Latest State Wides: State Wide

New York is leading the nation in protecting the state’s drinking water from chemical contaminants linked to cancer even as the Trump administration is moving the nation backward when it comes to keeping drinking water safe.

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recently proposed Green New Deal would mandate that New York be powered 100% by carbon-free electricity by 2040. To meet this goal, the state will increase its targets for offshore wind power to 9,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035, which quadruples the previous goal of 2,400 by 2030; increase the distributed solar energy target to 6,000 MW by 2025, up from 3,000 by 2023; and deploy 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030.

Last month, Governor Cuomo and the Department of Public Service (DPS) moved to implement landmark new energy efficiency and energy storage targets that will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Nearly 250 cities, towns and villages in New York are changing the way they operate to fight climate change. These municipalities are part of the state’s nine-year-old Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program, which capitalizes on the fact local governments have direct control or major influence on most of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Late last month, the Trump Administration approved a plan to allow oil companies to conduct seismic testing along the Eastern Atlantic, seen as the first step toward the administration leasing federal waters for oil drilling. Oil and gas exploration not only severely disrupts marine wildlife, but it would also worsen the fight against climate change.

After advocacy by NYLCV and other environmental groups, the Clean Water Infrastructure Act passed last year and brought a $2.5 billion investment to improve drinking water infrastructure and water quality protection across the State. Last month, Governor Cuomo announced specific investments funded by the CWIA for different regions.

New York is combating a food waste crisis, with many establishments throwing away countless tons of food each day. This issue is exacerbated during the holiday season. Fortunately, the restaurant industry is helping New Yorkers reduce this through a variety of practices.

With 400 breweries statewide, beer is a big business in the State of New York. However, climate change is already affecting brewers. The Oxford Companion to Beer notes that the price of ingredients is “beginning to rise as the agriculture industry is affected by changing weather patterns.” Some brewers have been fighting climate change for decades.