'Huge Victory' for Grassroots Climate Campaigners as NY Lawmakers Reach Deal on Sweeping Climate Legislation

By Julia Conley
Grassroots climate campaigners in New York applauded on Monday after state lawmakers reached a deal on sweeping climate legislation, paving the way for the passage of what could be some of the country's most ambitious environmental reforms.
The legislature reached an agreement just before midnight Sunday on the Climate and Communities Protection Act (CCPA), one of several climate bills state lawmakers have pushed in recent months since progressives gained momentum in their push for a federal Green New Deal.
New York's CCPA — like those passed in recent months in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington — offers a path forward for the implementation of Green New Deal-like laws at the state level, proponents say.
"This is going to be a huge victory for the environmental justice movement in New York," author Naomi Klein tweeted, adding that some far-reaching parts of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal grew out of state legislation.
Wow! This is going to be a huge victory for the environmental justice movement in NY. Almost there!! #PassTheCCPA (Fun historical note: some of the best parts of FDR's New Deal, like the Civilian Conservation Corp, were based on programs that began in NY State) #GreenNewDeal https://t.co/PzHED7IkvQ
— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) June 17, 2019
New York's CCPA calls for zero fossil fuel emissions from utilities by 2040. By 2050, 85 percent of all energy in the state will be from renewable sources under the legislation, with the remaining 15 percent being off-set or captured.
"By and large, this is a very big victory," Arielle Swernoff of New York Renews, a coalition that pushed to pass the bill, told the Huffington Post. The group counts more than 100 groups in its membership, including national groups like 350.org and Friends of the Earth as well as local organizations like Saratoga Unites and Syracuse United Neighbors.
🚨 @NYSenate @NYSA_Majority @NYGovCuomo reached agreement to #PassTheCCPA! 🚨 THANK YOU @SteveEngles @ToddKaminsky!
— NY Renews (@NYRenews) June 17, 2019
What we know:
✅ Sets most ambitious standards to cut emissions in US
✅ Invests 35%-40% of climate $ in frontline communities
✅ Supports workers in transition pic.twitter.com/b16FFzcvsM
The bill emphasizes the climate crisis's impact on low-income and marginalized communities, mandating that 35 percent of energy funding be directed to such towns and cities.
"By passing the CCPA with all its equity provisions intact, New York State can both address the climate crisis and build a more equitable economy," Assemblywoman Latrice Walker wrote at City Limits.
"Help is on the way," tweeted state Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who sponsored the legislation. "While D.C. sleeps through a crisis, New York steps up."
Dear 🌎: Help is on the way. Proud to announce a deal on climate bill #CCPA, with nation-leading carbon reductions in all sectors of economy. While DC sleeps through a crisis, NY steps up. @NYRenews @nylcv @nature_ny @NRDC @Earthjustice @greenwatchdogNY @citizensenviro @Surfrider https://t.co/c39Pehg9dh
— Todd Kaminsky (@toddkaminsky) June 17, 2019
Members of New York Renews gathered on Monday in Albany, where lawmakers are expected to pass the legislation on Wednesday.
"We believe that we will win!" the group chanted.
We Believe That We Will Win!
— NY Renews (@NYRenews) June 17, 2019
Get ready for the vote folks! pic.twitter.com/iqbmHtRv2n
Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York, gave credit to grassroots organizers for pressuring their state representatives to reach a deal on and pass the CCPA.
"Thank you to the frontlines for bringing this into Albany," Iwanowicz told the group gathered in the state capital. "Insiders couldn't do this by ourselves."
"Thank you to the frontlines for bringing this into Albany. Insiders couldn't do this by ourselves. This is the biggest, the boldest, the baddest climate policy! We will take this to Washingtom and the world." Peter Iwanowitcz of @greenwatchdogNY. We WILL #PassTheCCPA! @NYRenews pic.twitter.com/iQ7zEGZtGi
— Adrien Salazar (@adrien4ej) June 17, 2019
Beyond the benefits the CCPA has in store for New Yorkers, one climate campaigner wrote on social media, the expected passage of the bill after pressure from the NY Renews coalition bodes well for a potential federal Green New Deal in the future.
"What a massive win for the climate justice movement and the frontline communities that have fought so hard for this!" wrote Daniel Aldana Cohen, a professor at University of Pennsylvania. "If flipping a bunch of New York State senate seats and building fighting coalitions could achieve all this in a couple years — just imagine what millions of organized people in the streets and a federal Green New Deal could do."
This is really amazing. Also remember the giant tenants win. If flipping a bunch of NY State senate seats and building fighting coalitions could achieve all this in a couple years—just imagine what millions of organized ppl in the streets and a federal GND could do
— Daniel Aldana Cohen (@aldatweets) June 17, 2019
Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams.
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At first glance, you wouldn't think avocados and almonds could harm bees; but a closer look at how these popular crops are produced reveals their potentially detrimental effect on pollinators.
Migratory beekeeping involves trucking millions of bees across the U.S. to pollinate different crops, including avocados and almonds. Timothy Paule II / Pexels / CC0
<p>According to <a href="https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/beekeeping-how-to-keep-bees" target="_blank">From the Grapevine</a>, American avocados also fully depend on bees' pollination to produce fruit, so farmers have turned to migratory beekeeping as well to fill the void left by wild populations.</p><p>U.S. farmers have become reliant upon the practice, but migratory beekeeping has been called exploitative and harmful to bees. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/10/health/avocado-almond-vegan-partner/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported that commercial beekeeping may injure or kill bees and that transporting them to pollinate crops appears to negatively affect their health and lifespan. Because the honeybees are forced to gather pollen and nectar from a single, monoculture crop — the one they've been brought in to pollinate — they are deprived of their normal diet, which is more diverse and nourishing as it's comprised of a variety of pollens and nectars, Scientific American reported.</p><p>Scientific American added how getting shuttled from crop to crop and field to field across the country boomerangs the bees between feast and famine, especially once the blooms they were brought in to fertilize end.</p><p>Plus, the artificial mass influx of bees guarantees spreading viruses, mites and fungi between the insects as they collide in midair and crawl over each other in their hives, Scientific American reported. According to CNN, some researchers argue that this explains why so many bees die each winter, and even why entire hives suddenly die off in a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.</p>Avocado and almond crops depend on bees for proper pollination. FRANK MERIÑO / Pexels / CC0
<p>Salazar and other Columbian beekeepers described "scooping up piles of dead bees" year after year since the avocado and citrus booms began, according to Phys.org. Many have opted to salvage what partial colonies survive and move away from agricultural areas.</p><p>The future of pollinators and the crops they help create is uncertain. According to the United Nations, nearly half of insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction, Phys.org reported. Their decline already has cascading consequences for the economy and beyond. Roughly 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops around the world depend on bees and other pollinators for free fertilization services worth billions of dollars, Phys.org noted. Losing wild and native bees could <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wild-bees-crop-shortage-2646849232.html" target="_self">trigger food security issues</a>.</p><p>Salazar, the beekeeper, warned Phys.org, "The bee is a bioindicator. If bees are dying, what other insects beneficial to the environment... are dying?"</p>