Dear friends,
Yesterday and today have been gorgeous autumn days in New York. It has rained on each of the last seven weekends, however.
A mudslide in Westchester County disrupted Metro-North train service. Although the area got a normal amount of rain on Friday night — less than half an inch — there were close to 10.5 inches of rain nearby in the month of September, according to the National Weather Service.
Climate change is here, and we need to act.
NY Renews is an important coalition of environmental justice organizations that is working to protect workers, promote clean energy, and protect communities that face the most severe climate impacts. They were the organizational force behind the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
The package of legislation that NY Renews is working to pass now includes the Home Energy Affordable Transition Act (NY HEAT), the Climate Change Superfund Act, and the Just Energy Transition Act (JETA). These laws will stop fossil fuel subsidies, make polluters pay, and use those funds to invest in the energy transition.
The effectiveness of this coalition depends on our participation. NY Renews makes it easy by preparing folks to engage with their representatives.
Join a virtual lobby visit to talk to NYS lawmakers about the Climate, Jobs, and Justice legislative package.
Here are two repeat environmental actions, in case you missed them:
Clean air regulators have used a regulatory loophole called ‘the exceptional events rule’ to obscure the amount of pollution and claim the air was cleaner than it really was. They leave out the impacts of wildfires, for example. The problem is that these so-called exceptional events are increasingly commonplace.
it is always fire season somewhere in the U.S.
Let the EPA know that they must ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent to protect us from toxic air pollution rather than conceal important information from us. I made it easy.
Writing for the Union of Concerned Scientists, Dave Cooke explains that while the EPA’s mandate is to reduce particulate pollution, the NHTSA must cut petroleum use.
Cooke notes that the NHTSA’s proposal is okay, but unambitious, compared to what is possible to do in the timeframe for the rule (2027-2032). He suggests calling for reductions of 3 percent of fuel use per year for passenger cars and 5 percent per year for light trucks.
Make a public comment on new rules to reduce transportation pollution. As always, personalizing your comments helps and you can draw from Cooke’s explanatory post.
I have been encouraging you to show me what you’re reading, so that I will read and consider ideas that differ from my usual fare. A friend sent a piece by David Brooks called “The Essential Skills for Being Human.” It is a beautiful essay about being a receptive listener.
Like many people, I am weary of discussing war, so I’m taking a break until I feel I have something important to add to the conversation. I do want to recommend this excellent piece by Thomas Friedman, which is also about being human.
Read “We Must Not Kill Gazan Children to Try to Protect Israel’s Children.”
It should not be so hard for us to be human, and I encourage you to do what you need to do to preserve your humanity. I recommend avoiding the news in the hour before sleep.
Clarification: On Friday, I wrote about the two ballot proposals that New Yorkers will see when they vote in November (or early, beginning on Saturday, 10/28). I neglected to make clear that first of the two proposals is specific to small-city school districts.
Cities with fewer than 125,000 people are constitutionally bound to a debt limit “equal to 5% of the total value of taxable property in their city.” The proposal is to raise that limit to 10 percent. Again, stringent debt limits can undermine good governance by promoting short-term budget balancing rather than long-term investment.
I wrote a shorter post than usual on Friday. I’m going to try to make that exception more of a rule, as this seems to be my busy season and I need to pace myself.
with love,
L