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** Cooling Assistance: Recommendations to Improve LIHEAP
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Earlier this week we issued a special report with NRDC, LIHEAP Needs a Lifeline: A Call to Strengthen the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in a Changing Climate ([link removed]) . This powerful report provides an in-depth look at this program along with detailed recommendations on how it needs to be improved as the climate crisis makes the need for cooling assistance increasingly critical for more and more households. Download ([link removed]) (PDF)

Coverage of the report has already appeared in Smart Cities Dive ([link removed]) , which includes a quote from Caleb Smith.
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** CRUP Workshops in the News: Helping Prepare for Climate Emergencies
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CBS News New York ([link removed]) attended our latest Emergency Preparedness: Climate Ready Uptown Plan ([link removed]) (CRUP) workshops – in English and Español on Tuesday at the West Side Federation’s Red Oak Center. As we have been doing all summer, we partnered with two other community groups – the Columbus Amsterdam BID and the West Side Federation – to host this event and help residents of Northern Manhattan prepare for potential climate disasters such as flooding, heat waves, and storms. Watch ([link removed])
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** Environmental Justice Veteran Leslie Fields to Lead Our Federal Policy Office
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We are thrilled to announce that Leslie G. Fields, Esq. has joined WE ACT as our Chief Federal Officer. She brings nearly 30 years of experience in federal and international environmental justice and environmental and civil rights policy and law to this new role, which will include leading our Federal Policy Office in Washington, DC.

“Leslie is an internationally recognized leader in the environmental justice movement who has been working in Washington for decades, with strong, long-established relationships throughout federal agencies and on the Hill,” said Peggy Shepard. “She is a longtime friend and colleague, familiar with our organization and immersed in the work we do, and she will leverage that depth of experience and leadership to take our federal policy work to new heights.”

Established in 2012 to advance the federal policy needs and interests of our Northern Manhattan community, WE ACT's Federal Policy Office has a long track record of successfully working with lawmakers, agencies, and other organizations to advocate on behalf of environmental justice legislation and policies as well as in building power and strengthening that environmental justice movement. We are the only environmental justice organization based outside of Washington to have a permanent office there. Leslie replaces Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy Dana Johnson, who was the dynamic leader of that office for the past five years. Read the Full Announcement ([link removed]) and Leslie’s Bio ([link removed]) .
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** Bringing More Solar to Uptown Multi-Family Buildings: Apply Today
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Do you live in an HDFC or other multi-family building in Northern Manhattan? We want to help you put solar panels on the roof, reducing your energy costs, improving the environment, empowering the community, and creating local jobs! Similar to our celebrated Solar Uptown Now program ([link removed]) , we are inviting building owners and residents to learn about this exciting program and get a FREE estimate for your building. Apply Here ([link removed]) or contact Charles Callaway at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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This is Caleb Smith checking in with the last installment of the Hot Box newsletter series this summer. Though New York City has seen more cool and rainy weather, as I write this we are experiencing another day with a heat index over 100 degrees – and we are not alone! About 120 million residents ([link removed]) of the East Coast and Southeast are all experiencing climate-driven heat events at once this week. As heat waves start to break up and grow more spread out in the later months of summer, we can’t afford to let policymakers get distracted. Heat mortality rates have doubled in the last decade ([link removed]) , yet we know how to prevent them. Here’s the latest round up of events and news on advancing heat mitigation and adaptation measures:

1. Community Cooling: Last month, we introduced our Right to Cooling Bill Package that includes the Tenant’s Right to Cooling ([link removed]) , Codify Cooling Centers ([link removed]) , and Cool Pavement Pilot Project ([link removed]) introductions bills. While we are seeing progress, we need your voices to help us get a supermajority of co-sponsors. Join us at our Community Cooling Workshop on Monday, Sept. 9 by registering here ([link removed]) .
2. Stafford Act: The Stafford Act is a federal statute that empowers FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) to release disaster response and recovery funds for emergencies and natural disasters. Extreme heat has never been designated as either, and therefore municipalities and states have not received federal resources to respond to emergency heat events. Recently, it has been affirmed that the Act can be revised to include extreme heat and there is mounting pressure to do so. Read more here ([link removed]) .
3. LIHEAP Needs a Lifeline: WE ACT and NRDC have co-authored a report detailing how the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program could be better funded and leveraged to match the growing health burden extreme heat poses to disadvantaged communities across the country. Read the full report here ([link removed]) .
4. National Heat Strategy: The National Integrated Heat Health Information System and Interagency Working Group on Extreme Heat released a collaborative document this month that outlines a broad range of measures federal agencies explore to fortify the nation’s heat resilience over the next six years. It’s intended to be an early stages, foundational document that will be fleshed out as collaboration between agencies and community stakeholders advances. Read the full document here ([link removed]) .

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** Join Us: NYC Community Cooling Workshop & Call to Action
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Join us from 6:00-7:30 PM on Monday, Sept. 9 for our Extreme Heat Coalition's Community Cooling Workshop in-person at 127 Lincoln Avenue (Second Floor) in the Bronx. You will learn how communities can be better protected through policy solutions that transform our neighborhoods, including three New York City Council bills: Codifying Cooling Centers (Intro 0998-2024 ([link removed]) ), Tenant’s Right to Cooling (Intro 0994-2024 ([link removed]) ), & Cool Pavement Pilot Program (Intro 0928-2024 ([link removed]) ). We will also have a call to action! RSVP
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** Save the Date: Membership Meeting to Focus on Children's Environmental Health
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It's back-to-school season, so we will be focusing on issues impacting children's environmental health at our September Membership Meeting on Saturday, September 14 from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. We'll let you know once we've locked down a location, as this will be an in-person meeting. Come join our discussion of asthma, green and healthy schools, and electric school buses - along with a little hope and joy. RSVP ([link removed])
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** Listen: US Energy Policy Wrong Direction Mini-Series - Nuclear Energy
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Nuclear energy is receiving renewed interest these days, but we know it’s just another false solution. As part of our Uptown Chat's Wrong Direction mini-series, Jaron and Lonnie speak with Victoria Leung, Staff Attorney at Riverkeeper, and Richard Webster, former Legal Director at Riverkeeper, about what happens when a nuclear power plant is decommissioned and how it impacts environmental justice communities. Listen Today ([link removed])
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** Watch the Replay: Understanding Environmental Justice Laws and Policies
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One of our TCTAC ([link removed]) partners, NYU Institute for Policy Integrity, ([link removed]) hosted the first of a six-part training series to provide environmental justice communities – and those who serve them – with the tools to effectively engage with government at all levels. Watch the video replay ([link removed]) of Understanding Environmental Justice Laws and Policies, and visit our TCTAC page ([link removed]) to see other training and funding opportunities for organizations seeking to advance environmental justice in New York and New Jersey.
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** Celebrating Shirley Chisholm at the Museum of the City of New York
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In celebration of Shirley Chisholm’s 100th, and in preparation for the historic presidential election that is only 66 days away, the Museum of the City of New York ([link removed]) is hosting Changing the Face of Democracy, the “first major museum exhibition on the life and legacy of this pathbreaking politician and New Yorker.” For those of you unfamiliar with Chisholm, she was the first Black woman elected to Congress, and the first woman to run for president on a major party ticket. The exhibition runs through July 2025, but we encourage you to see and celebrate this trailblazer today! Learn More ([link removed])
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EarthShare

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