Howdy!
Hope you are taking care of yourselves. It’s spring and Earth Month, so that means there is so much going on!
First we’ll start with updates and actions on SSEP and MVP Southgate Pipelines.
Add your voice in opposition to the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP)! Information about and talking points here. Comment template doc that includes SSEP resource info here.
Find more information and registration on these upcoming events here.
April 7, Pipelines in Rockingham County – Community Meeting in Eden
April 8, Greensboro Community Meeting
April 15, Community ‘Open House’ Info Session: Proposed Transco Pipeline in Chatham, VA
Stop the dangerous SSEP pipeline by Dan Ideozu here.
New report by 7 Directions of Service and Sierra Club — Overburdened and Overlooked: Communities Harmed by Transco’s Southeast Supply Enhancement Project here.
Overwhelming opposition to MVP Southgate submitted to federal agency here. Thanks to those of you who submitted comments to FERC sharing your opposition to MVP Southgate. Over 12,500 members of the public submitted comments!
***Be on the lookout for more opportunities to share comments with the upcoming 401 and 404 permits for the proposed pipelines soon!
April 5, Hands Off!
Part of a nationwide event. There are many events planned in NC, including several in the Triangle.
Hands Off! Raleigh Fights Back
11 am – 1:30 pm, Bicentennial Plaza, 16 West Jones Street, Raleigh here.
You can find other actions taking place across the state and U.S. at https://handsoff2025.com/.
April 5, Outreach Opportunity in Person County
1-5 pm, Olive Hill Park- 3856 Semora Rd, Roxboro
Big fossil fuel companies currently have their eye on Person County for new gas plants, a pipeline, and a liquefied methane gas storage facility (MEC). Take action by joining others for an afternoon of door-knocking! We’ll talk to residents about the potential impacts of the proposed projects and what actions they can take to protect their community. Register here.
April 7, Break Big Biomass – A National Call to Action
8 pm, online
Dogwood Alliance is hosting this online rally and national call to action on World Health Day. The biomass industry is one of the fastest growing threats to our nation’s forests. Burning forests in power plants is not a clean energy solution! Register here.
April 25, Dayenu Earth Day Shabbat Dinner
6:30 – 8:30 pm, Beth Meyer Synagogue, 504 Newton Road, Raleigh
Enjoy Chef Arthur Gordon’s Shabbat dinner and hear North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson speak on the the measures that the new Governor Stein’s administration is enacting to deal with climate change and the climate impacts we are dealing with. More info and register here.
April 26, Climate Action Fair at The Plant
1-5 pm, Pittsboro
Hosted by Haw River Assembly. Join us for a family-friendly celebration of environmental action! Connect and enjoy live music, interactive climate demonstrations, fun activities, a special PBS documentary screening and expert panel discussion. Register here.
April 26, Rally to Stop Climate Deception: Urging Gov. Stein to De-Pollute Duke Energy
12-1:30 pm, 227 East Edenton Street, Raleigh
Hosted by NC WARN, join the Rally to Stop Climate Deception in front of the Governor’s Mansion to urge Governor Josh Stein to take bold action and stop Duke Energy from expanding the burning of fossil fuels and blocking the rapid growth of solar power. More info and registration here.
April 26-27, 28th Piedmont Farm Tour
2-6 pm, various farm locations
Hosted by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Weaver Street Market, a celebration of local food and agriculture featuring 33 sustainable farms scattered across the beautiful landscape of Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Person counties. More info about the farms and tickets here.
Save the Dates
For Paperhand Puppet fans! Paperhand Puppet Project’s 25th annual show The Gift will take place weekends at the Forest Theatre in Chapel Hill August 8 through September 28.
March 22 – June 21, Gallery Exhibition in Greensboro: Of Wings & Feet: The World of Paperhand Puppet
GreenHill Center for NC Art. More info on this and other Paperhand events here.
June 23-28, WECAN Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond!
A free, public forum taking place virtually. The Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice will bring together grassroots and frontline women leaders, global advocates, thought leaders, and policy-makers to showcase a diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks, campaigns, and movement strategies with which we can accelerate a bold and transformative path to a healthy and just world. Register here.
TAKE ACTION!
We’ll be keeping our eye on SB 261. After passing quickly last month in the NC Senate, SB 261 is terrible legislation that is now in the House Rules Committee that threatens to:
– Remove the 2030 carbon reduction goals that Duke Energy is required to meet by law (HB 951 passed in 2021).
– Let Duke Energy charge customers for new projects while they are under construction. SB 261 takes away any financial risk from Duke, and puts it on the customers for investments that don’t pay off.
– Pave the way for more fossil fuel infrastructure, while allowing coal plants to run longer
Contact your NC Representative and ask them to vote NO on SB 261 if it comes up in the House! Find your Rep. here.
From our friends at 7 Directions of Service. HB345: Rights of Rivers/Certain River Basins has been introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly and we have until May 8th for the bill to move out of the House Rules Committee and to the next stage. Check out the Rights of Nature toolkit for more information on actions to take, including joining Tuesday advocacy calls here.
Tell Congress: Clean energy tax credits work for our communities here.
Climate Cowardice is Unacceptable! Call Wells Fargo here.
Tell your U.S. House Rep.: Block any attempt to dismantle FEMA here.
We rely on FEMA when climate disasters strike — and these events are becoming more frequent and more destructive due to the climate crisis. FEMA was critical in responding to the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
MAKE POLLUTERS PAY! Tell Congress NOT to Let Polluters Off The Hook for Climate Damagehere.
Workers Deserve Climate-Safe Retirement Funds here.
Open Letter from Scientists. Today over 60 scientists urged North Carolina’s Governor Josh Stein to use his broad authority to stop Duke Energy’s reckless fossil fuel buildout and suppression of renewable energy! Check out their letter here.
ARTICLES and RECORDINGS
A New Bill Would Allow Duke Energy to Retreat From North Carolina’s Ambitious Climate Goals by Lisa Sorg here.
Duke Energy’s continued reliance on gas keeps NC ratepayers on a rate hike roller coaster by Will Scott here.
Trump’s EPA Is Giving Power Companies Free Rein to Leave Behind Toxic Coal Ash by Gautama Mehta here.
EPA announces rollback of decades’ worth of regulations by Chelsea Barnes here.
Big banks abandoned a climate alliance. Now, critics are calling for new laws by Joseph Winters here.
I was an independent observer in the Greenpeace trial. What I saw was shocking by Steven Donziger here.
Climate-Safe Retirement Funds Campaign Launch Webinar recording here.
Reclaiming Power: Solar Powered Water Pumps in Gaza here
Thanks for reading and for taking action!
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen