Howdy!
As usual, lots going on as usual, beginning today!
February 4, Public Hearing on Duke Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP)
NC Utilities Commission, Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh,
Press conference at 5 pm and meeting at 7 pm
Join us for a press conference and rally on Halifax Mall near the Dobbs building at 5 pm before the hearing! Despite the extreme urgency of the climate crisis, Duke is asking the NC Utilities Commission to approve a plan with a lot of new fracked gas-burning power plants and only 8% renewables by 2033. Unacceptable!! Local government officials will bring a letter to the public hearing urging the Commission to reject the IRP in light of the urgency of the climate crisis. If you want to speak at the meeting, arrive by 6 pm to sign up. Talking points here. Public comments can also be emailed to the Commission at [email protected] (mention Docket #E-100 Sub 157 in the subject line).

February 4-8, Demand Real Climate Leadership from our New Congress!

350.org, Friends of the Earth, and other allies have gathered hundreds of thousands of messages since the midterms from people nationwide calling for the real climate leadership we need from a Green New Deal. Activists will deliver those signatures to their members of Congress demanding we need a climate plan that meets the urgency and scale of the climate crisis by calling on our elected leaders to commit to a just and equitable transition to a world free from fossil fuels, support green jobs, reject fossil fuel money, and endorse a Green New Deal. There are three actions in the Triangle area! More information here.
February 6, NC Poor People’s Campaign Legislative Demands News Conference

NC General Assembly, 16 W Jones Street, Raleigh, 3:30 pm, more information
North Carolina will join with states around the country and Washington DC to put our legislatures on notice. We won’t be silent as inadequate hurricane relief, racist voter ID laws, and soaring healthcare costs continue to directly impact poor and disenfranchised people in North Carolina. Following the press conference, we will take letters with our demands to the leaders of the General Assembly and key committee chairs.
• raise the minimum wage to a Living Wage,
• expand Medicaid,
• end partisan gerrymandering,
• end racist mass incarceration,
• provide a full and equal education to all our children,
• protect us from the poisons of pipelines, coal ash ponds, wood pellet factories, and corporate livestock farms that pollute the air and water of their neighbors.
February 9, 13th Annual Moral March on Raleigh & HKonJ People’s Assembly
More information hereand here.
Join the NC NAACP and coalition partners for the 13th Annual Moral March. The theme of this year’s march is, “No Time to Stand Down, We Must Stay Strong and Endure”. Forward together, not one step back!!
8:30 am, Begin gathering
9:00 am, Opening rally, corner of Wilmington and South Streets near Shaw University
10 am, March Begins
12:30 pm, People’s Assembly ends
Tuesdays with Tillis every Tuesday, with different themes
Feb. 5 is week #107, demanding Senator Tillis stop the re-nomination of Thomas Farr
11:30 am to 12:30 pm, Federal Building, 310 New Bern Avenue, Raleigh

A couple articles and video:
Video of Greta Thunberg’s inspiring speech in Davos, Our House is on Fire
February 12, NCDEQ Environmental Justice & Equity Board Meeting.
CFCC Board Room in Union Station (Room U-502), 502 North Front Street, Wilmington, NC
1 – 5 pm, There is a public comment opportunity built into the agenda. If you are interested, sign up to speak at the meeting. More information.

February 15-18, Great Backyard Bird Count
Join this fun citizen-science project! More information here.
February 19, State Climate Change Interagency Council
Museum of the Albemarle Auditorium, 501 South Water Street, Elizabeth City
Tentative agenda items include agency update reports, invited speakers on coastal climate impacts, and an update on the greenhouse gas inventory. The meeting is open to the public. There will be an opportunity for individuals and organizations to provide input to cabinet agencies on their implementation of climate change and clean energy initiatives. Comments will be limited to two minutes. More information.
Rescheduled Rise for Climate Solutions Forum coming the last week in February. More details in next email!
February 28, Chatham County Industrial Hemp Workshop
Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center, Pittsboro, 4-9 pm
The Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension will offer an Industrial Hemp Workshop as part of its Enhancing Sustainability Series. North Carolina State University hemp specialists and researchers will be joined by hemp growers and other stakeholders for an evening of education, networking, and fellowship. More information and registration here.
March 1-3, NC Climate Justice Summit
Haw River SP, 339 Conference Center Dr, Browns Summit Deadline to register is February 18
Registration link hereand more info here.
The Summit, like all the work of the NC Climate Justice Collective, centers the leadership of youth, indigenous peoples, people of color and frontline community members. We root our work in a cultural strategy that weaves together the 4 Rs of social transformation—Reform, Resist, Re-imagine and Re-Create. This year’s Summit will be based on our interactive performance, The Good Fire, which offers a metaphor for practices of energy justice, community resilience, and collective liberation. Indigenous leaders will offer several keynote talks on climate justice. Internationally renowned Charly Lowry, a Lumbee singer songwriter and activist from Robeson County, is our featured performer.
Save-the-dates!
 
March 15, Youth Climate Strike US
Youth from across the US are striking on March 15th to show our legislators that we need a #GreenNewDeal! Follow @climatestrikeUS to stay updated on the youth strikes. Link in their bio and here for how to organize your own strike! #ClimateStrike
March 16th, Haw River Clean-Up-A-Thon!

April 11, 2019 NC Breathe Conference

Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington
Clean Air Carolina’s one-day event will focus on environmental justice in North Carolina and how health professionals, researchers, communities and policymakers can work together to protect vulnerable communities. More information and registration here.
See ya at some of these events! Thanks for reading and sharing!
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen
350 Triangle Coordinator