On June 13, Times Union Editorial Board on a candid editorial, “Signing the Moratorium,” advocating for a “limited, necessary pause” in a new fossil-fuel-powered cryptocurrency mining. I would like to thank the meeting.
A recent judicial refusal to Danskammer Energy’s efforts to obtain a permit to build a new gas power plant claims to declare the moratorium even stronger. Judge Robert Onoffrey of Orange County promises New York that granting permission to dancecomers will address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050. It ruled that it would ignore the objectives of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
While much work still needs to be done, it is clear that the construction of a new gas-fired power plant is completely inconsistent with the overall purpose of the law. Similarly, it is clear that neither the renewal of air quality permits for the operation of Greenwich cryptocurrencies nor the resuscitation of gas plants in the north is compatible with the objectives of CLCPA.
We hope that this recent ruling will help Governor Kathy Hokul over signing the Moratorium bill. It should help stabilize her against her political winds that hesitate her.
In 1789, Judge John Marshall said, “It emphasizes that it is the judiciary and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is.” It’s up to the governor to hear it now.
Anthony T. Straca
Wappingers Falls
