On Thursday, October 16, the Break the Bonds NYS campaign held a rally in Albany, marching from the Capitol to NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office. The "Break the Bonds" campaign wants the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) to divest from Israel Bonds, which they note support the Israeli government's actions in Palestine. The Campaign says that these investments contribute to human rights violations and are ethically unconscionable. It calls for a shift towards sustainable investments that benefit New Yorkers and align with ethical standards. We hear from Eyad Alkurabi of the Palestinian Rights Committee, Keren Carmel of Jewish Voice for Peace, Rev. John Paalberg of the NYS Council of Churches; Jim McCabe of Columbia County for Palestine; Julian, the emcee of the rally, Becky from Break the Bonds, Sava from the Albany Muslim Advocacy Coalition; Eyad again; and Naomi Jaffe of Jewish Voice for Peace. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
At 12:00 Noon on Saturday, October 18, the people of the Capital Region will gather on Western Avenue between Fuller and Manning Boulevard for a nonviolent demonstration and march in collective celebration of their right to peaceably assemble, and to reaffirm, once again, that America has No Kings! More than 2600 No Kings events are planned nationwide. Organizers cite that the Trump administration is targeting immigrant families, profiling, arresting and detaining people without warrants; threatening to overtake elections; gutting health care, environmental protections, and education when families need them most; rigging maps to silence voters; ignoring mass shootings at our schools and in our communities; and driving up the cost of living while handling out massive giveaways to billionaire allies, as families struggle. Leyla Kiosse of Albany Indivisible and Mary Panzetta of We Get Out the Resistance previews the local event with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Friday September 26, the state senate held a roundtable on the implementation of the state’s climate law, CLCPA, which is falling short of its mandated goals. We hear from Samantha Wilt of NRDC, Alisha Dean Steinber of the League of Conservation Voters, Alison Constadine of the Decarbonization Coalition and Michael Hernandez of Rewiring America. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Tuesday, September 30, a People’s Meeting was organized outside of Governor Hochul’s nuclear summit in Syracuse by Onondaga Nation community members, the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, the Alliance for a Green Economy, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), Citizen Action, NY Renews, FWW, and Frack Action. They demanded real climate solutions—renewable energy like solar, wind, conservation, and storage—that compared to nuclear are faster, cheaper, safer, and actually move us toward New York’s Climate Justice goals. Hil Coppola of the Onondaga Nation talks with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On October 7, Beyond Plastics released a new report, “Follow the Money: The David vs. Goliath Battle to Pass the New York Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act.” Reports filed with the state showed that the bill was the most lobbied on during the section, with 107 lobbyists paid to defeat it. 21 of the 50 highest-paid lobbying firms in New York were retained by industry opponents to defeat a bill that was supported by 73% of New Yorkers. We hear from Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics and Blair Horner of NYPIRG. This has been Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine
On Oct. 9, Lights Out Norlite held a news conference in Cohoes, NY pointing out that there is still toxic dust being blown around from the Norlite plant despite the plant temporarily stopping the burning of imported hazardous waste since March of 2024. Norlite LLC is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on October 12, 2022. The lawsuit aims to stop the ongoing pollution from the facility. Three years later, the case has not been brought to trial or settled with the polluter. We hear from local residents Joe Ritche, Brad Blauhut, and Ed Sokol, and Judith Enck, former EPA Regional Administrator.
When Governor Hochul attended Opening Day at the Great New York State Fair , Central New York residents, community leaders and environmentalists planned a press conference to demand the Governor reject dangerous nuclear power plants and major fracked gas pipelines . While the rally was canceled due to thunderstorms, protestors were still there with banners and several encountered the Governor inside the fair. Ethan Gormely of Citizen Action and Tim Judson of NIRS (Nuclear Information and Resource Services) discuss the issues with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Wednesday September 3, more than 3 dozen climate activists held a news conference outside of the State Department of Environmental Conservation in downtown Albany to urge the Hochul administration not to cave to President Trump, who is pushing the Governor to reverse prior decisions rejected several William company pipelines (NISE, Constitution) allegedly in exchange for allowing an offshore wind project off of Long Island to proceed. We hear from Ethan Gormley of Citizen Action, Isaac Silberman-Gorn of Frack Action, Melissa Hoffman of Food and Water Watch, Renee Vogelsang of Frack Action, and Hannah from RPI Sunrise. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and the Albany Community Land Trust held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 4 on Orange Street for geothermal drilling underway at two properties in the Sheridan Hollow neighborhood. These boreholes will enable highly efficient geothermal energy to be used to heat and cool 3 residential units and a commercial business. This pilot program, spearheaded by NYSERDA and Aztech Geothermal, will hopefully lead to a district geothermal system that will provide heating and cooling to up to 100 homes in the neighborhood that for more than a century has been polluted by the state’s Sheridan Avenue Steam Plant used to power the Capitol and Empire State Plaza Complex. We hear from Sue Cottner of the Land Trust; Mayor Kathy Sheehan; Geoff Hoffer of Aztech; Albany County Legislator Mert Simpson; and, Christine Hoffer of NY Geo. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Monday. September 8, the NYS Energy and Research Development Authority held a reception on Wolf Road in Albany to observe its 50th anniversary. A number of climate groups held signs outside of the event to highlight some key reforms they hope that NYSERDA will adopt to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and speed up the transition to clean, renewable energy. We hear from Isaac Silberman-Gorn of Frack Action; Thelma Safeez from RPI Sunrise; Mary Finneran of the Sierra Club; and Noah Ginsberg of the NY Solar Energy Industries Association. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Saturday, September 13, more than a hundred environmentalists rallied at the State Capitol to call for passage of the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. Many criticized Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for refusing to allow the bill to come up to a vote the last two sessions. The bill would require a 30% reduction in packaging over 12 years and ban a number of toxic chemicals from packaging. In part 2, we hear from Chris Alexander, head of the NAACP; Blair Horner of NYPIRG; and Judith Enck, Head of Beyond Plastics. Thank you to Sonja Stark for the audio recording. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Saturday, September 13, more than a hundred environmentalists rallied at the State Capitol to call for passage of the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. Many criticized Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for refusing to allow the bill to come up to a vote the last two sessions under pressure from more than 60 paid industry lobbyists. In Part one of our coverage, we start off with music from Terri Roben and then hear from Alexis Goldsmith of Beyond Plastics, Monique Fitzgerald of the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group; and Courtney Williams, of the Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions. Thank you to Sonja Stark for the audio recording. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
On Saturday, Sept. 20 tens of thousands joined Make Billionaires Pay marches across the United States. As world leaders gather in New York City to discuss climate action and peace at the United Nations, we’ll be sending a clear message: Shut down billionaires. Fund our future. The money to solve the climate crisis already exists — it’s just in the wrong hands. New research1 shows that the U.S. government showers the fossil fuel industry with $35 billion in giveaways every year – almost double the amount it received just eight years ago. Nearly all of these subsidies flow into excess profits for the fossil fuel industry. An estimated 20,000 joined the March in NYC. We hear from a variety of voices, including Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado, Jodi Evans of Code Pink, Leslie Cagan, Tom Grogan, Pat Almonrode, Green Peace, Women’s Earth and Climate Network, Eagle Women (Candy White), Greg Schwedock,and various activists from the climate, peace, Palestinian, Native American and immigrant rights communities. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
Sunday, September 21, was a national day of action on climate. SUN Day had a particular focus on promoting solar and other renewable energy sources such as wind and geothermal to respond to global warming. In Albany, there were displays and workshops beneath the Egg at the Empire State Plaza. Workshop topics included packaging reduction, solar, and how your local community can promote sustainability. We talk with Paul Fisk about why the stock transfer tax is a climate solution; Sue Cottner of the Green Energy Hub; Brennan Howell of Capital District DSA and the Public Power Coalition; Monica Gray of the Hudson-Mohawk Group of the Sierra Club; Hannah Miller of RPI Sunrise; and Bruce Frishkoff of Citizens Climate Lobby.
On July 23, 2025, the Trump administration issued an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. The plan is viewed as heavily promoting the AI industry and seeks to reduce the ability of individual states to adopt their own regulations. Environmental groups are concerned about the massive electricity and water demands of the AI Industry. Ben Murray, a Senior Researcher with Food and Water Watch, discusses the issue with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has proposed a significant reduction in funding for the Empower+ program, which aims to assist low- and moderate-income households with energy efficiency upgrades. The proposed budget cut from $220 million to $80 million in 2027 has raised concerns among advocates and lawmakers, especially as the program has been a key tool in helping families manage their energy needs. Michael Hernandez of Rewiring America talks about the program with Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
The New York Power Authority is holding hearings on itsproposal to build 7 GW of renewable electricity to meet the mandates of the Build Public Renewables Act. Climate activists want that target increased to 15 GW. We hear first from Robert Ciesielski of the NYS Sierra Club Energy Committee; Michael Richardson of Third Act Upstate; Jeanne Bergman of Sane Energy Project; and Anne Erling of Albany of the Climate Reality Project. By Mark Dunlea forHudson Mohawk Magazine.
Climate and environmental justice groups in March filed a lawsuit against the DEC for not releasing greenhouse gas reduction regulations mandated by the CLCPA, the state's climate law.. There will be a court hearing on Friday July 25th in Kingston. Caroline Chen of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest talks to Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine about the status of the lawsuit.
The EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the US hosted a webinar on Nuclear is a False Climate Solution on Monday, July 14. Gov. Hochul recently directed the NY Power Authority to build a new nuclear power plant. Nuclear power is pushing for a big revival both in the US and worldwide, partially on the false premise that it is carbon free – ignoring its carbon footprint from the construction of the plants (cement); the mining, processing, and transportation of its uranium fuel; and the hundreds of thousands of years to store its deadly radioactive waste. It takes so long to build that it cannot come online fast enough to prevent breaching the 1.5 C (or even 2 C target). It is also by far the most expensive form of electricity. There are also safety and environmental health problems with nuclear power. Yet both parties at the national level have embraced expanding subsidies and support for nuclear power, partially arguing it is needed for baseline power. In part 1, we hear the presentation of Tim Judson from NIRS (Nuclear Information and Resource Services).