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.

In this blog we examine Delivering on Commitment: The 2025 NYC Lead Compliance Report, which highlights the City’s progress toward eliminating lead exposure since the launch of LeadFreeNYC in 2019, an initiative to reduce childhood lead poisoning, expand protections, and tighten safety standards. The report highlights what is working, where gaps remain, and what new strategies are needed to move faster.

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.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Check out our tips below to find out how to make this holiday season more eco-friendly. Travel smart  Not surprising, Thanksgiving travel has a larger carbon footprint than the dinner itself. If you have to travel for Thanksgiving, try to avoid using your gas-powered car for long trips: try…

There is no such thing as a “safe amount of lead” in drinking water. And with an estimated 555,696 active lead service lines in New York State alone, the burden of this issue is not equally distributed. In this blog we look at the progress made, the gaps that remain, and the way forward.

The use of road salt to keep streets safe during winter storms has become an urgent environmental and public health concern. While salt is effective for melting ice and preventing dangerous driving conditions worldwide, including here in New York State, its overuse has significant public health and environmental consequences, especially regarding its impact on drinking water.

With fall almost here, it’s a great time to fight climate change at home with energy efficient changes and upgrades. Even small adjustments made by renters, homeowners and businesses, when added up town by town and city by city, can make a significant difference in reducing our collective carbon footprint. 

In New York City, the general election is coming up. Election day is November 4, and early voting runs from October 25- November 2. This year, in addition to candidates running for office, there are six proposals on the ballot. NYLCVEF is hosting an educational webinar with more information on Wednesday, October 22. RSVP to join. 

By Liam McGowan Electric school buses (ESB’s) are rolling in, and with them, significant beneficial changes. Brand new data from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Carleton University solidifies electric school bus benefits over diesel buses.  This new study from WRI shines a light on what states and counties stand to gain from a transition…

Fall is often ripe with an abundance of food and filled with activities such as apple picking and pumpkin pie baking. However, with abundance also comes food waste that , with some careful planning, can be eliminated.

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…

Many of the biggest threats to environmental policy and funding in New York are coming from Washington, posing a significant challenge to local officials. Despite this, we see opportunity. New York’s congressional delegation includes leaders on both sides of the aisle who can play an important role in their respective caucuses in ensuring that New…

Write as an individual. Legislators prefer hearing from “real constituents,” rather than representatives. Write about your personal experience and how the issue affects you.

For many people, making a phone call is a lot harder than composing a letter or sending off a tweet, but when the phone rings in our legislator’s office, they are obligated to answer.

On Tuesday, November 8th, voters on the East End of Long Island had an important environmental decision to make on their ballots: whether or not to extend the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) in the five East End towns.

An environmental violation can be broadly defined as an illegal act that harms the environment or endangers public health. Just like other illegal acts, environmental offenses violate federal, state or local law. New York State has many laws within the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) designed to protect the communities, environment and health of its residents….

Every year, NYLCVEF and our sister organization, NYLCV, work with New York’s leading environmental, public health, conservation, energy, environmental justice, and transportation organizations to identify the state’s most pressing priorities on climate change, public health and natural resources. The result of that effort is the document that you have here. Our 2016 agenda charges the…

You can find out a lot about your state government and how to get involved in the electoral and legislative processes online. We have provided some links below to get you started. Open.NY.gov was launched in March 2013 to provide “user-friendly, one-stop access to data from New York State agencies, localities, and the federal government.”…

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