By Bill Parry
Environmental groups joined City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) on the steps of City Hall last week to rally in support of his bill that would ensure more sustainable energy consumption by increasing the use of biodiesel in home heating oil. The Int. 642 would increase biodiesel use from the current standard of 2 percent to a 5 percent blend, and then raise that blend incrementally until it reaches 20 percent.
Biodiesel is similar to diesel fuel but it is derived from agricultural or industrial waste rather than fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal.
The increase from a 2 percent to a 5 percent blend would have an environmental impact of taking 45,000 cars off the road, according to Constantinides. A 20 percent blend can reduce carbon emissions by up to 40 percent, equivalent to taking 300,000 cars off the road.
“This bill would reduce pollution, clean our air quality and improve our public health,” Constantinides said. “The Council, administration, environmental advocates and building owners who would need to implement this policy are in agreement that this is an important and doable step in our efforts to combat climate change. Increasing biofuel in our home heating oil is a tested solution that will help bring us closer to our goal of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.”
Cleaner heating oil has been a priority in the city’s efforts to combat climate change. In 2012, Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a bill that required home-heating oil to contain a 2 percent biodiesel blend. This year Mayor de Blasio included cleaner heating oil as part of the OneNYC plan’s progress and highlighted the elimination of the dirtiest heating oil, B6 Oil.
These policies have shown results, according to the Community Air Survey released in April, which found significant improvements in the city’s air quality due to the changes in building emissions that have resulted from a conversion to cleaner heating oil.
“The fact of the matter is buildings make up 75 percent of our emissions and we have to take every opportunity to reduce them if we are to meet our 80 by 50 goal,” New York League of Conservation Voters President Marcia Bystryn said. “Not only will it benefit our climate, but it will also save lives by reducing the amount of particulate matter released into the air and, in turn, the incidence of the harmful respiratory diseases like asthma.”
There are currently 34 co-sponsors of Int. 642 in the Council. At an October hearing on the bill the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater New York and several environmental advocates testified in favor.
Not everyone agrees, however. Michael Heimbinder, founder and executive director of Habitat Map, a non-profit environmental health justice organization, is against the bill.
“Councilman Constantinides believes biofuels are better for the environment because he has a weak understanding of how biofuels are made,” Heiminder said. “Were he to witness the air and water pollution generated by the industrial-scale soybean farms that produce biofuel feedstocks, he would have a very different outlook.”
Constantinides argues that a “substantial portion of our biofuel comes from recycled greases, fats and the waste product from soybean crops” rather than crops grown specifically for that purpose.
“Our bill offers an innovative solution that will help our city combat climate change,” he said.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
