Hearts are heavy with so much going on here and around the world. Remember to take care of yourselves.
Lots going on as usual. Some in person and online. The Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly & Moral March on Washington and to the Polls on June 18 that I have included in this monthly email since late last year is now less than a month away. There are many buses going from NC. More information on that and more below.
June 1, Rally & Walk for Environmental Justice: WVA to NC
1:30 pm, Umstead Park, 399 Umstead Drive, Chapel Hill
Part of the Walk for Appalachia’s Future, taking place May 24-June 4, NC activists will gather on June 1 with MVP walkers who have walked and travelled in communities along and near the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline and Southgate Extension from WV to NC. The focus of the walk is the Mountain Valley Pipeline, but as the walkers travel they seek to amplify the voices of frontline communities and others in their fight for environmental justice and renewable energy.
Organized by 350 Triangle, WILPF-Triangle, and Beyond Extreme Energy, we chose this location since it’s close to the coal ash site and UNC coal plant, one of the topics we’ll be highlighting, along with biogas, biomass, PFAS along the Haw River, and the Duke Energy monopoly. After the program at the park (from ~1:30-2:30), we will walk to the coal ash site off Martin Luther King Blvd. via the Bolin Creek Trail where Jason Torian will speak, then drive to the coal plant for a couple more speeches and another Raging Grannies’ song. More info here.
June 1, Resisting Corporate Colonialism, Why we must stop EACOP Now
10 am, online
Hear from speakers from around the globe about how you can take action on the financing behind the East African crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and how it affects local communities and will have devastating climate impacts. As Eastern Africa faces environmental degradation, widespread community displacement, and climate injustice, North American investors watch their holdings rise. This is corporate colonialism in action. To put it in context, from 2016-2019, the world’s G20 countries provided $47 billion in public financing for fossil fuels in Africa. That’s 3.7 times the amount invested in renewable energy sources. Register here.
June 5, Inhabitants Movie Screening
5-7 pm, Pleasant Grove Recreation Center, 3958 State Hwy 49, Burlington
Hosted by 7 Directions of Service, bring your lawn chair to watch the outdoor movie. There will be snacks and refreshments. Inhabitants follow five Native American Tribes across deserts, coastlines, forests, and prairies as they restore their traditional land management practices. For millennia Native Americans successfully stewarded and shaped their landscapes, but centuries of colonization have disrupted their ability to maintain traditional land management practices. From deserts, coastlines, forests, mountains, and prairies, Native communities are restoring their ancient relationships with the land. As the climate crisis escalates these time-tested practices of North America’s original inhabitants are becoming increasingly essential in a rapidly changing world. Register here.
June 12: ‘The Crucial Decades’ with Bill McKibben
11:30 am, in person in NYC, plus, online
Hosted by Ethical NYC. From Bill: “We have a short time to make the changes scientists demand–and those of us who are a little nearer to the exit than the entrance may be some of the key people to make that happen. I will describe why our generations may make the crucial difference–if we get our (Third) Act together.” Featuring a live performance by the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus. Link here with more info for us in NC to join online!
We need a People’s Energy Plan and a Fossil Free NC!
Last week Duke Energy released their draft Carbon Plan. Not surprisingly, it does NOT take the urgency of the climate crisis seriously, since they propose more gas plants in each of the four plans!!
*Read Energy Justice NC Coalition’s Duke Energy Carbon Plan Response Statement here, and learn how you can get involved and take action by sending comments or attending upcoming public hearings in July and August.
*Follow People Power NC’s Carbon Plan and the Public Interest Scorecard release in mid June following their 12 Principles for a Fossil Free NC. There will be a webinar in late June. More details next month when that is set!
*In case you haven’t seen the great video being spread on social media and email last week, John Oliver did a segment on electric utilities. Duke Energy, NC WARN, and Rev Johnson and Joyce Johnson from the Beloved Community in Greensboro are all featured. Video here.
June 18, Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly & Moral March on Washington and to the PollsWashington, 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. More information and register here. There are over 30 buses going from NC! Click here for bus info.
TAKE ACTION!
NO new drilling!
President Biden is about to drop a climate bomb. In just a matter of weeks, he’s poised to lease our national public lands in 9 states to the oil and gas industry. We also expect the Administration to propose a new offshore leasing plan that would threaten millions of acres of our ocean waters. We can’t let the Biden Administration get away with this!! Tell President Biden to END all New Leasing of Federal Lands and Waterhere!
Tell the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to take strong action on climatehere.
Have you seen the great movie YOUTH v GOV yet, that tells the story of the landmark children’s constitutional climate case, Juliana v. United States.? It starting streaming on Netflix last month. You can take action here, by writing, calling, and/or tweeting Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to end the Department of Justice opposition to Juliana v. U.S. proceeding to trial so that the evidence of these 21 young Americans on the unconstitutionality of the U.S. fossil fuel energy system can FINALLY be heard in open court!
Chubb Must Act on the Climate Crisis! Email Chubb leadership and demand that the company stop supporting fossil fuel expansion projects here.
ARTICLES AND MORE
Big Oil Reality Check — Updated Assessment of Oil and Gas Company Climate Plans
New report from 40+ groups confirms Big Oil and Gas climate pledges don’t come close to 1.5ºC. Instead, these oil majors are planning 200+ expansion projects in 2022-25 — equal to lifetime emissions of *77 new coal plants*! Unacceptable! Link to report here.
Not Too Late, led by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua, is a project to invite newcomers to the climate movement, as well as provide climate facts and encouragement for people who are already engaged but weary. We believe that the truths about the science, the justice-centered solutions, the growing strength of the climate movement and its achievements can help. They can assuage the sorrow and despair, and they can help people see why it’s worth doing the work the climate crisis demands of us. More info here.
A new report suggests that the money Big Tech companies keep in the banking system can do more climate damage than the products they sell. “Whereas the fossil-fuel industry has clearly acted immorally on climate change, the banking industry has acted amorally.” Read Bill McKibben’s The Potential Climate Cost of Big Tech’s Cash Holdings here. Jamie Henn tweeted: When Bill wrote “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math” it helped turbocharge the fossil fuel divestment movement. I think this piece could do the same for the even larger push to take on the banks and financial institutions funding climate chaos. Let’s put these numbers to work”.
I am looking forward to reading Bill McKibben’s new book released May 31, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened. Check out this review of the book.
Thanks for reading and for taking action! Have a nice weekend!
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen
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