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Pilot Program is First In NYS to Provide Funds to Help New York's Neediest Heat With Oil More Efficiently as Winter Sets In Measures Can Save Low-Income Households Up to $1,000 Annually on Heating Bills Funding Provided by Cuomo's Record Settlement with American Electric Power Last Year NEW YORK, N.Y. (November 10, 2008) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a new program created by his office that will deliver $1.9 million to New York's neediest families to help them cope with the high cost of home heating oil. The Oil Efficiency Pilot Program is a first-ever initiative in New York to help low-income households heating with oil to pay for heating upgrades and weatherization. These measures can cut average household heating costs by as much as $1,000 annually, while reducing smog, acid rain and global warming pollution.

Governor Sarah Palin is notorious for not accepting, and then accepting federal funding--who could forget the good ol' bridge to nowhere debacle? Well something similar is happening again: Palin has decided to accept all the stimulus funds eligible to Alaska--except the $29 million that would go to her state energy office. Why say "thanks, but no thanks" to $29 million dollars? Because she's afraid it would require her to make Alaskan buildings more energy efficient. According to the NY Times, Palin said off the decision: "Alaska's vast expanse and differing conditions are not conducive to a federally mandated, universal energy code . . . Mandating universal energy building codes throughout our state is not in Alaskans' common or individual interests."

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the issuance of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York, naming Phased Decisionmaking as the Preferred Alternative. Issuance of this Draft EIS is a significant step forward in cleaning up the site. The document, entitled "Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D (Revised)), is a revision of the 1996 Cleanup and Closure Draft EIS.

I don't know if you saw the John Tierney's piece in the New York Times on Barack Obama's pick of John Holdren to be presidential science advisor, but its a doozy. Structured around quotes from climate change deniers (or as Joe Romm calls them denier-equivalents) it tries to paint Holdren as a flawed choice. This quote by Romm from Climate Progress sums up the absurdity of this idea:

The hazardous-waste disposal facility in Andrews is set to begin receiving approximately 3.2 million tons of contaminated river silt from a government-mandated cleanup project of the upper Hudson River in New York. Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists reached an agreement in November 2007 with General Electric to receive record amounts of PCB-laden waste at the West Texas facility.

The fundamental lessons for a country suddenly facing an energy crisis and an uncertain economy ought to be clear enough. Drive slower -- when you have to drive at all, that is. Seek alternative forms of transportation. Turn off the lights you don't need, and don't be wasteful. Oh, and by all means, don't go lunging for the panic button.