Putting Out the Planetary Fire

On Thursday, June 4th, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace is sponsoring a forum on the issue of data centers coming to the Capital District and their impact on electricity and water use. A main focus in the proposal to redevelop the old Kenwood Center in the South End of Albany. Professional engineer Oliver Holmes talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine. The event will be at 7 PM at the Bethlehem Public Library, 451 Delaware Avenue, Delmar

Governor Hochul wants to build 5 new nuclear reactors in New York, starting with one by the New York Power Authority. Legislation has been introduced to enact a 2 and a half year moratorium on any state financing of any nuclear power plants so that an independent financial and environmental analysis can be done. From a press conference on Wednesday May 27th we hear from lead Assembly sponsor JoAnn Simon and from Dr. Greg Jaczko, former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the Obama administration. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Press conference on last minute push to pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act.

On Thursday, June 4, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace held a forum on data centers with a focus on the proposal for the one in the old Kenwood Convent in the South End of Albany. We hear from one of the presenters, Isaac Silberman-Gorn of Frack Action. Much of the data center explosion in the US is being driven by the development of artificial intelligence. We hear from Joe Lombardo of the United Anti-War Coalition about the impact of AI on War.

In 2021, New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly to amend the state constitution with what became known as the “New York Green Amendment” (NYGA): “Each person shall have the right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” The Earth Law Center works with municipalities and community leaders to help translate this constitutional right into meaningful local policies. Flo Perez and Gary Bowitch discussed the Center’s efforts with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

On Tuesday night, New Yorkers voted in the Democratic primaries to send public power champions, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier to congress and eight socialists will join the increasingly powerful bloc of state legislators in Albany demanding the New York Power Authority (NYPA) step up and build at least 15 gigawatts (GW) of public renewables. Valdez supports building a federal public power authority. Alex Patterson, Campaign Coordinator for Public Power NY, talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

No Kings Collective Albany joined with Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace and Delmar Indivisible to hold a protest on Saturday, June 20th, against the proposed data center at the old Kenwood Convent in Albany’s South End. The rally took place outside of the offices of the City of Albany Planning Board at 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard. Speakers raised issues such as excessive energy demand, water impacts, noise, military uses, and higher electric costs. We hear from Pippa Bartolotti of Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, Bryan Paz Hernandez of the No Kings Collective, and Ellie Burhans among others. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

On Tuesday, June 30 at 11 AM, concerned residents and climate groups will hold a media event at the State Street entrance to the Capitol in Albany to announce opposition to Governor Hochul’s ill-advised plan to drastically expand expensive, dangerous nuclear power production throughout the state. The event is one of 9 events happening throughout New York on Tuesday as part of a statewide day of action against Hochul’s plan. Isaac Silberman-Gorn of Frack Action talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

The climate crisis is upon us. The upcoming summer is expected to be brutal with dangerous heatwaves, severe drought across the country, wildfires, and extreme storms. We know the solution to the climate crisis is to stop burning fossil fuels, yet, despite his commitment to divest from fossil fuels in 2020, Comptroller DiNapoli continues to invest heavily in Exxon, Shell, Chevron and other Big Oil companies that continue to destroy our climate. In addition, continued investments in risky fossil fuels have hurt the pension fund. Ruth Foster of Divest NY talks with Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine as to why the group decided to endorse comptroller candidates Drew Warshaw and Raj Goyle in the democratic party primary. Ruth also discusses the effort to shut down the Sheridan Ave. Steam Plant and convert the Capital Complex to renewable energy, including geothermal.

More than one hundred New Yorkers were at the Capitol on Wednesday April 13 calling for a three-year moratorium on new data-center development while the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) complete comprehensive reports evaluating the industry’s current and projected effects on electricity rates, energy use, water resources, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and electronic waste, and issue new regulations to mitigate those negative impacts. At the rally, we hear from Eric Weltman of Food and Water Watch, Assemblymember Anna Kelles, Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Reverend Dr. Majadi Baruti of PUSH Buffalo, and Assemblymember Dana Levenberg. This has been Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

On Monday May 11, several hundred people attended Beyond Plastic’s lobby day and rally. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act – known as PRRIA – would require producers of single use packaging to reduce the amount by 30% over 12 years and ban 13 toxic chemicals from packaging. The bill has twice passed the Senate but the Assembly Speaker has refused to let it come up for a vote despite having a majority of members as co-sponsors. The sponsors recently did an additional 38 amendments to the bill to help with its passage. In part one of our coverage, we hear from Senator Rachel May; Kurt Kruperman of Capital District Zero Waste; Yvonne Taylor of Seneca Lake Guardian; singer Taina Asili; Assemblymember Chris Eachus; and Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

On Monday May 11, several hundred people attended Beyond Plastic’s lobby day and rally. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act – known as PRRIA – would require producers of single-use packaging to reduce the amount by 30% over 12 years and ban 13 toxic chemicals from packaging. The bill has twice passed the Senate but the Assembly Speaker has refused to let it come up for a vote despite having a majority of members as co-sponsors. However, a few days after the rally, the Speaker announced that the Democratic members of the Assembly would be reviewing the legislation in conference. The sponsors recently did an additional 38 amendments to the bill to help with its passage. In part two of our coverage, we hear Dr. Charles Moon of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Chris Alexander of the NYS NAACP Conference, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, and Jay Buckiewicz of the Peekskill NAACP. This has been Mark Dunlea for the Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Environmental groups and Alaskan tribes sued the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency for unlawfully repealing the endangerment finding and motor vehicle emissions standards. The EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding is the scientific determination that greenhouse gas pollution harms public health and welfare.. The rollback ignores established science and removes critical safeguards at a time when farmers need them the most. Every season, farmers are navigating more uncertainty – excessive rain, lack of rain, excessive heat, and everything in between. Wes Gillingham of Wild Roots Farm and NOFA-NY talks ot Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

NYPIRG is conducting a statewide bus tour to highlight the energy waste of AI data centers, which require a tremendous amount of energy, zapping electricity from the public grid. These energy hogs could lead to rising air pollution, industrial use of local clean water, and skyrocketing utility bills. Legislation calling for a moratorium on such data centers has been introduced. A data center is being proposed for the old Kenwood Convent / Doan Stuart school site in the South End of Albany. Eric Woods of Albany talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

The EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the United States held its annual Earth Day to May Day webinar on Monday April 13. Speakers were Jill Stein, the recent Green Presidential candidate, and Michael Johnson, Democracy Campaign Manager for Third Act. The event highlights the interconnection of issues such as climate change, economic inequality, war, racial injustice, immigrant rights, and democracy. We hear from Jill Stein, who focuses on the current war with Iran and its impact on energy, food, and nuclear weapons. and the need for a Green New Deal.

Climate activists were back at the State Capitol on April 21, with 19 being arrested after they compared Governor Hochul to Donald Trump due to her efforts to gut the CLCPA, the state’s climate law. We hear from Pete Sikora of NY Communities for Change; Eleanor from Germany; Cornell Professor Bob Howarth; and, Santosh Nandabalan from NYCC.

On Monday, May 11, Beyond Plastics is organizing a lobby day and rally at the Capitol to support the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA). National Organizing Director Alexis Goldsmith talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine. PRRIA applies Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to packaging, requiring manufacturers and distributors to manage the waste from the products they package EANY. Its goals include:Reducing packaging waste by 30% over 12 years for producers with $5M revenue; Improving recyclability and recycling infrastructure; and Banning 13 toxic chemicals commonly used in single-use plastic packaging, such as PFAS, lead, mercury, phthalates, and bisphenols

On Tuesday, May 5, Climate Defiance organized a last-minute protest against Governor Hochul’s push to gut the climate law. While the Chair of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee says that a budget deal has been struck, no official details have yet been released. It is understood that lawmakers have agreed to push back by several years the deadline to issue regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to relax the rules related to methane emissions. Hochul’s energy agenda has become very similar to Trump’s pro-fossil fuel push. The group initially blocked the entrance in front of Hochul’s 2nd-floor office and held a teach-in. Later, a group moved to block the second-floor elevator, which finally got the state police to arrest them and charge them with misdemeanors. We hear from Aviv Kresch of Climate Defiance, Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Pete Sikora of NY Communities for Change, Michael Greenberg of Climate Defiance, Jonathan Westin of the Climate Organizing Hub, Assembly candidate Lydia Green, Eric Weltman of Food and Water Watch, and Topher Dean. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

While Governor Hochul on May 7 announced that there was a deal on the budget, legislative leaders disagreed, saying only that they were close. Still, some details have emerged about the status of the Governor’s apparently successful push to weaken the requirements of the state’s climate law (CLCPA). Stephen Edel, Executive Director of NY Renews, talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.