Howdy!
Hope you are safe and taking care of yourself as this country and the world are seeing and feeling the impacts of the climate crisis all over the world. The articles, videos, and photos have been overwhelming with the multiple crises we are facing.
There are many upcoming events and actions to take.
July 25, Walking Water Conversation
3 pm, online
Walking Water welcomes Simone Senogles and Marian Moore of the Line 3 campaign in Minnesota and Crystal Cavalier-Keck of the NoMVP Southgate pipeline campaign. We will discuss both of these campaigns, their current status, and the damage pipelines do to the waters, lands and peoples. Register here.
Abolish the filibuster! Our ability to pass critical action on climate depends on abolishing the filibuster. The filibuster stands in the way of progress that people are demanding. Write a letter to your Senators to urge them to abolish the filibuster in order to stop voter suppression and protect our climate. Send letter here.
July 26, Save Democracy!
10:15-11:15 am, 310 New Bern Ave, Raleigh
Democracy is hanging by a thread. We now have fewer voting rights than we did in 1965, and 28 state laws have been passed which will restrict voting rights even more. These laws target people of color, the poor, and young people.
Tuesdays with Tillis and the Poor People’s Campaign are hosting an action at the Federal Building in Raleigh. Our goals are:
• Ending the Filibuster
• Passing all provisions of the For the People Act
• Full restoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act
• Raising the minimum wage to $15/hr
Democracy is hanging by a thread. We now have fewer voting rights than we did in 1965, and 28 state laws have been passed which will restrict voting rights even more. These laws target people of color, the poor, and young people.
Tuesdays with Tillis and the Poor People’s Campaign are hosting an action at the Federal Building in Raleigh. Our goals are:
• Ending the Filibuster
• Passing all provisions of the For the People Act
• Full restoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act
• Raising the minimum wage to $15/hr
If you are making signs, we ask that they relate to one of these four points. Signs will also be provided. Consider wearing a hat and bringing a water bottle with you; it may be hot. We can provide a limited amount of water but not plastic water bottles.
Gather at 10:15 am, press conference at 10:30, silent walk circling the Federal Building at 10:50 and closing at 11:10 am. Silence will help us be COVID safe; singing and chanting will be minimized, and we hope everyone is vaccinated and will wear a mask.. Event page here.
July 26, Pushing back against API
4 pm, online
The American Petroleum Institute is hard at work doing dirty work for the oil industry at the heart of our climate crisis and standing in the way of real action to protect our communities. The lies and political influence of API are having a real impact on people at the fence lines of fossil fuel infrastructure. Join Oil Change International, Accountable.US and the Alliance for Affordable Energy where they will share resources needed to fight back against API’s disinformation. Register here.
July 26-30, Food & Farm System Week of Action
Join Food and Water Action for several events and actions during the week. More information and register here.
July 31, ZeroHour Climate Strike — Say no to HB951 and the wood pellet industry!
9-10:30 am, 16 West Jones Street , Raleigh
Protest and letter drafting against HB 951 Duke Energy’s “ratepayer ripoff” and urging NC to divest from the wood pellet industry. RSVP here.
Call or email your NC Senator to tell them to VOTE NO on HB951.
Duke Energy met behind closed doors for months with NC Republican leaders and a few other hand-picked stakeholders to create a bill that will determine our energy future in North Carolina. Unfortunately it has passed the House and now moves to the Senate. Contact your Senator by looking here and ask them to vote NO on HB951. Check out this article by Lisa Sorg for more information.
Break the biogas industry’s hold on NC!
North Carolina exports more wood pellets overseas to be burned for energy than any other state in the nation. The wood pellet industry destroys 164 acres of NC forests every day. Sign this petition to urge Governor Cooper to break the biomass industry’s hold on NC.
August 3, Deadline Glasgow: Defund Climate Chaos — Campaign Kickoff Event
8 pm, online
Stop the Money Pipeline and coalition partners are launching: Deadline Glasgow – defund climate chaos in the lead up to the international climate talks that begin in Glasgow, Scotland on November 1. The Glasgow Climate Talks are a historic opportunity for the world to act on climate. When the Paris Agreement was signed five years ago, every nation on earth agreed to meet five years later and “ratchet up” their climate ambition. We’re now at that moment ― and it is vital that we hold the world’s leaders to their promises.
8 pm, online
Stop the Money Pipeline and coalition partners are launching: Deadline Glasgow – defund climate chaos in the lead up to the international climate talks that begin in Glasgow, Scotland on November 1. The Glasgow Climate Talks are a historic opportunity for the world to act on climate. When the Paris Agreement was signed five years ago, every nation on earth agreed to meet five years later and “ratchet up” their climate ambition. We’re now at that moment ― and it is vital that we hold the world’s leaders to their promises.
Hear about the plan to campaign hard through Glasgow and steps for activists to join the campaign. Speakers include Tara Houska of Giniw Collective, Kayah George of Indigenous Climate Action, Representative Rashida Tlaib, and Bill McKibben. More information and RSVP.
**I learned on the Build Back Fossil Free call last month that there will be a big mobilization in early October in D.C., leading up to COP26 in Glasgow. More details when available!
**Sign the Petition to President Biden to say No MVP/MVP Southgate:
**Tell NextEra Energy – Stop supporting Mountain Valley Pipeline! Sign onto the petition letter here as an individual or organization.
**Please continue to call the White House at 888-724-8946 to urge President Biden to shut down the Line 3 pipeline & reject ALL new fossil fuel projects. I mention the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) whenever I call, too.
**Ask President Biden and Congressional leaders to support and uphold Native People’s Free Prior & Informed Consent to Protect Sacred Places. Add your voice to urge President Biden to take action here.
350 Triangle joined 500+ civil society organizations in calling on policymakers to recognize that Carbon Capture and storage (#CCS) is NOT a climate solution but a dangerous distraction driven by the same big polluters who created the climate emergency. More information here that also includes a copy of the letter and ad in the paper on July 19.
Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden Tours
Debbie Roos has resumed in-person tours of the pollinator garden at the Chatham Mills complex in Pittsboro. You can view a list of the tours and register for future tours when she posts themhere. She will be posting dates for the fall soon, but she also does great virtual monthly tours of the beautiful garden.
September 25-30, Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice
Hosted by: WECAN (Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network). A free, 6-day, gender-diverse public forum including 20 panels, climate justice leaders, keynotes, and the arts, to take place virtually 1 – 5:30 pm. Time in parallel to the UN General Assembly to push a climate justice agenda in the lead-up to COP 26 and beyond. Live-streamed globally in four languages. Register here.
I will end this month with a couple songs for inspiration. A song by Rising Appalachia called Resilient and the Thrive East Bay Choir performing We Shall be Known.
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen