In response to the climate emergency, the Hudson Valley is emerging as a “climate creativity corridor,” a region with a high concentration of dedicated local governments and an extensive network of projects demonstrating diverse climate solutions. The US Environmental Protection Agency recently announced $3 million in Climate Pollution Reduction Grant funding to the Hudson Valley Regional Council, for community-driven solutions to cut climate pollution across the Hudson Valley. This award is one of only 25 made nationwide, out of hundreds of applicants.
Sustainable Hudson Valley (SHV), a regional nonprofit formed in 2007, is among the leaders of this movement. Its mission is to “speed up, scale up, jazz up, and leverage progress against climate change, creating communities where people and nature thrive,” according to its website. They believe achieving this requires a comprehensive approach to climate protection that aligns with economic growth, social and environmental justice, and the creation of resilient, interconnected communities—an approach that focuses beyond policy into implementation through direct projects and programs by regional networks, communities, institutions, and enterprises.
SHV presents its fourth annual Climate Solutions Week+, a 17-day program of diverse educational events and initiatives across the region that spotlights the climate emergency we all face collectively. Dozens of events will be held from September 12-29, each an opportunity for community engagement in climate action. Discussions on water protection, sustainable transportation, green buildings, the science and impact of global warming in our lives, climate justice, and the significance of this election will shape the series. Seed saving with master gardeners, an organic runway show, and a talk on how regenerative cannabis can heal the Earth are among the selections.
Collaborations with organizations such as the Environmental Voter Project and Climate Smart Communities programs, which are highlighted during Climate Solutions Week+, provide “support systems for people to participate in democracy intelligently and with confidence,” Everett says. “We want to mobilize environmentalists, to create more connective tissue between the local, the regional, and higher levels.”
“We want Climate Solutions Week+ to not just be a one-off burst of inspiration, but to be the motivation for seasons of political engagement,” says Everett.
British social thinker, writer, and speaker Dougald Hine agrees. “There is work to be done within existing political systems, parties, and processes,” he says. “At the same time, part of what we need is other ways of drawing maps. We're going to need new ways of making collective decisions and organizing our common life, closer to the ground, on the local level. But keeping the lines of communication open between both of those kinds of work will get more and more important over time.”
Though, he asks, “Are we sure that solutions are actually what we’re looking for? Climate change is not a problem that is going to be solved and made to go away, and life is going to look like it did before. That's why I use the word ‘predicament,’ something you can't solve and make go away, but you still have to respond to. It needs imagination from different cultural voices.”
At Work in the Ruins | September 12
Hine will showcase his recent book At Work in the Ruins: Finding Our Place in the Time of Science, Climate Change, Pandemics & All the Other Emergencies (2023) in his talk and Q&A session. He will be joined by two local speakers, Lakota activist and broadcaster Tiokasin Ghosthorse and Aja Schmeltz from the Good Work Institute, to bring his European ideas and ways of thinking into a dialogue with people on the ground in Kingston and in networks across the US.
Participants will gather to reflect on the impacts of our over-reliance on the single lens of science in the discussion of climate change and are encouraged to collaboratively explore alternatives that include the knowledge of artists, religious leaders, indigenous elders, and activists of different generations “that are needed around the table as we puzzle with this predicament we find ourselves in,” Hine says. “To let the depth, the scale of what is actually going on come home to us, and to let ourselves be changed by that knowledge.”
“I hope that we will have a space of conversation where people can show up with their hearts and their minds fully engaged, where we can name the grief, sorrow, and darkness that is part of facing the unfolding realities of climate change, without those paralyzing us or leaving us feeling trapped, so that we start to catch sight of what keeps us alive and make lives and communities worth living in,” says Hine.
The event will be hosted at the Good Work Institute Greenhouse in Kingston from 6-8pm. Registration for this event is $15 and includes a copy of the book, which will be available on the evening of the event.
Dialogues with Global Warming | September 14
Former National Center for Atmospheric Research presenter and Imago communications facilitator Richard Orway, assisted by his wife and licensed psychotherapist and Imago relationship therapist, Bonnie Hirschhorn, presents Dialogues with Global Warming. The event will take place 10am-12pm at the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center in Gardiner. It will include a presentation about the science of climate change and effects of our carbon footprint, followed by an interactive dialogue intended to share communication tools for conversations about how we affect global warming and in return how global warming affects our lives. Attendees will learn techniques to have difficult conversations, particularly with people who come from different backgrounds, or who have differing views. This event aims to teach us about global warming, ourselves, and the greater world.
Sustainable Transportation Round Table | September 16
From e-bike-share programs to pedicab services to renewably powered boats, Sustainable Transportation is about a wide array of technologies designed to move with a low carbon footprint. Hosted by SHV and the Center for Post-Carbon Logistics, this Climate Solutions Week+ event brings together a round table of expert NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and local institutions who have been developing plans and projects, for a sharing of work and vibrant conversation. It will run 4-5pm at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, followed by an hour on the Hudson River aboard Solaris, the first fully solar, Coast Guard-inspected passenger boat. Space is limited to 22 people for the boat ride.
Bill McKibben on Why This Election is The Most Important of This Geologic Era | September 17
Bill McKibben, writer, climate strategist, and founder of 350 and Third Act, will speak on why this election season is more critical than ever, in Climate Solutions Week+’s flagship general interest event. Hosted by SHV, Upstate Films, Third Act, and Rhinebeck Village’s Climate Smart Task Force, this gathering is “intended to build inspired participation in this fall’s political deliberations, and consider the climate consciousness of those we vote for” says Everett. It will take place from 12-1pm at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck.
