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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced they are now accepting applications for the 17th annual Environmental Excellence Awards program. The Environmental Excellence Awards recognize businesses, institutions, municipalities, and organizations for outstanding commitments to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic viability. » Continue Reading.
Posts Tagged ‘Climate Change’
DEC Accepting Applications for Environmental Awards
Viewpoint: Require APA To Track Climate Data, Trends
How has the Adirondack Park Agency fared under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 executive budget proposals? The question hasn’t received any media attention for obvious reasons. It’s a mini state agency, budget-wise.
With a proposed operating budget of $5 million – just .004 percent of the proposed state budget of $137 billion – APA hardly raises fiscal eyebrows. Budgeted for 54 full time staff, APA employs .03 percent of all state employees.
Yet, the Adirondack Park comprises one-fifth the acreage of New York State. It’s constitutionally protected wild lands are honored as a National Landmark and International Biosphere Reserve. It’s subject to one of the country’s earliest and largest regional land use planning laws. But the Park has just one legislatively authorized planning agency, the APA, congruent with all six-million acres. » Continue Reading.
DEC Releases Draft New York State Forest Action Plan
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of the draft New York State Forest Action Plan for public review and comment. The State Forest Action Plan is a 10-year strategic plan for DEC and New York’s forestry community that provides long‐term, comprehensive, and coordinated strategies for addressing the challenges facing New York’s forests today. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Council Reviews Gov’s Budget Plans
The Adirondack Council applauded Gov. Andrew Cuomo for proposing State Budget funding that will combat climate change, protect clean water and preserve Wilderness, build more resilient trails and make the park more welcoming place for all state residents.
On top of the newly announced $3-billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act proposal, the Governor’s plan adds another $500 million investment in clean water project funding, in addition to the $500 million previously announced for this year’s budget. » Continue Reading.
State Legislature EnCon Committee Chairs Talk Priorities
The following essay was authored by Assemblyman Steven Englebright and State Senator Todd Kaminsky.
The 2019 legislative session was a great one for New York’s environment. As the chairs of the Environmental Conservation Committees in both houses, we were pleased to talk with Adirondack residents and visitors about the session in late September when we came to the park to discuss next year’s agenda.
The Adirondacks aren’t just New York’s largest park, they are a national treasure and a shining example of long-term conservation that serves as a model for the world. » Continue Reading.
Youth Climate Program Receives DEC Excellence Award
The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program has been recognized by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as a winner of a 2019 New York Environmental Excellence Award.
The Wild Center was named one of four innovation and sustainability leaders across New York State at the 16th annual awards celebration, held on Tuesday, November 14th. » Continue Reading.
$4M Available for Green, Clean Energy in Schools
Four million dollars is available under the P-12 Schools: Green and Clean Energy Solutions program to reduce energy use and assist with the conversion to carbon free energy solutions for schools serving Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 students.
The program supports the State’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 and the Green New Deal, considered by some to be the most aggressive climate and clean energy program in the nation. » Continue Reading.
State Forest Preserve Use Plans Ignore Climate Change
Noah Shaw, former general counsel for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), contributed to the drafting of New York State’s groundbreaking 2019 climate legislation. This September, he wrote an op-ed in the Adirondack Explorer, “What New York’s Bold Climate Law Means for the Adirondacks.”
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 “outlines a so-called ‘carbon offset’ program as a counter-weight to the 15 percent of emissions that may remain after all our other emissions-reducing actions are taken,” he wrote. “These will likely come from hard-to-clean-up activities like aviation, agriculture, shipping and heavy industry. New York’s most valuable carbon offset resource, also known as a ‘sink,’ is its forestland. This is good news for the Adirondack Forest Preserve.” » Continue Reading.
Exploring Adirondack Climate Change Impacts
On the whole, processes that contribute to the accelerated climate change we are currently experiencing are a threat to the Adirondack Park, our national security, and the world’s human security.
Here are a few stories about the impacts Climate Change is having on the Adirondack Park.
Climate Change Impacting Adirondack Boreal Birds
Two new scientific studies recently released by Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (PSC AWI) and Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station (SSPRS) have detected continuing patterns of decline in boreal birds in the Adirondacks.
The authors examined avian community changes in lowland boreal habitats and the impacts that temperature and precipitation have on long-term occupancy patterns of boreal birds. Both peer-reviewed papers were recently published in the scientific journal PLoS One. The studies build on more than a decade of monitoring boreal bird populations in lowland boreal habitat. » Continue Reading.
Wild Center Awarded Grant For Climate Change Education Space
The Wild Center has been awarded a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create an exhibition space that helps re-frame how science museums present and interpret climate change.
Set to open June 2021, the exhibit titled Solutions: Voices from the Frontlines of Climate Change is expected to present practical, regionally-relevant climate solutions that illustrate the opportunity of climate resilience to The Wild Center’s 100,000+ yearly visitors. » Continue Reading.
ANCA Meeting Focuses on NYS Clean Energy Legislation
More than 60 people participated in a discussion about New York State’s new Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) at the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) annual meeting last month.
Meeting attendees gathered at Great Camp Sagamore on Friday, September 20 — the same day that over 4 million people attended Global Climate Strike events in over 150 countries all over the world.
At the heart of the meeting, invited State leaders — Amanda Lefton, First Secretary of Energy and the Environment in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office and Mark Lowery, Climate Analyst for the Department of Conservation — gave presentations about the CLCPA and participated in a panel discussion moderated by ANCA board member Aaron Woolf. » Continue Reading.
NYSERDA Buildings Best Practice Guidelines
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has announced best practice standards to advance more resilient and energy efficient buildings across the state.
The release of the NYStretch Energy Code – 2020 (2020 NYStretch) toolkit is expected to aid municipalities interested in voluntarily adopting higher efficiency standards for new and renovated building construction projects.
Regional Artists Tackle Our Change Environment
Victoria Palermo did not start with a vision for Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region when she began poring over more than 1,500 works of art submitted by 365 artists. But the juror of the eighty-fourth annual regional exhibition quickly saw a theme emerging.
This year’s Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region at The Hyde Collection includes the works of eighty-two artists living or working within 100 miles of the Capital Region. Many of the 92 selected works address the issue of our changing environment. » Continue Reading.
APA Considering Primitive Campsites, Blue Mountain Wild Forest, Black Brook Development
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY Thursday, October 10th and Friday October 11th, 2019.
The meeting will address a seven-lot subdivision in the Town of Black Brook, primitive tent sites and management practices, and a discussion of proposed changes in the Blue Mountain Wild Forest.
What follows is the agenda issued by the APA: » Continue Reading.
Latest Adirondack News
- Schools find ways to feed kids during closures
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- Warren County coronavirus cases double to 4
- Franklin County confirms 2nd case
- Adirondack hospital preps for COVID-19
- At Pendragon Theatre the show must go on - virtually
- Tech and rescues — the good and the bad
- ADK, Keene, 46ers ask hikers to stay home
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Latest Adirondack News
- Schools find ways to feed kids during closures
- Returning seasonal residents get mixed welcome
- Moose on the loose in Plattsburgh, later captured
- Warren County coronavirus cases double to 4
- Franklin County confirms 2nd case
- Adirondack hospital preps for COVID-19
- At Pendragon Theatre the show must go on - virtually
- Tech and rescues — the good and the bad
- ADK, Keene, 46ers ask hikers to stay home
- Busted on the uphill at Whiteface
The Adirondack Almanack
The Adirondack Almanack's contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The Almanack is the online news journal of Adirondack Explorer. Both are nonprofits supported by contributors, readers, and advertisers, and devoted to exploring, protecting, and unifying the Adirondack Park.
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