Most of you probably already know that we are affiliated with 350.org, the well-known, global environmental group started by Bill McKibben. I am now the official liaison between the national group and our local 350 Pensacola group. I will be reporting on national-level events and news, especially if it is of interest to our local members and efforts.
The first thing I wanted to let folks know about is a campaign known as Break Free, which is a series of mobilizations or “actions” that are aimed at increasing the level of protest and activism against the fossil fuel industry across the United States. Many people have begun to have a greater sense of urgency about the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, in order to prevent further climate change, so they are taking their protests directly to the source. Several of these actions have an element of civil disobedience in them, others are more set to raise the awareness of local populations and governments. The bus trip that several of us took to New Orleans to protest the auction of new oil and gas leases in the Gulf is a good example of this type of action. There are six main specific actions taking place in May, unfortunately none of them are close to us, but they are encouraging people to travel, if possible, to support these actions. If you are interested please visit https://breakfree2016.org/ for more info. There are also a couple of smaller actions taking place. The closest is a march taking place in St Augustine on May 15th. Go to http://act.350.org/event/break-free-world_attend/12285 for more info.