Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to get connected. Thanks for listening. It is spring
in the city, which is synonymous with Earth Day. This Thursday,
April seventeenth is the annual Earth Day Festival in Union Square.
Very happy to welcome John Opperman back to the show.
John is executive director of the Earth Day Initiative, which
hosts the free public event during this pivotal time for
climate justice. John Opperman, thank you for being back on
(00:35):
the show.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
You can find out more about the event again this
Thursday at Union Square at Earthdayinitiative dot org. Let's talk
about the event first, kind of the lay of the land.
It is a packed event in Union Square. Why don't
you give us the overall and then I'll ask a
few questions about what's going on.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Yeah, so we'll be back with our big Earth Day festival.
So weedy have been doing this year after year since
nineteen ninety, so thirty five years we've been doing this festival.
So it's just a fun day out to learn about
what you could do to green your lifestyle, different ways
that you could volunteer in your community, all kinds of
different ways that you could celebrate Earth Day and make
(01:16):
a positive impact for the environment, whether it's during Earth
months or throughout the year. So the event has dozens
of organizations, from little grassroots nonprofits based here in New
York City up to big multinational ones like Greta Tonberg's
Fridays for a Future World Wildlife Fund. There's live entertainment,
there's kids activities, there's an art installation. It is also
(01:38):
a spring break for New York City schools, so it's
a good opportunity for parents to bring kids out if
you're stuck at home and by Thursday you may want
to get out of the house, so it's a good
opportunity to do that from twelve to six pm in
Union Square.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I love that you bring up the kids because kids
sort of are leading climate conversation so much these days.
I think it's fantastic talk about a little bit more
about the kids activities and what are they kind of
drawn to actually.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
So there's a variety of things that people could connect
with for kids really of all ages, from like little
kids up to high schoolers or even college students. So
at the younger end, there are some hands on activities
led by some of our partners that are like a
weaving installation where you get to use your hands to
(02:25):
do this sort of zero waste weaving, so it's using
fabrics and materials that are being reused and repurposed into
a really cool vibrant art installation, so weaving with that,
and that's a cool thing that one of our partners
that's been at the event year after year is going
to be leading. Then there's other activities where you get
to learn with some sort of hands on science, so
(02:46):
learning about our waterways around New York City and how
they get cleaned and how we could do a better
job of preserving those natural resources around the city. So
some really like hands on almost like science experiment type
things which are really fun. Then for older kids, there's
groups like climate activist groups led by really high schoolers
(03:07):
and in some cases college students, so you can connect
with them and find out ways that you could start
getting involved with that climate activism. Like you had mentioned,
climate activism these days has really been led in a
lot of the big visible ways by really young people
and it's just incredible to see the work being done
(03:28):
by in some cases middle school students, high school students
that are really acting like little adults. The way that
they're able to organize and communicate in a way that
I think has really blown people away. And they really
feel strongly about the importance of taking climate action, and
they've been great spokespeople for that. And there are a
lot of groups that are event that folks can connect
(03:49):
with to learn more about what they could do to
get involved.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
We will talk about the future, but I think as
far as climate goes, sometimes it seems like there's always
really heavy news. But looking back at twenty twenty four
or if you had to sum up the good news
in environmental activity, environments will work. What have been some
positive developments you've been focused on.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Yeah, it can feel like we're always kind of falling
behind on environmental action and climate action, but there are
pieces of legislation or things that people could be taking
advantage of that really are positive development and if we
work to make them succeed and really push forward with
them and don't let them fall by the wayside, that's
(04:30):
really important for us being able to tackle these challenges
as a society. So, for instance, the Inflation Reduction Act,
which was passed a couple of years ago, we started
to sort of see it come into affecting people to
take advantage of the things that that offers. So there's
all kinds of resources that we see people use there
(04:51):
with like tax credits and rebates for things like if
you want to buy an electric car, install a charging station,
home energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy at your home. There's
all things that you could be doing and get thousands
of dollars to contribute to that. So you're not only
improving your lifestyle, you're making home improvements, you're making improvements
by switching to an electric car, that kind of thing,
(05:13):
you're taking action for climate change, and you're saving a
lot of money on it. So that's something that we've
seen people start to take advantage of in the last
year or so, which has been nice. And then, as always,
there's really just a huge community of people that are
moving things forward, whether it's individuals or companies or organizations
(05:35):
that are spearheading sustainable technologies or things that people could
do in their own lives. It can be depressing when
you see that there's not this sort of like overarching
push from government leadership around this stuff to get us
where we need to go on climate action. But there
are all of these groups doing work that then come
together and work on this project or that project, and
(05:57):
you see these inspiring stories of ways that we could
be more moving forward even in the absence of sort
of leadership from the top.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Our guest is John Opperman. He is executive director of
earth Day Initiative, which hosts the annual Earth Day Festival,
returning to Union Square this Thursday, April seventeenth, a free
public event. You can find out more about it at
Earthday Initiative dot org. You are listening to get connected
on one six point seven light FM Imina del Rio.
So there is, of course, as we have this conversation
(06:27):
and you sort of have alluded to it in a
very kind way, there is this attempt now to repeal
dozens of the nation's most significant environmental regulations. I think
it might be worth pointing out that some of these
things are laws. It has to go through the whole
process to be repealed formally. But do you see that
there are certain industries that have retooled or rebuilt with
(06:48):
an intention to climate that will remain committed regardless of
what changes at the federal level.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, I do think that there's always kind of momentum
when government can get behind something, but there's also momentum
when the government isn't behind something, because it does sort
of spur action where it's like, you know, we've got
to move forward with this. So it provides motivation to
really move things forward when we can. And there's been
a huge investment in renewable energy across the country and
(07:19):
it's tough to undo that because the economics start to
make sense. So it's not only is the climate action,
they're like the incentive for climate action there, but it's
also the economics. So we start to push forward and
we start to move in that direction. And then there
are companies that are in a variety of spaces around
sustainability that we're seeing do good work and we're partnered
(07:42):
with in some cases, Like an example of that is
a back Market is a great organization or a company
that we work with where they're focused on electronics recycling,
and they're making a big push to educate the public
this spring about this sort of parallel to fast fashion,
which I think a lot of people are familiar with
where it's just to sort of like throw fashion really
cheap clothes that aren't sustainable because they're not meant to last. Well,
(08:04):
it's kind of same thing with technology. So a lot
of our technology there's an expectation that you're constantly upgrading,
so you're using electronics for a really short period of time,
and you have no way of repairing them because it's
too complicated with software updates and sort of the technical
details of our technology. We can't actually reuse them or
(08:26):
upgrade them, so you have to just throw it away
and then get a new piece of technology that has
a huge environmental impact as far as the amount of
resources that go into making it and then trying to
dispose of it if we could figure out how to
dispose of them in sustainable ways. But a group like
back Market is really a great solution because you can
trade in your old technology that then we'll get put
(08:48):
back into use, and then you can get new technology
that's just refurbished, so it's not like straight off the
assembly line and the way that a lot of technology is,
and then it goes to the landfill after that. But
it's this more circular economy and they're doing a big
push around that sort of fast tech idea and educating
people about the flaws and the system and how we
can make all of that more sustainable, and I think
(09:09):
folks are getting behind that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I think part of it, too, is the affordability piece
of it, right people are you know a phone is
eighteen hundred bucks or twelve hundred bucks or whatever it is.
It's so expensive and so there's the financial piece that
comes into play. And if you've been in the subway,
I'm sure you've seen those back market ads all over
the place. To stick with that thought about price coming
into the conversation, so I want to talk about congestion pricing,
(09:33):
which has gone into effect been delayed for a long time.
The data is still new as to its impact on
noise quality and air quality, but what would you say
about it so far?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
I think we're off to a good start because I
think that there is data that it really did help
reduce congestion and traffic in the city, which is really
the goal. And I think it's tough sometimes with communications
around this. It's really difficult to communicate intent and the
complexity of a lot of these issues. So I think
some people view congestion pricing where they're like, oh, it's
(10:04):
just a tax. They just want to collect money from us.
But it's really about behavior. The tax is the secondary part.
It's not meant to be a tax. It's meant to
be a discouragement of unnecessarily driving a car into the
city when there are good public transportation options. We'd love
to see those public transportation options improved so that people
(10:26):
do find it easier to come into the city with
buses and trains and ferries and be able to get
into the city easily so that they don't feel that
they need to use that car. But I think it's
a little bit similar to to the way that people
reacted when streets would be shut down during COVID. There
are studies that show that when there are proposals to
(10:47):
close down streets to traffic so that they're more usable
just by humans, no one wants it. Everyone's like, that's
going to be inconvenient, We're not going to like that,
and then it happens and everyone loves it. And I
think there's going to be a similar thing with congestion
pricing that we're going to see, Oh, it's actually a
much more livable, pleasant experience to be in this city
without it being dominated by cars. And if we do
(11:09):
have the ability to walk and feel like the error
is better and it's just generally less crowded with the
cars and there's more space for people, and then we
can continue to stimulate those public transportation options as for
people as well as.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
We head into this time when again the federal government
has changed their approach to how they want to think
about climate et cetera. You know, this is again your
thirty fifth year of doing this. The headwinds are probably
stronger than they have been in a really long time.
What is your focus for the coming year and looking
at all.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
This, Yeah, and it's a little bit of more of
the same, to be honest. So as an organization Earth
the Initiative, we're really about empowering people to do things
in their own lives. That's the number one question that
we get. And what that looks like can be all
over the place. So people say, what can I do
in my own life? What can I do to make
up out the day impact? And that can be you know,
(12:02):
changing your diet, it could be reducing your waste, it
could be something that is a bit more societal and
using your voice to talk about this kind of stuff.
And now we're just doubling down on that because if
people do feel like, you know, things aren't being done
at the national or international level, then it falls even
more to us. But we want people to get out
(12:24):
of that sense of helplessness and helplessness so that people
can be empowered. So we tell people things like switch
your diet over to a plant based diet, not entirely
if you don't want to go full vegetarian or vegan,
but three days a week. Put it in your calendar Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
you're going to eat plant based for lunch or five
days a week or whatever you want to commit to.
There are things that you could be doing like that
(12:45):
that are simple changes that are implementable. And then also
be a climate communicator. So that's the idea of talk
about climate change. You know, contact those in power. If
you see some business doing something where it's really wasteful,
just say hey, I would really apciate it if you
could switch to this more reusable system. You don't need
to have such a wasteful packaging supply or people in government,
(13:08):
contact them, Invite your friend to a climate protest, invite
them to a Green Living webinar. That influence you have
in your life, I think we often underestimate, but just
talk about it and that can go a long way
to sort of building momentum for something more positive.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Let's recap the event coming up this Thursday as well,
the Earth Day twenty twenty five festival free for everyone
in Union Square this Thursday from noon to six A
couple of the really exciting parts, you think.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
John, Yeah, we've got some great partners involved in the
festival that can talk to you about how you could
invest your money so more sustainably, how you can more
cycle and reduce your waste more effectively. At home, we
have entertainment with some actually climate comedy and performances up
on our stage, kids activities and art installation, all kinds
(13:59):
of stuff really people of all ages. We've been doing
this for so long that we've got some folks that
are a bit on the older side that have been
coming out for years. But then we have kids and
we have youth climate activists, so really something for everyone
at that festival from twelve to six pm this Thursday
in Union Square.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
You can find out more about the event at Earthdayinitiative
dot org. John Opperman represents the Earth Day Initiative. Thank
you for being on Get Connected.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
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