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Enforcing the Green Amendment

August 13, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In November 2021, 70% of New Yorkers voted to include environmental rights in the Bill of Rights of the New York State Constitution. The amendment recognizes and protects the rights of all New Yorkers to clean water and air and a healthful environment. It places these rights on the same constitutional level as other enshrined freedoms, such as the right to freely speak and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Since its passage, the Green Amendment has been at the center of controversy over how or even whether it is enforced. The state has taken the position that the amendment does not empower citizens to dictate the actions of agencies like the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

A lawsuit filed in 2022 by residents who live near the High Acres Landfill in Monroe County demanding environmental cleanup resulted in a ruling that complying with the Constitution is not optional for a state agency. That ruling was appealed, and the case is currently before an appeals court.

A similar lawsuit is now going on against the state’s largest landfill in Seneca Falls. Once again, the position taken by the state Attorney General is that the Green Amendment does not alter the DEC’s enforcement discretion as to whether to force the landfill operators to take action.

Environmental activists have been staging protests at the state Capital, urging the governor, the state attorney general, and the DEC to shift their approach to applying the Green Amendment. Until this issue is resolved in the courts, it is unclear whether this amendment, put in place by 70% of voters, will actually protect the citizens of New York and its environment.

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New York’s Green Amendment Guarantees the Right to a ‘Healthful Environment.’ Activists Want the State to Enforce It

Photo, posted April 22, 2023, courtesy of Pedrik via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Another ban on neonics

July 22, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There have been ominous declines in many insect populations. Chief among them have been declines in pollinators, which have severe consequences for our food supply. There are multiple possible causes of these declines and undoubtedly several have been involved simultaneously.

A new study on butterfly populations in the Midwest indicates that agricultural insecticides exerted the biggest impact on the diversity of butterfly populations in the Midwest during the period 1998 to 2014. The biggest culprits were the widely used insecticides called neonicotinoids that are absorbed into the tissues of plants.

Neonics are meant for targeted pesticide use but are often used more broadly, including for corn crops.

Neonics are already well-known to be especially harmful to bees and are gradually being restricted in various places. Quebec province passed restrictions on neonic-treated seeds in 2019. Last December, New York signed into law a phase-out of neonic-treated seeds and a ban on non-agricultural uses of them.

Vermont has now become the second state to ban the use of neonicotinoids by virtue of its state legislature overriding a veto from Governor Phil Scott. The law minimizes the use of neonics by requiring potential users to obtain written exemptions.

Opponents to neonic restrictions claim that slashing their use will greatly reduce crop yields. The experience in Quebec over the past five years is that the Canadian neonic restrictions have reduced corn and soybean crop yields by about 0.5%. As a result of this tiny reduction, there has been a strong reduction in the amount of neonics contaminating waterways.

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Vermont Becomes Second State to Ban Bee-Killing Neonic Pesticides

New ‘Detective Work’ on Butterfly Declines Reveals a Prime Suspect

Photo, posted September 7, 2017, courtesy of Watts via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

New York Bans Some Crypto Mining | Earth Wise

December 13, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Crypto mining, the arcane process by which cryptocurrencies are generated, is incredibly energy-intensive. As of this past summer, global electricity usage for the activity is as much as 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year, which is more than many entire countries use (for example Australia and Argentina.) Crypto mining consumes as much electricity as all the conventional computer data centers in the world.

All that energy usage is problematic for the environment, but a growing practice has made it far worse. Crypto miners have been re-powering decommissioned fossil fuel power plants to produce electricity strictly for mining operations. Doing so eliminates the climate benefits achieved by shutting down those plants.

The New York State Legislature passed a bill in June that would place a two-year moratorium on permits to re-power fossil fuel plants. It does not prevent crypto mining from existing generation sources. The bill had sat on the governor’s desk until after the recent election. But in late November, Governor Hochul signed the bill despite considerable lobbying against it.

The temporary ban was heavily opposed by cryptocurrency industry groups, to no surprise. While some states actually offer tax incentives to lure crypto mining operations, supporters of the legislation hope that New York’s action may cause others to follow its lead and stop the reactivation of old fossil fuel plants.

The two-year moratorium will allow time to properly evaluate the impact of the crypto mining industry on the state’s climate goals. It is pretty obvious that reactivating old, retired fossil fuel power plants as an energy source is a move in the wrong direction.

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