September Membership Meeting: Asthma Disparities, Transit Fares, and Energy Assistance

Join us in-person for our September Membership Meeting on Saturday, September 9 from 10 am - 1 pm at the New Heights Academy Charter School, located at 1818 Amsterdam Avenue (look for the signs between 150th and 151st Streets). We will be covering a wide-range of topics, with Cameron Clarke discussing asthma disparities in our community, Lonnie Portis talking about the Fair Fares campaign in response to the MTA’s latest fare hike, and Briana Carbajal explaining how the Energy Assistance Program could help you reduce your utility bill.

Virtual Climate Ready Workshop

We're continuing our summer Climate Ready Uptown workshops with a virtual workshop on Thursday, September 7, from 6 - 8 pm. If you haven't had a chance to attend one of these important workshops, this is a great opportunity to do so from the comfort of your own home! Learn how to prepare yourself, your loved ones, and your community for extreme weather in Northern Manhattan with our Climate Ready Uptown Plan (CRUP). 

TAKE ACTION: Demand the EPA Expand the Safer Choice Label to Cosmetics

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a program – Safer Choice – that helps customers identify and avoid household products that have dangerous chemicals in them. We are petitioning the EPA to expand the program to include cosmetics and other personal care products as well, so consumers can make safer choices and manufacturers will have an additional incentive to remove these chemicals from their products. Personal care products remain largely unregulated, and research shows that many contain harmful chemicals and that people of color face disproportionate health impacts from exposure to these chemicals.

Annie Carforo to Speak at ASLANY's Climate Action Forum

Join the ASLA New York at their Climate Action FORUM on September 8, an annual convening of professionals from across sectors addressing aspects of the ongoing climate emergency and targeted, actionable strategies for landscape professionals. This fall’s FORUM topic will be HEAT(ED), addressing the themes of urban heat: social equity, heat island effect, plant resilience, and air quality. As part of the event, Annie Carforo will moderate a conversation on heat vulnerability and climate resilience in New York City housing and policy.

Rally for the Urban Forest 

Two important bills are up for vote in City Council that would drastically and equitably expand New York City's commitment to urban forests and an increase in street trees, a critical step for addressing extreme heat. Join us and other Forest for All NYC coalition members on September 14 at 10 am in front of City Hall to demand that City Council pass these bills and provide more trees for New York City neighborhoods.

Join Us at the March to End Fossil Fuels

Save the date for the March to End Fossil Fuels on September 17! Climate Week 2023 runs from September 17 - 24, and takes place in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly. This year, the United Nations is also hosting a Global Climate Action summit for countries taking tangible action to keep fossil fuels in the ground, which is why we will be marching to a rally near the United Nations Headquarters that Sunday to demand that governments – including our own – keep fossil fuels in the ground.

Sign Up for New York State’s Energy Affordability Program

The New York State Energy Affordability Program / Low-Income Bill Discount Program provides income-eligible consumers with a discount on their monthly electric and/or gas bills, as well as other benefits, depending on your particular utility’s program. Find out if you qualify and how this program can save you money on your energy bills.

Peggy Shepard to Speak on Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community

Tune in to Sacred Earth: Growing Beloved Community, a video webcast series hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of California that explores the intersections of faith, ecology, justice, and spirituality. Bishop Marc Andrus and Dr. Paloma Pavel will sit down with Peggy Shepard for a conversation on environmental justice and WE ACT's work on Wednesday, September 13 at 9 pm ET. 

• Cooling Centers: Annie Carforo was quoted in this in-depth article in City Limits about the challenges and lack of funding facing New York City's cooling centers.
• Toxins in Cosmetics: Inside Climate News featured a fascinating article with Ami Zota, an environmental researcher at Columbia University who we have collaborated with for the Beauty Inside Out campaign. Ami mentioned our Beauty Inside Out adult survey and talked about the intersection of toxins in cosmetics, beauty standards, and climate change.
• Federal Funding and Race: Manny Salgado was part of an interview with Texas Public Radio on the Biden Administration's CEJST tool to identify environmental justice communities, explaining that "trying to account for the problems that race and racism have caused in this nation without addressing - without acknowledging race is like trying to solve it with two arms tied behind your back."

WE ACT’s 2023 Annual Gala: Celebrating Our 35th Anniversary

Join us for our 35th Anniversary Gala on Wednesday, October 18th from 6 - 9 pm at Columbia University’s Alfred Lerner Hall at 2920 Broadway (between 114th & 115th Streets) in Harlem. We are excited to announce Former Vice President Al Gore as our 35th Anniversary Gala Special Guest Speaker! He is the founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit devoted to solving the climate crisis, a founding partner and chairman of Generation Investment Management, and a co-founder of Climate TRACE (read his full bio).

We are also excited to announce this year’s honorees: Richard Moore, Co-Founder & Co-Coordinator, Los Jardines Institute (Albuquerque, NM); Joshua Klainberg, Senior Vice President, New York League of Conservation Voters (New York, NY); and Donele Wilkins, President & CEO, Green Door Initiative (Detroit, MI). We are looking forward to marking this major milestone with our friends and supporters. Don’t miss out - reserve your seat today!

New Uptown Chats: Air Pollution and Asthma

Listen to the new episode of Uptown Chats podcast! This month, Lonnie and Jaron talk with Leslie Vazquez from South Bronx Unite and WE ACT's Tyisha Smalls about air quality in New York City and how asthma and air pollution affect our communities.