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.

Global warming has been a principal concern of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund since its foundation. It is an unfortunate reality that the warming of the earth’s atmosphere has not only continued but accelerated over the past decade, resulting in the NOAA reporting that January 2025 was the hottest January globally reported.

With the IBX on the move thanks to congestion pricing, NYLCVEF is pleased to present a primer on this major public transportation project that’ll connect Queens and Brooklyn. The daily ridership is expected to reach 115,000, or 40 million annually. The rail corridor is home to approximately 900,000 residents and 260,000 workers within a half mile of the proposed line.

The holiday season is in full swing! There is usually a lot of planning that goes into holiday gatherings, including parties, religious ceremonies, or small get-togethers. Follow our tips for hosting a more environmentally-friendly yet fun holiday gathering this year.

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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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