Tag: climate-action

July 24, 2018

NYC Youth Lead the Charge on Climate Change

by Jennifer Lauren   Sixteen year old student Jamie Margolin had always been interested in creative action against climate change. Just last year, she developed a multidimensional, youth-fueled response to climate change aptly entitled Zero Hour. Today, Zero Hour is a full scale, national movement that is also gaining traction abroad.   Inspired by Margolin’s activism, then-high school students Ilana Cohen and her friend Amy Torres established Zero Hour NYC. Core to the organization’s mission is inclusivity and interconnectivity: its mission underlines that not only youth, but also those “of the Global South, People Of Color, Indigenous Peoples, People with Disabilities, Poor People, Women, Queer and Trans People, and People belonging to marginalized faiths” are all those who are on the frontlines of climate change and are therefore uniquely poised to co-lead positive social change for both planet and people.   Zero Hour NYC is well positioned to demonstrate Margolin’s vision of inclusivity. Amy Torres and Ilana Cohen, along with a robust and diverse team, oversee New York City’s own coalition of local city students who are working collaboratively to ensure a more sustainable future for all.   (more…)

July 26, 2017

No Paris? No Problem: Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg Launch “America’s Pledge”

by Pamela Berns   Last month, GreenHomeNYC published “No Paris? No Problem: Climate Action Marches On” to demonstrate how the initial disappointment with the White House decision to withdraw from the Paris accord had “morphed into strengthened resolve and galvanized coalition building within and across public and private sectors, U.S. localities, and around the world.”   We are pleased to learn that California Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg share our mission: On July 12, these two partners launched “America’s Pledge on climate change, a new initiative to compile and quantify the actions of states, cities and businesses in the United States to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.”   Said the press release announcing the partnership, “Building on this positive momentum, the America’s Pledge initiative will for the first time aggregate the commitments of these and other “non-Party actors” in a report on the full range of climate-related activities across the whole of U.S. society. The process of developing America’s Pledge will also provide a roadmap for increased climate ambition from U.S. states, cities, businesses and others, and will transparently demonstrate to the international community how and in which ways these entities can help the U.S. deliver on its pledge under the Paris Agreement.”   You can read more about America’s Pledge here.   You can access the June GreenHomeNYC article here. No Paris? No Problem: Climate Action Marches On  

June 23, 2017

No Paris? No Problem: Climate Action Marches On

by Pamela Berns   As though sending a portentous message, the movie “Paris Can Wait” was playing at the Paris theater just one block from Trump Tower in New York City, when Donald Trump announced the U.S. pullout from the Paris Climate accord. But commitments to climate change action and strategy march on: the initial disappointment with the White House decision quickly morphed into strengthened resolve and galvanized coalition building within and across public and private sectors, U.S. localities, and around the world.   While organizations like NRDC have stepped up their legal and policy battle, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s first tweet ever was to tell the administration that the president’s “decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.’s leadership position in the world.” California Governor Jerry Brown and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to expand trade between California and China with an emphasis on green technologies, and 313 U.S. mayors joined together in a commitment to “adopt, honor and uphold” the goals and principles of the Paris agreement. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Despite federal policy, the sustainability and climate change action movements are very much alive, kicking, and in full throttle. The list promises to keep growing, and we invite you to add to it (see the the end of this article to learn how to contribute your stories). Here are just a few more of the most recent reports we’ve come across. (more…)