Climate Reality Finger Lakes Chapter

Climate Reality Leaders Training - NYC
2024-04-12 - 2024-04-14
On April 12-14, 2024, join former Vice President Al Gore and an all-star lineup of thought leaders, experts, and organizers in New York City for a Climate Reality Leadership training exploring the climate crisis today and the road to a sustainable tomorrow.
Join us in New York for incredible conversations, skill sessions, and networking opportunities. You’ll learn what climate change means for you and get the know-how and tools to make a real difference. A preliminary agenda can be viewed here.
With chapters driving change across the US, you’ll also join a global network of 3.5 million.
The training is free to attend. American Sign Language interpreting services will be provided and Spanish simultaneous interpretation will be available for some sessions. Habrá interpretación simultánea en español en algunas sesiones.

FLGR-NY April Chapter Meeting - "CO2 fracking and other false solutions to our climate emergency" – Irene Weiser, Fossil Free Tompkins
2024-04-18 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | On Zoom
This past fall, a company with the awkward name of “Southern Tier Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to Clean Energy Solutions” (STS for short) sent a mailing to 6500 land-owning residents in Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties in NY, soliciting leases for their participation in a project to provide “an environmentally and economically compatible solution for cooperatively capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide while generating clean and reliable energy” from the shale formations underlying their land.
In this presentation, Irene Weiser will examine the STS proposal, and discuss how, far from being a climate solution, it is an environmentally destructive, unsustainable experiment, full of costly false solutions that will perpetuate reliance on polluting fossil fuels. Although the NYS Legislature passed a bill which bans CO2 fracking this session (awaiting the Governor’s signature), the false solutions being proposed by STS are being proposed elsewhere in the country too. Join us to learn more about these false solutions and the federal subsidies that are supporting them!
Irene Weiser is a retired veterinarian and current renewable energy activist. For the past 10 years she has been the coordinator of Fossil Free Tompkins, working to effect local and state energy policy to get us off fossil fuels and bring about the affordable, equitable transition to renewable energy. In addition, she was elected to 3 terms as council member in the Town of Caroline, serving from 2012 – 2020.

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Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting - Not Too Late
2024-04-29 19:00 - 20:00 | On Zoom
“Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility” – Edited by Rebecca Solnit & Thelma Young Lutunatabua
Website for the book. Rebecca Solnit talks about the book.

From the Study Guide:
Climate is an issue that touches everything. As a subject of study, it involves almost everything, too: history, culture, eco- nomics, law and justice issues, race and gender politics, and so many branches of science—plus, the state of the climate movement, the shift to renewables, and the policy issues being decided and/or implemented at every level from local to global. No one knows everything about climate. There are great specialists and great generalists, and there are newcomers trying to find a point of entry. Where should someone start with climate?
We at Not Too Late try to strike a balance between defeatism (it’s too late, we don’t have the solutions) and overconfi- dence (the amazing movements and technologies will make it all fall into place somehow). We think people should know a bit about
the science—notably, that the single greatest cause of global warming is the burning of fossil fuel, and how that emits carbon that goes up into the upper atmosphere, thickening the insulating layer that holds heat, unleashing climate chaos. . .
and technology—with wind and solar, we have the capacity to leave the age of fossil fuels behind. . .
and complexity and intersectionality—fossil fuel isn’t the only problem, and renewables aren’t the only solution. We need to think about how climate is connect- ed with racial justice, gender justice, decolonial movements, and more. How we produce and consume food and durable goods, design our communities and transportation, protect wild places and wildlife are among the many other things that matter.
so does culture—because, for the great majority of us to do what the climate needs, we have to understand the situation and care about the big picture—collective well-being, long-term thriving, our inseparability from nature—so, rethinking what constitutes wealth, health, and security also matters, which is a cultural ques- tion, and, of course, culture also gives rise to—
politics, which also matters immensely—because, right now, the main obstacles to do- ing what the climate needs for a stable future are po- litical: a small percentage of humanity is slowing and stop- ping what the great majority of humanity wants: a healthy, thriving planet for us all, now and for the long- term future. That small (but wealthy!) percentage includes fossil fuel investors, owners, shareholders, and other beneficiaries including oil companies and oil-rich nations, along with politicians and other de- cisionmakers who are either directly benefiting or can’t imagine the scale of the crisis and the possibilities. And the crisis has impacted the
emotional life of many—which is why Not Too Late brought in wise voices to talk about that impact and the tools to address it.

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May Informal Meeting
2024-05-09 19:00 - 20:00 | On Zoom
No agenda. Join us for informal conversation and an opportunity to get to know your fellow Chapter members. Since we have the NYS Coalition Joint Meeting on May 18, we will use our usual meeting time for an Informal Meeting – the 2nd Thursday of the month.
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Meeting ID: 958 6631 3240
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Climate Reality NYS Coalition Meetup at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake
2024-05-18 10:00 - 17:00 | The Wild Center, 45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake, NY, 12986, United States
Registration and more info.
Join Climate Reality Leaders from across New York State for a day of learning and fun at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. The Wild Center is a 115-acre Adirondack museum and park dedicated to sparking “an enduring passion for nature that inspires action to ensure a thriving natural world. We are committed to a future where people and the natural world thrive together.”
The Climate Reality Project is picking up the tab for registration at the Wild Center. We need to let them know how many people will be attending in various age brackets. Please fill in that information below.

You’ll see from the schedule below that we’ll also have an informal gathering at 6:00 p.m. at Raquette River Brewing. We’ve also included information in case you’d like to stay overnight in the spectacular Adirondacks!

If you are interested in sharing a ride to the Wild Center, you can check https://511nyrideshare.org/ to see if other Climate Reality colleagues are also looking to share transportation.

Please contact Laura Faulk with any questions: lauraefaulk@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you all there!

SCHEDULE

10:00 – 11:00 a.m. arrival/check in (welcome to look around, grab coffee from the coffee bar)

11:00 a.m. – Welcome in the Great Hall, main Museum Building
11:15 a.m. – Overview of The Wild Center’s Climate Program
12:00 p.m. – Science of Sphere/Creatures on Climate Change
12:30 p.m. – Climate Solutions Exhibit
1:00 p.m . – Lunch (You can buy your own in the cafe or bring a lunch with you.)
2:00 p.m. – Film & Discussion
3:00 p.m. Exploration of The Wild Center. We can visit the Wild Walk, Forest Museum, Stickworks art installation, and explore the trails down to the River.
6:00 p.m. Gathering at Raquette River Brewing, for those who plan to stay later. (While The Climate Reality Project is covering the cost of programming, we’ll be covering our own dinners and lodging.)
If you’re thinking of staying over, here are some links to help you find the lodging you prefer:
https://www.tupperlake.com/lodging https://www.saranaclake.com/stay https://www.lakeplacid.com/lodging
https://newyorkstateparks.reserveamerica.com/, https://staytrailhead.com/

Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting - The Story of More
2024-06-05 19:00 - 20:00 | On Zoom
“The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here” – by Hope Jahren.
From Goodreads: Hope Jahren is an award-winning geobiologist, a brilliant writer, and one of the seven billion people with whom we share this earth. The Story of More is her impassioned open letter to humanity as we stand at the crossroads of survival and extinction. Jahren celebrates the long history of our enterprising spirit–which has tamed wild crops, cured diseases, and sent us to the moon–but also shows how that spirit has created excesses that are quickly warming our planet to dangerous levels. In short, highly readable chapters, she takes us through the science behind the key inventions–from electric power to large-scale farming and automobiles–that, even as they help us, release untenable amounts of carbon dioxide. She explains the current and projected consequences of greenhouse gases–from superstorms to rising sea levels–and the science-based tools that could help us fight back. At once an explainer on the mechanisms of warming and a capsule history of human development, The Story of More illuminates the link between our consumption habits and our endangered earth, showing us how we can use less and share more. It is the essential pocket primer on climate change that will leave an indelible impact on everyone who reads it.

Excerpt from the book (publisher’s website):
“Right now, I see the country of my birth moving backward. It has dumped the Paris Agreement, it’s close to dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Department of Agriculture is in very bad shape. The United States Department of Energy, which funded my lab for more than a decade to study greenhouse gases, has shut down most of its work on climate change, and NASA is under pressure to do the same. I left the United States in 2016 and moved to Norway because I believe that my laboratory will have more support here and because I am worried about the future of science in America.

“All of this has convinced me that it’s time to bring global change out of my classroom and into this book. Not because I am a scientist who thinks she’s right, but because I am an author who loves both words and numbers and a teacher who has something to say.

“So if you’ll listen, I’ll tell you what happened to my world, to your world—to our world. It changed.”

Here are a couple of links from Northwestern University which might be useful to you as you read the book: Book discussion guide; The Block Museum of Art collection.

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FLGR-NY June Chapter Meeting – “Using the power of food to confront climate change” – Mike Hoffmann
2024-06-13 19:00 - 20:30 | On Zoom
Food is essential for life, it is emotive, it is personal, and it is deeply imbedded in our cultures and family histories. Let’s face it, we love it. However, not enough people know that climate change is changing the flavors, aromas, nutritional quality, and prices of the foods we love and need. Food is the ideal messenger for the climate change story and one that can make climate change relevant to everyone — we all eat. Regardless of political affiliation most people are interested in learning more about climate change impacts on their food — an audience awaits. We also talk a lot about food but far less about climate change yet talking about climate change is the first step in tackling it. It is time to meld these conversations. Everyone can tap the power of food to confront climate change and keep our favorites on the menu. And coincidentally, keep the planet livable.
Mike Hoffmann is dedicating his life to confronting the grand challenge of climate change by helping people understand and appreciate what is happening through the foods we all love and need. He has published climate change articles in the popular press – The Hill, Fortune, Medium, and USA Today and is lead author of Our changing menu: Climate change and the foods we love and need (Cornell Press 2021). He has also done a TEDx Talk – Climate change: It’s time to raise our voices and given >150 climate change – related talks. Mike’s life’s experiences include growing up on a one-cow dairy farm and serving in the Marines during the Vietnam War. He has held multiple leadership roles in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He received his BS Degree from the University Wisconsin, MS from the University of Arizona, and PhD from the University of California, Davis. He now holds the title of Professor Emeritus. He will tell the climate change story until he no longer can.

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FLGR-NY July Chapter Meeting – “We need climate accountability from Cornell” – bethany ojalehto mays & Fenya Bartram
2024-07-11 19:00 - 20:30 | On Zoom
Cornell on Fire is a campus-climate movement calling on Cornell to confront the climate emergency. As climate disruption intensifies and our window of action narrows, our independent research finds that Cornell University is failing to deliver on its pledged greenhouse gas emissions reductions or report that fact, while relying on inadequate strategies for future emissions reductions. Our research brings together insights from experts, insiders, public data, and climate research to outline what Cornell is doing, can, and must do. We believe that as a world leader in science and education, Cornell’s adoption of genuine climate leadership would have positive implications for Ithaca’s community and ecosystem, for regional climate policy, and for universities as global norm-setting institutions whose role is to communicate science for the public interest — and to act on that science.

Authors:
Cornell on Fire, a campus-climate movement

Presenters:
bethany ojalehto mays | Cornell Alum & Former Assistant Professor | Mothers Out Front Tompkins
Fenya Bertram | Cornell undergraduate in Environmental Engineering | Sunrise Movement Ithaca

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Meeting ID: 844 3420 2708

Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting – Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need
2024-07-22 19:00 - 20:00 | On Zoom
Mike Hoffmann, primary author, will attend our meeting to contribute to our discussion of the book. Those purchasing from Cornell University Press may use this code to get a 33% discount: 09SAVE. Note that Amazon also has the book available at a significant discount.
From Cornell University Press website:
Our Changing Menu unpacks the increasingly complex relationships between food and climate change. Whether you’re a chef, baker, distiller, restaurateur, or someone who simply enjoys a good pizza or drink, it’s time to come to terms with how climate change is affecting our diverse and interwoven food system.
Michael P. Hoffmann, Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, and Danielle L. Eiseman offer an eye-opening journey through a complete menu of before-dinner drinks and salads; main courses and sides; and coffee and dessert. Along the way they examine the escalating changes occurring to the flavors of spices and teas, the yields of wheat, the vitamins in rice, and the price of vanilla. Their story is rounded out with a primer on the global food system, the causes and impacts of climate change, and what we can all do. Our Changing Menu is a celebration of food and a call to action—encouraging readers to join with others from the common ground of food to help tackle the greatest challenge of our time.
This webinar presentation at Cornell on the book’s release date may be of interest. It provides a nice overview of the book’s overall structure. You hear from each of the authors about their contribution to the book.
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FLGR-NY August Chapter Meeting – The NYS Energy Transition Is Happening Now!
2024-08-08 19:00 - 20:30 | On Zoom
Join our next Climate Reality Project, Finger Lakes Greater Region NY Chapter meeting on Thursday, August 8 at 7-8:30 pm (EDT)! We’ll discuss how our Chapter members and others are supporting the transition!

You will hear from:

· Chapter members will share their experiences spreading the word about the benefits of electrifying homes and switching to EV’s and, the federal and New York State incentives available to assist individuals in making changes!
· A NYSERDA Energy Hub representative will present their substantial efforts to communicate the benefits of the energy transition including clean energy careers, home improvements and rebates for businesses and personal transportation.

· Representatives of the Climate Reality Project Climate Business Working Group will share the materials they have developed to support for-profit businesses and non-profits in electrification!

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Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting – The Climate Optimist Handbook by Anne Therese Gennari
2024-08-26 19:30 - 20:30 | On Zoom
Anne Therese Gennari will be attending our meeting to contribute to our discussion of her book, “The Climate Optimist Handbook: How to shift the narrative on climate change and find the courage to choose change.” The author is making discounted copies available until July 31. Please go to her website to order.
About The Book:
The Climate Optimist Handbook is here to help shift the narrative on climate change so that you can act from a place of courage and excitement, not fear.
It will take you on a journey of empowered awareness, teaching you the basics of climate psychology and the science of optimism, as well as how to gain agency in your actions and turn your life into one of meaning and hope!
We have to recognize that the future is truly up to us and that right now, we have so much to win if we only find the courage to act. This book will help you build that courage. Are you ready?
TEDx Oneonta Presentation: From Angry Activist to Climate Optimist
The Climate Optimist Newsletter on LinkedIn.

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NYS Chapters Coalition September Joint Meeting - Climate Anxiety: A Panel Discussion
2024-09-12 19:00 - 20:30 | On Zoom
Please join the Western New York and Finger Lakes Chapters for the September Coalition meeting on climate anxiety, a growing concern for many climate activists, especially younger activists joining climate movements looking for change and positive action. The panelist will discuss the psychological and social effects of climate anxiety and how cross-generational and global connections can provide increasing levels of support. The panel features Dr. Jennifer Fendya of the WNY Chapter, Dr. Divya Gupta of Binghamton University, and Lauren Kim, co-chair of the Climate Reality NYU campus chapter, with Len Luka moderating. The panelists’ biographies are included below. Together, we’ll explore how to transform climate anxiety into action and support each other as we continue to build a sustainable future.
Meet our panelists
Jennifer Fendya, PhD, is a licensed Psychologist and registered Sandplay practitioner in Buffalo, NY. A certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide, she leads Forest Bathing walks throughout the Eastern US and last year traveled to Japan to experience Shinrin Yoku at its origin. She currently is working on the “Forest Bathing” entry for the online resource Ecopsychepedia and is studying to become an ANFT-certified Trails, Spaces & Places Consultant. A Master Gardener, Jennifer leads the Therapeutic Gardening Initiative at Grassroots Gardens, and recently taught her first Miksang contemplative photography class for Roswell Park’s Young Adult Cancer Support Program through Buffalo’s Center for Exploratory & Perceptual Arts. Jennifer is on the Climate Cafe facilitator training team for the Climate Psychology Alliance – North America and co-facilitates in-person Climate Cafes locally and online through Healing Circles Global.
Divya Gupta, PhD, is an environmental social scientist. Her research and teaching focus on international environmental policies and politics. She is especially interested in understanding and exploring the roles of diverse state and non-state actors in local-level governance, development, and justice. Divya has been conducting empirical research in India and Nepal, looking at the community-based response to changes like climate and the pandemic. She is also working with her network of collaborators to study the implementation of contemporary decentralization and rights-based approaches in forest management in the global south. She is also the co-host of the In Common Podcast, the official podcast of the International Association for the Study of the Commons.
Lauren Kim is a rising sophomore at NYU and the co-chair of the Climate Reality NYU Campus Chapter. Lauren is considering majors in environmental studies and data science.
Len Luka is the Renewables Outreach Coordinator for New Yorkers for Clean Power (NYCP). Before joining NYCP, Len enjoyed many years of teaching and research at a small liberal arts college and later moved to Binghamton University as an academic advisor. A deep concern for the success and well-being of younger generations motivates Len to build a healthy, fossil-free future for all.
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Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting – "No Miracles Needed," Mark Z. Jacobson, Part 1 (Part 2 on Oct 28)
2024-10-07 19:00 - 20:00 | On Zoom
The Finger Lakes Book Group will meet on Monday, October 7, 2024 at 7 pm. We will be reading:“No Miracles Needed: How today’s technology can save our climate and clean our air” – Mark Z. Jacobson (Stanford University), Cambridge University Press, 2023. We will break the discussion into 2 parts. Part 1 (Oct. 7) Beginning through Chapter 7; Part 2 (Oct. 28) Chapter 8 through the end. We hope that the revised schedule will allow more folks to read a part of the book during this busy period (upcoming election and Climate Reality Leadership training).

Book description from Cambridge University Press:

The world needs to turn away from fossil fuels and use clean, renewable sources of energy as soon as we can. Failure to do so will cause catastrophic climate damage sooner than you might think, leading to loss of biodiversity and economic and political instability. But all is not lost! We still have time to save the planet without resorting to ‘miracle’ technologies. We need to wave goodbye to outdated technologies, such as natural gas and carbon capture, and repurpose the technologies that we already have at our disposal. We can use existing technologies to harness, store, and transmit energy from wind, water, and solar sources to ensure reliable electricity, heat supplies, and energy security. Find out what you can do to improve the health, climate, and economic state of our planet. Together, we can solve the climate crisis, eliminate air pollution and safely secure energy supplies for everyone.

Here is a recording of Prof. Jacobson discussing the book with Ken Cook of Environmental Working Group and the following discussion (webinar starts 14:40 minutes into the recording).

Note also that the book can serve as a reference – use the Table of Contents to find the topic of interest and go directly there.

For those interested in learning more about the nuclear power option, here is a TED debate from February 2010 with Prof. Jacobson and Stewart Brand, “Does the world need nuclear energy?”

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FLGR-NY October Chapter Meeting: Student Advocacy in the Community - Sunrise Ithaca and Justice 50
2024-10-10 19:00 - 20:30 | On Zoom
February 2024 Justice50 Community Meeting, photo by Aaron Fernando
In 2019, a small group of Ithaca College students with a powerful vision for a more sustainable and equitable future joined together to form Sunrise Ithaca. They quickly built partnerships, support, and enthusiasm around the idea of a climate just future, and less than six months later, the Ithaca Common Council adopted the Ithaca Green New Deal (IGND).
In the five years since then, Sunrise Ithaca has continued to be an active participant in implementing the IGND. Most recently, Sunrise Ithaca made a push to involve the Ithaca community in understanding and supporting the IGND and Justice50. They hosted two community meetings, in which they presented the details of Justice50, gathered feedback, and provided people with information about how to get involved. Ultimately, the City of Ithaca passed Justice50 unanimously in May of 2024, becoming the first city in the nation to operationalize climate justice.
The featured presenters for this month’s meeting are Ace Dufrense, a junior at Ithaca High School and the leader of Sunrise Ithaca, and Siobhan Hull, a spring graduate of Cornell, Sunrise Ithaca member, and member of the City’s Sustainability and Climate Justice Commission.
Ace and Siobhan will give a brief overview of the Sunrise Movement in Ithaca, including the key role in creating the IGND and the push for equity through Justice50. They will also discuss other initiatives that Sunrise Ithaca is involved in and opportunities for continuing to work within the community.

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Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting – “No Miracles Needed,” Mark Z. Jacobson, Part 2
2024-10-28 19:00 - 20:00 | On Zoom
The Finger Lakes Book Group will meet on Monday, October 28, 2024 at 7 pm. This will be the second session for “No Miracles Needed: How today’s technology can save our climate and clean our air” – Mark Z. Jacobson (Stanford University), Cambridge University Press, 2023. Part 1 covered the beginning through Chapter 7; Part 2 (this session) will cover Chapter 8 through the end. We hope that the revised schedule is allowing more folks to read a part of the book during this busy period (upcoming election and Climate Reality Leadership training).

Book description from Cambridge University Press:

The world needs to turn away from fossil fuels and use clean, renewable sources of energy as soon as we can. Failure to do so will cause catastrophic climate damage sooner than you might think, leading to loss of biodiversity and economic and political instability. But all is not lost! We still have time to save the planet without resorting to ‘miracle’ technologies. We need to wave goodbye to outdated technologies, such as natural gas and carbon capture, and repurpose the technologies that we already have at our disposal. We can use existing technologies to harness, store, and transmit energy from wind, water, and solar sources to ensure reliable electricity, heat supplies, and energy security. Find out what you can do to improve the health, climate, and economic state of our planet. Together, we can solve the climate crisis, eliminate air pollution and safely secure energy supplies for everyone.

Here is a recording of Prof. Jacobson discussing the book with Ken Cook of Environmental Working Group and the following discussion (webinar starts 14:40 minutes into the recording).

Note also that the book can serve as a reference – use the Table of Contents to find the topic of interest and go directly there.

For those interested in learning more about the nuclear power option, here is a TED debate from February 2010 with Prof. Jacobson and Stewart Brand, “Does the world need nuclear energy?”

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Meeting ID: 926 2795 7489
Passcode: [REDACTED]

FLGR-NY November Chapter Meeting - The Dryden Miracle: Climate Change, The Energy Transition, and Local Municipalities
2024-11-12 19:00 - 20:30 | On Zoom
Dan Lamb, Deputy Supervisor for the Town of Dryden, will be presenting elements of what could be called “The Dryden Miracle.” This small town located east of Ithaca completed several noteworthy accomplishments. Dryden was the first town in New York State to ban fracking. It has also been successful in building community solar, multi-town rail trails and municipal broadband. It is a Bronze level Climate Smart Community. In its permitting process, the town has managed to discourage any new commercial gas hookups over the past 8 years. Most recently Dryden passed a moratorium on cryptomining and data centers. Dan will provide an overview of how the Town of Dryden has implemented these changes, thus providing a model for other local municipalities.

In addition to his Deputy Supervisor position, Dan is a senior lecturer at Cornell’s Brooks School of Public Policy and a member of the steering committee for Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative (TCCPI). More info about Dan can be found on the Cornell Brooks Public Policy website.

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Meeting ID: 831 3844 2680

December Informal Meeting
2024-12-05 19:00 - 20:00
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 7:00-8:00 pm EST (on Zoom)
No agenda. Join us for informal conversation and an opportunity to get to know your fellow Chapter members. This month, we have the NYS Coalition Joint Meeting on December 10. This meeting will give us a chance to gather as a Chapter prior to the end-of the-year holidays. We can chat informally about possible initiatives for next year.
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NYS Chapters Coalition December Joint Meeting – Green Schools Campaign
2024-12-10 19:00 - 20:30
Tuesday, December 10, 2024, 7:00-8:30 pm EST (On Zoom)
Hosted by Hudson Valley/Catskills Chapter
Register HERE
Climate Reality recently relaunched the Green Schools Campaign, a program focused on seeding local campaign teams of students, teachers, parents, and community members to call for the transition of their schools, school transportation, and school districts to 100% clean energy. In addition, efforts are underway to advance climate education and professional learning opportunities in New York’s P-12 Schools.
Learn how students, teachers, parents, and community members can get involved in our statewide efforts in New York. Hear about upcoming programs to train and mobilize our chapter and community members to promote green schools in our state.
Our speakers will be:
Sidney Miralao, Climate Reality Project Youth Engagement Manager who will share plans for an upcoming full day green schools training program in New York, as well as share resources for mobilizing students and citizens in the effort.
Rachel Arbor, CEO & Founder of Gaia Scholastic, NY State Lead for Subject to Climate and presidential innovation award winner for environmental educators from the White House and EPA to share educational resources for integrating climate into the classroom curriculum.
Emily Fano, Director, Climate Resilience Education at National Wildlife Federation, convener of an intergenerational coalition of high school students, education professionals and NGOs that are partnering with the New York State Education Department, unions, and lawmakers to advance climate education and teacher training in New York through policy, advocacy and public education.
Register to Attend the Zoom Meeting HERE.

Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting – “Unfracked,” Richard Buttny
2024-12-18 19:00 - 20:00
The Finger Lakes Book Group will meet on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 7 pm. We will be discussing “Unfracked: The Struggle to Ban Fracking in New York” by Richard Buttny (UMass Press, 2024). Richard, who is a trained Climate Reality Leader and a member of Finger Lakes Chapter, will attend the meeting to help facilitate the discussion.
Book description from University of Massachusetts Press:
Since fracking emerged as a way of extracting natural gas, through intense deep drilling and the use of millions of gallons of water and chemicals to fracture shale, it has been controversial. It is perceived in different ways by different people—by some as an opportunity for increased resources and possibly jobs and other income; by others as a public health and environmental threat; and for many, an unknown. Richard Buttny, a scholar who works on rhetoric and discursive practices, read a story in his local paper in New York about hydrofracking coming to his area and had to research what it was, and what it could mean for his community. Soon he joined neighbors in fighting to have the practice banned state-wide. At the same time, he turned his scholarly eye to the messaging from both sides of the fight, using first-person accounts, interviews, and media coverage.
The activists fighting fracking won. New York is now the only state in the US with sizable deposits of natural gas that has banned hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Unfracked explains the competing rhetoric and discourses on fracking among New York-based advocates, experts, the grassroots, and political officials. Buttny examines how these positions evolved over time and how eventually the state arrived at a decision to ban this extractive technology. His accessible approach provides both a historical recounting of the key events of this seven-year conflict, along with four in-depth case studies: a grassroots citizen group, a public hearing with medical physicians, a key intergovernmental hearing, and a formal debate among experts. The result is a look at a very recent, important historical moment and a useful examination of environmental activist and fossil fuel advocate rhetoric around an issue that continues to cause debate nationwide.
Richard Buttny is professor emeritus of communication & rhetorical studies at Syracuse University. He is the author of Talking Problems: Studies on Discursive Construction and Social Accountability in Communication.
Note: “Unfracked” is available at: umasspress.com (use code UMASS20 to save 20%).
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FLGR-NY January Chapter Meeting – Connecting the Dots Between the Waste Crisis and the Climate Crisis
2025-01-09 19:00 - 20:30
Few understand the connections between the waste and the climate crises. In this presentation, Chris W. Burger will discuss how addressing the waste crisis helps to address the climate crisis. Three areas will be featured:

Reducing energy use by creating the circular use of material. The energy saved through reuse and recycling is roughly equivalent to the amount of energy used for providing us with food and rivals the energy used for transportation.
Curtailing the use of plastic along with increasing the recyclability of plastic. Plastics are of particular concern given the that 99% of all plastics are derived from fossil fuels and generate their own emissions in the process.
Eliminating organics in landfills. Anthropogenic production of methane represents a close second to CO2 in its effect on our climate, especially when its increased potency is factored in. Despite our best efforts, methane from our landfills is still a large contributing factor

Chris is a trained Climate Reality Leader and member of our Chapter. His accomplishments include developing the first Weatherization program in the country in 1977. In 1985, he developed a County-wide recycling program. He has co-founded and/or led a number of organizations focused on sustainability including the New York Sustainable Business Council. He also walks the talk, achieving zero waste along with his family since 1992 and designed and built a home that has been fossil free since 1998.
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Meeting ID: 958 6631 3240Passcode: [REDACTED]

Finger Lakes Book Group Meeting - “How to Prepare for Climate Change,” David Pogue
2025-02-06 19:00 - 20:00
The Finger Lakes Book Group will meet on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 7 pm. We will be discussing “How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos” by David Pogue (Simon & Schuster, 2021).

Book description from Simon & Schuster:

You might not realize it, but we’re already living through the beginnings of climate chaos. In Arizona, laborers now start their day at 3 a.m. because it’s too hot to work past noon. Chinese investors are snapping up real estate in Canada. Millennials have evacuation plans. Moguls are building bunkers. Retirees in Miami are moving inland.
In How to Prepare for Climate Change, bestselling self-help author David Pogue offers sensible, deeply researched advice for how the rest of us should start to ready ourselves for the years ahead. Pogue walks readers through what to grow, what to eat, how to build, how to insure, where to invest, how to prepare your children and pets, and even where to consider relocating when the time comes. (Two areas of the country, in particular, have the requisite cool temperatures, good hospitals, reliable access to water, and resilient infrastructure to serve as climate havens in the years ahead.) He also provides wise tips for managing your anxiety, as well as action plans for riding out every climate catastrophe, from superstorms and wildfires to ticks and epidemics.
Timely and enlightening, How to Prepare for Climate Change is an indispensable guide for anyone who read The Uninhabitable Earth or The Sixth Extinction and wants to know how to make smart choices for the upheaval ahead.

More information about David Pogue can be found on his website. He is a trained Climate Reality Leader. He was featured at a meeting of the Bay Area Local Chapter discussing this book.

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Meeting ID: 926 2795 7489

February Joint Chapter Meeting: FLGR and WNY Chapters – Combating Climate Disinformation
2025-02-13 19:00 - 20:30
Guest Presenters: Tom Coleman and Bruce Mainzer, Co-Chairs, Chicago Metro Chapter, The Climate Reality Project
Since passage of the IRA Act in 2022, significant progress has been made to address the climate crisis. However, fossil fuel interests and climate deniers have intensified their efforts to hinder adoption of effective climate solutions by households and businesses and to delay and derail local legislative efforts in the more progressive states such as New York and California.
From auto manufacturers, attributing the slowdown in new EV purchases to consumer markets instead of their own delays in introducing lower-cost EVs, to political leaders avoiding climate initiatives during an election year, 2024 saw a surge in disinformation on social media and the mainstream news. This has made it more challenging to effectively communicate how the average citizen can reduce their carbon footprint.
With the incoming President and Congress, the current climate crisis has become increasingly urgent with greater challenges expected for 2025. We will summarize the top actions individuals can take to decrease their carbon footprint. Breakout groups will allow us to brainstorm ways to counter the current wave of climate disinformation.
Learn to equip yourself with the latest information to combat climate denial!

About Our Presenters
A native of Boston, Tom Coleman has worked at many organizational levels in manufacturing, information technology, and in process improvement disciplines. In 2018, he retired as chief information officer and now works in the field of environmental, social, and governmental education and activism He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, is a Certified Business Process Master, and is Certified as a Change Management Professional. Tom has rooftop solar panels and two electric vehicles.
With degrees from Cornell and Northwestern, Bruce Mainzer has worked in public transportation sector, followed by work for several large companies in the consumer travel sector including airlines, cruise lines, hotels and resorts. Bruce retired in 2019, after serving for the last 13 years of his career as a travel marketing and pricing consultant. After owning a convertible foreign sports car, he is now a big fan of his EV. He and his wife love to travel, especially to Paris, which is his second favorite city after Chicago.
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Meeting ID: 958 6631 3240Passcode: [REDACTED]

Finger Lakes Book Group - "Regenesis" by George Monbiot
2025-04-03 19:00 - 20:00
The CRP Finger Lakes Book Group will meet on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 7 pm. We will be discussing “Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet” by George Monbiot (Penguin Random House, 2022).

Book description from Penguin Random House:

Farming is the world’s greatest cause of environmental destruction—and the one we are least prepared to talk about. We criticize urban sprawl, but farming sprawls across thirty times as much land. We have plowed, fenced, and grazed great tracts of the planet, felling forests, killing wildlife, and poisoning rivers and oceans to feed ourselves. Yet millions still go hungry and the price of food is rising faster than ever.

Now the food system itself is beginning to falter. But, as George Monbiot shows us in this brilliant, bracingly original new book, we can resolve the biggest of our dilemmas and feed the world without devouring the planet.

Regenesis is a breathtaking vision of a new future for food and for humanity. Drawing on astonishing advances in soil ecology, Monbiot reveals how our changing understanding of the world beneath our feet could allow us to grow more food with less farming. He meets the people who are unlocking these methods, from the fruit and vegetable grower revolutionizing our understanding of fertility; through breeders of perennial grains, liberating the land from plows and poisons; to the scientists pioneering new ways to grow protein and fat. Together, they show how the tiniest life forms could help us make peace with the planet, restore its living systems, and replace the age of extinction with an age of regenesis.

George Monbiot is interviewed about the book on 5X15 Stories.

More information about George Monbiot can be found in Wikipedia. For some additional background on the topic, this TED Talk by Jonathan Foley is recommended.

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Meeting ID: 926 2795 7489

April Chapter Meeting – “Double Feature on Climate and Health”
2025-04-10 19:00 - 20:30
“Climate Health is Public Health: A Night at The Museum of the Earth” – Susan Harris (EdD), NYSPHA and “Gas Stoves: The fracking tailpipe in kitchens creating harmful indoor air” – Carmi Orenstein (MPH), CHPNY
Susan Harris is founder and chair of the New York State Public Health Association’s Climate Committee. She will talk about the effects of climate change on public health. Note that the NYSPHA is holding their annual convention in Ithaca this year. Susan will also discuss this special event held Ithaca as a lead-in to the meeting, Climate Health is Public Health: A Night at the Museum of the Earth. As the inaugural leader of the Climate Committee, Susan has spearheaded significant accomplishments, including: Mobilizing key external partners, such as the New York State Children’s Environmental Health Centers, the Climate and Resiliency Education Task Force, NY RENEWS, The Wild Center, and Third Act; advocating and lobbying alongside students for the passage of a climate change education bill; and creating an engaging and informative Youth Climate Resource Guide.
Carmi Orenstein is co-founder and director of Concerned Health Professionals of New York (CHPNY), now a program of the Science and Environmental Health Network. She will discuss the hazards of gas-fired appliances in the home, focusing on gas stoves, which the group has come to consider the “fracking tailpipe in our kitchens.” She will touch on the contents of the most recent edition of the group’s Compendium, a compilation of scientific studies, reports, and investigative journalism addressing the risks and harms of fracking and its infrastructure. CHPNY played a significant role in the campaign to ban fracking in New York State and continues its work compiling and amplifying the science for our region and beyond, with the aim of informing energy policymaking that is truly protective of health and climate.
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Meeting ID: 958 6631 3240Passcode: [REDACTED]
