Climate Check: Stories and Solutions

Pete Sikora knows that climate justice and housing justice are two sides of the same coin. That's why he sees Local Law 97 as a unique opportunity to cut the largest source emissions in New York State, while creating fair-wage jobs, and holding real estate owners accountable for their buildings' pollution. On this month's episode, Pete and Eva dive into the nitty-gritty of the world's most important city-level climate and jobs law - Local Law 97. They discuss the intriguing details of the law's passage and enforcement while recognizing that the type of momentum we need to draw for effective climate action requires movement building and people power. Listen to Climate Check's 14th episode, Energy Efficient Buildings: How Local Law 97 Can Change NYC Forever, with Pete Sikora, Climate & Inequality Campaigns Director at New York Communities for Change.

For our December episode, Xaver Kandler, Campaigns Coordinator for NY Renews, walks us through the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package — a series of proposed bills for 2023 that builds on New York State's historic Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

Learn about the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Legislative Package

Join NY Renews for their January 18th Lobby Day

In February of 2021, the NYC City Council passed laws that will reshape Rikers, the island off the coast of Queens that is a penal colony built on landfill. These bills are part of a campaign called Renewable Rikers, and was years in the making by a coalition that crossed interests and focus areas.  

In this episode, Eva talks with Darren Mack, a co-founder of Freedom Agenda and a survivor of Rikers.  They discuss the historic Renewable Rikers bills, Mack's foray in activism, and how environmentalism and decarceration are intertwined.

Additional resources: 

In this episode, Eva talks with Liz Moran about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its many environmental and climate provisions. Liz is the Policy Advocate for New York at Earth Justice, the public interest environmental law firm. She gives us a broad picture of the law, walking us through much of the good the law will do in electrification, solar energy, fair-wage jobs. While the IRA is a huge win for the planet, we also hear what's lacking, like training for those green-collar jobs, and what's outright bad, provisions that will prolong the use of fossil fuels.

Additional resources: SUNY Ulster's Green Careers program; NYSERDA's list of Green Energy Hubs in New York State.

This week get to know our host Eva Dean, interviewed by our Comms & Marketing Specialist Brynn Fuller-Becker. 

Eva is a Brooklyn dance maker who specializes in site-specific and neo-contemporary work. In this episode, Dean talks about how 350 Brooklyn gave her a community to join forces with to change policy on a state and local level to counter climate change. Find out more at evadeandance.org

For this episode we bring in Rev. Ana Levy Lyons, a senior minister of First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn. She was first mentioned in our episode with Jan Thompson when she talked about the “Diorama of Extinct Homosapiens.” We get to talk about that exhibit, the sermon that inspired it, and when the best time to plant a tree is. 

Read the sermon here

Watch a snapshot of the exhibition here

On this episode of Climate Check, we get to chat with Chris Nickell, a community organizer and a member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s (NOFA) Soil Subcommittee. We learn about soil health, farming practices, and the cultural and societal impact of food in today's ecosystem. Take a listen to learn why you should trust your mouth!

"We don't think of the environment in NYC as being this natural wonder", states Pete Malinowski, the Executive Director of the Billion Oyster Project. In this episode we hear about the ways in which the city contains that wonder, and how Billion Oyster Project helps sustain that vision of a healthy, biodiverse New York Harbor with the power of education. Also in this episode: Pete shares his climate story, we chat about the role of education and equity in conservation, and learn just how oysters can help us with climate change. 

Learn more about our guest and the organizations mentioned below:

For this episode, we're joined by Jan Thompson, one of 350Brooklyn's very own. Jan is a lead of 350Brooklyn’s Plastic Free team, a working group within the organization dedicated to changing our future to one without plastics. As she explains in this episode, her family's experience with cancer and refineries have combined with her dedication to the interconnection of all beings to create the advocate she is today. She also fills us in on alternative ways to take action, such as the exhibit she co-created titled the “Diorama of Extinct Homosapiens.” Take a listen to hear how language and legislation, and our local actions and lifestyle, can influence our ability to become plastic free. 

Explore more from the episode below

For our 5th episode, we talk with Lynn Neuman, the Artistic Director of Artichoke Dance, a member of 350 Brooklyn's Steering Committee, and a lead within the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice. Her choreography and educational work address environmental justice art-based collaborations and integrative community programs.  Lynn is a national leading eco-artist and the first choreographer to receive a Marion International Fellowship for the Visual and Performing Arts.  Listen in as Lynn and our host, Eva Dean, discuss the power of art to engage and work with communities towards Climate Justice.

Find out more:

Artichoke Dance: https://www.artichokedance.org/ 

Watch a performance here: https://www.artichokedance.org/liberatetheearth

350Brooklyn: https://www.350brooklyn.org