June 11, 2007

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We’ll update you every other week with tidbits and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.

The Times, They’re Not a Changin’   

While even the President—that’s right George W. Bush—is talking about addressing the threat of climate change, here at home the New York State Senate remains the only obstacle to enacting major climate change policies.

A package of bills that would set up programs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through big investments in energy efficiency and clean energy is still stuck in committee in the State Senate with just two weeks left in this year’s legislative session. The measure passed the Assembly with ease back in April. Click here to urge your Senator to co-sponsor these bills and move them to the floor.

Why are these measures stuck? Could be well-financed opposition from the guys belching climate-altering pollution from their smokestacks. So we need you to weigh in with us to urge Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and his Senate colleagues to side with us!

To the Senate’s credit, lawmakers have moved bills that would establish a Climate Change Task Force for New York and are trying to promote the development of cellulosic ethanol, an alternative fuel that offers potential for displacing petroleum and reducing greenhouse gasses.

Political Energy Sucked Up by Energy

For the last two weeks Governor Spitzer and our state lawmakers have been busy debating the merits of various proposals to speed up the siting of new power plants. 

 Why the big rush to site power plants in New York? Beats the heck out of us.

 Investing in energy efficiency and clean energy makes more sense to us than building new fossil-fuel fired plants. There are already four power plants sited, licensed and ready to go except for one thing—the companies can’t find the money to build them. 

That’s right, there are already four power plants with a combined 2,000 megawatts of generating capacity (the size of the Indian Point nuclear power plant) that haven’t been built. And our leaders are trying to figure out how we can license more plants. The lack of a siting law may not be the problem. 

Kudos to Assemblymen Paul Tonko and Ruben Diaz Jr. Both spoke up during last week’s negotiations, questioning the construction of coal-fired power plants at a time when we’re trying to decrease carbon dioxide emissions, we have plans for four licensed plants waiting in the wings, and environmental justice concerns are being given short shrift in some proposals on the table.   

New Bills in Play

For more information about the bills below, click here.  Note: Each week's memos are posted at noon on Mondays.

Three Tree Bills:
Assembly Article X (A.8697)
Comprehensive State Energy Plan (A.8940)
Lighting Efficiency Standards (A.8641)
Net Metering (A.8690)
Smart Growth for a New Century (A.7271a/S.4338a) 

Two Tree Bills:
Alternative Fuels on the Thruway (A.1695/S.1988)
Cancer Mapping (A.1143/S.1592)
Clean Vehicle Incentive Program Act (A.9003)
Diesel Generator Prohibition (A.7434/S.3172)
Efficient Outdoor Lighting (A.7438/S.4364)
Electronic Waste Recycling (A.2798/S.5243)
Precautionary Principle (A.7494/S.4360) 

  One Tree Bills:
Brominated Flame Retardant Ban (A.7977/S.5244)
Green Roof Tax Credit (A.5449/S.4362)
LIPA Service Termination Fee Prohibition (A8304)
Outdoor Wood Boilers (A.1982/S.3833)

    One Smokestack Bill:
ATV Registration (A.1306/S.1122)

   Two Smokestack Bills:
Municipal Immunity (S.4265)
Senate Article X (S.5908)
Sprawl Subsidies (A.871/S.1483)

Act Now

With only two weeks left in the legislative session, don’t miss a chance to reach out and touch state lawmakers about the issue that matters most to you. Climate change, the Bigger Better Bottle Bill, preserving New York’s natural heritage—you name it and Environmental Advocates of New York has an issue to take action on. Click here to see our active campaigns. 

Other Bills Your Legislators are Considering

Silent but deadly? New legislation would allow officers of the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Division to use silencers on their weapons when hunting cormorants. Seems the uniformed Environmental Conservation Officers were the only folks authorized for silencers before, but this legislation would make them share their spy toys.

Too drunk to fly? This bill would make it illegal to operate an airplane while intoxicated. Guess there were some private pilots (the airlines have strict rules for their pilots) who thought they were allowed to fly when it’s against the law for them to drive a car, boat or bicycle.