The New York City Environmental Justice Committee provides assistance to impoverished communities, communities of color, and other vulnerable New Yorkers who are disproportionately exposed to the impacts of environmental hazards. Global climate change exacerbates these existing inequalities. Incremental changes in a political economic system based on the free market and the assumption of unlimited natural resources will not stave off pending environmental catastrophe. In New York City, environmental justice concerns include land use, open space, the public trust, the siting of hazardous industries, indoor and outdoor air allergens, urban toxins (e.g. lead paint), disaster preparedness and recovery, access to information, pipelines and extractive industries, alternative energy, and the rights of indigenous peoples. NYEJC works with other committees of the Guild including the national EJ Committee.