Sustainability Weekly
Mondays are for…
All-electric Buildings, Recycling Accountability, Environmental Lawsuits, and more!
by Alli DiGiacomo
Happy Monday! Mid-August is finally giving us a little break from the heat this week. With summer slowly wrapping up, it’s the perfect time to soak up the last few weeks of sunshine and summer fridays! This weekend is the last NYC Summer Streets, and a perfect time to take advantage of the local produce in season at one of NYC’s many Farmers Markets. Don’t forget to grab a book from our Library in the Skyline Lounge too!
Keep reading for sustainability news…
T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S
NEW YORK OFFICIALLY BECOMES THE FIRST STATE TO COMMIT TO ALL-ELECTRIC NEW BUILDINGS
New York recently made history as the first state to ban gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings, requiring all-electric construction. The new decarbonization laws were passed on July 25th and will apply to new structures up to 7 stories tall and, for commercial and industrial buildings, up to 100,000 square feet beginning Dec. 31, 2025. Buildings bigger than that will need to be built all-electric starting in 2029. This amendment happened in the State Energy Conservation Code. That means more heat pumps, electric water heaters, and induction stoves will replace polluting and unhealthy gas appliances. Currently, 31% of emissions in NY come from buildings. Supporters say the shift will cut costs long-term, improve air quality, and save lives, especially in communities with high asthma and pollution rates from fossil fuel use. Unsurprisingly fossil fuel and some building industry groups fought hard to block the law, but even after taking it to court, New York won the legal battle to keep the policy moving forward. This news is a big deal especially as it comes at a time when the federal government is going to opposite direction in terms of fossil fuel use.
OREGON IS PASSING THE FIRST RECYCLING LAW THAT HOLDS PRODUCERS ACCOUNTABLE
Oregon just passed a first-of-its-kind law, the new Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, the first U.S. law to make companies financially responsible for the packaging they sell with their products. This is an Extended Producer Responsibility policy, meaning it shifts some of the recycling costs from taxpayers to corporations while simultaneously modernizing and expanding the state’s recycling system. The plan includes making curbside recycling uniform statewide, clarifying and streamlining recycling rules that sometimes vary by county, adding new drop-off sites, and rolling out collection bins in places that never had them such as rural areas. Backed by an estimated $185 million in funding, the law will also help upgrade recycling facilities and put more trucks and bins on the ground so all Oregon citizens have equal access by 2027. It’s a win for reducing waste, cutting emissions, and moving toward a circular economy, though some industry groups are pushing back with lawsuits. It also helps start conversations around holding producers accountable for their environmental impact, not just consumers.
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUE THE DEPT. OF ENERGY & EPA OVER DOWNPLAYING CLIMATE CHANGE
The Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists are suing the Department of Energy and the EPA, accusing them of secretly pulling together a team of climate skeptics to write a report that downplays global climate change. The lawsuit claims Energy Secretary Chris Wright (a former oil and gas executive) handpicked five well-known critics of mainstream climate science to form a “Climate Working Group,” which produced a report later used by EPA chief Lee Zeldin to justify repealing key climate pollution rules. The problem is that the Federal Advisory Committee Act requires advisory groups to be public and transparent and this group definitely was NOT, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit argues this was a “blatant attempt to undermine scientific consensus that fossil fuels drive climate change and to dismantle the 2009 endangerment finding”, the legal backbone for regulating greenhouse gases (explained more in this previous Sustainability Weekly). The authors of the report include Steven Koonin, Judith Curry, John Christy, Roy Spencer, and Ross McKitrick, all people who have long questioned climate science. Some of them claim they were only providing technical input, but the lawsuit paints the whole effort as a “secretive and unlawful” push to roll back climate protections.
MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Scientists warn that chemical pollution is a threat comparable to climate change, with more than 100 million ‘novel entity’ chemicals in circulation and health impacts not widely recognised.
12-year-old named 'girl of the year' for designing solar-powered sleeping bags for her homeless neighbors.
'Ultramassive' Black Hole roughly 36 billion times the mass of the sun has been discovered, the largest ever.
Installing heat pumps in factories could save $1.5 trillion and 77,000 lives.
The U.S. Energy Department selected 11 nuclear projects for a pilot program “with the goal to construct, operate, and achieve criticality of at least three test reactors” by next July 4 in an effort to catch up to China.
Trump’s push for deep-sea mining draws international blowbacks from China, France, Brazil, and more. The U.S. is the only major country that hasn’t ratified the United Nations’ 1994 Law of the Sea treaty, and Trump has been pushing licensing deep sea mining with The Metals Company.
President Donald Trump’s order to keep large fossil-fueled power stations scheduled to retire between now and 2028 operating indefinitely will cost ratepayers across the United States $3.1 billion per year.
The Energy Department announced nearly $1 billion for domestic mining and funding for 5 proposed programs to boost the U.S. domestic mineral supply.
In a win for EV’s, the Federal Highway Administration completed its review and restarted the EV charging program, along with new guidance that appears to streamline operations.
The Montshire Museum of Science in Vermont is using its 100-acre forest to support visitor’s mental health.
Watch this video that explains why the Global Talks on Plastic Pollution ended in complete disaster last week and without a treaty.
From Landfills and Recycling Programs to Desks in Offices, Toxic Chemicals in Plastics Poison Workers.
New York Climate Activists Are a Key Part of Zohran Mamdani’s Mayoral Campaign.