Putting Out the Planetary Fire

Four climate justice groups have sued NYS, claiming it is failing to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as mandated in the CLCPA climate law. Much of the suit focused on the Governor's delay in implementing her cap and invest program to reduce emissions, “prolonging New Yorkers’ exposure to air pollution … especially in disadvantaged communities.” Caroline Chen of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Eric Walker of WE Act for Environmental Justice, discuss the case with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

On March 25, the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator and aggregate production facility in Cohoes, announced that they are temporarily closing down the core part of their production, though details are vague as to what this means. Joe Ritchie of Lights Out Norlite, which has called for the plant to be permanently shut down, talks with Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine. Since this interview, we found out that one of Norlite’s incinerators has been shut down for the last 3 months. The other one needs $3 million worth of repairs. 3 months ago, 18 staff were let go. More recently, 10 people were laid off. Apparently there is no hazardous waste burning at the moment.

This is Hudson Mohawk Magazine End of the Year Holiday Special, a Review of Climate in 2023 from segments we have broadcast. For our climate special, we have parts of six segments from this year. After a summary of the state of the climate, Mark Dunlea and Sina Basila Hickey review the recent COP28 climate meeting. After Justin Wood of the NY Lawyers for the Public Interest discusses NY Renews 2024 Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package, we hear from Michael Klare about how environmental issues have often led to civilization collapse throughout human history and the present existential challenge. We the hear from some of the participants at the 75,000 climate march in NYC in September before the UN special session on climate. This is followed by some of the participants on April 28 calling for the state teacher pension fund to divest from fossil fuels. We end with a discussion with Raya Salter about Governor Hochul’s proposed cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions. Produced by Mark Dunlea (This is the full version)