I must have spent far too much time following the run up to the war in the Ukraine because until recently I was almost completely unaware of the state Climate Action Council. But after reading the story about the Council in the March 5 edition of the OBSERVER it is readily apparent that just as the Ukrainian people are fighting the Russian Army, we the citizens of New York also have a battle on our hands.

Our battle will not result in bloodshed and destruction but if we lose, the vision being put forth by the council will drive the economy of New York state into dust. Businesses will leave the state in droves and no new ones will be created. New York may slip into a permanent state of economic depression if the work of the Climate Actional Council becomes law.

The Climate Action Council was the result of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that was signed into law by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on July 18, 2019. The act is considered by some as among the most radical and ambitious climate Laws in the world. The act requires the state to reduce economy wide greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and by at least 85% from 1990 levels by 2050. The act, which is considered by many New Yorkers as a radical step to shills for new untested, and perhaps unreliable forms of green energy and to people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who blame climate change on human activity.

What are the radical proposals that were put forward by the council to implement the Climate Act?

≤ No new natural gas service to existing buildings, beginning in 2024

≤ No natural gas to newly constructed buildings, also beginning in 2024

≤ Beginning in 2030 no new natural gas appliances for home heating, water heating,

≤ Cooking or clothes drying.

≤ No gasoline powered automobiles sales by 2035

≤ Installation of onsite solar or joining a community renewables program by 2040.

≤ Installation of geothermal heating by 2040.

I’m not sure that I understand the proposed ban on new natural gas services by 2024. Yes, natural gas is a fossil fuel but the gas available in the United States is clean burning and certainly much more clean burning then the inefficient and polluting coal fired power plants in Pennsylvania that supply a large portion of New York’s electricity.

My house has a furnace, water heater, clothes dryer and stove all fired by gas. Most of us use gas when heat is needed because it’s more efficient and cheaper than electric.

With more people using electricity for heat more strain will likely be placed on the electric grid. If wind turbines and the solar arrays that mar our landscape do not perform as claimed I might face returning to the standard of living enjoyed by my great-grandparents on their farm nearly 125 years ago.

No gasoline powered cars is a really dumb idea and not just because President Biden and Secretary Pete Buttigieg think everyone should have an electric one. Range is a problem. Sure, some electric powered vehicles can go zero to 60 in under 10 seconds as advertised but what do you do when they coast to stop shortly thereafter? Or what about a 300-mile trip that now takes a portion of a day taking two days in the future allowing for time to find a charging station and charge the battery. I guess my only hope is that my wife and children will have prevailed over me to surrender my keys and license as I’ll be ninety years old in 2035.

The fifth proposal requiring the installation of onsite solar or joining a community-based renewable program by 2040 makes me wonder what the council means. Do I install solar panels on my roof or a wind generator in my backyard or do I run an extension cord to the “community based renewable group? I’m not sure what they mean but I think that the Climate Action Council may have come up with this proposal, and perhaps others by “brain storming” an approach that generates ideas that often don’t make sense.

I also question the last proposal, the installation of geothermal heat by 2040. The state says this system utilizing a heat pump for heating and cooling is really only applicable to single dwellings as it requires a fairly large lawn for the installation of a system of pipes buried in the soil. Nothing is said about how homes with small lawns will be heated. Will they have to suffer in the cold?

Finally, the council is made up of 22 members. The co-chairs are two state bureaucrats, and 10 members represent state agencies and probably never attend meetings unless a free lunch is provided. Of the other 10, nine are connected with various green energy or climate change organizations with only one member currently an employee of an energy company, in this case National Fuel Gas. What does this mean for us? Just that the fix was in from the beginning.

The period for public comment on the proposals ends on April 30. We have a battle on our hands. To make your voice heard contact the Climate Action Council at ClimateAct@dec.ny.gov, tel. 518-402-8448, or mail to 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-0001.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com