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Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg
City
Hall
New York, NY 10007
PHONE 311
(or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
FAX (212) 788-2460
Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
A recent study by the U.S. EPA now shows that
New York City
has the worst air quality in the nation.
As a constituent, I am concerned about this development for the
following reasons:
- Air
quality has steadily worsened under your administration meaning that New Yorkers are now exposed to the highest
level of air-borne cancer toxins in the country.
Non-smoking New Yorkers now have the same risks for lung
cancer that smokers in cleaner parts of the country have.
-
New York
also has the
highest asthma rates in the nation which has led to 613 deaths from
2001-03 (latest data available).
This means that for the over 180 thousand kids with asthma in
the city life just got harder.
- The
same sources of hazardous air pollution are also sources of
greenhouse gas emissions which cause
global warming - a major long term threat to the city.
- Global
warming has already caused average temperatures to rise in the
New York
region leading to more dangerous heat waves, less dependable
rainfall patterns and worsening air quality on hot summer days.
In addition, warmer temperatures have led to the introduction
of tropical diseases like
West Nile
virus. And this is just
the beginning…
- Unchecked,
global warming will expose
New York
more violent weather events such as hurricanes and result in the
loss of coastal areas and low-lying infrastructure due to sea-level
rise.
- These
threats have already resulted in such financial impacts as Allstate
Insurance (25% of NYC’s homeowners insurance market) refusing to
insure
Brooklyn
homeowners as a result of hurricane threats.
Studies by NOAA and MIT show that increased hurricane
intensity is a direct result of global warming, as tragically
demonstrated in
New Orleans
.
So New Yorkers are now exposed, not just to increased health
risks and associated costs, but are also exposed to new financial risks,
such as uninsured property loss in a storm, simply because polluters are
allowed to foul our air and destabilize our climate with greenhouse gas
emissions. Clearly,
not enough is being done to address these problems and I am writing to
ask what significant new measures you will take to address them?
In the meantime here are some suggestions. I
ask that you please support the following bills that are currently
before the Environmental Protection Committee of the City Council:
- Intro.
20: Establishes a plan for the city government to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by reducing energy consumption.
- Intro.
18: Establishes a survey regarding clean on-site power generation
for city facilities.
- Intro.
23: Creates of a program for building commissioning that promotes
energy efficiency and conservation training.
Please let me know what
your position is on these bills and what other solutions you have planned to address the
city's air quality and global warming crises.
Sincerely - Your Constituent,
Name
Address
Email
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