Empowering Communities, Advocating Solutions

Brian Smith

Brian Smith

Brian joined the CCE team straight out of college, and hasn't looked back in the ten years since. From protecting and restoring the Great Lakes, to advancing clean, renewable energy such as wind, Brian feels blessed to work on issues that have a major impact on the environment and public health in his native Western New York. In additition to local issues, Brian works to advance CCE campaigns across New York and Connecticut in his role as Program & Communications Director.

Brian's Posts

Shape the Future of Great Lakes Restoration

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Great Lakes

Since it’s inception in 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has proved to be the shot in the arm that is needed to help bring the Great Lakes back from the tipping point of ecological collapse.  With more than a billion dollars invested through the GLRI, the program has been successful in cleaning up toxic hot spots, [...]

Posted in Climate and Energy, Public Health and Toxics, Water Protection | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lobbying for the Earth

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life liberty water

Today, hundreds of environmentalists from across New York State traveled to Albany, NY for the 23rd annual Earth Day Lobby Day.  Environmentalists will be meeting with members of the New York State Assembly and Senate, urging representatives to pass a series of bills identified by the environmental community as “Super Bills.”  The bills are common-sense [...]

Posted in Activism, Climate and Energy, Legislative, Public Health and Toxics, Water Protection | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sequestration’s Impact on the Environment

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capitol-building-DC

As you’ve no doubt heard, Congress has missed its deadline to prevent the automatic spending cuts known as “sequestration”.  This imposes $85 billion in across-the-board, indiscriminate cuts to the federal budget.  So what does this mean for the federal programs that protect our environment and public health?  The actual on the ground implications to our [...]

Posted in Legislative, Open Space and Wildlife, Public Health and Toxics, Water Protection | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Just Say No to Drugs in Our Water

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don't flush your drugs

As we like to say here at CCE, I like my morning coffee with cream and sugar, not viagra and steroids.  While some reading this might think that this would merely be a fun way to start the day, at CCE we say this to make the point that we must address the emerging problem of pharmaceutical waste that is finding it’s [...]

Posted in Open Space and Wildlife, Water Protection | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Governor Cuomo Must Keep “New Inlet” Open!

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New Inlet on Fire Island

Hurricane Sandy caused massive damage to homeowners, businesses, and our environment on Long Island and beyond.  If we could point to one silver lining, it would be the creation of a new inlet in the Fire Island Wilderness Area.  In fact, Sandy caused three three breaches to open on Fire Island.  Two inlets were immediately closed.  [...]

Posted in Water Protection | Tagged , , , | 3 Responses

Don’t Let the Great Lakes Get Pushed Off the Fiscal Cliff!

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Great Lakes

If you are like me, you are so sick and tired of hearing about the looming “fiscal cliff” that you wish you could just push Congress over the (fiscal) cliff and be done with the whole thing.  If only it were that easy. Without getting into too many of the finer (AKA painful) details, here [...]

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Wanted: A Great Lakes President

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Brian mitt and Barack

I recently hopped in the car and drove a few hours west to spend a few days in Cleveland, Ohio.  From the moment I crossed the Ohio state line, I was inundated by the campaigns of the two leading candidates for President of the United States.  Radio ads, billboards, and lawn signs were ubiquitous.  The [...]

Posted in Water Protection | Tagged , | 1 Response