Issue Position: The Environment

Issue Position

Assemblymember Barrett is committed to a sustainable future for our families and children. In 2017, she sponsored and passed landmark legislation to protect the Hudson River from a federal proposal to create more than 40 anchorages for petroleum carrying barges, effectively thwarting a plan that would convert the iconic river into a fossil fuel highway. Additionally, Didi has called on the EPA to expand their investigation of PCBs in the Hudson River, as well as continue active remediation efforts to restore the health of the river.

This year, Didi passed legislation to bring "carbon farming' to Columbia and Dutchess counties. Carbon farming is the use of environmentally friendly farming techniques which help keep carbon in the soil, where it aids crop growth, instead of in the air, where it harms humans and the environment. Her bill creates a pilot project at five local farms which will implement and study carbon farming. The legislation is a milestone in carbon farming nationally. It will offer important data about the potential of farming practices to sequester carbon in the soil and will help farmers improve soil resiliency and productivity on their farms.

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