fossil fuels

Trump Administration Pushing to Block Renewable Energy Projects

Trump Administration Pushing to Block Renewable Energy Projects

The administration of Donald Trump is making an unbridled push to block renewable energy projects—including last week halting the placement of 54 wind turbines in the ocean south of Long Island, New York—and is pushing fossil fuels, among them coal. The burning of fossil fuels is the leading cause of climate change. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax.”

STATE SENATOR HARCKHAM: “WE ARE DROWNING IN GARBAGE” AND PLASTICS

STATE SENATOR HARCKHAM: “WE ARE DROWNING IN GARBAGE” AND PLASTICS

Assemblymember Glick and Senator Harckham at the PRRIA press conference in March 2025

We are drowning in garbage. Previous solutions like landfills and incinerators are insufficient and awful for public and environmental health. We need to get smarter about how we deal with our packaging & plastic waste. This bill promotes innovation & saves taxpayers over $1B.

Wind Worries: Will Sunrise Wind Farm Project Get Cancelled Next?

Wind Worries: Will Sunrise Wind Farm Project Get Cancelled Next?

The Trump administration’s stop work order blocking construction of the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project off the coast of Long Beach raised concerns over the fate of Sunrise Wind off Montauk.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order to stop work on Empire Wind 1’s 54 turbines on April 16 triggered protests in Nassau County as Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to reverse the decision. But given the unpredictable nature of President Donald Trump, it remained an open question if the Sunrise Wind project might be next on the chopping block.

The 2025 Trailblazers in Clean Energy

The 2025 Trailblazers in Clean Energy

Adrienne Esposito, the founder and longtime leader of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, has been launching new coalitions to further her environmental cause. One is Wind Works New York, whose diverse members are transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Another is the New York Clean Water Coalition, made up of water suppliers, wastewater treatment operators and environmental groups advocating for funding to upgrade sewage and drinking water infrastructure. Late last year, Esposito criticized the governor’s veto of the state Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, arguing that the species is subject to local extinction.

Earth Day 2025 had Long Islanders picking up beach trash and worrying about the future

Earth Day 2025 had Long Islanders picking up beach trash and worrying about the future

On Earth Day Tuesday, Long Island residents scoured the shores of Jones Beach, searching for microplastics and other waste that spoil the coastline and harm marine creatures.

Advocates rally in Mineola to save Long Island 's Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project

Advocates rally in Mineola to save Long Island 's Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project

Advocates gathered on the front lawn of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building for an Earth Day rally to challenge recent federal actions that have halted the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project.

Organizations present included Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Renewable Energy Long Island, the New York League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resource Defense Council, Local Union 3 IBEW, Local Union 806, Local Union 290, Climate Jobs New York, the National Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club Long Island group, All our Energy, the Long Island Progressive Coalition, Minority Millennials and Vision Long Island

Trump administration stops wind project near coast of Long Island

Trump administration stops wind project near coast of Long Island

A major wind farm project slated to begin off the coast of Long Island that is said to power 500,000 homes was halted after an order from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.

Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Wednesday to halt construction on Empire Wind, a fully-permitted project. He called for further review, saying the Biden administration rushed the approval.

Trump administration orders halt to Long Island offshore wind project

Trump administration orders halt to Long Island offshore wind project

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has ordered a halt to an offshore wind project off the coast of Long Island, making good on an executive order from President Donald Trump in January that put a moratorium on new or upcoming offshore wind projects.

New York's wind farms on Long Island face uncertainty after President Trump halts lease sales, permits

New York's wind farms on Long Island face uncertainty after President Trump halts lease sales, permits

Smith Point's Park Beach is where offshore wind energy will soon come ashore. Crews there are laying cables for New York's second wind farm with 84 turbines 30 miles off Montauk. 

"We have this untapped renewable resource, the wind... this is going to power millions of homes... with almost zero fossil fuel use," Melissa Parrot, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island said. "The planet is at sake. We see the glaciers melting... you see the storms, you see the floods... and the number one way to curb climate change is top stop our CO2 output, which is fossil fuel use." 

Defending the environment, for all of us

Defending the environment, for all of us

Adrienne Esposito is executive director and a cofounder of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a nonprofit organization fighting for stronger environmental policies.

Herald: Tell me about yourself.

Esposito: I grew up in Copiague, and I literally grew up with one foot in the water and one foot on the land. As a kid, we went crabbing and fishing and to the beach, and my mom would bring us blueberry-picking in the Pine Barrens. And my dad was a really tremendous fisherman and outdoorsmen, so we grew up on the water. So I think that that really connects you to the natural world and impresses upon you the beauty of it and the need to protect it.

From pro-climate Republican to ‘one of the Trump disruptors’

From pro-climate Republican to ‘one of the Trump disruptors’

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s attacks on his agency’s spending and regulations have made him a rising star in the Trump Cabinet, but left some former colleagues mystified.

President Donald Trump’s wild-card pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has emerged as one of the most devoted public champions for his efforts to demolish the Biden agenda — and MAGA world is taking notice.

How Lee Zeldin Went From Environmental Moderate to Dismantling the E.P.A.

How Lee Zeldin Went From Environmental Moderate to Dismantling the E.P.A.

He once talked about the need to fight climate change. Now, he embraces Elon Musk, lavishes praise on the president and strives to stand out in a MAGA world.

When President Trump’s cabinet secretaries clashed with Elon Musk this month over the billionaire’s chain saw approach to shrinking government, Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, made it clear where he stood.

Environmental, Civic and Faith-Based Groups, Legislators Call for Packaging Reduction

Environmental, Civic and Faith-Based Groups, Legislators Call for Packaging Reduction

Solid waste is impacting our environment and health while costing taxpayers billions each year

Albany, NY – More than 15 different environmental, civic and faith-based groups, plus several state legislators joined New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick at the State Capitol today to call for support of the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA). 

Zeldin’s massive environmental deregulation plans: What will the changes mean for his native Long Island and former NY-1 constituents?

Zeldin’s massive environmental deregulation plans: What will the changes mean for his native Long Island and former NY-1 constituents?

Calling it “the most consequential day of deregulation in American history,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday announced 31 actions he said will “advance President Trump’s Day One executive orders and Power the Great American Comeback.”

Lee Zeldin gets to work on his agenda of shrinking EPA and cutting regulations

Lee Zeldin gets to work on his agenda of shrinking EPA and cutting regulations

WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has begun to do what President Donald Trump wanted to do in his first term but couldn’t: Shrink the Environmental Protection Agency and cut its regulations on energy and business.

In his first month on the job, Zeldin, a former Long Island congressman, has spoken less about protecting the environment in interviews and on social media than he has about his mission to "unleash energy dominance."

The ‘elephant in the room’ at Palumbo’s annual environmental roundtable: future of federal funds

The ‘elephant in the room’ at Palumbo’s annual environmental roundtable: future of federal funds

Representatives of two dozen organizations gathered Thursday for an annual environmental roundtable meeting hosted by State Senator Anthony Palumbo to discuss regional environmental issues, concerns and needs. The event went off as it does every year: a cordial, free-wheeling, pass-the-mic conversation.

If the ongoing federal staffing cuts and budget-slashing being undertaken by the Trump administration worried the environmental advocates and government officials in the room, their concerns were mostly left unspoken —even though most of the programs addressing local environmental issues substantially rely on federal funding.

Trump’s plan to kill offshore wind is paying off

Trump’s plan to kill offshore wind is paying off

Blue states spent the last four years one-upping each other with bigger and bigger plans to build offshore wind farms that could power the nation into the future.

Now, just three weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, the question is: What offshore industry?

Senate confirms former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin to lead Environmental Protection Agency

Senate confirms former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin to lead Environmental Protection Agency

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted largely along party lines Wednesday to confirm former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which he promised lawmakers to make more business friendly.

All 53 Republicans and three Democrats voted for Zeldin to lead the independent agency, which has a $9 billion budget and more than 15,000 employees who are charged with protecting the environment, despite his limited experience in that science-laden field.

Lee Zeldin didn’t ask to head EPA. Here’s why Trump picked him.

Lee Zeldin didn’t ask to head EPA. Here’s why Trump picked him.

When he served as a Republican congressman from New York, Lee Zeldin delighted environmentalists by championing efforts to protect critical wildlife habitat from potential development efforts, including a golf course proposed by Donald Trump

Governor Hochul Announces Executed Contracts for 23 Large-Scale Land-Based Renewable Energy Projects

Governor Hochul Announces Executed Contracts for 23 Large-Scale Land-Based Renewable Energy Projects

Projects Will Provide More than 2.3 Gigawatts of Clean Energy: Enough to Power More than 700,000 Homes in New York State

Will Create More than 2,500 Near-Term, Family Sustaining Jobs and Generate More than $4.7 Billion In Private Investment

Reinforces the State’s Commitment to Equitable Clean Energy Development, Grid Resiliency, and Economic Development