Activists Stage Sit-In at New York State Capitol Building [PHOTOS]

On Tuesday, December 10th, activists met at the New York State Capitol building in Albany, NY to establish a 3-day long demonstration being described as a "Sit-in, Teach-in, Sing-in, and Youth Die-in."

Activists are hoping the demonstration urges New York Governor Kathy Hochul to finally sign off on a piece of legislation that a reported 70% of New Yorkers voted in support of.

Latest Demonstration at New York State Capitol

Members from 43 different environmental organizations joined forces this week to stage this demonstration as a show of support for the proposed Climate Change Superfund Act.

Photos taken by Luis Yañez show demonstrators of a variety of ages who showed up with signs supporting the proposed bill.

The 3-day-long event is set to include singing, climate crisis tombstone displays by youth climate organizers, teach-in speakers sharing research on global warming, and lots of creative signage.

Governor Kathy Hochul is currently in negotiations with New York's State Legislature regarding the Climate Change Superfund Act and some new proposed amendments.

What Is New York's Proposed Climate Change Superfund Act?

If signed, this act would officially put the "climate change adaptation cost recovery program" into motion.

Essentially, New York as a state is launching all kinds of infrastructure projects aimed at making communities more adaptable to climate change. With more infrastructure projects come more jobs for New Yorkers.

A key component of the proposed Climate Change Superfund Act is to have big companies that have contributed most to climate change, "bear a share of the costs of [the] needed infrastructure investments."

As InsideClimateNews puts it, this bill would, "shift the burden of climate adaptation from taxpayers to fossil fuel companies."

So, which companies would need to pay?

The bill specifically points to, "companies that have contributed significantly to the buildup of climate-warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." Multiple scientific research organizations including NASA agree that an increase in greenhouse gases is directly correlated to a warmer planet, making it one of the top causes of climate change.

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Another stipulation in the Climate Change Superfund Act is that materials such as iron and structural steel used on these infrastructure projects must be either entirely or mostly produced in the United States.

What Are Climate Activists Demonstrating About?

According to the Th!rd Act event posting, demonstrators gathered in response to the fact that this bill was passed by the New York State Legislature back on June 7th of this year yet it remains unsigned by Governor Kathy Hochul.

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They write that they are gathering,

"To demonstrate the critical importance of this legislation - and the dire consequences for New York taxpayers and municipalities should the Governor not sign the bill."

 

Hochul has reportedly proposed amendments to the bill which some demonstrators have concerns about. Demonstrators are hoping Hochul signs the bill before the end of this year and keeps the financial burden on big companies contributing to mass greenhouse gas emissions.

Alleged Arrests at New York State Capitol

Organizers shared that approximately a dozen "elder activists" were allegedly arrested around 7:00 PM on Tuesday, December 10th by State Capitol Police during the sit-in and charged with "criminal trespass."

We will update this story as the sit-in and legislative talks unfold.