Yonkers Insider: New York League of Conservation Voters: Environmental News for February 28th.

 

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

NYLCV Hosts Town Hall With Congressman Jamaal Bowman on Build Back Better  NYLCV hosted a virtual town hall with Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York’s 16th congressional district. Participants were able to actively ask the Congressman questions throughout the event about clean energy; federal monies; and how the climate crisis is affecting areas of his district such as Co-op city in the Bronx, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Hastings on Hudson, and so much more. Congressman Bowman made it clear: “Build Back Better is stalled right now. It is not dead. It is stalled.” He pointed to the necessity of the Build Back Better agenda citing recent climate and extreme weather catastrophes his district has faced. Read More

NYLCV Supports Legislation Seeking to Modernize Recycling System in New York State When it comes to combating climate change, we’ve been taught to prioritize the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. But figuring out the best way to do this can be confusing and difficult to navigate when the burden is placed on individuals. Extended producer responsibility (EPR), most recently proposed in Governor Hochul’s upcoming budget, seeks to take that pressure off of individuals and put it back on the producers of the goods we consume.  Read More

On Tuesday, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, New York League of Conservation Voters, and New York state lawmakers Sean Ryan and Bill Conrad held a press conference to thank U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for supporting the legislation so far while asking him to get it across the finish line. "We need to ramp this pressure up across the state, the region and our country to get this once-in-a-lifetime climate bill passed and we hope that the senators know that these investments would set the country on the path to a 52% reduction in carbon pollution by 2030," NYLCV President Julie Tighe said. The lawmakers said the legislation will have big impacts even at the local level in Western New York. For instance, Buffalo and other upstate cities have issues with outdated sewers that overflow into lakes, as well as lead drinking water pipes.   (Spectrum News)

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released a report showing that New York’s environment and sustainability initiatives are creating new green occupations, as well as creating additional demand for existing occupations and changing the skills required to fulfill others. In total, these occupations made up over 17% of all jobs in the state pre-pandemic. He urged the state to fund more educational and workforce development programs to grow the green economy and help bolster New York’s pandemic recovery. DiNapoli’s report found that the number of jobs influenced by the green economy in New York exceeded one million in 2019 and 2020. New York efforts to promote sustainability, including the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and the Reforming the Energy Vision, not only encourage the creation of new jobs related to clean energy and energy efficiency, but they can also affect employment more broadly, requiring new skills in existing occupations and increasing demand for others.   (NYS Comptroller)

The Department of the Interior today announced the results of the nation’s highest-grossing competitive offshore energy lease sale in history, including oil and gas lease sales, with the New York Bight offshore wind sale. These results are a major milestone towards achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Today’s lease sale offered six lease areas totaling over 488,000 acres in the New York Bight for potential wind energy development and drew competitive winning bids from six companies totaling approximately $4.37 billion. A recent report indicates that the United States’ growing offshore wind energy industry presents a $109 billion revenue opportunity to businesses in the supply chain over the next decade.   (Department of Interior)