Hi friends,
This week’s listings really showcase the breadth of Climate Tech, with events on fashion, waste, policy, humanities, marketing, personal impact, mending, mycology, education, Venice, women, food, energy, local action, more education, architecture, and water.
Our picks:
🌇 Climate Mobilization Act Primer: Tue, Mar 28
🍱 NYC: Shifting the Narrative to Create a Sustainable Food System: Wed, Mar 29
🍄 New York City FoodHack meetup - Fungi Forum: Wed, Mar 29
🦁 Venice: Laboratory of Sustainability for the Earth: Thu, Mar 30
👷♀️ WISE: Women's History Month, Where Are We Now?: Thu, Mar 30
⚡️ 18th Annual Columbia University Energy Symposium : Fri, Mar 31
🏙 ORDER! Spatial Ideologies of Carbon Modernity: Sat, Apr 1
With Earth Day / Month around the corner, there’s a lot happening in April! We’ve gathered a number of events below so you can start planning, but we’ll have even more in next week’s newsletter. Planning something yourself? Submit your event!
Cheers,
Alec and Sonam
Hot Take: From microbial fuel cells to macro flood barriers, water innovation in action
By Kathy Zhang and Sonam Velani
Last week thousands of people gathered in New York for the first UN Water Conference in almost 50 years, concluding with over 700 commitments to make the world “water secure.” A sampling of the commitments include $49 billion by the United States to invest in resilient water and sanitation infrastructure and services, a pledge by Vietnam to better manage its major river basins, and a $20 million fund from the EU to better track wastewater for diseases like Covid-19. All in all, governments and businesses are finally aiming to invest in “water security” in a relatively insecure world.
We were glad so many of you could join us for Making Waves, where we were able to bring together our favorite blue tech entrepreneurs and investors for a wide ranging discussion on the technologies and financing structures that can help us get to “water security”! Everything from Hydronomy’s solar powered atmospheric water generator to Cobalt Water Global’s data modeling and artificial intelligence tools for sustainable water management were on the docket, and we heard how investors from Streetlife Ventures and Water Asset Management evaluate the growth opportunities in this sector. The best part: water is all around us and our friends at the RETI Center have tons of educational and workforce programming to get you out on the shores to learn more! A huge thanks to the Consulate General of the Netherlands for hosting us at the Water House and to all of you for joining our special NY Climate Tech meetup, complete with the Champagne of H2O!
Water innovation left and right!
As we’ve been sharing over the past month, water is both an essential resource and a destructive force - making water-related solutions wide ranging across a range of hardware and software solutions. There are plenty of smart people building new companies and products in this space, and we’re highlighting a few of the cutting edge solutions tackling the global water challenge, from decentralized water treatment and reuse, to large-scale monitoring and projections of water levels, and more!
Aquacycl - on-site water treatment using microbial fuel cells, which also generates electricity which can power essential process controls; manufacturing applications include Pepsi
Drinkwell - mobile money-enabled water “ATMs” which dispense clean water with low-cost filtration systems; currently deployed by Dhaka WASA, a water utility in Bangladesh serving 17 million people
Hydraloop - home-based water recycling systems for homes & small business that capture and clean greywater from showers and appliances for reuse in toilets, washing machines, and garden irrigation; received UN award for its patented technology
FloodMapp - flood modeling tool integrating real-time data; recently contracted by FEMA to provide insights for emergency response
Hydrosat - satellite thermal infrared imagery of the earth’s surface, including water stress for forecast crop yields (pilot data seems promising!)
Home-grown NYC coastal resilience projects
In 2013, the year after Hurricane Sandy hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched Rebuild by Design, a massive, multi-stage design competition to surface the most innovative and sustainable solutions to strengthen coastal infrastructure and communities against future climate-related disasters. The selected projects are funded jointly by federal and local government, with construction underway for several of them.
The Rebuild by Design jury of technical experts and community leaders selected seven proposed projects overall. Like most things in New York, they are not without controversy, but aim to protect the most vulnerable using a variety of gray and green infrastructure across our shorelines:
Manhattan - The Big U
Phase 1: East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) - The City of New York and US Army Corps of Engineers have come together to reduce flood risk along Manhattan’s east side from 25th St down to Montgomery Street - addressing the pinch points in the 100-yr flood plain and improving waterfront public amenities.
Phase 2: Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) - A series of projects will extend the Lower Manhattan shoreline into the East River to protect low-lying areas particularly around the Seaport and Financial District – some of the wealthiest zip codes in America!
The Bronx - Hunts Point Resiliency - You probably had no idea that 60% of our produce and 50% of meat consumed by all New Yorkers passes through the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center on the South Bronx waterfront! A new resiliency project aims to deploy microgrids, energy storage infrastructure, and mobile generators to ensure the neighborhood (and your food) stays safe!
Staten Island - Living Breakwaters - Designed by one of our favorite landscape architecture firms, SCAPE Studio, the Living Breakwaters are specially designed nature-based solutions that create a diverse mosaic of habitat conditions to restore marine life while also protecting the Raritan Bay and shores of Staten Island. Approximately 2,400 linear feet of shoreline are “under construction” and we can’t wait to see more of these natural ecosystems come to life across the New York harbor!
There are plenty more projects across the region, including New Meadowlands and Hudson River protecting our friends in New Jersey (we love you too!). An evaluation of the Rebuild by Design projects highlights the many innovative practices and resource challenges, and puts forth recommendations on how to engage local communities with greater consistency and how to replicate and scale the multi-sectoral approaches for other large-scale design competitions.
It’s important to note that no singular or even suite of technical solutions can solve the problems of water management. Creative policies, financing models, and local engagement are essential in deploying and scaling the use of promising water technologies in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
To dig deeper into more case studies of water innovations, check out:
Examples from US local governments (US Environmental Protection Agency)
Water & sanitation tech (World Economic Forum UpLink)
Green Technology Book (UN World Intellectual Property Organization)
Community Shoutouts
🗳 Participatory Budgeting NYC
Do you care about your neighborhood? Right, we thought the answer might be a resounding YES! Through Participatory Budgeting in New York City community members — like you — directly decide how to spend at least $1,000,000 in participating Council Districts. On the docket: improvements to schools, parks, libraries, public housing, and more. Vote for your favorite projects by April 2!
Events This Week
👖 Sustainable Fashion Community Meeting: Mon, Mar 27
🗑 Curbside Compost Sustainability Coordinator Full Day Training: Tue, Mar 28
🌇 Climate Mobilization Act Primer: Tue, Mar 28
👩🏫 Climate Tech: Why It Needs the Humanities and Social Sciences: Tue, Mar 28
🍱 NYC: Shifting the Narrative to Create a Sustainable Food System: Wed, Mar 29
🌿 Learn about sustainability in NYC : Green For Blue: Wed, Mar 29
🧶 Sustainable Fashion: A Mending and Repair Workshop: Wed, Mar 29
🍄 New York City FoodHack meetup - Fungi Forum: Wed, Mar 29
🧑🏫 Transformative Education for Sustainability: Thu, Mar 30
🦁 Venice: Laboratory of Sustainability for the Earth: Thu, Mar 30
👷♀️ WISE: Women's History Month, Where Are We Now?: Thu, Mar 30
🍽 A Taste of the Future: Thu, Mar 30
⚡️ 18th Annual Columbia University Energy Symposium : Fri, Mar 31
🧩 New York Zero by Fifty? Decarbonization Pathways & Local Action: Fri, Mar 31
✏️ Teacher Prep For Earth Week! Start Moving Towards Sustainability!: Sat, Apr 1
🏙 ORDER! : Spatial Ideologies of Carbon Modernity: Sat, Apr 1
💧 Heritage Engagement Amid Rising Water: Sun, Apr 2
Read on for more details about this week’s happenings and upcoming events this month
Events This Month
🎲 Climate Fresk and Dinner at Eat Offbeat (Chelsea Market): Tue, Apr 4
🌳 AIA Brooklyn Committee on the Environment Meeting: Tue, Apr 4
🇮🇪 Malcolm Sen: Climate, Environment, and Irish Literature: Thu, Apr 6
💧 Worlds at Waste: The Crisis of Water in the Subcontinent: Fri, Apr 7
🏡 Climate Change At Home Exhibit Launch!: Sat, Apr 8
💃 Sea Dance Collective Performance: Sat, Apr 8
⚡️ 2023 MIT Energy Conference: Tue, Apr 11
Latinx in Sustainability Spring Meetup Spring Meet Up: Wed, Apr 12
🦷 Dental Climate Toolkit Workshop: Thu, Apr 13
🎬 ‘Fire of Love’ — Meet the Director: Fri, Apr 14
🌍 Saving the Planet: An Ethical Imperative. Panel w/ Bill McKibben: Sun, Apr 16
👩💻 Your climate career path w/Kristy Drutman & Green Jobs Board: Sun, Apr 16
🌳 The Vanishing, Invisible Forest: Telling Climate Stories: Tue, Apr 18
☔️ Extreme Weather and Urban Mobility: Tue, Apr 18
🔌 Energy Efficiency: Unlocking Climate Action in Schools: Wed, Apr 19
✏️ Energy Efficiency: Unlocking Climate Action in Schools: Wed, Apr 19
🌊 Toward a Rainproof NYC with Johanna Lawton: Wed, Apr 19
🥗 Earth Week: Dinner & Discussion with Activist Seb Alex: Wed, Apr 19
🏆 Creative Climate Awards - Opening Night 2023: Wed, Apr 19
🍽 Just Food Futures: the Nexus of Climate and Racial Justice: Thu, Apr 20
🧬 The Bio-Inspired Green (BIG) Science & Technology Symposium: Thu, Apr 20
🎨 Artist Spotlight: Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Thu, Apr 20
🌍 Carbon Removal Challenge Finalist Showcase: Fri, Apr 21
🌿 Climate Resilience in the Design of Brooklyn Bridge Park: Fri, Apr 21
🌱 Earth Month Convergence: Sat, Apr 22
🦜 Introduction to Biomimicry: Learning From Nature’s Genius: Sat, Apr 22
🎨 Climate Arts Festival 2023: Sat, Apr 22
🎉 EARTH LOVE FEST: Block Party **Free All Day!**: Sun, Apr 23
📈 Earning Green by Investing Green: Thu, Apr 27
🌰 Amitav Ghosh: The Nutmeg's Curse: Thu, Apr 27
🪨 Exhibition and Panel Discussion: Making With Earth: Fri, Apr 28
🌎 Earth Celebrations and the Ecological City - Mural Workshop: Sat, Apr 29
Events This Week
👖 Sustainable Fashion Community Meeting
When: Mon, Mar 27th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Where: Kent State University, 315 West 39th Street #STE 402, New York, NY 10018
Join the NYC FTC Fam for an evening of sharing, snacking, and connecting with liked-minded individuals. We'll start with a short presentation on DfE (Design for the Environment), move on to sharing upcoming opportunities and events, and follow up with short, sweet, and to the point presentations from a few members.
🗑 Curbside Compost Sustainability Coordinator Full Day Training (In-Person)
When: Tue, Mar 28th from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Where: Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard W, The Bronx, NY 10468
DSNY is expanding Curbside Composting to all remaining Bronx DOE K-12 schools by the end of 2024. To support Sustainability Coordinators (SCs) in Bronx schools, GrowNYC and DOE's Office of Sustainability are hosting an in-person training on Tuesday March 28th at 8:30 am - 3:30 pm at the Lehman College.
🌇 Climate Mobilization Act Primer
When: Tue, Mar 28th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Where: Online
Get informed on New York City climate legislation and its impact on buildings. Register now for the Climate Mobilization Act Primer, a one-hour seminar examining the basic principles of the Climate Mobilization Act and offering actionable guidance for building decision makers. The Climate Mobilization Act Primer is designed for property owners, managers, developers, and other key stakeholders interested in gaining a foundational understanding of the Climate Mobilization Act and for those seeking direction as they navigate these new regulations.
👩🏫 Climate Tech: Why It Needs the Humanities and Social Sciences
When: Tue, Mar 28th from 4:15 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Heyman Center for the Humanities, Second Floor Common Room, 74 Morningside Dr., New York, NY 10027
This talk makes a case for why humanities and social science practitioners should bother to engage with the development of these climate technologies. Speakers will discuss what forms and methods generative engagement could take, how to avoid the pitfalls of instrumentalization by capital, and what's at stake if these fields continue to be on the sidelines of climate tech investment and debate.
🍱 NYC: Shifting the Narrative to Create a Sustainable Food System
When: Wed, Mar 29th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Industrious New York, SoHo West, 325 Hudson Street 4th Floor, New York, NY 10013
Marketers have a critical role to play at the intersection of food x climate to help shift behavior and lifestyles. In addition, the data undeniably shows that people care more than ever about how the products they buy impact the environment and the natural world around them. Storytellers and marketers, in particular, have the unique opportunity to design thoughtful, values-driven strategies to shape culture and meet the needs of this increasingly conscious audience. Come jam in NYC with nf.c and Micki Boas Consulting on how values-driven storytelling can bring eaters along for change and help organizations shift their habits too. This community meetup is for food and beverage marketers and climate-curious storytellers looking to put their skills to work.
🌿 Learn about sustainability in NYC : Green For Blue
When: Wed, Mar 29th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: Sustainable Fashion Community Center - East Harlem, 1795 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10029
On March 29th, the third Green For Blue event will take place. The goal is to network and introduce you 4 New Yorkers Solutionaries who are actively changing the world for the better by offering their knowledge, expertise, and services.
🧶 Sustainable Fashion: A Mending and Repair Workshop
When: Wed, Mar 29th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Sustainable Fashion Community Center - East Harlem, 1795 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10029
At our March Workshop we’re bringing you a combination of networking, education and hands-on mending! Attendees will arrive and have the opportunity to mingle and network with other passionate sustainability-minded individuals while snacking on local food and sipping on refreshments.
🍄 New York City FoodHack meetup - Fungi Forum
When: Wed, Mar 29th from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Where: Newlab, 19 Morris Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Join Fungi Forum, the second FoodHack Meetup in New York City, in collaboration with Newlab. FoodHack meetups for food tech entrepreneurs, investors and food enthusiasts to network and hear from food industry speakers.
🧑🏫 Transformative Education for Sustainability
When: Thu, Mar 30th from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Where: Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Avenue, ARC E09, Brooklyn, NY 11205
In this workshop we will introduce the concept of “transformative education for sustainability”, learning that leads students to take actions that contribute to sustainability efforts. Specifically, we will look at the ways students engage with sustainability concepts and/or values in their creative work as a means of addressing whether sustainability education at Pratt has been transformative.
🦁 Venice: Laboratory of Sustainability for the Earth
When: Thu, Mar 30th from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Where: 200 Willoughby Avenue. Pratt Sustainability Center | Engineering Building Room 001, Brooklyn, NY 11205
A presentation of how Venetians have tackled issues of sustainability since the 5th century refugees from war sought safety on soggy islands in the sea. Because of her beauty, artistic treasures and vulnerability, Venice is benefitted by such organizations as Venice in Peril and Save Venice, which contribute to the efforts of the Commune and the Soprintendenza to preserve the city and her remaining artistic treasure. The result is that she is a center of sophisticated conservation campaigns to: shore up her boardwalks, fortify her buildings and their foundations, remove carbon from her facades and sculptures and clean her paintings.
👷♀️ WISE: Women's History Month, Where Are We Now?
When: Thu, Mar 30th from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: Building Energy Exchange
BE-Ex’s Women in Sustainability & Energy (WISE) Series is excited to host a celebratory panel discussion and networking event in honor of Women’s History Month. Join the founding women of WISE and the rest of the BE-Ex community to reflect on the series’ history, discuss the state of sector inclusivity, and learn about professional pathways within the industry.
🍽 A Taste of the Future
When: Thu, Mar 30th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Where: Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021
Impact starts by making small changes to benefit the planet. A lot of us might think this means giving up the foods we love, but the amazing brands featured during A Taste of the Future are proving otherwise. The world of alternative protein is rapidly evolving with consumer adoption and excitement well on the rise. Join TTI for your chance to taste progress in both "Surf & Turf" varieties.
⚡️ 18th Annual Columbia University Energy Symposium
When: Fri, Mar 31st from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Where: Harlem Parish, 258 W 118th St, New York 10026, United States
The Columbia University Energy Symposium is the largest student-run energy event in New York City, bringing together hundreds of energy professionals, students, faculty, leaders, and executives representing industry, government, and society, to explore and advance our insights into today's challenging energy questions.
🧩 New York Zero by Fifty? Decarbonization Pathways and Local Action
When: Fri, Mar 31st from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Where: Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Avenue Engineering Building Rm 001, Brooklyn, NY 11205
City and State policy is charting an aggressive course to zero emissions by 2050. Learn how local initiatives are supporting these targets and accelerating carbon reduction goals in Brooklyn.
✏️ Teacher Prep For Earth Week! Start Moving Towards Sustainability!
When: Sat, Apr 1st from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Where: Trinity School, 139 W 91st Street, New York, NY 10024
Teacher Prep For Earth Week! Start Moving Towards Sustainability! In this in-person workshop you will participate in interactive simulations and discussions that highlight the shift in mindset required to move toward sustainability, rather than away from problems. This is not just for science teachers! English, History, Foreign Language, and Art. All are welcome!
🏙 ORDER! Spatial Ideologies of Carbon Modernity
When: Sat, Apr 1st from 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Where: Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003
With the onset of the industrial revolution, a new spatial order emerged—one that is not only energy-intensive, but one that also writes the social and economic structures of an industrial and extractive society into concrete, steel, and glass. As part of the exhibition Confronting Carbon Form, this symposium gathers architects, designers, scholars, historians, and theorists to identify and study the specific spatial concepts of that order—a necessary undertaking if architecture is to address the climate crisis.
💧 Heritage Engagement Amid Rising Water
When: Sun, Apr 2nd from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Avenue, Pratt Sustainability Center, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Taconic Fellows from MS HP '24 discuss ongoing work with the East New York Community Land Trust, engaging residents of a flood-prone community and researching the neighborhood's unique water-induced characteristics - from its historic environmental hazards to its cultural heritage. Student fellows to present updated research into topics briefly discussed in Part 1 of the project share from fall's earth action week event like the history of the black cowboys in the area and historic water mapping.
Join the Fun!
Submit Events
We know all of you are cooking up great events across 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!
Climate Tech Cities
We are expanding! We started as an 8-person dinner and now have over 4,000 members in our community. We’ve had people across the world reach out to us to start their own chapters - so we’re launching a new Climate Tech Cities organization this year! If you have friends who are interested in becoming chapter leads, please share the word. Here’s to a global network of local communities making a positive impact!