Focus Forward

Melissa Everett, Ph.D., Executive Director, Sustainable Hudson Valley

April 10, 2025

Climate change does not go away because it has been erased from Federal Discourse. It doesn’t become invisible in our communities, as we figure out how to create drought-resistant gardens, how to keep loved ones safe from storms, fires and floods. The notion that pressing issues can be disappeared by declaration is the ultimate in magical thinking.

Today, Sustainable Hudson Valley’s work to deal with the climate crisis through direct positive action is more important than ever. Our efforts are maturing, on the ground, in our bioregion. They are reflected in programs to design, demonstrate and then scale systemic change, by:

• helping communities and utilities align their planning for renewable energy siting and grid upgrading;
• helping county agencies and businesses work together to create a circular economy strategic plan that can be implemented through projects like
the Ulster RE-Power Reuse Innovation Center;
• developing business models for accessible electric mobility services from shuttles to bike-shares to pedicabs;
• demonstrating long-term carbon removal and storage using biochar on ten farms, and educating communities about this emerging solution;
• supporting the Newburgh community in re-establishing tree cover and pollinator plantings, building local capacity with the needed skills and creating a model for other communities.

But these are not “our” projects alone. Each one has arisen in partnerships that could not have been imagined in advance. By working with diverse organizations and agencies to develop a Road Map for climate solutions that can be used by everyone, we have created a common vision. That in turn has become the basis for a social movement – a particular kind of social movement that’s made up of creative do-ers. It isn’t a movement focused on appeals to authority, but on taking direct action at a meaningful scale and helping those around us to do the same. Above all, it’s a movement built on conscious, systemic thinking and compassion, bringing together those who understand that our true well-being lies in creating the world we want and defending the democratic institutions that allow it to flourish.