December 15, 2008

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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Governor Paterson’s budget for next year will be released tomorrow. And while we won’t know exactly how bad things will be until then, we do know that he’s already advanced a proposal to cut the Environmental Protection Fund. That’s the trust fund that supports everything from water quality protection to recycling and public health efforts like breast cancer research.

Last week, Friends of New York’s Environment, a coalition of more than 100 environmental, health, agricultural, recreational and community groups, urged the Governor and state lawmakers to come to the defense of our natural resources. Because the Environmental Protection Fund doesn’t just protect the environment, it yields critical economic benefits across the state.

The Governor’s proposed cuts—and changes to the way money flows into the Fund—threaten the health of New York’s environment. The Fund helps meet billions of dollars in documented needs throughout the state for projects that include recycling, open space, farmland, and water quality protection, air quality improvements, pollution prevention, solid waste management, invasive species prevention, smart growth, waterfront revitalization, and historic preservation. And the list doesn’t stop there. The Environmental Protection Fund provides a much-needed economic stimulus to cities and towns statewide, creating and protecting jobs in several sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, education and waste management.

And while the Fund may represent a small slice of the state budget pie, it has big economic implications for New York State. Investments in the environment help the state to create jobs, support local businesses, protect property values, and reduce local property tax burdens. In addition, a significant portion of Fund resources go to state-mandated services often too expensive for local governments to handle on their own, such as the construction of municipal recycling centers and capping leaky landfills that pollute drinking water. Fund cuts will place a heavier burden on local taxpayers, already straining to meet their own financial obligations.

Earlier this year, the Governor proposed a 20 percent cut to the Fund’s total appropriation, from $255 million to $205 million, as well as major changes to its revenue source. If the upcoming Executive Budget Proposal includes a cut to $205 million for next year, it would mean a 31 percent reduction from the funding level now required by law. 

Shortsighted savings from cutting the Environmental Protection Fund today will derail conservation efforts that have been underway for more than a decade. The state is looking at a challenging budget year. But slashing the Fund and fooling around with its financing is not the best place to cut costs, not by a long shot.

Environmental Advocates of New York's recently released report, $aving Green,  sheds light on how state spending is wasting taxpayer dollars and energy, destroying wetlands, and increasing air pollution. $aving Green documents four programs, that if cut, could save New York more than $100 million this year alone. Instead of balancing the budget on the back of the Environmental Protection Fund and shortchanging critical programs, our leaders need to take responsible action and cut programs at odds with New York's environmental goals.

A complete analysis of the Governor’s budget proposal and its environmental impacts will be available at www.eany.org on December 22.

Click here to read more in the Times Union. 

FOUR STARS

Environmental Advocates of New York was awarded four stars by Charity Navigator based on our use of resources, staff and other factors. This top rating from the charity evaluator puts us in good company with some of the best run charities and advocacy groups in the country. And we’re very proud.

Click here to learn more about Charity Navigator. Click here to learn how we got our four stars.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE AN ADMINISTRATION MAKES

Last Wednesday marked two significant moments for those who care about the environment and our energy future. While President-elect Obama was, kinda sorta, announcing his decidedly green picks for the EPA top slot, Energy Secretary, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, President Bush was giving up his eight-year quest to ease restrictions on dirty coal-burning power plants. All together now, “And the times, they are a’changing.”

Read more about Obama’s picks here. 

Click here for more on the end of the Bush Administration’s quest to ease restrictions on power plant pollution.
And here.

THE FUTURE STARTS NOW

You’re invited to the 5th Annual Symposium on Energy in the 21st Century at Cazenovia College on April 17, 2009. Learn about cutting edge energy issues from top scholars and decision makers. 

This year’s topic is “Smart Growth and Transportation: Solutions & Options for Energy Conservation.” Sprawling towns and cities are creating an energy conservation nightmare, and transportation is big part of the problem. The Symposium will give light to solutions with the ultimate goal of using smart growth for energy conservation.

The Symposium program includes Geoff Anderson, President and CEO, Smart Growth America, Washington DC, to discuss the issue from a National Perspective, and Paul Beyer, Director of Smart Growth Planning, New York Department of State, to discuss Smart Growth issues in New York State. Rich Kassel, NRDC, Senior Attorney & Director of Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project and Ruth Horton, NYSERDA Program Manager, will both address transportation options including alternative fuels and technologies. Astrid Glynn, Commissioner New York State Department of Transportation is invited to talk about the future of transportation in New York State relevant to smart growth, and Congressman Michael Arcuri will address issues dealing with the Federal Transportation Bill. Dr. Samuel Merrill, Professor at the University of Southern Maine and Director of the New England Environmental Finance Center Smart Growth Network of EPA Region 1 will join us to discuss smaller communities. Tom Suozzi, County Executive of Nassau County, has been invited to share with us his impressive accomplishments in Nassau County. Kit Kennedy, Special Deputy Attorney General for Environmental Protection, Environment Protection Bureau, will moderate a panel of these speakers.

Register today. Space is limited. Don’t miss this chance to join academics, mayors, town supervisors, congressmen, mayors and their staff, governmental agencies, energy professionals and entrepreneurs, farmers, students and others to talk and learn.

For more information and Registration go to: www.cazenovia.edu/energy.