AGREE began!

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Dear friends,

I’m dashing off this email in the midst of a day packed with meetings focused on how to move New York off fossil fuels in our homes. It’s also the anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which feels especially heavy given the Russian military attacks on nuclear plants in Ukraine. It’s a busy day, but I couldn’t let it pass without saying something about the fact that 10 years ago today was the day we launched Alliance for a Green Economy!

Many people don’t know that Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) was founded by activists deeply rooted in social justice and anti-war work who came together to fight for a world in which we are no longer reliant on unaffordable, dangerous, and poisonous energy sources that fuel conflict, environmental devastation, and disease. Today, that vision feels just as relevant and even more urgent.

In the coming months, we’ll be celebrating AGREE’s enormous body of work and our relationships and coalitions. And we will be planning the next 10 years. Stay tuned for special announcements and events!

Today, I invite you to check out our mission statement and our principles of unity (written 10 years ago) from which we build our educational and advocacy campaigns. I invite you to join me in continuing to build AGREE by letting your friends know about us and asking them to join our email list ([link removed]) or follow us on social media (Facebook ([link removed]) | Twitter ([link removed]) ). I’d also love to hear from you about how you’d like to see us grow or how you’d like to be more involved (just reply to this email). And, of course, we’d welcome donations ([link removed]) of any size to support our work.

In solidarity,
Jessica Azulay
Executive Director
Alliance for a Green Economy
Mission

Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) works for safe, affordable energy and the development of a green economy in New York State. Our goal is a prosperous, safe, and healthy New York, fulfilling the promise of conservation, energy efficiency, and safe, clean renewable energy sources to end our state's reliance on wasteful and environmentally destructive forms of energy. The Alliance works to promote this transition to a carbon-free and nuclear-free future and educates the public about alternatives that can revitalize the economy and safeguard human health and the environment.

Principles of Unity
* It is imperative that our nation begin an aggressive and visionary transition to a carbon-free and nuclear-free energy supply and a sustainable future that will preserve human health and the environment for ourselves and future generations.
* The biggest obstacles to achieving the transition to a carbon-free and nuclear-free economy are political and social inertia, not technical or economic feasibility. The proper government policies and investments are needed to mobilize and guide the country toward this important societal goal.
* Our continued reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power is inconsistent with these objectives, producing conflict between economic forces and our social and environmental well-being.
* The burning of fossil fuels is already a major source of pollution and is a main contributor to global climate change, which threatens economic and social stability and the future of life on earth as we know it. The extraction and burning of fossil fuels causes unacceptable environmental destruction and endangers entire communities' way of life.
* Nuclear power generation poses unacceptable threats to human health, security, and the environment, through devastating nuclear accidents, routine radioactive releases and leaks, nuclear proliferation, and the production of radioactive wastes that must be managed for hundreds of thousands of years. The extraordinary costs of nuclear energy make it economically wasteful, diverting resources away from climate-protection measures.
* We reject dependence on expensive, unhealthy, and inefficient energy sources. Increasing energy conservation and efficiency at all levels -- individual, commercial, industrial and governmental -- will significantly lower energy costs, freeing up economic resources and driving innovation in new technologies.
* Sustainable renewable energy, including local distributed generation, coupled with efficiency and conservation, will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power and create jobs in our communities.
* The economic, social, and environmental imperatives facing our society are not in conflict with one another. The transition to an energy system that provides substantial economic, social and environmental benefits will contribute to a prosperous and stable economy that fulfills our country's promise of opportunity and justice for all.
* The transition toward better energy sources must be built on a foundation of social and environmental justice, which provides worker protections and quality jobs to all as well as a just transition for those in displaced industries.
* The transition toward better energy sources needs a strong democratic process, in which the rights and interests of local communities are supported. It is the right and responsibility of all New Yorkers to engage in this process, to have a seat at the table, and to benefit from the outcome.
* Publicly controlled utilities as well as privately owned businesses that embrace sustainable, clean, renewable and affordable energy goals should be supported and encouraged as a vital force in effecting this transition.
* New York should lead the way in this transition. Our state has already taken definitive steps in this direction, and we have the resources, means, and opportunity at hand to do much more. What is needed is a clear vision of what a truly green New York will look like, a well-defined plan for how to get there, and the political will to achieve it. As with so many other things, if New York starts, the rest of the nation will follow.

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Alliance for a Green Economy is a grassroots operation, working on a shoestring budget to pull off ambitious work. Every dollar we receive is used for public education, coalition building, and advocacy toward a 100% renewable energy system in New York State.
No donation is too small to make a difference.
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Syracuse, NY 13210 United States
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