...by giving themselves an environmental award, of course! note that the Lafarge press release touting their environmental award came out, according to the article, 6 months after they received the award. during that time we held two press conferences pounding on Lafarge for their mercury pollution, and this Albany Times Union reporter did a great story about how that cement kiln is the biggest mercury polluter in the state.

Timing's everything for top polluter's award

Conservation group's nod to Lafarge wasn't touted until company needed favorable publicity

RAVENA -- It's not every day that the state's largest source of toxic mercury pollution can tout a national environmental award. But it can only help to belong to the group giving the award.

The Lafarge cement plant in Ravena is one of 21 companies—including coal-fired and nuclear power plants, plastics factories and petrochemical facilities—to be honored for biodiversity conservation by the Maryland-based Wildlife Habitat Council.

A Lafarge press release announcing a news conference today says the award was just given for the company's 150-acre Deer Mountain Nature Preserve, an area of woods and hiking trails that opened near the plant in 1993.

However, the award came six months ago, according to a council news release last November. That was before Lafarge began facing increased criticism for mercury pollution from its Route 9W plant near Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School