The Sierra Club is America's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, with 1.3 million members.  Sierra Club's national network of activists are organized in regional Chapters and local Groups.  The 15,000 members in NYC are members of both SC NYC and SC Atlantic Chapter (NY State). 

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Click here to sign up for action alerts and NYC events.   Contact beyondoilnyc@yahoo.com for more information.   

Read Our Fall Newsletter Online

Click here to read the full newsletter.  Forward the PDF to your friends. See articles on: painting roofs white to keep buildings cool and cut energy use; the Passive House standard for energy efficiency; efforts to add Gowanus Canal to the Superfund list; how there's much less coal than widely imagined.

October 24 Climate Change Actions with 350.org a Big Success

SC NYC members and other New Yorkers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and rallied in Times Square as part of a worldwide effort to rally political will for strong climate change action. The international coalition 350.org will continue to bring together environmentalists around the world at events to showcase that 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide is the maximum safe upper limit to prevent catastrophic climate change - and we're already at 389 ppm.  To be informed about upcoming events, contact Events Committee Chair Stephanie Corrado at stephanie.corrado@gmail.com or 908.309.3986. To find out more click here

Urge City Council Passage of NYC Foodprint Resolution

So far, PlaNYC has not addressed the enormous role food and agriculture has in accelerating or mitigating climate change. The proposed citywide initiative would establish climate-friendly policies and programs regarding the City's food consumption and production patterns and greater access to local, fresh, healthy food. Contact Vice Chair Mia MacDonald at miamacdonald@earthlink.net or 718.694.0793.  Join us in setting up local outreach efforts in 2010.  Details in our Fall newsletter.   

Paint Roofs White to Keep NYC Cool

On summer days, black tar roofs get very hot, raising demand for air conditioning. Gray aluminum paint keeps roofs cooler, but painting them white cuts energy use the most. The Bloomberg Administration kicked off a pilot program in fall 2009 to paint roofs white in Long Island City, Queens, and has asked Sierra Club to help recruit volunteers. Learn how to take the program to your neighborhood next.  Contact John L. Kolp at 212-400-8230 or jlkolp@yahoo.com.

Organize Your Neighborhood with Film Screenings

Volunteers in Manhattan's Upper East Side, the Union Square area and Queens are organizing sustainability film screenings and promoting them locally with other neighborhood groups. Want to show "Age of Stupid" or other cutting edge films? Use our unique grassroots marketing program to find allies, and jumpstart local hands-on volunteer projects.  Join existing teams or start your own. Contact Dan Miner at beyondoilnyc@yahoo.com or 917.319.2924. Click here for more information.

San Francisco Preparing for Higher Energy Prices - Why Not NYC?

Oil prices are low now, because of the economic contraction, but will go back up because of geological limits on fuel supplies.  The International Energy Agency now warns of a oil supply crunch in the next few years, with world oil production peaking by 2020.  (Others say it will peak earlier.) San Francisco officials explain how their city can prepare in its just-released Peak Oil Task Force Report.  Back in 2008, SC NYC's report, "Sustainable Energy Independence for NYC" called for City officials, as well as civic and business leaders, to address this issue, and explained how.  Unfortunately, NYC officials continue to ignore this massive challenge.