TTL News 319 Posted November 13, 2022 Quote It was a mixed night for the fight against climate change on Tuesday. Voters in two of the country’s largest states, California and New York, considered climate-related ballot measures that would have freed up billions in funding to protect the environment and electrify the economy. New York resoundingly passed its measure. California did not. First up, New York: Proposal 1, the “Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act,” is a wide-ranging initiative that will supply more than $4 billion in funding for projects related to “the environment, natural resources, water infrastructure, and climate change mitigation,” paid for through New York’s sale of bonds. It’ll fund things like wetland protection, solar and wind installations, street trees, land conservation, fish hatcheries, carbon sequestration, and reducing stormwater runoff. And with $500 million in funding specifically earmarked for purchasing electric school buses, it’s a notable step toward electrification; New York is one of the first states in the country to require all of its school buses to be zero-emission vehicles. The measure also requires that at least 35 percent of the money benefits “disadvantaged communities,” as defined by an independent advisory committee. New York isn’t alone on this front; in 2021, Joe Biden issued an executive order declaring that disadvantaged communities would receive at least 40 percent of climate-related benefits enacted by his administration, although it’s unclear how such communities would qualify. Not surprisingly, Democratic governor Kathy Hochul (who handily won reelection) and environmental groups supported Prop 1. The New York State Conservative Party opposed it, arguing that New York doesn’t need to borrow more money. With nearly 70 percent of votes counted as of Wednesday afternoon, Prop 1 passed with 69 percent of New Yorkers favoring it. Bond sales could reportedly begin as early as next year. Read the rest here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KarenK 384 Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) "Borrow" being the keyword here. I read up on that one so I knew exactly what it was and no matter how they present it, they voted to borrow 4.2 billion. Too many people I know who voted for that think it's just free money because the flowery wording they used is confusing. Edited November 13, 2022 by KarenK 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MsKreed 1,204 Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) Quote First up, New York: Proposal 1, the “Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act,” is a wide-ranging initiative that will supply more than $4 billion in funding for projects related to “the environment, natural resources, water infrastructure, and climate change mitigation,” Sounds like any generic Mission Statement from with no defined explanation of what the funds will apply to, no criteria for vetting recipients or projects, and no concrete measures outlined. So, basically $4 billion dollar cash buffet for political cronies and donors? Edited November 13, 2022 by MsKreed 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MsKreed 1,204 Posted November 13, 2022 Also....unless NYS is going to somehow force China and India to follow the type of basic regulations that every US state already does to prevent waste and pollution......then we should all agree the headline "Protect the Planet"is extreme hyperbole. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris 2,238 Posted November 13, 2022 Yeah, the problem for me is a combination of all of the things you both mentioned. 1 hour ago, MsKreed said: Also....unless NYS is going to somehow force China and India to follow the type of basic regulations that every US state already does to prevent waste and pollution......then we should all agree the headline "Protect the Planet"is extreme hyperbole. And as I've said before, how many of these people preaching to us about "saving the planet" are driving around in motorcades lined with SUV's, or flying all over the damns state, nation, and world? With today's technology, it isn't as necessary as maybe it once was. Put your money where your mouth is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MsKreed 1,204 Posted November 13, 2022 9 minutes ago, Chris said: Put your money where your mouth is. 100% I know Kerry justified his high-fuel travels by claiming "his work" was doing more to save the planet than the damages.....but I've yet to hear explanations from any of them on why so many invest millions and millions of their own money on oceanfront property, unless they don't buy their own preaching. Quote Kerry spent $11.75 million in 2017 for a sprawling estate on the beach in Martha’s Vineyard. The property includes more than 18 acres of land on which his seven-bedroom home sits, overlooking the Vineyard Sound. Quote Last year, the couple, who are presently in the midst of a divorce, paid $43 million for a massive house on the beach in Del Mar, California, near San Diego. But Bill Gates has issued dire warnings that beaches, like the one on which he has invested in property, will be wiped out by higher ocean levels in a matter of years. “There will be places near the ocean [that] the sea-level rise will completely wipe out,” Gates told the Miami Herald in February. “You know, like Miami won’t look anything like it does today. Those beaches will be all gone.” Quote The Obamas are believed to be planning to occupy at least one of the houses when construction is complete. The project has been controversial locally, in large part because the developers requested and received an exemption from Hawaii’s environmental laws to leave in place an old sea wall on the beach. Environmental experts say sea walls contribute significantly to beach erosion and should be removed, but plans were submitted to the state to expand the sea wall on the property. The Obamas own an $11.75 million mansion in Martha's Vineyard, near the water as well. Quote Gore’s 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, warned that the sea could rise by as much as 20 feet “in the near future.” Gore has made a number of dire predictions about the speed at which Arctic ice will melt, causing the oceans to swell, that have not occurred on the aggressive timelines he’s suggested. But Gore invested nearly $9 million into an ocean view property in Montecito, California, in 2009. From June 2021 article HERE 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites