Take Action!

2007 is an interesting time for environmental activism in NYC. Spurred by a rising tide of public interest and a local surge of grassroots quality of life initiatives, the current moment is flush with opportunities for citizens to get active and make their voices heard.

For the first time Citysol will feature a Take Action area right on site. Here, festival-goers can find out about and participate in 5 NYC based grassroots campaigns, each launched by different local organizations, that aim in different areas to improve the quality of life and environmental effectiveness of our great city, and to even make an impact on the national stage. . . because as New York goes, so goes the country!

Guests can sign petitions to relevant political office holders and agencies, write letters and even create their own video testimonials during each day of the festival.

Citysol 2007's featured campaigns are:

The Battle for Congestion Pricing
Organization: Transportation Alternatives
www.transalt.org

This timely campaign is pushing for the immediate passage of the Mayor's congestion pricing initiative by the NYS Legislature. Congestion Pricing would cut traffic and air pollution in Manhattan, raise funds for mass transit expansion in the out boroughs and create room for more pedestrian friendly street scapes. Check out http://www.transalt.org/streetbeat/2007/June/0613.html#planyc2030 for more details.

I Heart PV
Organization: Solar One
www.solar1.org

Solar Electric Energy (aka Photovotaics, or just PV) could provide an enormous share of NYC's electricity supply in the future. While currently more expensive than conventional generating technologies, a number of policies and incentives can be implemented to make solar more affordable in NYC. I Heart PV is a new campaign (to be launched
at Citysol!) that will focus it's local efforts on gaining State level support for effective policies that will make PV more viable in NYC in the near future by removing unnecessary barriers and creating special incentives for in-city projects.

Sea of People
Organizations: Step it Up 2007 and Sea of People
www.stepitup2007.org
www.seaofpeople.org

On April 14th, 2007, over 1,000 "Step It Up" demonstrations were held all over the country in an effort to send a clear message to our leaders in Washington: support legislation currently introduced that would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. Sea of People, the largest national demonstration, was held in NYC and drew over 3,000
citizens and a ton of media attention. Building on this momentum, Sea of People will resurge at Citysol to collect signatures, letters and video testimonials to be directed at local NYC Representatives who have yet to cosponsor the legislation.

The "80by50" target reflects what the mainstream scientific community believes will be necessary to prevent the catastrophic consequences of global climate change.

Consider the Carbon Tax
Organization: The Carbon Tax Center
www.carbontax.org

Taxing carbon just might be quickest and most efficient and cost effective way of limiting the gas most responsible for climate change. However, currently the only mechanism being seriously considered by our leaders is a cap and trade system. The Carbon Tax Center, founded earlier this year here in NYC, aims to increase support for a Tax
alternative and is currently in the process of developing a plan for grassroots action.

S.W.I.M (Storm Water Infrastructure Matters!)
Organizations: There are a ton, a truly broad-based coalition. Check out www.bronxriver.org/swimmableNYC.cfm for a full list, and additional details.

When it rains in NYC large volumes of storm water overwhelm our sewage systems causing 27 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted storm water to be discharged into NYC waters through Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) every year. Capturing storm water on land can make the city's waters swimmable. We all look forward to the day when, once again, our rivers will be clean enough for swimming, not just boating.

S.W.I.M is a coalition dedicated to ensuring swimmable waters around New York City through natural, sustainable storm water management practices in our neighborhoods. This approach is environmentally and fiscally responsible because it utilizes storm water, currently viewed as waste, as a resource.