Dear editor, the Poughkeepsie Journal:
Amy Wu’s article “What’s new, what’s ahead for the environment?”
(January 31) is the type of news we need more often. It began by noting
that Donald Trump’s Presidency has put a looming black cloud on important
environmental issues. It is blatantly foolish to drag environmental progress
into the opposite direction of what government worked for decades to achieve.
Wu’s article presents useful information about various Hudson
Valley environmental issues such as cleaning up PCBs in the Hudson River, the
rising annual reports of Lyme disease in New Yorkers, the closure of the
nuclear power plant at Indian Point, and other problems. And it presents action
plans.
Re the 2021 shut down of Indian Point, it brought up the issues in
closing the plant, which would have an impact on the local economy. Indian
Point does employ around 1,000 people- so where would they go? But then the
article states that with closing this plant, there is the potential of opening
a renewable energy plant. That would be beneficial for employing many people!
What made me love this article so much was the structure that Wu
used, such as a “what to watch for” section that gave dates throughout the year
that various events are to take place. For example, sometime in early 2018, the
EPA should have the results of the second 5 year review of the PCB cleanup in
the Hudson River.
I also liked the section “key players,” naming some people who are
important to the change being created. There are people from environmental
groups, a former state assemblyman, and Basil Seggos, the commissioner of the
state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The most important section to me is “why you should care.”
Wu states: “The Hudson Valley has long been an inspiration and home to
environmental issues and organizations, including Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper
and Clearwater. For many, concerns about the impact of climate change, as well
as air and water quality, are a focus.”
I feel if more articles like this are written and posted, it will
allow those who are unaware to become educated on what is going on in the
Hudson Valley. It will allow us to recognize the important people taking action
to bring about the right environmental change. It can provide information to
reach the people who want to get involved, but do not know how.
Please have more articles structured like Amy Wu’s,.I believe huge
change can come about. It is important to let the public know who is handling
their environmental concerns.
Eileen McCafferty
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