|
Click
to read the Council's paper on Climate Change and Future
Land Use in the Adirondack Park
Global climate change poses a
serious threat to the Adirondack Park. With warming temperatures,
the entire ecosystem of the Park will change, and native species
will be driven out. Water quality and quantity, and industries
including tourism and agriculture will be degraded, and many
of the unique habitats in the Park will not survive. The Adirondack
Council is currently working on a number of measures that will
help reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and help our region slow
the progression of global climate change.
Find out What You Can
Do to Help Stop Climate Change - Visit
stepitup2007.org
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
In 2003 Governor George Pataki invited governors from across
the northeast to join him in forming the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative (RGGI). (website
www.rggi.org/) The goal was to develop a trading system for
carbon dioxide emissions, like the trading system currently in
place for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, in order to reduce
emissions throughout the region. RGGI now has the participation
from 7 northeastern states, and 3 other states, the District
of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces are observing the process.
In addition, Maryland lawmakers have passed legislation which
will require their state to become a full participant in the
process by 2007.
The goal of RGGI is not only to design a trading system for the
northeast region, but to develop a system that could be expanded
to other regions or nationwide. Work to ensure the RGGI will
be implemented by the target date is progressing. The Draft Model
Rule, which all states will use to implement the RGGI in their
state, was released to the public in March 2006. The Adirondack
Council submitted comments on the Draft Model Rule to the RGGI
Staff Working Group during the public comment period. As a member
of the statewide stakeholder process, the Adirondack Council
will continue to encourage staff at the Department of Environmental
Conservation to move forward with the program and advocate for
the deepest cuts on the shortest timelines possible. Once the
Model Rule is adopted, which is expected to happen late summer
2006, the state regulatory process will begin. During this process
the public will be able to comment, and we will be urging members
to do so.
Click here to see the comments by the
Adirondack Council on the RGGI Draft Model Rule.
Low Emission Vehicles
In May 2005 the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
released draft regulations for tailpipe emissions from motor
vehicles. These regulations would implement the new California
emissions standards in New York State. The Adirondack Council
made comments to DEC in support of the regulations, which will
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and hyrdrofluorocarbons. These chemicals
not only cause global warming, but adversely affect human health.
According to state regulators, adoption of the new standards
will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 40,700 CO2
equivalent tons per day in 2020 and by 72,000 CO2 equivalent
tons per day in 2030.
Legislation
During the 2006 Legislative session the Adirondack Council advocated
for legislation to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from power
plants. The bill, sponsored by Environmental Conservation Committee
Chairs Senator Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) and Assemblyman Thomas
DiNapoli (D-Great Neck), passed the Assembly, but unfortunately
stalled in the Senate. The Council believes that in addition
to regulatory limits to carbon dioxide emissions, legislation
should be passed, since statutory limitations on emissions are
more apt to survive legal battles and changes in administration.
We will continue to press for legislative action on carbon in
the State Legislature next session.
On the federal level, the Council continues to call on Congress
to pass the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act. We have
also urged the Administration to change their position on climate
change and regulate carbon emissions.
|