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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 16, 2005

 

Call for fresh approach to environmental issues kicks off UUP lecture series

United University Professions (UUP) launched the first in a series of legislative lectures today in Albany with an address from law professor Barry Boyer, a UUP member from the University of Buffalo.

“The purpose of these lectures is to showcase the tremendous talent we have in our SUNY faculty,” said UUP President William E. Scheuerman. “We want lawmakers and the public to use us as a resource.”    

Boyer said that with a huge agenda of unfinished environmental business in New York state, the answer to addressing such projects is creating environmental partnerships between government and the private sector.

With the topic, “Can We Find the Dollars – and Sense – to Protect New York’s Environment,” Boyer said the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a tremendous amount of work merely to maintain existing programs, not to mention other environmental issues that remain to be addressed. “Not surprisingly in the current public-sector fiscal climate, agency staff and resources have not kept up with these growing demands on government,” Boyer pointed out.

In order to respond to this challenge, Boyer advocated the development of public-private partnerships. “Environmental partnerships have much promise as a way to help take the next big step in managing our environment.”

While some environmental partnerships are already in place, Boyer said more needs to be done. “Environmental management has been slow to develop and rely on the non-profit sector for service delivery.” He said one obstacle to overcome is the controversial nature of environmental issues. “Collaborative arrangements work best when the service in question is relatively non-controversial,” he said. But he added that while, “Environmental management has more than its share of controversial problems to deal with, there are also many issues on which a high degree of consensus prevails, and these would be the most likely candidates for collaboration.” For example, he cited the ongoing collaboration between the non-profit Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and the US Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate the Buffalo River Remedial Action Plan.

Prof. Boyer, a UUP member, has served on the faculty of the University of Buffalo Law School for over 30 years.  He has also served as dean of the law school and director of the university’s Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy.

The UUP lecture series is presented with the cooperation of Senator Kenneth LaValle and Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, chairmen of the Senate and Assembly Standing Committees on Higher Education.

UUP represents more then 34,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 New York State-operated campuses, and is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT).    

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