FLX Residents to Gov. Hochul: Stand with New Yorkers, Not Big Crypto Cash!
Advocates, biz owners, electeds urge Gov. Hochul to prove her crypto donors don't influence her decision making by signing the crypto moratorium and denying Greenidge's permits
DRESDEN, NY (06/09/2022) (readMedia)-- This week, Governor Hochul said she may delay her decision about whether to sign the first-in-the-nation cryptomining moratorium bill until the end of the year; after the general election. Despite accepting $40,000 in campaign donations from crypto billionaires who are also spending millions on a SuperPAC to support her Lieutenant Governor candidate, as well as on lobbyists, she claimed at a televised debate that her donors do not influence her decision-making. She also said that:
"We have to be very cautious about facilities going into former fossil fuel power plants...I am not interested in doing anything to harm the environment because I have the most ambitious climate law on the books."
If she means what she says, advocates, business owners, and elected officials will call on her to prove it by signing the bill into law and denying Greenidge Generation's air permits now, not waiting until June 30, two days after the primary.
After being banned in China, outside speculators are flocking to New York, taking advantage of the nonexistent oversight and regulations. Greenidge, a fracked gas-burning power plant using grandfathered-in permits to run 24/7 as a Bitcoin mine, is the test case for cryptomining in New York. It causes air, water, and noise pollution, and threatening the local $3 billion, 60,000-job wine and tourism industry depends on.
The cryptomining moratorium legislation (A.7389-C Kelles/S.6486-D Parker) will establish a two-year moratorium on new and renewed permits for proof-of-work cryptomining operations housed at fossil fuel-burning power plants. The bill will also require the Department of Environmental Conservation to perform a full environmental impact assessment in a year's time on cryptomining operations and how they affect New York's ability to meet the climate goals mandated in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
WHO: | Abi Buddington, Seneca Lake Guardian & Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes Assemblymember Anna Kelles Kyle Barnhart, Lodi Town Supervisor & Seneca County Town of Supervisors Irene Weiser, grassroots advocate Michael Warren Thomas, Voice of the Finger Lakes List in formation |
WHAT: | Advocates, electeds, and local business owners urge Gov. Hochul to stop delaying and prove crypto cash is not influencing decisions by signing the moratorium bill and denying Greenidge Generation’s air permits. |
WHEN: | Friday June 10, 2022 at 10:00AM Eastern Time (US & Canada) |
WHERE: | ZOOM |
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