Our current energy system, based largely on fossil fuels, primarily benefits those that have access to resources while placing the majority of the burden of its infrastructure on low-income communities and communities of color. As we transition to a clean energy economy based on renewable sources, it is critical that we shift both the technologies as well as the organizing strategies, policies, and incentives around them to ensure access for all.
On April 11th, join Becky Wasserman from Resonant Energy and Adam Flint from Southern Tier (NY) Solar Works at the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition to learn about the barriers that exist to accessing clean energy options, what a true energy democracy could look like, and the community-led strategies that can help us get there by putting participatory planning at the center of development.
Presenters:
Becky Wasserman is the Community Partnerships Manager at Resonant Energy, a community-based solar developer focused on expanding access to renewable energy. She is an experienced community organizer dedicated to building a just transition away from fossil fuels. She was selected as a JOIN for Justice fellow, a training program for Jewish social justice organizers. Since then, she has worked as an organizer for NextGen Climate and 350.org, organizing around state-level climate policy and the 2016 election. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Religion from Middlebury College.
Adam Flint is Southern Tier (NY) Solar Works Program Manager at the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition, which he co-founded in 2008. From 2011-2013, he ran the Energy Leadership Program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, where he coordinated the Southern Tier Green Jobs Green New York program. He has worked as an educator in the Southern Tier for more than twenty years, including posts as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Hartwick College and as lecturer in Environmental Studies at Binghamton University. Adam co-founded the NY Energy Democracy Alliance, serves on the steering committee, and coordinates COSHARE, the Community Owned Shared Renewables Working Group. He also works on NY State energy policy with a focus on the ‘Reforming the Energy Vision (REV)’ proceeding, He is also a founding member of the Tier Energy Network of the Southern Tier.
