Climate Check: Stories and Solutions

On today’s episode, we’re discussing how art can help deepen our understanding of the impact of climate change and empower us to take collective action. Our guest is Chantal Bilodeau.

Bilodeau is a Montreal-born, New York-based playwright whose work focuses on the intersection of storytelling and climate change. She is the founder of the Arts & Climate Initiative and in her capacity as artistic director, has spearheaded local and global initiatives for over a decade, getting the theater and educational communities, as well as audiences in the U.S. and abroad, to engage in climate action through programming that includes live events, talks, publications, workshops, artists convenings, and a worldwide distributed theater festival. She is working on a series of eight plays that look at the social and environmental changes taking place in the eight Arctic states. In 2019, she was named one of “8 Trailblazers Who Are Changing the Climate Conversation” by Audubon Magazine.

Our guest is Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest and the executive director of GreenFaith. GreenFaith is a global multi-faith environmental and climate justice organization.  Fletcher is the author of GreenFaith: Mobilizing God’s People to Save the Earth. one letcher Harper,

On September 17th 2023, 75,000 activists converged on New York City for the March to End Fossil Fuels. Eva takes to the streets to capture the concerns and hopes of people from as far as Peruand as close as New Jersey. Their voices range across the spectrum of issues affected by the climate crisis, from environmental justice to carbon capture of forests to subsidies for the petro industry.

https://www.endfossilfuels.us/

event website

Eva is joined by Tom Roderick author of the new book Teach for Climate Justice: A Vision for Transforming Education. Tom discusses his vision for radical transformative climate justice education, currently lacking in our schools. He believes K-12 students need to envision a positive future, determine how they can help, and then get to work doing it, what Tom calls “active hope.”

Links: 

https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/9781682538074/teach-for-climate-justice/

to purchase the book

https://www.morningsidecenter.org/

Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility

https://www.cretf.org/

Climate and Resilience Education Task Force

In our 19th episode of Climate Check: Stories and Solutions, Raine Manley tells the story of her journey from frustration to activism as she tackles plastic waste here in New York City. The outcome? NYC passed “Skip the Stuff," a law in NYC that requires restaurants and food delivery apps to leave out the single-use plastic from deliveries, unless the customer specifically asks for it. Find out how this was done!

Links

• Overview of “Skip the Stuff” from Hunter’s Food Policy Center: https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/food-policy-snapshot-nyc-skip-the-stuff-bill/ 
• Further Reading; Can I Recycle This? By Jennie Romer - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/639336/can-i-recycle-this-by-jennie-romer-illustrated-by-christie-young/
• 350Brooklyn's Plastic Free Workgroup - https://350brooklyn.org/workgroups/plastics/
• Reusable NYC Coalition - https://www.reusablenyc.org/
• Resources to help pass Skip The Stuff in your city from Beyond Plastics: https://www.beyondplastics.org/campaign-toolkits/skip-the-stuff

Eva is joined by Molly Morabito of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity. Molly discusses the demands by People vs Fossil Fuels for the Biden Administration to address the climate emergency. With a UN summit on Climate Change taking place in NYC in September, hear what actions you can take further PvFF’s agenda.

Links:

• People vs Fossil Fuels - https://peoplevsfossilfuels.org/
• 350Brooklyn's PvFF Workgroup - https://350brooklyn.org/workgroups/pvff/

• June Week of Action (June 8-11) - Interest form: https://tinyurl.com/interestformEndtheEra; Action Map: https://tinyurl.com/actionmap-EndtheEra

• https://bidensclimatepowers.org/ - learn more about Biden's executive powers to stop fossil fuels and declare a climate emergency
• https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/index.html - more about the Climate Law Institute

Most New Yorkers don’t know that they’re footing the bill for expanding the dirty gas infrastructure that runs all across our state. The NY HEAT (the New York Home Energy and Affordable Transition) Act would end this practice along with several others that are allowing New York's utility companies to stay out of step with our climate goals.

Through legislation like NY HEAT, Meagan Burton, Senior Attorney at Earthjustice, crafts and defends legislation that provides an equitable offramp from gas and paves the way for clean, affordable heating for all.

Links

Meagan Blog: https://earthjustice.org/experts/meagan-burton/the-gas-industry-is-raising-your-rates-to-expand-their-polluting-system-the-ny-heat-act-will-end-that

BK Reader Article: https://www.bkreader.com/policy-government/national-grids-plan-to-use-public-money-for-fracking-operation-in-greenpoint-denied-6715906

Today's episode contains more of the conversation between Eva and NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, representative of Greenpoint and parts of Williamsburg. They discuss the Newtown Creek Superfund site, the Water Bill Fairness Act, and the Clean Rebate Program for electric bikes and scooters. Emily also gives us a quick civics 101 on how bills get passed in Albany.

NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher is the sponsor of the All-Electric Building Act, legislation that would require all new buildings to forego fossil fuel heating and cooking systems in favor of electric. NYC passed similar legislation in 2021, but this bill would apply to the entire state. Eva and Emily discuss how this can become reality, and why it's a safer, greener, and less expensive way to build.

AM Gallagher’s Assembly page

https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/Emily-Gallagher/

The All-Electric Buildings Act

https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A00920A&term=&Summary=Y&Text=Y

The Build Public Renewables Act

https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A00279&term=&Summary=Y&Text=Y

Syracuse.com On Heat Pumps Paying for Themselves in New Construction Within Six Months

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2022/12/new-york-states-move-to-all-electric-homes-how-expensive-is-it-will-it-work.html

Carbon Switches Heat Pump Savings Calculator

https://carbonswitch.com/heat-pump-savings/

Solar One is leading the charge when it comes to proving equitable, affordable, renewable energy to all. In this month’s episode, Angelica Ramdhari, Director of Resilient Solar at Solar One, guides us through the state of play of Solar in New York City: from the contentious nature of greening brownstones, to the ABCD(BG-DR)s of resilient battery funding, to the basic of putting solar on our roofs and the grid.