“The Obama administration is caving to big polluters at the expense of protecting the air we breathe,” said League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski. “This is a huge win for corporate polluters and huge loss for public health.”

Upstate New York is staggering from an accelerating exodus of young adults, new census results show. The migration is turning many communities grayer, threatening the long-term viability of ailing cities and raising concerns about the state’s future tax base.

From 1990 to 2004, the number of 25-to-34-year-old residents in the 52 counties north of Rockland and Putnam declined by more than 25 percent. In 13 counties that include cities like Buffalo, Syracuse and Binghamton, the population of young adults fell by more than 30 percent. In Tioga County, part of Appalachia in New York’s Southern Tier, 42 percent fewer young adults were counted in 2004 than in 1990.

“Make no mistake: this is not business as usual,” Robert G. Wilmers, the chairman of M & T Bank in Buffalo, told his shareholders this spring. “The magnitude and duration of population loss among the young is unprecedented in our history. There has never been a previous 10-year period in the history of the upstate region when there has been any decline in this most vital portion of our population.”

In New York City and the five suburban counties in New York State, the number of people ages 18 to 44 increased by 1.5 percent in the 1990′s. Upstate, it declined by 10 percent.

Over all, the upstate population grew by 1.1 percent in the 1990′s — slower than the rate for any state except West Virginia and North Dakota.

Continued…

Review  the film called ‘Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy,’ released on 7/12/11.

I’ve been skating and watching skate videos for about six years now. I am also a big fan of punk rock and a lifestyle associated with it. Skatopia is the sickest video I have watched in a very long time though. It chronicles a year at Skatopia, a Skatepark in the middle of Appalachia, in which skating, music, and punk rock lifestyles are embraced. This video is like Bam Margera on Acid! I couldn’t help but laugh over and over at the crazy antics these skate punk hillbillies actually do. From mosh pits, to burning car – destruction and anarchy are shown in a true, real-life way. The skateparks in the video are amazing, and you would never think that you would find such a great spot in the middle of nowhere.

What makes this video so refreshing is that it encompasses the lifestyle of skating as well as skate footage itself. Just about every other video I’ve watched includes nothing but the skaters riding around doing tricks. That’s good and all, but Skatopia lets you into the lives of these kids. You can see the passion, the enthusiasm, the pain, the craziness, and most of all, the dedication. Watching the kids in the video work hard to build new ramps and snakeruns is so inspirational – I wanted to grab a hammer and nails right after I watched this video! I didn’t that available at that moment though, so I did the next best thing and picked up my board and went skating for a few hours, came home, watched Skatopia again, and decided that I definately need to make a trip to Appalchia sometime to check this place out.

Until I watched this video, I didn’t even know about this place. Now all I want to do is go! The bond everyone shares is something skateboarding is missing!

I heard Bill McKibben describe this first…this article on 2011′s extreme weather ends with sobering statistics on how our human-warmed atmosphere is leading directly to heavy flooding and snowfall. Those of us who dealt with high water this year had better get used to it!

The year 2011 has begun with a remarkable number of high-impact floods world-wide, and much of the blame for this can be placed on the current La Niña event occurring in the Eastern Pacific… When one combines the impact of La Niña with the increase of global ocean temperatures of 0.5°C (0.9°F) over the past 50 years, which has put 4% more water vapor into the atmosphere since 1970, the result is a much increased chance of unprecedented floods. A 4% increase in atmospheric moisture may not sound like much, but it turns out that precipitation will increase by about 8% with that 4% moisture increase. Critically, it is the extreme rainfall events that tend to supply the increased rainfall. For example, (Groisman et al., 2004) found a 20% increase in very heavy (top 1%) precipitation events over the U.S. in the past century, and a 36% rise in cold season (October – April) “extreme” precipitation events (those in the 99.9% percentile–1 in 1000 events. These extreme rainfall events are the ones most likely to cause floods.

Empty pools, spray paint and Dave Reul come together here (Salba too.) Check it out.

The unofficial local chronicler of all things Skatopia… Beth Sergent taps in to how Skatopia and Walmart have more in common than you might think.

Bowl Bash tradition continues: ‘88 Bands of Anarchy’ promised

by By Beth Sergent Gallipolis Daily Tribune

BSERGENT@MYDAILYSENTINEL.COM

RUTLAND — Starting Friday, skateboarding pilgrims will flock to the hills of Rutland Township for the 16th Annual Bowl Bash at Skatopia which promises “88 Bands of Anarchy.”

Bowl Bash is an unofficial and offbeat tourist destination that “dare not speak its name” in the hallowed halls of officially sanctioned Meigs County events though it still brings in visitors who spend money here.

This year’s event begins Friday well into Sunday morning with those 88 bands playing on three stages – bands like Nassau Chainsaw, Green Jelly The Snotty Kids, The Stink and The Cooties. It’s an annual weekend of music, skating and tired eyes watching the sun come up over a Rutland hollow. As usual, no tickets are sold for the event though a donation is greatly appreciated for admission, according to Brewce Martin, owner of Skatopia.

Yesterday, Martin and crew were busy preparing Skatopia for the bash and its pilgrims; pilgrims who have likely read the Rolling Stone spread or seen the documentary “88 Acres of Anarchy” and/or the MTV Skatopia True Life episode – and they want to know more. The True Life episode which was broadcast this past April, featured footage shot at last year’s Bowl Bash – the episode was aired across the nation on the Emmy-award winning series, casting a light on a small but notorious corner of Meigs County.

Myths, rumors and truths about the place aside, Martin has claimed his place “isn’t just a place to party” and that “99 percent of the time out here it’s just normal life going on.” Martin has also poked fun at the Skatopia stereotypes, saying it “isn’t full of poverty-ridden dirt bags” though he’s admitted it attracts a diverse population when it comes to those pilgrims who arrive at the gates.

“This is the funny thing, there are all kinds of people here just like when you go to Wal-Mart…you don’t know who you’re going to see,” Martin has said in the past.

A complete list of bands can be found on Skatopia’s official website.

Everyone should have TV party every couple weeks! Check out Skatopia’s party – The Bowl Bash – this coming weekend! We’ll be down with Collector’s Edition DVDs, T-shirts & more. See you there.