EARLY EARTH DAY RALLY – DRESDEN, NY

THIS SATURDAY APRIL 17TH AT 2:00 PM

Starting Point: Seneca Street in Dresden –

Small Parking Lot by the start of the Keuka Outlet Trail

Dear Friends,
We learned over the weekend that the Torrey Town Board, despite what they said at their last meeting (about holding a special meeting for Greenidge later in the month), has rather quietly MOVED THE MEETING UP TO APRIL 19TH.

We’d planned an Earth Day Event but Earth Day Can’t Wait…

Please join us for a peaceful, family friendly rally 

THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 17TH AT 2:00 PM IN DRESDEN

BRING SIGNS! BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY! TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

FaceBook Event Link to Share (and register through):  https://fb.me/e/YTPrDmXK

We need the Town of Torrey Planning Board to understand the weight of their decision and act to protect the region and our climate from Greenidge’s expansion by rejecting their site plan application.

Rally Starting Point is at the small parking lot to the Keuka Outlet Trail on Seneca Street, Dresden NY (off of Route 14). Rally Route is a walk from there and a left onto Route 14, across the bridge, left onto Lampman Hill Road, Right onto Plant Road to the Greenidge Facility, and back to the parking area. Round Trip is 1.5 miles. * 

Overflow parking at the dead end of Seneca Street. Round trip from there is 2 miles. *

*Anyone with ambulatory issues can park along the shoulder of Lampman or Perry Point Road and meet up at the Greenidge facility. 

Please note: the shoulder is wide on Route 14, but for safety, we will walk single file facing traffic on the left side of the road.  

Follow the Seneca Lake Guardian Banner!

BRING SIGNS! BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY! TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

The long-range weather forecast is for 61 degrees with 7% chance of rain. Dress Accordingly.

PLEASE DO THIS TODAY: 
The Torrey Town Board also has an opportunity to adopt a moratorium to review the ramifications of noise, air emissions and water discharge impacts at its regularly scheduled meeting TODAY Tuesday, April 13th. If it does not, the Town’s Planning Board will decide Greenidge’s and the rest of the region’s fate on April 19th.
EMAIL THE TOWN OF TORREY CLERK before April 13th Ask them to adopt a temporary moratorium on bitcoin mining and in your email ask that this be shared with each member of the Planning Board and entered into the minutes of the meeting. Share your own reasons why you are concerned. (townclerk@townoftorrey.com) 

DISTURBING UPDATE: On April 6th, renowned environmental law firm Earthjustice and the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter sent a letter to the Department of Environmental Conservation detailing Greenidge’s current and anticipated air emissions, and expressing concerns about their expansion to other NY power plants. IT’S BAD:
“To put Greenidge’s emissions growth into context, 2020 air emissions data obtained pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law reveal that, in just one year, CO2eq and NOx emissions from the facility increased ten-fold. Greenidge’s emissions of CO2eq went from 28,301 tons when bitcoin data mining first began at the facility in January 2020 to 243,103 tons in December 2020 and NOx emissions jumped from 5.2 to 49.2 tons in that same period. That is despite the fact that in 2020, the plant only operated at 13% of its capacity. Greenidge has proposed ramping operations up to 55 MW soon, which will result in boiler-alone emissions of 551,569 tons of CO2eq, per year. If left unchecked, Greenidge will reach 106 MW capacity shortly, which will cause emissions to skyrocket to 1,063,024 tons of CO2eq per year, or 165 percent of the existing permit limit.”

News of Greenidge’s merger and plans to expand to other undisclosed locations means further insults to the environment and a slap in the face to the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which aims to reduce carbon emissions: https://waterfrontonline.blog/…/nasdaq-market-goes…/

We all have a responsibility to do everything we can to reduce the burning of fossil fuels in order to pass on a livable planet to future generations. Seneca Lake is fragile and at a tipping point. According to the Finger Lakes Institute, temperatures at the north end of Seneca are rising every year. Because of its magnitude and depth, it takes 20 years for Seneca to turn over. If Greenidge’s permitted 134 million gallon daily hot water discharges push us over the top, it could take hundreds of years for the lake to recover. In the meantime, the drinking water for 100,000 people is lost. Expenses for municipalities to provide potable water skyrocket. The $3 Billion annual revenue and 58,000 jobs in the Agricultural and Tourism industry is threatened. People who have spent generations building their livelihoods that rely on the lake could have their legacies ripped out from under them. Property values will plummet and subsequently so will the tax bases that support local fire, police and schools. In fact, support for this short lived endeavor to enrich the few means that we have everything to lose by permitting Greenidge to expand. And so does our planet.

PLEASE COME OUT FOR THIS URGENT EARLY EARTH DAY RALLY!

(See MAP below)

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