By Hank Russell
Hundreds turned out for the Long Island Association’s (LIA) presentation, “Protecting our Environment and Unlocking Economic Prosperity” with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. During the event, Zeldin discussed environmental regulations, energy choice and artificial intelligence.
“The environment and the economy are not exclusive,” said LIA President/CEO Matt Cohen. “There’s no reason why we can’t have clean air, clean water while having a prosperous economy.”
Before diving into the topic of environment and the economy, Cohen asked Zeldin what his experience is like working for President Donald Trump. Zeldin said his relationship with Trump goes back to 2014. “He’s very hardworking,” he said of the president. “He doesn’t shut down. … He probably gets about two hours of sleep a night. … He calls me up on individual permits and rulemaking.”
Zeldin then explained how both the environment and the economy need to be intertwined. “We can’t just choose one, go back and say, ‘What do we want?’”
He also discussed the Great American Comeback and its five tenets: clean land, air and water for all Americans; unleashing energy dominance; advancing federal cooperation and permit reform; making the U.S. the artificial intelligence (AI) capital of the world; and bringing back American jobs.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a conservative, a liberal or an independent,” Zeldin said. “We all want clean water. During the election, the No. 1 issue and [our elected officials] need to be cognizant of that consensus.”
He emphasized his agency’s mission is “not to regulate companies out of business,” but he urged businesses to take it upon themselves to protect the environment because that will result in a better bottom line for them.
Cohen said Long Island is “the epicenter of wind power,” but Zeldin noted that Trump has revoked permits for upcoming wind projects. Zeldin agreed with Trump, saying it’s not a whole substitute for other energy sources. He said Americans should have choices, whether it’s coal, gas, hydropower, solar or wind.
Zeldin emphasized that the U.S. is “tops in clean energy than other countries,” adding, “We should be in charge of our own destiny, as opposed to other countries” controlling the U.S.’ destiny.
One reporter asked Zeldin about the energy regulations instituted by Governor Kathy Hochul. “We should be embracing natural gas,” he replied. “The state lost out on access to energy, they lost access to jobs, they lost out on cheaper sources of energy and they lost out on choice.”
Zeldin also touched upon AI. “This is so up Long Island’s alley,” he said, referring to the “brain power” on the Island. “How can we get through the next four years and not be at the table?”
He said the U.S.’ goal is to be the world leader in AI, but it would need a substantial capital investment — and “catch-up,” referring to the business and technology leaders in the audience. “If you want Long Island to be at the tip of the spear, start conferencing next week. … We can’t allow the U.S. to be part of AI movement and have Long Island get left behind. We should be the AI leader of the U.S.”
“We should work together to move this country forward,” Zeldin continued. “I’m honored to help move this country forward.”