Avi Garbow, Author at Resources Legacy Fund

Listening to Grantees to Build a Better Organization

May 30, 2023

RLF is committed to advancing justice and equity as we pursue conservation, environmental, and climate solutions; expanding diversity in the environmental movement; and ensuring that our staff are buoyed by a sense of belonging as they engage in this important work. As an organization, we’ve been working hard to evolve our practices internally and externally—to show up with authenticity, compassion, and dedication; listen; and make sure the voices of historically underrepresented and/or excluded people are heard. To see how effective we’ve been, we asked our grantees—many of whom are on the frontlines of environmental injustice and the climate crisis—what they…

Topics: RLF

We Must Invest More in Climate Adaptation

February 15, 2023

As California communities begin to recover after a series of atmospheric rivers caused death and immense economic damages nearly state-wide, we must reckon with the need to increase investment in climate change adaptation and resilience. The Newsom Administration’s proposed 2023-2024 budget, released two weeks ago, maintains significant funding for fighting climate change and protecting communities from its impacts. Yet it still reflects difficult decisions to decrease funding for extreme heat and community resilience, nature-based solutions, coastal resilience, and other strategies that help us adapt to the climate impacts already upon us. While the Governor seeks additional sources of funding from…

Topics: Climate Resilience , Policy , Public Funding

Let’s meet this setback with resolve: Reflections on the SCOTUS EPA decision

July 1, 2022

Note from RLF President Avi Garbow to staff and board after the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling on June 30, 2022. Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, and by a 6-3 vote, severely restricted EPA’s authority under the federal Clean Air Act to control emissions from coal-fired power plants, the largest-emitting stationary sources fueling our climate crisis. This ruling deals a blow to federal efforts to address a worsening crisis that affects us all, with broad ramifications for generations to come. The lengthy opinion rests upon the majority’s view that the EPA’s exercise…

Topics: Climate Resilience , Energy , RLF

Hands across the sand, copyright Heal the Bay

“An inescapable network of mutuality”

January 19, 2022

Note from RLF President Avi Garbow to staff on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2022. As I come to the end of my first week with you all, and as we remember and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday’s holiday and day of service, I wanted to share some reflections on the meaning of our work, our purpose, and our opportunities to participate in the building of Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community: On Christmas Eve, 1967, on the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what would…

Topics: RLF , Social Equity