August Meeting: Picnic in Prospect Park!

Thursday, August 5th, 6:00 pm EDT Until Sunset, Prospect Park Next To The Picnic House

Join us to celebrate summer in Prospect Park! Bring food and drinks to share, or bring your own brown bag dinner if you’d prefer. We’ll meet near the Picnic House. No registration necessary, and friends and family are welcome. Email [email protected] if you have any questions. This will be a chance to enjoy the summer, relax, and meet each other in person! Please note the corrected date: August 5th. As per our usual practices, 350Brooklyn will have no August meeting. Monthly meetings will resume in September on the second Thursday of the month.

Get on the Bus to Albany!

As we all know, this past spring our Albany legislators utterly failed to address the climate crisis. The Climate and Community Investment Act didn't even move past the committee stage, and a half dozen other bills that proposed climate solutions were similarly stonewalled. Want to do something? On August 6th, New York Youth Climate Leaders have called for a rally in Albany and we're standing with them. Sign up here and get on the bus!

Quick Actions: Danskammer Plant, CLCPA, Call4Climate, Save SI Wetlands

Here are four quick actions that can make a lasting difference:

• First: Danskammer Energy wants to build a fracked-gas power plant on the Newburgh, NY waterfront—tell NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to deny an air permit for the plant. The deadline for comments is August 29th.
• Second: NY State's Climate Action Council is preparing its initial scoping plan to move our economy to 100% renewable energy. We need this plan to be the real deal! Tell the CAC co-chairs that the plan must include 40% investment in frontline communities, a rapid timeline to 100% renewable energy, and a clear rejection of false solutions and techno-fixes.
• Third: Call4Climate is calling all US Senators, because we need a national clean energy standard, funds for people on the environmental frontlines, no more money for fossil fuel subsidies, and a Civilian Climate Corps.
• Fourth, and close to home: Tell New York's elected officials we need to save Staten Island's Graniteville Wetlands, a key buffer against flooding in an area that many people lost homes to during Superstorm Sandy. Developers want to pave it over to build a BJ's Warehouse store.

CALL FOR COMMENTS

Submit A Comment Against The Astoria Fracked Gas Power Plant!

Hey, NRG Astoria power plant fighters - especially Queens residents! Did you know that New Yorkers have stopped more fossil fuel projects than almost every other state? We not only banned fracking, we stopped the Williams NESE Pipeline. How did we do it? We organized our communities, we pressured Governor Cuomo, and we submitted A LOT of public comments. If we’re going to stop NRG from building a fracked gas power plant in Astoria we need to submit thousands of comments against it (and Danskammer! See above!) and show Governor Cuomo and the DEC that we know the science, we know the law and we are a massive, united movement that won’t stop until this project is halted for good! Tell Cuomo and the DEC that the Astoria plant is completely unnecessary and doesn’t comply with the CLCPA! Review our talking points and submit your comment here!

A WORD FROM OUR ALLIES

From Our Friends: Grow Renewables, New York; No Megadam, New York

New York City is considering buying electricity from Canada that comes from new forest-destroying dams that trample on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Governor Cuomo can stop this. Call him at (202) 618-4297 and tell him that Canadian megadams are destructive to the environment and to Indigenous Nations. The transmission line would trench the Hudson River and likely dislodge long buried PCBs and other toxins, endangering the health of our river. NYSERDA has received better proposals for renewable energy sourced within New York State. We want to develop our own renewable energy and keep our money in New York, not send it to Canada. We don't need Hydro-Quebec! A decision will be made this quarter so we don't have much time - call today!

Get involved in one of our workgroups!

350Brooklyn is volunteer-powered. At the heart of these efforts are our campaigns and committees. Follow the links below for more information on how to join.

City Action Committee’s mission is to make Brooklyn and New York City leaders not only in climate policy but also in the long-term actions and engagement needed to make those policies effective. Current campaigns include The Renewable Rikers Act, Fighting Peaker Plants, Electric School Buses, and the Department of Sustainability and Climate Change. Use this google form to connect with City Action.

The Climate Idea Exchange works to deepen public understanding of the climate crisis, breaking it down into manageable topics and showing how to take action locally. We work both independently and in collaboration with Brooklyn Public Library, and we're developing a podcast series. email [email protected].

350BK Families organizes activities that bring children, youth, and their adults together for the climate. Current projects include pushing for the creation of 529 college savings plans that are free of fossil fuel investments. email [email protected].

Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice is a diverse coalition focused on equity, inclusion, justice, and economic and environmental sustainability. 350Brooklyn is part of this coalition, which is working to ensure that the rezoning of the Gowanus area honors the needs of all community members. email [email protected].

Legislation focuses on federal and New York State climate legislation. Current campaigns are NY Renews (to pass the Climate Community Investment Act), the Green New Deal, and stopping the repowering of the Gowanus power plant (with 350BK's City Action). email [email protected].

The Media Committee is 350Brooklyn's all-around in-house media team. This group writes press releases and promotional copy, creates graphics, keeps tabs on 350BK's social media presence, and runs the new 350BK blog. email [email protected].

Stop the Money Pipeline plans and participates in direct actions that pressure financial institutions to stop funding deforestation and fossil fuel industries. We are part of a national movement targeting New York-based corporations, including Chase Bank and BlackRock Investment Management. email [email protected].

Plastic Free works to eliminate plastic pollution and reduce reliance on single-use plastic products. We meet via Zoom to work on a variety of projects including legislative lobbying efforts, campaigns promoting going plastic free, and neighborhood efforts to reduce waste. email [email protected].

No time but able to donate? While we are an affiliate of 350.org, we are programmatically independent and our financial support comes solely from our members. Can you offer financial support, at any level? Donate here.