Minutes of 350 Humboldt virtual meeting with actions you can take from home that will make a difference.
Seventeen people attended the Zoom meeting, which is close to the usual attendance at the restaurant. For one person this was a second meeting, and for one it was a first. Welcome to Lee and Diane. The meeting was fun! And we could see and hear people better than in the restaurant. Since we will be doing virtual meetings for some time, we hope you will try it out.
UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS
· On June 2 at 7pm, Sarah Ray, who is a professor of environmental studies at HSU, will be talking with Katy Gurin about her new book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. The presentation is co-sponsored by 350 Humboldt and the climate committee of the Unitarian- Universalist Fellowship. Register in advance for the Zoom event at: Action Network/sign up
· Our next virtual meeting will be, as usual, at 6pm on the third Thursday—in this case, June 18.
ACTIONS DISCUSSED AT THE MEETING THAT YOU CAN DO FROM HOME
A. Writing letters to Get Out The Vote (GOTV)
· 350.org does not have a GOTV campaign going yet, but two organizations are already moving at full speed. Anyone can sign up to write letters at Vote Forward (https://votefwd.org) and/or Sierra Club (https://www.sierraclubindependentaction.org/writing-climate-voters-letters).
· Sierra Club focuses primarily on Sierra Club members who don’t vote regularly, while Vote Forward focuses on Democrats who have not voted recently.
· 350 Humboldt has put together a list of tips for effective letter writing gleaned from webinars put on by these organizations. They can be accessed at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qKnxoyyMLVxdKf7M6uqtautx3cZ8-EAI3tEmTgczXQU/edit?usp=sharing
· We just learned that AB860 (Berman) will require that every registered voter get a vote by mail ballot for the November election. Republicans are suing the state to prevent expansion of vote by mail. Consider letting our representatives know that you support AB860. (It has to pass by a two thirds majority in both houses.) Senator McGuire: [email protected] Assemblyman Wood: https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD02
B. Sign our petition and send on-line messages regarding the four top issues for 350 Humboldt right now
· CalGEM: Comments to this state agency favoring imposition of a 2500 foot buffer between oil and gas installations and sensitive sites such as homes, schools, parks, healthcare facilities—especially areas used by children. The 350 Humboldt petition has much more detail.
- Sign the 350 Humboldt petition at: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/calgem-public-health?source=direct_link&
- Send an email directly to CalGEM at: [email protected]
· Advanced Clean Truck Regulation. After a lot of pressuring from environmental groups the California Air Resources Board is about to vote on a new rule which accelerates the schedule for electrifying the diesel truck fleet in California. Diesel emissions are a huge factor in air pollution and global warming. You can submit a comment at: https://www.arb.ca.gov/lispub/comm/bcsubform.php?listname=act2019&comm_period=1
• The ReWIND Act would keep oil and gas companies from getting Covid-19 relief money intended for small businesses. 350.org petition to Congress in favor. Sign on-line:https://act.350.org/sign/Covid19-2020-congress-rewindact-petition_copy/?akid=120593.4400867.yz-PVq&rd=1&t=7&utm_medium=email
• People’s Bailout: https://thepeoplesbailout.org
MINUTES: 350 HUMBOLDT VIRTUAL TACO PARTY AND GENERAL MEETING MAY 21, 2020
1. The group thanked Deborah Dukes and Gail Coonen for their work on the steering committee and welcomed returning member Pat Carr and new member Hayley Connors-Keith.
2. In February Gail Coonen offered to lead a discussion group about the book “How We Win: A guide to non-violent direct action campaigning” by George Lakey. This will be going forward via Zoom in a couple of weeks. Books are at Northtown Books. (Call to arrange curbside pickup.) Interested persons include Heather Luther, Lee Dedini, John Schaefer, Nancy Ihara, Deborah Dukes and Hayley Connors-Keith. Others are welcome to join. Contact Gail at [email protected]
3. Attendees took turns telling other a bit about how and what they are doing. Lots of interesting stories. Heather Luther noted that on June 6 the Humboldt Trails Council will be hosting a trail breaking event at the Annie-Mary Trail with Mike McGuire, our state Senator, in attendance.
4. Discussion about 350 Humboldt actions or possible actions:
• Hayley Connors-Keith and Morgan Corviday have been doing more with our social media. So check out our website at https://world.350.org/humboldt/, our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/350humboldt/, our Twitter account at https://twitter.com/350Humboldt, or our Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/350humboldt/.
• Some people expressed a wish for more News Flashes.
• 350 Humboldt signed onto the CORE Act, which strengthens accountability regarding spending of Covid-19 relief.
· Katy Gurin and Colin Fiske, along with Tom Wheeler of EPIC, are working on potential uses of Covid-19 stimulus money, e.g. for transportation infrastructure and energy infrastructure. Contact Colin ([email protected]) if you know of bike and hike paths, or streets, or sidewalks where social distancing is difficult or there is no provision for anything except cars. These issues need to be in the Humboldt County emergency reopening plan.
5. Trends in 350 Humboldt email subscriptions were presented by Dan Chandler. There has been regular growth from 2017 through the present.
Each email we send has been opened on average by about 90 persons (average of 30% of list, ranging from 18% to 45%). Of the last 21 emails sent, 219 separate persons have opened at least five.
6. Mary Sanger presented information about the proposed Jordan Cove liquid natural gas pipeline and outlet at Coos Bay. Right now it is blocked by Oregon, but the federal government is trying to take away the state’s right to do so. Rogue Climate is the grassroots group that has been fighting this. Mary suggested, and there was consensus, that we would try to raise funds to support Rogue Climate and rural landowners fighting eminent domain. Mary will work on getting an earmarked donation from 350 Humboldt members for this purpose. Colin and Dan offered to donate; Heather and Pat will assist in organizing this.
7. Presentations were made regarding the actions suggested above
a. Gail Coonen and Dan Chandler discussed Get Out the Vote Options.
b. Wendy Ring discussed the Advanced Clean Truck regulation.
c. Hayley Connors-Keith discussed the CalGEM public health regulation
d. Katy Gurin discussed federal laws, the ReWIND Act and People’s Bailout.
8. Dan Chandler recommended two organizations to consider when donating funds to win elections for progressives:
A new group called Blueprint aims to put money where it is most needed. You determine the balance of how much of your donation goes to different types of races (district, statewide, national) or to civic organizations (fighting gerrymandering, for example). https://blueprint.swingleft.org
Rock the Vote targets progressive young voters. They have a variety of tools. For example, if you sign up they will send you a reminder about every election in your area. If you are not a young voter, you can support them monetarily. They have both a 501c3 and 501c4 branch. https://www.rockthevote.org
Minutes submitted by Dan Chandler