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We have a lot to share today, and so many ways to plug into our current campaigns and our work! As always, you can contact any staff members with questions about our campaign work and meet up to learn more about joining a team.

First, our New Member Orientation is this coming Monday, March 9, from 5-6:30pm, and you can register by clicking here.

Second, our March General Meeting will be Wednesday the 25th from 5:30-7pm, and you can register by clicking here.

Third, our Annual Dinner will be Thursday April 30th – we will be launching the ticket purchase page later this month, but are currently looking for sponsors. If you’re interested, please reach out to Chris.

Last but not least, WE’RE HIRING! (cue celebratory airhorn noises) Scroll down for details on the position, submit your application, and forward this email to anyone you think would be a good fit!

With Bread and Roses,

Bridge, Chris, Cindy and Kiera

We are very excited to announce that we are hiring a Coalition Community Organizer! The primary responsibility this fulltime organizer will be to coordinate coalition-building work across multiple organizations and sectors into specific issue campaigns. These campaigns would cut across the interests of the coalition and work to onboard individuals to move beyond the single day mass mobilizations to long term commitment to power building in defense of democracy.

This position will be open until filled – to apply, please send a cover letter, resume, a list of three references, to jobs@cacwny.org with the subject line “Coalition Organizer.” Click here to see the full post.

We are facing significant threats to our past wins on the environmental and climate justice – and these threats are not all coming from republicans in DC. After almost 10 years of slow walking the implementation of the CLCPA and using Trump-like tactics like refusing to fund legislatively-approved programs which would allow for an equitable and just transition, and rubber stamping unwise industrial projects like data centers that benefit only the already-affluent, our representatives in Albany are now considering backtracking on the CLCPA through the budget process.

Take action TODAY to tell our legislators to stand up for environmental justice and our climate future!

Clean Air’s Tonawanda Just Transition Teams continue to oppose mass deportation operations in the Tonawandas. We had a couple inquiries last month about how this work fits within our Tonawanda campaign, so Bridge wrote a longer explanation in this blog post.

This past week, we also were horrified and saddened to read reporting that the Customs and Border Patrol officers who left Nurul Amin Shah Alam are suspected to be from the Tonawanda Station at 600 Colvin Woods that our members have been working to raise public awareness of. We urge donating to Shah Alam’s family to support them in this difficult time.

We also  urge his constituents to send a letter to Congressmember Kennedy urging him to conduct an inspection of the CBP station in Tonawanda to find out what conditions detainees are being held in.

We will be supporting the 40 Days of Action that immigration, migrant and refugee organizations are calling for in response to Shah Alam’s death that is kicking off this week. Please follow Justice for Migrant Families’ social media to see the calls for action as these are announced.

This week people are asked to call Governor Hochul and urge her to support the passage of the full NY4ALL bill.
She can be reached at 518-474-8390 and here is a script.

Say: “Hello, my name is ___. My zip code is ___. I am calling because while Governor Hochul’s proposal to ban 287(g) agreements for three years is a tiny step in the right direction – it’s simply not enough. We need New York for All (S.2235A / A.3506A), which advocates and impacted people have demanded for 6+ years.”

We are also going to be joining the joint day of action in Albany led by environmental and climate justice organizations and immigration justice organizations on March 10 calling on Governor Hochul to Defend NY and Fund Our Future – a free bus from Buffalo will be leaving from 429 Plymouth Ave at 5:30am on Tuesday March 10 and returning late that night, meals included. Seats are still available, click here to register!

Finally, if you are interested in joining these efforts through Clean Air, please reach out to Bridge about our Tonawanda Just Transition Teams.

As the NYS Data Center Alliance continues to evolve, the largest consensus area for the 2026 legislative session appears to be emerging is a call for a statewide moratorium on any new data centers to allow lawmakers to pass some common sense regulations.

On Monday, Food and Water Watch delivered a letter signed by Clean Air and over 100 other NYS organizations to Governor Hochul and legislators in support of this move. Watch for more calls for action on this and other local and statewide regulatory actions!

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is reconvening the East Side Environmental Justice Forum series – the next date scheduled will be Wednesday March 11 at 5:30pm at the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. library, 1324 Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo.

Sign up for a free indoor air quality test and contribute to a citizen science study!
Almost 20% of childhood asthma in New York can be attributed to indoor air pollution emitted by gas stoves. The Sierra Club is are conducting a citizen science survey to get local community data on how much pollution our stoves are emitting into our households.

Please sign up here and Sierra Club members will be in touch soon about scheduling a test of your residence.

Tests are free, and participating will add you to a raffle to win an induction cooktop with an induction-compatible, stainless steel cooking pot with a glass lid!

NYSDEC has certified that the cleanup requirements for the brownfield site at 147 West Tupper in Buffalo have been achieved.

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Jose “Junior” Vasquez last week from a workplace accident here in Buffalo. Vasquez was a member of IBEW Local 41. WKBW featured a profile on Vasquez and his family, and a GoFundMe is running to help his family with expenses.

We are grateful to the Reverend Jesse Jackson for his lifetime of service and work that helped shape the road we are on today. Rest in Power!
Click here to read his profile in New York Times.

We are still in awe of the organizers, activists, advocates, and every day folk of every stripe who rose up in Minneapolis to resist the militarized mass deportation operations there. Although ICE, CBP and other deportation agencies continue to be active, the intensity has diminished as a result of their resistance. We urge continuing to follow the news out of Minneapolis as well as cities like Chicago and LA which have also had intense focus from DHS, and echo the calls from grassroots organizers in Minneapolis to continue to give to mutual aid funds for eviction prevention.

Downstate, transit and mobility justice organizers are celebrating the news that a judge has ruled in their favor and that congestion pricing for lower Manhattan can proceed, despite attempts by the Trump administration to stop the implementation!

Zachary Penque, WGRZ – Cereal fire prompts response at General Mills factory

Aidan Joly, WIVB – VanDeMark Chemical closing Lockport plant

Kari Lydersen, Canary Media – How community solar turned a Superfund site into savings in Illinois

Sarah Shemkus, Canary Media – States push climate superfund bills despite Trump’s opposition

Lauren Dalban, Inside Climate News – What Happens If New York Buildings Use Less Gas?

Keerti Gopal, Inside Climate News – States Say They Need More Help Replacing Lead Pipes. Congress May Cut the Funding Instead

Technology Connections – You are being misled about renewable energy technology. (A long video, but WELL worth your time to watch!)

Data Center Headlines

• Amory B. Lovins and Justin Locke, Canary Media – AI: Does not compute. Building fossil-fuel infrastructure to power data centers is a poor bet. Renewables are by far the cheaper, faster choice.
• Jeff St. John, Canary Media – How states are trying to keep AI data centers off your power bill
• Naveena Sadasivam, Grist Magazine – These data center developers asked Trump for an exemption from pollution rules
• Ari Phillips, Oil and Gas Watch – Massive gas-powered data center in Permian Basin is latest in string of Texas AI computing hubs
• Derek Seidman, Truthout – Fracking Industry Executives Are Salivating Over the AI Data Center Boom
• Corey G. Johnson and Al Shaw, Propublica – Top DOJ Official Shut Down Enforcement Against Crypto Companies While Holding More Than $150,000 in Crypto Investments
• Cloe Logan and Rory White, Canada’s National Observer – One data centre or one million homes? Mapping Ontario’s proposed hyperscaler boom
• Food and Water Watch – New Research Debunks Data Center Industry Job Claims

All upcoming events that Clean Air is hosting can be found at bit.ly/CleanAirEvents and linktr.ee/cleanairwny

Monday, March 9, from 5-6:30pm – New Member Orientation

Tuesday March 10 – Gov. Hochul: Defend NY, Fund our Future Albany Mobilization

Wednesday March 11, 5:30pm – NYSDEC East Side Environmental Justice Forum

Wednesday March 25 from 5:30-7pm – March General Meeting

Saturday March 28, 11am-1pm – Buffalo United No Kings Rally

Thursday April 30 – Annual Dinner