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Volume 7, Issue 5
May 2025
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- President’s Musings
- Announcements
- Articles
- Board Highlights
- Support CCAA Purchase a T-Shirt
- Action Station
- News Bites
- Upcoming Events
- Member Meetings
- Volunteers Needed
- Follow Us
- Officers, Committee Chairs, Newsletter Committee
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Submitted by George Lorefice, CCAA President
(loreficegj@gmail.com)
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CCAA had an active month since the last newsletter! Peter Wirth (our CCAA Vice President) was busy. He had an interview on Channel 9’s Bridge Street about CCAA and participated in a video by SU professor Ian Shapiro about his home heat pump and other carbon reducing measures. CCAA also had several tabling events associated with Earth Day manned by CCAA members at the Burnet Park Zoo, Town of Pompey, Village of Homer and Village of Cazenovia. A thanks to Ken for coordinating and Jim, Roseann, Meleny, and Scott for their time.
Over the past couple of months our board members have been busy publishing their letters to the editor. For that effort, thanks to Peter, Sonia, and Van and I joined in that effort, too. It’s important that we keep the pressure on our legislators regarding the dismantling of the institutions that are the foundation in fighting climate change and preserving our democracy.
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Image provided by Roseann Lorefice
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Coming up in May are the NYS school budget discussions and votes. Sonia and Yvonne have set up a program to inform voters about electric school buses, sustainability and carbon reductions in school districts. You’ll be receiving several information packets through Action Network and invited to a panel discussion on May 13.
While recently traveling, I saw an encouraging sign in Seattle at the Rainier Beach Community Center. It is a Leeds Gold Certified building with solar hot water panels, ground source heat pump, recycled wood, and rainwater collected for toilets. The building was architecturally designed with natural daylight, sunshades and natural ventilation. It can be done!
When you think it can’t get any worse……
The biggest threat adding to climate change, only second to CO2, is the current Federal administration.
CCAA however is maintaining the course on awareness and especially action to reduce our carbon footprint. We encourage (implore) everyone to engage in rallies, write letters to the editor, write letters and call your congressional representatives. Do what you can when you can. Words are helpful in keeping the pressure on, but other actions are also necessary.
After a winter there always comes a spring with its warmer weather, blossoms and hope.
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IT’S SCHOOL BUDGET VOTE TIME! You’re invited to join CCAA for our monthly meeting on May 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Manlius Library. We will host a panel discussion and open forum focused on understanding school board propositions and budget votes and how this directly impact the future of school buses in our communities as well as the need to monitor sustainability efforts in the districts.
MICRON, CALL TO ACTION! Extend Public Comment Period. As noted in the last CCAA newsletter, Micron is required by law to submit a Draft Environmental Impact Statement to cover all of the potential environmental and related impacts the projects will have on Central New York along with Micron’s proposed responses to mitigate them. The law only requires a 45-day public comment period once this document is released. For a project of this size and scope, the DEIS is likely to be at least several thousand pages long. SustainCNY (of which CCAA is a member), is requesting a minimum of 120 days for public review and comment and also requesting a minimum of five public hearings to be held at various locations throughout central New York.
SustainCNY has created a petition requesting this extension and public hearings. The link to the petition is HERE.
“Every other Thursday, there is a new episode of WAER’s environmental podcast Deeper Shade of Green. Recent episodes include “Climate change brings concern and opportunity for NYS wine grape growers” in which Jason Londo, Associate Professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, shares his research on what wine growers can do to adapt to climate change. The episode can be streamed here.
The second episode takes a detailed look at New York State’s future energy needs. In this episode, Doreen Harris, NYSERDA president and CEO, explains the state’s plan and challenges in the power sector, and offers information about what people can do for efficiency and sustainability in homes and businesses. The episode can be streamed here. “
Heat Pump Technology in a Residential Setting. The home of Peter Wirth, Vice President of Climate Change Awareness and Action and a resident of Fayetteville was used as a research site by Ian Shapiro, an engineering professor at Syracuse University. His home was one of 15 sites studied by Professor Shapiro who is working on a grant to make heat pumps more efficient. The story was produced by a Syracuse University Media Team and can be streamed HERE. Check the article produced by the team in this issue of the newsletter.
WRITE AN ARTICLE FOR THIS NEWSLETTER! We actively solicit our readers to submit an article relating to the environment and their interests and/or concerns. Just follow these simple rules:
Length: 300 words, submitted as an attachment to news.ccaa@gmail.com
Font: Georgia, 14 pt.
Appropriate photos or images submitted with copy appreciated (jpeg, giff, pnp)
Deadline: the 28th of each month
AND SPEAKING OF THE NEWSLETTER, are you a skilled writer? Good with words? Available to help our organization and aide the climate crisis? Willing to help with this newsletter? Please indicate your interest by emailing the editor at news.ccaa@gmail.com.
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Share Your Climate Concerns
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Last week was Earth Week during which Earth Day fell on Tuesday and during which Christianity lost Pope Francis, its most passionate voice for climate action. Here in America, among the many worrisome changes the federal government is making in protection for clean air, water, and toxic chemicals, it is conducting an all-out campaign against climate change Awareness, and climate change Action.
Most Americans know that the climate is changing and that burning fossil fuels is causing it. That number is well above 70% here in New York. Unfortunately, the number of people concerned enough to actively fight climate change remains below 10%. Those of you who receive or have access to the May Rotary Magazine can read a great interview with Katherine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech and one of America’s leading climate communicators (or find her TED Talk, viewed by more than 4 million people.)
The title of the Rotary interview is “You’re the Perfect Messenger”. In it she says that the most impactful thing you can do about climate change is to talk to people about it. To the same point, today’s Washington Post profiled an organization called DearTomorrow (deartomorrow.org), which involves writing a letter to your children and grandchildren for the year 2050, when they will be living in a very different and much more dangerous world due to climate change. Perhaps the letter will describe what you did to avoid that world, or why you didn’t, and writing the letter may result in a greater desire and commitment to be active.
Please consider what climate change means for your family and its future, and for the future of humanity on the planet. It is up to us to do something about that future.
And here’s an easy suggestion. Each day, try to have a conversation about climate with someone whose views on the subject are not known. You CAN make a difference; YOU can help.
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Earth Day Spotlight: Heat Pumps
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Submitted by Syracuse University Media Team
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Photo provided by Syracuse Media Department
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Peter Wirth has a two-fold strategy when it comes to renovating his home.
The Brooklyn native has been in Central New York for more than 40 years. Nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac in Fayetteville, the 1960s era Craftsman house he shares with his wife, daughter and their cat “Spice” not only features attractive upgrades in aesthetics and design, but most importantly cuts back on their climate footprint with every improvement plan and project.
“I think what probably got me on the path was I believe in science,” says Wirth, co-founder of Climate Change Awareness & Action group. “I’m trying to remove or reduce our consumption of fossil fuels in the house.”
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Peter keeps energy efficiency at the center of his home upgrades, generating his own renewable energy with rooftop solar panels, and getting his hot water on demand through an updated tankless water heater. His sustainability goals led him to make one of his biggest home upgrades yet – adding an air-sourced heat pump to his natural gas furnace, creating a hybrid heating and cooling system that runs much more efficiently. “I think once you go to an electric heat pump, you’d never think about doing a gas furnace again,” says Wirth.
Getting more people to consider heat pumps for their homes and businesses has been mission critical for Ian Shapiro, Professor of Practice in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the Associate Director of Building Science and Community Programs at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems Innovations. He launched his mechanical engineering career more than three decades ago designing heat pumps.
While the word heat can lead people to limit the technology to only its warming effect, these systems work to both heat and cool structures. “We’re extracting the heat from the outdoors and we’re putting it indoors and to do it, we are using a little electricity, but most of it is in fact free,” says Professor Shapiro. “It is renewable.”
Shapiro says heat pumps work by moving heat from the outdoor air to the indoor space, similar to how a refrigerator moves heat from the inside to the outside. The heating and cooling system uses electricity to move heat rather than generating it directly. Even on a cold Central New York day with an outdoor temperature below freezing, the pump can effectively pull warm air from the outdoors to heat the inside of a home or building.
Peter opened his home to Professor Shapiro’s graduate mechanical engineering students as a “living lab” to execute research questions and allow students to learn directly from homeowners about the real-world implications of heat pump technology. The collaboration has proven fruitful for researchers and Peter. Researchers were able to identify ways to make his heat pump and home more efficient, and the hands-on work will help students in their professional fields.
“Syracuse has been an ideal place to study heat pump performance in cold climates and older homes,” says Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student, Sameeraa Soltanian-Zadeh ’26. “These field studies help bridge the gap between lab-tested efficiency and real-world performance.”
“As more buildings transition from traditional fossil fuel heating systems to heat pumps, improving their operational efficiency will be crucial,” says Ji Zhou ‘28, another Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, who plans to work in a heat pump research lab post-graduation.
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New York State is rapidly transitioning to heat pumps, with requirements for all new buildings to use heat pumps by 2026 and all existing buildings by 2030. Shapiro estimates there are more than 100,000 heat pumps currently in use in New York state. He anticipates more growth in the years to come as fossil-fuel powered energy becomes more expensive.
For homeowners like Peter, finding ways to cut down on carbon consumption and reduce greenhouse gases is a personal mission now powering his home and his life.
“For me to recommend to other people to do things without doing them myself, I just can’t do it,” says Wirth. “It would feel hollow. I need to walk the talk.
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Warming Weather Disrupts Maple Syrup Production
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Photo provided by Dutch Hill Farms
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Rising temperatures in New York shorten harvesting seasons and degrade the health of maple trees at farms like Dutch Hill Maple. Tracing back to 1968 when self-taught founder Dave Williams started making syrup using trees in his parents’ backyard, Dutch Hill Maple has been operating in the Central New York region for over 40 years.
Over the course of his career, Williams has noted significant changes in sap collection due to rising temperatures—especially around the past five years. “This year ended early again, last year ended super early. The seasons are just getting shorter and shorter. The sugar content’s getting thinner and thinner,” Williams said.
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Williams added that sap has begun to run earlier in the year because winter months no longer have consistently below-freezing temperatures. This is a deviation from the normal sap harvesting season, which used to begin as late as mid-March. This puts pressure on the farm to perform the money- and labor-intensive harvesting work within a shorter period of time.
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Aside from the shifting seasons, hotter temperatures in the summer present a separate issue. “It’s just too warm,” Williams said. “The trees don’t like it. They’re like human beings, they like it 75-80, not 85-90.”
Dutch Hill Maple is implementing new technologies, such as vacuum systems to keep the sap running consistently, to expand the farm and adapt to changing climate conditions. “I think it’s gonna be okay, but climate is really an issue,” Williams said. “I just hope that we can really help the environment as far as the climate goes, because it’s getting more severe.”
Williams and his award-winning syrup can be found in the A shed of the CNY Regional Market every Saturday.
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Photo provided by Dutch Hill Farms
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The Problem with Exceptionalism
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A new U.N. report (Turning Over a New Leaf) cites two “realities” that account for humanity’s complacency in the face of accelerating environmental degradation: consumerism and exceptionalism. We are all familiar with consumerism. Exceptionalism is defined as the belief that we humans are unique among the many species of the Earth, and that our capacities for cultural development and abstract reasoning allow us to circumvent the ecological and biological limits that constrain other species.
This belief may have some evidence. From the agricultural revolution (~10,000 BCE) until 1700, world population grew on average, by about 0.04% annually. Owing to advances in technology, population growth accelerated between 1700 and 1900 from 650 million to 1.6 billion – it more than doubled. In the past 125 years, our population has quintupled to over 8 billion. We appear to have evaded the ecological and biological constraints on population that held for millennia.
Moreover, human exceptionalism is deeply rooted in the Abrahamic tradition: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth’” (Genesis 1:28).
But evolutionary theory contradicts this exceptionalism. We are part and parcel of the natural world and ultimately subject to its limits, exceptional in many ways, but not essentially distinct. Regarding our technology, we now see that the innovations that unleashed our proliferation also result in carbon, plastic, and chemical pollution; habitat destruction; the overharvesting of resources; and the inevitably destructive practices of resource extraction.
Empirical research has shown that human exceptionalist thinking is likely to hinder environmental action. For example, if we feel less connected to our own habitat and less subject to its limits, we will be less concerned about climate change and less motivated to prevent it.
For the philosophically and psychologically minded, the journal article linked below may further the discussion.
Editor’s Note: This is a summary of a much longer journal article in The Journal of Mind and Behavior. The full article can be found AT THIS LINK.
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CCAA Board members Ken Johnson, Peter Wirth and Jan Kublick, and Elaine Denton, County Legislative Candidate, attended the 21st Energy Symposium held April 5, 2025 at SUNY Forestry
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Support CCAA…Purchase A T-shirt!
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Photo provided by Michael Lorefice
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It’s official!! You can now show your support for CCAA and for renewable energy by ordering your very own CCAA t shirt!. It’s easy.., just CLICK HERE and place your order!
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April 6, 2025
(provided by CCAA Secretary Reena Tretler)
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- Updates given on successful March Member Meeting (heat pumps) and participation at 21st Energy Symposium.
- Highlighted the importance for everyone to be aware of their local school district’s board votes (held in May), and how we should encourage members to make their voices heard if they want to ensure that climate related issues are factored into the budget. With Sonia and Yvonne’s efforts, incorporated this discussion into a May member meeting presentation.
- Organized CCAA for tabling at various Earth Day related events in April and will be at Sustainable Manlius’ May event at Green Lakes on May 18th.
- Discussed the May and June meetings, as well as brainstormed for Fall 2025 topics. These may include collaborating with other local groups and also planning ahead for tabling at fall events.
- Discussed new ways to engage members at events, as well as during our monthly presentations.
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ORGANIZATION: Finger Lakes Greater Region – NY Co-sponsored by CCAA
EVENT: Chapter Meeting discussion: Clean Energy Hubs
WHEN: May 8, s0s5
TIME: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Zoom event
Use this LINK to register for the meeting.
ORGANIZATION: Climate Change Awareness and Action
EVENT: Monthly Member Meeting
WHEN: May 13, 2025
TIME: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Manlius Library, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius, NY
Important forum and panel discussion on school board propositions and budget votes, with a focus on awareness of sustainability.
Participate in person or join the Zoom meeting RIGHT HERE.
ORGANIZATION: GreeningUSA
EVENT: 21st Annual Meeting
WHEN: May 16, 2025
TIME: 9 a.m. – 12 noon
LOCATION: Central NY Community Foundation Philanthropy Center Ballroom, 431 East Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY 13202
ALSO AVAILALE TO PARTICIPATE VIA ZOOM
REGISTER HERE.
ORGANIZATION: Central NY Regional Planning and Development Board
EVENT: Municipal Electric Vehicle Open House
WHEN: May 21, 2025
TIME: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Manlius Town Hall
Please REGISTER HERE.
ORGANIZATION: Citizen Action of NY, PUSH Buffalo, NY Renews, and local CNY groups
EVENT: Public Hearing to defend climate law
WHEN: June 3, 2025
TIME: 1 p.m.
LOCATION: DEC Region 7 Office, 5786 Widewaters Parkway, Syracuse, NY 13214
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WARNING: Big banks predict catastrophic global warming (and quietly prepare to maintain profitability. You should read about THIS. And be informed.
GOING FOR GREEN: Uruguay’s Renewable Energy Revolution. With no fossil fuel reserves to rely on and domestic demand rising, the country had to get creative—or go broke just trying to keep the lights on. Here’s how they did it.
HOW IS CLEAN ENERGY DOING GLOBALLY? Check out this podcast for an update. The presenter explores solar’s rapid doubling, the pace of demand growth, and the way China’s clean energy decisions shape global trends. LISTEN HERE. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS ARE NOW A MEMORY, but what is our lasting takeaway? Check out the New York Times’ suggestions in their article, “What’s the Best Thing I Can Do for the Planet?”. Read it HERE.
CONGRATULATIONS, town of Jay, NY. which has earned a bronze designation through the Climate Smart Communities program. Jay earned the certification through its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, including installing energy-efficient LED streetlights, switching over to battery-operated landscaping equipment and promoting the use of solar energy. It has installed a heat pump in its senior center so it can serve the dual purpose of being a cooling center. The town has also led community education and outreach, including organizing a sustainability and energy fair last September.
Members of the CNY chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby had an opinion piece in the Syracuse Post Standard, April 20, 2025. They offer thoughts on how the smartest animal on Earth can’t seem to stop degrading its own environment, and what might be done about it. The thought-provoking article can be accessed BY CLICKING HERE.
21st Century Energy Symposium. In the words of conference chair Rhea Jezer, if you missed this event, you missed an extraordinary symposium with renown speakers and outstanding presentations. You may still be able to access some of this expertise by clicking HERE.
BRIDGE STREET HOSTS CCAA. In April during Earth Month, localsyr.com interviewed CCAA Vice President Peter Wirth in an effort to promote Earth Month Events. Discussing his passion for sustainability, Peter related his long association with efforts to help reverse environmental damage in Central New York. He noted that CCAA started with an informal group of volunteers and has become a 350.org organization with a board of directors. HERE is the interview.
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CCAA members are encouraged to attend the monthly member meetings, either in person or via Zoom. Below is a schedule of upcoming presentations. Be sure to mark your calendars and plan to attend!
| DATE |
TOPIC
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LOCATION |
TIME
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| May 4, 2025 |
CCAA Board Meeting |
Virtual |
7:00-8:30 p.m.
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| May 13, 2025 |
CCAA Monthly Meeting
Electric School Buses & Sustainability
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Manlius Library & Zoom
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6:00-7:30 p.m. |
| May 18, 2025 |
Earth Day Celebration
Sponsored by Town of Manlius
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Green Lakes St. Park
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12-3:00 p.m. |
| June 1, 2025 |
CCAA Board Meeting
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Virtual |
7:00-8:30 p.m. |
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APRIL, EARTH DAY AND EARTH MONTH. In lieu of a themed monthly meeting for April, CCAA encouraged its members to participate in any of the Earth Day events occurring in central New York. The highlights included celebrations at the town of Pompey, the Novelis Party for the Planet at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Cazenovia’s events sponsored by UCAN and the multi-media presentation of “The Effects of Gravity” at the Homer Center for the Arts.
ON May 13, 2025, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Manlius Library, CCAA will host a panel discussion and open forum focused on understanding this year’s school board propositions and budget votes, and how these decisions directly impact the future of electric school buses in our communities. Following the discussion, we’ll dive into the next steps for local action and how you can get involved in shaping cleaner, healthier transportation for our students. An online option via Zoom will be available to CCAA members and sent via Action Network.
ALSO, DURING MAY and JUNE, we are trying to arrange field trip to view the solar panels and willow plot on the Solvay settling basins and perhaps see the planning involved in building a total non-fossil fuel house.
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NY Renews Youth Committee Opportunity
NY Renews is a coalition of over 300 organizations fighting for climate justice in New York State. Currently, we’re focusing on a budget campaign demanding NY State invest $15 Billion in the budget this year for climate justice.
Within NY Renews, the Youth Committee is a space mostly for high school and college age individuals. We’re moving towards bi-weekly trainings followed by community organizing to support our campaigns. Joining the youth committee is a great opportunity to level up your organizing, learn about campaigning, and get involved in the climate justice movement.
We meet every other week with additional time on projects for those interested. If you are interested, please fill out the sign-up form so we can get more info about your interests and experiences (it’s not competitive). We would love to hear from you!
Here’s the form to sign up!
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We encourage you to follow our social media accounts to support CCAA and stay up to date on other environmental news.
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CCAA OFFICERS
President: George Lorefice (loreficegj@gmail.com)
Vice President: Peter Wirth (pwirth2@verizon.net)
Secretary: Reena Tretler (reena.tretler@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Van Cleary Hammarstedt (vanjonch@gmail.com)
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Carbon Challenge: Yvonne Chu
Education: Ken Johnson and Jim Doherty
Legislative: Jan Kublick
Membership: Ken Johnson
Micron: Jan Kublick and Sonia Kragh
Newsletter: Roseann Lorefice
Sustainability: Sonia Kragh
Newsletter Committee
Publishing and Design: Yvonne Chu and Annalena Davis
Editor: Roseann Lorefice
CCAA Interns: Andrea Hayman and Kiran Hubbard
Technical Advisor: Gavin Landless
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Copyright © 2025 Climate Change Awareness & Action, INC., all rights reserved.
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