GREEN SHEET NEW YORK

Vol. 11 - No. 4
April 2006


Inside this Issue:
Celebrate Earth Day, All April Long: Environmental Advocates of New York Leads Month-Long Spotlight on Super "Green" Bills
Director's Chair
Intern News
Field Notes
For Your Information
On the Alert
About GSNY

Celebrate Earth Day, All April Long: Environmental Advocates of New York Leads Month-Long Spotlight on Super "Green" Bills

To celebrate Earth Day this year, Environmental Advocates is doing things a little differently. We've scheduled a month of activities centered on the Super Bills to show state lawmakers that New Yorkers are united in their support of common-sense legislation that protects our environment. And rather than asking you to come to Albany, we want you to call/email/fax legislators in the Capitol and let them know it's Earth Day out in their home districts—where it really counts.

Earth Saving Tips From Earth Share At work Conduct an energy audit at your workplace. Look for lights and equipment left on, drafty windows and doors, and other energy-wasters. At home Turn off your computer. A running computer can cost you between $100-$400/year in energy costs. On the road Use cruise control, don't idle, inflate your tires properly, change your air filter, and don't speed. For more tips Visit: www.earthshare.org and click on "news & resources".

What do you need to know about the Super Bills?
The Super Bills were developed by the Green Panel, which includes environmental groups from across the state:

• The Community Preservation Act—gives cities and towns the power to voluntarily create a dedicated fund to protect natural areas and historic architecture. The Act has passed the Assembly and is stalled in the Senate.
• The Clean Water Protection/ Flood Prevention Act—fills a gaping loophole in New York's wetlands protection laws. The Wetlands Act has also passed the Assembly and awaits a Senate vote.
• The Bigger, Better Bottle Bill— expands New York's bottle law and generates new funding for environmental protection. This bill is poised to pass the Assembly.
• The Environmental Protection Fund Enhancement Act—raises the fund to ensure the state is ready and able to fund growing demand for environmental projects. This bill is also poised to pass the Assembly.

To learn more about this year's Super Bills, visit: www.eany.org/capitolwatch/priorities.html and www.eany.org/capitolwatch/billratings.html.

Super Bill Lobby Days
Beginning in early April, the groups who built consensus around the Super Bills are hosting lobby days to educate lawmakers about why New York needs these environmental laws now.

April 17-21: Act locally
State lawmakers will be on "break" the week before Earth Day. This is your chance to schedule a time to meet with legislators close to home. Call your legislators' offices and let them know that you want New York's environmental heritage protected. To learn more about how to lobby your legislator, visit www.eany.org/takeaction/lobbyingtips.html. If you're not sure who represents you, visit: www.eany.org/capitolwatch.

April 25: It's okay to phone it in
Also known as "low-emissions" lobby day, this is your opportunity to let state lawmakers know that their constituents support the Super Bills and a healthier environment, generally. On April 25, we invite you to contact your local legislators directly and let them know that New Yorkers are united around the Super Bills. To contact your Assembly member, call 518-455-4100. To contact your Senator, call 518-455-2800.

April 25 : Earth Day at the NYS Capitol
In Albany, Environmental Advocates will visit legislators to make sure the message sticks—New Yorkers support a clean, healthy environment—and lawmakers' support for the Super Bills is just one way to prove they do, too.

This Earth Day, join us and put the environment at the top of lawmakers' to-do lists. Visit www.eany.org for more information.

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Director's Chair

It’s April and that means Earth Day is coming soon. This year, the environmental community and Environmental Advocates of New York are trying something new—a low-emissions lobby day.

In the past we encouraged activists from around the state to jump in their cars and travel to Albany to speak to legislators—spewing climate-altering pollution the whole way here and back.

This year, we're asking you to reach out to your legislators from your home or workplace. Through the power of the Internet and your telephone line, you can make your voice heard in the Capitol. And all without driving your car, renting a bus, or buying a train ticket.

On April 25th, the environmental community wants to send a strong message to our elected officials in the Capitol and we want you to be a part of it. You can make a difference by joining the more than 5,000 participants on Environmental Advocates’ eAdvocacy network and contacting your legislators at the click of a mouse. Or you can fax or phone in your advocacy. It’s a lot easier than traveling to Albany and it can be just as effective, especially if we generate more than 5,000 emails, phone calls, and faxes to the Capitol.

To participate, please sign up at www.eany.org and click on “Join our eAdvocacy network today” or call your local legislators directly. You’ll be glad you did, and it will give you the instant ability to contact your elected officials about issues that are key to New York State's environmental health.

So mark your calendar and plan on making your voice heard.

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Intern News

As part of Environmental Advocates' ongoing research into NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) compliance with the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act, SUNY Albany intern Allison Beals has been comparing individual water pollution permit (SPDES) holders with the state's recently released list of impaired waters. Allison's efforts will help us determine if the DEC is allowing ongoing illegal discharges into waters that are currently not meeting water quality standards.

Intern Kelsey Matusak has been taking a closer look at the voting records of New York State's Senators and Assembly members. After compiling records from Voters' Guides from 1996 to 2005 into a database, she was able to analyze the data and look for trends, including regional trends. Using the Project Vote Smart website, Kelsey compared each legislator's environmental score with ratings from other interest groups. She compared our environmental ratings with those of the Business Council of New York State, Public Employees Federation, the Humane Society of New York, and the Conservative Party of New York State. We hope to use this database to find further trends and determine important areas to focus our work.

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Field Notes

Environmental Advocates' Regulatory Watch Program Director Tim Sweeney has been keeping busy with hearings on dam safety and brownfields regulations. He most recently testified at NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hearings on proposed regulations for the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), Superfund, and Environmental Remediation Program. Despite the requests of Environmental Advocates and others to hold hearings throughout the state, DEC opted to go with just three—New York City, Rochester and Albany.

The overwhelming majority of testimony delivered the same message: The proposed regulations need work. DEC heard repeatedly that the regulations deviate from the requirements of the BCP statute with regard to the protection of public health and the environment, and that the cleanup standards established for many contaminants were not in keeping with the most up-to-date science.

Environmental Advocates also be submitted written comments to the DEC. We remain hopeful that the DEC will consider all of the input they receive on these regulations and will make the changes necessary to ensure that they are truly protective of public health and the environment.

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eAdvocacy in Action

♦CPA Update: Since launching the Campaign for Community Preservation, the coalition of supporting organizations has grown to more than 70. New additions include New York Coastal Preservation Network, Finger Lakes Land Trust, Fishkill Ridge Caretakers, Eden Conservation Board, Orange County Land Trust, Putnam County Coalition to Preserve Open Space, Regional Plan Association, Thousand Islands Land Trust, and Warwick Conservancy. Our online activists have sent hundreds of letters thanking New York Assembly members for passing the Community Preservation Act and urging the Senate to do the same. Citizens throughout the state are working to pass resolutions in their hometowns.

Our campaign toolkit, available at www.savenys.org, now includes a sample town resolution, case studies for the towns of Amherst and Oyster Bay, lists of supporting organizations and New York State legislators, links to the bill text, and an updated, printable brochure.

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For Your Information

♦It's a Date: Have an upcoming event you'd like to publicize? Share it with us! Environmental Advocates of New York is now publishing an online calendar of New York State environmental events at www.eany.org. Send information, including date, location, time, and title, to info@eany.org.

♦Blockbuster: A new documentary exploring the realities of living near a wind energy project and the benefits of wind power development is available free of charge at the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACENY) website, www.aceny.org. New York Wind debunks many of the myths about the environmental impacts of modern-day wind farms and features testimonials from current neighbors of wind farms in New York State and Pennsylvania.

Currently, New York has four modern wind farms with a capacity to bring 246 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the state’s electrical grid, providing enough electricity for about 80,000 households.

In addition to testimonials from wind farm neighbors, the documentary features experts from Environmental Advocates of New York, the University at Albany School of Public Health, the American Lung Association of New York State, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

♦Meals on Reels: Ever wonder what goes into the production of your dinner? The True Cost of Food is a 15-minute animated movie about sustainable food. Produced by the Sierra Club, the film explores the hidden costs in mass-produced food and the alternatives that are kinder to the planet and better for us. The way food is produced and the way we eat create huge costs that are not reflected in our food bills, including damage to the environment, loss of quality of life, and health issues. Visit www.truecostoffood.com to watch the movie and learn more about the campaign. For more information, email: truecostoffood@aol.com.

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