Passing legislation to curb new natural gas hookups before session ends is looking grim.

Lawmakers will not likely pass the measure, coined the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition (NY HEAT) Act, after it was amended and resubmitted Wednesday to the Assembly Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee. The committee is not scheduled to meet again before the last day of scheduled legislative session on June 8.

A proposal to ban the discharging of radioactive material into the Hudson River has cleared key legislative committees in the state Senate and Assembly as lawmakers eye a final vote in the coming days.

The measure, proposed as a way of further regulating the decommissioning of the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County, has advanced through the Environmental Conservation Committees in both chambers.

The recently passed New York state budget ushered in a new era of electrification: It mandates that new construction in the state is powered by electricity starting in 2026. It also authorizes the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build renewable energy projects and ensures that the state’s largest buildings and campuses are powered by renewables.

Several of the just-passed proposals were part of the Climate Action Council’s scoping plan, created to ensure that New York meets its goal of reducing carbon emissions 85% by 2050.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New York state estimates already this year taxpayers are spending more than $800 million for projects related to climate change-caused damages and resiliency projects.

State Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan, sponsors legislation that would hold the world's biggest oil and gas companies responsible for at least some of those costs moving forward.

PASADENA, Calif. — You’ve probaby seen smudging, or even done it yourself — the trendy act of lighting sage on fire to cleanse the energy of a space.

But local Gabrielino Tongva member Samantha Johnson says the trendy practice is putting white sage at risk of extinction. It’s being picked and poached faster than it can regrow, and it’s an incredibly sacred and important native plant.

Four companies New York's pension fund has invested in have agreed to analyze and target a reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on Tuesday said.

The companies included Carrier Global Corp, Papa John's International Inc., Century Aluminum Co. and Spirit Reality. Kraft Heinz, meanwhile, will create a deforestration-free policy of sourcing.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday shrugged off the potential of New York's plan to end natural gas hookups in newly constructed buildings and homes by 2027 being impacted by a legal challenge to a similar provision in Berkeley, California while also pointing to the rebates for consumers to help make the transition.

"There are court cases happening all over the country, whether they have an effect here is another question," Hochul said on Monday in Buffalo.

New York state is making available $2.1 million in competitive grant money to aid local air quality improvement projects, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced.

Community-based non-profit organizations will qualify for the money to aid disadvantaged communities in New York that have struggled with air pollution.

It was a good New York budget for environmental advocates.

According to Liz Moran, New York public advocate at Earthjustice, the spending plan “exceeded expectations” by attacking greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from buildings.

The state budget was inches from the finish line, but environmental advocates weren't wasting any time to start the fight for legislation to reduce plastic packaging and expand recyclable bottles in New York before the session ends next month.

Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Blythe Danner joined hundreds of people who met with lawmakers Tuesday to ensure two bills to reduce plastic pollution and expand recycling statewide pass the Legislature within the next five weeks.

New York advocates and legislators rallied at the state Capitol Monday for legislation aimed to protect bees and their role as pollinators by ending the use of a group of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics.

The Birds and Bees Protection Act (S.1856/A.3226) is in response to a 2020 report from Cornell University finding that using neonics poses a threat to the state's bees while providing few benefits to farmers.

Officials are expected to put the finishing touches on the 2023-24 state budget this weekend, including finalizing programs to protect the environment and satisfy the state's strict benchmarks to fight climate change.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a tentative budget framework in the Capitol on Thursday night with few details.

State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul have reached a tentative deal to end gas hookups in new construction in the coming years as part of a broader effort to shift the state away from fossil fuels and to more renewable forms of energy.

The agreement is meant to cushion the effect the measure will have on consumers, with pre-existing gas stoves unaffected. But at the same time, it's a tangible push toward making a transition to cleaner forms of energy, a change that will have a wide-ranging effect on energy policy in New York.

A listening tour is being launched by Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration for the public to provide input on how to spend $4.2 billion on environmental infrastructure upgrades around New York.

Hochul's office on Monday also announced $425 million in a new round of water infrastructure improvement projects.

In an attempt to further spur clean technologies in New York amid a push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury, state officials on Friday announced a multimillion-dollar program to support new insurance policies and products.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced a $6.5 million plan under the Insurance Innovation for Climate-Technology Solutions program as part of an effort to release grants for risk management and insurance market expansion for businesses that are transitioning to climiate-friendly products.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday touted the millions of dollars being sent to states like New York – including $21 million to make improvements to a bridge just south of Albany. And more cash for New York communities may be on the way.

Money is flowing into New York to improve its infrastructure. And Buttigieg says much of that cash is coming with an eye toward the future.

Lawmakers leading the climate fight are turning up the heat about which climate protection measures should be in the final state budget and which are a priority for the remainder of the legislative session as Democrats start to fracture over how to pay to successfully meet New York's emission reduction goals outlined in state law.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has made it clear her administration won't include a provision in the next budget to alter the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, or Climate Act, and the timeline used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. But it doesn't mean it won't be a possibility later this session, or that the other more robust measures climate advocates are pushing for won't advance outside the budget, either.

New York was slow to adopt renewable energy under the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

According to Inside Climate News, New York is number 24 out of 50 states when it comes to generating gigawatts of power, having created just 6,895 gigawatt hours of wind and solar in 2022 compared to Texas’ 136,000 gigawatt hours.

In Albany, where lawmaking can move at the speed of smell, the Hochul administration’s retreat on a new climate policy was breathtaking.

On Monday, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and New York State Energy and Research Development Authority President and CEO Doreen Harris told Capital Tonight they were backing a bill sponsored by the Legislature’s Energy Committee chairs to, in effect, weaken the state’s climate laws. The purpose? To prevent New Yorkers from paying “potentially extraordinary costs."

Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration will not prioritize a proposal to re-calculate methane emissions as part of the ongoing state budget negotiations following an uproar from environmental and climate advocacy organizations over the plan.

But Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos and New York State Energy and Research Development Authority President and CEO Doreen Harrris did not rule out further pursuing the idea, warning that "affordability" for consumers needs to be part of the conversations surrounding how to transition New York from carbon-based fuels to more renewable and cleaner forms of energy.

Add climate to the list of issues around which Gov. Kathy Hochul and Legislature leaders are butting heads in budget negotiations.

New York’s climate transition is expected to cost billions of dollars annually, which is one of the reasons the governor included a Cap & Invest program in her executive budget — it’s a pollution credits scheme through which polluters can help pay for the transition’s enormous tab. But until wind, solar and other renewables are more attainable, average New Yorkers will still be on the hook, financially.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Democratic leadership in New York state government wants to begin making natural gas a thing of the past. However, the plans for getting there differ.

Dennis Elsenbeck, head of energy and sustainability at Phillips Lytle, said buildings represent the state's largest single source of carbon emissions at roughly a third with transportation close behind.

New York leaders in Albany are close to an agreement on a first-in-the-nation ban on gas and fossil fuel hook-ups in new construction. The ban would likely start in 2025 or 2026, though that’s still being debated. The legislation will likely include exemptions for restaurants and back-up generators.

While both proposals are similar, the timeline for the legislature’s version of the “all-electric building act," sponsored by Brian Kavanagh and Emily Gallagher (S562A/ A920A), is somewhat more aggressive than the governor’s. It would prohibit “infrastructure, building systems, or equipment used for the combustion of fossil fuels in new construction statewide no later than December 31, 2023 if the building is less than seven stories and July 1, 2027 if the building is seven stories or more."

Who will pay for the ongoing damage caused by climate change?

The Climate Change Superfund Act may be one answer. The bill is sponsored by New York state Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. It was included in the Senate’s one-house budget last week, but not in the Assembly’s.

Antonio Reynoso, who has led Brooklyn for over a year as borough president, is striving to make pregnancy safer for Black Brooklynites and bring affording housing to his borough.

Last year, Reynoso launched a maternal health public education campaign called the Maternal Health Task Force, meant to connect people in Brooklyn with information and resources for better pregnancies.

The specifics differ, but Democratic state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are backing the same goal of ending the use of fossil fuels like natural gas in new residential and commercial construction.

The competing plans, advancing to the same goal on different timetables and sizes of buildings, are being considered as lawmakers and Hochul negotiate a $227 billion state budget this month.

With the release of the New York state Senate and Assembly one-house budget resolutions, Capital Tonight spoke with the Business Council of New York State (BCNYS) about the emerging spending plan due April 1, and the organization’s priorities.

Ken Pokalsky, vice president of BCNYS, said Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget is a mixed bag.

A coalition of green groups and unions is pushing the state to decarbonize its largest groups of buildings by replacing fossil fuels with thermal energy.

Buildings are the largest source of emissions in New York state, contributing over 32% of all pollution in the state.

There are several proposals in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget that could move New York’s 2019 Climate Law from theory into reality, including her “Cap & Invest” plan.

The state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) mandates that New York get 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

State lawmakers want to ban the discharging of radioactive waste in the Hudson River amid the decommissioning of Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County.

The nuclear plant, first opened in 1962, has had waste released into the water for decades, but a concerted environmental effort has significantly cleaned up the river in recent decades.

A measure backed by environmental advocates to reduce packaging waste and expand recycling efforts over the next decade is getting pushback from business organizations.

The New York bill would have companies cut their packaging by 50% in the next decade and have 90% of their packaging be made out of recycled materials within 12 years.

After serving on the board of the New York Power Authority since 2015, Anthony Picente, the Republican Oneida County executive, has resigned, citing disagreements with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration. Picente said it is a “matter of good conscience” to resign and cites policies differences on the environment, economy and public safety.

Picente argues that he is in favor of renewable energy but raises concerns about the speed that the policies are being implemented at. In his resignation letter to the governor, Picente writes that these decisions “that will impact people’s lives and livelihoods … need more thought, more discussion and certainly more input from the entire state.”

Mark Levine, who has led Manhattan for over a year as borough president, says cracking down on the illegal marijuana market and increasing affordable housing are top issues in the borough.

Three cannabis dispensaries have opened in Manhattan, including The Union Square Travel Agency, which opened last week.

New York lawmakers are proposing ways of getting companies responsible for pollution and climate change to pay up.

The proposals range from efforts to have oil and gas firms pay the state to offset the cost of climate change to New York. At the same time, lawmakers have proposed making it easier to sue companies deemed responsible for pollution.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Even as she was delivering good news for three communities — $10 million awarded to the city of Dunkirk and $4.5 million each to the villages of Lancaster and Wellsville for downtown revitalization projects — Gov. Kathy Hochul was aware many of the Western New Yorkers at her event Monday were likely still thinking about what happened in Orchard Park the day before.

"I was proud to be there," she said. "I was proud to see the energy in that stadium, the love of the Buffalo Bills. Win or lose, they are beloved by all. They're an inspiration."

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. -- A lot of questions remain about New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's to phase out fossil fuel-powered appliances.

Critics expect to get more specifics soon, perhaps when she releases her budget.

Debts owed on past due energy and heating bills in New York will be forgiven under a plan enacted Thursday by state officials.

The $672 million assistance program is considered the largest such action in state history, and will affect an estimated 478,000 residential customers and 56,000 small businesses.

A bill backed by Rep. Elise Stefanik is meant to fund efforts to combat invasive species in New York and around the country.

The measure, re-introduced this week, has support from Democratic Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii.

New York state is set to ban the use of PFAS chemicals in the manufacturing of apparel and clothing under a law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The measure is set to take effect on the final day of 2023.

The regulatory phase now begins.

That’s the assessment of two of the agency leaders who will be involved in implementing the state’s new climate blueprint.

On Monday, the state’s Climate Action Council approved a scoping plan that will serve as a blueprint for the Empire State to reach its ambitious climate goals.

Ken Pokalsky, vice president at The Business Council of New York State, told Capital Tonight that there are a lot of unknowns when its comes to the cost for businesses and as more businesses learn about the changes needed, there will be some “shock and alarm.”

New York’s climate law requires the state to get 70% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030.

In order to get there, the state will need to start building large-scale renewables a lot faster than it has been.

A new protection fund for farmland and agriculture is being created following the approval of a measure by Gov. Kathy Hochul, state lawmakers on Tuesday announced.

The fund is meant to provide protection for viable farmland in New York as the state also seeks to expand the development of solar projects in order to make the transition to renewable forms of energy.

New York is adding new members to its Forest Ranger force with 38 graduates from basic school on Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced.

The new recruits will join the Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Forest Protection, bringing its ranks to 159 people.

During a media briefing on Monday, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) stated that it expects wholesale electricity prices to sharply rise this winter, which is in line with estimates from National Grid and other utilities.

Upstate New Yorkers can expect heating bills to rise 30% or more over the next few months. Heating costs are especially volatile this year due to disruptions in the supply of oil and gas from Eastern Europe.

Environmental organizations in New York on Tuesday evening cheered the approval by Gov. Kathy Hochul of the first-ever moratorium on a process key to the volatile cryptocurrency sector.

But the crypto industry, while expressing a desire to continue to press their concerns in the state Legislature, indicated it may simply leave New York for states that are friendlier.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed into law a two-year moratorium on issuing or renewing air permits for one narrow form of cryptocurrency mining that the state Legislature passed earlier this year.

The new law only applies to what's called behind-the-meter mining that uses carbon-based fuel and proof-of-work validation methods.

Homeowners associations in New York will not be able to prevent the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on private property under a law approved Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The measure is meant to make it easier for homeowners to install the charging statiosn as New York seeks to transition to more renewable forms of energy and phase out gas-powered vehicles by the next decade.

A renewed effort to expand New York's bottle deposit law for the first time in years is taking shape in Albany. For advocates like Erica Smitka of the League of Women Voters, the proposal won't just combat litter.

"We will persist until more is done to reduce litter in this state and to reduce the effects from climate change," she said during a news conference on Monday in Albany.

Peter Iwanowicz, the head of Environmental Advocates NY, is stepping down from his leadership position after nine years.

He spoke with Capital Tonight about the outcome of the 2022 election, the just-passed environmental bond proposal, and his tenure at EANY.

New York state Attorney General Letitia James' office and state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos filed a request in state Supreme Court on Friday asking the court mandate a Capital Region manufacturing and hazardous waste burning plant to monitor emission levels or stop operations amid an ongoing lawsuit.

The state attorney general and DEC filed a lawsuit against Norlite last month seeking to force the company to curb emitting harmful substances into the air.

Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates NY (EANY), has announced he will be stepping down from the organization at the end of the year.

Iwanowicz’s nine-year tenure at EANY was a return to the organization where he served as air and energy program director in late 1990s.

LOS ANGELES — The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are working with Singapore to establish a green shipping corridor. The route from Asia across the Pacific will center around low- and zero-carbon shipping fuels and digital efforts to help deploy low- and zero-carbon ships, according to a statement from the Port of LA released Monday.

The collaboration is one of the first announcements to come out of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, which kicked off Sunday and will run through Nov. 18. A forum for countries to discuss actions that can help mitigate climate change, COP27 issued a green shipping challenge for governments, ports, maritime carriers and cargo owners to take meaningful steps to decarbonize the industry.

A coalition of environmental organizations and labor unions have been the vocal supporters of a proposal to borrow more than $4 billion to help boost New York's environmental infrastructure to help strengthen the state against the effects of climate change.

The bond act being put to voters also has the backing of the state's main business lobby.

Two separate infrastructure announcements in vastly different regions of the state on Thursday are meant to help New York make its broader transition to more renewable and cleaner forms of energy in the coming years.

Gov. Kathy Hochul in Suffolk County on Long Island announced the state had sealed a land transfer with the county to bring the National Offshore Wind Training Center to New York. At the same time, Hochul announced a $9 million competitive program through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to expand jobs in the sector.

Dozens of advocacy organizations this week raised concerns with potential standards for electrifying buildings in New York as part of a sweeping effort to transition New York to more renewable forms of energy usage and consumption, arguing the changes do not go far enough.

The concerns raised by the groups, which include the New York Public Interest Research Group and a range of environmental and progressive organizations, come as a state panel is developing plans for how to make the shift from carbon-based fuels in the state to cleaner forms of energy like wind, solar and hydroelectric.

The main transit agency that serves New York's Capital Region will receive more than $25 million in federal aid to expand its fleet of electric buses as the state seeks to transition to more renewable and cleaner forms of energy.

The money was announced on Monday at the main garage of the Capital District Transportation Authority, touted by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and President Joe Biden's main infrastructure advisor, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

State officials are waiting on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release additional guidance about PFAS, or toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that poison ground and drinking water, before it expands regulating the chemical at the state level.

The EPA recommended four types of PFAS be no higher than 0.004 parts per trillion in drinking water in new health advisories released this summer.

The New York League of Conservation Voters on Wednesday formally released its final slate of endorsements for the 2022 general election, backing 22 candidates in key races across the state.

The group's endorsements come as environmental organizations are also pushing for the approval of a bond act to boost environmental infrastructure in the state.

A law signed Wednesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul is meant to boost drinking water safety and quality in New York.

The measure will allow local municipalities to take legal action against polluters for claims that had been previously barred due to the statute of limiations that had been capped at three years.

This week, Gov. Kathy Hochul moved to enact a law meant to phase out gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035. Supporters hope the regulations announced by the governor will hasten the transition as New York seeks to curtail the effects of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

"Getting it done before the end of the year means we can hit the ground running for the first model year, which is 2026," said Conor Bambrick, the director of climate policy at Environmental Advocates NY.

Regulations are being advanced that will end the sale of gas-powered vehicles in New York by 2035, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced.

If given final approval, New York would join California in the effort to transition to electric vehicles by the middle of the next decade.

A historic $29.5 million federal grant will not be awarded to the Port of Albany for a offshore wind tower manufacturing project as expected.

Officials with the port announced Wednesday it had withdrawn its application for the U.S. Maritime Administration funding to assist constructing the $357 million project on Beacon Island. Delaying the application process will allow more time for a state and federal review of various pending permits and environmental assessments needed to begin the work.

Urban areas that face disproportionate heat conditions will be studied by state environmental officials under a measure signed Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The new law will assess the effects of so-called urban heat islands in low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods of New York state.

Environmental organizations, labor groups and Gov. Kathy Hochul are making a concerted push in recent days for the approval of a $4.2 billion bond plan to shore up the state's infrastructure against extreme weather events in the coming years.

Hochul on Wednesday in New York City at a joint event with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy urged voters to back the bond act in a coming referendum this November.

New York Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos will be taking personal leave to assist the humanitarian effort in Ukraine, he announced on Twitter Monday.

"We all must do our part to keep Ukrainians safe during this brutal war, and support democracy wherever it is imperiled," the commissioner wrote on the platform.

The Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment in Freeport has received a $35 million federal grant – a figure seven times greater than its annual budget – to promote climate-smart agriculture, Maine's congressional delegation announced last week.

With the five-year award the center will lead a national effort to equip and train workers in climate-smart agriculture, create transition finance incentives for farmers and ranchers, and develop a marketplace for climate-smart commodities, according to a joint statement from U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden.

A New York state lawmaker is calling for legislative approval before utility rate increases go into effect.

The measure backed by Democratic state Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara comes as energy customers this winter are expected to face sharply rising bills.

The federal government should provide more funding to help New York transition to cleaner and more renewable forms of energy, advocates at AARP New York and the Public Utility Law Project said Thursday.

Utility ratepayers — already expected to pay more this winter to heat their homes amid an expected spike in bills — should not have to carry the burden, they added.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Lake Erie and Ontario are among the most important natural resources in New York state.

The state Assembly is putting together a task force to examine economic development and environmental issues unique to the watershed region with Assemblymember Pat Burke, D-Buffalo, chairing the effort.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is deploying more resources to the Minnewaska State Park and Sullivan County areas in an attempt to contain fires that have burned 130 acres of woodlands, according to state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos.

The fires in the Minnewaska State Park area are thought to have been started as a result of lightning strikes while the Sullivan County fire is believed to have been started by a campfire. Seggos told Capital Tonight that the high temperatures and drought conditions have helped the fire to spread. Seggos argues the unusually late season fire could be a result of climate change and adds that the fires are potentially a “sign of what’s to come.”

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Navy “harbored toxic secrets” when jet fuel contaminated drinking water for 93,000 military members and civilians in Hawaii, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday from four families who say they're still suffering from seizures, gastrointestinal disorders and neurological issues.

Hundreds of additional claims are expected from those who ingested the toxic water, said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu. Others going through the administrative process of the Federal Tort Claims Act will be added to the lawsuit.

New York state will receive $25 million in federal funding to cap what are expected to be thousands of abandoned and unused oil and gas wells, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Monday said.

The money is being made available through the federal infrastructure law and meant to prevent the further emissions of methane from the wells.

Four influential business and labor organizations on Monday in a joint statement signaled where they agree on the direction the state's climate change policies should take as officials develop a plan for transitioning New York's energy to more renewable and cleaner forms of fuel in the coming decades.

The groups — The Independent Power Producers of New York, The Business of New York State, the New York State AFL-CIO, and the New York State Building & Construction Trades Council — in a rare joint statement called for seven principles to guide the prcoess and address "shortcomings" in the current version of a draft plan under consideration by the State's Climate Action Council.

A plan to borrow $4.2 billion to help gird New York's waterways and other infrastructure against the worsening effects of climate change has picked up more support from labor.

The New York State AFL-CIO this weekk officially endorsed the bond act, being put to voters this November.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado's campaign for a full term was endorsed Wednesday by the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, with the organization praising efforts to curtail the effects of climate change by her administration.

“We’ve experienced the climate crisis firsthand in New York, so when it comes to protecting the environment and investing in renewable energy sources, we don’t follow — we lead,” Hochul said. “I am honored to earn the endorsement of the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and I look forward to our continued partnership in protecting the environment and investing in a sustainable future for our state.”

New York state officials on Tuesday expanded a drought watch designation to a majority of the 62 counties after continued stretches of dry weather this summer, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

"While recent rains have helped, severe dry conditions continue to persist across the state," Hochul said. "New Yorkers should take steps to conserve water whenever possible in the areas now under a designated drought watch. Simple steps to reduce water consumption will be crucial to our efforts to help prevent any increased drought levels."

New York's pension fund will review more than two dozen oil and gas companies to assess their transition to low-carbon operations, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office on Friday announced.

The review all together will comprise 28 publicly traded firms.

Gov. David Ige issued an executive order on July 21 transferring control and management of a 1,261-acre parcel in Waiea on Hawaii Island to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The parcel had been proposed as an addition to the Hawaii Natural Area Reserve system and is contiguous to other parcels that are under management for forest, wildlife and water conservation in the South Kona area.

Voters in New York this November will be asked to consider whether to approve $4.2 billion in borrowing to help shore up the state's water and sewer infrastructure in order to combat the effects of a changing climate and curtail the impact of floods.

And a campaign from environmental organizations is getting underway to call for the bond act's approval.

The hot weather this week throughout much of the country is creating a challenge for the power grid as air conditioners are working overtime.

Rich Dewey, the president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator, said in a Capital Tonight interview the power grid is prepared to meet the challenge of the summertime heat wave.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday New York will send mobile monitoring units to measure pollution in 10 disadvantaged communities, beginning with the Bronx, Manhattan, Buffalo and Niagara Falls, and the Capital Region.

The state will send specially equipped Priuses into each community to collect data on greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants to help officials craft strategies to tackle pollution in the communities affected most, Basil Seggos — the commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation — told Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Wednesday.

At the 11th hour of this year's session, New York legislators passed a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations in the state.

Despite environmentalists calling for her signature, Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to sign the legislation, which crypto advocates are hoping she will veto.

The Energy Department is teaming with actor Robert Downey Jr. to recruit up to 1,000 new workers focused on climate change and clean energy.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Wednesday released a video with the “Iron Man” actor encouraging applicants from diverse backgrounds to join the department’s “clean energy corps” and take on jobs aimed at accelerating deployment of clean energy such as wind and solar power.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed into law three bills aimed to advance the state's clean energy industry.

The Advanced Building Codes, Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards Act of 2022 will amend the state's regulatory and policy environment to support energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction strategies in buildings.

Humpback whales migrate each year to Hawaii to mate, give birth and raise their calves. This could one day end because of climate change and rising greenhouse gases causing rising ocean temperatures, according to a paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

The paper was written by a team of researchers that include three University of Hawaii at Manoa graduate students — Hannah von Hammerstein and Renee Setter from the Department of Geography and Environment in the College of Social Sciences, and Martin van Aswegen from the Marine Mammal Research Program in the Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a lot of New Yorkers into financial instability and left them unable to pay past dues on their utility bills, including their water bills. Now, consumer, environmental and legal aid advocates are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign legislation that would require data to understand the full extent of the problem.

Rob Hayes, director of Clean Water at Environmental Advocates NY, told Capital Tonight that the $70 million allocated to New York in federal COVID-19 assistance isn’t enough to reach everyone with a need.

FLORIDA — Scientists estimate over 12 million tons of plastic wash into the world’s oceans each year, with pieces of it found in the deepest areas ever explored, and even embedded in remote arctic ice.

Much of it, known as microplastics, can’t even be seen with the naked eye. But the invisible threat to marine life is there and it could affect everyone.

The Seneca County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul and her administration with concerns on the lack of action regarding the air permit renewal process for Greenidge Generation and the moratorium on cryptocurrency mining.

“We ask that you hold up the state’s end of the deal by denying Greenidge Generation’s air permit applications and signing the bill that issues a moratorium on these kinds of cryptocurrency operations,” the letter reads, which was unanimously agreed to, according to Kyle Barnhart, the Town of Lodi supervisor and Board of Supervisors minority leader.

A report that New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a bill setting a two-year moratorium on proof-of-work cryptomining in New York state is being blasted by upstate advocates who have been pushing for the measure.

The group Seneca Lake Guardian on Monday knocked Adams after Crain's New York reported the mayor will ask Hochul for the veto. Environmental organizations at the state and local level have called for the temporary ban in order to have the state Department of Environmental Conservation review the process.

LIMESTONE — Researchers exploring the presence of so-called forever chemicals around the former Loring Air Force Base are asking residents how they use the local waters.

Wood Environment and Infrastructure will interview residents of Limestone, Caswell and Caribou about water used for swimming, farming and fishing, as well as drinking water from private wells, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Despite passing in the New York state Senate, the clock ran out before the state Assembly could move the Build Public Renewables Act through the chamber.

State Sen. Kevin Parker, a Democrat from Brooklyn and chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, told Capital Tonight that the legislation is part of an “all-of-the-above approach” and added “we need to have the market, but we also need to allow utilities and the New York Power Authority involved in this idea of creating sustainable generation for our state.”

The Climate Action Council, which is tasked with laying the framework for the state to meet its climate goals established in 2019’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, has extended the public comment period for its draft scoping plan until July 1. With 27% of the state’s total emissions coming from transportation sources, the way you get around the Empire State will be changing.

Roger Caiazza, of the Pragmatic Environmentalist of New York blog, told Capital Tonight that due to state law, by 2035, all new cars sold in the state will need to be zero emission vehicles. The Climate Action Council’s draft scoping plan forecasts the price of zero emission vehicles to fall by 2028. Caiazza argues that a demand for rare earth minerals which are needed to create batteries for cars will keep the price of these cars higher than the draft scoping plan’s estimates and despite tax rebates, the cost could still be prohibitive for some New Yorkers.

COCOA BEACH, Fla. — Shells and sand aren’t the only things you’ll see on Florida’s beaches — cigarette butts are also a common sight.

According to a 2021 report from Ocean Conservancy and International Coastal Cleanup, cigarettes were the number one trash item found at beaches in 2020, with 964,521 recorded. Plastic bottles followed with 627,014 recorded and 573,534 food wrappers found.

THERMAL, Calif. (CNS) — Mosquitoes collected in Thermal tested positive for West Nile virus, the first detection of the virus in the city this year, the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District announced Wednesday.

The mosquitoes were collected near 68th Avenue and Fillmore Street in Thermal, according to the district.