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New York In Group Welcoming Pollution Cuts

Ken Teegardin/SeniorLiving.Org/Flickr

 

New York is among nine states already cutting greenhouse gases from power plants that say proposed federal guidelines for future national reductions are welcome.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which sets pollution caps and requires using or buying credits to exceed them, says its states collectively have reduced carbon dioxide emissions from electrical generation by 40 percent since 2005.

However, the federal target by 2030 is another 44 percent cut for New York, based on 2012 pollution levels.

The emissions blamed for global warming come for burning fossil fuels, with coal the dirtiest, oil second and natural gas third.

Other reductions come from power plant efficiency, reducing consumption and adding solar and wind power.

New York officials say they are studying the 2,000-page federal proposal. They declined to immediately comment.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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