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.

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. 

By Peter Aronson We are thrilled to announce that the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCVEF) will be out on the streets helping New Yorkers celebrate Earth Month in April and Earth Day on April 22. “Every day is essentially Earth Day at the League, but there is no doubt that April…

We welcomed Jessica Wang from World Resources Institute and Ian Fried from CalStart to explore the future of clean school transportation and to discuss the benefits of electric school buses, from reducing emissions to fostering a sustainable learning environment.

As temperatures rise, energy demand is spiking across New York as people are turning on their air conditioners to keep cool. However, there are ways to remain cool without using as much energy and simultaneously lowering your utility bills. If you use a window air conditioner, the primary energy efficiency measure you can take is…

Click Here to Read our Buildings Background Paper Click Here to Watch Videos from our Events In the second part of a four-part series analyzing New York City’s aggressive 80×50 carbon reduction goals, NYLCVEF hosted a forum on Thursday focusing on the role of buildings in reducing emissions across the city. Two panels representing a…

Which is Better for the Environment? Since the rise of online shopping in 2001, the $350 billion e-commerce industry has flourished in the U.S., almost doubling in size over the past five years alone. However, the jury is still out on the sustainability of online shopping as compared to traditional shopping at a brick-and-mortar store….

Click Here to Watch Videos from our Events This week, the NYLCV Education Fund hosted a Transportation Forum as the first part of its series on Mayor de Blasio’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. The forum was centered around the question: how can we ensure sustainable mobility for all New Yorkers?…

Sunscreen and summer go together hand in hand. Sunscreen is essential for protecting our skin from the sun’s harmful, cancer causing UV rays. But did you know that some of the sunscreens you use to protect your skin may actually be doing damage to your body? As if that’s not bad enough, many popular sunscreens…

Choosing the most environmentally-friendly foods can be challenging, especially when it comes to dairy and dairy-alternatives. Almond milk, in particular, has been hailed by environmentalists as a great substitute for traditional dairy milk- but is it really the “greenest”? Water-Intensity Almond milk is extremely water-intensive, using an estimated 23 gallons of water for the production…

Water issues might not be making as many headlines anymore, but even if your local supply hasn’t made it to the news, you might remain at risk without knowing it. Given the number of contaminants that can make their way into shared or even private wells, you’ll need to make sure your drinking water stays…

Most legislators want to meet with citizens to hear their concerns and recommendations. You only have to be a citizen passionate about an environmental issue to get your message across, not an expert lobbyist. Because you hold the power of the vote, your opinions carry more weight than any number of lobbyists. To arrange a…

Each year, NYLCV and the NYLCV Education Fund work closely with New York’s leading environmental, public health, conservation, energy, environmental justice, and transportation organizations to identify the state’s most pressing priorities on fighting climate change, conserving land and water, and protecting public health. The result of that effort is our 2017 New York State legislative…

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