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The hubris of the NYS DOT is incredible. The only true thing they said was that the bridges are falling apart. Let them. The presenter tried to present the project as something helping the Bronx. Hah!
#CBE #CBE5BridgesRehabProject
First link has a list of electeds to harangue. Supposedly this project passed environmental review (#NEPA). Hah! #NYSDOT and #NYCDOT have proven time and time again to be worthless and misleading. This is no exception.
I dream that one day we can build the cost of recycling and materials recovery into the price of the every new item we buy. We did it with soda cans, where recyclers refund part of your purchase price when you recycle your containers; why not do it with everything from cars to TVs and computers? Get a refund when you turn in your used device for manufacturers to recycle.
Turning in your used products for recycling should be free, or yield a small amount of cash in return for this to work. Companies should be required to take back their products and pay for their disassembly and materials recovery. That will encourage them to design products that can be easily separated for recycling.
Only by taking “externalities” and building them into the price of an item can we price products correctly for their lifetime impact on the environment. We already do some of it by taxing their emissions (e.g. gasoline tax); we should also do the same with their cost of waste.
Sure, sometimes it makes sense to do your own research. There's times when you really do need to take personal responsibility for the way things are going. But there's limits. We live in a highly technical world, in which hundreds of esoteric, potentially lethal factors impinge on your life every day.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
Other gaps in US regulation are plugged by nonprofits and citizen groups. Environmental rules like #NEPA rely on the public to identify and object to environmental risks in public projects, from solar plants to new apartment complexes. NEPA and its state equivalents empower private actors to sue developers to block projects, even if they satisfy all environmental regulations, leading to years of expensive delay.
A new law review explores "why the FCC’s current regime on categorical exclusions is ill-prepared for the developing mega-constellation industry, why the regime should be revised to require that companies launching mega-constellations file an Environmental Assessment (EA) as defined in the National Environmental Policy Act, and how such a change might fiscally impact these companies."
Nebraska Law Review article: "Although #Viasat lost its appeal due to Article III standing requirements, this Article posits that it would be beneficial for the #FCC to consider incorporating the #NEPA EA review process into their constellation #satellite system licensing process."
"What effect would miles of blazing stadium-bright lights have on birds, bees, bats and fish living along the #Arizona -#Mexico border? It’s not a question conservationists expected the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to even ask."
"Now, in a reversal that’s surprised Arizona conservationists, a #CBP spokesperson has stated that the agency would refer to federal standards to assess the environmental impact of the lights."
Another new law review that looks at federal rule making concerning #SpaceDebris.
"The purpose of this Article is to provide arguments for why Earth’s orbital #environment should be protected under the National Environmental Policy Act and to provide draft legislation that is responsive to both the Orbital Debris Plan and the Supreme Court’s recent #EPA ruling, which will enable #FCC rulemaking in the area of orbital debris."
As an environmental professional, I tip my hat to this prescient and informed take down of the environmental consequences of last week's SpaceX launch. I'm also aghast, frankly. FAA needs some remedial #NEPA training. I've always known SpaceX was shit on #environmental compliance, but FAA should know better. https://blog.esghound.com/p/spacexs-texas-rocket-is-going-to