Howdy!
Summer is almost over and cooler temperatures are on their way as we begin another busy fall season. A couple events are taking place today, and there are more public hearings next week. September will be filled with more actions, including the Triangle Sun Day & Make Billionaires Pay event taking place on September 21, the fall equinox.
September 21, Triangle Sun Day & Make Billionaires Pay!
2-4:30 pm, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, 3313 Wade Ave., Raleigh
Join us for a solidarity action with national and international events — Make Billionaires Pay, Draw the Line, and Sun Day. We’re making the connections! Register here.
Sun Day is a global day of action on September 21, celebrating the unstoppable rise of clean energy and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind. Timed with the fall equinox—a moment of transition.
Make Billionaires Pay demands:
1 – Shut down billionaires. Fund our future.
2 – Shut down fascists. Protect migrants and the global majority.
3 – Shut down polluters. Defend Mother Earth
Draw the Line We want a better world for ourselves, our children and our communities. A world with clean, affordable energy for everyone. A world where we can speak up for our rights, where people and nature are safe, and where big polluters help pay to fix the climate crisis.
We will have speakers talking about climate justice, solar energy, immigration, Rights of Nature, and more. There will be breakout groups and actions to take. We will end with people bringing their signs and forming a line along the sidewalk on Wade Avenue. Register to join us here!
MORE EVENTSAugust 26, We Pay, They Profit: Fighting North Carolina’s Methane Gas Plan
6:30-8 pm, online
Are you concerned about higher utility bills? Or threats to our clean air and water? Join grassroots advocates for a webinar to learn about the proposed methane gas plan in North Carolina and what you can do to protect your community! Register here.
August 26, Webinar on Enviva’s Application to Expand Wood Pellet Production at its Northampton Facility
12 pm, online
Organized by the Impacted Communities Against Wood Pellets Coalition and the NC Biomass Network. Learn more about Enviva and its expansion plans and problems and the organizing to attend a Public Hearing once announced. Register here.
Paperhand Puppet Project’s 25th annual show The Gift continues on weekends at the Forest Theatre in Chapel Hill August 15 through September 28. This year’s show features a collaboration with Jaki Shelton Green, North Carolina’s Poet Laureate, and highlights the important work of water protectors like Claudia Lopez, Brenda Wilson, Elaine Chiosso, and Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck. Purchase tickets here.
September 1, #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day
Durham, 10:30 am -12:30 pm, Trinity Ave Park, 410 Watts St., Durham
Durham Rising, a coalition of many unions, will be hosting a rally in Trinity Park. Register here.
Raleigh, 2-4 pm, NC State Capital, 1 E Edenton St. Register here.
We are working people rising up to stop the billionaire takeover–not just through the ballot box or the courts, but through building a bigger and stronger movement. Check the May Day Strong website for more events around the state and country here.
SSEP 401 permit hearings — Don’t Let Transco Ruin Our Waterways
September 2, 6 pm, Rockingham Community College
September 4, 6 pm, Kernersville Municipal Council Chambers
Registration for speaking begins at 5:30 pm for both hearings. More information here. Talking points here.
September 4, No SSEP! Rally to Protect Water
4:30 pm, Harmon Park, Kernersville
Join impacted community members and advocates against SSEP for a vibrant Rally to Protect Water before NCDEQ’s Public Hearing that evening – join our voices demanding NCDEQ deny Transco’s permit here!
September 3, Standing Up to Data Centers: Sharing Lessons Learned
2:30 pm, online
Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and to meet this rising demand, tech and utility companies are fueling a glut of new gas infrastructure. Join us to hear lessons learned from partners who have successfully pushed back on data centers and information about what community organizations can do if faced with a proposal in their community. Register here.
September 3, Banking for Good: How Your Bank or Credit Union Has Impact
12 pm, online
Join Green America, Hip Hop Caucus, Beneficial State Bank, Self-Help Credit Union, and Adelphi Bank for a conversation on how your everyday banking choices can shape a more sustainable and equitable world. Green America will unveil their upgraded “Get a Better Bank” map, now featuring over 17,000 locations of 3,000+ community development and minority-owned banks and credit unions across the country. Register here.
The Good Relatives Series: Truth, Healing & Repair for White Settler Ancestries is a 3-month program (Sep 11-Dec 4) inviting European-descended settlers into a process of ancestral reconnection, healing, and repair. Through altar tending, storytelling, community dialogue, and the creation of a personal reparations plan, participants will bring ancestral insight into meaningful action, specifically around land rights issues and the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
All proceeds from the course will be returned to local BIPOC speakers, Indigenous Memories, and 7 Directions of Service. The series is co-anchored by author Hilary Giovale and Triangle-based organizers, with both online and in-person opportunities. You can find the full course description, key dates and application here.
September 20, Make Billionaires Pay March in New York City
In conjunction with the 350 Global led Draw the Line actions Sept. 19th-21st, Make Billionaires Pay convening orgs (350 US, DRUM, Women’s March, and Climate Defenders) will host an anchor march in New York City as political leaders from around the globe arrive for the UN General Assembly and as part of multiple Climate Week actions. Register for more information here.
September 20, Grounded in Hope for the Energy Transition
12 pm, Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church, 314 East Franklin St., Chapel Hill
Hosted by Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle (ICCT). Join kindred spirits as we connect with enlightening speakers, encounter one another by sharing our stories of Creation care, experience the natural world on a meditative walk, and find grounded hope in the face of ecological loss. Find details on the speakers, schedule, lunch and registration here.
September 21, Charlotte Sun Day Event
1-3 pm, The Disc at Center City Charlotte, 100 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte
Organized by GreenFaith and part of Faiths 4 Climate Justice. Registration here.
September 23, Join 7 Directions of Service in-person or virtually for 3 powerful conversations they are hosting during New York City Climate Week. Learn from Indigenous leaders on the frontlines of the climate crisis to hear their stories and learn tools of resilience rooted in Indigenous cultures and practices.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm, Rights of Nature in North Carolina: Protecting Land & Life from Fossil Fuels Register here.
12:45-1:45 pm, Appalachia to the Gulf South: Rematriation as Climate Justice Register here.
6:30-7:45 pm, Indigenous-led Rights of Nature: Dismantling Fossil Fuel Colonialism
Featuring frontline Indigenous leaders confronting fossil fuel colonialism by asserting Rights of Nature and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Register here.
October 17-18, NC Environmental Justice Network’s Annual Conference
Franklinton Center At Bricks, 281 Southbend Ln, Whitakers
This year’s theme is We Are Still Here: 27 Years of Holding Our Ground! Resisting Injustice, Organizing the People, Mapping the Path, Building Power. Register here.
TAKE ACTION!
Take Action to STOP MVP Southgate!
If you haven’t already, you have until September 12th to send comments to the NC Department of Environmental Quality asking them to deny MVP’s 401 water quality certification. More information about making comments here.
The International Court of Justice — the highest court in the world — ruled last month that governments must take action to protect us from climate change. Governors must act now!
Tell Governor Stein we need bold climate leadership here.
Donald Trump’s EPA is trying to illegally claw back $7 billion in Solar For All grants meant to help low- and middle-income families access solar energy. Tell Congress: Stop the clean energy clawbacks here.
Tell Congress: Stop the EPA from cutting a solar program that helps lower electricity billshere.
Tell Brazil President Lula: Break up with Big Oil here.
The Utility Fairness NOW campaign is launching an effort to share the experiences of North Carolinians who are struggling with electricity billing issues, high energy prices, and issues with reliable electricity access. You can participate in the survey here. The Spanish-language survey can be found here.
ARTICLES AND RECORDINGS
A call to merge the climate and immigration movements. Emily Atkin interviews Colette Pichon Battle as Katrina’s 20th anniversary approaches here.
Three Years Out: Gutting the Inflation Reduction Act by Michelle Carter here.
“We as North Carolinians cannot continue to accept the illegal and cruel clawback of funds that help our neighbors keep their lights on, make our homes healthier, and support an overdue transition to clean and reliable energy.”
Rooftop Solar Is a Miracle. Why Are We Killing It With Red Tape? by Bill McKibben here.
“Why should the Chinese and the Australians and the Germans get access to the sun while you’re denied it? I mean, what the hell—we’re bathed in free energy every daylight hour and we need a bunch of permits to use it?”
N.C.’s Democratic Congressional Delegation Condemns EPA Cancellation of Solar for Allby Lisa Sorg here.
NC lawmakers pass bill that could harm environment, critics warn by Will Atwater here.
“This new law marks an awful turning point for families and communities across North Carolina when elected officials in the state legislature ignore serious illnesses and deaths in favor of polluters’ profits.” Mary Maclean Asbill
Can Solar Energy Save Us? Bill McKibben’s new book argues that sun power can displace fossil fuels by Mark Hertsgarrd here.
We Hold More Political Power Than We Realize – Pillars of Support Explained. From Choose Democracy here.
US Guts Criticism of Indigenous Rights Abuses, Mentions of Climate Change From Annual Human Rights Reports by Katie Surma and Peter Aldhous here.
SLAPP’d The story of an Indigenous nation fighting for its water, an environmental nonprofit facing extinction, and an energy giant using the courts to punish protestors. Drilled podcast series with Amy Westervelt and Alleen Brown here.
Scientists slam Trump administration climate report as a ‘farce’ full of misinformation by Dharna Noor and Oliver Milman here.
EPA Rescinds Finding That Greenhouse Gas Emissions Harm Human Health, Hobbling U.S. Climate Action by Wyatt Myskow here.
Two articles from ProPublica