Yonkers Insider: New York League of Conservation Voters: Environmental News for April 18th.

 

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

New York State Budget Recap After another protracted budget session in the New York State Legislature, we are happy to say that this year’s budget has delivered for the environment. Some of the biggest wins to come out of the 2022-2023 budget negotiations are the $4.2 Billion in the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, often referred to in Albany as the “Environmental Bond Act,” along with major wins in Wetland Protection, Electrification of School Bus Fleets and an extension in the Brownfield Cleanup program. While we were successful in including these major initiatives, there is still a lot of work to be done in the remaining weeks of the legislative calendar.  Read More

Preliminary Budget Hearings for Committees on Housing & Buildings and Transportation & Infrastructure The New York City Council recently held preliminary budget hearings for the Committees on Housing and Buildings, and Transportation and Infrastructure. For both of these hearings, NYLCV New York City Program Associate Carlos Castell Croke submitted testimony in support of expanding the city’s budgets to make existing plans to reduce emissions and improve transportation infrastructure more feasible. New York City buildings are easily the heaviest contributor to carbon emissions in the city, accounting for up to 70% of carbon emissions and 80% of total water usage. Decreasing building emissions is therefore vital in reducing the city’s overall carbon footprint.  Read More

Op-ed: To meet our renewable energy goals, we need clean power from upstate By Julie Tighe, NYLCV and Tom Wright, RPA       The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act demonstrated the state’s commitment to healthier communities, greener jobs and a stronger economy. It offered a model for how governments across the country could transition to clean energy in a smart way that maximizes benefits, particularly for communities historically overburdened with pollution and underserved by clean energy. Thanks to the state climate law, New York is on track to meet 70% of its electricity needs with renewable resources by 2030 and 100% with zero-carbon electricity by 2040. However, up to 65% of the state’s population is being left out of the benefits due to the constraints of transmission from upstate renewable energy sources to the New York City metropolitan area.   (Crains NY)

New York schools have five years to begin electric bus conversion    Studies show numerous benefits to going electric. Diesel fuel has been shown to exacerbate respiratory illnesses and cause cancer. Electric buses have 70 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than diesel buses, which benefits the environment and results in cleaner air for students, drivers and the community, according to advocates. "Our students go to school to learn but we put them at risk when we send them to school in diesel buses," Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement. "We have to consider that asthma is the leading cause of school absences, currently impacting 1 in 10 school-aged children in New York State."   (Albany Times Union)

Two clean energy projects approved by state's Public Service Commission     Green energy from upstate and Canada: those are two sources New York City will soon be tapping into to produce its electricity.  The Public Service Commission finally gave the go-ahead to two big projects.  Currently, about 85% of New York City’s power comes from burning fossil fuels. New York state has the goal of a zero-emissions electricity sector by the year 2040. “This is a big step forward on that, and it sends a very strong signal that New York is real about not just setting goals but actually turning these goals into projects that would deliver clean energy on the ground," said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.   (NY1)