Upper Nyack Green Committee
The Village of Nyack is hosting a public workshop on March 22 to kick off the Nyack 2030 Climate Action Plan project. Nyack is creating a plan with concrete, ambitious steps we can all take to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help our community adapt to climate change impacts. Upper Nyack and other area residents are invited to attend.
by Talia Reiss
As young people post feelings of hopelessness about climate change, social media is becoming a cesspool of climate nihilism.
“We could be extinct in less than 30 years,” exaggerated one Tiktok user. Though concern about eventual human extinction is justified, there is no evidence to suggest that it will happen in the next 30 years. Another TikTok user wrote, “Climate and environmental [advocacy] seems so hopeless in a corporate ruled capitalist world. It feels like we’re just sitting back and watching it all end.”
No one can blame young people for their eco-anxiety. Recent trends reported by the Environmental Protection Agency show that climate change is escalating quickly, and most people can see the consequences in their own communities. In 2022, the world saw unprecedented heat waves, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and tropical storms.
This is a scary reality, which is precisely the reason that people deny climate change. Pretending climate change isn’t real allows people to avoid anxiety about the future and absolves them of any responsibility to fix it. But publicly pouring out feelings of despair isn’t going to change a climate denier’s mind; it actually does quite the opposite. Logically speaking, if people deny climate change because they don’t want to feel fear, giving them more to be afraid of will only make them more likely to deny climate change.
Not only does climate despair discourage people from joining the movement, it can turn existing environmentalists away from the movement, too. When we push the narrative that the planet is already doomed, it tells environmentalists that our efforts are pointless and that we are helpless in the face of an unstoppable catastrophe. From there, it’s easy to become paralyzed by fear. Instead of actively pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle, we begin to disengage from the problem because it feels overwhelming and anxiety-inducing.
It’s true that individual action alone is not enough. According to a 2017 article published by The Guardian, 100 companies are directly responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions. So why should we bother with individual action?
Consumers hold the power in our capitalist system. Corporations rely on consumers to make a profit, so when we stop contributing as heavily to harmful industries, the financial pressure forces profit-hungry corporations to compromise. So even though small actions like opening the windows instead of turning on the air conditioner or eating a few vegetarian meals a week can feel futile, we’re playing a vital role in making industry more sustainable.
Making changes in our personal lives reinforces our commitment to the environment and keeps us engaged in the broader movement. At the very least, individual action can help us feel like we’re in control, which empowers us to fight harder for systemic change. Local organizations like Keep Rockland Beautiful, Rockland Sierra Club, and 350 NJ-Rockland are great places to get involved.
It’s okay to feel anxious about climate change, but spreading despair on social media is not the solution. We have good reason to be hopeful: with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, we have taken a historic step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change on low-income communities. We can solve this, but only if we channel our eco-anxiety into a movement that will push us towards a more sustainable future.
Talia Reiss is a senior at Nyack High School and editor-in-chief of the Nyack Spectrum.
Representatives of the Green Committee recently joined other residents to celebrate Upper Nyack’s 150th anniversary at the village block party. Due to the weather, the events moved largely indoors. The Green Committee table saw plenty of curious visitors, including many kids. The seeds we handed out and the New York orchard apples were big hits. The topics of highest interest among residents were: invasive plants and what to do about them; composting; learning about water conservation; lantern flies (several spottings in Nyack, some in Upper Nyack); and noise and air pollution from gas-powered lawn equipment.
Thanks to all who helped the Green Committee in its outreach!
Suzanne Buchauer of the Upper Nyack Green Committee asked students and youth in Upper Nyack about climate change.
What are your concerns about climate change?
What do you want your village to do about it?
Upper Nyack High School students from Mr. Perry’s classes responded:
Sam G., aged 14, writes: (I am concerned about) people not caring about global warming and not doing anything about it, making us go past the point of no return, when it’s too late and we can’t reverse most of what we’ve done.
Sam would like the village to: plant more trees instead of cutting so many down in Upper Nyack. He would like to see more support for people to get solar panels.
Chloe F., aged 15, writes: My concerns are that soon the world won’t be a comfortable place to live because of the extreme heat and cold. Also, that there won’t be enough materials/resources for all the growing number of people.
Chloe would like to see the schools actually putting the recycling into the recycling bins and not mixing it with the trash. Also, It would be great to see a ban on plastic utensils and plastic straws in the schools. Replacing them with biodegradable utensils would be a great start.
Gabe B., aged 16, writes: I am concerned about the indefinite aspects of climate change, how there really is no complete stop to it, just reduction. I am concerned about future generations and how they will have much more lung issues.
Gabe would like to see the village: plan some events where you can go with a group to spaces to help out. Either clean up groups or groups to go rebuild communities that have been destroyed by climate change, related events would be welcome in our community.
Lily A., aged 14, writes: One concern that I have is, climate change making more powerful storms. With warmer waters and more water vapour, in the atmosphere, it can cause much more powerful hurricanes and rain storms, which can lead to people loosing their homes and communities.
Lily would like to see: more clean energy sources available, like windmills and solar panels. I would also like to see more clean up projects in parts of town that are less population but more trash.
Other local teenagers wrote that were interviewed in Upper Nyack during the Arbor Day Celebration at the River Hook Preserve.
Teresa B., aged 19, writes: I am concerned about the Sixth Extinction of the human species due to deterioration of water and air, destruction of wildlife and the steady erosion of our ecosystem. (The Sixth Extinction is a book written by Elizabeth Colbert.)
Teresa would like the village to: raise more awareness about the problems of climate change and the individual responsibility of each person. Stopping the use of fossil fuels in homes and all lawn equipment would help significantly.
Lucy O., aged 19, writes: I think my main concern about climate change is the lack of news coverage. More people of all ages would need to be aware of their own personal impact on the climate.
Lucy would like to see: more people recycling and I think we should have days where everybody goes out to pick up trash around town and in our rivers and water sources.
Eli, aged 13, writes: I have a lot of concerns about climate change, but mostly, I’m worried about the animals; several species are dying because of global warming, which has an impact on food chain, which can cause serious damage to society as we see it today. This is a big issue out of a lot of issues in climate change and the issue I am most worried about. I don’t want polar bears to die and I don’t want other species to die. It’s not fair to the animals, because it is their habitat first.
Eli would like to see: less gas issues. I would like less gas to be used. Using electric cars and electric lawn equipment or hybrid cars and more sharing of transportation would be great.
Grace J., aged 15 said: Keeping climate in tact for future generations is my concern.
Grace would like to village to: educate more youths about the problem. Look at the biggest impact on climate change and stop it.
Benjamin, aged 14 said: What concerns me is the ice bergs melting.
Benjamin would like to see: more trees planted.
Jim, aged 15 said: I am most concerned about the future of my generation.
Jim would like the village to work on: a ban on plastics.
Younger voices also spoke out, when interviewed at River Hook during the Arbor Day celebration weekend 2022:
Amaya said: I don’t want the animals to die.
Amaya would like to see: more clean up days and more trees planted in the village.
Neave, aged 7, said: I am concerned about all the litter.
Neave would like to see the village: organise more community trash pick up days.
Thank you for your thoughtful responses and suggestions of what you would like to see happen in your community and the world.
We hope to see you at our next event in Upper Nyack, in person and outside:
September 25th, 2022, from 11:00-2:00 celebrating the 150th Anniversary of River Hook Preserve
611 N. Midland, Upper Nyack, New York (Free parking available at Marydell Faith and Life Center on Larchdale Avenue).
Suzanne Buchauer lives and works in Upper Nyack. She is a licensed Davis Dyslexia, Executive Functioning and Autism Facilitator. Visit: dyslexia-works.com
The Green Committee has put together this one-pager with a few brief and alarming facts about gas-powered leaf blowers. Feel free to share it with your neighbors and friends. Upper Nyack’s Sound Law is now in effect, limiting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers to two clean-up seasons (March 15-May 15, and September 15-December 15). Please speak to your landscapers to ensure that they are fully informed. We look forward to a less polluted and quieter summer for all!
Thanks to Green Committee member Kate Fitzpatrick for putting together this helpful flyer. Download the PDF version here.
The Cornell Cooperative Extension in Rockland County reminds us to keep an eye out for the invasive spotted lantern fly.
As Upper Nyack Green Committee member Suzanne Buchauer notes, you can go into your yard to find and eliminate eggs, or contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension, if you spot either eggs or the lantern fly. Eggs can be on trees or on other objects. Here is a link on how to rid yourself of the eggs, or if you don’t want to do that yourself, call for help and to report them.
You can fill your baggy with either hand sanitizer or alcohol as long as when you scrape these eggs into the bag, the eggs get in contact with that alcohol. That will make sure you kill them.
Here is more information from the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
by Suzanne Buchauer
Our Trees got together and wrote us a letter.
Dearest Humans,
Thank you for providing us with a place on your property. I love providing shade for your bodies, branches for children to climb on, a spot for a tree house, beauty for your eyes, oxygen for your noses, and the gentle sound of rustling leaves for your ears. Since being out of the forest, for so long, we wish to tell you that sometimes, we can become cold and hungry; we wanted to write and explain to you what would help us feel better and help us remain healthy for you, for years to come.
Please, let us have the food that was made for us. Let us explain how easy this will be for you to help us year round.
Please place the leaves that fall from our branches around the base of our trunk each fall. If you want to know how we prefer to live, go to the forest and have a look. In the forest, the leaves fall and stay at our cousins feet, to feed, warm and nourish them.
It is very frustrating when we hear the blowers come and see you with rake in hand, then watch our food and bedding being taken away each year. We love and need our food. What we sincerely wish for and desperately need is for the leaves to be left at the foot of our trunks. It can be a ring, the size that our majestic arms extend—consider it free mulch, with benefits. It provides us with vital nutrition, which we need to stay healthy and strong. As the leaves break down, they will also enrich your soil around our roots, which we will then thrive in, and the leaves will turn into rich black hummus, with time. We call that black gold.
There are disadvantages for you humans as well as us trees, if you take our leaves away.
If you take away our leaf food, it has to be transported, which costs time and costs you money.
If you take away our leaf food and leave the place at the foot of our trunks bare, we do not have a cozy blanket to protect our roots during a harsh winter and may become weak.
If you take away our leaf food and it is taken to a dumping site, the leaves sit on the dump in huge piles, which then produces methane gasses which hurt humans and our planet.
If you take away our leaf food your soil will not be enriched by the leaves, as they naturally decompose.
If you take away our leaf food, we will be very hungry and become unhealthy, so you will have to spend money to buy and use fertilizer and chemical food and treat us for disease.
If you take away our leaf food and replace the area below our trunk with colored mulch, it adds chemicals to our soil and it is not healthy for us.
We notice that you may not find pleasure in the way our food looks and we were thinking that may be why you want to get rid of it. How about this idea, we had, to help you:
If you do not like the look of our leaf food, you can make the mulch leaf ring and put wood chips on top. That would help the food break down easier and even be better for us, trees.
Leaves are our natural food; we love leaves and need our leaves. When you take them away or blow/rake them to another place in the yard, you are taking our leaf food away from our roots.
Please, allow us to keep the leaves which are made for us to eat, so that we can stay healthy for you and all of your senses, and so that you can enjoy us in your yard and on your property.
In hope and with care, that is our Happy New Year tree wish.
Yours Treely,
Your Trees.
Suzanne Buchauer is a licensed Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator and Davis Autism Approach Facilitator, dyslexia-works.com, who lives in Upper Nyack, NY.
This article originally appeared in the Earth Matters section of Nyack News & Views.
Upper Nyack Green Committee