Democratic Congresswoman from New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wears a face mask to protect herself from the coronavirus during a press conference in Queens on April 14, 2020 in New York City. Johannes EISELE / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
As the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 stood above 63,000 people Friday—with over a million confirmed cases nationwide—Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill in the U.S. House that would enable a federal relief agency to provide disaster assistance during pandemics.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The Democratic congresswoman represents New York's 14th district, which—along with the rest of New York City—has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. The Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act was <a href="https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-introduces-legislation-to-expand-access-to-disaster-assistance-during-pandemics" target="_blank">introduced</a> in the upper chamber in March by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).</p><p>The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can currently only give financial assistance to individuals impacted by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, and wildfires. Harris and Ocasio-Cortez's <a href="https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/sites/ocasio-cortez.house.gov/files/documents/Pandemic%20Bill.pdf" target="_blank">bill</a> would amend existing law to add pandemics to the emergencies that qualify for FEMA relief.</p><p>"Nearly 20,000 people in my district have tested positive for a deadly virus," Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement Friday. "Thousands of my constituents are without work. We built temporary field hospitals in public parks. This is what a disaster looks like. FEMA needs to begin immediately dispersing aid to individuals hurt by Covid-19."</p>
<div id="a175f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c4f0d57808bc7cc8da754fb15eb55af7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1256277377824567297" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In an emergency, relief isn’t just about getting resources, it’s also about of getting them out in time without unn… https://t.co/daFmt6rRs0</div> — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)<a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/statuses/1256277377824567297">1588354842.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Under the proposal, following approval from a governor and the president, individuals impacted by a pandemic would be allowed to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP), the federal benefits commonly called food stamps.</p><p>Those affected by an approved public health crisis would also be able to qualify for other assistance from FEMA. Specifically, Harris and Ocasio-Cortez highlighted help with medical, funeral, and childcare expenses as "critical" for people who have endured a pandemic like the ongoing Covid-19 disaster.</p><p>"We are in the midst of an unprecedented public health and economic crisis, and people are hurting," Harris said Friday. "The magnitude of this crisis demands that FEMA treat those impacted by pandemics the same as it does when a natural disaster strikes."</p><p>"That includes providing disaster food assistance, disaster unemployment assistance, and help paying for funerals," Harris added. "I'm proud to partner with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on this legislation to ensure the federal government uses every tool available to help the American people recover from this crisis."</p>
<p>In addition to introducing the companion legislation to Harris' bill Friday, Ocasio-Cortez—who is up for re-election this year—held a press conference at her campaign's Bronx organizing base, during which she highlighted the efforts of community groups providing critical relief to her constituents.</p><p>As the<em> Bronx Times</em> <a href="https://www.bxtimes.com/aoc-to-provide-update-on-covid-19-relief-efforts/" target="_blank">reported</a>:</p><blockquote>The congresswoman announced a new fundraising drive for workers on the front line. To date, the campaign has raised nearly $350,000 for 15 community groups exclusively through grassroots donors. These groups are providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to front-line workers as well as financial support to undocumented families, service workers, the food insecure, and Amazon warehouse workers in her district.<br><br>The congresswoman is setting a new goal to raise $1 million for these groups by mid-June. Representatives from some of the local community groups spoke at the press conference.<br><br>Ocasio-Cortez also discussed her campaign's food relief program. Through a partnership with four local food banks and the support of grassroots donors and volunteers, the campaign has delivered more than 500 meals to constituents and is committed to delivering 2,000 by mid-June.<br></blockquote><p>After the press conference, Ocasio-Cortez shared Instagram videos of her and other volunteers passing out food to local families. The congresswoman, who wore a face mask, railed against the federal government's failed response to Covid-19.</p>
<div id="8d0f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ae924562aeb5901ed8f653c274ef71f3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1256272526155661314" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">AOC is out here IN THE RAIN delivering food, IN A WAGON, with money SHE raised, to people in her district because w… https://t.co/eNeI8ik9IM</div> — Daveen Trentman (@Daveen Trentman)<a href="https://twitter.com/daveentrentmann/statuses/1256272526155661314">1588353685.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/01/what-disaster-looks-ocasio-cortez-house-bill-would-allow-fema-provide-pandemic" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Urban community garden composting seen in New York City. Education Images / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
New methods to reuse "fast fashion" clothes, recycling of construction materials, and adoption of electric school buses could all become possible in New York City under far-reaching new climate legislation introduced Thursday by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
<p>The proposals include measures to encourage New Yorkers to use the city's composting program to cut down on the 3.1 million tons of garbage, one-third of which is food waste, households produce each year — measures that could eventually become mandatory, the legislation says. Johnson, who is running to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021, said he also would push proposals to convert Rikers Island into a renewable energy hub and push for solutions to protect the city's shorelines from sea level rise. </p><h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6G9GSC49SF75V9bGlz1-fkdN0/*W20C3N91X3PttW4V9SX74sF2lF0/5/f18dQhb0S1Xq7w2QxfSmLh1J0V9sVb1XsJ1k8-yyW8K7rSY62Sq51W5z5SSS5jX9CCN6vsjGwXLgF0W5Mdj_l2yry8DW52FCC556tdQDW7W3vYw8tRCC8W7zpcFL5WNSdwW6ZYw2D5hjbs3N7z2bsJYXhtkW4d2sLM63ndKNW6LJzTW6bj8DWW5VVs2v21r3tmW826KRz1PfXSqN6vjRhbGBbWlW5T6R324hptNlVGC1Gj7kDf3jV2L6Sr5kzG92W6CcRYk5hN8BcW8lJ0Sz2Lr3V_W4M41sj2R973JW5jML1h48cPF5VkjsfH61v5HRVsyTgd32HTDWW8sl22P78RrvbN7tG8hm2KW5lW21rfQn7mJ64_W5p7xjk8V7_3gW3MDYVL2G6X0YW4cjrQC3VvWJtN87WmspTHt1FW3pH21r75nQ7FW3Qy98h6Fp0GgW6vnYs086hQ7tW7RKT2s3cPzs9W3Z3W_g7XY074W2KBl_S2ytQ9zW6-_3fW4S4BvxMZB7dKn9CvXW1cZByP22ZZRzW8Zjdk090k_p2VjJfmW6p1H9xW5R1Xj-4rKklNW5JrxlD1hjLF7W901cZ44qMxp20" target="_blank">NY Post</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6G9GSC49SF75V9bGlz1-fkdN0/*W2Nfn0F5rZ-0ZW5SxxLD8Sf69T0/5/f18dQhb0S1Wd2RMFdXVWWdCJ5VRw7gN3hVZwTmWF_0W6yys4H4VR406N2SdT3tqn08tW7L6qS55pVHyKW7yPvFj6z66HDVzlyjr1tGgFdW73Rn5Z7b2DxfW4MQzzJ4rSDNSW8N8Plv1LWBJ5W1zC6zj5Ptms2W8q0GCN3Md4MZW43sPhS7ZH9rrW7TBYCw6xvwfjVrJZh57mZB0jW2YYpG77FYxC7VWxqtG4SKG7BW1RWntN8-6ZbTW7Y3yg01pvm4yW71tg0g3Knn8XW5krlmK8qb4ygW1Y8yJP19XB30N7tzZVfR5Y66N3_qwXG18v9-W33sCGR3vTg9fW5Z_dLg4RPkY2VFsH658fnTqgW8BlH9s3KpxYtVJ-1Dl6t85L4W1SYSYQ4pkzGNW7qPs6f75Qh1_W5p069F3Qxm6-W9hRFRZ3Fmhn2W7sgTZT222kXyN74CwM5JnZ-SW99V7Bp3NLbk8W4k_4gX7lsrPpW2069-P5dy9k9W6l1lp898v7YgW4w589S8H95wyW6cKtwJ3VZ2dpW2grjF_8jFK9wW372D-z7cnRb1W2j0lqc1_N72GW6_L_RZ4D5-RTW638-pK3GV232W7MhyTd6h3hkSW8sgkpy958V9_W4FZ2Sz345nftW6-Rglm8gn5K5W2fjL5H397c12W4gz_4N9cgT1YdbBM8N02" target="_blank">Politico NY</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6G9GSC49SF75V9bGlz1-fkdN0/*W70Cb9K6tjq77W4CnHSS7T_zrm0/5/f18dQhb0S3kg252mBcT2s3319JyY0N2lxSGljSRgBW54y7tw4_NpBFW1PJtx26jwdHQW6QVV0v79khScW37Tjnf5kRN5TW3ZvRby9h8-JSVmq_dQ7HcFpBW8hqcqx8-Ml35W20NcBP20ZQySW5HrWwp8yf_q4N3nyGX7V-gy4MBCqTSnMsD1M1xgtZYx1GmW6dgYCd8ydwbbW8lhs-t6JSr63W7Zc0mV3n2LYYN1jqHCsTQ86CW7tlylG38W-qpW2sxR242XPcTmW6Q66VG8NDCPYW4bWry91z9TCwW17cKG61m14bfW2yRZ4c6RLTN2W4K48jJ4MQpXCW6VTmvL4kx1q9W2TR3hW7s1gFxW8Ct0J55jr7g8W3fTLFk7qMwxKW1ZKfbg6H3qd1W3dfjKx6m-msDW1lqQ635sZjs2N5KzbkH-5r2lW7-_7nV1P9tC6W10G1kT89vWZ8W5QFSWB7JtM3fW53P-3t8d4dRsW64yKmV2ljmF8N67tvs4ZwtgBVx5pqV87dLHwW5Rc61g6RcmX1W5yhK-Z502rHjW28C7pv1WV80wW2QVB1V7wTg_L111" target="_blank">New York Times</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Flooded battery park tunnel is seen after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. CC BY 2.0
President Trump has long touted the efficacy of walls, funneling billions of Defense Department dollars to build a wall on the southern border. However, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released a study that included plans for a sea wall to protect New Yorkers from sea-level rise and catastrophic storms like Hurricane Sandy, Trump mocked it as ineffective and unsightly.
<p>Now, six-weeks after plans for a sea wall drew the President's derision, the federal government abruptly decided to halt the project, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/nyregion/sea-wall-nyc.html" target="_blank">according to The New York Times</a>. </p>
<p>The sudden announcement from USACE to indefinitely postpone plans for a sea wall surprised some of its own officials, local politicians and environmental activists, all of whom see a mounting threat to New York City from the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate crisis</a>, as The New York Times reported. The USACE official in charge of the project said it was very unusual to lose funding after more than three years of work on the project and millions of dollars spent. </p>
<p>"This doesn't happen," Robert Freudenberg, vice president for energy and environment at the Regional Plan Association, an urban research and advocacy group, said to The New York Times. "This is an in-progress study."</p>
<p>Furthermore, the surprise announcement that USACE did not receive the necessary funds in its raises questions about political interference in its <a href="https://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/docs/civilworks/budget/FY%202020%20Work%20Plan%20Investigations%20Statement%20of%20Managers%20FINAL.PDF" target="_blank">work plan for 2020</a> raises speculation that the President's whims led to the shortage of funding. Officials did not say whether or not President Trump's tweet led to the shortage of funding, as The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>Six weeks ago, on Jan. 18, after USACE created five possible proposals to reduce storm flooding during large coastal weather events, President Trump attacked the most expensive plan, which called for a sea barrier with retractable gates that would stretch from New Jersey to Queens.</p>
<p>"A massive 200 Billion Dollar Sea Wall, built around New York to protect it from rare storms, is a costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably won't work anyway. It will also look terrible. Sorry, you'll just have to get your mops & buckets ready!" Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1218674016942219265" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p>
<p>New York was not the only Democratic-leaning area to lose funding for a project that would protect its citizens from floodwaters. Recently, similar projects in Baltimore, Rhode Island, and New Jersey also lost funding. A senior administration official said, "it is required that these studies have a reasonable cost and scope. These particular ones did not," as The New York Times reported. </p>
<p>"We can only speculate, but I think the tweet gives a clue as to the reason" for the suspension, Freudenberg said to The New York Times. "This is a president who gets good headlines for his base out of acting against 'blue' states, and there's a disturbing pattern of stalling or trying to end projects that are important to the Northeast."</p>
<p>Cancelling the project has left New York and New Jersey in a lurch since it stripped the two states of their best chance at procuring federal money to address coastal flooding. </p>
<p>"There is no other study underway at this scale that could give federal dollars to protect our people, our businesses and our ecosystems," Scott Stringer, New York City's comptroller, said to The New York Times.</p>
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Pump Train in Cranberry Street Tunnel after Hurricane Sandy. MTA New York City Transit / Leonard Wiggins / Wikimedia
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on New York City's transportation system. Storm surge pushed a flood of seawater into vehicle tunnels, railyards, ferry terminals, and subway lines.
<p>"Hurricane Sandy was a big wake-up call for the city," says Susanne DesRoches, New York's deputy director of infrastructure and energy.<em></em></p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/12468101/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>She says after the storm, subway tunnels and stations had to be pumped out. Electrical systems needed to be cleaned, repaired, and tested. In some places, it took weeks to get up and running again.</p><p>As seas rise and weather gets more extreme, the risks from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" rel="noopener noreferrer">flooding</a> only grow. So New York is working to make its massive transportation system more resilient.</p><p>"We're looking at major flood protection systems across the subway network, the airports, and our vehicular tunnels that go in and out of Manhattan," DesRoches says.</p>
<p>For example, the city has installed huge floodgates at the entrances of two tunnels. A steel floodwall will soon protect the Coney Island railyard, and the city's working on ways to seal off subway station entrances and vents.</p><p>It's a multi-billion-dollar effort, but DesRoches says the next time a natural disaster hits, New York expects to be better prepared.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/12/new-york-city-spends-billions-on-flood-protection/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Animal rights activists hold a rally in support of a bill to ban the sale of foie gras on June 18 at New York City Hall in New York. ANGELA WEISS / AFP / Getty Images
By Lindsay Campbell
New Yorkers will have to say au revoir to foie gras come 2022.
<p>This week, the New York City Council voted overwhelmingly (42-6) in favor of <a href="https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3844860&GUID=A91556AB-4F62-4902-A808-0FEE9B46F16D&Options=Advanced&Search=" target="_blank">a bill</a> that will ban the sale of foie gras in three years. The legislation will bar stores, farmers' markets and restaurants from storing and selling products that come from the practice of force feeding birds.</p><p>The traditional method of making foie gras, known as gavage, involves force feeding corn to ducks or geese through a tube to fatten up their livers.</p><p>While <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-rights">animal rights</a> activists have cheered the bill, many chefs are not happy with the ban. It will reportedly impact around 1,000 restaurants that serve foie gras on their menus. Once it comes into effect, those caught serving force-fed foie gras could face fines of up to $2,000.</p>
<p>Opponents have argued that the ban will also threaten the livelihood of upstate farmers that produce foie gras, as the city's restaurants make up a significant proportion of their market.</p><p>On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio told the Times that the mayor would sign the bill into law.</p><p>In 2012, California implemented its own ban, which led to a court challenge. It was ultimately upheld in an appeals court. Chicago also banned foie gras production in 2006, but that city's ban was reversed two years later.</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2019/11/new-york-city-to-ban-foie-gras/" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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Jeff Reed / NYC Council
The New York City Council last week overwhelmingly passed one of the most ambitious and innovative legislative packages ever considered by any major city to combat the existential threat of climate change.
<p>The foundation of this package is a bill that will require large and medium-sized buildings, which account for nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the city, to reduce their emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The very worst performing buildings will have to act by 2024 to curb their emissions.</p><p>By 2030, this bill will cut New York City's overall emissions by 4 million tons, which is the equivalent of taking 800,000 cars off of the road.</p><p>In addition to reducing emissions, this bill will also accelerate the adoption of renewable energy and will foster the growth of the renewable energy market, something we desperately need.</p><p>These are big changes, and change doesn't always come easy. </p><p>Some critics and building owners have argued that the emission limits set forth in this bill are too stringent, and that the penalties for noncompliance are too high. </p><p>The penalties were set to be roughly equivalent to the cost of compliance, so a building owner should have no excuse not to do the work. Additionally, this legislative package also includes a bill that will help building owners pay for the required retrofits through Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. PACE loans are paid off from the cost savings from energy reduction.</p><p>The Council is doing everything in its power to make sure building owners can comply with this legislation, because we know that noncompliance means ecological disaster.</p><p>This is not fear mongering. </p><p>The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report in October that found there is nothing we can do to stop global warming, and that we are already seeing its devastating effects. </p><p>But the report — which was commissioned after the Paris Climate talks — also found that we can mitigate the impact of global warming if we take dramatic action, including seriously reducing greenhouse emissions. </p><p>However, we do not have a lot of time. According to the report, we have 12 years to act before it's too late. </p><p>The consequences of not heeding this warning will be cataclysmic. </p><p>In the coming decades, coastal cities like New York will be hit hard with rising sea levels, leading to severe and frequent flooding. Extreme weather all over the planet will be the norm, including high heat, hurricanes, and storm surges. This will threaten our homes, our infrastructure, and our very way of life. The death toll will be unfathomable. </p><p>We are in a race against the clock to preserve the world for our children and our grandchildren, and that is why the New York City Council is committed to making big changes to improve our planet. </p><p>As the Speaker of the New York City Council, I could not be more proud of the actions we took.</p><p>These are aggressive, concrete steps toward the creation of a Green New Deal for the largest city in the United States, which will create as many as 8,000 permanent jobs over the next 10 years.</p><p>But I also know that New York City alone cannot solve this global crisis. Because we cannot rely on the federal government, it will be up to the states, the cities and other localities to act to save the planet. I hope that there is something in this legislation that others can use as a model for their own work. </p><p>The world has 12 years to act.</p><p>I am proud to say we are acting.</p><p><em>Corey Johnson is the speaker of the New York City Council.</em></p>
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By Eoin Higgins
The New York City Council passed the world's "largest single carbon reduction effort that any city, anywhere, has ever put forward" on Thursday afternoon, marking a major milestone in the fight against the climate crisis.
<p>The Climate Mobilization Act contains 10 provisions for a greener New York.</p><p>"It's a new day," tweeted Council Speaker Corey Johnson.</p>
<div id="28a70" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AUZC081576663581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1118903299908960256" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It’s a new day in New York City. Climate change is an existential threat and we must rise to the occasion. The… https://t.co/Ojzc7kGe2U</div> — NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson)<a href="https://twitter.com/NYCSpeakerCoJo/statuses/1118903299908960256">1555602309.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Chief among the bill's provisions were regulations that directly affect city buildings.</p><p>The legislation packages together 10 separate bills and resolutions, and calls in its centerpiece bill for a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from city buildings. That level of reduction, and the associated costs of such a move, led real estate interests in New York to oppose the bill, which is known as Intro 1253 in the City Council. </p><p>Those efforts were unsuccessful, as the measure passed by a vote of 45-2. </p><p>Opponents of the legislation claimed it could have an adverse affect on the city's economy and lead to a drying up of jobs.</p><p>But, as HuffPost <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nyc-green-new-deal_n_5cb8761ee4b096f7d2dcfc40" target="_blank" style="">reported</a>, that doom and gloom future is unlikely:</p><blockquote>The new rules would create demand for more than 3,600 construction jobs per year, by one estimate, and another 4,400 jobs in maintenance, services and operations, fueled by the sheer magnitude of the investment required to meet the emissions goals.</blockquote><p>According to The New York Times, buildings <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/nyregion/nyc-energy-laws.html" target="_blank">account</a> for 67 percent of the city's emissions. </p><p>"We are answering the call for bold action we've heard from the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change], Donald Trump's own National Climate Assessment, and the City's own panel on climate change," said Council Member Costa Constantinides, the chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection and the lead sponsor of Intro 1253.</p>
<div id="335a6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="WPPY421576663581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1118968632741068802" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Honored to see the #ClimateMobilizationAct pass in @NYCCouncil this afternoon. Thanks to @NYCSpeakerCoJo, amazing c… https://t.co/pjV47FXe5D</div> — Costa Constantinides (@Costa Constantinides)<a href="https://twitter.com/Costa4NY/statuses/1118968632741068802">1555617886.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The act is expected to be signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat who may be eying a run at the presidency in 2020.</p><p>"The bills will be the largest single reduction effort that any city has put forward," said City Councilman Keith Powers. </p>
<div id="21d1b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UTXJ4P1576663581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1118957443126632449" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today, @NYCCouncil voted on the most ambitious plan by any city to address climate change.
The bills will be the… https://t.co/BFvXfueXhF</div> — Keith Powers (@Keith Powers)<a href="https://twitter.com/KeithPowersNYC/statuses/1118957443126632449">1555615218.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Activist groups hailed the move.</p><p>"This bold package of bills [serves] as a vivid reminder that communities at the front lines of the climate crisis are already, and must continue to be, at the forefront of solutions," <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2019/04/18/350org-historic-climatemobilizationact-passing-unprecedented-leap-toward-green" target="_blank">said</a> Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, the North American director for 350.org, in a statement. "New York is shaping up to be a model for real climate leadership for the rest of the country and world."</p><p>New York's move comes as the Green New Deal is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/17/we-can-be-whatever-we-have-courage-see-new-video-aoc-envisions-greennewdeal-future" target="_blank">gaining in popularity</a> across the U.S. — <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/18/commondreams.org/news/2019/04/18/youth-led-campaign-kicks-poll-shows-majority-canadians-want-green-new-deal-too" target="_blank">and in Canada</a> — and as Extinction Rebellion protesters in the U.K. are leading a week of aggressive civil disobedience <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/18/commondreams.org/news/2019/04/15/time-excuses-over-extinction-rebellion-protests-shut-down-european-cities" target="_blank">against</a> a "life-denying system."</p><p>"A climate justice movement is rising," said Rachel Rivera, a member of the activist group New York Communities for Change. "It's the beginning of a Green New Deal and it fills me with hope for our planet."</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/18/new-day-new-york-city-council-passes-sweeping-climate-bil" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Fed Up With Big Banks That Fund Climate Crisis and Oppression, Community Coalition Demands Public Bank for New York
06 June 2018
Business
At a rally in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, community and social justice groups demanded that New York City divest from Wall Street and establish a public bank. 0debtzone / Twitter
Chanting, "Wells, Chase, B of A, public bank's a better way!" social justice groups rallied at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday to demand that New York City divest from Wall Street banks and establish a public bank that is "expressly chartered to serve the public interest."
<p>"New York deserves a public bank that will invest in community needs, and be accountable to New York City residents—one that will prioritize housing ... and not prey on low-income New Yorkers," said Scott Hutchins, a member of the grassroots social justice group Picture the Homeless.</p>
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</p><div id="3056c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2MORHU1576662648"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1004032867167424513" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Activists chant as a group of progressive New York community groups launch a coalition to divest from Wall Street a… https://t.co/FXFHH9hQHh</div> — A.P. Joyce (@A.P. Joyce)<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewPaulJoyce/statuses/1004032867167424513">1528215064.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p>The more than two dozen groups that gathered on Wall Street also included New York Working Families, the Pan-African Community Development Initiative and Food & Water Watch.<br></p><p>Investment in Wall Street banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of Americas and JPMorgan Chase is synonymous with harming the environment, propping up private prisons and putting working families at risk for financial collapse as well as pushing them out of New York neighborhoods, argued the groups.</p>
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</p><div id="a6a48" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77HPON1576662649"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1004042843466420226" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">For us to truly reinvest in the community, we demand our money goes into a public bank that invests in community la… https://t.co/4FCybF3YnU</div> — #FreedomCities (@#FreedomCities)<a href="https://twitter.com/FreedomCityNow/statuses/1004042843466420226">1528217442.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p>The rally came days after the Trump administration <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/31/paving-way-next-taxpayer-funded-wall-street-bailout-trump-fed-unveils-plan-gut%20" target="_blank">announced </a>it would roll back the Volcker Rule, which since 2014 has <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/volcker-rule.asp" target="_blank">prohibited</a> banks from using their accounts to conduct risky, speculative trading, in an effort to avoid another financial meltdown like the one that threw the country into a recession in 2008.<br></p><p>"With the Trump Administration and Congress handing out massive corporate tax breaks, rolling back federal financial reform, and gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Wall Street is heading straight for another crisis," said Deyanira Del Rio, Co-Director of New Economy Project. "A public bank will allow New York City to deposit our public money with a bank that belongs to New Yorkers."</p><p>The crowd also heard from a Brooklyn resident whose rent has doubled in recent years and who spoke about the exorbitant fees New Yorkers pay to big banks every year, a student who spoke out against predatory loan practices and Wall Street's <a href="https://www.colorlines.com/articles/report-bank-investments-fossil-fuels-threaten-climate-change-goals" target="_blank">investment</a> of billions of dollars in fossil fuels that accelerate and worsen the climate crisis, and a social justice activist who told the crowd of JPMorgan Chase's <a href="https://splinternews.com/jamie-dimon-loves-private-prisons-1825653987" target="_blank">support</a> for private prisons.</p><p>"As long as the city continues to deposit its money in prison financiers like JPMorgan Chase, we will remain complicit in systems of oppression that profit off of incarcerating our communities," said Bamsa Eid of the racial and economic justice group Enlace. "It's time New York City puts its money where its mouth is, divests from Wall Street, and—through a public bank—invests in us."</p><p>A public bank would <a href="https://www.publicbanknyc.org/about" target="_blank">allow</a> New York's public money to go towards investing in small businesses run by locals, low-income housing, and financial services to immigrant and low-income communities.</p><p>"Here's the deal: New York City currently deposits billions of public dollars in the big Wall Street banks," said Stephan Edel, director of New York Working Families. "These bankers make millions off these deposits and high fees, while providing little benefit to the City, small businesses, and residents of New York. Our money should be put to use in our communities."</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/06/05/fed-big-banks-fund-climate-crisis-and-oppression-community-coalition-demands-public" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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By Rachel Hubbard
Tuesday, the city of Paris has said it will explore the possibilities of suing the fossil fuel industry. In response to the city's recent climate damage including massive recent floods, Paris is considering taking this action following in the footsteps of New York and other U.S. cities.
<p style="">Paris made the commitment to divest three years ago in the run-up to COP21 where the Paris agreement was signed. The city council also aims to use its influence, as well as the mandate of president Anne Hidalgo within the <a href="http://www.c40.org/" target="_blank">C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group</a> to convince other big cities to divest.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
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</p><br><p style="">This month, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-seine-flooding-2529655294.html">Paris suffered once again major floods</a>, which, according to Anne Hidalgo, poses "clearly a question of adaptation of the city to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>." Following the floods that swamped Paris in May 2016, studies have shown that climate change has increased the chances of floods by almost twice as much.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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</p><p>But Tuesday's announcement shows that cities in the path of climate impacts are ready to take action.</p><p>Clémence Dubois, of 350.org France said:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"It's fantastic news that cities like New York and Paris are mobilizing to protect their citizens and hold multinational fossil fuel companies accountable for the damage they cause. This is a major breakthrough for the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/divest">divestment movement</a> and the thousands of people around the world who have pushed cities to take a stand against polluters who are destroying our climate and the planet.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">Fossil fuel companies like Total, Shell, BP and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/exxon">Exxon</a> are causing floods and heat waves that are intensifying in Paris, and severe floods, droughts, forest fires, rising sea levels strike in France and around the world. This wish is a crucial step towards a future free of fossils. "</p><p>On Jan. 10, the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, announced that the city would disinvest its pension funds of $191 billion in fuel fossil investments and sued BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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</p><p>With Tuesday's statement, the city of Paris affirms its solidarity with the City of New York's bold move. Major cities such as Sydney and Cape Town, as well as many European capitals such as Berlin, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oslo-becomes-first-capital-city-in-the-world-to-divest-from-fossil-fue-1882108400.html">Oslo</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/copenhagen-set-to-divest-funds-out-of-coal-oil-and-gas-holdings-1882162317.html">Copenhagen</a> and Stockholm have already committed to divest fossil fuels. </p><p>Could this be a start of a wave of cities divesting and institutions suing fossil fuel companies for damages?</p><p style="">In France, 33 other local authorities, such as Bordeaux Lille La Rochelle, Dijon have adopted divestment motions.</p><p>Clémence Dubois said:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We will mobilize locally to ask other cities to follow: communities have more power than is believed in resistance to the fossil industry, including through their links with the 'Caisse des Depots et Consignation' who manages the pensions of their employees, officials and contractors. We will ask that this crucial public financial institution listens to this momentum that is happening throughout the country, and divests from fossil fuels."</p><p><a href="https://gofossilfree.org/fr/cdc" target="_blank">Find out more about the Caisse des Depot campaign (in French)</a>.</p><p>With this announcement, the global pressure on the fossil fuel industry ramps up some more. To date, more than 800 institutions, including universities, religious and medical groups, have joined the divestment movement. To build on these victories, the Fossil Free movement is preparing to launch a new wave of local actions around the world to keep fossil fuels in the ground and accelerate the shift to community-run renewable energy. </p><p style="">Be a part of it—<a href="https://gofossilfree.org/" target="_blank">find out how you can take action wherever you are</a>.</p>
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Naomi Klein: 'New York City Is Taking a Game-Changing First Step in Turning the World Right Side Up'
12 January 2018
Climate
The following is a speech given by Naomi Klein in New York City on Jan. 10.
I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for this historic announcement that New York is divesting from fossil fuels and suing five oil majors.
<p>What's happening here is not only about changing the economics of energy, speeding the transition from dirty to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">clean</a>. It's also about justice.<br></p><p>And it represents a collective victory for the amazing climate justice movement around the world and in this city.</p><p>Groups like <a href="https://www.uprose.org/" target="_blank">Uprose</a>, the <a href="http://www.nyc-eja.org/" target="_blank">New York City Environmental Justice Alliance</a> and <a href="http://www.nyrenews.org/" target="_blank">New York Renews</a>, some of which are here today, as well as global groups like <a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a>, which helped kick off the fossil fuel divestment movement about five years ago.</p><p>For a very long time, our movements have been insisting that principles of justice need to be at the center of the response to the climate crisis—a crisis that plays out in the most perversely unjust ways right now.</p><p>Justice means that people who did the least to create this crisis but are bearing the heaviest risks and most toxic burdens need to be first to benefit from green economic development and job creation.</p><p>Justice also means that workers in polluting industries are not sacrificed or left behind. And justice means something else too, something most politicians are loath to talk about because the wealth and power of fossil fuel companies is so vast.</p><p>It means that the corporate interests that did the most to get us into this mess—with their pollution and with their campaigns of willful misinformation—are going to have to pay their true share of the tremendous costs of climate disruption, and of delayed transition. Because right now we have it upside down and backwards.</p><p>As it stands, the costs of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise">sea level rise</a> and ferocious and unprecedented <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">weather</a> events are offloaded on to the public, with taxpayers stiffed with the ballooning bills. And as governments absorb these costs, there is less money for schools, for affordable transit and housing, for health care. And, in yet another bitter irony, this hurts the people who are already impacted by <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a> the most.</p><p>This city saw all this in dramatic fashion during Sandy, when it was the people in public housing who were left for weeks in the cold and dark.</p><p>Meanwhile, the extravagant profits from destabilizing our planet's life support system, earned from ignoring and suppressing the scientific consensus—well, those are systematically privatized.</p><p>Earlier this decade, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/exxon">ExxonMobil</a> alone made $45 billion in profits in a single year– more than any company in history. Enough to pay <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rex-tillerson">Rex Tillerson</a>, then its CEO, $100,000 a day.</p><p>In short, the status quo means the poor are paying again and again for the polluters to get even richer. It's a world upside down. But that starts to change today.<br></p><p>By suing these five oil majors who knowingly deepened the climate crisis, and simultaneously beginning the process of divesting $5-billion from fossil fuel companies, New York City is taking a game changing first step in turning the world right side up. And not to overstate the case, but I actually think this could change the world.</p><p>There have been lawsuits before that have tried to sue the fossil fuel giants for climate damages. The tiny Arctic community of Kivalina, population 383, which attempted to recover the costs of having to relocate. Some citizens of the low-lying Pacific Island of Vanuatu—population 300,000—that began a similar suit. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/peruvian-farmer-german-energy-giant-2509404797.html">A lone Peruvian farmer</a>, suing a German <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> giant for the risks to his home. A small group of Gulf Coast Mississippi homeowners, with the help of a scrappy lawyer, who tried to sue the fossil fuel companies after Hurricane Katrina.</p><p>These have been valiant attempts, but in every case, the industry has relied on the relative weakness and poverty of its accusers, sometime managing to quash suits before they were filed.</p><p>And that is why today's news is so historic. Because bullying isn't going to work here the way it has in the past. This lawsuit is coming from the largest city in the most powerful country on the planet, a city which also happens to be the financial capital of world.</p><p>And now that New York City has thrown down in such a big way—on divestment, on polluter pays—it's going to embolden all kinds of other actors to step up as well. Other cities around the world. Universities. Foundations. Other states. Even entire nation states.</p><p>As of today, everyone needs to up their ambition. Be bolder. Move faster. It's what our planet requires. And it's what justice demands. No politician on the planet is doing enough. But there can be no doubt that the bar for what it takes to call yourself a climate leader has just been dramatically raised.</p><p>A few years ago, an Ecuadorian court ordered Chevron to pay $19-billion in damages for an oil disaster known as the "Rainforest Chernobyl." A spokesperson for the company responded by pledging that it would "fight this until hell freezes over. And then we'll fight it on the ice."</p><p>Well, New Yorkers know how to fight. They even know how to fight on the ice, as the New York Rangers occasionally show. I want to thank all the fighters in this room for reminding us of that.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://gofossilfree.org/naomi-klein-new-york-city-is-taking-a-game-changing-first-step-in-turning-the-world-right-side-up/" target="_blank">Fossil Free</a>, a project of <a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a>.</em></p>
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Empire State Building Shines Green After NYC's Decision to Take on Fossil Fuel Industry
11 January 2018
Business
NYC Mayor's Office / Twitter
New York City's iconic Empire State Building glowed green Wednesday night following two "watershed" announcements—that the city would seek to divest its pension funds from fossil fuel investments, and that it filed suit against five oil giants for contributing to climate change.
"The Empire State Building is shining green tonight because it's time to put our planet first. #DivestNY," Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Wednesday.
<p><a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a> co-founder Bill McKibben, a major campaigner in the global divestment movement, remarked <a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/951271611726024704" target="_blank">in a tweet</a> about the green lighting, "Just this once I think it's worth the carbon!"</p><p><span></span>The Belgium-based European Green Party also chimed in and advocated for European leaders to follow the Big Apple's footsteps. </p><p>"Let's join #DivestNY and #DivestEurope for a Green and sustainable future for us and generations to come," the party said on social media. <br></p><div id="27b00" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6AU61B1576662829"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">European Greens on Instagram: “The #EmpireStateBuilding shined green last night to mark #NewYorkCity divesting from fossil fuels and suing oil companies for climate…”</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/3-4-trillion-fossil-fuel-divestment-commitments-break-new-record-1882128369.html" target="_blank">divestment movement</a> has grown <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/divest-from-fossil-fuels-movement-explodes-across-the-u-s-1882033688.html" target="_blank">in the U.S.</a> and around the world. In November, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/investment-fund-divests-norway-2510263326.html" target="_blank">Norway proposed</a> to sell off all of its shares (about $35 billion) in oil and natural gas holdings.</p><p>Mayor de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer said they intend to divest New York City's $5 billion in securities of over 190 fossil fuel companies.<br></p><p>New York's lawsuit, filed in federal court, names BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell as defendants. The city seeks billions of dollars in damages and alleges the fossil fuel industry knew for decades that burning fuels drives global warming.</p><p>Environmentalists cheered the city's historic announcement.</p><p>"Today was an incredible day," author and investigative journalist Naomi Klein
<a href="https://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein/status/951195725702017024" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. "Hearing the mayor of the biggest city in the richest country on earth announce a lawsuit against 5 oil majors for climate damages AND fossil fuel divestment? Wow. We needed this. We will build on it."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9836f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="SFKJ9B1576662829"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="951254656520544256" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@NYCMayor On 34th Street tonight. https://t.co/qeYYeDFWM3</div> — City of New York (@City of New York)<a href="https://twitter.com/nycgov/statuses/951254656520544256">1515631758.0</a></blockquote></div>
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'Tide Is Turning': Cheers Erupt for NYC's Suit Against Fossil Fuel Giants and for Divestment
10 January 2018
Energy
350.org
By Andrea Germanos
Climate advocates hailed what they say is a "watershed" moment on Wednesday following two announcements by New York City: that the city would seek to divest its pension funds from fossil fuels within five years, and that it filed suit against give five fossil fuel giants for their role in driving the climate crisis.
<p style="">"This is a first-in-the-nation step to protect our future and our planet—for this generation and the next," said Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.</p><p style="">Stringer <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/20/undeniable-victory-cheers-follow-proposals-divest-massive-new-york-pensions-fossil" target="_blank">announced</a> last month that he would soon bring a proposal to the trustees of the pension funds that included divestment. Following through on that promise, a statement from the city released Wednesday says that he and Mayor Bill de Blasio "will submit a joint resolution to pension fund trustees" to begin the steps needed to purge the funds from the dirty industry, which will first entail an analysis on the financial impacts to be carried out by the City Comptroller's Bureau of Asset Management.</p><p style=""><a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a> co-founder Bill McKibben <a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/951051243908190208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2F2018%2F01%2F10%2Ftide-turning-cheers-erupt-nycs-suit-against-fossil-fuel-giants-and-divestment" target="_blank">said in a tweet</a> responding to the news that it was "One of the biggest days in 30 years of the climate fight."</p>
<p style="">The city's five pension funds hold $189 billion in assets, and roughly $5 billion of that amount are held in the securities of over 190 fossil fuel companies, the city said.<br></p><p style="">The new lawsuit names BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell and seeks billions of dollars in damages for harm already inflicted on the city as a result of the climate crisis as well for preparing for effects yet to come, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/10/investing/new-york-climate-change-exxon-divest/index.html" target="_blank">including</a> "imminent threats to its property, its infrastructure, and the health and safety of its residents."</p><p style="">New York's lawsuit follows similar suits <a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/12/20/california-cities-sue-oil-gas-coal-companies-climate-change/" target="_blank">filed</a> by seven cities and counties in California.</p><p>The city's statement references the industry's deliberate misinformation campaign to cover up the effects of fossil fuels.</p><p>"We're bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects and intentionally misled the public to protect their profits," de Blasio said in a statement. "As climate change continues to worsen, it's up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient."</p><p style="">Daniel Zarrilli, the city's senior director of Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience officer, echoed that statement, saying, "Today, after a decades-long pattern of deception and denial by fossil fuel companies, New York City is holding them to account. By seeking damages for the investments necessary to protect New Yorkers from the impacts of climate change, and divesting our pension funds from fossil fuel reserves, we are taking the largest action by any city to confront the growing climate crisis and demonstrate the leadership necessary to win this fight against fossil fuels and the damages they've caused."</p><p>Among the state lawmakers praising the city's action was Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger who said, "Divestment sends the clear message that it is no longer acceptable to support companies whose fundamental business model puts our entire society at risk."</p><p style="">Climate campaigners heaped praise on the city as well.</p><p style="">McKibben <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/01/10/new-yorkers-celebrate-nyc-mayor-announces-divestment-fossil-fuels-files-climate" target="_blank">said in a statement</a>, "New York City today becomes a capital of the fight against climate change on this planet."</p><p style="">"With its communities exceptionally vulnerable to a rising sea, the city is showing the spirit for which it's famous: it's not pretending that working with the fossil fuel companies will somehow save the day, but instead standing up to them, in the financial markets and in court," he added.</p><p style="">The announcements also drew praise from Carroll Muffett, president of <a href="http://www.ciel.org/" target="_blank">Center for International Environmental Law</a>, who <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/01/10/new-york-city-takes-bolds-steps-protect-new-yorkers-climate-impacts-and-risks" target="_blank">said</a> they marked "a watershed in corporate accountability for climate change and a wake-up call to investors that the risks facing fossil fuel companies are real, material, and rapidly growing."</p><p style="">The city's move also follows New York State's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/20/undeniable-victory-cheers-follow-proposals-divest-massive-new-york-pensions-fossil" target="_blank">announcement</a> last month that it was putting forth a "a de-carbonization roadmap" that included divesting from fossil fuels.</p><p style="">With NYC becoming the first major U.S. city to call for divestment—a call more than 800 institutions have <a href="https://gofossilfree.org/divestment/commitments/" target="_blank">heeded</a>—and a growing number of municipalities filing suit against the industry, climate activists say it's clear "the global tide is turning."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed" style="">
</p><div id="3a193" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GAPQMR1576661703"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="951163494199713792" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“Justice also means that the corporations who did the most to get us into this mess will have to pay their true sha… https://t.co/7uyiHpSWgV</div> — 350 dot org (@350 dot org)<a href="https://twitter.com/350/statuses/951163494199713792">1515610023.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p style="">According to Betámia Coronel, U.S. reinvestment coordinator at 350.org, "Divesting our city's pensions from the dirtiest companies is an enormous hard-won first step; holding companies like Exxon accountable for their role in climate deception is next. Today's announcement is a rallying signal to cities all over the world that the dawn of a fossil free world has arrived."<br></p><p style="">"The signal is clear," McKibben added in <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/applaud-mayor-de-blasio-nyc-climate-leadership-article-1.3748536?cid=bitly" target="_blank">an op-ed</a>. "The oil industry is not the future, it's the past. And indeed it will be held responsible for what it's done in the past: namely, push climate denial when it knew the truth."</p><p style="">"They should light up the Empire State Building in green tonight—for the money the city is going to save, and for the planet it will help protect in the process," he concluded.</p><p style=""> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/01/10/tide-turning-cheers-erupt-nycs-suit-against-fossil-fuel-giants-and-divestment" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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New York's Republican-controlled State Senate voted 42-18 Tuesday in favor of a measure that would kill New York City's five-cent fee for carryout bags.
"Many families have a hard time just getting by, paying for groceries, rent and heat," Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who introduced the bill, said before Tuesday's vote.
<p>As the <a href="http://gothamist.com/2017/01/18/plastic_bag_tax_senate.php" target="_blank">Gothamist</a> noted, Felder's bill took specific aim at New York City, as it would "prohibit bag taxes or fees in cities with a population of 1 million or more." The Big Apple is the only city in the state with 1 million people.</p><p>After two years of heated debate, the city council voted 28-20 in May to impose a small fee for each plastic, paper or cloth carryout bag provided by retail and wholesale stores. The <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/zerowaste/residents/carryout-bag-fee.shtml" target="_blank">Carryout Bag Law</a>, slated to take effect Feb. 15, is aimed at "[reducing] the amount of waste we send to landfills, and will also help keep bags out of our trees, streets and oceans." New York City shoppers were encouraged to bring their own reusable bag to stores instead.<br></p><p>
People on the supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP), aka "food stamp," program do not have to pay the fee, as stores will provide carryout bags for these customers free of charge.
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<span></span>According to the <a href="http://nylcv.org/" target="_blank">New York League of Conservation Voters</a>, the city spends more than $12 million each year sending 10 billion plastic bags to landfills. The organization argues that the bill would save taxpayers millions of dollars while also cutting bag litter in the streets, parks, waterways and landfills. <br>
</p><div id="d1759" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="K91DSC1553274931"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="761251420897247232" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">6 Plastic Bag Bans Making a Huge Difference https://t.co/vQvL1nWS5H @greenpeaceusa @Greenpeace @GreenpeaceUK @PlasticPollutes @acousteau</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/761251420897247232">1470331456.0</a></blockquote></div><p>
Raul A. Contreras, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, defended the fee. He told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/nyregion/plastic-bags-new-york.html?_r=1" target="_blank">New York Times</a> that similar laws already exist in more than 200 municipalities in 18 states across the country. <br>
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"This is the type of progressive and environmentally conscious action that helps create a more sustainable city," Contreras told the newspaper via email. "We are going to continue to work with our partners in the city council and Albany on implementation of this legislation."
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Democratic Senators also argued that the Senate should not overrule the city council's wishes. <br>
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"This is the nullification of the wishes of a legislative body representing 8.5 million people," Sen. Brad Hoylman, (D-Manhattan) told the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-senate-blocks-new-york-city-charging-bag-tax-article-1.2948789" target="_blank">New York Daily News</a>, adding the Senate measure was "breathtakingly arrogant."
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"I understand that people don't want to pay the fee. But a much easier way to avoid the fee than pre-empting our law is just to bring a reusable bag," Democrat Councilman Brad Lander told the Times. "It's just not that hard."
</p><div id="2d5db" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="03FVPM1553274931"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="821486313689976832" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Disappointed but not surprised that GOP State Senate voted to force NYC to keep wasting billions of plastic bags. Hope Assembly will resist.</div> — Brad Lander (@Brad Lander)<a href="https://twitter.com/bradlander/statuses/821486313689976832">1484692574.0</a></blockquote></div><p>
However, the American Progressive Bag Alliance said in a statement that the fee would "disproportionately impact those who can least afford it—without providing any meaningful benefit to the environment or New Yorkers."
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The measure now heads to the Democrat-controlled Assembly. If the measure is approved by both chambers, Democratic Gov. Cuomo could sign it into law.
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"If the Legislature passes a bill, we will review it," Cuomo's spokesman, Frank Sobrino, told the Times. The governor's position on the measure is currently unclear. <br>
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In recent years, carryout bag legislation in the form of bans or taxes has taken center stage in many cities and <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/30/plastic-bag-ban-california/" target="_blank">even entire</a> <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2012/05/15/hawaii-becomes-first-state-in-the-u-s-to-ban-plastic-bags/" target="_blank">states</a>. While states like <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/california-plastic-bag-ban-2143461966.html">California</a> have legislated against these single-use items, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/these-6-states-want-to-ban-plastic-bag-bans-yes-you-read-that-right-1882200126.html">a growing number of states</a> are spearheading <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/10/16/whos-behind-plastic-bag-bans/" target="_blank">bans on bag bans</a>.</p><div id="d6528" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ZFPUV11553274931"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="815028477644722176" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Michigan Bans Local Plastic Bag Bans https://t.co/8KCCuqIDvq @Plastic_Bag_Ban @SaveOurShores</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/815028477644722176">1483152906.0</a></blockquote></div><p>
Last month, <span></span><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/michigan-bans-plastic-bag-bans-2170224166.html">Michigan</a> passed a law making it illegal for local governments to enact ordinances that ban or place fees on plastic bags or disposable containers used by stores and restaurants. Other states that have banned local plastic bag ordinances include Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida and Arizona.
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