Welcome back to Movement Mondays as we honor the formidable Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a trailblazer in terms of justice and equality, and clearly articulated the threats of racism, capitalism, materialism, and militarism, so it’s sometimes hard to believe he was only 39 years old when murdered. Fortunately, he left us the legacy of his words and actions.

World Telegram & Sun photo by Dick DeMarsico.    November 6, 1964

Today, I want to focus on this passage from MLK’s final Christmas sermon delivered in 1967: “It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. … We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.”

Those words can be applied to justice and equality, the environment, and the current genocide in Gaza. While it might feel tempting to avert our gaze from the many, many bad things currently being done to people and planet, that’s not a viable path forward because violence against one is violence against all. All life is interrelated.

In that spirit, I’d like to offer some info, starting with a way to help Palestinians communicate (note: yesterday was Day 100 of Israel’s campaign of annihilation). Israel has imposed a blackout on communication and internet access, but eSIMs allow Palestinians to stay connected to friends, family, and the outside world.
The donation process is easy:
1) go to esim.holafly.com
2) select either Israel or Egypt as country (you can buy for 5 days up to 20 days)
3) use promocode HOLACNG for 5% discount
4) Screenshot the QR code (you will receive an email after making purchase)
5) Send that screenshot to gazaesims@gmail.com
6) know that you are helping fellow humans who are enduring terrifying circumstances (here is the full exchange)

And now I’ll share a bit of info about the fight to force the Department of Energy (DOE) to pause the permits for new Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals. In case you need an LNG refresher, I wrote about them in early November 2023. The next facility up for approval is CP2 on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana. Per Bill McKibben, if approved, CP2 “will produce 20 times more emissions than the controversial Willow oil complex over its lifetime. If the industry gets everything they’ve asked for, US LNG exports will produce more greenhouse gas emissions than…Europe. All of it. This is the biggest fossil fuel expansion project currently underway on planet earth.” (Highly recommend reading his entire piece here.)

A huge coalition of environmental and climate justice groups will stage a sit-in outside the DOE building in Washington, D.C., on February 6-8th. 

Go here to sign a petition that tells Biden and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to Stop New LNG exports AND sign-up for the sit-in AND read the full invitation from the coalition. I’m guessing many of us won’t be able to travel to D.C., but we’re still invited to attend virtual trainings on nonviolent protest because it’s good information to have as we face intensified climate collapse.  Go here for info on trainings (January 18; January 25; February 1). NOTE: There are supposedly other actions around the country in support of the big D.C. sit-in and I will share info on those when I find it. 🙂

There are two bits of good news about these LNG terminals.
One, per Healthy Gulf: “The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) has announced that it will not grant a Coastal Use Permit to Venture Global for its CP Express pipeline, associated with the proposed Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) methane gas export facility, until the company responds to comments submitted by Healthy Gulf and partners. Read the decision letter from LDNR here.”
Two, per Politico on January 8: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is “reviewing whether it is properly accounting for the climate impacts from a proposed project as well as the national security and the domestic economic consequences.”

And this is precisely why the big February action in D.C. is so important: to keep putting pressure on Biden to live up to his promises to transition off fossil fuels.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for being here! I appreciate your friendship and engagement in these very dark days. I’ll end with one last quote from MLK: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

May we all continue showing up and speaking out. Solidarity! ✊🏽