Stone Chairs
Super Duty dreams and off-grid schemes.
Can We Build for the Future Without Killing the Environment? 🌎 🚧
New York is currently locked in a heated debate over one of its most influential—and controversial—laws: the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Enacted in 1975, SEQRA was designed to ensure that government agencies consider environmental impacts before green-lighting major projects. However, fifty years later, critics argue the law is being “weaponized” to stall the very projects needed to solve the state’s housing and climate crises.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s “Let Them Build” agenda has brought this tension to the forefront, proposing significant reforms to fast-track housing and infrastructure.
The Pro-Reform Argument: Cutting Red Tape
Supporters of reform, ranging from housing advocates to small business groups, argue that the current process is a primary driver of New York’s affordability crisis.
- Cost of Delay: On average, SEQRA adds two years to construction timelines and approximately $82,000 to the cost of a single home in New York City.
- Predictability: The current system allows for lengthy legal challenges (often called “NIMBY” lawsuits) that can bankrupt projects before they even break ground.
- Economic Competitiveness: Groups like the Partnership for New York City argue that the bureaucratic hurdles make the state less attractive for investment compared to others that have already modernized their review processes.
The Environmentalist Concern: Protection or Obstruction?
Many environmental groups are pushing back, fearing that streamlining could lead to “irresponsible interpretations” and harm delicate ecosystems.
- Water and Habitats: Organizations like Save the Great South Bay worry that exemptions could lead to development near wetlands, increasing risks of water pollution and flooding.
- Transparency: Advocates argue that SEQRA is a vital tool for public participation, allowing communities to voice concerns about projects that might impact their health or neighborhood character.
- Scope Concerns: Critics like the Citizens Campaign for the Environment reject the idea that SEQRA is the main obstacle to housing, pointing instead to issues like sewer deficits and infrastructure gaps.
The “Green” Catch-22: When SEQRA Slows Progress
The irony of the debate is that SEQRA often hinders projects with clear environmental benefits:
- Urban Housing & Infill: Compact, transit-oriented housing reduces suburban sprawl and car dependency. Yet, these projects often face intense scrutiny for “community character” impacts.
- Renewable Energy: Solar and wind farms are frequently delayed by the same review processes intended to protect the earth, slowing the state’s transition to clean energy.
- Alternative Transportation: Projects like bus lanes, bike ways, and pedestrian paths—which actively reduce emissions—can be tied up for years in “traffic impact” reviews that prioritize car flow over sustainable travel.
What’s Next?
The proposed reforms aim to exempt certain “low-impact” projects, such as those on already disturbed land or affordable housing developments with fewer than 100 units. While the debate continues to stall budget negotiations in Albany, the core question remains: can New York find a way to protect its natural resources without paralyzing the projects essential for its future?
Aiden Lair Historical Marker
Navigating Summer Travel in an F-350 with Uncertain Energy Markets ⛽
With summer just around the corner, many of us are staring down the barrel of a tough decision: to road trip or not to road trip? If you’re like me and have an F-350 Super Duty sitting in the driveway, that decision carries a bit more weight this year. I still love my truck—especially with the camper shell soon to be delivered—and I certainly don’t plan on letting global trends keep me entirely out of the wilderness this summer.
The Analyst’s View: A “Day of Reckoning” at the Pump? 
Current forecasts for Summer 2026 are a mixed bag of geopolitical tension and cautious optimism. As of early May 2026, gas prices have locally already climbed past $4.50 a gallon for the first time since 2022. And we aren’t even into the summer driving season when prices like to climb towards the moon.
Energy analysts are keeping a laser focus on the Middle East, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint handling 20% of the world’s oil. Recent disruptions there have sent Brent crude prices surging toward wartime highs.
- The High Road: Some analysts warn the national average could quickly hit $5.00 by Memorial Day, with $6.00 per gallon potentially on the table later this summer if tensions continue.
- Extreme Forecasts: If major Iranian oil hubs are damaged, some analysts forecast that crude prices could push retail gas to even more unprecedented levels.
- The “Feather” Effect: While there is always hope for stability, experts note that prices “go up like rockets and come down like a feather”. Even with a ceasefire, a “risk premium” is expected to keep prices elevated throughout the summer.
Rethinking the Long Haul 
This year was the one I had hoped to take that big trip out the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and maybe Northern Wisconsin to see more of America and the National Forests in the Great Midwest. That said, the high gas prices are definitely having me reconsidering that cross-country trek. While they aren’t necessarily a total bank breaker, they do force some compromises. Instead of burning through the travel budget before I even hit the state line, I’m looking at a new strategy: shorter distance, longer duration.
Staying Parked and Living Lean 
The beauty of the Super Duty setup is that once I reach the campsite, the truck stays parked. The solar will maintain the batteries and keep the lights on at camp. I plan to use my mountain bike to get around everywhere once I’m there. When you’re living in the wilderness, the real expenses are just food and beer—and I’d be buying groceries regardless of whether I stayed home or headed to the woods. By cooking my own food at camp, the overall trip cost remains manageable even with higher fuel prices for the initial drive. And I don’t have to worry about being high or drunk, when I’m not driving!
Closer-to-Home Alternatives 
Living in this area, I am lucky to have so much . By staying local, I can spend more of the budget on the actual experience rather than just the transit. Here’s what’s on my radar:
- Green Mountain National Forest: Perfect for finding a quiet spot to set up camp for a week, no permits or plans required! Propsect Mountain Road or even Somerset Airfield and Kelley Stand Road aren’t that far from home.
- Southern Adirondacks: Great for long weekends without the multi-day drive with places like Mason Lake and Piseco-Powley still being reasonably close for a long weekend!
- Schoharie County: Closer to home, Mine Kill State Park, Catskill Scenic Trail, Burnt Rossman Hills offers so much to do.
Taking the F-350 up into the mountains for a longer stay closer to home feels like a much better play than a multi-day jaunt across several states to head to Michigan with gas prices being so uncertain. Still it’s kind of a bummer but maybe next year will be better.
Same Shock, Different Roads? A K-Shaped Pattern at the Pump – Liberty Street Economics
In March 2026, energy prices surged to a four-year high, driven by the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In this Liberty Street Economics post, we use the new consumer spending module of the Economic Heterogeneity Indicators to analyze recent changes in nominal and real gas consumption across different income groups. We find that households had very different experiences with gasoline spending: in March, high-income households increased nominal spending the most and kept real consumption essentially unchanged, while low-income households decreased real consumption of gasoline but still saw sharply increased nominal spending because of the rise in gas prices. Therefore, with the sharp increases in gasoline prices in March, a K-shaped pattern in gasoline consumption emerged—showing faster consumption growth for high-income households relative to low-income households. These gasoline consumption patterns qualitatively match those following the increase in energy prices at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in spring 2022, even though the gap in consumption trends during the current episode is quantitatively larger.