The global surface temperature for April 2022 tied with 2010 as the fifth highest for April in the 143-year NOAA record, which dates back to 1880. The year-to-date (January-April) global surface temperature was also the fifth warmest such period on record. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202204
NOAA monthly report predicts way above normal heat for summer. We are in the highest scorch zone.
Paddle the Walkill River
A convenient map that identifies access points for paddlers (rafts, canoes, kayaks) to enter and exit the Wallkill River. Click on the link to dig further and on any of the launch points for details and photos of the location.
NYS Takes Steps to protect Pollinators
Today, the New York State Assembly, led by Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Steve Englebright, passed The Birds and Bees Protection Act which would place a ban on neonic-treated corn and soybean seeds, which represent 73% of the neonics used in NYS agriculture bill. This bill bans the use of seeds coated with toxic insecticides called neonicotinoids or “neonics” and prohibits neonic use for ornamental and turf applications. In order for this bill to become law, it now needs to pass in the Senate before it can go to the Governor’s desk for her signature. We need your continued support to get this billl to the Governor’s desk. Please keep sending emails, calling your legislators, and organizing in your communities to promote the bill.
Read the bill passed in Assembly and now pending in our State Senate.
What’s the State of YOUR Air?
For 23 years, the American Lung Association has analyzed data from official air quality monitors to compile the State of the Air report. The more you learn about the air you breathe, the more you can protect your health and take steps to make the air cleaner and healthier.
Read more…..https://www.lung.org/research/sota/city-rankings/states/new-york/orange
Climate Acton Council releases Draft Scoping Plan of Climate Leadership and community Protection ACt (CLCPA)…
Fate of $500M Danskammer Energy plant in Newburgh
The appeal of the NYSDEC’s permit denial will play out this year against the The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act with an August 26, 2022 deadline.
US Sea Levels Could rise 10-12 inches
The US coastline is expected to experience up to a foot (30 centimeters) of sea-level rise by the year 2050, as much rise over a 30-year period as the previous 100-year period of 1920-2020, because of climate change, making damaging floods far more common than today, a US government study said Tuesday.
Read more….https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/sealevelrise-tech-report.html
See where flooding is expected…https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/#/layer/slr/0/-8272882.729902666/5072536.016884262/14/satellite/none/0.8/2050/interHigh/midAccretion
What is the full price of widening Route 17?
OE President Emeritus Michael Edelstein, cited in this article, lays out the issue of of poorly controlled growth, inadequate planning and weak environmental reviews as the making of this proposed “need”. He recommends that any future widening proposals must be studied in much greater depth, weighing alternative solutions, the potential impact on air pollution and most importantly should consider climate change as a key factor in any widening studies.
Danskammer Appeals Air Permit Denial
And the fight for clean air and mitigation of climate change impacts in our region continues……
Danskammer Energy announced on 11/24/21 that it will appeal the NYSDEC 10/27/21 ruling that denied the required air permit for operation of the power plant in Newburgh.
In its denial, the NYSDEC stated “…..The proposed project would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established in the Climate Act. Danskammer failed to demonstrate the need or justification for the proposed project notwithstanding this inconsistency.” Danskammer Energy says it disagrees with the denial saying the State DEC is holding them to “standards that don’t even exist.” The CLCPA was developed in response to the climate change crisis that mandates carbon emissions reductions. The law outlines goals of reaching 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 in New York, 100 percent zero-emission electricity by 2040 and an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The proposed expansion was the first large scale gas-fired power plant to be considered by state authorities since the 2019 passage of CLCPA.