Letters: Unfinished state business

New York lags behind many comparable states in promoting solar and wind power. Investing in these renewable energy sources would reduce our global-warming pollution while creating jobs in New York and keeping energy dollars in our local economies.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Legislature missed a golden opportunity to accelerate solar energy this year ["Limited looks at evals," News, June 22]. The Clean Energy and Economic Revitalization Act of 2012 would have committed the state to a 10-year, $1.4-billion program to ramp up solar energy and raised costs for fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Robust development of New York's renewable energy economy requires a strong commitment from local, state and federal officials and a serious partnership with the private sector. We need leadership in Albany and in our nation's capital to realize New York's great potential to capture the environmental and economic benefits of clean, efficient and renewable energy.

Elisabeth Muehlemann, Centerport

Editor's note: The writer is an intern with Environment New York, an advocacy organization.
 

It is a sad day for New York that our State Legislature left Albany with unfinished business. A potentially lifesaving bill, the CPR in Schools legislation, would have ensured that all students learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation before graduating from high school. However, the bill was held up in the Assembly. The State Senate passed the bill due in large part to the support of Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport).

My son Louis died in 2000 of commotio cordis, a condition that occurs when there is a blow to the heart at precisely the right fraction of a second to disrupt the organ's electric rhythms. He was playing lacrosse and was only 14. Shortly afterward, we passed Louis's Law so that public schools have defibrillators available.

The next step is to make sure that every student knows CPR. Just imagine how many lives we would save.

Karen Acompora, Northport