{"id":1619,"date":"2016-02-01T08:44:34","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T13:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/?p=1619"},"modified":"2016-02-01T08:44:34","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T13:44:34","slug":"the-governors-budget-tackles-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/the-governors-budget-tackles-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"THE GOVERNOR\u2019S BUDGET TACKLES CLIMATE CHANGE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that 2015 was by far<\/em> the hottest year in recorded history.\u00a0 For the first time, the Earth is 1.8 degrees warmer than in pre-industrial times.<\/p>\n

At the recent Paris climate accord, the world\u2019s leaders promised to limit the increase of the Earth\u2019s atmosphere to no more than 2 degrees.\u00a0 The 2015 temperature hike underscores how difficult that pledge will be to keep.<\/p>\n

Experts have said that an increase in the world\u2019s temperature that exceeds the 2 degree limit is likely to unleash global climate changes that may be extremely dangerous and perhaps impossible to reverse.<\/p>\n

The increasing global temperature is being felt in New York.\u00a0 New Yorkers who have suffered through extreme weather events like Sandy, Irene and Lee need no reminder that incredible heat spells, snow falls, rain, surging tides and floods are the new normal.\u00a0 Climate change is not just an environmental issue: A warming climate is affecting New York\u2019s agricultural and tourism sectors; deteriorating air quality results in more emergency room visits, illnesses and deaths; extreme heat is taking an increasing number of lives; and heat and frequent severe weather significantly increase the demands placed on the state\u2019s infrastructure, particularly the state\u2019s rickety electric grid.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why governments must act.<\/p>\n

Here in New York, the Cuomo Administration has offered plans to curb the state\u2019s contribution to global warming.\u00a0 The first step was to block expanded exploitation of fossil fuels in New York through the ban on fracking.\u00a0 The next steps were unveiled in the governor\u2019s 2016 budget plan.<\/p>\n

The Administration has mandated that New York double its reliance on renewable energy to power the electrical grid in just 15 years. \u00a0By 2030 the goal is for the state to get 50 percent of its power from renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n

In its budget plan, the Administration highlighted its $5 billion Clean Energy Fund, which will combine existing and new programs to grow renewable energy across the state, and the Clean Energy Standard, which will mandate more renewables in a tight timeframe.\u00a0 Both of these plans are essential to the Administration\u2019s efforts to curb power plant emissions and stimulate the use of alternative energy, from battery storage to electric cars.<\/p>\n

In addition, the governor is seeking to phase out its two coal plants, by converting them to natural gas or shutting them down entirely.<\/p>\n

Under the governor\u2019s plan, New York will add 150,000 solar panels on businesses and homes, as well as at State University of New York campuses by 2020. \u00a0The state will also have a goal of making 500,000 new homes more energy efficient. \u00a0In total, the state\u2019s energy research agency will finance $1.5 billion in clean energy projects across state-owned buildings as well as local and municipal projects by 2020.<\/p>\n

The Administration also calls for the construction of 300 wind turbines, a 40 percent increase, and to create a plan to develop offshore wind resources.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are still issues that need to be finalized.\u00a0 For example, while the state moves toward its goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030, it must not subsidize energy sources that are not renewable\u2014such as nuclear energy and solid waste incineration.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s budget contained other important environmental initiatives \u2013 from boosting support for the state\u2019s Environmental Protection Fund, to enhanced spending on upgrading drinking water and sewer lines, as well as wastewater treatment facility repairs and upgrades.\u00a0 New York\u2019s aging infrastructure is in desperate need, and the costs of repair and replacement only increase after system failures.<\/p>\n

History will judge how our society handles the unprecedented threat posed by climate change.\u00a0 The governor\u2019s budget offers a blueprint, now it\u2019s up to the legislature to improve and approve it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that 2015 was by far the hottest year in recorded history.\u00a0 For the first time, the Earth is 1.8 degrees warmer than in pre-industrial times. At the recent Paris climate accord, the world\u2019s leaders promised to limit the increase […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1620,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619\/revisions\/1620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nypirg.org\/capitolperspective\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}