Last week was Climate Week, which meant an influx of daily announcements from state government about clean energy, the environment and climate change. For instance, the village of Lake Placid earned the “Climate Smart Community” designation, as part of a joint state agency program encouraging municipalities to take climate change mitigation actions. We noticed, however, that the state Assembly has yet to deliver a climate-related bill to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.

It’s often referred to as the 30-by-30 bill. Its a goal-oriented bill passed by both houses this year encouraging the state to protect 30% of its lands and waters by 2030. You can read more about the bill and some of the climate change announcements that did happen last week here.

In more climate change news, reporter Zach Matson has a story about a new paper showing Adirondack winters are shortening. Ice cover and species phenology (those are biological clocks for things like migration, hibernation, flowering, egg-laying) could shift by one to three weeks by the year 2100 due to future warming. That’s just 78 years away. What a difference the next generation will see at that rate. Read the story here.

On July 28, 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Lake Placid ahead of the 2023 FISU World University Games. Photo by Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Editor’s note: This first appeared in Gwen’s weekly “Adirondack Report” newsletter. Click here to sign up.