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Kicking off Earth Week in Cazenovia Three local leaders give presentation By kate Hill Staff Writer On Monday, April 18, Cazenovia Earth Week 2022 (April 18-24) kicked off with “Our Environment: Moving Forward,” a presentation and community conversation facilitated by Sherburne “Shere” Abbott, Jocelyn Gavitt, and Lauren Lines — three local individuals with unique leadership experiences. Abbott recently retired from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where she served as university professor of sustainability science and policy and director of environment, sustainability and policy. Previously, she was a senior advisor to President Barack Obama (confirmed by the US Senate on April 30, 2009, as the associate director for environment and energy in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President), serving as a deputy to the president’s science advisor. She has also served on the board of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) since 2014. Next fall, she will begin teaching at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Gavitt is a landscape architect and planner who specializes in community engagement, planning, and design. She earned degrees from Cornell University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and she has extensive experience in master planning, site design, and recreational planning. Lines is the executive director of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), an independent non-profit organization representing a broad cross-section of stakeholders in the Greater Cazenovia Area. CACDA helps local organizations, governments, and residents accomplish their goals and objectives through consensus building, planning, cooperative efforts, networking, locating funding sources, grant writing,
project implementation, and educational programs for the public.
Climate-, energy- and sustainability-related aspirations and realities
Abbott began the presentation with some historical background on Earth Day, which was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. According to Abbott, the first Earth Day remains the largest single-day public protest in the history of the United States, and it demonstrated an emerging public awareness of air and water pollution and its implications. “Most of the pollutants, we could actually see,” she said. “You could see the smog; you could see the [pollution in the water].” The first Earth Day resulted in several major pieces of federal legislation in the 1970s, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. Abbott noted that the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act all represent “end-of-pipe” solutions. “We solve the pollutant issues after the pollution occurs,” she said. “[Conversely,] the National Environmental Policy Act was formed with the view that maybe we should think about our actions before we take them and figure out what the environmental consequences are [prior to making decisions].” Abbott added that Earth Day not only brought about government oversight of the environment in the 1970s, but it is also the day the landmark Paris Agreement — an international treaty on climate change — was opened for signature in 2016. She next stated that the international/national approach to environmental issues has changed drastically since the 1970s. “We [now] see them as more integrated, we have better science, and we are aiming our solutions at people, not just the environment,” she said. Abbott then explained that while the 1970s were focused on
BOE discusses state’s commitment to 100% electric buses by 2035 By kate Hill Staff Writer
Kate Hill
Cazenovia Earth Week 2022 (April 18-24) kicked off on April 18 with “Our Environment: Moving Forward,” a presentation and community conversation facilitated by Sherburne “Shere” Abbott, Lauren Lines, and Jocelyn Gavitt (left to right). end-of-pipe solutions, the 1980s were about linking human development with the environment. “Human progress is linked [with] natural resources and our preservation of natural resources,” she said. “There was a whole lot of science that showed that the two were inseparable, and that led to [a] series of conferences leading up to the [official] definition of ‘sustainable development’ by the Brundtland Commission. . .” In 1987, the United Nations (UN) Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Such development requires an integrated approach that takes into consideration environmental concerns along with social and economic development. According to Abbott, the 1990s were centered on “making good on” the environmental aspirations of the 1980s. “How do societies move forward in a way that really transforms the way that we think about development and environment?” she said. “Earth Day in those years became focused on sustainable development in the United States — [issues of] social justice and social transformation and climate change and energy all came into the fore. On the international side, [the] conferences produced a lot of information about what to do and how to think,
but mostly they were aspirational. The problem is that all the environmental damage was continuing. . . People were less poor and living better [but] the climate is changing — we have known about this challenge since the late 1800s — and things are getting worse. So how do you marry the two? . . . How do we transform human societies in ways that benefit the humans and provide equity but also do it in a way that is transforming the way we use energy and that is less damaging to the climate?” The past decade, Abbott explained, has been focused on integrating science into issues of climate, energy, and sustainability. According to Abbott, science informs the international climate agenda today more than ever before. She pointed specifically to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. Created in 1988, the IPCC provides policymakers with comprehensive assessment reports about the state of scientific, technical, and socio-economic knowledge on climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation such as reducing the rate and magnitude of climate change. “I used to lead the US delegation for[theIPCC]around2010,”saidAbbott. “That’s a group of thousands Earth Week
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Students raise funds for PTA through kindness By kate hill Staff writer
On April 18, the Burton Street Elementary School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) launched a new fundraiser, “Raise Craze,” which will run through May 13. Students can participate by registering with Raise Craze, an online platform that enables them to set up secure, custom websites where they can request donations from friends and family via email, text, or social media. The students then go out and pay it forward by completing Acts of Kindness (AOKs) in their homes, school, and community. Each AOK is represented as a leaf on the school’s “Kindness Tree.” Under the tree are bins for students to donate non-perishable food items and toiletries to CazCares food pantry and clothing closet. According to Nicole Maggio, who is co-president of BurSubmitted photo ton Street PTA this year along with Nikki Skeele, the Raise Craze platform suggests doing something “Craze-y” to mark The Burton Street Elementary School Parent Teacher Association launched Students l Page 4 its “Raise Craze” fundraiser, which will run through May 13.
During the April 25 Cazenovia Central School District Board of Education (CCSD BOE) meeting, Assistant Superintendent/School Business Official Thomas Finnerty reported that the recently passed New York State budget includes a plan to make the state’s approximately 50,000 school buses 100 percent electric by 2035. The new mandate will require that, by 2027, all new school bus purchases will be zero-emissions, and by 2035, all school buses on the road will be zeroemissions. Finnerty stated that although he and the other district business officials and superintendents he has spoken to are not opposed to the shift to clean energy, they have concerns regarding the “practicality” and costs of making the transition to electric buses within such a limited timeframe. BOE l Page 17
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Julie Gratien will be the visiting artist at Cazenovia Artisans for the month of May.
Cazenovia Artisans host visiting artist Just in time for spring’s burst of color upon our winter bleached senses, Cazenovia Artisans welcomes Julie Gratien as their visiting artist for the month of May. In Gratien’s newest work, the combination of her interest in the complex designs of the natural world and her constant exploration of “what if?” come together to create tactile surfaces with both visual and actual dimension. Starting with fibrous paper, Julie chooses colors and textures to build a close up and personal view of her subject. In addition to teaching art in the public schools for 22 years, Gratien has been actively teaching adults and children through community art classes and has received numerous teaching honors as well as earning recognition at many professionally juried art shows. Cazenovia Artisans invite you to come see Gratien’s newest mixed media collages at our gallery at 39 Albany St. The show will run from May 2- May 31. Gratien will be present on Saturday, May 7 from 2 to 5 p.m. to for an artist’s reception which is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Volume 213, Number 17 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
sports news: Girls track second at VVS Invitational.
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calendar: Check out local events happening around you.
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history ���������������������� 13
Editorial ��������������������� 8
PennySaver �������������� 10
letters ������������������������ 8
Sports ������������������ 15-17