On climate change and energy policy
An open Letter to Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg
Dear Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg:
Immediately after Superstorm Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated— not as a matter of politics but as a matter of reality—that we should be expecting more “extreme weather events.” We commend the governor for noting that the climate has changed, recognition of which has been off-limits to many American politicians, often for fear of the deep pockets of the fossil fuel industry.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg should also be complimented for his public recognition of global climate change and his call: “This week’s devastation should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.” The title of Bloomberg Businessweek’s feature story after the storm clearly identifies the problem: “It’s Global Warming, Stupid.”
Solutions discussed have only touched on the root cause of the global climate change that will continue to produce ever more intense severe weather. This cause has been known for decades: it is the copious emission of greenhouse gases through the burning of ever-increasing quantities of fossil fuels.
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter calls for our leaders in New York to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases by developing the sustainable, renewable energy sources that are currently available. Production and delivery of clean, renewable electricity from wind, solar, small hydro, agricultural biogas and geothermal sources could also create a significant economic boom in the state. We need only take note of the dramatic activities here and elsewhere in the world to see that New York has achieved but a fraction of its potential:
• A 2012 study showed that Long Island could power all of its residents with renewable energy by the year 2020, and almost its entire commercial and residential infrastructure by 2030. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) could significantly expand the existing renewable energy programs in its jurisdiction.
• The City University of New York and NYC Solar American City Partnership have emerged as leaders in visualizing New York City’s transformation to clean, solar rooftop installations.
• Ontario, Canada, developed contracts for 4,600 megawatts of clean, renewable power in a two-year period using a feed-in-tariff production development model.
• Germany is producing more than 25% of its electricity through renewable power, with an expectation of producing at least 35% by 2020, by using long-term contracts between sustainable energy producers and utilities. In 10 years Europe has produced some 1.1 million good-paying jobs in the renewable energy sector.
A rush to produce more fossil fuel-based energy can only speed climate change, and thus make future Sandys even more destructive. The Atlantic Chapter is particularly concerned about the pending development of shale gas in New York, which Mayor Bloomberg opposes only in the New York City watershed, and which Governor Cuomo still has the opportunity to prevent.
Extraction and burning of methane from shale by horizontal drilling results in the release of more powerful greenhouse gases than burning oil or coal, and is thus a more dangerous contributor to global climate change. Independent studies using NASA data have shown that methane is 105 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide during the first 20 years of its release into the atmosphere.
While the burning of methane gas may produce less CO2 than coal, the process of extracting methane through hydrofracking and horizontal drilling permits 3–4 percent of the methane to escape at the drill site and in leakage from pipelines— as well as at transfer stations, compressors and storage facilities. This release more than negates the reduced greenhouse gas emissions of the mere burning of methane when compared to coal, and thus exacerbates continued climate change instead of acting to reduce it.
For these reasons we call upon Governor Cuomo to speedily act to foster the rapid growth of sustainable, renewable energy statewide while stopping any further development of hydrofracking for shale gas.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Bonner, Chairperson
Sierra Club, Atlantic Chapter