Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena – Coeymans

Imagine this evolutionary idea: People are rewarded for NOT cutting down trees to build. Today it’s easy to make money by cutting down a forest and building whatever you want. But imagine if the opposite were true. Imagine a world where people and, more importantly, big business was actually paid to protect habitats and maintain valuable biodiversity rather than destroy and threaten them.

It’s a progressive idea that author and CAC Chair, Barbara Heinzen, Ph.D. will be speaking about at a New Baltimore Conservancy gathering at the Cornell Hook and Ladder Fire Company on March 9. Barbara’s vision for a greener, more sustainable future will be highlighted in her efforts to restore the 20-acre swamp behind her home.

In 2011, after working internationally from a UK base for 30 years, Heinzen moved to New Baltimore.  Her move is part of an experiment called the Barbets Duet.  Described as “an experiment in systemic invention”, the Barbet Duet has about 8 learning sites in East Africa, the UK, and one in New Baltimore.  At each site, people are learning how to improve the environmental health of their land while also improving livelihoods.  The New Baltimore site has just under 20 acres at the mouth of the Hannacroix Creek.  It is the only one being managed solely to improve biodiversity, without any kind of farming.  Barbara will illustrate what has been achieved here since 2011 and talk about the challenges of the coming years.

The CAC encourages all to join the New Baltimore Conservancy on March 9 (Thursday) at the Cornell Hook and Ladder Fire Company on Gill Rd in the Hamlet of New Baltimore. The program begins at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public.

We are volunteers determined to raise awareness of the many environmental consequences that the Port of Coeymans and the Lafarge cement company are having on our air, water, and environment.

Our mission is to bring to light the impacts that expansion projects at the Port, some of which could benefit the burning of garbage/tires at Lafarge, are having on wildlife habitats, truck traffic, and property values. Our concerns will be addressed in PowerPoint presentations and videos.

As the poster below indicates, we will be gathering at the RCS Community Library at 95 Main Street in Ravena on two dates. March 14 (Tuesday) from 5:30-7p (due to snow storm) & March 18 (Saturday) from 10:30a-1p.

There will be refreshments served at both with an opportunity for Q&A. This educational gathering is open to all with local town officials and the media encouraged to attend.

It’s official! As of this morning, over 1000 people have signed our petition asking the powers that be for an independent cumulative impact review of the Port of Coeymans. This is an incredible milestone and one we do not take lightly.

With so many concerned voices in favor of a cleaner environment and watershed, hopes are high that Governor Hochul, the DEC, and the Army Corps of Engineers will finally take our campaign seriously.

Nobody can afford to ‘turn a blind eye’ to the consequences of Carver’s ever-expanding waste management empire. The Port of Coeymans has grown in scale and magnitude which is both harmful and irresponsible for the air we breathe and the environment we live in. It has to stop. It can no longer be tolerated.

If you haven’t seen the video posted documenting the clearcutting happening on Bronk Road at this very moment, please do so now.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to every single one of you!!

One last thing: Please know that your petition donation does not end up in our coffers. Change.org is merely the platform we use to raise awareness of our campaign. Please do not feel obligated to contribute in any way other than signing the petition and sharing it online through social media.

Our members and friends have never benefited financially from the thousands of hours we’ve put into public outreach. We do this work purely for the love of our community and the concern we have for its future.

Please feel free to contribute ideas at our bi-monthly meetings via ZOOM or send us an email: contact@cleanairalbanycounty.org.

Again, our sincerest gratitude for making a difference by speaking up!

Hans Warnstadt grew up in the house that his father build in 1969 on River Road. His father bought the 1-acre wooded parcel from Ten Eyck Powell Jr. and enjoyed the privacy that the land provided his family for over 50 years. Hans’s mother still lives there. Hans lives down the road. Both are saddened by the loss of the habitat behind their home and both are worried about what Carver Laraway will do to the land in the future

The CAC has a new Instagram Page! Follow our social media entries; especially if you agree that what is going on at the Port of Coeymans to benefit Lafarge is appalling!