what they are working on resonates with you, and then join and SHOW UP. The power of simply showing up to something is truly amazing, and will likely lead to increased engagement in the future. We all have to start somewhere, so get out there and join an organization and grow from there!

If you'd like to learn more about the Sierra Club Niagara Group and projects they are working on, feel free to visit their website at https://niagarasierraclub.com/. They also have a Facebook and Twitter which you can find below. Schultz and I will be meeting up again soon to get an Instagram page started for the group, so stay tuned for more information on that!

Happy tree hugging!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/190113647727688/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SierraNiagara or @SierraNiagara