Year-End Meeting to Discuss Our 2024 Policy Agenda This Saturday

Come join us in-person for our November "Year-End" Membership Meeting this Saturday, November 18 from 10 am - 1 pm at New Heights Charter School at 1818 Amsterdam Avenue (between 150th and 151st Streets).

This will be our final membership meeting of the year. In addition to a festive holiday celebration with food and music, we will be unveiling our 2024 Policy Agenda, so come and learn about what legislation we will be working to advance next year, share your feedback, and learn how you can get involved. Also, we will have a special presentation on sanitation from our Membership Planning Committee. And you will have an opportunity to learn more about - and get a guided tour of - our new online resource for helping Manhattan residents, organizations, and small businesses learn about low- and no-cost renewable energy upgrades, which improve indoor air quality and reduce utility costs, as well as how to find clean energy jobs.

What We Mean by False Solutions

Dana Johnson co-authored an Op-Ed in Common Dreams with Ana Baptista, associate professor and co-director of the Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School, explaining why we oppose carbon capture and sequestration, carbon capture and utilization, hydrogen hubs, and direct air capture as solutions to the climate crisis.

Talking About Environmental Justice at SOMOS Puerto Rico

Our staff was at the SOMOS Puerto Rico Conference, an annual gathering of New York State legislators, discussing policies that impact the Latinx community last week. We organized two workshops for policymakers. The first was about the EPA Region 2 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center and how it can help communities access millions of dollars in funding for environmental justice. Our second panel was about how the Build Public Renewables Act and our Manhattan Clean Energy Hub are examples of how we can transition from profit-driven and privately-owned energy to community-rooted, democratic alternatives that benefit everyone.

Thank you to NY State Representative Amanda Septimo and NY State Senator Cordell Cleare for sponsoring our panels. And many thanks to our panelists and guests who joined us last week!

Peggy Shepard Offers Advice to Obama Foundation Scholars

Earlier this week, Peggy Shepard shared her insight and experience with the Obama Foundation Scholars at Columbia University. These students, who come from around the world, have all started their own nonprofit organizations and had plenty of questions!

EPA Announces New Lead Initiative

WE ACT staff attended the announcement of a new initiative from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Get the Lead Out (GLO) Initiative will partner with 200 frontline communities nationwide to provide technical assistance to identify lead services lines, develop replacement plans, and apply for funding to get the lead out. WE ACT has been working in a statewide coalition to identify and remove lead pipes throughout New York which contribute to high levels of lead exposure and lead poisoning in the state. This new EPA initiative is a welcome step for protecting environmental justice communities nationwide from the dangers of lead piping.

• Out of Gas, In with Justice: An article about how renters can ditch fossil fuels and electrify their homes featured our Out of Gas, In with Justice pilot study, noting the challenges of limited electrical capacities in older buildings and quoting Annie Carforo.
• Senator Joe Manchin's Legacy: Dana Johnson was quoted about the legacy of retiring Senator Joe Manchin in two E&E News articles, one on the Senator’s environmental legacy and the other on the changes coming to the Senate’s energy and environment committees with his departure.

New Resource for Tree Canopy Cover in NYC

Check out this new resource from the Nature Conservancy with information on the urban forest and tree canopy in New York City along with maps of tree cover by city council district and community district. This resource will be helpful as the City works to develop an Urban Forest Plan to cool our streets and equitably expand tree canopy to 30% overall with the successful passage of Intro 1065, which WE ACT helped advocate for.

Learn About Clean Energy Upgrades and Give Us Your Feedback

The Manhattan Clean Energy Hub has officially launched and is ready to assist Manhattan residents with affordable or no-cost energy upgrades, accessing energy incentives, transitioning to solar, green jobs training, and more. Visit the Hub to learn more about how you can help make Manhattan more sustainable, equitable, and green.

And please take a few minutes to share your thoughts about clean energy. Take our survey to help us learn more about how we can better connect New York residents to clean energy upgrades and green jobs - and be entered to win $100!

Take the Uptown Chats Podcast Survey

Have you listened to Uptown Chats yet? Uptown Chats is WE ACT's podcast on all things environmental justice in Northern Manhattan. Follow Uptown Chats on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or stream directly from Castos. Have an idea for future episodes? Let us know by taking the Uptown Chats survey to help plan next year’s episodes!