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The EPA is supposed to be our nation’s environmental watchdog, and their most fundamental responsibility is to ensure that Americans have clean air and clean water. No one wants to go back to the days of smog-filled skies and contaminated water. Yet this administration is seeking to roll back decades of bipartisan environmental protections that ensure those most basic rights, while at the same time gutting their own agency. And while the Trump administration wants to pretend that climate change doesn’t exist, New York knows better.

While the budget may seem like an accounting exercise that leads to a dense, numbers-heavy document, it is in fact a policy blueprint that shapes nearly every aspect of life in the Empire State—from public transportation and healthcare to environmental protection and clean energy investments. The budget is one of the key opportunities for NYLCV to advance policies that fight climate change, protect public health, and promote sustainability. But how does the process work? Let’s break it down.

Replacing just one mile of old gas pipeline costs $6 million — and New Yorkers foot the bill through rising utility rates. The NY HEAT Act offers a better path forward: modern, efficient, and clean energy upgrades for entire neighborhoods — at no cost to residents. This Yonkers community was transformed — see how it can work for all of New York.

The data is in, and it confirms what congestion pricing supporters hoped for but few expected: the benefits are being

Decarbonizing SUNY campuses is an important priority for the New York League of Conservation Voters, and last week we had a big win in that category.

Mark Tausig, Ph.D., is a volunteer writer for the New York League of Conservation Voters. He is a retired Professor of Sociology, where he studied health disparities, social networks, work and mental health, international health, and population aging in low—and middle-income countries. His latest book, Population Aging in Societal Context: Evidence from Nepal, will be published by Routledge later this year (2025).

Along with 246 organizations representing a diverse array of interests, the New York League of Conservation Voters signed a community letter to oppose S.220/H.R.521 and any other bills attempting to repeal or undermine the Antiquities Act.  In the letter addressed to United States Senators and members of Congress, the coalition writes, “For more than 100 years, the Antiquities Act has been one of our nation’s most critical conservation tools for preserving our nation’s most important public lands and waters. From Bears Ears to Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, our monuments and other protected public lands and waters unite all Americans by protecting our shared heritage for future generations to enjoy.”  “This legislation is a direct attack on the rights of Americans to their public lands and the bedrock law that ensures the country’s most treasured natural, cultural, historical, and recreational landscapes can be protected from irreversible development and destruction,” said Chris Hill, Chief Executive Officer of the Conservation Lands Foundation.  

Last week, the New Yorkers for Clean Air coalition, alongside legislators and community advocates, gathered in Albany to demand immediate action from Governor Kathy Hochul on the overdue cap-and-invest rules. After retreating from her signature climate policy, the coalition is calling on the Governor to stop delaying and start holding polluters accountable by advancing a program that will significantly reduce harmful emissions and improve public health. Cap-and-invest is New York’s bold initiative to invest in infrastructure that reduces pollution, improves public health, and powers our clean energy future. By setting enforceable limits on emissions and funding renewable energy, modern infrastructure, and energy affordability programs, this initiative will create jobs, lower energy bills, build stronger communities, and secure cleaner air for generations to come.