Join us in building climate-smart communities
Taking action to greatly curb climate change and move to sustainable economies and societies is a top priority of the Sierra Club. At the national level, the Club has launched major campaigns to that end.
In New York, the Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, with national staff working with our Atlantic Chapter staff and Group volunteers, has made considerable progress toward closing down coal plants and advancing renewable energy.
Michael Brune, national executive director, in a recent webinar for Atlantic Chapter volunteers, laid out Club plans for a big push for new large wind farms, both on- and off-shore, across New York. He did state that the Club’s goals for energy work are, in priority order: energy conservation, energy efficiency, small-scale renewable energy, and large-scale wind and solar.
Whatever your interests or skills, you can help in these efforts. You can do research, write op-eds and letters to the editor, speak at public forums, use social media, respond to our email blasts asking you to take actions, organize and empower activists, lobby public officials, and donate money to fund our many efforts.
Working right in our communities offers many opportunities to make them greener. Our Chapter Energy Committee has prepared a flyer packed full of information about options in your home, community, workplace and elsewhere to conserve energy and bring renewable energy into our homes. Download the brochure here and learn more about these options (pdf).
You can work with your local government to become “Climate Smart Communities” with the support of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and other agencies. Communities take a pledge to examine their energy use and take actions to conserve energy and use renewable energy in all sectors of the community, including heat, power, light, construction, transportation and other areas. For more information on Climate Smart Communities, click here.
If you wish to work with our Chapter volunteers on greening our communities, please contact Energy Chair Bob Ciesielski (energy@new york.sierraclub.org), or Susan Lawrence (conservation@newyork. sierraclub.org), or call 518-489-5721.