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Press release, press release, in our e-mail, who is the greenest pol of all?

It’s hard to tell, now that Brooklyn lawmakers are scrambling onto the green bandwagon as fast as hipsters squirming into skinny jeans.

In just the past two weeks, three local lawmakers have touted initiatives — their initiatives, of course — that they claim will make the city more eco-friendly.

Here’s a rundown:

• Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge): New York City’s only Republican congressman now wants to crack down on the illegal migration of insects. Never mind that the Asian longhorned beetle started munching its way through the city, starting in Greenpoint in 1996, now 11,000 trees in Staten Island are endanged, so Fossella wants the federal government to ramp up its funding of eradication efforts.

“We should be concerned about its impact in Brooklyn as well,” Fossella told The Brooklyn Paper. “We take for granted the urban forest. We drive by and don’t even realize it’s there. We won’t notice it until it’s gone. And I don’t want it gone.”

The Parks Department and experts estimate that millions of trees are at risk in New York City and in the northeastern United States.

As the threat persists, funding for eradicating the beetle in New York City has plummeted. In 2002, the federal government allocated $48 million to the city’s beetle eradication program. Last year, it allocated only $20 million.

Fossella wants Congress — the same Congress that he and his GOP pals used to run — to dedicate at least a portion of an extra $9 million to be allocated to the USDA budget for beetle-eradication efforts.

• Councilman David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights): Yassky wants all heating oil sold in New York City to contain 20 percent biodiesel by 2013. Yassky would also mandate that all city-owned buildings operate on heating oil with at least 10 percent biodiesel by 2008. Biodiesel, derived from plants, is a more environmentally friendly alternative to diesel fuel.

“This is the sort of issue where no one has any idea what you’re talking about,” acknowledged Yassky. “But, as you explain, people say, ‘Well, it’s a no-brainer.’”

Indeed, according to Yassky, his plan would remove more than 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air annually, nearly three times the 340,000 tons that would be eliminated by the administration’s congestion pricing proposal.

• Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D–Park Slope): DeBlasio wants the city’s Department of Education to replace one of the last scourges of the environment: the estimated 850,000 Styrofoam trays still used daily in public schools. Under a DeBlasio bill, the city would replace them with either reusable plastic trays or biodegradable trays.

After all, the 4,250,000 Styrofoam trays city kids toss out each week are made from chemicals listed by the federal government as hazardous. Even worse, Styrofoam trays, as they crumble, prevent other trash from decomposing.

The city of Berkeley, has done it. So has Suffolk County. So why can’t we?

“It’s a large bureaucracy, and changing anything is hard,” said DeBlasio, of the city’s intransigence on the issue.

Indeed, the city’s response to his legislation was cryptic at best.

“We are looking at alternatives,” said mayoral spokeswoman Dawn Walker.

How green is my lawmaker

Local pols are falling over themselves to prove how “green” they are. But who’s the greenest? Here’s a chart of the latest evidence.

Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge)

Green initiative: Eradicate the tree-munching Asian longhorned beetle, a decade-long scourge.

Less-green initiative: The American Wilderness Coalition and the Wildlife Defense Fund said Fossella supported their positions 0 percent of the time in 2005.

Councilman David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights)

Green initiative: Require that heating oil be 20 percent biodiesel by 2013.

Less-green initiative: The American Wilderness Coalition and the Wildlife Defense Fund said Fossella supported their positions 0 percent of the time in 2005.

Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D–Park Slope)

Green initiative: Rid public schools of Styrofoam lunch trays.

Less-green initiative: Supports Atlantic Yards, which critics say will block the sun, pollute the air and befoul the water.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper