Sen. Schneiderman Named New York's Greenest Senator

In its preliminary 2009 Voters’ Guide, Environmental Advocates named Senator Eric T. Schneiderman (D-Manhattan/Bronx) the greenest Senator in New York. The rating from the statewide advocacy group is based on Sen. Schneiderman’s support for green bills and opposition to bills that have a negative environmental impact.

“To me, this ranking is a badge of honor. Now is the time to break the short-sighted political dialogue on this issue and seize the opportunities of the green economy,” said Sen. Schneiderman. “We can make New York a hotbed for this industry and create good jobs across the state – from Buffalo to Brookhaven. Environmental protection and economic revitalization can, and must, go hand in hand.”

 Among the bills that led Environmental Advocates to give Sen. Schneiderman and a handful of his colleagues a score of 82 include:

• The Bigger Better Bottle Bill, which was included in the budget (S.59B)
• The StateEnergy Planning Board bill (S.2501B), which establishes a comprehensive, dynamic and permanent energy planning process to give New York a clear, roadmap to energy independence.
• The Clean Energy Projects bill (S.6050/S.53302) that enhances the energy efficiency, clean energy, energy service and green building programs administered by the Power Authority of the State of New York (NYPA), to reduce energy consumption and mitigate environmental impacts from energy usage.

Senator Schneiderman’s other legislative priorities include the Global Warming Pollution Control Act (S.4315), the Wetlands Protection bill (S.6145) and Green Jobs/Green NY (S.5888), which would increase investments in energy efficiency and create green jobs.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and I look forward to passing more legislation to protect our environment when the Senate is back in session. From Green Jobs to the climate change bill, we cannot afford to wait. We must invest in protecting our environment and moving our economy forward,” added Sen. Schneiderman.