Environmental Hazard or Economic Boon? Legislators Spar on Bitcoin Mining in New York

Legislators opposed to a bill enacting a temporary moratorium on proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining are warning that it could harm New Yorkers often excluded from traditional financial markets, sources say.

Sam Mellins   ·   April 27, 2022

Hochul, Plastics Industry and Green Groups Battle Over Recycling Proposal

Rather than try to improve Hochul’s proposal, some environmentalists want to scrap it and instead concentrate on a forthcoming bill from Assemblymember Steve Englebright.

Tracy Tullis   ·   April 4, 2022

Bitcoin Mining Gets Three Month Reprieve From Hochul’s Regulators

Green groups charged that Kathy Hochul is punting the issue until after the primary.

Peter Mantius   ·   April 1, 2022

Will New York Tackle its Largest Source of Emissions?

Experts say the state needs to spend at least $1 billion a year to cut pollution from buildings. Legislators are trying to get the governor closer to that figure.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   March 30, 2022

Striking Workers Say Brooklyn Oil Terminal Is ‘Playing Russian Roulette’ with Safety

Striking employees of United Metro Energy say management replaced them with workers who weren’t certified to operate the Brooklyn oil terminal, increasing the risk of an oil spill.

Inci Sayki   ·   March 28, 2022

Power Industry Quietly Pushes New York to Endorse Non-Renewable Energy

The power industry is pushing a pair of little-noticed proposals that could shift the course of the state’s climate action.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   March 15, 2022

Soaring ConEd Bills Add Fuel to Push for Public Power

ConEd customers have seen their electricity bills double or even triple over the past month, and the company just reported over a billion dollars in annual income. Activists say a publicly-owned utility would deliver more affordable power.

Andy Hirschfeld   ·   February 17, 2022

New York’s Landmark Water Testing Law Hinges on State Health Department

The law leaves key decisions to an agency with a history of dragging its feet on implementing water quality legislation.

Peter Mantius   ·   January 27, 2022

Hochul’s Budget Charts a Middle Path on Climate

The $216 billion budget would ban gas in new construction, but otherwise offers few dramatic moves on climate.

Sam Mellins and Lissa Harris   ·   January 20, 2022

Smokestacks Loom Over New York’s Clean Energy Plan

New York is building renewables - but it doesn’t have a plan to shut down the plants they’re supposed to replace.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   January 18, 2022

State Lawmakers Push to Scale Back Fossil Fuel Subsidies

The state spends $1.6 billion a year subsidizing oil and gas. Lawmakers are trying to eliminate about one-fifth of that spending.

Sam Mellins   ·   December 23, 2021

Failure of Build Back Better Casts Uncertainty over New York’s Climate Plans

New York was counting on federal money to help pay for its transition to clean energy, which will cost the state an estimated $15 billion each year.

Lissa Harris and Colin Kinniburgh   ·   December 22, 2021

What Will It Take To Bring Cell Coverage to New York’s North Country?

A recent report renewed a decades-long debate over a regulatory requirement that cell towers in Adirondack Park be “substantially invisible.”

Lilah Burke   ·   December 13, 2021

Hochul Vetoes Bill to Create Utility Consumer Advocate

Hochul argues the office would be redundant, because the state already protects utility consumers.

Julia Rock   ·   December 8, 2021

New York Utilities Polarize Over Push to Ban Natural Gas

A proposed gas ban has pitted ConEd against big oil, real estate lobbyists, and other investor-owned utilities.

Lee Harris   ·   December 1, 2021

NYC Could Ban Gas in New Buildings This Year

The fight heated up at a hearing Wednesday, with debate centered on when, not if, a gas ban should go into effect.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   November 18, 2021

Nine Years after Sandy, Cuomo’s Flagship Community-Led Climate Adaptation Program has Disappeared into a ‘Black Hole’

With $750 million from the federal government, Albany asked New Yorkers in 2013 to decide how to protect their communities from future storms. Planning participants say their projects have stalled.

Atman Mehta   ·   October 28, 2021

As Water Shutoff Moratorium Nears Expiration, Hochul Administration Isn’t Enforcing It — or Distributing Federal Water Aid

The moratorium expires in December. But New York hasn’t distributed a single dollar of the $70 million of federal water assistance.

Julia Rock   ·   October 26, 2021

Inside New York’s Messy Push to Clean Up Concrete

If concrete production were a country, it would be the world’s third largest carbon emitter. New York legislators want to clean it up.

Colin Kinniburgh   ·   September 9, 2021

Lessons to be learned from New York’s climate policy laboratory

New York is seen as a model - but it also shows the challenges of green public-private partnerships

Lee Harris   ·   September 1, 2021