NY Climate Tech: Dec 12 - Dec 19

Our meetup tonight, holiday parties galore, a film screening at the Climate Museum, and sustainable holiday shopping

and

Dec 12, 2022

Come join us tonight for the December NY Climate Tech meetup at Pig Beach in Brooklyn!

If you’re feeling ambitious, you should just be able to fit in a talk on the Cooling Benefits of Urban Parks beforehand (see this week’s Hot Take for more!). By Tuesday, holiday season is in full swing, with the Waterfront Alliance Holiday Party and "No Food Left Behind" Holiday Dinner. On Wednesday, head to Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island for a conference on sustainable infrastructure, swing by the Climate Museum pop-up in SoHo for a film screening with Gabriela Salazar or the Rubin Museum for sustainable shorts, check out career opportunities with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection Engineering Career Fair, or head to Williamsburg for this month’s DER Taskforce Happy Hour. On Thursday, get zero-wasted at the Sustainability Social, go gift hunting at the Sustainable PoPuP For Christmas, or head to the Hardware Holiday Party at Newlab. This weekend, continue shopping at the 2nd Annual Sustainable Holiday Market or learn something new at Genspace during their Intro to Bioplastics.

The more sustainable the merrier!

Cheers,
Alec and Sonam

The relationship between New Yorkers and red-tailed hawks is the ideal of human-wildlife coexistence. They provide free pest control for the city, with a majority of their diet consisting of rats and mice. In turn, city buildings and bridges provide ideal nesting sites for urban hawks. Learn more at wildlifeNYC!

Nature vs nurture is an age-old debate. In planet earth’s case, we’ve come to a point where nature needs to be nurtured.

COP15 is underway in Montreal and all I can say is that this phrase has become more important than ever! Some stats that are highlighted across the pavillions:

There’s been a 69% decline in wildlife populations around the world since 1970.
Almost 60% of our Ecological Footprint is made up of our carbon footprint (the demand humans put on Earth’s “biocapacity” or ability to generate itself).
In 2020, we overused our planet's resources by at least 75%, or the equivalent to living off of 1.75 Earths. Mind you, the vast majority of human activity was at a standstill in 2020, and we still ended up at this number.

Understanding changes in biodiversity is vital to its future protection. Source: WWF

So, how can we bend the curve on biodiversity loss? Among more than 20 targets currently being negotiated at the summit, the major goal for COP15 is to achieve 30x30 → protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. A detailed study in Nature shows that specific ecosystems across the earth must be protected from humanity’s destructive powers, including the boreal forests of Russia, China, and the US and the tropical rainforests of the Amazon, Congo, and Indonesia. Together, these areas hold 139 billion tons of “irrevocable” carbon → this is where the world leaders need to focus their efforts.

Luckily, the wheels are finally rolling. At COP27 last month, Brazil, Congo, and Indonesia signed the Rainforest Protection Pact to preserve the hotspots for biodiversity within their borders – creating a funding mechanism and a vehicle to support local indigenous communities in doing what they do best - being stewards of our most essential habitats. As we wrote in a NY Climate Tech newsletter a few weeks ago, the incoming Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is putting into place plans to eliminate deforestation in the Amazon. All of these initiatives are heralded as great examples of “south-to-south cooperation” – as opposed to the little effort “the global north” has taken on conservation efforts.

Representatives of Indigenous peoples from Latin American countries describe their successful age-old conservation efforts at COP15 in Montreal.

Closer to home, in New York we’re doing our part to integrate nature into the built environment, reducing emissions, promoting equity, and protecting biodiversity even amidst our concrete jungle. A new report by the Rocky Mountain Institute highlights the value of urban nature in local communities - investing in urban nature generates 9x as much value as the costs, especially when it comes to public health.

Nature is to be nurtured! And it will pay for itself, 9x over! Source: RMI

The city’s 5 Borough Presidents are joining forces to petition Mayor Adams to plant a million trees by 2030, reviving an ambitious and successful “MillionTreesNYC” initiative that was started by Mayor Bloomberg and completed two years ahead of schedule by Mayor de Blasio. The city’s urban forest expanded 20% through this initiative, and the city now has 77,580 acres of green space including wetlands, cemeteries, parks, and forests. A wide variety of animal species are found within the city, including 80 species of fish, scores of birds from the peregrine falcon to the pigeon, and such mammals as the raccoon and the occasional urban coyote.

And the city’s greenest borough? From the marshes along Orchard Beach to the regal trees of Soundview, the Bronx has it all!

By Sonam Velani

Our friends at Climate Tech VC are taking the temperature of the current market. If you’re a founder or investor, fill out the CTVC market sentiment survey. They’ll publish results at the end of the year.
Local community solar startup WildGrid is running a Solarpunk Starter giveaway (complete with mushroom grow kids, window solar chargers, art prints, and even an electric scooter!).

Events

This Week

🗽 NY Climate Tech December Meetup: Mon, Dec 12
🌳 Climate Change Dialogue - Cooling Benefits of Urban Parks: Mon, Dec 12
🌊 2022 Waterfront Alliance Holiday Party: Tue, Dec 13
🥗 "No Food Left Behind" Holiday Dinner: Tue, Dec 13
🏙 CityAge: New York - The New Infrastructure: Wed, Dec 14
🎥 Film Screening and Artist Talk: Gabriela Salazar: Wed, Dec 14
⚡️ DER Taskforce Happy Hour: Wed, Dec 14
👷‍♀️ DEP Engineering Career Fair: Wed, Dec 14
🎬 Film Screening with Nautilus, 5 Media, and Waterbear: Wed, Dec 14
🗑 Holiday Sustainability Social with TRUE Advisors and NYSAR3: Thu, Dec 15
🎄 Sustainable PoPuP For Christmas: Thu, Dec 15
🔧 Hardware Holiday Party: Thu, Dec 15
🎊 2nd Annual Sustainable Holiday Market: Sun, Dec 18
🧪 Intro to Bioplastics: Sun, Dec 18

For the Early Birds

🍻 Green Drinks Brooklyn: Wed, Dec 21
🎁 Sustainable Gift Wrapping w/ FABSCRAP: Wed, Dec 21

🗽 NY Climate Tech December Meetup

When: Mon, Dec 12, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST

Where: Pig Beach BBQ Brooklyn, 480 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Come to the NY Climate Meetup to connect with other climate professionals
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. This month we'll be meeting at Pig Beach in Brooklyn!
Interested hearing about more climate tech events in NYC? Sign up for our events NY Climate Tech newsletter. Just getting into climate? Check out My Climate Journey and Work on Climate and Climate Tech Careers.

🌳 Climate Change Dialogue - Cooling Benefits of Urban Parks

When: Mon, Dec 12, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM EST

Where: 14 E 60th St, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10021

This summer, the Natural Areas Conservancy and a dozen U.S. cities (members of the Forests in Cities national network) — including New York City — led a cross-country study on clarifying the role urban natural areas and vegetation play in cooling cities. The study explores if ecosystem health influences air temperature in forested natural areas by deploying air temperature sensors in forests across the country. NAC also partnered with the Institute for Urban Parks as part of the Central Park Climate Lab to understand the different cooling benefits of various vegetation cover types within urban parks. 25 air temperature sensors were placed in New York City, including Clover Lakes Park, Forest Park, Seton Falls Park, and Central Park - learn more about our findings!

🌊 2022 Waterfront Alliance Holiday Party

When: Tue, Dec 13, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM EST

Where: Sour Mouse, 110 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002

Waterfront Alliance’s annual holiday party returns! To celebrate the year, we'll come together to eat, drink and make merry at Sour Mouse with hundreds of peers and leaders in the waterfront community. The evening features great food, drinks, games, a raffle drawing for some great prizes, and more. Friends and family are welcome to attend. When purchasing your ticket, please also consider making a tax-deductible donation to Waterfront Alliance.

🥗 "No Food Left Behind" Holiday Dinner

When: Tue, Dec 13, 6:15 PM – 9:30 PM EST

Where: Farm To People, 1100 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237

Farm to People and The Spare Food Co. invite you to share a delicious dinner that celebrates the overlooked and underused bounty of our local food system.

A collaboration between Chefs Adam Kaye (Spare Food) and Matt Yee (Farm to People) in the warm and welcoming Farm to People Kitchen and Bar space in Brooklyn, this first-of-its-kind event will feature a multi-course family-style menu that incorporates both the best of and “the rest of” produce and products from local partners and purveyors.

Enjoy craft mocktails featuring Spare Tonic, included in your ticket. An intentional selection of natural wine, local beer, and specialty non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase. Spots are (very) limited so make sure you spare a moment soon to purchase your ticket and reserve your seat.

🏙 CityAge: New York - The New Infrastructure

When: Wed, 14 Dec, 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST

Where: Verizon Executive Education Center, Cornell Tech, 2 West Loop Road New York, NY 10044

New York — the city known for constant urban reinvention — is once again leading the reinvention of the American city. CityAge is proud to return to New York for a special event: The New Infrastructure. You will meet the people forging the partnerships and investments that can inform the future of other American towns and cities, and set an example for the world.

🎥 Film Screening and Artist Talk: Gabriela Salazar

When: Wed, Dec 14, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST

Where: The Climate Museum Pop-Up, 120 Wooster StreetNew York, NY, 10012

Join us to revisit artist Gabriela Salazar’s Low Relief for High Water, a sculptural installation and performance exploring themes of home, vulnerability, caretaking, and collective responsibility in the face of the climate crisis. Commissioned by the Climate Museum and filmed by award-winning documentary filmmakers, the short (16 minute) film captures the story of Low Relief from its inception through its presentation in Washington Square Park in October 2021. Following the screening, attendees will join a conversation between Gabriela and the Museum’s Senior Exhibitions Associate, Anais Reyes. A reception will follow.

⚡️ DER Taskforce Happy Hour

When: Wed, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM EST

Where: Urban Energy, 116 Ainslie Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Hey DER TF! Join us at Urban Energy's office for our monthly hang on the second Wednesday of each month. There isn't a reoccurring agenda, but we may have guests or topics to discuss for a particular events.

👷‍♀️ DEP Engineering Career Fair

When: Wed, Dec 14, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST

Where: Newtown Creek WWRF Visitor's Center 329 Greenpoint Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution daily.
DEP is the largest combined municipal water utility in North America, with more than 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City. With one of the largest construction budgets in the region, ~ $11 billion of work is currently under construction and another $3 billion is in the design stages. DEP offers many great opportunities for you to get started on the next great American infrastructure project.

DEP’s is seeking engineers at various levels and disciplines to work on projects related to water quality, wastewater treatment process, construction, and green infrastructure. Opportunities are available in design, construction and project management with office and field work - come join us!

Film Screening with Nautilus, 5 Media, and Waterbear

When: Wed, Dec 14, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST

Where: Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011

"Extract. Destroy. Repeat."
"Black Mermaid"
"Every Living Thing"
Reception follows at 7PM in the Museum Main Level

🗑 Holiday Sustainability Social with TRUE Advisors and NYSAR3

When: Thu, Dec 15, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Where: Lighthouse, 145 Borinquen Place, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Join TRUE Certification for Zero Waste, the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3), the Sanitation Foundation, and Women and Climate for a holiday meet-up at Lighthouse in Williamsburg. Come meet zero waste professionals furthering circularity in New York City.

🎄 Sustainable PoPuP For Christmas

When: Multiple Dates Thu, Dec 15, 2:00 PM EST

Where: Frenchy Coffee NYC, 129E East 102nd Street, New York, NY 10029

Join us for our Popup at Frenchy Coffee, UES-Harlem. We will welcome you with a smile. And introduce you to your last minutes gifts. Our products are Zero-waste and Sustainable.

🔧 Hardware Holiday Party

When: Thu, Dec 15, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST

Where: Newlab, 19 Morris Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205

We'll have good beer, nice wines, delicious food, and a live jazz band playing holiday classics. Attire is informal and holiday sweaters are highly encouraged. Bonus points if yours lights up or has interactive elements!

🎊 2nd Annual Sustainable Holiday Market

When: Sun, Dec 18, 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST

Where: Farm To People 1100 Flushing Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11237

Shop, mingle, learn and enjoy local food and beverages at our 2nd annual Sustainable Holiday Market! Stop by the Farm to People warehouse anytime on Saturday. Shop local, low-waste vendors, socialize with other sustainable and eco-minded neighbors, and enjoy delicious drinks and snacks.

🧪 Intro to Bioplastics

When: Sun, Dec 18, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST

Where: Genspace, 132 32nd Street Suite 108, Brooklyn, NY 11232

Think about all the plastic objects that you use on a daily basis. Where did they come from, and what will their life span be? While it is easy to consume plastic materials it isn’t as easy to get more information about the plastics we use.

Join Genspace for a hands-on foray into the world of bioplastics. Bioplastics are plastics made from renewable biomass sources such as such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, food waste, and more. In this workshop, we will discuss the history, challenges, and future of plastic, and we will experiment with a variety of DIY bioplastic recipes. You will learn about the criteria people in industry use to measure the health and toxicity of their products, the initial processes used in the material sciences, and ways to get started in your own kitchen. Each participant will make a mold and go home with their own plastic item that is edible and will easily biodegrade.

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 2,500+ 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!