Howdy!
As I mentioned in the last email, April is a busy month, and so is May! A few updates and more on upcoming events and actions!
April 30, Durham NC Utility Commission Public Hearing on Carbon Plan
7 pm, Durham County Courthouse, Courtroom D7, 510 S. Dillard St. Durham
The last of the five NC Utility Commission (NCUC) public witness hearings to receive testimony on Duke’s proposed 2023 Carbon Plan and Integrated Resource Plan takes place in Durham at the Durham County Courthouse at 7 pm. It’s our opportunity to let the NCUC know what WE think needs to be in the Carbon Plan, instead of Duke Energy’s fracked methane gas expansion and more! You can sign up to speak inside the courthouse or attend to listen and support others.
Join us for the Carbon Plan Rally – No Time for False Solutions!
Before the hearing join us in the courtyard in front of the Durham Courthouse for the No Time for False Solutions Rally at 5:45 pm! Hear from speakers Bobby Jones, Dr Crystal Cavalier, Caroline Armijo, Dr Rania Masri, Triangle Raging Grannies, and more. Register for the rally here.

To help with talking points as you consider either speaking at the public hearing or sending a written comment check out the 10 principles of what a carbon plan in the public interest should be in “The Updated Carbon Plan for North Carolina’s Energy Future Once Again Fails to Make the Grade” here.
You can submit written comments on the Carbon Plan using this link. Please remember refer to Docket E-100 Sub 190.
May 8, The People vs. Bank of America
12-2 pm, Bank of America Headquarters, between Trade and Tyron St., Charlotte
Organized by POWHR and 7 Directions of Service. Bank of America has been funding climate chaos for way too long! People from many states are traveling to their HQ to send them a clear message: STOP backing MVP and all fossil fuel projects NOW! Join the frontlines in Charlotte to EXPOSE Bank of America’s responsibility for MVP’s crimes! More information and register here. ***A bus will be available from Durham (9 am) and Greensboro (9:45 am). Click on travel assistance in the registration link for more information!

UPSETTING NEWS!
The Mountain Valley Pipeline asked the federal government to permit it to go in service by May 23, 2024. The pipeline plans to start pumping gas as early as June 1, 2024. This announcement arrives days after MVP told federal officials that it is 63% complete to final restoration and admitted to numerous environmental crimes, including significant landslides, water contamination, and soil disturbance.
Call to action! MVP is asking for “in-service” permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency by May 23 – before they’ve completed their safety consent agreement. Help us tell FERC to deny MVP’s request! Toolkit with actions to take here.
Statement from POWHR, MVP Announces Reckless & Impossible In-Service Date here.
Statement from Appalachian Voices here.
June 1, The Yesah Tribunal: Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Rights of Rivers
9 am – 5 pm, Haw River State Park, 339 Conference Center Dr, Browns Summit, NC
Calling all Water Protectors! Join us to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline in North Carolina!
Stand with us against this dirty, fracked methane gas pipeline! We demand that Mountain Valley Pipeline polluters be held accountable for their violations of human and nature’s rights, destruction and desecration of sacred sites, mountains, and rivers, and provide clean-up costs for all impacted residents and ecosystems of West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. We have many ways to stand together to stop the MVP, including recognizing legal Rights of Rivers. More information and register here. Will be updated soon with livestream info and bus travel.
Another event, more actions, and articles!
May 7, Palestine & Climate Justice: Militarism as a Driver of Climate Crisis
6:30 pm, in person in DC, but also available online
As the genocide in Palestine continues with US support, the North American climate movement is becoming increasingly attuned to the role of militarism as a driver of climate crisis and multiplier of the climate and environmental vulnerabilities communities face as a consequence of military operations undertaken by the US and its allies. In parallel, organizers working on progressive foreign policy have begun to seriously engage with the climate crisis, and are beginning to recognize the linkages between the exercise of US military power and environmental degradation. For livestream link and more info register here.
Along with the action in Charlotte calling out Bank of America’s crimes from backing the Mountain Valley Pipeline. there have also been actions recently calling out RBC and Citibank. Actions like these will continue this summer!
RBC on the Defensive at its AGM as Movement-Led Demands Yield Wins here.
“Violence on the land is violence on our bodies. Yet Royal Bank of Canada still underwrote the $27 million bond for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is a death sentence for many in our communities. Our powerful coalition — from Appalachia to the Yintah — will continue to stand up to protect the most vulnerable among us, and our Great Grandmother Earth.” Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck
Climate Activists Blockade Citigroup HQ in NYC to Demand Banking Giant Stop Funding Fossil Fuels from Democracy Now! here.
Tell Citi: Don’t Invest in Environmental Racism here.
Email Citi Executives: Stop Burning the Planet here.
Students at US universities file legal complaints over fossil fuel investments here.
“Campus organizers at three universities filed legal complaints on Monday arguing that their schools’ investments in planet-heating fossil fuels are illegal.”
Students: Universities must divest from fossil fuels for our survival here.
Capitalism Is Acting Truly Suicidally on Climate by Bill McKibben here.
44,000 Reasons to Phase Out Fossil Fuels by Jean Su and Tanya Sanerib here.
Thanks for reading and for taking action! Look forward to seeing you at some of the events!
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen