Dr. Anshul Gupta of the Climate Reality Project on New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act was signed into law in July of 2019 and in the waning days of 2022 the final plan for its implementation was released by the state-appointed Climate Action Council.

The Act aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the use of renewable energy sources. It requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and no less than 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.

But fossil fuel interests, the gas industry in particular, have been running a massive disinformation campaign about the Act, spreading false and misleading claims about its potential costs and impacts, in an attempt to sow doubt and delay its implementation. Critics argue that the industry is prioritizing profits over the health of the planet and the well-being of communities.

The disinformation campaign is especially targeting plans to electrify new building construction. Buildings are the largest emitters of fossil fuel emissions in the state, comprising 32% of the total. That’s because most buildings are heated by gas, propane or oil. And a majority of New Yorkers use gas to cook their food, despite the fact that gas stoves emit dangerous levels of pollutants into the home.

Among the bills currently being proposed to implement the Climate Law the gas utilities are fighting are laws to mandate electrification in new buildings, to end millions in subsidies that ratepayers pay utilities every year to build out new gas lines, and to make it easier for the state to support low and moderate income families to transition to clean energy for heating and cooling.

This week we spoke to Dr. Anshul Gupta of the Climate Reality Project about the fossil fuel industry’s disinformation campaign. The Climate Reality Project was founded by former US Vice President Al Gore and trains climate reality leaders to work for just climate solutions. Full disclosure, Francesca Rheannon is the co-chair of the Climate Reality Project’s Long Island chapter.

Here is our conversation

During her conversation with Anshul Gupta, Francesca mentioned a video about a study in the Bronx that gave electric induction stoves to some of the residents of a New York public housing building.

The study, conducted by  WE ACT for Environmental Justice, replaced gas stoves in 10 intervention apartments while 10 control apartments retained their gas stoves. 

The results showed significant reductions in indoor air pollution when transitioning from gas to induction stoves. 

The study is the first in the United States to monitor indoor air quality in homes transitioning from gas stoves to electric induction stoves with residents in-place in affordable housing.

Here is information about the Climate Reality Project 

Information about New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is here  

More information about New York State's efforts to reduce our carbon footprint is  here

Asemblyman Fred Thiele: Reimagining LIPA

The Long Island Power Authority – LIPA - was established in 1986 to replace the the failed private Long Island Lighting Company.  LIPA is nominally a public utility, but it has always contracted out its operations to third parties.

In 2014  LIPA  hired a branch of  PSEG  - Public Service Electric and Gas, a New Jersey private utility – to operate the  Long Island utility grid. 

Recently, widespread power outages during Tropical Storm Isaias left hundreds of thousands of ratepayers without power. The debacle led to a call for a re-organization of the Long Island utility.

New York Assemblyman Fred Thiele represents the first district on eastern Long Island. He’s has long been vocal in his support of establishing a new fully public utility to operate the Long Island grid. To that end, he sponsored several bills that were enacted in the previous legislative session, including one establishing a Legislative commission on the future of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which he chairs. 

Its goal, according to the commission’s website, is “to develop and present to the legislature an action plan for implementing a true public power model for residents of Long Island and the Rockaways. This means LIPA would directly provide electric service to the more than three million residents and thousands of businesses in its service area without contracting out that responsibility to an investor-owned, for-profit utility.”

The bipartisan commission is currently holding public hearings and has formed an advisory committee of resident stakeholders. It hopes to be ready to transition LIPA to a true public utility when the current contract with PSEG-LI is up in 2025. Reimagine LIPA, a coalition of grassroots groups, is supporting that transition.

Host Francesca Rheannon talked with Mr. Thiele last week.

Listen here  

Here is more information about Reimagine LIPA 

Newsday: Pros and Cons of LIPA becoming a fully public utility

Commission must take a fair look at the future of LIPA

Build.in.Kind: Jaine Mehring on overdevelopment

 Build.in.Kind: Jaine Mehring on overdevelopment

Over – development in East Hampton and other east end towns is the subject of Jaine Mehring’s blog “Build.in.Kind.com”.

Mehring writes: “Aggressive building is of a scale and in a style far out of proportion and context with the character of the surrounding streets and neighborhoods.

A surge in lot subdivisions is driving rapid densification where there had been a sense of open space. 

The effect on our natural  resources is severe, as each year, miles of woodlands, dune land, wetlands and native vegetation are excavated.

It compromises quality of life for human residents and is devastating for our wildlife and biodiversity;

Francesca spoke with Jaine Mehring this week.  Here is the  conversation:

Listen here

Affordable Housing for Sag Harbor meets opposition

Eastern Long Island and in particular the South Fork Towns of East Hampton and Southampton have a housing crisis.

 

People who work there in schools, hospitals and the service industry can't afford to live there.

 

Eastbound morning traffic and westbound evening traffic - known as the 'Trade Parade' is glacial.

 

Last week voters in 3 east end towns approved a measure designed to help finance affordable housing  by taxing a portion of first time home sales.

 

But there are obstacles to achieving the goal of constructing affordable dwellings—not least of which is finding sites where building new housing and retail space doesn’t harm the environment or surrounding businesses and residents.

 

In historic Sag Harbor village, where home prices and store rentals have climbed in recent years - a proposal for 79 affordable apartments above retail space in the downtown area has met with opposition from residents concerned with environmental and other impacts in the area.

Host Francesca Rheannon talks with Sag Harbor resident Katherine Levy.

 

Listen here

More Information about the Sag Harbor affordable housing proposal can be found in the article Affordable Housing Pitched in Sag Harbor  in the July 8 2022 issue of the East End Beacon and  the East Hampton Star 

and 27east.com

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Community Housing Funding for the East End

 

On Long Island's East End, schools, hospitals and other public services rely on a workforce that can’t afford to live where people work. Rents can easily reach $6,000 or more for a two bedroom house–and that’s just for the nine months of the off season. Year-round housing is even more difficult to find. With summer housing out of reach to anyone except the wealthy, year-round workers find themselves without housing just when rents are the least affordable.

 

As a result, the daily so-called “trade parade” of workers driving in from the west adds hours to long commutes – and people have been quitting their jobs in droves: teachers, health care workers, firefighters, police, shop clerks, local government staff and more. Help wanted signs are everywhere, with fewer workers willing to brave the commute or able to afford the rents.

 

On November 8 voters will decide on legislation that would allow the towns of 

East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island and Southold to each establish a Community Housing Fund funded by a half percent addition to the existing 2% real estate transfer tax that funds the Community Preservation Fund.

 

Last year, State legislation authorizing the Fund was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. The bill was sponsored by State Assemblymember Fred W. Thiele, Jr. and his counterpart in the State Senate Anthony Palumbo.

 

The legislation mandated that Towns would have to first adopt a Community Housing Plan and a local law establishing the fund. That’s already happened. But a final step remains: a referendum by the voters to approve the legislation. That’s on the ballot November 8. 

 

This week I spoke with Sean McLean, managing partner of the development firm "MPACT Collective" about his experience with affordable housing development in the town of Southampton, New York.  The firm is focused on addressing development with a commitment to social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Mpact Collective is working with the village of Sag Harbor on similar plans for affordable housing–plans that approval of the referendum will make much easier.

  LISTEN here

New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act  
was signed into law in July of 2019
 
The legislation requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and no less than 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.

But fossil fuel interest are working to slow down or stop the implementation of the law.

Host Francesca Rheannon talks with Betta Broad of New Yorkers For Clean Power about the gas industry's disinformation campaign against state plans to implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. 

Listen here:

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More information:

New Yorkers For Clean Power

New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

NYSERDA - New York State's Energy Research and Development Agency

Anne Rabe - New York Public Interest Group - New York's Climate Legislation

Anne Rabe - New York Public Interest Group - New York's Climate Legislation

According to the New York Public Interest Research Group - or NYPIRG:

New York's Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law three significant climate bills this month that help place New York in the national forefront on energy efficient standards, expansion of geothermal renewable energy, and a just transition for geothermal and solar union jobs.

The laws are

the Advanced Appliance & Buildings Standards Act,

the Utility Thermal Energy Network & Jobs Act

and a bill that will require prevailing wages for solar panel renewable energy jobs. 

Other legislation supported by NYPIRG but not passed yet include the 

all electric buildings act, it would require that small buildings be all-electric by 2024and also a law to require more electric car charging stations.

Host Francesca Rheannon talked recently about this legislation with Anne Rabe the environmental policy director of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Listen here