Spring has arrived with beautiful flowers, green emerging on the trees, and lovely bird song. It also means there are so many events and opportunities for actions taking place!
March 23, What You Need to Know About Utility Profits
4 pm, online
How much of your monthly electric bill is going to monopoly utility profits? Join Solar United Neighbors and Energy and Policy Institute (EPI) to discuss EPI’s new report on just how much utilities are raking in, how this threatens your ability to benefit from solar energy, and what we can do to fight back. Register here.
March 24, Data Centers’ Impact on North Carolina and Beyond
4-5 pm, online
Join the NC Council of Churches Eco-Justice Connection advocacy forum to learn about the environmental, social, and policy implications of this rapidly expanding industry. Featured speakers include Amy Adams, Deputy and Programs Director of Southeast Climate & Energy Network, and Dr. Rania Masri, Director of Organizing and Policy of NC Environmental Justice Network. Register here.
March 24, Imperialism, Ecocide, and Climate Justice: A Conversation with Dr. Rania Masri
5:30 – 6:30 pm, online
Hosted by NC WARN. Dr. Masri will examine how environmental destruction is not accidental, but often strategically deployed as a tool of oppression and imperial control. Drawing on real-world examples, the webinar will unpack how ecocide is used to seize land, control resources, destroy communities, and entrench systems of violence and domination. This conversation will also focus on pathways forward that are grounded in accountability, solidarity, and collective action. Register by March 23rd at 12 pm here.
March 24 -Mid-May, Communities Over Pipelines — 7DS Toxic Tour
Hosted by 7 Directions of Service (7DS), join the Toxic Tour along the Southeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline (SSEP) route. Dinner will be offered, along with information on the impacts of fossil fuel projects, and tools to build resilience and support. More information and registration here.
March 25, Rate Hike Webinar
7 pm, online
Hosted by NC Conservation Network to help community members prepare for the upcoming NC Utilities Commission public hearings. There will also be time for Q&A. Register here.
March 28, No Kings 3
As of today there are 75 events taking place across NC, including in Raleigh, Durham, Pittsboro, Roxboro, Charlotte and more. Find a location near you here.
March 31, End Fossil Fuel Contingents Mass Call
8 pm, online
Hosted by Power Up: Movement to End Fossil Fuels. This Spring we have a huge opportunity to show up as part of the broader movement fighting authoritarianism and to expose the critical role Big Oil is playing in helping Trump gain and exercise control. We are bringing together the people fighting against Big Oil and for climate justice to show up as a unified block during moments of mass mobilizations this Spring. Register here.
April 11, World Water Day 2026 — “Where Water Flows, Equality Grows.”
1-4 pm, Twin Lakes Park, 439 Chandler Road, Durham
Hosted by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Triangle Branch, Triangle Raging Grannies, and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. There will be a water blessing, kids activities, Papperhand Puppets, and guest panel.
Duke Energy Rate Hike Hearings
Hearings begin March 30 in Raleigh at 7 pm and run through May 12 in Durham. The virtual hearings begin at 6:30 pm. Sign up to speak at the virtual hearings here. Limit of 20 speakers.
Raleigh: March 30, 7 pm, Dobbs Building, 430 N Salisbury Street
Lumberton: March 31
Snow Hill: April 6
Roxboro: April 13
Waynesville: April 14
*Online: April 1, speakers must sign up by 5 pm on March 25th
*Online: April 7, speakers must sign up by 5 pm on March 31st
Morganton: April 28
Charlotte: April 29
Winston-Salem: May 6
Durham: May 12
There will be a press conference at 4 pm before the March 30 Raleigh hearing in front of the Dobbs Building. Rallies will also be organized before the Charlotte and Durham hearings.
**If you’re not able to attend the hearings, you can still submit a public comment to the NC Utility Commission at https://ncuc.gov/contactus.html Be sure to include Docket E-2 Sub 1380 for Duke Progress or Docket E-7 Sub 1329 for Duke Carolinas.
Put the brakes on Duke’s rates! NC Conservation Network factsheet here.
Stop the Duke Energy money grab! Sign and share your story here.
Contact your NC legislators and let them know you reject these rate hikes!
Save the Dates!
April 25-26, Piedmont Farm Tour
The Piedmont Farm Tour, hosted by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Weaver Street Market for 29 years is an annual celebration of sustainable, local food ,and farming in North Carolina’s Piedmont region. More info and register here.
May 2, Haw River Festival
4-8 pm, Saxapahaw
There will belive music from Jasmé Kelly, The Spectacles and the New Potatoes, a giant puppet parade from Paperhand Puppets, stand-up paddleboard raffle, canoe rides for kids, stream monitoring, river walk, food trucks, and farmers market! More info soon.
TAKE ACTION!
World Water Day Action: No New AI Data Centers! Water is for the people, not tech corporations! Send a message to your members of Congress calling for an immediate halt to the construction of new AI data centers here.
Tax Polluters’ Profits Now! Call on the G7 – the world’s biggest economies – to tax fossil fuel windfall profits here.
Big Oil companies are lobbying Congress for blanket immunity from any laws or lawsuits that could hold them accountable for fueling the crisis. Tell Congress: No Immunity for Big Oil here.
Tell the EMC to protect our water and put public health over polluters’ interests!
The Environmental Management Commission (EMC), the body tasked with creating rules to protect NC’s air, water, and environment, is considering a weak proposal that will not keep harmful chemicals like PFAS and 1,4-dioxane out of our water. The EMC wants to allow polluters to set their own targets for pollution reductions, with no consequences if pollution stays the same or even increases. UNACCEPTABLE! Sign the petition here.
The EMC is also accepting comments and hosting hearings across the state. NC Conservation Network and partners are hosting a webinar on April 6th at 7 pm to help people craft their comments and ask questions before the hearings start. Register for that webinar here. The Raleigh public hearing takes place on April 20th at the Dobbs Building at 6pm.
Press release from Center for Biological Diversity: Pipeline That Caused Massive 2015 Santa Barbara Oil Spill Restarts Illegallyhere.
Urge your elected officials to oppose the reopening of Sable Offshore’s pipeline and the use of the Defense Production Act to undermine states’ rights to protect their environment and communities from dirty oil and gas. Call the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
ARTICLES and VIDEOS
Paying for Their Profits: How Ratepayers Foot the Bill for Soaring Utility Profits. New report from Energy & Policy Institute (EPI) by Daniel Tait, Shelby Green, and Sue Sturgis here
EPI also developed a calculator that will allow customers to discover how much of their monthly utility bill goes directly to profits here.
In N.C., Stokes County Approves a Data Center Rezoning, Triggering a Citizens’ Lawsuit by Lisa Sorg here.
Virginia to become second state that allows balcony solar by Elizabeth Ouzts here.
Revealed:the world’s worst mega-leaks of methane driving global heating by Damian Carrington here.
‘Dark Day for California’ as Oil Flows Through Pipeline Behind Major Spill After Trump War Order by Jessica Corbett here.
If Fossil Fuels Are War, Renewables Can Bring Peace by Rebecca Solnit here.
To Advance Climate Justice, End Illegal Wars from Center for Progressive Reform here.
“There is no question that this planet’s inhabitants would be living healthier, longer, safer, and more joyful lives if we were not perpetually subordinated to and annihilated by a political class that prioritizes profit maximization and the extractive exploitation of people and our environment above all else.”
5m tonnes of CO2 emitted in just 14 days of US war on Iran, analysis finds by Damien Gayle here.
Department of Global War and Warming by Revolving Door Project, Hannah Story Brown and Toni Aguilar Rosenthal here.
‘No Kings’ protest movement ‘matters in the biggest possible way’ Bill McKibben interview with Ali Velshi here.
North Carolinians band together to help their neighbors electrify by Elizabeth Ouzts here.
Thanks so much for reading and for taking action! See some of you on the streets on March 28th!
