Op-ed by Susan Hughes-Smith, Monroe County Legislator
First published in the Democrat and Chronical: Special to the USA TODAY Network
August 29, 2024
As a mother of five, a county legislator and an environmental studies professor, I’ve watched with growing alarm as our climate crisis has accelerated over the past two decades. When my first child was born, atmospheric carbon levels were at 368 parts per million. Today, they’ve soared past 410 ppm, with devastating consequences already unfolding across New York state.
From deadly blizzards in Buffalo to devastating flooding in the Hudson Valley, New Yorkers are living on the frontlines of climate change. In Monroe County, we’ve seen more frequent and severe flooding and increasingly intense heat waves that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations in Rochester.
As a Monroe County legislator serving on our Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee, I know our communities are struggling to adapt to this new reality. We urgently need resources to upgrade our infrastructure, protect vulnerable residents, and build resilience against the intensifying storms and heatwaves.
NY’s Climate Change Superfund Act must become law
That’s why I joined over 100 other local elected officials from across New York in calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Climate Change Superfund Act into law. This common-sense legislation, passed by the state legislature in June, would require the fossil fuel companies most responsible for the climate crisis to pay $75 billion over 25 years into a fund for climate adaptation and mitigation projects.
Photo: Susan Hughes-Smith, Monroe County Legislator
These adaptation and mitigation efforts include protecting coastal areas, establishing heating and cooling centers, improving stormwater systems, upgrading infrastructure, and retrofitting for energy efficiency and resilience.
For too long, the fossil fuel industry has reaped enormous profits while knowingly lying about the catastrophic risks of their products. These companies distorted the truth and blocked meaningful climate action, all while New Yorkers have continued to bear the mounting costs of climate disasters. I think it’s high time to make them pay their fair share.
The Climate Change Superfund Act represents a chance for New Yorkers to lead our nation in holding polluters accountable. Hochul has the opportunity to position New York at the forefront of the movement to make Big Oil pay for the damage that they have knowingly caused.
Every day, I worry about the world my children and my students will inherit. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat — it’s here, disrupting lives across New York State every single day.
I hope that she seizes this opportunity to secure vital resources for New York’s communities while also sending a powerful message that the era of consequence-free pollution is over. Governor, sign this bill and give New Yorkers the tools we need to build a resilient future.