[1]Our New York City Policy Agenda outlines steps needed to make the Big Apple into the Green Apple.New York City has emerged as a leading example of local government action on the environment. For the first time in decades, New Yorkers are proactively planning for a better and more sustainable future. The release of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 [2], which builds on the City Council's many environmental achievements, sets a new direction for policymakers and creates a climate action agenda.

Much work, however, remains. The environmental challenges facing the city remain daunting. Energy consumption is rising at an unsustainable rate. Our waterways continue to be polluted by raw sewage after only minor storms. Our infrastructure is, in too many instances, hopelessly outdated and inefficient. Solid waste becomes more and more expensive to export and our recycling rates have failed to return to pre-2002 levels.

The City Council has a tremendous opportunity in 2008 to meet these challenges. Our 2008 New York City Policy Agenda [2] lays out a comprehensive blueprint that covers five priorities: energy conservation and green building; emissions control and transportation; water quality and storm water control; solid waste and green jobs. Along with our partners at the Campaign for New York's future, we will also play a vital role in holding the current administration accountable for its sustainability commitments.

The strong interest in local environmental action has also underscored the importance of electing sustainability-minded candidates to political office. For that reason, our New York City Chapter is developing a green grassroots operation that will target key legislative and municipal races in all five boroughs. The chapter's goal is to identify and mobilize 100,000 eco-voters [2] by 2009 - when virtually every New York City elected office will be vacant because of term limits.

By advocating for better policy and electing green officials, NYLCV is determined to keep New York City on the path toward a sustainable future for its eight million residents, and for the additional one million residents that the city is expected to absorb in the next two decades.