Month: April 2024

Climate Movement Monday: Lake Charles Methanol plant

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate and then take a quick action on behalf of a frontline community. This week, we’re focusing on the people of Lake Charles, Louisiana, who are facing yet another proposed plant in an area that, according to the EPA, already has some of the worst air pollution in the country. But before I get into that I wanted to quickly update you on a previous action on behalf of people in Louisiana. I’m happy to report that The Vessel Project reached its $25,000 fundraising goal after their office was damaged by a tornado two+ weeks ago, and they are now back at work providing mutual aid, disaster relief, and environmental justice in their community. Yay!

Today’s post info comes from Healthy Gulf (highlighted here before) and this is the info I received via email:

In October 2023, Lake Charles Methanol (LCM) submitted a new application for an air operating permit to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). This plant was previously given authorization in 2016, but despite the fact that they have yet to break ground, this polluting project is still being pushed on Lake Charles communities.

If given approval for this permit, LCM would be able to produce up to 10,000 metric tons of methanol per day, resulting in over 350 tons of toxic emissions per year.

This project is proposed for the heart of Southwest Louisiana, where many community members have been experiencing the effects of toxic industry buildout in their backyards. Many disenfranchised communities, as well as communities of color continue to be targeted and impacted by this buildout.

The deadline to submit comments has been extended to Wednesday, May 1. Please take action today and tell LDEQ to reject Lake Charles Methanol II’s request for an air operating permit.

For a healthy Gulf, 
Breon Robinson
——————————————–

I debated whether to make writing a comment today’s ask since we’re not living in that community, but then thought about how I’d appreciate people from other parts of the country speaking out in solidarity for my community’s health and well-being.  And to be clear, the people in those communities are being sacrificed on the altar of capitalism and consumerism. That’s where industries concentrate their toxic and hazardous plants and factories, and the people there are the first to suffer the effects of those pollutants AND the extreme weather caused by climate change. It’s not acceptable.

I personalized my letter to acknowledge that I don’t live in the community, but would not want those toxic chemicals in my community. Also? When I went to the Louisiana Tourism site and saw this quote at the top of the page: We have the best food, music, and culture in the world, but it’s our people that make Louisiana such a special place to visit!, I had another talking point: if Louisiana really considers their people the most important asset, then they should be protecting ALL citizens from toxic chemicals and poor health. It’s not necessary to personalize your letter, but it will carry more weight if you do.

Thank you for reading this far and taking action on behalf of people who are already dealing with a toxic environment that degrades public health and the environment. Solidarity! ✊🏽

A Palestinian Girl’s Fight For Freedom

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

Several weeks ago, I noted a book I was reading: They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri. (A Palestinian activist jailed at sixteen after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers illuminates the daily struggles of life under occupation in this moving, deeply personal memoir.) As mentioned, I highly recommend reading this for a deeper understanding of what it’s like to be a Palestinian living under Israeli occupation.

We in the U.S. are shielded from the brutal truths of their lived experiences and so not everyone would, for instance, recognize the significance and hypocrisy of the Zionist adjunct professor at Columbia University who this past Monday could not fathom being prevented from going where he wanted to go, when he wanted to go. How dare they stop him?! Well, in the West Bank alone (which is where Ahed Tamimi and family live), there are hundreds of checkpoints, road blocks, and walls that prevent free movement. I read somewhere recently that workers must line up at some checkpoints at 3:00 a.m. in order to get to work on time. That entitled little professor wouldn’t last a week under those circumstances.

The occupation and apartheid are not only damaging to Palestinians, but also the Jewish population. Oppression is not good for anyone. This excerpt came in the final pages of They Called Me a Lioness:

We are seeing this loss of humanity and conscience in real time as Israeli soldiers post videos of themselves gleefully destroying Palestinian homes–ransacking clothing drawers and modeling lingerie, breaking toys, destroying food–and bulldozing warehouses of food and the last working bakery in a neighborhood. They are using drones that mimic the sounds of crying women and children in order to lure Palestinians from their camps in order to shoot them. Mass graves outside hospitals are being unearthed, with doctors in hospital gowns executed with their hands tied behind their backs, patients executed with catheters in them, and children executed while hands are tied. (Note: I don’t have the stomach to search for links to all these atrocities, but I assure you the info is available should you want to see it for yourself.)

Here is one more excerpt from Ahed Tamimi’s story:

I’d like to be able to report that Ahed Tamimi was able to freely continue her studies of international law after serving eight months in prison (as a 16-year-old!) for slapping an Israeli soldier who was raiding her village and harassing her family in their front yard. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Ahed was arrested again in November 2023 and held for three weeks without being charged. She was released at the end of the month as part of the prisoner exchange, but reported that the women in Israel’s jails are beaten, and refused food and water.

The corporate media presents a very slanted perspective and we are not getting the full story, not at all. I encourage you to learn for yourself by reading  Ahed’s story.

Climate Movement Monday: human composting

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate. Today also happens to be Earth Day which, to be honest, I’d like to ignore rather than get caught up in overly-optimistic and/or downright dishonest rhetoric (I’m looking at you, Biden, as you supply tens of thousands of tons of explosives so that Israel may continue blowing up Palestinians, their residences, infrastructure, and farmland). Those in power are not honoring the earth and its inhabitants, and they should all keep “Earth Day” out of their mouths. Okay, Tracy. *deep breaths*

Instead, let’s talk about human composting, otherwise known as Natural Organic Reduction! I’m interested in this topic for two reasons: (1) I plan to be composted upon my death and (2) because my work-in-progress is a middle grade novel about a girl and her family’s funeral home that pivots from conventional death care (embalming, burial in ornate coffins, flame cremation) to green burial and natural organic reduction. Fortunately for me, in March of 2023, I was able to (virtually) attend the very first human composting conference ever (organized by Seth Viddal of The Natural Funeral)! I learned so much and could talk your ear off about all this, but today will only provide a brief overview along with some resources.

Recompose vessel

In early 2021, Recompose became the first human-composting funeral home in the U.S. Katrina Spade is the founder of Recompose, and the person most responsible for spearheading the human composting  movement. Thanks to her efforts and those of advocates around the country, human composting is now legal not only in Washington, but also Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, and Arizona. Legislation has been introduced in another sixteen states (scroll down for list/links).

Why is human composting a climate matter? For every person who chooses Recompose over conventional burial or cremation, one metric ton of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere. In addition, our approach to human composting requires 1/8 the energy of conventional burial or cremation. Recompose allows you to choose an end-of-life option that strengthens the environment rather than depleting it. (This info came from Recompose, but the same applies for human composting via any funeral home’s process.)

From that same page: Current funerary practices are environmentally problematic. Each year, 2.7 million people die in the U.S., and most are buried in a conventional cemetery or cremated. Cremation burns fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide and particulates into the atmosphere. Conventional burial consumes valuable urban land, pollutes the soil, and contributes to climate change through resource-intensive manufacture and transport of caskets, headstones, and grave liners. The overall environmental impact of conventional burial and cremation is about the same.

Not only does human composting avoid those environmental costs, the process produces soil! Why does that matter? Again, from Recompose: The breakdown of organic matter is an essential component in the cycle that allows the death of one organism to nurture the life of another. Soil is the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. It filters water, provides nutrients to plants, sequesters carbon, and helps regulate global temperature.

Human composting produces about a truck-bed full of soil. Families of the deceased are given the option of taking some or all of that soil OR donating it to land conservation and restoration sites. I’m not sure about other states, but know that here in Colorado the law prohibits the sale of the soil or using it on plants grown for food. The Colorado Burial Preserve in Florence, CO, accepts human composting soil for land restoration (in addition to being a green burial site).

I learned during the conference that many who choose human composting don’t make that choice based on climate concerns, but because it just feels right to be returned to the earth after death. One of the other human composting vendors said that people want more choice for their deaths and that natural organic reduction appeals to them on a “freedom” level. A while back, I wrote about death and how my decision to be composted has given me incredible peace of mind. Everyone should have the freedom to make a death-care choice that speaks to their values. There’s much more to be said about the grief process and how natural organic reduction allows for participation by family and friends, along with a timeline that supports gentle grieving as opposed to an abrupt “that’s-that” burial practice, but I’ll save that conversation for another post.

In the meanwhile, I’d like to offer resources:

  • Go here to learn more about pending legislation and how you can get involved in bringing human composting to your state
  • Visit “The Order of the Good Death” for lots of information about death care, including Calls to Action in support of a “good death” (Note: Founder Caitlin Doughty is an incredibly smart, funny, and compelling speaker/writer on this issue)

I’ll stop here, but PLEASE don’t hesitate to ask questions! As stated, I love talking about this issue and if I don’t have answers, I can point you in the right direction. It’s an exciting development in death care and I hope by sharing this information, some of you might experience a ping of recognition (as in, that’s what I want for me!)

Thank you for reading. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Day 192 of the genocidal war on Palestinians

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

Nobody but the military industrial complex, the Zionists, and AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) recipients in the House and Senate want this slaughter to continue. I don’t want it and I’m guessing you don’t want it, either.

Billions and billions of dollars are being handed over to Israel, without condition, so that it may continue to destroy the people and infrastructure of Gaza. This would NOT be  possible without full-throated support from the United States. Biden could make one phone call to put an immediate stop to the carnage. Instead? Israel has been emboldened by U.S. support and is now opening slaughtering Palestinian children at a refugee camp playground.

Know what would be cool?  Sanctions against Israel. Instead, today the U.S. announced sanctions against Iran. Because, yanno, Iran’s drone program has killed over 34,000 people, mostly women and children, disabled thousands more, destroyed every hospital and university, and used mass starvation as a weapon . Oh, wait! It’s Israel (“the only democracy in the Middle East”) that’s killed over 34,000 people by dropping 70,000 tons of Made-in-the-U.S. explosives on the Palestinians.

There are so many grotesque layers to all this. For instance, Israeli Firms Are Working Overtime to Sell Stolen Palestinian Land to US Jews. And the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices continues as USC refuses to allow its Valedictorian to speak at graduation because she linked to a pro-Palestinian page on her Instagram account. You may read Valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s statement HERE. EDITED TO ADD: Right after posting, I saw that the House just passed a Resolution: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the slogan, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic and its use must be condemned. Truly pathetic.

I know many are tired of reading about Gaza, tired of thinking about the horrors, and tired of not being heard. When I made calls this morning to the the White House comment line and my Representative and two Senators, my blood pressure went into overdrive with the knowledge that my supposed representatives in this supposed democracy do not care one iota about my opinions. While that may be true, they still must hear from us. These genocide-enablers do not get a free pass! They need to know we are watching and understanding that this brutal assault on Palestinians could happen to any of us, anywhere around the world. They need to know we object.

Please don’t look away. Please don’t stop making noise and disrupting “business as usual.” Please remember our shared humanity and don’t allow your heart to harden. Palestine will be free.

Solidarity!

Climate Movement Monday: in support of The Vessel Project

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we talk all things climate and then take a quick action on behalf of people and planet. I was out of the loop this past week because Zippy had major surgery last Tuesday and was in the hospital until yesterday (he’s got a ways to go but is doing well!), and was blissfully unaware of anything happening outside the ICU and then Room 5921. For instance, I didn’t know there were tornados in Louisiana last week.

I’ve written before about frontline communities along the Gulf being poisoned by petrochemical and fossil fuel facilities, including how Roishetta Ozane lives next to Westlake Chemical plant. Roishetta is the founder of The Vessel Project which is “a grassroots mutual aid, disaster relief, and environmental justice organization founded in Southwest Louisiana in response to several federally declared disasters, including hurricanes Laura and Delta, winter storm Uri, and the May flood of 2021.” Their office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was severely damaged on April 10th in an EF2 tornado that touched down shortly after 6am with damaging winds of over 115 mph. (Video of that tornado.) And now they need our help!

One of The Vessel Project’s missions is helping their community after disasters. Per the website: After a disaster, we assist the affected with their most immediate needs, whatever they may be. Whether it is emergency shelter, food, formula, diapers, oxygen tanks, cleaning supplies, application assistance, or document recovery—we have learned that the best way to help people is by asking them what will help.

I’m here today soliciting donations on behalf of Roishetta and the entire organization that works tirelessly to support their community. Any amount helps! If you can, PLEASE donate to this GoFundMe in support the rebuilding efforts for The Vessel Project. Clean up, repair, and new office equipment are needed!

These are very hard days on the planet but people are taking care of each other, and that gives me great hope. Thank you for reading this far. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Past Solar Eclipses Inspired Peace

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

I’m taking a break this week from my usual Climate Movement Monday post to instead focus on the solar eclipse. To be clear, I made exactly zero plans to see the eclipse and don’t have much to share on a personal level. In fact, Zippy, Emma, and I were out on the open space trails when I thought to ask Zippy if we’d get home in time to use our colander during the partial (65%) eclipse in our region of Colorado.

Nope.

Turns out, it was already 12:48 our time (peak eclipse was at 12:40) and while the light had a strange cast to it, we couldn’t really see much cool stuff in the shadows. I checked out a thistle to see if it made crescent shadows . . . nope.  Zippy pointed out that the shadows cast by our fingers had kinda fuzzy edges, but that was the extent of our eclipse experience.

But this morning I’d come across an article from Erin Fehr in Native News Online: Centuries of Indigenous Knowledge Found Along the Path of the Total Solar Eclipse that contains some very cool stories such as the Cherokees’ story of a giant frog that swallows the sun and the Choctaws’ story of a black squirrel that tries to eat the sun. I highly recommend reading the entire piece but want to highlight a couple excerpts:

Solar eclipses have also been central to historic events, like the birth of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. On August 22, 1142, a solar eclipse occurred near modern-day Victor, New York, where the Five Nations were meeting to form the Confederacy and end the strife among their Nations. Oral history suggests that the fifth nation, the Onondagas, were the last hold-outs, but the total solar eclipse convinced them to join in bringing peace to the region.

Reading that, I couldn’t help wishing that we still lived in a time in which celestial events could inspire collaboration and peace among humans. And then Fehr goes onto share this information:

Tenskwatawa Courtesy (Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery)

In 1806, Tenskwatawa, also known as The Shawnee Prophet, was in conflict with then-Governor of Territorial Indiana William Henry Harrison, who later became the 9th President of the United States. Harrison was upset by the call for tribal unity in the region, fearing that a united front would be harder to overcome [emphasis mine]. He challenged Tenskwatawa to prove himself.

“If he is really a prophet, ask him to cause the sun to stand still, the moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow, or the dead to rise from their graves. If he does these things, you may believe that he has been sent from God.” 

In response, Tenskwatawa predicted an eclipse of the sun in 50 days. 50 days later on June 16, 1806, a total solar eclipse hid the sun across parts of Indiana, solidifying his position of authority. 

The article doesn’t say whether Harrison quit trying to foment dissension as a result of that prediction, but reading that excerpt made me wish–again– that this solar eclipse had the power to convince our so-called leaders to quit their violent, colonizing ways.

Anyway, I’m glad I found and read that interesting article. Did you have a solar eclipse experience today? 

Edited to add: stunning eclipse photo and plea from Climate Defiance to JUST LOOK UP and join the climate struggle.

Climate Movement Monday: immediate & permanent ceasefire in Gaza

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate. No matter where we live on this planet, we are all affected by climate change. The climate crisis knows no boundaries or political affiliations, and it’s in our collective best interest to do everything we possibly can to slow earth’s warming.  The Democrats pretend to believe this truth, yet they continue to prop up a genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.

As I posted in early January, Israel’s constant bombardment of Gaze (with weapons provided by the U.S.)  is cancelling out any progress we’ve made on climate change. Now it’s three months later, and the slaughter continues. Please understand, the uppermost concern is the people of Gaza, and we should all be using our voices and resources in their defense.

Tasnim News Agency 2023 via Wikimedia Commons

But if you need another reason to care about what’s happening and our government’s role in not only accelerating the genocide but also climate change, then read this from Jeff Jones and Eleanor Stein at The Nation: The Single Most Important Thing President Biden Can Do for the Climate Is Enforce an Immediate Cease-Fire in Gaza.

The article isn’t long but I want to highlight this: According to a report from Brown University’s Watson Institute, the US Department of Defense is “the world’s largest institutional user of petroleum and correspondingly, the single largest institutional producer of greenhouse gases.” In other words, military emissions significantly drive the total of US emissions. And this is a peacetime analysis.

And this closing paragraph: War is simultaneously deepening the climate crisis—and making it impossible to solve. The linkage is clear. It is imperative for us to reflect this in our organizing, our advocacy, in the streets and classrooms, and in our thinking in ways we have not yet done. As we near Earth Day 2024, let’s make an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza a point of global unity.

So what can we do when it’s clear the ruling elites don’t care that voters are  overwhelmingly opposed to the government funding and enabling genocide? We keep making noise.

  • If you’re in Wisconsin, PLEASE vote “Uninstructed delegation” in tomorrow’s (April 2) Democratic primary to send the message to Biden that you’re withholding your vote while he enables genocide and climate devastation. (In other states , the term is “Uncommitted” and as a result of those primaries in Michigan, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Missouri, there will be 23 uncommitted Democratic delegates at the Democratic Convention). And if you have friends/family in Wisconsin, please ask them to vote “Uninstructed delegation.” You can find more info about this campaign at ListenToWisconsin.com including this: Our goal is to use the democratic process to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza. We also call for the full entry of humanitarian aid, reinstating aid to UNRWA, and an end to US military aid to Israel. Our votes in the Democratic Primary are a tool to send a clear message to the administration that the margin of victory in Wisconsin will be determined by a serious and immediate change in this administration’s approach in Gaza.
  • Send emails to Biden and Harris
  • Call Biden and Harris (recommend calling Switchboard at 202-456-1414 then ask to be transferred to Comment Line which is 202-456-1111)
  • Send emails to your two Senators and one Representative
  • Call your two Senators and one Representative
  • Put signage in your window, yard, vehicle, etc.
  • Post on social media
  • Talk to your friends, family, neighbors about Palestine
  • Gain confidence by reading and learning more
  • Attend rallies and marches
  • Donate to UNRWA, GazaSunbirds, Doctors Without Borders, World Central Kitchen

It can all feel so futile, I know. But there’s so much to continue fighting for and we can’t give up. Let’s remember our shared humanity. Let’s remember that no matter where we reside, Earth is home to all of us and we cannot survive without a livable planet.

Thank you for reading this far. I appreciate you very much and hope you’ll share thoughts and feelings in the comments. Solidarity! ✊🏽