SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 — Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, & Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer Meredith Berger started Climate Week NYC Youth Day by meeting with Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) students at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum Sept. 17.
Students from Curtis High School, Staten Island, and High School of Graphic Communication Arts, Manhattan, met with Assistant Secretary Berger to talk about the importance of climate change to their generation and the future force, and how their dedication to service and academics, especially Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, can support future efforts to confront climate change.
“Climate change is impacting our Navy and Marine Corps, and it is important to this generation,” Berger said. “Whether in uniform or as a civilian, if you are interested in working to make sure that we take action to increase our climate resilience and reduce the climate threat and remain the world’s dominant maritime fighting force, at the Department of the Navy, we’ve got a place for you.”
In addition to their discussion with Berger, the students observed displays from the U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O) that included the demonstration of Hydrogen – Small Unit Power (H-SUP), Ruggedized Expeditionary Power Source (REPS), and the Family of Solar Panels technologies and learned about scholarship and other opportunities available through the Office of Naval Research and the greater Department of the Navy.
“Considering I grew up in a big city that uses a lot of electricity as we are the “City that never sleeps’, that can be a problem,” said Annie Rodriguez, JROTC Cadet, High School of Graphic Communication Arts. “To now know the military is trying to help with this global crisis is relieving, as they are not just trying to stop global threats, but help the world.”
Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together some 400 events and activities across the City of New York – in person, hybrid and online. Each year, business leaders, political change makers, local decision takers and civil society representatives of all ages and backgrounds, from all over the world, gather to drive the transition, speed up progress, and champion change that is already happening.
This year Climate Week NYC will be held from September 17-24, 2023. The event takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.
Intrepid’s history includes becoming the first aircraft carrier in the fleet to launch aircraft with steam-powered catapults. After a modernization period, Intrepid sailed in the US Sixth Fleet, deploying multiple times throughout the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and throughout the Caribbean.
Intrepid was decommissioned in 1974 and was set to be scrapped. New York City developer and philanthropist Zachary Fisher spearheaded a campaign to save Intrepid from the scrap yard. The ship opened as the centerpiece of the Intrepid Museum in 1982.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps is focused on increasing climate resilience, reducing the climate threat, and remaining the world’s dominant maritime force.
The Department’s Climate Action 2030 strategy document is available for download here.