NY Climate Tech: August 15 - August 22
Science talks on the Hudson, Green Drinks on the East River, and the August Meetup in between both
Hi all,
Start the week off tomorrow at Hudson River Park for Nerd Nite, with essential talks on fatbergs, sewer alligators, and undersea survival. On Wednesday, head to Estuary Bar for Green Drinks Brooklyn with a powerhouse lineup of speakers from Women and Climate. Finally, swing by this month’s NY Climate Tech Meetup on Thursday for our last summer meetup at Madison Square Park.
If you happen to be in Philadelphia this week, check out the Philadelphia Climate Meetup this Wednesday!
Cheers,
Alec and Sonam
Hot Take: Organize!
All politics is local, and the truism applies even to a topic as complex and far-reaching as climate policy. What happens in New York matters worldwide - our climate policy can set a benchmark for other states to follow and the market we build in New York can reshape whole industries and supply chains. But policymaking isn’t done by algorithm and isn’t done in a vacuum; it’s a political process that responds to many constituencies, each pushing or pulling on our elected representatives from their own perspective.
Last week, NY Climate Tech partnered with Spring Street Climate Fund to host a rooftop discussion of climate politics and policy in the Empire State. We went deep on everything from New York City’s landmark Local Law 97 to reduce building emissions to the lengthy debate to pass a new gas ban across the state. Through it all, we discussed how climate tech enthusiasts can help turn their ambition into reality on the ground.
The takeaway? Organize, organize. organize.
As an industry, climate tech can help policymakers understand the jobs, investment, and economic growth they can drive with ambitious climate policy in New York.
And as participants in a broader movement, climate tech investors and entrepreneurs can partner with grassroots organizations to win forward-thinking climate policy that benefits communities throughout the state, helps achieve New York’s ambitious climate goals, and helps to build markets for the new technology and business models we will need to address the threat of climate change.
There are several organizations across the state doing their part to support grassroots campaigns that make New York a model state for climate policy. The best thing you can do is to get involved! Donate your time, ideas, and financial resources (tax exempt!) to any and all. Each additional voice matters when it comes to climate action, and collectively there are over 1,500 of you just on this list and many more across the globe. Do your part!
Spring Street Climate Fund: A philanthropic fund, Spring Street advises strategic campaigns and grassroots organizations that can win large-scale policy change. This year, Spring Street is supporting campaigns to win statewide legislation that will: ban the construction of new buildings that burn fossil fuels for heat and hot water; electrify New York’s public vehicle fleets; and retrofit millions of homes to be all-electric and climate-friendly by 2030.
Environmental Advocates New York: Environmental Advocates NY fights for policies that will restore and protect New York’s environment, support healthy, vibrant communities, and secure positive outcomes through education, partnerships and advocacy. EANY has advocated to transition New York’s economy off of fossil fuels, set limits on power plant carbon pollution, and electrify our transportation network. Equity and environmental justice are at the forefront of these discussions.
NYC Climate Action Alliance: A cross-sector network of New York’s businesses, institutions, NGOs, and individuals ready to lend their resources and skills to mitigating climate change, the Alliance leverages its network to scale climate solutions. They convene stakeholders, conduct research, and help members make investments in sustainable solutions.
WE ACT for Environmental Justice: Since 1988 WE ACT aims to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low income residents participate in the creation of sound environmental health and protection policies. It leads community-based participatory research and evidence-based campaigns to enhance energy efficiency, reduce waste, and promote health equity.
By: Sonam Velani
This Week
👩🏻🔬 Ask a Scientist: Nerd Nite: Tue, Aug 16
🍹 Green Drinks Brooklyn: Wed, Aug 17
🔔 Philadelphia Climate Meetup: Wed, Aug 17
🗽 NY Climate Meetup August: Thu, Aug 18
Next Week
🙋🏻♀️ Women & Climate NYC Networking Dinner: Tue, August 23
🥂 Evergreen Action Climate Happy Hour: Thu, August 25
For the Early Birds
🧬 For Climate Tech Summit and Global Innovation Challenge, Sept 13-15
🎸 Big Climate Thing: Sept 16 - Sun, Sept 18
🗽 Climate Week NYC, Sept 19-25
👩🏻🔬 Women and Climate Celebration, Sept 20
🦋 The Nest Summit, Sept 21-22
👩🏻🔬 Ask a Scientist: Nerd Nite (August)
When: Tue, Aug 16, 7:00 PM EDT
Where: Hudson River Park's Pier 40 - Wetlab, Pier 40, 353 West Street, New York, NY 10014
Laugh & learn during an evening of science fun with local experts!
Enjoy a special waterways-themed Nerd Nite during which three experts give fun-yet-informative presentations while the audience drinks along. This Nite features presentations about fatbergs (ewww!), alligators in sewers (look out!), and a weird tricks that various animals use to survive in the ocean (evolution can be gross sometimes).
🍹 Green Drinks Brooklyn
When: Wed, August 17, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Where: Estuary Brasserie & Bar, 159 Bridge Park Drive, Brooklyn, NY 11201
A casual gathering of folks who work on or are interested in sustainability issues, programs, services and products.
Is your work related to the environment or sustainability? Are you interested in sustainability or environmental issues. Do you want to meet some like minded folks and share your thoughts and passion. Come down to Estuary at ONE15 Brooklyn Marina for Happy Hour drinks. We'll have a few folks introduce themselves and their work.
🔔 Philadelphia Climate Meetup
When: Wed, Aug 17, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Where: Victory Brewing, 1776 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
For our third meetup, we'll grab some tables at Victory Brewing. If it's not too hot, we can grab some outdoor space on their patio as well.
This is open to anyone interested in climate or sustainability-related technologies, startups, etc. There is a growing ecosystem of such people and we're here to facilitate those connections!
🗽 NY Climate Tech August Meetup
When: Thu, August 18, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
Where: Madison Square Park, 11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Whether you're already working & investing in climate or just getting started, come by to meet other members of the climate community!
Join us for our August meetup!
Meet with your favorite NY climate community members and collaborate on projects local and global.
Each month we bring together entrepreneurs, climate scientists, investors, students, engineers, and people of all backgrounds looking to transition into climate or meet other people with similar interests. We tend to have 50+ attendees over the course of each evening, and everyone's open to chat.
Join the Fun!
Submit Events
We know all of you are cooking up great events across New York that highlight the latest and greatest in our collective effort to save our city - and our planet! 🌍 We would love to spread the word. Please share any event details and we'll add them to the list.
Volunteer
We're excited to grow the Climate Tech community in cities across the globe - starting right here in our hometown of New York! 🗽 What started as an 8-person mid-pandemic outdoor dinner has since morphed into a 1,500+ strong and ever-growing group of rockstars trying to change the world. We're looking for volunteers to help us expand our programming into a full roster of community-wide meetups, subject-specific events, mentorship programs, site visits, and more. We aim to be a community resource - built for and by our community. Share your thoughts and we look forward to working with you!