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Our host Audrey is joined by Madeleine MacGillivray, Climate Justice Lead at Seeding Sovereignty, to discuss the health impacts of microplastics, why recycling isn't enough, and how New York's Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA) could transform the way we deal with plastic waste. We also explore the power of hyperlocal civic action, building stronger communities, and share practical tips for Plastic-Free July. DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded before the adjournment of the 2026 New York State legislative session in June and makes reference to New York’s Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA), which failed to advance through the State Assembly before the legislative session ended. Resources:  About Madeleine: https://www.madeleinemacgillivray.com/about IG: @madeleinemacgillivray  About Seeding Sovereignty: https://seedingsovereignty.org/ IG: @seedingsovereignty Seeding Sovereignty’s Community Action Portal: https://seedingsovereignty.org/cap-landing-page About PRRIA:  Senate Bill S1464A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S1464/amendment/A Beyond Plastics: https://www.beyondplastics.org/nys-packaging-reduction Beyond Plastics Report on Lobbying: https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/prria-lobbying Beyond Plastics Report on Cost Savings: https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/ny-packaging-reduction-save-400-million ‘Skip the Stuff’ Bill: Climate Check Podcast Episode: https://350brooklyn.org/podcast/june-2023-skip-the-stuff-no-more-plastic-take-out-waste/Studies of Health Impacts of Microplastics: Study of Microplastics in the Heart: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2309822Study of Microplastics from Tea Bags: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b02540 Microplastics from Disposable Coffee Cups: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/to-go-coffee-cups-release-microplastics-study#What-influences-release-of-microplastics Microplastics from Textiles: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/microplastics-from-textiles-towards-a-circular-economy-for-textiles-in-europe

Our host Audrey is joined by Alex Beauchamp, Northern Region Director at Food and Water Watch. Food & Water Watch fights for the safe and healthy food, clean water, and livable climate we all deserve.  In this episode, Alex talks about the proposed bill to ban mega-dairies in New York State. Alex brings us through the issues with mega-dairies, what the bill would do, and what it's going to take to pass it. Based in Michigan, Alex oversees all Food and Water Watch's organizing work throughout the region with a particular focus on New York. Alex started as an organizer with Food & Water Watch 17 years ago and has served as the Region Director since 2012. He has led the New York team to victories in winning a statewide ban on fracking, a cryptocurrency mining moratorium, a landmark gas ban in New York City, and shutting down the Danskammer and Astoria NRG fracked gas power plants and defeated several fracked gas pipelines proposed throughout New York. Resources: Read the bill and track its progress: Senate Bill S6530Tool to tell your legislator to support the billFood & Water Watch WebsiteFood & Water Watch Factory Farm Nation ReportFood & Water Watch Farm vs Factory Interactive Resource

Our host Audrey is joined by Katherine Alford, Co‑facilitator of Third Act NYC — a member organization of folks aged 60+ dedicated to protecting our planet and our democracy. Third Act NYC has collaborated on major climate actions including the September 2023 Climate March, Summer of Heat, the Albany Teach‑in for the Superfund Act, and Sun Day. In this episode, Katherine explains why distributed solar is one of the most affordable and empowering climate solutions for New Yorkers, and walks us through the process of getting legislation passed in Albany. Along the way, she reflects on intergenerational organizing, the role of storytelling in policy work, and the personal experiences that fuel her commitment to climate justice. Katherine’s “second act” included a celebrated career in food — as a 4‑star chef, Greenmarket Manager, and Director of Peter Kump’s Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education). She spent 20 years working at the Food Network and is the coauthor of the activist cookbook, "Rage Baking: The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices". Third Act NYC Resources: Third Act NYC Website: https://thirdact.org/nyc/Webpage about Climate Policies: Third Act Advocates for New York State Climate PoliciesVideo Explainers about Solar Energy & the NY Power Grid: https://thirdact.org/upstate-ny/2026/02/17/solar-energy-the-ny-power-grid-with-prof-richard-perez/ASAP Act: Senate Bill S6570A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S6570/amendment/AAssembly Bill A8758A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A8758/amendment/AStudy on $1B savings by Synapse Energy Economics for the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_7B7gHlzZ7QlEewtJ-X_QfRQtDyNvf-J/viewFrom Third Act NYC: NY’s ASAP Act – Accelerate Solar for Affordable PowerASAP One-Pager: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1em5EqCk6IW4wyTs0SQjUKuQCUevryMU7/viewSUNNY Act: Senate Bill S8512A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8512/amendment/AAssembly Bill A9111A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A9111/amendment/AFrom Third Act NYC: Plug-in Solar – The SUNNY ActSUNNY Two-Pager: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHDjum5o30/r4FrP_GioEHEisFchfO0vw/editSolar Permitting: Senate Bill S5781A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S5781/amendment/AAssembly Bill A6270A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A6270/amendment/ANYS 2019 Climate Law: Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (CLCPA): https://climate.ny.gov/Senate Bill S6599: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S6599

Our host Audrey is joined by Jodi Smits Anderson. Jodi is a subject matter guide (SMG) and collaborative leader with deep experience in embodied carbon, energy codes, the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, and identifying the synergies between the false silos we have created in her industry. She is the Founder and CCDD of 2bGreener, LLC, consulting on and offering education, integration of sustainability into business practices, and inspiration through connective and engaging presentations. Sustainability, resilience, health, equity, joy, education, justice and Nature are all linked, and recognizing this and thinking in this way changes everything for the better. Jodi is a Fellow of the AIA, has spoken nationally at Living Futures, USGBC’s Greenbuild, NACUBO, DesignWell, and NESEA conferences. She also has a blog-site, and has been a co-host of @DiscoverSustainability on YouTube offering 70 inspiring interview sessions. Jodi is a co-founder of the Albany Riverfront Collaborative seeking to heal the infrastructure and community damages of the past in Albany, NY, and has taught Systems Thinking and Professional Practice at SUNY ESF and RPI respectively. Jodi’s passion for this work is, frankly, that it is more fun to work with great people and more joyful to learn and evolve that work over time. And we have so very much work to do! Previous Climate Check Episode on Local Law 972bgreener WebsiteUrban Green Council & Local Law 97Northeast Sustainable Energy Association WebsiteOld Blood and Strong Language Blog Post

Our host Audrey is joined by Erika Jozwiak and Katie Zwick, admin members of North Brooklyn Mutual Aid. North Brooklyn Mutual Aid is an entirely volunteer-run collective of neighbors helping neighbors and working to create a more equitable neighborhood. Their efforts began with a focus on access to food and medical supplies during the pandemic, partnering with local food pantries and soup kitchens, housing complexes and cooperatives, senior centers, and hospitals. North Brooklyn Mutual Aid WebsiteNorth Brooklyn Mutual Aid Community Initiatives

Our host Eva is joined by Dr. Anton Seimon, climate scientist. From a home base in the Hudson Valley, Anton leads research programs on diverse themes in the atmospheric and environmental sciences.  Current projects include classifying a new type of windstorm and developing warning systems for it, monitoring climate change impacts in alpine watersheds of the tropical Andes, and mapping surface airflow of high-intensity tornadoes. For the National Center for Atmospheric Research, he serves on the steering committee of the Community Climate Intervention Strategies group, which works to develop interdisciplinary research on climate interventions – technologies to reverse climate change – to achieve a sustainable climate. A National Geographic Explorer and six-time grantee, Anton is active in science education, developing content for the Society’s education, television, print and web media, and also served a juror for the New York WILD Film Festival. And for the graduate program in Environmental Policy at Bard College, he strives to make global climate change understandable in Hudson Valley contexts in his climate science classroom.  Anton’s National Geographic page

Our host Eva is joined by Abby Jordan, Climate Education Program Manager at the National Wildlife Federation. Abby Jordan is a Brooklyn native, the daughter of immigrants from El Salvador who settled in Brighton Beach. She was an Environmental Fellow at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and Climate School, where she earned her Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP). Abby has extensive field science education and environmental stewardship experience. Having lived through the devastation of Hurricane Sandy when she was 18, Abby is deeply passionate about climate education and coastal resilience. Through volunteering, she started to heal her trauma from the storm, helping build oyster reefs with the Billion Oyster Project, planting beach grass to fortify sand dunes with RiSC, and running emergency preparedness workshops with NYCEM.  She is currently the Climate Education Program Manager at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), helping to run their NYC & NYS climate science education programs for high school and middle school students. Fun Fact: She is an avid open-water swimmer and free diver who loves swimming in the ocean all year. Resilient Schools and Communities (RiSC) Program Climate & Resilience Education Task Force Youth Steering Committee (CRETF YSC)Documentary: "Where It Floods: Planting Hope in Coney Island"

Brynn is joined by Julie Raskin, Executive Director of the Sanitation Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of New York City’s Department of Sanitation. We all touch trash every day, but do you know what happens after you put it in the bin? Julie explains how our waste is actually full of valuable resources that can save energy and money if properly sorted and processed. Educating everyone from toddlers to large businesses about NYC’s climate champions in uniform is the mission of her team. Listen to fascinating anecdotes about truck routing, waste audits, free Yankees tickets, and yes...rats. ●     Sanitation Foundation https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/ ●     DSNY https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/ ●     Trash Academy https://academy.sanitationfoundation.org/ ●     Annual waste characterization https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/resources/statistics/total-annual-collection-diversion.page ●     Youth Education Team https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/youth-education ●     Food Waste Fair https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/fwf ●     Big Spring Clean https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/nyc-big-spring-clean ●     Summer Sports Clean Up https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/upcoming-events/2024-bronx-series-yankee-stadium ●     Adopt Your Spot https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/adopt-your-spot-nyc ●     C is for Compost https://form.jotform.com/243037900359153 ●     Employee Engagement https://www.sanitationfoundation.org/corporate-membership-copy ●     311 complaint line if landlord notcomposting https://portal.311.nyc.gov/sr-step/?id=010817c7-4a2d-f011-9d48-7c1e529c7bcd&stepid=6244a302-8d58-e811-a836-000d3a33b56b ●     Smart Compost Bins https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/collection/residents/food-scrap-drop-off.page ●     Follow Your Waste game https://www.followyourwaste.nyc/

Audrey is joined by Jaqi Cohen, Director of Climate and equity Policy at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. TSTC advocates for increased mobility in the greater NYC region. Its priorities are expanding public transit, creating safer streets, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and fighting for equitable funding of transportation projects. Their approach is talking to communities to learn about the history of the neighborhood and what its residents’ needs are. Jaqi’s time at TSTC began when the pandemic decimated ridership and is currently in the exciting infancy of congestion pricing, two unprecedented milestones in transit.  ●     TSTC https://tstc.org/ ●     TSTC gala on May 9th, 2025 https://tstc.org/gala2025/ ●     NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign https://www.nypirg.org/straphangers/ ●     New York State Transportation Equity Alliance https://nystea.net/ ●     Congestion Relief Zone https://congestionreliefzone.mta.info/ ●     Cross Bronx Expressway project https://www.crossbronx.info/ ●     Bronx River Alliance https://bronxriver.org/ ●    Transportation Alternatives https://transalt.org/ ●    Riders Alliance https://www.ridersalliance.org/

Our host Eva is joined by Rachel Coyle, Coalition Organizing Fellow at NY Renews. Rachel is a climate advocate and activist based in NYC. She holds a bachelor's degree from Fordham University and, prior to joining NY Renews has worked as a sustainability consultant supporting businesses with carbon accounting and decarbonization efforts and as a community organizer for climate & housing justice issues in Harlem with WE ACT for Environmental Justice. NY Renews website: https://www.nyrenews.org/ NY Renews Mailing List: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-us-to-fight-for-climate-jobs-and-justice NY Renews Fund Climate Campaign: https://www.nyrenews.org/fcc New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Report on Affordability of Cap-and-Invest: https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/analyzing-affordability-supporting-households-under-new-yorks-cap-trade-and-invest-policy/ WE ACT Climate Justice Working Group: https://www.weact.org/home-3-2-2-2/getinvolved/membership/cjwg/

Our host Eva is joined by Michael Burger, Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, and a Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer-at-Law at Columbia Law School. He is a co-author of Urban Climate Law (Columbia U Press, 2023), and an editor or co-editor of Global Climate Change and U.S. Law (ABA Publishing, 2023); Combating Climate Change with Section 115 of the Clean Air Act: Law and Policy Rationales (Edward Elgar, 2020) and Climate Change, Public Health and the Law (Cambridge U Press, 2018). He is a regent and fellow at the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and a member of the Advisory Council at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Advisory Board of Urban Ocean Lab. He is also of counsel at the boutique environmental law firm Sher Edling LLP. Sabin Center for Climate Change Law website: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/ New York City Climate Law Tracker: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/nyc-climate-law-tracker CLCPA Scoping Plan Tracker:  https://climate.law.columbia.edu/Scoping-Plan-Tracker Climate Backtracker:  https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/climate-backtracker Climate Attribution database: https://climateattribution.org/

Eva is joined by Nancy Romer of the Professional Staff Congress, the 30,000 member labor union of faculty and staff of the City University of New York. She chairs its Environmental Justice Working Group that is leading the effort to cut fossil fuel use at the 25 campuses of CUNY. Key to their efforts is pressuring the New York Power Authority, which is required by the Build Public Renewables Act to generate more of its electricity from renewable sources. The complex interplay of faculty, staff, students, administrators, city and state government, and the utility is capably explained by Nancy, a professor for 42 years.   Links: ●     PSC EJWG https://psc-cuny.org/environmental-justice-committee/ ●     Build Public Renewables Act,highlights https://publicpowerny.org/legislation/ ●     New York Power Authority https://www.nypa.gov/ ●     NYPA strategic plan (draft) https://www.nypa.gov/-/media/nypa/documents/document-library/renewables/NYPA-Renewables-Draft-Strategic-Plan ●     350 Brooklyn’s guide to commentingon NYPA plan https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oirScRCVEKeAsE9IxWQ8xOpWWG383QIioj0ZVQmsOPw/edit?tab=t.0 ●     NYPIRG https://www.nypirg.org/ ●     Sunrise https://www.sunrisemovement.org/ ●     TREEage https://www.treeageteam.org/ ●     United Federation of Teachers https://www.uft.org/get-involved/uft-campaigns/carbon-free-and-healthy-schools ●     New York Renews https://alignny.org/campaign/new-york-renews/ ●     Climate Works for All https://www.nyclimateworks.org/ ●     Public Power New York https://publicpowerny.org/

Our host Eva is joined by Kimmy Cushman of Plant Based Treaty. Kimmy Cushman is a scientific advisor and campaigner at Plant Based Treaty, a global grassroots organization working to bring the food system to the forefront of climate change policy. While studying physics at Yale University, Kimmy became an organizer for the graduate student union, and after completing her PhD in 2023, Kimmy is now leveraging her scientific background and community organizing skills to educate policy makers about the environmental impacts of animal agriculture and engage the public into action. In addition to advocating for plant-based solutions at UN Climate Change and Sustainable Development conferences, Kimmy also works on grassroots campaigns in New York City and Boston to empower everyday people, business owners, and city councilors to promote healthy and sustainable food. She’s also growing the movement by developing collaborations between Plant Based Treaty and other food and environmental organizations like Better Food Foundation, Citizens Climate Lobby, Extinction Rebellion, 350.org and more. Plant Based Treaty's website: https://plantbasedtreaty.org/ Welcome call: https://plantbasedtreaty.org/start-a-pbt-team/

Audrey Stanton is joined by Jessica Schreiber of FABSCRAP. Jessica explains how her established nonprofit collects and recycles the unending stream of fabric waste generated by the fashion design industry. Textiles experience the typical issues of any kind of waste, but have unique sources and solutions that FABSCRAP has pioneered. The organization utilizes a crew of volunteers every day. Learn what actions you can take to help FABSCRAP thrive. ⁠https://fabscrap.org/

Our host Eva is joined by Sameer Ranade, the ‘The Climate Change Prophet.’ Sameer is a climate justice activist and spoken word rhyme artist who believes social progress can be made through art, education, organizing, & inclusivity. Sameer has dedicated his career and artistic endeavors to the cause of social justice and climate protection. Instagram: @theclimatechangeprophet About World Oceans Day: https://unworldoceansday.org/about/ About the High Seas Treaty: https://highseasalliance.org/treaty-negotiations/ Verse #1:  I'm forlorn for the death and suffering in regions war torn  and all the communities that aren't ready for more storms  a function of emitting greenhouse gases that make the planet more warm. In order to reverse the tide  a person's race or religion should be no more significant than the color of their eyes As the great Bob Marley wrote, Tribalism puts our harmony on the ropes. To rescue it, I bust out my clipboard and register people to vote.  The higher turnout in Georgia gave me new hope. Never thought I'd see Ralph Warnock and John Ossoff represent the Peach State.  Yet there are so many people who preach hate.  We must rise above and be great.  Implement the most ambitious greenhouse gas pollution rule.  We have the tools to do it in a way that improves the quality of public schools.  That, my friend, is the key to a better society. It's tragic that neighborhoods are segregated by race.  For the full implementation of Brown v. Board, I plead my case.  The solution to reduce carbon emissions is to reduce social divisions.  Global warming we can prevent with ethical treatment of each other.  I'm not religious, but I heard Isaac and Ishmael were brothers. The recognition of our common bond will hopefully make us think twice before we drop bombs.  If you think the world would be a better place if Trump stayed in the Iran deal, you're not wrong.  So much going on, I can't stand still.  My carbon reduction plan will improve the quality of life in every neighborhood. Design homes that favor wood sustainably grown. Verse #2:  Instead of building walls I want to invest infrastructure to make the environmental healthy for all install a charger in every public parking stall create jobs installing solar panels on top of shopping malls boost good employment positions  in places where emissions are the highest once you look at the map, you can no longer deny it  pollution is hardest to bring down in the poor parts of town life ain't fair cuz the darker your skin is, the dirtier your air there is no way to spin it racism is the cause to implement the 14th amendment we keep needing more laws freeway pollution means we ain't fully undone the legacy of segregation for sure we made progress with Civil Rights legislation it boosted immigration/ let my dad in can we achieve the great Society of the Johnson Admin? for jobs and racial justice I want to see the Green New Deal pass finally harness the amazing carbon storing ability of eelgrass energy efficiency will save real cash not only will it seal cracks but make the home healthy so when I ask you to pass bills please help me I often wonder how many good things we'd have accomplished if they hadn't killed Dr. King when it came to the dangers of our planet he saw them coming… Verse #3:  There are five oceans named  But as an interconnected water body they’re all the same  And impacted by what we pour down the drain  With our wastewater treatment plants under strain  I’m running water conservation campaigns  Have you heard of the dead zone in the gulf coast it’s a damn shame  But through planting cover crops and buffer strips it can change Implement the practice on farms all across the globe  When you think about it the ocean is everyone’s adobe Thank you United Nations for the World Oceans Day declaration  Love this celebration for providing inspiration and issue elevation  For more gratification I want the US Senate to bring the High Seas Treaty up for ratification