As Clean Water Action’s NJ Zero Emission Organizer, I had the opportunity to participate in a variety of Climate Week events in both New Jersey and New York. Climate Week is a major global climate event that takes place annually in New York City, bringing together leaders from business, government, academia, and civil society to accelerate climate action.
The week started off (September 18) as I joined Coalition of Healthy Ports partners, local officials, NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU), and NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Ikea, Hugo Neu Corporation and EV Edison (latter two were the event hosts) in an important electric vehicle press conference at Kearny Point.
Together, we celebrated the progress New Jersey has made installing more clean truck fleet charging infrastructure and advancing zero emission vehicle development. You can watch an interivew with me at the event here. I emphasized the need for NJ to adopt Indirect Source Review (ISR) policies which require increases to its zero emission (aka electric) vehicles and operations at ports, warehouses and where trucks congregate.
On Sep 20th, I tabled at NJ Environmental Justice Alliance’s (NJEJA) Future Fest event at Kean University. I presented information to the youth about port & warehouse pollution and engaged attendees with an air quality demo using the Atmotube air sensor. A photo of me at the event is featured at the top of this blog post.
From September 22 to 26, I traveled to New York City with other advocates from Moving Forward Network, a national network working on port and diesel issues. We focused on uplifting frontline community expertise to reach zero emission solutions through a series of panel discussions and book talks.
Climate Week ended on September 27th with Newark’s annual GreenFest. I attended this event for the first time and joined other Clean Water Action staff and volunteers who organized a SWAP Meet which involved repurposing lots of clothes, toys, and other household items, preventing waste from going into landfills and Newark’s incinerator.
It was really powerful being able to witness and participate in all of these Climate Week events from NJ to NY - connecting with people from all walks of life, educating them about diesel pollution and pushing for a state ISR bill that reducing emissions and health harms near ports and warehouses.
Learn more about the NJ ISR Bill here. If you have any questions, contact me here.
Take Action - Tell Your Legislators to Support the NJ ISR Bill
