There is news about the coal train threat. Listen to EcoNewsReport’s podcast HERE and attend Senator Mike McGuire’s on-line meeting: Tune in on June 1 at 6:30pm at https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/video. You can also dial in to listen by phone at 1-669-900-6833 and enter the Webinar ID: 872 8641 6921.


STORY OF STUFF PROJECT

As the plastic industry faces regulation and a growing number of bans, they’re pushing a new escape hatch they’re calling “chemical recycling” designed to justify producing more plastic.

‘Chemical recycling’ is an umbrella term used to describe a set of technologies that turn plastic into fuel that’s burned for energy or into new chemical compounds. The plastics industry has passed numerous state laws in recent years that are facilitating new plants being built, and California risks being next. Next week, a member of California’s Statewide Recycling Commission will make the case for a new law facilitating the practice in the state.

Can you help make sure we stop this false solution in its tracks?

Tell the CA Statewide Recycling Commission that chemical recycling is not a solution to plastic pollution. Submit a public comment here.

  • Type of comment: choose the “Statewide Commission Comment”
  • Subject field: “Agenda Item 13 – Advanced Recycling”
  • Meeting date: select “June 1”

Use our sample comment or write your own:

The California Recycling Commission should not open the door to chemical recycling. The primary function of this technology is to prevent or delay the regulation of plastics. Chemical recycling must be opposed on the grounds that:

  • It is not recycling: it rarely converts plastic into new plastic
  • It generates hazardous air pollutants and waste streams
  • It has no track record of working at scale
  • Like the plastics lifecycle at large, its facilities are disproportionately located in communities that are low-income and/or people of color.

­­­­­­_________

CALL FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR PROTEST

1) Flood Gov. Newsom’s phone lines. His number is 916-445-2841. His office is open 9-5, M-F. His phone lines are glitchy so please be persistent. Here’s an example of what you can say, and feel free to personalize it:

“My name is __, I live in ___. The CPUC’s latest rooftop solar plan is as bad as their first proposal. California should not tax the sun, period. We need more solar, not less. Gov. Newsom must show leadership, right now.”

2) Dial into the CPUC on June 2nd and give public a comment via phone.Instructions here

NRDC

The California Air Resources Board is currently deciding whether to adopt a rule requiring 100% of vehicles sold by manufacturers to be electric by 2035. We need to make sure they pass the strongest rule possible. Send in a comment in support of a strong Advanced Clean Cars II Rule before the May 31st deadline!

TAKE ACTION NOW

WRITE LETTERS TO VOTERS

Please join our letter-writing group Sunday evenings at 7pm. It is a time to write letters and postcards, chat, and get information about the latest letter writing campaigns.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86943045708?pwd=clVqWVJZNEFQSVl0QWd6VCtOZGtWZz09

Or call in with one tap mobile: 16699009128,,86943045708#  or at  1 669 900 9128

From Activate America (Formerly Flip the West): California Campaign

Sign up to postcard in CA-40. We’re postcarding Democratic voters in three districts who have missed elections before to make sure that they don’t sit this one out. You will be writing to support specific progressive candidates.

Third Act – Bill McKibben’s new group is postcarding

Let’s join together as Third Act’s Democracy Force to write postcards and mobilize voters in Arizona and Pennsylvania to request their vote-by-mail ballot in time for Midterm Primary Elections. Learn more below about why postcards and mail voting are vital and effective at increasing turnout.

https://thirdact.org/third-act-postcards-to-voters/

Vote Forward: Here is a new advance in targeting letters to where they make most difference. If you write to voters, please take a look.

This year, we’re bringing back The Big Send—our biggest letter writing program of the year—with a goal of sending 10 million letters to voters ahead of the midterm elections this fall. And with you on our team, we’re confident we can make this happen. Because you’ve volunteered with us before, all you need to do to participate is keep writing! Just head over to your Vote Forward dashboard to download a batch of letters.

Postcards for swing states

We need your help to write 550,000 postcards to rally Democrats to vote in the Pennsylvania primary on May 17. Encouraging Democrats to make voting a habit now will ensure more of them will also vote in November.

Sign up now and we’ll mail you free postcards with the design below, along with instructions and voter lists. Volunteers need to provide the postcard stamps. You’ll pick from three messages that we’re testing as the first step of signing up. You’ll have until May 6 to finish writing the postcards.

Environmental Voter Project

Our next postcarding campaign will be to Colorado voters ahead of their June 28th state primary!

We’ll be sending postcards to environmental voters who voted in the 2020 General Election, but are unlikely to vote in midterm elections based on their previous voting history.

If you have not already attended an EVP postcard training, please sign up for one of the 45 minute trainings below. We use very specific designs and messaging that are optimized to increase turnout, so we require all our postcarding volunteers to receive an EVP training before sending postcards.

POSTCARD WRITING TO VOTERS ORGANIZED BY HUMBOLDT ACTIVIST FREDERICA AALTO

Here is Frederica describes what they are doing:

I am administering a postcarding network in Humboldt County (presently over 300 writers) and we supply postcards and stamps to writers, which are available for cost at several convenient pickup locations. Have anyone interested in joining us contact me. We mostly postcard for ROV (Reclaim Our Vote), which is non-partisan, but have also postcarded for Activate America (which used to be called Flip the West), which is partisan.

She can be reached at: [email protected]