yorkers

Can You Sue the State For Failing to Protect Against Pollution?

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Article XIV Section 4 states:

The policy of the state shall be to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products.

The legislature, in implementing this policy, shall include adequate provision for the abatement of air and water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise, the protection of agricultural lands, wetlands and shorelines, and the development and regulation of water resources.

Cedar River Below Dam

While Article XIV Section 5 provides:

A violation of any of the provisions of this article may be restrained at the suit of the people or, with the consent of the supreme court in appellate division, on notice to the attorney-general at the suit of any citizen.

This would state affirmatively that the any citizen may sue the state for failing to “conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty” and “encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products.”.

Does Living in a Rural Area Mean a Longer Commute in NY State?

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Commuting is a big consumer of time in people’s lives. For every ten minutes added to a person’s daily commute, each way, takes 43 hours per year out of a person’s life, that could be spent doing other activities. Moreover, as most people commute by private automobile, time spent in cars, is time not doing physical exercise or getting outdoors, promoting obesity and poor health.

Granger State Forest

From this map of Albany County, you would think rural people all have long commutes to work. Indeed, people who live in Renselearville, where there are few jobs, often commute to downtown Albany, leading to a very long commutes, that are particularly challenging in the winter.

One Car

However, that is not the norm in NY State. Indeed, the Adirondack Mountains, have some of the shortest commutes in the state. Residents of the North Country and Southern Tier also have very short commutes. Many work in the small towns they reside in, or farm the land they live on.

Moon

Also of interest is that commutes, in general are much shorter upstate then downstate. In some areas — like Albany — commutes from suburban areas to jobs are shorter then in more urban areas, due to the use of private automobiles over mass transit.

Large NY State Forests Tend to Be Located In Rural Areas

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There are many state lands across New York State.

Paddling Cayuta Lake Inlet

The problem is, for many New Yorkers, the largest and most interesting parcels — the Catskill Forest Preserve, the Adirondack Forest Preserve, larger state forests like Brookfield Horse Camp, Brashier Falls, Tug Hill State Forest, Sugar Hill, are all a long drive from where they live.

This map shows the town population versus the location of state forest and forest preserve lands that are popular for hiking, camping, fishing and hunting. I did not include state parks. Note how unpopulated most areas are with large state forests.

Down By Long Pond

To demostrate how dramatic this is, take a look at a map of urbanized or otherwise developed areas of New York State based on Landstat data. Yellows are suburban areas, while reds are urbanized downtowns with few trees or forest — the kind of people you would think would most likely want to spend time in the woods.

Craziness at the Early Vote place

Maybe we don’t want lots of urban folks coming to the state forests. Maybe there remoteness keeps people away. Yet, it shows the large disconnect from large public lands and the population centers across our state.