In February, shortly after the presidential inauguration, E2 New York members Ron Kamen, Tom Jarecki, Jeffrey Perlman and E2’s Executive Director Bob Keefe met with Senator Chuck Schumer’s Director of Policy and Economic Development Nicholas Martin. The group discussed the importance of the Senator’s continued leadership in Congress and how we can work together to push back on the Trump Administration’s assaults on the environment and clean energy.
In late March, E2 New York chapter hosted an event, “Farming for the Future,” highlighting urban agriculture and policies needed to help bring these innovative technologies to market and support a regional food system focused on locally sustainable sourced food. David Rosenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of AeroFarms, a Newark-based, high tech agriculture company discussed the challenges and opportunities of its indoor vertical urban farms run by clean technology and use data to optimize growing systems for better harvests and less environmental impact. AeroFarms was featured in this The New Yorker article. But technology alone is not enough. Jennifer Grossman, Founder and President of Farm Co New York and lead of the Regional Food Program at NRDC talked about her work forging collaborative relationships between rural and urban communities and to support and expand the economic viability of local agriculture. Jennifer knows a thing or two about the challenges of sustainable farming in NYS. She runs a cage-free French guinea fowl farm in the Catskills.
In April, E2 and NRDC co-hosted the event, "New York Politics and The Environment in the Trump Era." NRDC's NY-Northeast Legislative and Political Director Richard Schrader discussed the outcome of the Presidential elections, what that means for New York’s environmental priorities and what can we expect from this year’s NYS legislative session.
In the coming months, E2 New York will continue to advocate for the economic benefits and jobs creation of clean energy as highlighted in E2’s Clean Jobs New York report. We’re leading an effort with local partners — NRDC, New Yorkers for Clean Power and Alliance for Clean Energy New York — to launch a NYS clean energy mapping tool that will showcase locations of clean energy businesses and the state’s renewable energy generation and energy efficiency capacity. We want to use the map for our advocacy and to help policymakers, the press and individuals better understand the scope of New York’s clean energy economy and its potential for growth.
Top photo: CEO and Founder of AeroFarms, David Rosenberg, speaking at the E2 event at Project Farmhouse in NYC.