Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer was at the Adirondack Loj near Lake Placid Monday to explain how the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act helps address climate issues across New York and the Adirondacks.
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act on August 16th. It includes provisions for corporate tax reform, funding the IRS, and capping certain Medicare costs.
Senator Schumer, a New York Democrat, was at the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Heart Lake program center near Lake Placid to talk about the provisions that address climate change and green energy.
“As everybody knows I’ve been busy down in Washington. The Senate actually had one of its most productive sessions ever despite absolutely no margin for error in a 50-50 Senate. So in the Inflation Reduction Act bill we lowered the cost of prescription drugs, we reduced inflation, we did reduce the national deficit by $300 billion. But the most important thing we did is have the largest investment in climate ever.”
Schumer, who said he often vacations in the Adirondacks with his family, said the act includes $370 billion to fight climate change and secure a clean energy future.
“We know that the Adirondack Park is one of the areas to benefit most from the Inflation Reduction Act. For many decades acid rain plagued this region. When the Clean Air Act amendments were passed in the ‘90s we saw the tide finally shift. We’re doing that ten times over with this bill. It finally provides the financial incentives for industries to go green, to move to clean renewables: wind, solar, more. Let’s not forget the economic impact. The economy in the Adirondack Park is predicated on tourism. The tourism industry is directly tied to the health of our ecosystem. So even if you’re not an avid environmentalist you’ve still got to care about this because it’s j-o-b-s jobs.”
Adirondack Mountain Club Executive Director Michael Barrett called the Inflation Reduction Act a comprehensive investment for the future.
“I can’t help but think how fitting it is to celebrate the largest climate action ever taken by the United States against the backdrop of the world’s most successful rewilding project: the Adirondack Park. Much like our climate the landscape around all of us was once on the brink. But after decades of fierce and deliberate action the Forest Preserve became protected by law as ‘forever wild.’ These investments into renewable energies, vulnerable communities and land conservation set the stage for a better future for every American both in terms of a safer, healthier place to live and employment opportunities in a green economy.”
Adirondack Council Executive Director Willie Janeway says the package is an historic Congressional action regarding the environment.
“We are protecting the largest intact temperate deciduous forest anywhere in the world. At one level I see the state of our Adirondack Park here as a refuge for people from all over the world. But I also see it incredibly stressed. And now, just a month or so ago, we had the federal government shutting down air monitoring units here in the Adirondacks. We can’t fight climate change if we don’t have regular check-ups going on. We talk about the billions of dollars in this act. There’s also a couple million dollars to restore, at least temporarily, those air monitoring units including in Newcomb right here in the Park. It’s only a temporary patch. We’re going to need permanent funding so we can address climate change and be a model for the whole world.”
Janeway explained later why keeping the air monitors operational is so critical to addressing climate change in the Adirondacks.
“Air monitoring led to the solutions on acid rain. Our lakes, our economy, our red spruce were all being hammered. Our monuments. And it became the poster child for urban communities being negatively impacted because of acid rain. The Washington Monument being negatively impacted by the acidity of the rain. But it was all about if we save the loons and the lakes in the Adirondacks then those other issues will be solved. The data collected led to the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments that made us reach so much progress on acid rain. Now we have an opportunity to replicate that by having this investment and then augmenting it with a continuing resolution with additional funding to fund climate monitoring research in Adirondack lakes and ecosystems.”
Senator Schumer said President Biden wants to implement the bill’s provisions very quickly and expects some of the climate and green energy funding will be available this fall.
Republicans slammed the law, saying it doesn’t actually address inflation and merely represents more government spending.
