January 5, 2022
Annual Green Catwalk
Our first forum event for 2022 will be our annual Green Catwalk.
The Green Catwalk showcases new trends, technologies, and innovations in the environmental sustainability sphere. There is a diverse lineup of professionals that will talk about the importance of green infrastructure that increases storm-water capture, how street space can be shared more equitably, among other topics. Join us January 19th!
SPEAKERS
Jackson Chabot, the Director of Public Space Advocacy at Open Plans Shino Tanikawa, Executive Director of the New York City Soil & Water Conservation District More Speakers will be announced. Check back soon!
Jackson Chabot is the Director of Public Space Advocacy at Open Plans. Since joining Open Plans, Jackson has led the advocacy efforts for Open Plan’s proposal to create an Office of Public Space Management (OPSM) and launch Building Blocks, a block-level placemaking process. Jackson is a graduate of Pratt Institute’s Masters in Urban Placemaking and Management program and currently serves as the Treasurer for the NY Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Shino Tanikawa is the Executive Director of the New York City Soil & Water Conservation District. She has a Master of Science degree in Marine Environmental Sciences from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (formerly Marine Sciences Research Center) at Stony Brook University. As the Executive Director, she oversees the District’s stormwater & green infrastructure, environmental education, and urban soils programs. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Stormwater Infrastructure Matters (SWIM) Coalition, advises the leadership team of the NY/NJ Harbor & Estuary Program Citizens Advisory Committee, and is a founding member of the NYC Urban Soils Institute. Shino is also a founding member of the Bronx River Alliance, was the President of the Metro Forest Council and a board member of the Nature Network.
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
Date: January 19th
Where: Online
Viewpoint: Residential Waste Management—A Tale of Two Places
by Tamanna Mohapatra
In May 2021, after having lived for 10+ years in NYC, my husband and I decided to move to Switzerland. It took us a while to find a place and settle in. Throughout this period, I kept my sustainability hat on. I was from New York City, which at least in some people’s eyes (including mine) is making an earnest move towards better recycling practices. I was moving to a place that’s considered to have one of the highest rates of household recycling, per a 2019 Euroreporter article. Comparing my past and present domains would be a fun piece at the very least, and might be educational too. How good (or bad) is NYC’s system, and what does the city stand to learn from Switzerland?
(more…)October 17, 2021
Monthly Forum – On the Frontlines of Solar & Storage
The solar and energy storage industries are at an inflection point, where we have the chance to exponentially accelerate their growth or see them hampered by tariffs, import bans, and resilience concerns among other things. While those battles are fought on the policy front, the work on the ground to actually deliver, build and operate these systems is ongoing, with all of the challenges of the present moment being faced. At our Monthly Forum in October, join us to hear about what’s happening in the solar and energy storage industries out in the field and on the frontlines.
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Place: Online
Check out the full recording of this event here!
(more…)October 3, 2021
The Rise of Green Entrepreneurship
By Allison Duncil
What is green entrepreneurship and why is it important in our world today? Green entrepreneurship refers to a business that’s actively addressing environmental or social needs—like global warming and climate change. These businesses are often coming up with unique ideas, that may have a high level of risk, to help solve these issues in a long-lasting way. With the COVID-19 crisis and the rise of extreme weather conditions, we’re noticing that people are even more supportive of green businesses and looking for more solutions to these rising problems.
September 5, 2021
New York Gets Smart
By Allison Duncil
How is New York becoming a smarter city? By taking resourceful action towards street lighting efficiency, waste management and more, the metropolis is building for the future. With over 9,000 startups and 100+ co-working spaces, New York is actively addressing the needs of today and is one of the leaders in the smart cities revolution.
July 31, 2021
Paradise Lost: A Family Adapts to Our Changing Planet
By Pamela Berns
With unprecedented flooding, record breaking heat, and rapidly spreading wildfires, loss and devastation monopolize the headlines. Even those of us who have remained gratefully safe are seeing our lives change in more subtle ways, as our plans literally shift with the winds. Here’s one family’s story.
(more…)Energy Efficiency Matters
By Bani Pouyanfar
US energy use is about the same now as it was in 2000, despite economic growth of about 30 percent. Wondering why?
(more…)July 2, 2021
What to Watch: Two Green Film Reviews
By Tamanna Mohapatra
The Biggest Little Farm: Available on: Hulu, Run time: 91 minutes, Release: 2018.
More information at: https://www.biggestlittlefarmmovie.com
Directed and narrated by John Chester, a former documentary cinematographer, “The Biggest Little Farm” is both funny and hopeful. This film is almost like watching a dream, except real. Within the span of seven years, an ordinary couple creates a sustainable farm without very little background, just by applying one sustainable principle after another.
(more…)Solar Energy: Making it Last
By Jude Jussim
The capacity for solar power generation in the US has grown tremendously, from 314 megawatts (MW) in 1990 to 47.8 million MW in 2020–over 3% of US electricity. Contributing to this growth has been a dramatic decline in the cost of solar panels, with further reductions likely.
May 28, 2021
Monthly Forum: Primary Day (June 22, 2021)—Voting Matters!
By Evan Mason and Raul Larios
If there’s one thing that we learned from the November 2020 elections, it is that voting really does matter. And in NYC, voting in the primaries matters even more given the fact that Democrats outnumber Republicans 8:1. This means that the Democrats who win in the upcoming June 22nd primary will probably become our political leaders for the next several years.
(more…)