November 2019 Newsletter

Georgia Climate Conference
The AYEC had an amazing time at the Georgia Climate Conference on November 7th and 8th! AYEC member Brittany Judson spoke on the opening plenary panel. Members Bethany Velarde and Ilsse Ortega presented our Carbon Reduction Challenge poster at the conference’s poster session and shared our work and vision with other conference attendees. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and talked with us!  

​​"We had the opportunity to attend dialogue panels regarding climate equity and justice. Here, we heard members of the Atlanta sustainability scene discuss the importance of being intentional about including those most affected by the effects of climate change in conversations. From there we went to a larger plenary session on climate action in the business world. At the poster session, so many people stopped by our poster to hear about AYEC and ask about future plans. Bethany and I had a great time learning about what drew everyone to the conference!"
-Ilsse Ortega

"I spoke my truth about racial equity--not just equity--, access vs. opportunity, and the Atlanta Youth Energy Corps and my personal experience with energy burdens."
-Brittany Judson

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​Blog Post Published by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation!
​AYEC member Gwyn Rush recently wrote a blog post for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation about the AYEC's experience with the Carbon Reduction Challenge this summer. Check it out here!

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#FightTheHike Rally
AYEC members Zoie Moore and Faith Rashidi-Yazd attended the #FightTheHike rally to protest the proposed Georgia Power rate hike. Zoie even spoke at the rally! Learn more about #FightTheHike below. 

Just Energy Circle Meeting
AYEC member Zoie Moore attended the Just Energy Circle November meeting. 

"The Just Energy Circle is a workshop held by the PSE. During this past monthly meeting, we had guest speakers from other environmental groups and we discussed the Rate Case, also known as the FightTheHike." - Zoie Moore
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Learn more about the Just Energy Circle. 

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Lifecycle Building Center Shoutout!
The Lifecycle Building Center gave us a shoutout in their monthly newsletter recently for attending their home performance workshop! 
“LBC Supports Emerging Energy Equity Leaders at Home Performance Workshop”   LBC’s most recent Home Performance Workshop The was one of the most eventful to date. A number of interested homeowners, many from neighborhoods near LBC, came with their questions, and we had the answers! Members of the   Atlanta Youth Energy Corps (AYEC) also attended and were excited to expand their understanding of practical applications they have been researching. The AYEC group stayed on afterward to soak in everything Amelia Godfrey (LBC Advisory Board member) had to share for the hands-on portion of the class.  And to top it off, Georgia Power shared information about their energy efficiency programs and even sponsored lunch!  From AYEC's Brittany Judson: “The Atlanta Youth Energy Corps is committed to energy equity, youth-led retrofitting, and workforce development. At the LBC workshop, we learned about the physics and systems related to residential energy efficiency. We were able to strengthen our understanding of concepts such as air movement, pressure differences, and conduction. After the presentation, we then applied these concepts in real-time by implementing various air-sealing techniques. The workshop was informative and we look forward to the next training!” 

Check out the videos they posted as well:   

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We will resume our newsletter in 2020. Happy holidays from all of us at the Atlanta Youth Energy Corps!