Howdy!
It’s a new year. Hope you are doing well and staying safe and warm.
We ended 2021 with good news on the air permit being denied for Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Lambert Compressor Station. Yeah! But bad news on the 404 water permits for MVP getting the go ahead in both VA and WV. Ugh! The fires in the Boulder area were frightening. Check out this interview on Democracy NOW! with Jennifer Balch, director of the Earth Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Climate Change-Fueled Blaze Destroys 1,000 Homes in Colorado in Rare Winter Wildfire. The climate crisis is here now, screaming at us every day with obvious signs.
If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend watching Don’t Look Up on Netflix!
Read Peter Kalmus’ article about it I’m a climate scientist. Don’t Look Up captures the madness I see every day.
EVENTS
Jan 18, National Call for Arm in Arm Assembly Feb 2022
7-8 pm, online
Hosted by Arm in Arm, and joined by many partners, sign up to learn about the multi-generational climate training taking place in February, plus, action plans in 2022. Register here.
January 19, Overcoming Climate Anxiety
7-8 pm, online
Hosted by Food & Water Watch, Dr. Lise Van Susteren, a psychiatrist and one of the first people to call attention to the concept of climate anxiety at the national level, will be in conversation about how the important pieces of our work is making sure we take care of ourselves in the process, so we don’t burn out from anxiety or fear. If her name sounds familiar, she has been a speaker at two conferences 350 Triangle help to organize. Register here.
January 20, Democratizing the Grid: New Citizen Initiatives Challenge Monopoly Electric Utilities
1-2 pm, online
Join the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for a conversation with advocates who are taking on electric utility monopolies with the aim of accelerating the shift to clean energy and winning democratic community control! Register here.
January 20, The NC Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission Initiative Launch
9 am – 2 pm , online
Hosted by the Beloved Community, who has been in a quiet discussion for more than a year about what can and should be done to change the current direction in our state and nation of growing hostility, polarization and violence. They have concluded “that a systematic process of seeking comprehensive truth, and what the Beloved Community Center calls ‘community truth,’ can be of great value in changing our nation’s tragic trajectory. This kind of truth is the foundation on which we can reconcile historical differences, promote real justice, and forge a more peaceful state and nation.” Register here.
January 27, PFAS and Protecting Your Drinking Water
12-1 pm, online
Hosted by Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). Senior Attorney and Leader of SELC’s Clean Water Program Geoff Gisler and Staff Attorney Jean Zhuang will be joined the Haw Riverkeeper, Emily Sutton, for a discussion about how they are working together to ensure EPA’s PFAS Roadmap prevents industrial chemicals from contaminating our water. Register here.
Articles and more
Beautiful video recap by Artivism Virginia of the December 11, Violation Vigil, when more than three hundred water protectors gathered in Richmond to bring visual and spoken witness to the hundreds of harmful water violations already committed by the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
We had some global climate victories last year, some that are featured in this article by Ray Levy Uyeda The climate victories of 2021 that put fossil fuels in check.
Great article by climate journalist Amy Westervelt Telling people to ‘follow the science’ won’t save the planet. But they will fight for justice .
Check out Clean Water for NC’s new report, A Pandemic’s Impact: Utility Disconnections, Evictions and Houselessness here.
ACTIONS TO TAKE!
Tell the Senate: No Dirty Energy in the Build Back Better Act!
While the bill contains investments that will improve people’s lives, it also invests in harmful energy technologies that will devastate frontline communities. This delay of the Build Back Better Act is a crucial time to demand the Senate remove billions of dollars in handouts to dirty energy corporations in the final version of the bill. These include incentives for:
• Nuclear power production
• Biofuels, including funding for biofuel development and biomass power plants
• Carbon Capture and Storage, including for coal, fracking, and enhanced oil recovery projects
• Hydrogen power production that depends on fossil fuel energy
• Waste-to-energy production, which is incineration of municipal solid waste that produces high levels of local pollution
Take action here.
Mountain Valley Pipeline has broken the rules, polluted our air and water, and refuses to protect our communities. It’s time to #StopMVP! Call Mr. Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, asking to DENY the 404 water permit for MVP! We are in a climate crisis now and must stop all new fossil fuel projects! Call 1-855-980-2349.
Tell President Biden to STOP oil and gas permits! Sign here. https://www.permianclimatebomb.org/action/tell-biden-stop-oil-and-gas-permits
Advocate for stronger methane standards! The EPA has proposed a new Methane Rule that needs to be stronger. Comments will be accepted until January 31. Send your comments here.
Drop the Charges! Hundreds of water protectors are currently facing criminal charges in Minnesota for standing in defense of the water, the climate, and the treaty rights of the Anishinaabeg people. Send a letter to MN Attorney General Keith Ellison and Governor Walz to tell them to #DropTheCharges here.
NAB: Divest from Coastal GasLink!
Sign in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Indigenous communities – call on NAB to cease and withdraw investment in the Coastal GasLink pipeline immediately. Sign here.
VOTE! The 2022 elections are going to be soooo important this year! We need to be sure we elect people who will vote with climate emergency, equality, health, and justice on their minds! The dates might change again, but as of today, the 2022 primary election will be May 17, with early voting April 28-May 14. The general election is November 8. Check out You Can Vote, Democracy NC and The New North Carolina Project for information on voting, where to vote, and ways you can volunteer.
Stop the Money Pipeline actions:
- Do you bank with (or have a credit card or a mortgage with) Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo or Bank of America? Then join over 8,000 customers in demanding that your bank stops funding fossil fuels.
- Tell Morgan Stanley that their 2030 climate targets aren’t good enough and they need to do better.
- Tell Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America that their 2030 climate targets must include an immediate end to supporting all new fossil fuel projects.
The White House comment line is open from 11 am-3 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week. Call 202-456-1111.
Save-the-dates!
March 19, Haw River Clean Up-A-Thon
Teams of volunteers throughout the watershed will be picking up trash from the river and its tributaries. In the last 32 years 6,230 volunteers collected 10,714 bags of trash and 1,944 tires from the Haw. If you’re interested in volunteering or creating a team of your own sign up here.
March 22, World Water Day. There may be several events taking place this week to honor water. More information next month!
April 30, 4th Annual Missing Murdered Indigenous Women Rally
10 am, Greensboro
June 18, Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly & Moral March on Washington and to the Polls
Washington, D.C.
It is NOT just a day of action. It is a declaration of an ongoing, committed moral movement to 1) build power, 2) shift the political narrative and 3) make real policies to fully address poverty and low wealth from the bottom up. There will be buses going from NC. More info and register here.
Thanks for reading and taking action!
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen