Climate
This is a library of environmental/ climate justice actions. As a grassroots, mostly volunteer led group centering creative expression, we hold these goal.
Root in places we're in — Queens / NY.
Treat resources like Wikis, not news, for lasting value in a fast-changing world.
Help all choose our own paths.
As always: focus on justice and what it means.
NY climate & Environmental Justice Actions
In 2019, New York passed one of the most ambitious climate laws in the US: the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Under CLCPA, New York must be off fossil fuels, the drivers of climate change, by 2050. Spoiler: As of 2025, we are not on track.
NY climate policies, explained
We're building out some explainers on climate policies in New York for folks like us who came to this work without policy expertise. There are many policies: if you’d like to help write more, please reach out!
In 2019, New York passed one of the most ambitious climate laws in the US: the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Under CLCPA, New York must be off fossil fuels, the drivers of climate change, by 2050. Spoiler: As of 2025, we are not on track.
NYC Local Law 97 places carbon caps on most buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. Caps phase in starting in 2024 and get more stringent from there.
Coping with disaster
Climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather, including heat and floods. And disaster, as well as failed government responses, are more likely to hit BIPOC communities. Preparedness also means something different when you experience many forms of disaster all the time. We're learning how to build wells of wisdom, act faster, and protect each other.
Disasters don’t befall all communities equally, and public infrastructure for disaster relief doesn't either: BIPOC communities are more likely to be hit harder on both fronts. We hope some of these tips help us take steps and build community along the way.
Extreme heat is a serious threat, and it is likely to get worse with climate change. To prepare, we share a few things you can do.
Composting
Composting is a climate solution, but it requires new systems and infrastructure. If you're interested in helping us build resources unique to your home/area, please let us know!
NYC still sends to landfills or incinerates food scraps that could be composted instead. See a list of places to compost and grow systems of access.
What is composting? And why do it? Learn about the science, its effects on climate change, and how our post industrial garbage practices poison BIPOC and lower-income communities.
About Mierle Laderman Ukeles' "Manifesto for Maintenance Art 1969!", which describes an art practice that reveals the invisible labor of daily care — in homes, public spaces, institutions.
Image: Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Washing/Tracks/Maintenance Outside, 1973. Performance view, Wadsworth Atheneum, 23 July 1973. From Wikiart.