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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch of over 90% plastic in the North Pacific Ocean covers about 620,000 square miles, more than twice the area of Texas. A similar patch extends for hundreds of miles in the North Atlantic.

Continued breakdown of today’s plastic trash will result in increased levels of plastic micro- and nano-particles far into the future even if we were to cease production of plastics today.

Microplastics contain and transport toxic compounds. There is growing evidence that plastic micro- and nano-particles affect human health. The sheer enormity and ubiquity of the plastic problem necessitate that we reduce plastic production worldwide.

We can begin to reduce plastic use and waste in New York state by passing the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S1464/A1749). This bill would require large companies selling products in the state to reduce plastic packaging by 30% over the next 12 years. It would also ban 14 highly toxic chemicals used in the production of plastics.

Public support for this bill is essential for its passage. We need to tell our state Assembly members and senators as well as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Gov. Kathy Hochul that it is time for the state to do something about plastic pollution that for too long has threatened our health and despoiled our environment.

The writer is with the Capital Region Interfaith Creation Care Coalition, Albany.

Published May 5, 2025

I am a concerned student and teen driver, and I believe that reinstating driver's education in schools is an urgent necessity.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of accidental deaths for teens aged 16 to 17 in New York. Drivers aged 16 to 24 represent 12% of licensed drivers in the state but, notably, account for 20% of drivers involved in crashes. Studies have demonstrated that formal driver's education significantly reduces crashes and traffic violations among teens. Young drivers without such education are 75% more likely to receive a traffic ticket and 24% more likely to be involved in accidents.

Yet, many schools in our area have had to discontinue driver's education programs due to budget constraints and administrative challenges. This leaves teenagers at a higher risk to be involved in accidents.

Recognizing this issue, legislative efforts are underway to improve access to driver's education. Senate bill S8667, introduced by Sen. Andrew Gounardes, aims to require all driver's license applicants in New York to take at least six hours of supervised in-car instruction with a licensed driving instructor. This initiative seeks to provide high school students, especially those whose schools do not offer driver education programs, with vital access to driver safety training.

Reintroducing comprehensive driver's education in schools would equip young drivers with essential skills and knowledge, potentially reducing accidents and saving lives. Policymakers should prioritize safer roads for our communities.

Published May 5, 2025

The League of Women Voters’ support for Medical Aid in Dying resulted from a lengthy process of studying all sides of the issue. New Yorkers agree; 70% have emphatically declared their support according to public surveys. The New York State Bar Association agrees, the New York State Medical Society agrees, and a significant number of state clergy agree.

The impeccable safety controls in the bill require that the patient be mentally sound and physically competent to self-administer; only patients already assessed by their treating physician to have a terminal illness may request it; their approved application only allows patients to request the medication prospectively, not to receive it immediately.

MAID is not suicide, it grants compassionate relief, which treatment cannot provide. Relief at being recognized and provided some element of autonomy may be the greatest benefit. Medical aid in dying provides peace and comfort to the dying. It can also provide time: for loved ones to gather and for the dying to be surrounded by love and care, not alone with whirring machines as companions.

Ten years of denying this mercy to New Yorkers must come to a close. In a moral universe, compassionate care must take precedence.

Owens is the President of the League of Women Voters of Albany County.

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