The Rochester People's Climate Coalition is kicking off its Earth Month with a forum Monday evening.
It’s titled the New York State of Climate Action and will include guest speakers Mark Dunlea from the Green Education and Legal Fund and Elizabeth Broad from the New Yorkers for Clean Power Campaign.
Susan Hughes-Smith is a member of the Rochester People's Climate Coalition and says New York still has a number of issues they could work on when it comes to energy initiatives.
"There’s a lot we could do through building codes to make new buildings more efficient. Older buildings, upgrade their efficiency so that the overall energy demand declines. And there are initiatives that could be supported to change the source of home heating to cleaner alternatives such as geothermal, passive housing standards."
Hughes-Smith hopes the event will inspire people to get active in the climate movement, and serve as a reminder that change starts at a local level.
"No one person or one group can do that alone. We need everybody in our community from the poorest person to the wealthiest person, regardless of race or class or socio-economic statuses, their ethnicity, we all really need to come together around shared human values."
Governor Andrew Cuomo made fracking illegal in New York in 2014 after tens of thousands spoke out against it.
The event is part of a series of climate movement activities, workshops that will be held to raise awareness of issues affecting the climate throughout April.
They include CSA information sessions and opportunities to connect with local farmers, as well as the March for science on April 22nd and the March for climate action on April 29th.
The New York State of Climate Action forum is Monday evening from 7pm to 9 pm at the St Thomas Episcopal Church.