In an era of misinformation, the best way for communities to remain up to date on issues impacting where we live, work, and play is to hold community meetings. Community meetings offer the opportunity for us to identify and solve the problems we face together. This weekend, FCV will gather with our climate partners to discuss sea-level rise and alternative and renewable energy.
On September 7 and 8, Alianza for Progress will host the next installment of their “Encuentro” meeting series in Orlando and Miami. The Green Encuentro Environmental Symposium will bring together some of the brightest minds from Puerto Rico and Florida. By joining together, we learn more about both our differences and similarities and share notes on successes and pitfalls in environmental policy. Scientists, activists, and concerned citizens will attend, and we’ll ask questions such as “Why can’t the Sunshine State produce more solar energy?” and “Why can’t a Caribbean island rely on wind energy?” Together, we will work towards a clean, conserved future.
Fellow FCV staff member, Lindsay Cross, will be speaking at the Saturday event in Orlando. She will give us a small look energy policy, touching on the crucial need for clean buses in Florida and the progress of the VW Settlement. She will highlight good bills from last Legislative session that didn’t pass and will share a vision for 2020.
I will speak at the Symposium on Sunday in Miami, and talk about sea-level rise, a climate change impact that is impacting the South Florida community on a daily basis. As FCV’s Lead Organizer, I’ve seen the power of communities coming together to raise awareness on this issue. We’ve been hard at work this year to connect communities on the ground – neighbors, friends, families – to share awareness of the imminent threat we face due to climate change. We only have one Earth and it is everyone’s job to take care of it. That activism starts in our communities.
Communities across Florida need meetings such as the Environmental Symposium to increase awareness about the issues that impact them. Nationally, while it’s great to tune into national Climate Change Townhalls, we need local information about what is being done to address our climate crisis in our communities. We also need to join across communities to share ideas and experiences with each other.
I look forward to meeting with my fellow speakers – environmental engineers, planners, lawyers, activists, scientists, oceanographers, sustainability professionals, and organizers – as we share knowledge and inspire action in our communities.
For more information about the events, and to RSVP, visit these Facebook links.