Bottom lines on climate change

Long Island communities faced skyrocketing energy bills during recent winter storms. With New York’s reliance on gas infrastructure, New Yorkers had no choice but to rely on fracked gas to heat their homes and feed their families.

Amid international crises and brutally cold winters, New Yorkers should not have to shoulder the volatility of expensive gas-powered energy. Meanwhile, utility companies and Big Oil executives profit from building gas infrastructure, passing the cost onto consumers [“State climate law driving LI electric bills higher,” News, March 9]. That’s on top of the everyday struggles of families trying to pay rent and putting food on the table.

The fastest way to lower energy bills? Transition off expensive fracked gas. New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is guiding the state toward cleaner, more affordable energy. Fully implementing the 2019 climate law would help create more than 300,000 new jobs and yield more than $47.5 billion in economic growth over the next decade. The law also directs 35% of these investments directly to communities on the frontlines of the climate and energy crisis.

With investments in clean energy like community solar and grid modernization, Gov. Kathy Hochul can keep New York on track to hit its climate goals. New York needs the governor to meet her moment.

— Joe Sackman, Hicksville

The writer is executive director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, whose goal is a 100% renewable energy future.

Twenty-five years ago, I founded the nonprofit Community Health and Environment Coalition to address Long Island’s unusually high cancer rates and investigate possible environmental causes. Working with the state Department of Health, the Suffolk County Health Department, medical professionals, and residents, we relied on scientific research to understand how environmental exposure affects human health.

One lesson became clear: The health consequences of toxic pollution often appear years after exposure [“The climate threat is too often lost in the fog,” Opinion, March 5]. The cancer diagnoses among many 9/11 first responders tragically demonstrated that reality.

That is why the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to roll back key Clean Air Act protections is so disturbing. By rescinding the 2009 greenhouse gas “endangerment finding,” the EPA weakens the scientific and legal foundation used to limit pollution from vehicles and other major sources.

Clean air protections exist for a reason. When those protections are weakened, it’s the public, not polluters, who pays the price.

— Sarah Anker, Mount Sinai

The writer is a former Suffolk County legislator.

We can’t meet the climate mandate that had been well within our reach when it was passed, but I place a tremendous amount of blame on Kathy Hochul for never setting up reasonable and affordable regulations, including cap-and-invest rates [“Climate law memo spurs rollback talk,” State, March 3].

Homeowners using oil and gas are seeing their rates soar in real time as the bombs drop in the Middle East. Hochul, who has never favored the climate law, is muddying the waters by suggesting that finally starting the cap-and-invest program would cost consumers thousands of dollars, when its purpose is to collect money from polluters to refund New Yorkers on their utility bills and build more renewable energy.

Overall, the cost of generating renewable energy is always cheaper than fossil fuels and much cheaper than nuclear energy. We must always be moving toward clean power to keep prices down, maintaining the climate law even if some negotiations must take place on the deadlines. Investing in more fossil fuels does not belong on the table.

— David Bissoon, Bay Shore

Is my projected cost of carrying out New York’s climate law only $14.40 a month? That’s a bargain. How many of us donate $19 a month to save abandoned animals or help children with cancer?

Of course, not everyone finds that affordable. Ratepayers in need would receive subsidies from polluters. New York has been doing this for years as part of the highly successful Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. It’s the first mandatory market-based cap-and-invest program for the power sector, curbing greenhouse gas emissions and investing the proceeds in green infrastructure and utility bill support.

Wouldn’t a person rather have part of a utility bill subsidize clean air instead of gas pipelines?

Maybe our utilities should take a cue from charities and say, “Your bill includes $14.40 a month to help save the planet.”

— Stephanie Doba, Sag Harbor