“The worst crime I know men have committed is to turn nature into an oppressor.”

In the city, the heat is suffocating: it reverberates off buildings, seeps through the concrete, and bounces off glass back down onto a city of 8.4 million people. New York City is hotter than ever before-- but it’s felt differently from neighborhood to neighborhood. Today, we’re ending our season in the land currently known as New York, where increasing heat exacerbates the risks already felt by communities bearing the brunt of a changing climate.

Jade Lozada, a college student and climate organizer, recites her poem “The Worst Crime,” commissioned for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and explains the dual role heat plays in bringing her closer to home, and making home uninhabitable. Dr. Melissa Barber, co-founder of South Bronx Unite, studies hyper localized heat islands and protests corporate intervention with community-generated solutions to the climate crisis. 

Take Action:

• Jade’s poem, “The Worst Crime,” was originally published by NRDC.org. You can find her poem, as well as those of three other writers, in this article.
• Jade was one of the finalists for Climate Speaks 2020, a climate arts program that is part of The Climate Museum, which aims to spark dialogue and action on the climate crisis. Support Jade’s work, as well as other climate poets, at ClimateSpeaks.org
• South Bronx Unite brings together neighborhood residents, community organizations, academic institutions and allies to improve and protect the social, environmental, and economic future of Mott Haven and Port Morris. Support Dr. Barber and South Bronx Unite at SouthBronxUnite.org

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