WE ACT Updates: Biden Signs EJ Executive Order, Take Action for EJ in the NYS Budget, Block Party, Earth Day Events, and More!

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WE ACT at the White House for Historic Signing of Revitalized Commitment to Environmental Justice

Earlier today, President Biden announced Executive Order 12898: Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All. A substantive update to the original Executive Order 12898 issued by President Clinton in 1994, it contains a series of directives requiring all 438 federal agencies to make environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations. It also requires each federal agency to develop an agency-wide environmental justice strategy.

Said Dana Johnson:
“Today’s historic announcement addresses what WE ACT has been fighting for 35 years: environmental justice is central to civil rights and environmental laws. The administration is implementing meaningful change to support the message we’ve known for decades: harmful pollution disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color, among other vulnerable communities. The updated Executive Order, building on the original Executive Order 12898 issued by President Clinton in 1994, will further embed environmental justice work in federal agencies to achieve real, measurable progress that low-income and communities of color can depend on."

Said Peggy Shepard:
“The Biden administration has issued an update of Executive Order 12898, adding to the President’s landmark work to create the Justice40 Initiative, the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, and the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). Today, the foundation of the government’s environmental justice work has been updated to respond to recommendations made by the WHEJAC to further advance environmental and climate justice throughout the federal government. This is an important step forward as we see real investment in frontline communities."

At the White House signing (left to right): Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Senior Director for Environmental Justice at The White House Council on Environmental Quality (and former WE ACT staffer); Peggy Shepard; Dana Johnson; and Vernice Miller-Travis, Executive Vice President at the Metropolitan Group and WE ACT Co-Founder.

TAKE ACTION: Make Your Voice Heard During the Final Hours of NY Budget Negotiations

Our state leaders continue to negotiate the terms of New York's budget, which will determine how the state spends over $200 billion. We need your help to ensure that we pass a budget that works for the people - one that centers environmental, housing, economic, and social justice.

Here's how you can act (scripts are included in all links):

➡️ Send a letter to Governor Hochul telling her to end subsidies to fossil fuel companies and end the use of fossil fuels in new construction in this year's budget (you can also call the Governor, script included, at 877-235-6537).

➡️ Send a letter to Governor Hochul telling her to fix the MTA by freezing fares, increasing service and adding free buses to the five boroughs.

➡️ Call the Governor, the Speaker and the Majority Leader and tell them to fund climate justice in this year's budget via NY RENEWS.

➡️ Call the Governor and the Speaker and tell them to support the full Build Public Renewables Act.

Thank You for Running With Us for Environmental Justice!

Many thanks to everyone who ran with us virtually and in-person for our 2nd Earth Day 5K on Randall's Island! Congratulations to our winners (pictured top left): Erik Antokal (in blue) and Bram Peterson (in black) in 1st place, and John Battistelli (in green) in 2nd place!

What a great way to kick off spring, celebrate Earth Day, and fundraise for environmental justice. So far we've raised over $23,000 and counting. Thank you to everyone who's given. And thank you to our super sponsors: Ørsted, Clarion Partners, and Architecture Research Office.

Weren't able to join us in-person? You can still give a donation to help us reach our Earth Day fundraising goal.

We Need Your Help to Advocate With Us for Earth Day

We are at a critical point in our fight for environmental and climate justice legislation in New York State. That is why we invite you to join us for a day in Albany with our partners in the JustGreen Partnership to advocate for key state legislation. You can choose to lobby for lead poisoning prevention, energy and climate, or general environmental justice legislation. Register to join us on Tuesday, April 25th in Albany! Transportation and lunch will be provided.

Advancing Environmental Justice Workshop for NY Students

Are you or someone you know a NY student interested in building the environmental justice movement? We are partnering with Earth Hacks and the JustGreen Partnership to host Policy for the People, a workshop on environmental education and policy communication. This hackathon is for students to design and develop content to advance our advocacy efforts to reduce exposure to toxics in our community.

Students 18+ in New York State can participate in-person at WE ACT’s NYC office or online. Contact Briana Carbajal at [email protected] with questions. Sunday April 23, 11 am - 6 pm, 1854 Amsterdam Avenue, 2nd Floor in Harlem.

Justice40rward Hits the Midwest

Our Justice40rward tours are traveling across the country to highlight environmental justice issues around the US and raise awareness of new Justice40 federal funding available to address environmental justice. This is by far the largest amount of funding to ever be offered to environmental justice communities so it's critical to raise awareness about this opportunity.

This month, we toured frontline communities in East Kansas City and the Southside of Chicago. Like Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx, these low-income areas and communities of color have been sacrifice zones for waste disposal and fossil fuel projects. We toured polluting sites with local activists and elected officials to shed light on injustice and hosted community round tables to highlight how Justice40 funding can help. These communities have faced environmental racism for too long. They deserve federal funding to address it, and we're making sure that happens.

Groove Into Spring at Our Harlem Block Party

Spring has sprung in Northern Manhattan and WE ACT's Beauty Inside Out campaign is celebrating with eating, art making, dancing to the music of DJ Roman Martinez, spring planting, and, of course, environmental justice. Join us Friday, April 28th at Frank White Memorial Garden at 506 West 143rd Street to groove into the season in style with our neighbors, friends, and family!

RSVP

Earth Day at Columbia University

Peggy Shepard will be speaking about climate and environmental justice in Harlem at an International Earth Day event hosted by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Climate School, and Columbia World Projects. It will focus on the growing risks of rising heat, more intense storms, and history of environmental injustice which continue to generate disproportionate climate impacts in communities like Harlem. The event will be Saturday, April 22, 2023 12 - 3:30 pm at Faculty House, 64 Morningside Drive.

Peggy Shepard is Talking Social Equity with the Business Leadership Council

The 2023 Business Leadership Summit is Monday, April 24, from
8:30 am - 2 pm. The Business Council members will join Central Park Conservancy trustees and leaders for a substantive half day of inspiring conversation about what social equity looks like in practice—looking beyond the Park toward all of New York City—as well as lessons in civic leadership and corporate governance. Peggy Shepard will be one of the featured speakers.

Justice40rward Tours: Our recent Justice40rward tours in the Midwest were featured in local news coverage in WGN9 in Chicago and KHSB41 in Kansas City.
Out of Gas, In with Justice: Annie Carforo gave a comprehensive interview to the Cool Solutions podcast about our Out of Gas, In with Justice pilot.
Climate Education in NYC: Harlem World wrote about the announcement from Mayor Adams to include climate education in his PlaNYC initiative. This was applauded by the CRETF coalition which WE ACT co-leads and which pushes for increased climate education in New York schools.
EPA EJ TACs: EcoWatch published an article about the recent announcement from the EPA about new Technical Assistance Centers, which WE ACT is hosting for Region 2, to help communities apply for and secure funding for environmental justice.

Rally: Tell Con Ed's Rate Hikes to Take a Hike!

Be sure to join us for a family-friendly rally against Con Ed’s rate hikes in Union Square Park on Saturday, April 29 at 3 pm! Grab your signs and banners for this large-scale protest against energy bill hikes featuring a protest photo shoot.

New York Jewish Climate Summit

Join Peggy Shepard and other speakers at the New York Jewish Climate Summit. The summit is an opportunity for Jewish New Yorkers and allies who are interested in tackling the climate crisis to gather, learn, organize, and take action together. Peggy will be joined by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, NYSERDA Assistant Director Vlad Gutman, and Dayenu CEO; Co-Founder Rabbi Jennie Rosenn. Sunday, April 23 from 1 - 4:30 pm at Temple Shaaray Tefila at 250 East 79th Street.

Invest in Our Planet Earth Day Program

Louis Bailey will be presenting at the Invest in Our Planet Earth Day Program on Monday, April 24 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Memorial Center at 34 West 134th Street.

What Role Does Philanthropy Have to Combat Climate Change? A Big One.

The climate movement has scored an increasing number of wins in recent years, however effective and equitable implementation following these wins is not guaranteed. Dana Johnson will join a panel on how supporting implementation represents an opportunity for all kinds of donors to make a difference. This webinar on April 25 at 12 pm will focus on the role funders can play in fulfilling the promise of key climate victories.

2023 NY-GEO Conference

Annie Carforo will speak at NY-GEO's 2023 Conference about Out of Gas, In with Justice and how New York can pay for building electrification. The conference will be hosted at the Albany Marriott from April 26 - 27.

New Horizons in Conservation

Micaela Martinez will be speaking at the 2023 New Horizons in Conservation, hosted by the Yale School of the Environment in New Haven, which will be a discussion of the status of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the conservation field. The conference runs May 10 - 13 with both in-person and virtual options to attend.

Air Quality is Critical. Which is Why We're Teaching NYC Students About It.

This week, we had the pleasure of helping students from the High School for Environmental Studies understand air quality issues Uptown. We recently received a grant from Google to expand air quality monitoring and do data focused work that we'll use in environmental education and community data learning, and this tour was an opportunity made possible from this grant.

The students learned about the how to's and importance of air quality monitoring and what we're doing to make sure air quality continues to improve Uptown. We took them on our Toxics and Treasures tour of West Harlem. Fighting bad air quality is how WE ACT started over 30 years ago, so we highlighted important sites including Riverbank State Park, West Harlem Piers, the Manhattanville Bus Depot, and NYCHA housing, demonstrating how far we've come from the days when Black and brown neighborhoods in West Harlem were dumping grounds for pollution and waste, and what more needs to be done.

We Need Your Expert Opinion on Composting in NYC

Composting is critical to reduce waste, fight pests, and address climate change. NYC is finally taking real steps to expand composting; however, we are still pushing the city to do more to reduce our city waste to zero. You can help us with this push by taking our quick composting survey!

We're collecting feedback from Northern Manhattan residents on composting habits, barriers, and opinions. This feedback will help us advocate and educate around composting and understand what our community needs to successfully compost and move us to a greener future!

Take the Survey