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Environmental policy

Politics
'Simply Unrealistic': NY Republicans Want To 'Pump The Brakes' On Electric School Bus Mandate 'Simply Unrealistic': NY Republicans Want To 'Pump The Brakes' On Electric School Bus Mandate
'Simply Unrealistic': NY Republicans Want To 'Pump The Brakes' On Electric School Bus Mandate A plan to mandate electric school buses on New York roadways in the next decade is meeting strong opposition from Republican state lawmakers. Several GOP state senators and assembly members were on hand at Long Island's Levittown Bus Depot on Sunday, Feb. 25 for a “Pump the Brakes” rally and press conference that was also attended by some fire safety and school officials. Attendees voiced their opposition to a state budget mandate that requires all new buses sold in New York to be zero-emission by 2027 and all buses on the road to be zero-emission by 2035. Opponents argued the impending ma…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Plastic Utensils, Condiments For Takeout Orders Banned In Westchester: Unless You Ask Plastic Utensils, Condiments For Takeout Orders Banned In Westchester: Unless You Ask
Plastic Utensils, Condiments For Takeout Orders Banned In Westchester: Unless You Ask Anyone ordering takeout in Westchester will be forced to go without plastic utensils or single-use condiment packets unless they remember to ask for them, thanks to a new law.  The new legislation, signed into law by County Executive George Latimer on Monday, March 6 after being passed unanimously by the Board of Legislators, is aimed to reduce the amount of plastic that enters the county's waste stream, according to county officials.  The law stipulates the following:  No restaurant can provide single-use utensils or condiment packets to takeout or dine-in customers unless…

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by Ben Crnic
Politics
AOC Vs. Andy: Ocasio-Cortez, Cuomo At Odds Over Climate Change, Queens DA Endorsement AOC Vs. Andy: Ocasio-Cortez, Cuomo At Odds Over Climate Change, Queens DA Endorsement
AOC Vs. Andy: Ocasio-Cortez, Cuomo At Odds Over Climate Change, Queens DA Endorsement U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of parts of Queens and the Bronx has hopped on the Green train in Albany, criticizing Gov. Andrew Cuomo for failing to meet earlier promises of a fossil-freer future in New York. The congresswoman blasted Cuomo of New Castle for not making the environment a top priority of the current legislative session.  Cuomo took to the radio airwaves to refute that claim: “I proposed the Green New Deal before there was a Green New Deal being discussed nationwide,” Cuomo told WNYC's Brian Lehrer on Tuesday, June 4. Ocasio-Cortez, a 2007 Yorktown High School gradu…

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by Jon Craig
Business
Whole Foods Will Become First National Grocer To Ban Plastic Straws Whole Foods Will Become First National Grocer To Ban Plastic Straws
Whole Foods Will Become First National Grocer To Ban Plastic Straws Get ready to say goodbye to plastic straws, Whole Foods shoppers, the supermarket chain has officially announced that it will be the first national grocer to eliminate the product from its stores. By July, the retailer announced that it will remove plastic straws from all Whole Foods-operated venues. This includes Allegro coffee bars, juice bars and cafes. The ban includes all of the grocer’s locations throughout the United States as well as Canada and the United Kingdom. As a more sustainable alternative to plastic straws, officials say, Whole Foods employees will offer paper straws with …

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by Valerie Musson
Politics
Here's When Ban On Single-Use Plastic Bags Takes Effect In NY Here's When Ban On Single-Use Plastic Bags Takes Effect In NY
Here's When Ban On Single-Use Plastic Bags Takes Effect In NY Single-use plastic bags will soon be extinct in New York State. Citing pollution and concerns for animal safety on Earth Day, April 22, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that will ban the use of single-use bags beginning on March 1, 2020. The plastic bag ban was included in Cuomo’s recently released $175.5 billion state budget. According to Cuomo, New Yorkers use billions of plastic bags annually, which do not biodegrade, creating massive amounts of litter in neighborhoods and waterways and posing a threat to the health of area residents and the environment. The ban is expected…

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by Zak Failla
News
Gas Prices Reach Five-Year March Peak Gas Prices Reach Five-Year March Peak
Gas Prices Reach Five-Year March Peak Both New York and Connecticut have entered the “drivers’ dozen” and are among the 12 states with the highest gas prices in the country. Nationally, as of Tuesday, March 26, the average price at the pump has hit $2.65 per gallon, up nine cents from a week ago and 25 cents from a month ago. The price is three cents more than a year ago, according to AAA. “Thanks to increasing demand and tightening gasoline stocks across the country, March gas prices came in like a lion and will not go out like a lamb,” AAA spokesperson Jeanette Casselano said. “State gas price averages are very similar to a y…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Westchester May Become Latest County To Trash Plastic Bags, Foam Westchester May Become Latest County To Trash Plastic Bags, Foam
Westchester May Become Latest County To Trash Plastic Bags, Foam As people around the globe observe Earth Day on Sunday, Westchester County Legislators Kitley Covill and Nancy Barr are putting their environmental principles into action. On Thursday,  April 19, they proposed legislation to encourage the use of reusable bags and keep single-use plastic checkout bags out of the county’s streets, landfills and waterways. The legislation additionally takes aim at polystyrene foam, banning its use in food packing and other kinds of items packed in the county. “This is the first step toward a goal we all share -- to improve the environment by eliminating the p…

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by Jon Craig