Howdy!
The busy spring season is beginning to slow down. First, some updates on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).
On April 22 (Earth Day!!!) MVP asked for “in-service” permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency by May 23 – before they’ve completed their safety consent agreement. NOOOOO!!! Help us tell FERC to deny MVP’s request! Toolkit with actions to take here.
Then on May 1, the MVP pipeline ruptured as MVP used pressurized water to test the pipes!
Deborah Kushner’s excellent article Rupture here.
POWHR’s statement Pipe Failures Plague MVP Despite Claims of Near-Completion here.
Letter to the Editor by Jessica Sims MVP not ready to go into service here.
Take action! Tell FERC to DENY MVP’s request to go in service here!
Thanks to Appalachian Voices’ Dan Radmacher for writing this beautiful article, The Peoples’ Protector, about the amazing Crystal Mello here.
It was SO great to be in community with people from WV, VA and NC demanding accountability from banks in Charlotte on May 8th for The People vs Bank of America action. There were about 100 of us walking on the sidewalks in Uptown Charlotte. Read POWHR’s great summary Activists Demand Accountability from Financiers for Dangerous MVP Pipe Test Failuresthat includes videos and photos from the action here.
A landowner received a letter from MVP on May 6 that MVP Southgate is again surveying. UGH! At this time, there are no recent developments regarding state level permits on the project. Read Changes for MVP Southgate Pipeline are Part of a Web of Proposed Methane Gas to learn about the many gas projects here.
350 US is hosting an excellent Utilities Public Education Series on Tuesday nights at 7 pm. Each session features different guest speakers who will share their expertise and then lead attendees in interactive breakout sessions. Check out the schedule and RSVP here. The next session on May 21 will be on Corporate Accountability/Finance Campaigns.
May 23, Mountain Valley Pipeline Updates
7 pm, online
Wild Virginia and allied groups will discuss the status of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and actions groups and individuals can take. They will also briefly report on the MVP Southgate project and Transco’s proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement project. Register here.
May 23, Energy for Everyone: Taking Back Our Power!
7 pm, online
Join members of the 350 Network Council for a teach-in on how monopoly-owned utilities are fueling the climate crisis and how we are organizing to take our power BACK! Register 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.
Thanks to Rep. Pricey Harrison, HB923, the Rights for the Dan River Ecosystem Act, was recently introduced in the NC General Assembly! More information here.
June 3, Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP) Scoping Comment Party
6 pm, online
Join Appalachian Voices and other coalition partners to learn more about the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project – a 54-mile methane pipeline proposed to run through VA and NC. Now through June 6, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting “scoping” comments on the project to help FERC know what should be included in their environmental assessment of the pipeline. Register here.
Roxboro Steam Station
Duke Energy has proposed to build new methane gas power plants at the site of the Roxboro Steam Station in northern Person County. In mid-June, the North Carolina Utilities Commission will hold public hearings to hear feedback on Duke’s plans for these plants. Join others to go door-to-door in northern Person County to talk to community members about Duke’s plans and hear their thoughts on the proposed methane gas plants.
Person County Canvassing
Sunday, May 26, 1-5 p.m.
Saturday, June 2, 1-5 p.m.
Meetup location: Olive Hill Park – 3856 Semora Rd, Roxboro
NoMEC update
Dominion Energy is hosting an open house on the Mariah Energy Center on May 23, 5-7 pm, Person County Auditorium. Come with your questions, that we hope they will FINALLY answer.
June 10-August 31, Summer of Heat on Wall Street: 5 Ways to Get Involved
Time is running out to halt the worst of the climate crisis. And with Wall Street pouring billions of dollars each year into fossil fuels, it’s now or never to turn the heat up on Wall Street — for everyone and everything that we love.
Nonstop creative nonviolent civil disobedience will be taking place this summer to force Wall Street to act big and act fast to end fossil fuel funding. More information for actions in NYC here. There will also be distributed actions taking place across the country in solidarity. There will be an action on June 12 in Uptown Charlotte at noon with GreenFaith and Third Act NC. More details on that action and others in July in the next newsletter.
More actions!
Stop Line 5!! The Army Corps of Engineers has prematurely announced a public hearing and comment period, fast tracking the permit process for the disastrous Line 5 Relocation Project. Sign to urge them to delay this public hearing here.
Learn more about the proposed Transco SSEP (Southeast Supply Enhancement Project) here. Sign the petition and submit your comment, using the talking points provided, in addition to your concerns here.
The Sunrise Movement Durham hub is working with partners on a Green New Deal for the City of Durham. They are collecting petition signatures to show support for the Local Green New Deal Resolution that they will present to the Durham City Council. Sign the petition here.
Articles and recordings
Today’s student protests are not so different from 350’s own roots by Jeff Ordower, 350.orgNorth America Director, here.
Recording of Green America’s excellent Responsible Home and Auto Insurance, part of their “Aligning Your Money with Your Values” series here.
We Already Have the Resources for an Equitable Energy Transition, We Just Need to Redirect Them by May Boeve here.
At Durham Carbon Hearing, Calls for End to Duke Energy’s Fracked Gas Expansion by Ziyad Habash here.
With summer heat just around the corner: Burnin’ up: State offers help for top weather-related killer by Jennifer Allen here. And check out the Heat Action Plan Toolkit mentioned in the article here.
Record-breaking increase in CO2 levels in world’s atmosphere by Oliver Milman here.
“The latest reading from Mauna Loa shows the world at around 426ppm of CO2.
Canadian Wildfire Smoke Is Triggering Outdoor Air Quality Alerts Across the Midwestern U.S. It Could Pollute the Indoors, Too by Kiley Price here.
“All of this penetrates inside the places where we live and work and go to school. And so we have to start thinking of buildings as a key component of climate resiliency.”
The 1.5C global heating target was always a dream, but its demise doesn’t signal doom for climate action by Bill McKibben here.
Thanks for reading and for taking action!
Peace and love for our beautiful Earth, Karen