Suffolk County Legislator Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) invited Citizens Campaign for the Environment co-founder Adrienne Esposito and CCE board and staff members to the Suffolk County Legislature’s Nov. 25th General Meeting to honor them for 40 years of advocacy. Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) joined Englebright at the podium, where the CCE team received a proclamation along with flowers and balloons.
Low-oxygen areas in Long Island Sound dropped last summer to the smallest footprint recorded in nearly 40 years, according to data from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
"This is great news," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale. "This is what happens when you have reliable funding, meaningful collaboration, strong public support, and good science — all working together."
Will New York Governor Kathy Hochul sign or again veto a bill to protect horseshoe crabs that, by large majorities, passed again in the State Legislature earlier this year? Hochul vetoed the same bill last year.
Experts warn New York could face energy shortages as early as 2027.
Offshore wind offers clean, reliable power and price stability.
South Fork Wind Farm already powers 70,000 Long Island homes.
Upgraded transmission and new wind projects are urgently needed.
This fall, New Yorkers across the state showed up and spoke up to demand clean, affordable, reliable, safe and healthy energy infrastructure during the state’s energy plan hearings. Tragically, the Trump administration is wreaking havoc on our nation’s clean energy progress, making it more important than ever for New York to step up and lead the way to the sustainable, resilient system we need. Right now, we’re not on track.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced the release of the finalized Long Island Watershed Action Agenda (PDF). The Action Agenda is a clear-cut blueprint for water quality improvements, aquatic habitat conservation, groundwater protection, and the public engagement necessary to ensure success for the surface, coastal, and ground waters of Nassau and Suffolk counties.
On Oct 7, representatives from 15 environmentalist groups gathered in Northport Harbor to rally for the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act (S.4289/A.4997), which would ban the harvesting of horseshoe crabs in New York for commercial and biomedical use. A study released last month, authored by Dr. Rebha Raviraj from Maritime Aquarime at Norwalk, showed a decrease of 2-9% in horseshoe crab populations in the Long Island Sound. At the event, Dr. Raviraj described the losses across the 46-year study as “very significant,” linking them to habitat loss, over-harvesting, insufficient management practices, and climate change.
An effort is afoot for the second year in a row to get New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign a bill banning the harvesting of horseshoe crabs for bait and biomedical purposes.
On Sept. 29, a mix of grassroots organizers, student activists, utility workers, elected officials, and environmental professionals voiced varying priorities at the New York State draft energy plan hearing at Stony Brook University. The university saw multiple outdoor rallies in addition to 2 ½ hours of public comments on the 15-year plan, with concerns covering jobs, affordability, environmental safety, and more.
Brookhaven officials have been ordered by state environmental authorities to prepare a landfill cleanup plan that could include closing the 51-year-old facility after an inspection earlier this year found elevated levels of so-called "forever chemicals" in a miles-long plume emanating from the dump.
No place could be more impacted than Nassau County by the EPA’s decision to postpone by two years the deadline for water utilities to comply with new federal water standards for PFAS until 2031.
These chemicals are dangerous, having been linked to a large number of illnesses – kidney cancer, testicular cancer, high cholesterol, immune suppression, thyroid disease, and pregnancy complications.
Attorney General Letitia James is right when she states: “Every New Yorker deserves clean, safe water.”
But it takes more than an assertion to make clean water happen. Fighting the pollution that continues to threaten the water we drink and area waterways that support wildlife and recreation takes leadership and aggressive measures from the state. It doesn’t look like we’re getting enough of either from New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve, a sprawling 70-mile-long network of waterways vulnerable to environmental pressures, will receive a $2.4 million infusion of state funding.
The New York State Department of State, at a press conference at Tobay Beach Wednesday afternoon, said eight municipalities, nonprofits and agencies earned the awards through the South Shore Estuary Reserve Local Assistance Grant Program.
