As the November 7 election day draws near, please be sure to do the following:
Make plans to vote in person or by absentee ballot.
Inform yourself about the candidates running for office. Do their positions reflect your environmental concerns?
Encourage your family, friends and neighbors to vote. Offer rides or other accommodations to help them get to the polls.
NOVEMBER 7: Vote!
November 14, tune in to the CCAA monthly meeting and let us know how your candidate faired in the elections.
The March To End Fossil Fuels
Submitted by Olivia Eden Fried, CCAA Intern
Image from Olivia Eden Fried
“Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Fossil fuels have got to go.”
“Act with urgency – this is a climate emergency!”
Echoes of these chants bounced off of skyscraper walls, as they were bellowed from megaphones in the streets of the country’s biggest city. Even though it was mostly young people behind the megaphone, all demographics came to support the demonstration — a testament to the significance of the climate crisis. Seven-year-olds rode on scooters decked out in dinosaur stickers, ‘1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations’ were carted by Pedicabs and even a toddler rode in a stroller holding a sign with the words “Our Future Over Your Profit.”
On September 17, more than 75,000 people attended the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. Among those in attendance were U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York and Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate who spoke at the event.
Starting at W. 56 & Broadway in Manhattan, the march followed a 1.3-mile-long route that ended near the Headquarters of the United Nations – an intentional decision, as the march preceded the first-ever UN Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit and the Annual Meeting of the UN General Assembly.
The goal of the march was like that of the Climate Ambition Summit: to call on world leaders to stop the expansion of fossil fuels; and identify leaders to stop the expansion of fossil fuels. World leaders, such as President Biden, hold that burden and the march emphasized this. With the U.S. being the number one producer of oil and gas in the world, march organizers spoke to his “unparalleled power to avert climate disaster.” The march was a call to Biden to declare a climate emergency.
In a year plagued by the hottest temperatures ever recorded, Moroccan earthquakes, Libyan floods and Canadian wildfires, climate change is one of the most pressing issues we are faced with. The March to End Fossil Fuels was a historic moment for the climate movement and has proved the significance of global mobilization around the cause.
Syracuse to NYC For the March to End Fossil Fuels
Submitted by Olivia Eden Fried, CCAA Intern
Images from Olivia Eden Fried
More than 90 Syracuse and SUNY ESF students and community activists rode from Central New York to New York City for the March to End Fossil Fuels on September 17. The Syracuse Peace Council, Alliance for a Green Economy, CNY chapters of the New York Public Interest Research Group and Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force led the organization of the round-trip bus down to NYC.
Sitting on Haudenosaunee land and home to the most polluted lake in America, Syracuse is an important location for a climate movement. Community activists have long realized this and thus banded together to help preserve CNY and promote sustainable practices through their various organizations. Planning the bus to the march was a highlight of these efforts.
Prepared with barrels of apples and granola bars, posters and a collective passion for climate justice, the buses headed down to NYC early Sunday morning and returned late Sunday night. Yet, the exhilaration of the day stirred throughout the bus and conversation buzzed amongst the unlikely group of teenage undergrads, twenty-year-old graduate students and veteran community organizers. Talks of spirituality, traditional ecological knowledge and student activism kept discussions going late into the night. When the bus arrived back to Syracuse everyone would agree that both their sense of community and passion for climate justice deepened.
COP28
Submitted by Anthony Bailey, CCAA Intern
Image from googleimages.com
In just a few months, delegates from around the world will be gathering in Dubai to take part in COP28, or the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference. From November 30 until December 12, activists, politicians and citizens of UN member countries will discuss and debate about how to approach issues of climate change and the need to move away from oil-based energy.
COP28 announced in a letter that they will be focusing on four specific issues: speeding up the transition to renewable energy while cutting emissions before 2030; setting up a finance framework to help ensure all countries can afford these changes; ensuring nature, lives and community are put first in climate discussions; and mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever. For this last point, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the COP28 President-Designate, said that the conference is pushing to include younger voices, more women and more input from indigenous communities globally as they try to find ways to improve the health of the planet with as little negative human impact as possible.
Dr. Al Jaber pointed to the International Youth Delegates program, which will bring in 100 young people from island nations, small and developing states and indigenous communities to the delegation to hear the voices of the people most impacted by climate change.
The organization is focusing on progressive negotiations as well as “scaling up and reforming climate finance,” an issue that the COP28 believes can be solved by more pledges from developed nations to allow for developing countries to still make the necessary changes to reach the UN’s climate goals. COP28 is also calling on multilateral development banks (MDBs) to insert more cash into these programs.
After the conference, organizers hope that more countries will follow guidelines within the Paris Agreement, leading to limiting the global temperature rising 1.5°C. Currently, the world is on track to exceed this number, but COP28 hopes that after the conference, there will be enough change to slow down global temperatures.
Editor’s Note: Former CCAA board member Kim Cameron will be attending the Dubai conference as a delegate for the League of Women Voters.
Getting Closer to 1.5 Degrees Celsius
Submitted by Peter Wirth, CCAA Vice President
Image from googleimages.com
August was the hottest month on record with a 1.25 degrees Celsius reading above the 20th Century average. And yes, unless things change dramatically, soon we will blow through the 1.5-degree Celsius benchmark.
This is not a reason to throw up our hands in despair and say it’s useless. Even if we hit 1.5 degrees above Celsius, our message is the same: It is our moral obligation to do what we can to help future generations. Every ton of carbon we keep out of the atmosphere is significant. The less emissions, the slower the rate of change. If we can stop emissions totally, the atmosphere will slowly get back into balance.
I recently finished a 10-part Netflix series, Band of Brothers, based on a division of soldiers who fought from the beaches of Normandy across Europe into Germany. I’m no fan of war and as a Vietnam era peace activist, I can honestly say I was moved by the dedication of the men to each other as portrayed in the series and their dedication to fight fascism in WW II. During the war, the country pulled together both on the home front and on the battlefield to fight a common enemy. We need to provide the same commitment to working together today in our climate challenge. We need to have the same determination as the WW II generation.
Increasingly for many people it IS a life and death situation. In Libya, there are estimates that as many as 20,000 people lost their lives due to the recent unprecedented flooding there. In 12 hours, the city of Derna received as much rainfall as they normally receive in a year and a half. It is simple physics: warmer temperatures hold more moisture = more intense rain events. This is climate change at work. To understand the impact to the city of Derna, go to this link.
Our common enemy today is carbon emissions. It will take a collective effort of resources and a commitment to how we live our daily lives. We all need to work together to transition off fossil fuels as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more dangerous situation we create for future generations.
Submitted by Mary O’Reilly, Chairperson of the Manlius Watershed Stewards Group
Image from googleimages.com
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in the September issue of the CCAA newsletter but not in its entirety. It has also been updated with new dates for the Creek Walk.
The Manlius Watershed Stewards is a group of concerned citizens and dedicated town councilors who have come together to foster watershed resilience through education, outreach and citizen science. You are invited to share our vision of creating and maintaining healthy watersheds within the Town of Manlius as we acknowledge our connection to neighboring environments.
If you live on Earth, you live in a watershed. When a drop of rain falls to earth it enters a watershed. Watersheds unite rain, wetlands, ground water and flowing streams. Streams are the most visible components of watersheds. Smaller streams collect water from a smaller area. As streams increase in size,the area from which they collect water also increases. Like fractals, streams exist across different scales, from Limestone Creek to the St. Lawrence River.
A healthy watershed depends on many features including rate of flow, energy dissipation, sediment load, and pollution. Rate of flow determines a stream’s connection with ground water and the amount of scour along its banks which, in turn, affects its sediment load. Industrial pollution robs streams of dissolved oxygen. The many microscopic and tiny critters that live in the stream and on the stream bed need oxygen to live and flourish. The New York State Department of Conservation uses population counts of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies among other criteria to assess how healthy a stream is.
As Oren Lyons says:Water is Life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFm_sFY6pmc We have a sacred obligation to understand, respect and preserve the integrity of water for ourselves, our children, the animals and plants, and all who.
Manlius Watershed Stewards invite you to our first Creek Walk on Saturday, October 21 (rain date Saturday, October 28) from 10 AM until noon. The walk begins at Limestone Creek behind the Manlius Town Hall on Brooklea Drive in Fayetteville. There will be guided walks in small groups along the creek. The number and size of each group will depend on the number of participants. Stations along the creek will be designed to help participants learn about macroinvertebrates, stream flow/energy, bank erosion, run-off, water quality, flood control and many other topics. Come prepared to get your feet wet (if you would like) and have fun. Hope to see you there.
Profiles in CCAA
Submitted by Roseann Lorefice, CCAA Newsletter Editor
Images from left to right: Anthony Bailey, Olivia Eden Fried, Lindsey Nicole Banks, and Dr. Kim Cameron
Editor’s Note: Recently, CCAA has been fortunate to recruit several volunteers into our group. Welcome to new interns, Anthony Bailey and Olivia Eden Fried, and to Lindsay Nicole Banks who will be the new Recording Secretary for the Board as longtime serving member Kim Cameron moves on to new horizons. Here are their stories. We hope that they inspire you to show your concern about climate change and volunteer with our organization to help make a difference. Please contact us at cc.awareness.action@gmail.com .
Kim Cameron, Ph.D. has long been an active board member serving as secretary and promoting many issues. Her strong interest in plastics led her to begin a local group for www.beyondplastics.org, and she was instrumental in providing online sessions to members outlining the long-term effects of plastics. As an active member of the League of Women Voters, she discovered the strong role and voice it has had in influencing climate change policies within the framework of the UN. She has since pursued this interest and will be a delegate to COP28 in Dubai at the end of November. Unable to continue in her board position, she will delve into a more national role at the conference. We wish her well and know how keenly she will prepare for this new mission. And we look forward to her reports on the proceedings.
Welcome to Olivia Eden Friedwho joins our group as an intern, focusing on writing copy for our newsletter. A graduate student in international relations and journalism in the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, Olivia writes for the Daily Orange and has written for her hometown newspaper as well. She is proficient in French and has experience in multilingual teaching abroad. We look forward to her global perspective as she writes about the impact of climate change.
Welcome to Anthony Bailey, a senior Broadcast and Journalism major at Syracuse University. He has a passion for reporting on communities and art, as well as the intersection of those themes with the current climate crisis. Along with his work with CCAA, he is an editorial intern at Relix magazine and spent the last three semesters covering art and culture for the Daily Orange.
And we are delighted to have Lindsey Nicole Banksjoin us as a board member, assuming the role of recording secretary.. A local Central New Yorker, Lindsey studied biology and forensic science at Syracuse University. At present, she is employed by a company using genetic testing to study developmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder. While watching David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, she says she “was devastated by the projections of climate and biodiversity loss before the end of the century.” That inspired her to take action and when she discovered that CCAA was already active in the community and working to make a difference, she decided to join.
Letter to the Editor
Submitted by Sonia Kragh, CCAA Treasurer
Image from googleimages.com
Thank you to Anthony Bailey for his recent article on Montana youth winning a court case for the environment. His focus on the case reminds us of the strength of state environmental amendments as we work to act to protect our environment and mitigate the effects of climate change.
In 1972 Montanans added Montana Constitution article IX.I Environmental and Natural Resources – Protection and Improvement –(1)“The state and each person shall improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. (2) The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. (3) The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.” Recent challenges to this Environmental Right were upheld in courtrooms as outlined in his article.
Back in NYS, in 2021, 71% of voters selected YES to pass the Environmental Amendment to the New York Bill of Rights. On 1 January 2022 this became law, creating a new constitutionally protected right: “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”
New York joins only three other states in having an environmental amendment to the state constitution: Pennsylvania, Montana and Rhode Island. This elevates environmental protections to an inalienable right, on par with other fundamental rights like speech, property, and religion.
This is a good time for all New Yorkers with an interest in the environment and climate action to speak loudly about the overwhelming mandate for environmental protection that is included in this vote. When we speak with friends, family, strangers, public and private officials from municipalities, schools, places of work and worship, on up to state and federal legislators, we should have supreme confidence that we are not alone in our requests for action that are consistent with the right for each person to have clean air, water and a healthful environment.
Private citizens and community organizations have successfully brought challenges to actions by public and private entities that did not uphold the Environmental Amendment to the NYS Bill of Rights. Here is a summary of their interpretation:
The Green Amendment is self-executing, meaning parties can challenge an action without any additional grant of authority from a legislature or regulatory entity.
Parties may challenge a project under the Green Amendment, even where they previously did not have a legal basis to do so or the project was previously permitted by local or state agencies.
While regulators retain discretion to decide whether to enforce particular regulatory standards, that discretion may be subject to challenge under the Green Amendment when conditions violate New Yorkers’ rights to clean air, clean water, or a healthful environment.
Stressing that there is legal standing, and having a conversation about this, may be enough to sway private and public entities to make different decisions related to environmental impact. Time to speak up!
Solar Proposal in Pompey
Submitted by Samantha Frick, Pivot Energy Representative
Image from googleimages.com
Leading purpose-driven solar provider, Pivot Energy, is proposing a 4.25 MW community solar project located on Sweet Road, in Pompey, NY, generating approximately 7000 MWh per year of clean energy.
Pivot is a Public Benefit Company and Certified B Corp which means it focuses on socially impactful and responsible solar development, ensuring the projects deliver meaningful benefits to the local community and include cutting-edge environmental stewardship practices. This project will bring 30-40 local construction jobs, charitable giving in the form of scholarships to be awarded annually to Pompey high school students, the establishment of an agricultural easement, and tax revenue to the town and school district estimated to be more than $680,000 over its 25-year life. This project will help the state transition to a utility grid powered by renewable energy, which can increase grid reliability and lower pollution. For more information about the Project please visit:https://go.pivotenergy.net/ny-2
To support this project, and clean energy in the State of New York, Pivot Energy warmly invites you to voice your support at the upcoming November public hearing for the project at Pompey Town Hall, located at 8354 U.S. Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104. If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, please contact the Town Clerk by phone (315-682-9877) or email (townclerk@townofpompey.org) and share your thoughts. Please email communityfeedback@pivotenergy.net for more information. We greatly appreciate your support!
And Remember…
Submitted by George Lorefice, CCAA Member
Most of you reading this newsletter have accepted the fact that climate change is already occurring and that many solutions are in hand. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to communicate the idea that the days of hand wringing on what to do about it are over.
Let people know that we already have it in our capacity to make a difference by making changes in:
How we eat
How we raise out crops
How we invest our money
How we heat our homes
How we drive our cars
How we use public transit
How we vote
How we communicate our concerns and solutions to others
Yes, the solutions are out there. They just need to be applied.
Hand wringers need to be informed and encouraged to do something. That is our job now.
Great Discussions: Climate Change
October 11, 18, 25, 2023
Sponsored by the Manlius Library
Discussions on the history and effects of climate change.
Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice | 2013 E. Genesee St., Alliance for a Green Economy and the Renewable Heat Now Campaign invite you to an empowering, family-friendly event that combines education, advocacy, and delicious food. Join us for an evening filled with knowledge sharing, community building and impactful action. Register HERE.
Come get inspired and repurposed. Teas and desserts will sweeten the meeting.
Climate Webinar
October 19, 2023
1;30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Featuring Stephanie Cleary, climate reporter for the National Catholic Reporter, focusing on a response to Pope Francis’ new statement on climate to be released on October 4. Register at prosemeister@gmail.comOR. efluery1953@gmail.com
Creek Walk
October 21, 2023 (Rain date October 28, 2023)
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Meet behind the Manlius Town Hall, 301 Brooklea Dr., Fayetteville at Limestone Creek
Climate Workshop Series
October 26, 2023
6:00 p.m.
Fayetteville Free Library
Join us for the first in a series of workshop in which community member will work together to help navigate the impact of our changing climate. Presented in partnership with Renewable Fayetteville.
Video Series: Uncertainty and Possibility—Meeting The Climate Future
Incredible 10-part series of short videos on Uncertainty and Possibility: Meeting the Climate Future with Christiana Figueres, Rebecca Solnit and Roshi Joan Halifax. Watch Here
Under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) newly proposed standards, automakers must boost fuel efficiency in passenger cars and light-duty vehicles every year. The NHTSA is taking public comments on the standards until October 16. Sign on here to register your opinion.
These are the major sources where incentives are being offered to address climate change through renewable energy.This is important information for us all.
Attend the next Monthly CCAA Meeting CCAA sponsors monthly member meetings in person or over Zoom. Meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. with the room opening at 5:45 p.m. for socializing. Topics will be announced in this newsletter. Members will also receive an email to alert them to upcoming meetings with the topics indicated.
For the month of October, CCAA members were invited to attend (in person or via Zoom) the October 2, 2023 meeting of the DeWitt Town Board to show support as it considered and reviewed its Sustainability Project. This would replace the 2010 Sustainability Policy it previously adopted.
GreeningUSA Newsletter To subscribe to a comprehensive list of climate change and sustainability events, and to publicize an event you are organizing, email GreeningUSA: info@GreeningUSA.org.
Feel like saving the world?Why not donate a few dollars to CCAA? Maybe it won’t be quite enough to save the whole planet, but it will help keep us going, and that’s the next best thing! We appreciate your support.
CCAA Internships and Other Volunteering Opportunities If you are interested in volunteering with CCAA in any capacity, please contact us at newsletter@climatechange-action.com or call 315-308-0846. Don’t worry about your skill level. We are all learning. We need people who can:
Within NY Renews, the Youth Committee is a space mostly for high school and college age individuals. We’re moving towards bi-weekly trainings followed by community organizing to support our campaigns. Joining the youth committee is a great opportunity to level up your organizing, learn about campaigning, and get involved in the climate justice movement.
We meet every other week with additional time on projects for those interested. If you are interested, please fill out the sign-up form so we can get more info about your interests and experiences (it’s not competitive). We would love to hear from you!
We encourage you to follow our social media accounts to support CCAA and stay up to date on other environmental news.
Newsletter Committee Staff Writers: Marie Stewart, Anthony Bailey, and Olivia Eden Fried Publishing and Design: Yvonne Chu, Annalena Davis Editor: Roseann Lorefice
CCAA Interns: Marie Stewart, Anthony Bailey, and Olivia Eden Fried
