By Michael Gold
We are destroying the environment we depend on for our lives.
Our massive burning of oil, gas and coal is dangerously heating up the atmosphere.
Here are the most serious effects locally:
· Climate change has greatly intensified rainfall in the northeast, and we see the effects of torrential storms in Yonkers and the rest of Westchester, with flooded streets, parkways and the basements of apartment buildings and homes.
· Likewise, rising sea levels are also causing flooding, from greater storm surges and high tides. The shoreline of the Hudson can more easily erode. The Metro-North train line will be increasingly threatened.
· The summers are getting much warmer. Temperatures in Yonkers almost hit 100 degrees over several days in late June 2025, according to weatherspark.com, a weather website. In July and August we suffered temperatures that hovered into the 90s and above. Walking around outside last summer often felt like trying to breathe in a pizza oven. Except, there’s no pizza. High temperatures can adversely affect the health and well-being of anyone with asthma, chronic illness, or a vulnerable immune system. Pregnant women, seniors and the homeless are all at risk during heat waves.
I know a lot of people who think climate change isn’t going to affect them or that they can’t do anything about it anyway. And far too many of us treat the environment like a garbage can.
We spew gasoline exhaust from our SUVs and trucks on a daily basis. We burn oil to fly on planes or take a cruise, to ship products from farms and warehouses to cities and to and from other countries across the oceans. We use oil or gas to heat or cool our homes and businesses. We often use it to cook our food. We spread fossil fuels on our lawns, in the form of fertilizer and pesticide.
We cut down trees and raze forests all over the place to build strip malls, office complexes and housing developments.
We buy soda or water in plastic bottles or metal cans, then toss the empty container out on the sidewalk or onto the road. I regularly see cans, bottles, coffee cups, plastic bags and other stuff littered on the banks of the Saw Mill River, or in the water, which I’m guessing have been thrown there by motorists driving on the parkway. Ducks swim in the river looking for food and I wonder how they can find anything decent to eat.
Our collective actions show that we don’t much value the environment. Instead, we degrade it, without any belief that what we’re doing can affect our lives, that we can do whatever we want to the natural world, as if we’re separate from it.
Everybody’s busy, I know. We go about our difficult lives every day, stressed out that we have to pay bills or the rent, or send the bank a mortgage payment. We have to feed, clothe and educate our children. Our credit card balances are too high. We have to drive to work, toil away at a job for eight or more hours, then go home, sleep and repeat it all over again. Nobody has time to think about what they’re doing.
I’m asking readers to do an extraordinary thing in this pressurized world. I’m asking you to care. We can all do something to help preserve the environment that we all share. Even doing little things help.
On the most basic level, recycle your metal cans and glass bottles. Metal and glass can be recycled over and over. This saves energy, because manufacturers don’t have to make new containers to sell their products.
Recycle paper bags, cardboard boxes, pizza boxes, mail, newspapers, egg cartons and other paper products.
Try to cut down on your use of plastic, which is essentially oil in another form. For example, buy olive oil and peanut butter in glass jars, which can be recycled better than plastic.
If you have to use plastic, recycle it. Plastic bags and bottles should all go in the recycle bin. State law requires that stores collect plastic grocery bags, garment bags, bread bags, cereal bags, shrink wrap and other film plastics. New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provides a list of film plastics you can put in a bin at your local grocery store or Target. For more information on this, go to: https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/recycling-composting/bag-waste-reduction-law/plastic-bag-film-plastics.
Compost your food waste. When food is dumped in a landfill, it creates methane, a very strong greenhouse gas, much worse than carbon dioxide. Yonkers, New Rochelle and other cities and towns in Westchester provide composting programs for residents. The county government provides a composting education program in Valhalla, so you can learn more about its benefits and how it works. Go to: https://environment.westchestercountyny.gov/composted-education-mainfor more information.
Work on decreasing your use of fossil fuels. If you can afford it, buy a new or used electric car, a plug-in hybrid or a straight hybrid. New York State offers rebates on leasing or purchasing a new electric vehicle or plug in hybrid. To learn more, go to: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Drive-Clean-Rebate-For-Electric-Cars-Program/Eligible-Models.
Conventional hybrids are up to forty percent more fuel efficient than gas-powered cars, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), saving drivers money.
The used electric car market is doing well right now, with oil prices so high. Sales were up 12 percent in the first quarter of 2026, according to Wired.com.
You don’t have to use oil, gas or propane to heat and cool your home. It’s possible to install affordable air-source heat pumps, a geothermal heat pump or a heat pump water heater in your home. New York State offers rebates for homeowners to purchase and install heat pumps . They move heat indoors when it’s cold and move it out when it’s warm. For more information, go to: https://cleanheat.ny.gov/benefits-of-switching/.
New York State also provides tax credits for installing solar panels to generate electricity in your home, so you can cut down on using fossil fuels for electric. Solar also helps cut your utility bills whenever the sun is out in the spring and summer and early autumn.
For more information, go to: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/NY-Sun/On-site-Solar.
Also, consider planting one or more shade trees on your property. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, cool the climate, shield you from the hot sun in the summer, and produce oxygen. If you don’t own a house, or can’t plant a tree, consider making a donation to American Forests, the Arbor Day Foundation or One Tree Planted. They plant trees. Even a gift of $10.00 can make a difference.
Donating to land trusts is equally important. They purchase and protect forests, wetlands, and natural areas, which helps reduce carbon emissions, among other benefits. You can donate to local organizations, such as the Westchester Land Trust and the Putnam County Land Trust, or groups like The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, which work nationally.
I’ve got a geothermal heat pump in my home, and solar panels on my roof. I drive a plug-in hybrid, compost and recycle everything that I can. I donate funds to American Forests to plant trees every year. I have donated to the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, as well as other land trusts and other environmental organizations.
I’m certainly not perfect, but I’m trying. We all need to do more to ensure that our children and grandchildren can enjoy a climate that’s livable. Fighting climate change is the most critical issue of our time. The Earth is a gift. Let’s honor that gift by treating it right. If we do, it will return the favor.
Michael Gold is a Westchester based reporter whose work has been published in The New York Daily News, The Albany Times-Union, The Hartford Courant and other newspapers. He’s also a volunteer trustee with the Putnam County Land Trust.
