NY Climate Tech: July 4 - 10
NY Climate Tech: July 4 - 10
An agricultural reading group, climate designers meetup, and a smoggy window view into NYC before the EPA
Hi all,
We’re easing into July this week with three events. This Thursday, head down to Brookfield Place for a reading group with the effective environmentalism crew on agriculture and climate change. On Friday, cook something up and bring it to the Climate Designers Potluck in Brooklyn, or go to Blue and Gold in the East Village for Paces’ monthly climate drinks.
There’s a ton more coming up in the next couple weeks, and we’ve got a preview below. We’ve also set a date for our next meetup: July 28th. RSVP here!
Cheers,
Alec and Sonam
Hot Take: It’s Not Pretty: New York Before the EPA Cleaned It Up
The Twin Towers behind an illegal dumping area off the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. Photo by Gary Miller/Documerica
These aren’t just warm sepia tones on the latest instagram filter. These are photographs of New York City before the Environmental Protection Agency was created in the 1970s.
Last week, the Supreme Court stripped the EPA of a crucial tool to regulate GHG emissions, thereby removing its power to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. In the 6-3 ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. failed to address the harms caused by climate change, while Justice Elena Kagan began her dissent with a long passage detailing the devastation our planet faces - from hurricanes and floods to famines and mass migration.
Today we’re going back in history to show what New York City looked like before we cared about our air, water, and soil - and what we need to do to ensure our past doesn’t turn into our future.
In a photo series called Documerica, the EPA captured the state of America’s environment from 1971 to 1977, producing over 81,000 images from New York to California. Many of these images have now been digitized by the National Archives.
An oil slick creeps up on the Statue of Liberty in 1973. Photo by Chester Higgins/Documerica
In the first six months of 1973, more than 300 oil spills occurred in the New York City area. More than 800 oil spills occurred across the waters of the mid-Atlantic region during that same time period. The spills ranged from one gallon to 450,000 gallons, and about 40% of the oil was burned up in resulting explosions and fire. The Coast Guard tabulation was the first such compilation for all oil spills in navigable coastal and inland waterways.
Smog obscures a view of the George Washington Bridge in New York City in 1973. Photo by Chester Higgins/Documerica
A historic smog event blanketed New York City on a hot summer day in 1966 when a mass of warm air trapped pollutants from vehicles, factories, and chimneys sent the air pollution level into the danger zone. This was so detrimental for public health that local officials updated their air quality laws to address the crisis and it took many decades to clear the air of nauseating pollution.
A NYC Sanitation truck dumping trash at the Jamaica Bay landfill in 1971. Photo by Arthur Tress/Documerica
Over the years, the EPA has led mass trash removals across the US, aiming to clear sites of toxic chemicals dumped over decades. Many New York city residents worried about pollution and ecological damage stemming from landfills in the 1970s, ranging from the Jamaica Bay landfill in Queens (the longest continuously operating dump in the United States, accepting waste from 1938 to 1991) to the Gravesend Bay landfill in Brooklyn, which still suffers from high concentrations of toxins that have since been banned by the EPA. The Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, once the largest in the world, is now reclaimed as a beautiful new bucolic park. The EPA has estimated that the Clean Air Act prevented over 160,000 early deaths, 130,000 heart attacks, and millions of cases of respiratory illness across the country.
We’re not turning back. In New York, we’ve led the charge to design and implement OneNYC 2050, the most comprehensive climate action plan in the US. It starts by putting people at its core: “Everything we do to combat climate change and support growth must also advance human rights, public health, and economic prosperity for all New Yorkers.” With bold actions to confront our climate crisis and achieve equity, we’re on the way to building a resilient city for tomorrow, #nofilters needed.
By Sonam Velani
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 850+ 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!
Events This Month
This Week
Next Week
Later This Month
For the Early Birds
👩🌾 Effective Environmentalism: Agricultural Reading Discussion
When: Thu, July 7 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Where: Winter Garden Atrium: Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey St, New York, NY 10281
After the success of our last discussion 'Effective Climate Mitigation Basics’, Effective Environmentalism NYC is hosting another in-person discussion group:‘Agriculture and the Environment’. Here is the curated list of recommended readings (90 min) to read before the discussion. Note that the event is open to people with any experience level with environmentalism/climate/agriculture. All are welcome!
Effective Environmentalism is a community that uses evidence and careful analysis to find the most effective interventions for fighting climate change and acting on them.
🥗 Climate Designers NYC Potluck
When: Fri, July 8 from 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Where: 6/15 Green, 15th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
We are designers who care deeply about climate change. We use design thinking to create content that generates climate action in our community. We are committed to combating climate change with our combined skill sets. If you are interested in networking, collaborating, or socializing with us, please join us for a potluck at 6/15 Green community garden (corner of 6th ave and 15th street in Park Slope).
🍻 First Friday Meetup
When: Fri, Jul 8, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EDT
Where: Blue and Gold Tavern, 79 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003
Monthly happy hour for people who care about climate, tech, and building cool things! Vaccines required! Note that this month it’s the SECOND FRIDAY due to July 4th falling on the first friday. Email me at james@paces.ai if any questions!