Yonkers Insider: New York League of Conservation Voters: Environmental News for August 22nd.

 

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

Breaking Down the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 On August 16th, President Biden signed a sweeping tax, health and climate bill into law, delivering a historic investment in clean energy. The Senate approved the package by a margin of 50-50 with Vice President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The House of Representatives approved the package by a margin of 220-207. The measure includes $369 billion  toward climate and energy. Did you contact your representatives about their vote? Take action here. Read More

Drought Watch New York Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to expand the state’s drought watch to 49 counties- every county except for those in the Great Lakes, Adirondack and NYC / Westchester regions. This announcement follows the July 29th addition of 21 counties in Western and Central New York to the state’s drought watch.  Read More

Your Guide to the August Primary Elections    Happy primary season, New York! Here we have a guide for how to vote in the upcoming primary elections on August 23rd. The primary elections for the House of Representatives and New York State Senate are scheduled for August 23 this year. Primary elections are used to select a candidate for each political party, so you need to be registered for a party in order to vote in a New York primary election.   To see our list of NYLCV endorsed climate champions, click here.    (NYLCV)

Op-ed: Green infrastructure is flooding's kryptonite By Julie Tighe   Whenever there is heavy rain in New York City, my Twitter feed is inundated with videos of flooded subway stations and submerged roadways. I see stairwells turned into waterfalls and subway commuters walking through ankle-deep water. As unpleasant as it is to imagine the experience, those who merely have to wring out their socks after a storm are the lucky ones. In 2021 flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed 45 people in the New York area. This chilling reality will only get worse unless we implement climate-resilient infrastructure.   (Crains)

New York AFL-CIO endorses $4.2B environmental bond act   A plan to borrow $4.2 billion to help gird New York's waterways and other infrastructure against the worsening effects of climate change has picked up more support from labor.    Supporters of the bond act, a long-gestating proposal first announced by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo but delayed amid the pandemic, have pointed to the jobs that could be created by the spending to bolster waterways and wetlands as well as municipal and wastewater infrastructure projects.   (NYStateofPolitics)   NYLCV is helping to lead the charge with the Vote Yes for Clean Water & Jobs campaign to ensure the Bond Act passes this November. To learn more, visit the coalition website and follow the campaign on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.