You’ve heard from George Payne on numerous occasions, most extensively on the work of the Lower Falls Foundation to create a World Heritage Site in the Lower Falls Park and Gorge.

A philosophy instructor at Finger Lake Community College and the founder of Gandhi Earth Keepers International, George also hosts the Broken Spear Vision on Rochester Free Radio 106.3 FM.

Twice George invited me to the program for stimulating half hour conversations in which his questions get to the core of the issue.

In Syria Through a Fractal Prism: Conversations on War and Peace with Judy Bello, George provided a review and elaboration on his interview with Judy Bello.

Today, George does the same following his interview with Abigail McHugh Grifa, a musician and climate justice activist.

For more on the November 29th, 2015 climate justice march led by Abby, see Rochester leaves its footprint on La Marche Globale

Musician Turned Climate Justice Activist Inspires Mothers Everywhere to Join the Front Lines

Meet Abby. If she wanted to she could become one of the most sought after cello instructors in the region. If she wanted to she could earn a cozy job at a prestigious music conservatory. If you ask me, Abby could do just about anything that she sets her mind to do.

Thankfully for the rest of us who are not aspiring to master the sounds of Bach, Abby has chosen a different path. She will always be a musician at heart; but these days she is all about helping to save the planet by combating climate change. Rather than stay on the sidelines moaning and groaning about the worsening conditions of planet Earth, Abby is on the front lines trying to do something about it. And she is not just signing petitions and posting memes on Facebook. Like all genuine activists committed to their cause, she has put her money where her mouth is by engaging in nonviolent civil resistance.

On May 7 of 2015, Abby and thirty other Finger Lakes/Rochester residents rallied along Route 14, holding signs and banners with Mother’s Day messages and decrying fossil fuel build-out as a direct threat to their children. In the face of broad public opposition, Crestwood’s methane gas storage expansion project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. With unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of Seneca Lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people, the company continues to expand its plan to develop.

In protest, Abby was arrested and transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department, charged with trespassing, and released.

During the arrest Abby, who was 35 at the time, said to a reporter, “I have a 16-month old son and I’m pregnant. If I’m going to create life, it’s my responsibility to protect it too. I’m very concerned about the climate and for my children’s future. The more money we invest in fossil fuel infrastructure, the deeper we dig ourselves in.  I want to do what I can to speed the transition to renewables. So, I’m here doing what I can.”

That about sums up the attitude Abby brings to everything she does. She may not be solving global warming by getting arrested, but it is the best she can do. It may not shut down Crestwood, but at least she is out there making her voice heard. Is it better than playing a cello and teaching at a university? I am guessing that this question is irrelevant to her. This is what she is called to do. She is out there risking her comfort and security not because it is easy and enjoyable, but because it is what the situation demands of her. She is doing it because she is a mother and her children need her to be vocal on their behalf.

Sixteen Mothers and Grandmothers Arrested in Blockade at Crestwood Midstream

“Women Arrested in Crestwood Protest,” Ithaca Journal 2015/05/07

Remarkably, Abby continues her professional life as a music instructor with Eastman School of Music. The Eastman Community Music School (ECMS), which was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of the Eastman Kodak Company. The Eastman Community Music School is a part of the world renowned Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester, and is a centerpiece of George Eastman’s grand vision of the power of music to enrich life. This is evidenced in the words carved on the front of the Eastman Theatre “for the enrichment of community life.” According to their website, the school is

Located on the campus of the Eastman School of Music, the ECMS has been educating residents of the Greater Rochester and Western NY State area for more than ninety years. We estimate that as many as 60,000 students have received music instruction at the school since its inception. The school is deeply embedded in the community and is one of the most important connections between Eastman, the University of Rochester and the residents of the extended area.

Grace Lee Boggs, the inimitable and prolific social justice activist from Detroit, once said, “The physical threat posed by climate change represents a crisis that is not only material but also profoundly spiritual at its core because it challenges us to think seriously about the future of the human race and what it means to be a human being.”

Abby has responded to Boggs charge. Sure, there may be other ways that she could be spending her waking hours. After all, two little boys is enough to keep some mothers occupied 24/7. And this is probably not the career that she envisioned for herself when she was studying music education at Eastman. But it’s the life that she has signed up for because she knows that it is not just her life that matters. Abby is not the type of person to say let someone else do the heavy lifting. If there is a problem to be solved — even if it is a bewilderingly complex problem like climate change — she wants to help figure it out. She is a problem solver, pure and simple.

Abigail and the Rochester People’s Climate Coalition

From the looks of it, RPCC is garnering some impressive accolades from both local and national leaders in the climate justice movement. On their website, the group has been endorsed by author and influential environmentalist Bill McKibben, ecologist and activist Sandra Steingraber, NASA scientist and climate change whistle blower James Hansen, and U.S. Rep Louise Slaughter. RPCC Facebook

Tune in to Rochester Free Radio 106.3 FM every Sunday at 12:30 PM to hear social justice voices from the Rochester community.

In addition to her role as a Leadership Team member with RPCC, Abby has continued her involvement with the Rochester Chapter of Citizen Climate Lobby. CCL lobbies in support of a Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal by building friendly relationships with federally elected representatives. They aim to reach across the aisle with respect, appreciation and gratitude for the service of elected officials.

During our interview, she explained that CCL writes letters to the editor and op-eds, and meets with editorial boards to gain their editorial endorsement.They also facilitate presentations and table at events to promote CCL and introduce others to the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal.

Basically, CCL believes that politicians don’t create political will, they respond to it. Moreover, they contend that citizens who are well-trained, organized by Congressional district and with a good system of support can influence the political process. Based on what climate scientists and economists say, members of CCL argue that the Carbon Fee and Dividend plan is the best first step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate the impacts of a changing climate. Not only is Abby active with CCL. she has assumed a leadership position in the chapter and has traveled to Washington to lobby.

Author Elizabeth Kolbert once write: “Right now, in the amazing moment that to us counts as the present, we are deciding, without quite meaning to, which evolutionary pathways will remain open and which will forever be closed.”