Name: Charlie Kregsman

Social Justice Group: 2018-2019, Ocean Health

Date of Fieldwork: January 25, 2019

Name of Organization:

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Hilary Meltzer, Chief of the Environmental Law Division of the New York City Law Department

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

We went to Le Pain Quotidien across the street from school and interviewed Hilary Meltzer, who provides legal work related to the water supply of the city. We asked her about her job and whether she thinks the government is doing enough to call attention to environmental issues concerning water.

What I learned:

She said that NYC is more capable of doing large environmental projects than most cities because of its resources. She said that the city has been able to reduce daily water use from 1.5 billion gallons to 1 billion per day, even though are 1 million more people. She also told us that chlorine is harmless in small quantities and that there is no lead, but there are lead pipes.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that a plastic bag ban is a long way away from happening in NY. People are trying but it’s difficult for the city. They are trying to do other bans to counteract plastic bags. I also learned that one of the best ways to deal with pollution is simple things like shutting off your lights or turning off the faucet. Prevention is also really important, such as putting fences around farms to reduce runoff into water.