State assembly passes Earth Day agenda

In celebration of upcoming Earth Day, on Tuesday, the state Assembly passed nine measures designed to address some of the state’s most pressing environmental challenges, including efforts to help stop global warming, according to Environmental Advocates of New York.

The bills include two of the green community’s priority Super Bills—the Wetlands Protections Act and the Global Warming Pollution Cap, as well as a host of legislation designed to protect the health of our air, land and water, according to the group.

According to the group, some of the bills include:

* Smart Growth Infrastructure – This bill would protect New York’s previous natural and fiscal resources by requiring that our state agencies conduct, expand or reconstruct public infrastructure to comply with smart growth criteria.

* Global Warming Pollution Cap – This measure would reduce New York State’s climate change pollution from all sources gradually until overall greenhouse gas emissions are 80 percent below emissions for the year 1990.

* Plastic Bag Recycling – This bill would reduce the millions of single-use plastic bags filling our landfills and dotting our landscapes by requiring New York retailers to provide a location on premises or to facilitate the recycling of plastic shopping bags.