Citizen's Toolkit

Our mission is to educate New Yorkers and help them become engaged and empowered advocates for the environment. The resources listed here can help you learn about environmental issues across the state and take advantage of the ways you can protect environment in your personal life and by getting involved in policy and political processes at the local and state levels. From contacting your representatives to the appropriate avenues to report environmental hazards to how to register to vote, these pages can help you protect the interests that are most important to you. As part of the Citizen’s Toolkit, we also provide weekly “Green Tips” so that you can make sustainable lifestyle choices. In the fight against climate change, every little effort can help to reduce carbon emissions and protect our planet from the worst.

The updated Lead and Copper Rules issued by the EPA also requires increased communication about the risks families face as well as more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold for communities to take action. The EPA also announced $2.6 billion in newly available drinking water infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

National Drive Electric Week comes at an important time in our effort to drastically increase the number of electric vehicles on the road. We hope that the annual event, running from September 27 to October 6, with scores of events planned nationwide, in every state except Georgia and North Dakota, will spark plug everyone’s interest in going electric.

By Peter Aronson Providing clean drinking water for New York State’s 19 million residents is of paramount concern for New York state officials. It is a complex process, given that 95 percent of all New Yorkers receive their drinking water from almost 9,000 different public water systems in the state. This ranges from the smallest…

Here is our list of important and obtainable sustainability goals for your own life – goals the average person can strive for in our collective effort to reduce our carbon footprints. While you may be thinking I am only one person, the truth is, if we act together, it will make a difference. 

The area encompasses Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and the Great Lakes region and has a population of a little more than 3.5 million people. Our overall environmental goals for the region are to increase renewable energy, decarbonize buildings, clean up toxic waste, provide safe drinking water for all residents, and reduce waste going to landfills. 

It is essential that we learn to cut back and eliminate unnecessary plastic use. This week, our Green Tips will help you begin your plastic-free journey.

As the primary election season kicks into gear, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) continues their mission of educating voters through environmental candidate forums, conducting two in recent weeks, one in southern Westchester County for New York’s 16th Congressional District, and one in Albany for New York’s 109th Assembly District.  

Buying locally produced food and dining at farm-to-table restaurants is one way we can all work together to fight climate change. You can start out by visiting one of the many urban farms in New York City or elsewhere in the state, and then you can dine at one of the many farm-to-table restaurants.

Approval of multiple new projects, new multi-state leases and agreements, and the nation’s first commercial scale offshore wind project coming online with the completion of South Fork wind, mark the success of President Biden’s Clean Energy Agenda. 

Reducing meat consumption has countless health, environmental, and economic benefits. Here are some tips explaining how Meatless Mondays can help on a personal and global level.

Spring is the perfect time to start your own garden! Gardening has many health and environmental benefits, such as the reduction of greenhouse gases, and the creation of habitats for small animals and insects. Gardening will help keep you active and has been known to reduce stress.

In an age where the internet is becoming easier for everyone to access, our ability to use this medium as a tool for reducing waste is also becoming much more convenient. Here are some ways you can use the internet to reduce paper and waste.

As we celebrate Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, we remember the environmental, ecological, and economic significance of the estuary and how its conservation is imperative to the United States as a whole. Obstacles facing conservation in the Chesapeake Bay are made clear once one understands the many watersheds in New York. Here are some interesting facts about New York’s watersheds, including the Susquehanna River Watershed and its relevance to the Chesapeake Bay.

About one-third of what New Yorkers throw away can be composted. Food scraps and other organics do not break down in landfills the same way they do in compost piles. Not only does composting reduce waste, it also helps enrich soil used for growing trees and grass, improving our vital greenspaces. Anyone can compost, whether you live in a house or apartment.

It’s spring, and that means it’s wedding season. Show the planet some love by checking out our cheap and easy tips for having a sustainable wedding.

From reducing your use of products with harmful chemicals to decreasing the amount of waste you generate, give these simple lifestyle changes a try.

Spring cleaning is a great way to clear out clutter, but rather than throw your old stuff away, give it a second life by “upcycling,” or reusing it for something else.

Look up in the sky! It’s a songbird. It’s a sandhill crane. It’s bird watching!

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