This summer tens of thousands of New Yorkers experienced widespread blackouts caused by heatwaves and strong storms, Southern California is seeing record breaking heat, while wildfires scorch the American West and Gulfcoast communities are reeling yet again from another hurricane fueled by warming seas. Climate change is here and despite both NYC and NYS having passed some of the most ambitious climate laws in the country, the fossil fuel industry has not given up yet on trying to build more fracked gas infrastructure in our city. Today we’ll be talking with Shay O’Reilly about the fight to stop NRG, one of the largest energy companies in America, from building a fracked gas power plant in Astoria, Queens. We’ll also talk about how what’s happening in Astoria is part of a larger struggle to not only get New York off of fossil fuels but how we build an energy system that is different than the extractive, racist energy system that has been built under capitalism.
You’re listening to Revolution Per Minute on listener sponsored WBAI in NYC broadcasting at 99.5 FM and streaming on your favorite podcast app. To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com. You can find us on our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com or on twitter @nycRPM.