Issue Position: Climate and Community Protection

Issue Position

Climate change is already hurting our state, through flooding and extreme weather events that damage crops and homes and jeopardize the ecosystems we depend upon. I support the Climate and Community Protection Act , which has passed in the NY Assembly. It will help New York minimize the adverse impacts of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating good jobs and protecting workers whose jobs might be affected, and prioritizing the safety and health of disadvantaged communities.

We need to move decisively away from fossil fuels, including rejecting any new fossil fuel infrastructure, such as fracked gas pipelines, without putting undue burdens on those least able to afford alternative energy sources. A good start is the proposal for Zero Cost Solar for All in the Governor's 2018 State of the State address, which would provide 10,000 low-income households with solar installations. But we need robust and concerted efforts as well to address energy use in transportation. Recent technological breakthroughs, such as the electric 18-wheeler, and tried and true technologies like high speed rail should be supported by the state.

Waste reduction should be another important priority for New York State. As a long-time board member of OCRRA, our local waste management agency, I championed the construction of a state-of-the-art food waste composting facility, which diverts tons of organic waste from landfills and incinerators and turns it into a valuable soil amendment. A mandate for commercial organics recycling has failed to make it into the last three state budgets; we should pass that legislation. We should also pass a plastic bag ban, coupled with a fee on paper bags. New Yorkers toss out 23 billion single-use plastic bags every year, and many of them end up in our waterways and eventually in our food chain. Many others find their way mistakenly into recycling bins and gum up the machinery at recycling facilities. And still others festoon our trees and shrubs. Governments around the world have banned single-use bags with great success, and New York can and should follow suit.

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