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Interested in getting more engaged with Clean Air’s work?
Whether you are brand new to our work or a veteran member, we hope you can join us tonight, Monday June 24 at 5:30pm at our offices at Trinity Church, 371 Delaware in downtown Buffalo, for our New Member Orientation!
Please be sure to register so we order enough pizza! 

Also be sure to save the date of July 24 for our next General Meeting.

With Bread and Roses,

Bridge, Chris, Cindy, and Gia

Join us at Trinity Church (371 Delaware Ave) or on Zoom on Wednesday July 24 from 5:30-7pm for our next General Meeting. This meeting is open to everyone and anyone, and is to fill in the general public on our current work as well as feature some related education.
Click here to register.
This month we plan to feature our friend Dick Lipsitz who will share information on his years of work building coalitions across community and labor to combat rising fascism.

Clean Air is participating in this year’s Give 716 fundraising drive on July 16 – click her to support!

Please be aware that after a very busy June, several staff members will be rotating vacation time in July – we appreciate your patience!

Below are some photos from several events this past month Clean Air staff and members attended, including the High Road Economics conference which featured Clean Air members among the speakers!

Be sure to follow our social media and check our blog to see the recordings of those sessions, as we will post them there when available.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation will be hosting an East Side Environmental Forum on Wednesday July 10th at 5:30 at the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library at 1324 Jefferson Avenue.

Please contact Kayla Baker for more information, including about how to join online, at kayla.baker@dec.ny.gov or 716-541-9631.
Questions, or want to coordinate with Clean Air prior?
Please reach out to Cindy.

While we are happy to report that the Climate Superfund Act passed and now awaits Governor Hochul’s signature, the legislative session in Albany ended earlier this month with a disappointing lack of action on other environmental and climate justice legislation, particularly in the Assembly, and with an overall worrying lack of urgency in confronting the climate emergency. Click here to read NY Renews’ statement.

NY Renews is not pausing work during the summer, and is pushing for special sessions to revisit the bills that the Assembly failed to bring to the floor.

NY Renews is also calling on Governor Hochul and legislators to implement the Cap and Trade program that passed last year in a just and equitable manner – click here to send a letter to the Governor now.

We also wanted to flag that two very important Supreme Court Cases that concern the future of the Chevron Deference Doctrine will likely be decided on this week.

This Doctrine, which as been part of judicial reasoning since 1984, essentially means that in instances of deciding about how to implement regulatory processes that the legislative branch passes bills to require, the courts and the legislative branches defer to agencies and their technical staff – in short, the courts recognize that a judge whose specialty is in the law is unlikely to also be an expert in air permitting, so they defer to agencies like the EPA. Read more from ScotusBlog here.

Our friends in the WNY labor community are celebrating several big wins! After striking, workers at Tops Warehouse won their contract fight, and workers with SEIU won contract fights at local health care centers and nursing homes.
We also marched with newly unionized workers at the Pride Center of Western New York in the Pride Parade – please take a moment to sign their community solidarity pledge!

As the Buffalo News reported, lead in drinking water from older deteriorating service lines, while a huge issue in the City of Buffalo, is also an immense issue all throughout Erie and Niagara counties.
Click here to read their reporting.

Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, and the Just Transition

• New York Focus – “This Secret Senate Committee Decides Whether Bills Live or Die“
• Governing Magazine – “Can the Grid Keep Up With AI and Data Demands?“
• Canary Media – “Southern California adopts landmark rule to electrify industrial heat“
• Canary Media – “Massachusetts kicks off first pilot to shift gas utilities to clean heat“
• Grist Magazine – “Real-time data show the air in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ is even worse than expected“
• Carbon Brief – “Analysis: China’s emissions set to fall in 2024 after record growth in clean energy“

Digital Actions

• Clean Air’s petition to National Grid – Allow Town of Tonawanda to Develop Cherry Farm Park and Kaufmann Playground
• Clean Air’s petition to NYS DEC and EPA – We need a Clean Closure at Huntley Now!
• BLRR’s petition to Erie County Legislators – No New Erie County Jail
• No Contract, No Coffee! Pledge To Act In Solidarity With Starbucks Workers United
• NY Renews – Tell New York State Leaders to Create an Emissions Cap System That Makes Polluters Pay!

New Resources and Other Notable Topics

• Lawyers for Good Government’s Tracker – State-level protections for Wetlands Post-Sackett 

We are mourning the passing of Gail Wells, a pillar of our community and a leader in the fight for justice and equity for over a half century. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones, and we pledge to continue to forge forward on the path she laid.

Are you a Clean Air member or supporter who is engaged with a current campaign, and is there a training opportunity that you would like to pursue to strengthen your organizing?
Please let a staff organizer know, as we budget to support leadership development! All Clean Air members and supporters also have free access to trainings from the Advocacy Institute.

CACWNY Events

• June 24 – Clean Air’s New Member Orientation
• July 16 – Give 716 Fundraiser Drive
• July 24 – Clean Air’s next General Meeting

Community and Coalition Events

• July 10 – NYS DEC’s East Side Environmental Forum
• July 23 – Center for Creative Land Recycling’s From Redlining to Greenlining webinar
• Throughout May and early June – Bike Month Events, including Bike Commuter Breakfasts on Wednesdays at Trinity Church
• Little Sis Research Training Series for Organizers – July 18, September 19, October 17, November 21
• Highlander Center’s Electoral Justice “People Practicing Power” Training Series – May 30, June 27, August 29, September 26
• Rolling Deadline – Highlander Center’s Train the Trainer Program on Cultural Organizing. Dates trainings will be held – June 26 – July 3, and July 31-Aug. 7, 2024. Highlander is accepting applications until all slots are filled. This training is free including room and board, but transportation costs might be borne by applicants. If you are a Clean Air member and interested in applying, please speak to one of our organizers! Cindy attended this training last month and can offer feedback and recommendations.

Public Comment Deadlines and Hearings

• July 20 – Public comments due on proposed Alternatives Analysis for Tonawanda Coke site C915353 located at 3875 River Road

Also see our regularly updated list of events at bit.ly/CleanAirEvents and linktr.ee/cleanairwny

You can also click here to join the Buffalo Snow Brigade. We also suggest checking out the resources at mutualaiddisasterrelief.org as well as their new website relieftoolkit.com. If interested in joining mutual aid efforts with Clean Air, particularly in the realm of community resiliency amid climate change,
please reach out to Bridge about trainings or to Chris or Gia about our events and membership committee.

Chris recommends the new Star Wars show Acolyte, Cindy is still buzzed about seeing Earth Wind and Fire earlier this month (and welcoming a new grandbaby to the  family!), Gia is looking forward to seeing flipturn at Artpark, Sia is loving getting to know the region and really enjoyed seeing Shakespeare in the Park, and Bridge is looking forward to a big family trip to Ireland!

Interested in joining our events committee, mutual aid team, or want to connect with CACWNY about an emerging campaign or issue, or interested in Interested in joining our Peabody Street, Lovejoy, TESLA, Energy Democracy Alliance, or other Just Transition campaign work?

Interested in joining our
American Axle campaign or supporting our work in the Delavan-Grider neighborhood and greater East Side?

Interested in joining our Tonawanda Tomorrow or River Road campaigns, NT Cryptomining campaign, or supporting NYRenews/climate justice?

Interested in supporting Clean Air’s grassroots fundraising efforts, or know of a grant opportunity that might support our work?

Want to donate to support our work?