NY Climate Tech: October 24 - October 31
NY Climate Tech: October 24 - October 31
Ten years on from Hurricane Sandy, climate journalists gathering at a gallery, our next meetup, and conferences, conferences, conferences!
Hi all,
Our next meetup is Thursday! The weather forecast is hopeful and it’s looking like it should be a beautiful fall day in Madison Square Park.
It’s conference season this week. It started off with the SCNY Urban Tech Summit at Cornell Tech, wrapping up today, and continues with the SOSV Climate Tech Summit (online) today and tomorrow, At the Water’s Edge at Columbia Climate School tomorrow, and the Fall Energy Storage Technology and Innovation Conference in Rochester, also tomorrow.
If conferences aren’t your speed tomorrow, head to Foley Gallery in the LES for The Journey of a Story, an exhibit and networking event featuring the work of five climate journalists. On Thursday, join us for the NY Climate Tech Meetup in Madison Square Park, or head to Teachers College at Columbia for a screening of Bigger Than Us, a climate documentary and stick around for a talk with the director.
On Friday, wrap up the week with another conference on SANDY+10 - Resilience, Equity, Climate Justice (and read more about the whole topic in Sonam’s Hot Take below!). Saturday, get outside and join WRISE for their Fall Clean Up & Connect at Trinity Park.
Hot Take: Sandy + 10
Ten years ago this week, Hurricane Sandy swept through New York City. For many of us who lived here at the time, we can vividly remember the blackouts below 14th street in Manhattan, water up to our thighs in waterfront Brooklyn, and sheer debris and devastation in frontline communities like the Rockaways. Over 40 people passed away during the storm and there were over $19 billion of damages citywide.
A decade later, the city is still rebuilding – arguably with hindsight in place. New building codes that require mechanicals to be placed on the roof instead of in basements, waterfront parks to soak up storm surges and sea level rise, and a slew of investments in adaptation, resilience, and mitigation are helping to put New York on better footing.
But the efforts are inching away rather than progressing at warp speed. A new report by the City Comptroller shows that of the $15 billion in federal grants the city received in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, only 73% of the funds have been used thus far. New York is set to receive billions from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act - how quickly can it deploy this funding in our streets and neighborhoods, protecting us from future storms AND reducing their frequency over time?
A rendering of the new East Side Coastal Resiliency Project that’s currently under construction in Lower Manhattan. Photo by AKRF
Dangerous storms will put $242 billion of property at risk of coastal flooding by the 2050s. The city’s public housing, 17% of which is in the 100-year floodplain, will be hit hardest. Additionally, significant essential infrastructure systems are in the floodplain – a whopping 79% of our transportation and utilities are on the waterfront (everything from the 14th St ConEd transformer that went dark in 2012 to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Sanitation Department Transfer Station on East River)! Many of our coastal resiliency projects like the plan to protect the Big U of Lower Manhattan are still in progress.
All this is an important reminder to take stock. And do more. A lot more.
Parachute is a creative storytelling platform by Lyn Stoler and Sonam Velani (hello again!). We explore climate solutions in cities across the world - what works, what doesn’t, and why. Plus, it comes with some cool illustrations like this one!
First and foremost, VOTE! Ironically enough, early voting for the midterm elections starts on the day Sandy made landfall in NYC – October 29. You’ve got until November 6 to vote at any of your local sites, or get out there in person on Election Day itself, November 8. The ballot includes the proposed Clean Air, Clean Water and Green Jobs Bond Act, which would authorize $4.2 billion for environmental and resiliency efforts and a range of mechanisms to ensure the funding is deployed quickly and efficiently. Here’s a great primer from our friends at the Waterfront Alliance on why this legislation is so important to get across the finish line.
Second, rebuild for resilience. For every $1 invested in pre-disaster mitigation, we save $6 in post-disaster losses. The math is pretty simple, if you ask me. As we’re drawing up big plans, we must ensure that we’re leveraging a lot more green infrastructure - like mangrove forests or oyster farms (go visit our friends at the Billion Oyster Project on Governors Island!) rather than gray infrastructure like boring old levees and seawalls that cost a whole lot of money and have mixed results. Bonus points: the green shoreline defenses have co-benefits like urban cooling, carbon sequestration, ocean de-acidification, biodiversity promotion, job creation, and more.
Third, build some technology. An astounding 93% of our climate resources go into mitigation - basically, reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get a lot better, and we MUST invest, build, and deploy climate adaptation technologies. Some of my favorites: The Addition Company, building living sea walls to protect coastal communities; infraSGA’s RAFT bioretention system to move surface water into the ground and prevent flooding; and Zilper, which can install affordable and adaptable underground utilities in water resilient enclosures.
The Living Breakwaters Project in Staten Island developed by Scape Studio is an excellent example of climate adaptation design and technology at work! Photos by Scape Studio
But most of all, get you there into your streets and neighborhoods and see the creative solutions that are already underway. I recently got to hop on a boat with a hundred of my fellow climate adaptation enthusiasts and visit Staten Island with Open House New York and Scape Studio, one of the leading design firms leveraging living infrastructure to create beautiful public spaces right in our backyards. The Living Breakwaters project is a model for climate-adaptive green infrastructure, and includes 4,200 feet of partially submerged stone structures that break waves, reduce (and eventually reverse) erosion, and create a habitat for a variety of marine species. Beyond the physical breakwaters, the project aims to build social resilience in the Tottenville community on the South Shore of Staten Island that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Thirteen local schools are participating in educational programs and the next generation is learning about all the creative, climate oriented careers they can indulge in (hello future NY Climate Tech members!).
The climate crisis is moving faster than we are, and we’ve got to do something about it today, not all the way in 2050. Let’s go!
This Week
👩🏻🏫 NYC Department of Education Sustainability 101 (All-Day In-Person): Mon, Oct 24
🍷 FERN Talks and Eats Brooklyn 2022 - Wine, Beer and Climate: Mon, Oct 24
🎭 Climate Crises and Theatre - A Lecture by Frédérique Aït-Touati: Mon, Oct 24
🌇 SCNY Urban Tech Summit at Cornell Tech: Mon, Oct 24 and Tue, Oct 25
🌎 SOSV Climate Tech Summit: Tue, Oct 25 and Wed, Oct 26
🙋🏽♀️ WISE Networking Lunch - Building Energy Exchange: Tue, Oct 25
🌊 At the Water’s Edge: Transformative Local Action for Flood Response: Wed, Oct 26
✍🏽 The Journey of a Story: An Exhibit & Networking Event by The Uproot Project: Wed, Oct 26
🔋 Fall Energy Storage Technology and Innovation Conference: Wed, Oct 26
🗽 NY Climate Tech Meetup: Thu, Oct 27
🎬 Bigger Than Us - Being in the World Festival: Thu, Oct 27
🌀 SANDY+10 - Resilience, Equity, Climate Justice: Fri, Oct 28
🌳 Fall Clean Up & Connect: Sat, Oct 29
🔬 Activate Fellowship Application Deadline: Mon, Oct 31
For the Early Birds
💡 Converge on Climate: Fri, Nov 4
🌎 DERTfest: Thu, Nov 10
👩🏻🏫 NYC Department of Education Sustainability 101 (All-Day In-Person)
When: Mon, October 24, 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM EDT
Where: UFT Headquarters, 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004
Join us for our first in-person Sustainability 101 Training in three years! Get the most up to date information about what we are doing to make the DOE more sustainable, gain more confidence and resources around bringing climate education into your school, connect with partner organizations who are eager to work with schools, and grow your network of passionate educators!
🍷 FERN Talks and Eats Brooklyn 2022 - Wine, Beer and Climate
When: Mon, October 24, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Where: 501 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Climate change is having a significant effect on the global wine and beer industries, upending harvests, altering suitable grape and grain varieties, and shifting favorable growing zones. How will vintners and brewers, especially those who eschew industrial methods, respond? In this conversation, we'll hear from: Wine writer Alice Feiring, Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster, The Brooklyn Brewery and Rowan Jacobsen, James Beard award-winning author of several food books.
🎭 Climate Crises and Theatre - A Lecture by Frédérique Aït-Touati
When: Mon, October 24, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Where: Maison Française, Columbia University, 515 West 116th Street, New York, NY
Some of the most vivid questions posed by the ecological crisis are matters for playwrights and artists. Why is this? Because we have the greatest difficulty in collectively representing where we are, who we are, which protagonists are in conflict, and, above all, what role we should play in this adventure for which we were not prepared. As always in times of deep crisis, theater seems particularly suited to capture the ongoing climatic upheaval. What we are not able to think together, we have to stage in front of an audience.
🌇 SCNY Urban Tech Summit 2022 - Climate Mobilization: The Power of Urban Tech
When: Mon, October 24, 9:30 AM – Tue, Oct 25, 5:00 AM EDT
Where: Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, 2 West Loop Road, New York, NY
The SCNY Urban Tech Summit returns for its 2022 edition at Cornell Tech's Verizon Executive Education Center on Roosevelt Island. This year, the two-day summit will delve into the concept of technological "Climate Mobilization'' to discuss how the New York City and global urban innovation communities can better solve local and global climate challenges.
🌎 SOSV Climate Tech Summit
When: Tue, October 25 and Wed, October 26 11am–3pm EDT
Where: Virtual
The SOSV Climate Tech Summit is an event designed for the climate tech startup ecosystem and open to all. Join us for a live, virtual, and free event featuring fireside chats, panel discussions, and breakout sessions with the founders and venture capitalists who are inventing our decarbonized future.
🙋🏽♀️ WISE Networking Lunch
When: Tuesday, October 25, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Where: Building Energy Exchange, Surrogate’s Courthouse, 31 Chambers St, New York, NY 10007
BE-Ex’s Women in Sustainability & Energy (WISE) series is pleased to host a networking lunch, connecting emerging and industry-transitioning professionals with seasoned experts from across the energy & sustainability industries. Following a sit-down vegetarian & vegan lunch with industry experts, attendees will have the opportunity for more informal networking with peers over coffee and dessert.
🌊 At the Water’s Edge: Transformative Local Action for Flood Response
When: Wed, October 26, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM EDT
Where: The Forum at Columbia University, 601 West 125th Street New York, NY
Columbia World Projects, in close collaboration with the Climate School, the Columbia Water Center, the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, is facilitating a series of conversations, gathering leading community organizers, local government representatives and scholars from a selection of cities with intense flooding and inequality - many in the global South - to elucidate strategies to advance inclusive models for flooding adaptation and water governance.
✍🏽 The Journey of a Story: An Exhibit & Networking Event by The Uproot Project
When: Wed, October 26, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Where: Foley Gallery, 59 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
The Uproot Project is a newly launched network for journalists of color who cover environmental issues, as well as students and others aspiring to cover this beat. The exhibit will feature the work of five Uproot journalists: Yessenia Funes, Rachel Ramirez, Adam Mahoney, Lylla Younes, and Shantal Riley. The gallery is open to the public from 6-8, with a panel discussion starting at 6:30, moderated by Grist's CEO Nikhil Swaminathan. There will be a special gathering from 8-8:30 for Uproot members.
🔋 Fall Energy Storage Technology and Innovation Conference
When: Wed, October 26, 7:30 AM – 6:30 PM EDT
Where: Hyatt Regency, 125 E Main St, Rochester, NY 14604
This annual event brings together leading minds in energy storage technology and innovation for a stimulating one-day conference on the latest groundbreaking work and technological advances in the rapidly growing field of energy storage technology.
🗽 NY Climate Tech October Meetup
When: Thu, October 27, 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Where: Madison Square Park, 11 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010
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.
Weather permitting, we'll be meeting in Madison Square Park for one last time before winter sets in. RSVP and check back in for alternate locations in case of rain!
🎬 Bigger Than Us - Being in the World Festival
When: Thu, October 27, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
Where: Teachers College, Columbia University, 3040 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Followed by a discussion with director Flore Vasseur and Mélody Braun, moderated by Shanny Peer. Filmed in Malawi, Lebanon, Brazil, the U.S., Greece, Indonesia and Uganda, Bigger Than Us is a feature-length documentary about seven inspiring teenage and young adult activists engaging, like many in their generation, in a struggle for human rights, freedom of expression, social and environmental justice, women’s rights, access to education and food, and a liveable climate.
🌀 SANDY+10 - Resilience, Equity, Climate Justice
When: Fri, October 28, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM EDT
Where: The Forum at Columbia University, 601 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027
10 years ago, the global climate crisis gave New York a wake up call. 44 people died. Tens of thousands of people displaced. 17% of the city flooded. Over $18 Billion has been spent on federal, state, local, and philanthropic initiatives focused on recovery and resilience. What worked and what didn’t? Who has benefited and who has been left behind? What have we learned? This conference will create a space for reflection, collective learning and calls to action for a community of storm survivors, activists, practitioners, public servants, and academics whose life and work changed to meet the challenges of Hurricane Sandy recovery.
🌳 WRISE NYC: Fall Cleanup & Connect
When: Sat, October 29, 2022, 10:00 AM EDT
Where: Trinity Park, Gold Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Join WRISE NYC and NYC Parks for some fresh air and networking while we help clean up Trinity Park - coffee to follow!
🔬 Activate Fellowship Application Deadline
When: Mon, October 31
Where: Online
In launching our Activate New York Community, we are collaborating with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Columbia University to forge New York State’s Carbontech Development Initiative and provide entrepreneurs with the resources, training, and global network needed to build and scale carbontech innovations. Apply by October 31 to participate!
Join the Fun!
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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!