The Facts

The Air Quality in the New York Region

Fact: New York City, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Westchester Counties violate federal clean air standards, including the level of ozone permitted in the air. And the high level of particulate matter in these Counties has been linked to heart attacks, lung cancer and asthma.

Fact: East and Central Harlem have some of the highest asthma rates in the country. Approximately one in four children in Central Harlem has asthma – about four times the national average.

Fact: According to a study published by the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, asthma hospitalization rates are as much as 21% higher in low-income and minority neighborhoods in New York City.

The Cost of Electricity in the New York Region

Fact: With the exception of Hawaii, New York has the highest electricity prices in the nation. Not only does New York have among the highest electricity prices, the region uses record amounts of electricity. In January Con Edison announced that in 2007 it had delivered a record amount of electricity to New York City and Westchester. The amount of electricity delivered to New York City and Westchester alone surpassed the annual usage of the entire state of Massachusetts.

Fact: According to an analysis performed by the City of New York, the average household will pay $300 to $400 more each year by 2015 for electricity. This analysis did not estimate the future cost of delivering electricity, which represents roughly half of the charges on an electrical bill.

Fact: A study by the Westchester Business Council found that in 2017 electric prices in Westchester County could be over three and a half times the national average if the Indian Point Energy Center is closed. In addition, the study revealed that closing the Indian Point Energy Center without creating alternative energy sources would result in the average annual residential electric bill in Westchester County increasing from $1,000 to $2,500.

The Economics of the Environment in the New York Region

Fact: According to a report by the Westchester Business Council, 11,000 full and part-time jobs could be lost in Westchester County by 2017 because of high energy prices, resulting in $2.1 billion in lost wages and nearly $5.5 billion in lost economic output. Health care, real estate, government, education and the retail sector would be hardest-hit.

Fact: On average, asthma accounts for 927 days of lost time per 1,000 working Americans each year.

The Environment in the New York Region

Fact: Old power plants emit significantly more Carbon Dioxide to create the same amount of energy as newer, more efficient power plants. Clean sources of energy, such as wind, solar, and nuclear do not emit any Carbon Dioxide in the production of electricity.

Fact: Temperatures are rising and climate change is occurring. As a result, sea-level is rising and extreme weather events are occurring more frequently.

Fact: Scientists at the New York Climate and Health Project, affiliated with Columbia University, estimated that the number of heat-related deaths “could increase 55% by the 2020’s, more than double by the 2050’s, and more than triple by the 2080s.”