The city should use the money it saved this winter because of global warming to combat global warming, says one politician — and it’s not Al Gore.
Councilman David Yassky (D–Park Slope) wants the city to spend its “global warming dividend” — the money it is saving this winter on snow-removal costs — to make the city more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“No snow and no cold equals millions of dollars of taxpayer money unspent — money that could be used to help solve our environmental problems and help New Yorkers save money in the future by becoming more energy efficient now,” said Yassky, unveiling his bill at a Jan. 6 press conference.
He held the event on that day because it marked the longest winter stretch that New York has gone without seeing a snowflake.
Proving the adage, “better safe than snowed under,” the city had set aside $37 million this year for snow removal. More than half of that money is budgeted for overtime to pay Sanitation workers, while the remainder is for materials like salt and sand.
Virtually none of the money has been tapped into — so Yassky is proposing to do just that.
His proposal calls for the surplus money to underwrite city businesses that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yassky also wants to use some of the unspent cash to retrofit city buildings with green energy systems.
If the bill passes, the city could become Don Quixote’s dream come true.
