PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP tweeted about a regional issue The Other Hudson Valley has been following closely — the set of proposals seeking to protect New York Harbor and the lower Hudson Valley from another Hurricane Sandy. The most ambitious of these involves building a $119 billion, five-mile seawall from New Jersey to Queens, a project projected to take 25 years, and one which would do nothing to stop sea level rise in the harbor of the Hudson Valley. Trump called this proposal a “costly, foolish & environmentally unfriendly idea that, when needed, probably won’t work anyway.”

Trump then seemed to revel in the possibility a second hurricane would damage or destroy the largest city he was elected to represent.

“Sorry, you’ll just have to get your mops & buckets ready!” the Tweet concluded.

Hudson Valley environmentalists agree flooding protections are needed because of rising ocean and river levels, but prefer options focusing on on-shore barriers instead of sea walls, as they would protect against both storms and sea-level rise. The U.S. Army Corps are studying six options for New York Harbor and the lower Hudson Valley. They are expected to announce their decision in March.

Read: 10 Takeaways From Army Study That Could Divide Hudson from Atlantic (written, I must point out, 10 months before the NYT article).

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO proposed a Hudson River-based park between the City of Hudson and Rensselaer. The proposed Hudson Eagles State Recreation Area hinges on state voters passing the $3 billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act in November, which would fund environmental restoration efforts around the state.

Read the full article here.

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS IN BANGKOK protested government inaction on air pollution Thursday in Thailand’s largest city, according to Reuters. Pollution readings were at unhealthy levels for at least a month before spiking to dangerously unhealthy levels late last week. Schools in Bangkok closed Wednesday due to the pollution, leading to the protest, according to Reuters.

A BRITISH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEST GROUP and several other organizations are threatening legal action after they were listed in a counter-terrorism training manual, according to the UK Guardian. Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and PETA were among the non-violent groups listed in the manual, part of the national Prevent program.

The program “aims to safeguard vulnerable people from being radicalized to supporting terrorism or becoming terrorists themselves,” according to the British government’s description of the program. The manual, which was distributed to public sector workers to help them identify extremist elements, list the protest groups next to National Action, a far-right group banned as a terrorist organization. Two members of the organization were arrested in 2017 for allegedly plotting to behead a liberal member of Parliament.