SOURCE:
https://www.newsday.com/opinion/newsday-opinion-the-point-newsletter-1.39415742
By Michael Dobie - December 10, 2019
On Monday, environmentalists around the state effusively praised Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for signing a bill that bans the likely carcinogen 1,4-dioxane in cleaning products, personal care products and cosmetics.
On Tuesday, environmentalists rallied in the State Capitol to demand that Cuomo approve a spate of other green bills that await his signature.
Welcome to what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, Albany-style.
The environmentalists banding together Tuesday included Catskill Mountainkeeper, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Clean & Healthy New York, Earthjustice, Environmental Advocates of New York, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, New York Public Interest Research Group, Riverkeeper, Sierra Club and the New York League of Conservation Voters. They generally have given Cuomo generous props for his leadership in what has been a productive year for green legislation and initiatives — “historic” is one word often bandied about — while making clear that there is room for the governor to burnish his green credentials.
Still on their wish lists — a ban on the emerging contaminant PFAS in firefighting foam, a bill to regulate and in some cases ban the use of toxic chemicals in children’s products, a companion piece to the landmark climate change bill Cuomo signed earlier this year that would set up an environmental justice advisory group in the Department of Environmental Conservation, and, perhaps the toughest lift of all, a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos.
And that’s how it goes in gubernatorial politics. You’re only as good as the last bill you signed. Or didn’t.
