By: Casey O’Brien, Philanthropy Manager
New York Climate Week is the world’s largest climate and sustainability gathering. It brings 100,000 people together in New York City in the third week of September each year. Across over 1,000 official events in all five boroughs, attendees discuss decarbonization, conservation, nature-based solutions, climate policy, and so much more. Attendees come from every state and dozens of countries. This year, California sent a delegation including the Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, Governor Newsom, and Yana Garcia, head of the California EPA. California needs to continue to lead on climate, especially as the US falls behind nationally and globally.
As we face frequent attacks on conservation protections at the federal level, local, regional, and state-level leaders are taking increasing action to build coalitions across borders. New York Climate Week was an opportunity for us at EAC to make connections with others working to protect wild places and draw down carbon across the world. We were lucky to have our newest team member, Casey O’Brien, present at this important global event.
What IS the Role of Local Organizations in a National Climate Conversation?
Our work at EAC is hyper-local: our mission is to protect and sustain the unique lands, waters, and biodiversity of West Marin. However, local organizations are increasingly taking leadership at the regional, state, and even national level to share insights and find connections. While our work is deeply rooted in West Marin, during Climate Week, we were able to learn from people doing conservation work as far afield as Nigeria and find fellowship together.
Even though their context is different from ours, they face similar challenges: relentless attacks on public lands and waters that should be the shared inheritance of all community members in their local areas. At EAC, we also work on statewide and national issues, because what happens across California and our nation impacts West Marin, and a win for public lands somewhere is a win for public lands everywhere.
Whether it is proposed oil pipelines cutting through national parks, offshore drilling, or forest clearcutting, it is clear that environmental protection is under threat across the globe. It’s the shared responsibility of all of us to be stewards of the natural world. We can work together to develop strategies for pressuring our elected leaders to take action, motivating our neighbors and community members to support environmental work, and educating the next generation to become environmental leaders.
It was also clear at New York Climate Week that there are other universal truths in conservation and climate work, among them our collective joy in nature. As difficult as environmental work can be, it is also incredibly rewarding. We spend much of our time focused on working to protect wild places and keep them that way, but when we find time to enjoy them too—whether during a hike in the backcountry or an outdoor mixer in a park in midtown Manhattan—everyone benefits.
Conservation as a Climate Priority
New York Climate Week is not explicitly a conservation event, but there was conservation-focused content at nearly every gathering throughout the week. There is a deep relationship between conservation and mitigating climate change, which we know intimately at EAC.
How does keeping wild spaces wild help stop the worst effects of climate change?
Our work to stop relentless attacks on our public lands also protects a brighter climate future for all of us. Here are some examples of how:
Preventing Emissions from the Destruction of our Coast and Lands: When forests are cleared, our oceans are drilled, or our wetlands are drained, the carbon stored inside them is released back into the air as greenhouse gases. Conserving these areas stops those emissions from happening, which is why we are fighting hard to stop Trump’s offshore drilling attacks on our coastline.
Carbon Sequestration: Healthy, complex, and multilayered ecosystems like our beautiful redwood forests in West Marin at Roy’s Redwoods or Samuel P. Taylor State Park, the wetlands in areas like Chicken Ranch Beach, Bolinas Lagoon, and Giacomini, and the grasslands that dot our landscape act as natural carbon sinks. They pull carbon dioxide out of the air and store it in trees, plants, and soil.
Protecting Wildlife and the Carbon Cycle: Carbon sequestration depends on a varied ecosystem—protecting the land itself from development is just the first step. West Marin is home to a staggering array of biodiversity, including species endemic to our beautiful home that are found nowhere else on the planet. Protecting key animal species (such as marine life found in areas like Duxbury Reef) helps maintain balanced ecosystems. Animals spread nutrients, support plant growth, and enhance the ability of plants and soils to capture carbon.
Building Climate Resilience: Conserved natural landscapes buffer local communities from extreme weather, such as reducing flood risks through restored wetlands. As we head into a “Super El Niño” year where flooding is likely across Marin County, our conserved wild lands are more important than ever.
How to Support our Work to Make Global Impact with Local Action
We need your support to continue to protect public lands, the California coastline, and West Marin’s rich biodiversity. As we head into the last quarter of the year, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
Your gift enables us to fight against Trump’s plans to explore offshore drilling off the coastline, maintain autonomy over California’s coastal waters, support restoration of vital habitats in Point Reyes Seashore and beyond, and promote outdoor access for all. For 55 years, EAC has led critical efforts to protect the magical landscapes we know and love in West Marin. Help us continue to safeguard the national treasure in our backyard.
Learn More & Take Action
EAC’s Climate Blog
EAC’s Climate Work
Climate Action Resources
Borrow EAC’s Climate Exhibit
Support our Work
