“The New York State Department of Health has taken the final step to establish drinking water standards for three toxic chemicals that have polluted water in communities across the state. In doing so, New York leads the nation with some of the most stringent drinking water protections for PFOA and PFOS (part of a broader class of PFAS chemicals), and the only drinking water standard for 1,4-dioxane”…
Please join us in urging the major food delivery ordering companies (GrubHub, Uber Eats, Seamless, Doordash, Delivery.com, Postmates and Caviar) to make a small change to their ordering systems to help prevent this avalanche of needless single-use plastic trash. What you can do: Add your name to the petition here.The vast majority of these single-use…
“Great news! New York’s legislature just passed legislation to stop fracking waste being dumped in our state! Now we need to urge Governor Cuomo to sign it into law! Five years ago, New York banned fracking, but we’ve still been a dumping ground for fracking waste from Pennsylvania. This toxic brew contains radioactivity and other…
While most booths are now full with vendors and some other COVID-19 related restrictions have been loosened, Ithaca Farmers Market is still enforcing their own rules to minimize risk and help visitors to feel more safe. The market is following a slow-reopen plan, so you can check in on this page of their website (which is updated regularly) if you are planning a visit to see how restrictions have changed. is Read the Ithaca Voice article here.
After a six month hiatus, the pantry, located at 113 Geneva Street is now open to the public every Tuesday from 1 to 2 p.m. Fresh produce from Stick & Stone Farm is available every week in addition to other pantry items. New COVID-19 precautions have been put in place to protect both recipients and their older volunteers. Read the Ithaca Voice article here to learn more about their reopening, and visit their website to learn more about the pantry itself.
Help CUNY University Student Senate in their campaign to get CUNY to divest from fossil fuels and pursue other sustainability initiatives on campus instead! A meeting of the CUNY board of trustees is just around the corner and USS is asking for supporting groups/NGOs to come out and strengthen their call for action. 350.org is signing on as a supporting organization! Come be a part of a great cause. The more groups, the better! If your group can support this effort, please send an email to Smitha Varghese (legislativedirector@usscuny.org), the legislative director for CUNY Student Senate. Read the letter to CUNY Board of Trustees for more information.
New York’s recently passed Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires New York to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in just ten years. Continued investments by teacher pension funds into fossil fuels are sending the wrong message and are contradictory to the goals of students for a sustainable future. In addition, New York state pension funds have lost billions of dollars holding onto fossil fuel stocks, a loss which local governments and school systems must make up for with citizens’ tax dollars. Please sign this petition asking the New York State United Teachers to support divestment from fossil fuels and work with the NYS Teachers Retirement System to get fossil fuels out of pension funds.
Spend some time in the great outdoors and pick some fruit to bring home too! Cornell Cooperative Extension has compiled some lists of U-Pick farms for your convenience!
In the past few weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has stated that we have to “Reimagine New York.” He explains that we have to learn from the lessons of COVID-19 to make a better New York by changing the systems that so obviously have failed us, namely the healthcare system. As the Health Committee Chairs of the state say, “The need for the New York Health Act has never been clearer. Stop wasting tens of billions of dollars on insurance company profits, administrative overhead, and marketing, making doctors and hospitals spend billions on administrative costs to fight with insurance companies, and paying excessive prices to drug companies. Invest those dollars into guaranteeing care for every New Yorker and supporting health care providers.” Click here to send a message to Governor Cuomo that we need the New York Health Act. Read more of what Health Committee Chairs Gustavo Rivera and Richard N. Godfreid have to say here.
This grassroots organization empowers low-wage workers throughout the community to combat workplace abuses and improve wages and working conditions. How do these local powerhouses do so? By providing training related to workers’ rights and occupational health and safety, orchestrating campaigns to combat wage theft, promoting employer compliance with the law, and organizing to push for…
The designers of the Peggy Ryan Williams Center, Food Bank of the Southern Tier, their own NET-ZERO ENERGY OFFICE RENOVATION (read more about that here) and much, much more. HOLT Architects keep social, economic, and environmental sustainability at the forefront of all their designs and pride themselves on understanding their clients’ goals, so they can make them realities! Over on their Facebook page, they have a weekly series called ‘What Are We Thinking Wednesdays’, comprised of segments where the architects ponder how thoughtful design can benefit us as we navigate our changing world. To learn more about these folks, visit their website.
Making small changes as we live in the watershed can make a big difference. The health and recreational enjoyment of the Finger Lakes depends on our actions and involvement. This summer, a new program, Lake Friendly Living, will provide steps you can take right now, at home, to make a difference in watershed health! What can you do to get involved? Join the Lake Friendly Living program and adopt Lake Friendly Living practices!
NYPAN-SFL, a chapter of the statewide umbrella group New York Progressive Action Network (NYPAN), is a grassroots organization dedicated to the promotion of progressive issues at the local level. They were inspired by the political movement started by Senator Bernie Sanders, but are open to participation from all progressives regardless of their political-party affiliation. Their leadership members meet regularly to plan activities (including public outreach and education around the issues), to build networks, and to recruit and support candidates for public office. To see what they’re up to, visit their Facebook page. To get involved, check out their events calendar and jump in!
Exercise your right to vote up until June 23rd! Visit voteearlyny.org and select your county to get started. You’ll find all your early voting options, including times the polls are open and voting locations. You’ll also find instructions for how to vote by mail, your early voting rights, and resources to report an incident of difficulty voting or intimidation. A lovely resource! Here are some sample ballots for the Presidential Primary, City of Ithaca, and towns in Tompkins County.
Join Vermont Law School’s the Environmental Law Center for the Hot Topics Lecture Series. Thursday, July 30th at 12pm ET is a talk by Maya van Rossum about Green Amendments and their legal implications in defending our environment. This event is free and open to the public. Livestream here! To learn more about Green Amendments, visit For the Generations’ website.