Author: Tracy Abell

Solidarity with the people of Gaza

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Once again, I’m pivoting from my usual Climate Movement Monday posts because of the ongoing and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza (although, technically speaking, it’s important to remember that militaries use vast amounts of fossil fuels and greatly accelerate global warming) in order to offer some resources in the face of the U.S.-supported genocide of the Palestinian people.

Al-Rimal, a neighborhood in the heart of Gaza City, has been repeatedly targeted by Israel over recent days. Atia Darwish APA images

More than 1,000 Palestinian children have been killed since October 7 which equals one child killed every 15 minutes by Israeli forces. As I write this, American Jews and allies of IfNotNow.org and Jewish Voice for Peace are blocking all entrances to the White House as they demand a ceasefire now.

Those folks in D.C. are incredibly courageous and, in solidarity with them, here are some actions we can all take at home:

Make phone calls/send emails via the Stop Gaza Genocide Action Toolkit
(Click HERE to access the Jewish Voice for Peace link which makes it VERY easy to call your 2 Senators & 1 Rep . . . and we can call over and over!)
** a Ceasefire NOW resolution has just been introduced in the House so please ask your reps to sign on to this resolution!** (If your member of Congress is Cori Bush, Andre Carson, Summer Lee, Delia Ramirez, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Jonathan Jackson, Chuy Garcia, Nydia Velazquez, or Bonnie Watson-Coleman — then please call to thank them!)

Donate to humanitarian aid organizations:

Educate yourself
Click HERE to access three free Haymarket Books ebooks about Palestine
Click HERE to read “Gaza Is a Prison Under Siege. This Is My Letter to the World Outside.” by Ahmed Abu Artema, a founder of the Great March of Return
Click HERE to read “Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine” written/published by Peter Beinart in 2020

These are incredibly difficult days and it’s easy to be overcome by grief and exhaustion. Please, if you can, find opportunities to experience joy each day. I spent a chunk of time this morning watching a squirrel sitting on the deck railing as it devoured a sunflower seed-head, and it felt very good to laugh.

Thank you for reading and taking action on behalf of an oppressed people. Until next time, Solidarity! ✊🏽

Deprogramming ourselves

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Today I’m deviating from my usual Climate Movement Monday post to offer some info regarding what’s happening now between Palestine and Israel. We in the United States, whose government gives Israel’s military $3.8 billion per year, have been fed a narrative about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We have been programmed to believe it’s a complex situation rather than clear-cut apartheid akin to South Africa. It can be intimidating to speak out on behalf of Palestinians because of the knee-jerk charges of anti-semitism, but the morality of the situation demands we do just that.

A boy waves a Palestinian flag, at the Israel-Gaza border, during clashes with Israeli troops, at a protest where Palestinians demand the right to return to their homeland, east of Gaza City, April 1, 2018.
(Reuters /Mohammed Salem)

I encourage you to read this October 7 piece from Haggai Matar “Gaza’s shock attack has terrified Israelis. It should also unveil the context. The dread Israelis are feeling after today’s assault, myself included, has been the daily experience of millions of Palestinians for far too long.”

Here’s an excerpt: “In Gaza, meanwhile, the ongoing siege is continuously destroying the lives of over two million Palestinians, many of whom are living in extreme poverty, with little access to clean water and about four hours of electricity a day. This siege has no official endgame; even an Israeli State Comptroller report found that the government has never discussed long-term solutions to ending the blockade, nor seriously considered any alternatives to recurring rounds of war and death. It is literally the only option this government, and its predecessors, have on the table.”

And for more background on the situation, Indigenous organizer, Kelly Hayes of Truthout, had an in-depth conversation with Palestinian American  organizer, Lea Kayali, on Kelly’s “Movement Memos” podcast (transcript provided) in May 2021. The title of this episode is “What the Mainstream Media Never Told You About Palestine.”

Here’s an excerpt, a quote from Lea Kayli: “Our resistance will actually always be called violence, even if no physical human beings are actually being harmed and I think the characterizations of, for example, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement, sort of clarifies how that can happen, but that really, forces us to ask this question about what is violence? In the Palestinian context, Israel has one of the world’s largest and most well-financed military, bankrolled by of course, that 3.8 billion dollars of U.S. tax money a year. When we ask ourselves, what is violence, I’d highlight that life expectancy in Israel is 10 years higher than it is the West Bank and Gaza. The infant mortality rate in Gaza is more than five times higher than it is in Israel and several times higher than it is in the U.S.. Palestinians … and obviously, within the U.S. there’s massive disparities in those numbers as well, when we look at racial breakdown. And to me, this characterization is essential, because all of these things are forms of violence and Palestinians in every corner of historic Palestine are facing violent dispossession. So the reality is that the State of Israel does not want Palestinians to live. That is the core violence. Population control and demographic supremacy is literally baked into the idea of Zionism, as with any ethnostate, and it’s written into the laws of the country, as we talked about earlier.”
All of us who attended public schools in the United States are in need of deprogramming (on this and many other issues), and I hope you’ll take the time to read and think about how you might react if you and your ancestors had “endured 73 years of brutal colonization, brutal racial oppression and ongoing ethnic cleansing.”
One way to show solidarity with Palestinian people’s fight for freedom, justice, and equality is to check out the BDS Movement (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions). Another is to have conversations with friends and families, especially those who believe the situation is too complex for them to hold an opinion. This tweet from a couple days ago really resonated with me:
Wishing you all a good week! We’re headed out for a camping trip and will be without internet connection, but I’d love to engage with you on this upon my return. Until then, solidarity! ✊🏽

A dose of nature

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

On Tuesday, Zippy and I drove to Kenosha Pass to admire the changing foliage and take a hike. I was giddy with anticipation since we’d left Emma at home which meant I could fully relax without constantly scanning for other dogs on the trail. Emma came to us with some emotional baggage and she still, after all these years, frequently reacts to other dogs. I was looking forward to a quiet hike and photo session. But when we reached Kenosha Pass, the parking lots where we typically only see about ten vehicles when we drive past on Highway 285 were completely filled with vehicles. Not only that, the side road was also lined with vehicles. About 50 or more vehicles. Ugh.

I made a quick U-turn and drove back another mile or so to a turnoff our neighbor had alerted us to. He’d said there was a lake back there where we could hike. Well, it turns out that lake is now off-limits to the public and there were several NO TRESPASSING signs posted about but there was a parking area for another trailhead. So, off we went.

We were in Pike National Forest where the pine trees outnumbered the showy aspen trees, but that was okay. Because it was SO peaceful in the forest and there was much vivid beauty to admire. (click to enlarge)

 

 

 

 

 

We kept a tally of the few birds seen and heard** as we were serenaded by the wind in the pines. And then the pines would quit their shushing wind sounds to become absolutely silent. At one point, we were hiking in that silence and then came upon these trees which loudly creaked as several of them rubbed against each other in the wind.

I fought the urge to investigate which ones were producing the creaking sounds as I’d learned while hiking to Eaglesmere Lake that those sounds are impossible to locate. On that hike, I’d stood in one spot to listen and felt positive the sound was coming from my left, only to move left and then hear the sound coming from behind me. Or in front of me or to the right. It was enough to make me believe in impish woodland creatures.

When we’d arrived at the trailhead, the car display said it was 47 degrees. Clouds moved in as we hiked and the temperature dropped a bit. At one point, the sun shone down as a smattering of teeny-tiny flakes of snow fell. The most troublesome objects in the sky were the three sets of fighter jets that flew over, completely obliterating the tranquility. When the third set roared overhead, Zippy aimed a middle finger at them and shouted a profanity which cracked me up although I couldn’t stop thinking about how the wildlife must be so traumatized by those sounds. At least we understood the source of that horrific noise.

It wasn’t all pines, we did see some glorious aspen displays. Here we are taking turns being leaf-peepers. As you can see, Zippy’s approach is a bit more stealth than mine.

 

 

 

After we’d turned around to head back, the clouds began to darken and I started singing Winnie-the-Pooh’s “A Little Black Rain Cloud.” But it wasn’t rain in those clouds, it was snow! For a while there, we hiked through an absolute flurry.

Our first snow of the season! We were above 10,000 feet so it shouldn’t have been that unexpected, but it did feel a bit other-worldly. And it was getting colder. All summer when hiking with my camelback, the first sips of water that’d been in the tube were always warmer than the following sips. It was the reverse: the tube-water was cold and the water from inside the pack was warm. Kinda trippy!

Fortunately, I was dressed appropriately and kept warm for the 5 1/2 mile hike. Even better, we only saw ONE HUMAN that entire time. A woman on a mountain bike passed us going the other way at our four-mile mark and then caught up with us again a few minutes before we made it back to our car. We were SO glad we’d opted out of the hordes of leaf-peepers on the pass. They might’ve seen more aspen displays than us, but we had the solitude on our side. It was truly a magnificent hike.

All gratitude to nature!

**
Dark-headed Junco
Canada Jay
Possibly a bald eagle although probably a Turkey Vulture
Mountain Chickadee
Crow
Common Raven
Chipmunk

Climate Movement Monday: clean energy for schools

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Welcome back to Climate Movement Mondays! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during these difficult days of climate chaos. It was rough seeing those photos and videos of flooding in New York, knowing this is our new reality. Fortunately, we have the technology to turn this ship around and we have people organizing to enact change in their communities. Today I want to bring attention to the nationwide efforts to “Create resilient schools with electrified buildings and transportation powered by clean energy” via an organization I just learned about: Generation180. “We are supporting K-12 schools to electrify their buildings and vehicles, power them with clean energy, and create energy resilient hubs for their communities.”

Image from Generation180

Their website is vast and there are many resources available. I’d like to highlight a few things I found:

  • The application window to apply for the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate opened on September 28th and schools can apply through January 31, 2024. You can access all related info, resources, and application documents HERE. If, like me, you no longer have children in school or never had children in school, you might feel removed from this issue. But, schools are a great place to push for climate/pollution action and I’m going to contact my local school district to make sure they have the links and info to apply for the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate.
  • The group’s Alliance for Electric School Buses can be found HERE. Scroll down on that page to find a U.S. map showing states with active campaigns. A group called Moms Clean Air Force seems particularly active and here’s a snippet from their 9.28.23 press release re the EPA’s announced round of $500 million for the Clean School Bus Rebates: “Every day, millions of children across America ride school buses. Nearly all of the 500,000 buses in our nation’s school bus fleet are diesel-powered, spewing harmful tailpipe pollution into the air with every ride to school. But thanks to important investments like the Clean School Bus Program, we’re making critical progress. More and more school buses are becoming cleaner as polluting diesel vehicles are replaced by safer zero-emission buses.” It’s also pointed out that not only do children suffer the ill-effects of diesel vehicles, but also the drivers!
  • The Clean Energy Help Desk for Schools has tons of info including state resources, financing info, and success stories. That and more can be found HERE.
  • A webcast series that helps schools access federal funding can be found HERE.
  • Here’s a fun thing to do: scroll down to look at a map showing U.S. schools with solar. (Note: Colorado, which loves to tout its high number of sunshine-days, has only 129 schools with solar installations, while my home state of Wisconsin has 241 solar-powered schools! But the Colorado middle school my sons attended years ago now has solar. Yay!)

Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll pass along these resources to families with school-age children. We need to utilize the positive aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act and that means accessing federal funding to clean up our communities and make them more resilient to the effects of climate change. Until next time, stay safe. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Happy Caturday from Marcel

/ Tracy Abell

This slightly menacing photo was actually taken in December of 2022 and I’m using it because both Marcel and his brother Loki are napping right now and I don’t want to risk waking them for a Caturday photo shoot. I’m drafting my new manuscript and it’s hard to write when Loki is draped over my right shoulder, which is what he’ll demand upon waking. Years ago, Zebu gifted me a sling for holding/carrying a feline but neither one likes it. They prefer the undivided attention that comes with me holding them in my arms.

So, I’m doing a drive-by posting and then going back to work on my project while the little terrorists are asleep.

*whisper-shouts* Happy Caturday!

 

Update: Just as I was about to hit PUBLISH, Loki sauntered into my writing room. Crying for attention.

Things are happening

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo.
It’s this dead zone between two places.
But to walk, you’re some place that’s already interesting.
You’re not just between places.
Things are happening.
~ Rebecca Solnit

Climate Movement Mondays: Green New Deal for Public Schools

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

Hey, welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I typically highlight a frontline community hit hardest by the effects of the climate crisis and then offer a quick action you can take on their behalf. Before I get to that, though, I wanted to share some good news:

Last week in the days following the massive March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City, (coincidence? I think not!) Biden announced the formation of the American Climate Corps which is a reboot of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)  of the Great Depression. Per the White House press release, “The American Climate Corps will focus on equity and environmental justice – prioritizing communities traditionally left behind, including energy communities that powered our nation for generations,…” The program aims to put 20,000 young people to work which is a number far short of what’s needed, but it’s a start. And hopefully, the program will be expanded after it gets going. You can read an article about it here and sign up at the American Climate Corps website to specify your areas of interest and learn more.

Okay, let’s get to the Green New Deal for Public Schools! This legislation is sponsored by Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Sen. Ed Markey and “would invest $1.6 trillion over 10 years to fund green upgrades that remove all health harms and carbon pollution from every public school in the nation while taking on environmental and racial inequities. It will unleash the potential of safe and inspiring public education for 50 million K-12 students in every neighborhood across the country. And, it will add essential staff to vulnerable schools, create 1.3 million good paying jobs annually, and reduce carbon emissions by 78 million metric tons each year— that’s the same as taking 17 million gas-powered cars off the road!”

About 150 high schoolers from across the US gathered in Illinois for a summer camp to hone their activism. Photograph: Heather Chen/Courtesy of Sunrise Movement

I’m excited about this legislation for a whole bunch of reasons, including that it would upgrade HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) which we should already have done during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic! Good air quality is essential to good health and good learning. WHOA! In the time since I began writing this post, the number of co-sponsors for the legislation has risen from 48 to 54!

Want to make that number climb? Go here (scroll down) to personalize a short message to your representative and two senators, asking them to sign on as co-sponsors. That’s it!

Thank you for reading and adding your voice to these efforts. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Fauna and flora

/ Tracy Abell

I spent the last couple hours working on my work-in-progress and decided to reward myself by looking through photos from this past week’s camping trip. Here’s a Steller’s Jay that did me a solid by posing long enough for a decent photo :

Such a handsome bird. And here’s a Yellow-rumped Warbler that also visited a nearby tree:

Gotta appreciate a bird with such an obvious marking AND a name that directly corresponds to said marking. Kudos to the ornithologist!

Here’s one of the many chipmunks that drove Emma to distraction:

Finally, here’s a sampling of some late-blooming wildflowers spotted while we hiked around Lower Cataract Lake:

My research says these flowers are called Mayweed / Stinking Chamomile / Dog Fennel which don’t really seem like names that suit the flowers. Granted, I didn’t give them a sniff but surely there’s another name that would better represent their appearance/demeanor. [Oops, just saw that they’re officially listed as a noxious weed here in Colorado, so maybe “Stinkin’ Chamomile” was just the most polite term available.]

Thankful Thursday: second time’s the charm

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Almost exactly two years ago, Zippy and I attempted a hike to Eaglesmere Lake in the White River National Forest, but were thwarted in our efforts (in no small part because Zippy had forgotten shoes and was hiking in socks and Tevas + we’d forgotten to bring the trail info + we missed the turn due to a very faded trail sign). I wrote about that experience here. Today, I’m happy to report that yesterday we made it to Eaglesmere Lake!

Zippy took this wide-angle shot with his phone.

click to enlarge

It’s true that the last time we attempted the hike, the trail sign was old and faded. But what’s also true is that there was at least a mention of Eaglesmere Lake on the middle sign. Not so anymore. Here’s the new sign we encountered yesterday:

No mention of Eaglesmere Lake whatsoever. So, if we hadn’t been better prepared this time (as in knowing we’d started on Trail 61 and needed to turn right at Trail 60), we would’ve been hosed again. Fortunately, we had proper footwear AND trail info!

After hiking the 4.3 miles there, I asked Zippy to photograph me with the elusive lake in the background to show we’d prevailed. I wanted documentation, darn it!

And Zippy wanted a photo of me without the visor and hood:

Then we ate a late lunch. We were the only people there because, once again, we’d gotten a late start which meant that everyone else had already been and gone by the time we arrived. After eating, I clambered over the rocks to photograph the grasses (?) floating on the water.

click to enlarge

After a little more rest, we started back. Along the way, we spotted a Downy Woodpecker in the same area where we’d watched a woodpecker circle the trunk of an aspen tree two years ago. We grinned at the synchronicity. Then just a little farther down the trail, we were treated to a sighting of the larger Hairy Woodpecker! Hooray!

We arrived back at our campsite at 5:30, tired from our exertions but very grateful we’d accomplished what we’d set out to do.  All hail Eaglesmere Lake!

 

Climate Movement Monday: protecting the Gulf

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I discuss all things climate and frequently highlight a frontline community enduring the worst effects of the climate crisis, along with a request to take action on their behalf. Today we’re focusing on the communities along the Gulf of Mexico, people and places that are treated as sacrifice zones due to extractive energy practices. They do not want more oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Rather, they want a just transition to renewable energy sources that will provide safe, good-paying jobs while also protecting the water, air, and land where they live.

Fire that resulted from the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
US Coast Guard / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Today’s quick action is to personalize a letter to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, demanding that Biden keep his campaign promise for no new oil and gas leases on federal land. The White House is about to release the “five-year plan” for oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. The following is fromHealthyGulf.org

The “five year plan” is the guiding document for how the Federal government leases offshore areas to private companies to explore and drill for oil and gas. With climate change accelerating and the clean energy revolution upon us, we can’t afford to expand drilling in the Gulf. The people of the Gulf Coast want President Biden to honor his campaign pledge of no expansion of oil and gas drilling. Tell President Biden we need a five year plan with no new leases!

 

Access the letter here and personalize with your own outlook and experiences following the hottest summer in recorded history. When the scientific community tells us over and over and over again that in order to have a livable planet we must keep all fossil fuels in the ground, we must act. When people and communities tell us over and over and over again that they are negatively impacted by extractive energy practices, we must act.

(NOTE: To learn more about the Deepwater Horizon tragedy in 2010 which surpassed the Exxon Valdez tragedy of 1989, go here.)

SOME UPDATES:

Yesterday, an estimated 75,000 people took to the streets in New York City* to demand an end to fossil fuels. Here’s a segment from DemocracyNow that includes a speech from Sharon Lavigne of Rise St. James. (Rise St. James is a faith-based grassroots organization fighting for environmental justice as it works to defeat the proliferation of petrochemical industries in St. James Parish, Louisiana.) Sharon and her community would be very happy to know we’re sending letters that demand no new oil and gas leases in the Gulf!
*There were corresponding climate actions to #EndFossilFuels on all 7 continents!

Today, Sunrise Movement and 50+ organizations signed onto a letter to Biden asking him to use his Executive Order to establish a Civilian Climate Corps akin to the CCC during the New Deal. This modern CCC would offer good-paying, safe jobs to young people who’d be working to combat the climate crisis. The idea is a win/win. And speaking as someone who, pre-pandemic, spent a lot of time as a young-at-heart member of Sunrise, a CCC would go a long ways toward easing their acute anxiety about their futures on this planet. PLEASE feel free to contact your Senators and Representative to ask that they push Biden to establish a modern CCC. 🙂

Thank you for reading this far. Please let me know if you were able to attend a climate action near you this past week. (There was nothing in Denver (!) but there were other rallies in other cities throughout Colorado.) We’re heading out for a couple nights of camping tomorrow and I look forward to a dose of Nature. Wishing you and yours a good week. Solidarity!  ✊🏽

Ebike learning curve

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

Last week, I gave thanks for our new ebike. I also mentioned that I hadn’t ridden a bike in quite some time. No biggie, right? Everyone knows that saying, “once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.” Well, I’m here to say there might be things you forget. At least, I did.

I took my first ride on Friday, the day after the bike arrived. I was nervous but mostly excited. Zippy is a dedicated bicyclist and has invested in a carbon-fiber frame bike that weighs 18 pounds, and he offered to ride next to me as I rode the ebike that weighs 60 pounds (plus another eight pounds or so for the two baskets) to make sure I knew how to use all the controls. When we took off up the street, my handlebars were wobbling like mad which made me think he hadn’t properly mounted them. I panicked a bit but he assured me they were tight and that the wobble was due to my death grip. So I relaxed my grip and pedaled without wobble. Yay! A few minutes later, I needed to stop to make a seat adjustment so I squeezed the hand brakes and started to put my foot down. Well, I didn’t get my foot down in time and the bike tilted to the side. I tried righting it but those 68 pounds were too much for me and I went down with the bike.

BAM! I hit my right butt cheek on the pavement. This photo was taken today and, as you can see, the four-inch bruise has reached the vibrant multi-colored stage.

It wasn’t just me that got messed up. The right handlebar also hit the pavement and now the plastic end-cap is torn up. Oh, and the back basket also has a scrape along the side.

My maiden voyage was off to a bad start.

I’m happy to report I continued riding without incident and logged ten miles in our very hilly up-and-down neighborhood. The next day, we headed off to the library. Again, as we started down the street, my handlebars wobbled like mad. The death grip was back. But the wobbles were over quickly and we rode the five miles to the library. Some of it was in traffic which made me nervous, but Zippy was there to show me the way.

After I’d returned books and checked out another batch, we were at the bike rack preparing to leave again when a petite woman in her 80s struck up a conversation about ebikes. Turned out, she loved bicycling and is searching for a suitable ebike. I told her in no uncertain terms to get one that was small and light, and then told her my tale of woe. She nodded with understanding and then proceeded to tell us about the day she rode her bike down a big hill on Morrison Road. She’d wondered why the cars were moving so slowly and then realized it was because she was going so fast. Right after that realization, she encountered a situation that prompted her to use her brakes (which she said she should not have done), and went sailing over the handlebars. She showed us the six-inch scar on her elbow that’d shattered. Aside from being horrified on her behalf, all I could think was “I wish you hadn’t told me that right before I get back on my bike!” She was very cool, though, and I’d love to be as active as her at that age because she also shared that she’d put on her in-line skates the other day just to see if she could still go skating. Fortunately, she decided that wasn’t wise, but I admire the hell out of her spunk.

The library trip was a little over ten miles in total. And today I just rode another ten miles around my immediate neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhood to practice some more. There were no wobbles, no falls, and no scary stories of tiny women flying over handlebars. A pretty mellow experience, actually.

I’m thinking/hoping that my bike-riding procedural memory has fully kicked in. HOORAY!

 

Climate Movement Monday: good news + updates + March to End Fossil Fuels

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Welcome back to another edition of Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate-related! I’m happy to share some good news today: last week, Biden cancelled the seven remaining oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Image from Wikimedia. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

From pbs.org: The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1.5-million-acre (600,000-hectare) coastal plain, which lies along the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s northeastern edge, is seen as sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in because it is where caribou they rely on migrate and come to give birth. The plain is marked by hills, rivers and small lakes and tundra. Migratory birds and caribou pass through the plain, which provides habitat for wildlife including polar bears and wolves.

Note: While living in Alaska, I spent many hours collection signatures to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling, and once had a run-in with then Senator Ted Stevens. Needless to say, last week’s announcement was a long time coming! However, a 2017 tax law included a provision that there be two lease sales in the region in 2024. Biden needs to repeal the oil and gas program and permanently protect the Arctic Refuge on behalf of the Gwich-in. Also? Biden must cancel the Willow Project!

In less happy news, here are some updates on the Weelaunee Forest and Cop City in Atlanta:

  • Last week, the Republican Attorney General in Georgia filed RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) charges against 61 people while Democrats (Atlanta Mayor, Atlanta City Council members, and Senators Warnock and Ossoff) remain silent. In the document, the AG included a section on the “Anarchy background of Defend the Atlanta Forest,” which includes this: “Some of the major ideas that anarchists promote include collectivism, mutualism/mutual aid, and social solidarity, and these same ideas are frequently seen in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement.” (see p 25). Guess what? I sign off each of these Movement Monday posts with “Solidarity!” and a raised fist. Also? Zippy and I deliver food boxes to people via the Rocky Mountain Mutual Aid Network. The state of Georgia is trying to criminalize people for taking care of other people. And on p 28 of the document, they decry “zines.” Oops, I’m also guilty of zine-making! My point here is that these are dangerous and oppressive charges meant to crush a movement and scare people away from action.
  • Today, organizers in Atlanta delivered 116,000 signatures in support of a Stop Cop City referendum to the city clerk. (Note: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was elected in November 2021 with 44,655 votes). Organizers were told the city would accept the signatures but NOT begin the verification process because of a legal injunction. This is an anti-democratic stalling tactic, as is their promise to use the same signature verification process the Democrats (rightfully) sued over in 2019 with the charge that signature verification disenfranchises marginalized communities. Again, prominent Democrats have remained silent on this hypocrisy. (Remember: in 2020, people all around the country rallied to support Warnock and Ossoff in their Senate races in order to beat back the Republicans’ fascism, only to see authoritarianism on full display over Cop City.)
  • You may wonder why so many around the world are rallying in support of #StopCopCity and that’s because this affects us all. Allowing them to build that urban warfare training center in Atlanta (to better learn how to crush movements such as the climate movement) will embolden the further militarization of the police. Already, there are plans to build a Cop City in Colorado Springs and Baltimore (like Atlanta, both cities have Black Democrat mayors) and another in Ohio. Plainly put, it’s vital for our collective survival to #StopCopCity.

Last week, I wrote about the potential for a UAW strike and today want to share an article from The Lever (“New At 6:30: Anti-Union Propaganda“) about the media coverage of the looming strike. Adam H. Johnson lays bare the bias in the media reports, including the conflict of interest between  NBCUniversal and General Motors. It’s a quick read and offers insights into how we as viewers can be manipulated by the deliberate framing of stories in the news.

Finally, I want to remind everyone that the March to End Fossil Fuels is happening in NYC on September 17th. There are also events happening all around the world (September 15-17th) as people gather to demand an immediate transition off the fossil fuels that are literally killing us with extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, pollution, etc. Check out this map to find an event near you.

If you read this far, thank you so much! I send wishes for a good week that includes moderate weather and temperatures. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Thankful Thursday: assortment edition

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

Hello, out there! I haven’t been around much because I’ve been hunkered down in the revision cave. However, today I am thankful because:

  • I finally, finally sent my revised manuscript to my agent earlier this week!
  • A family member made it through a surgery today!
  • Our new ebike was delivered this afternoon and Zippy just finished putting it all together (minus the front and back baskets)!

While Zippy is a bicyclist, I haven’t ridden a bike in years and have been content to keep running for my cardio exercise. So why the ebike? We’d like to avoid using our gas-powered vehicle as much as possible and because we live on a hill, running errands on a bike is very daunting. Zippy can ride up the hill but I’d have to get off and walk a bike for the approximate mile of incline. Oof.

But now  I’ll have pedal-assist when it comes to that big ol’ hill. I’ll be able to go to the library to return books and check out more! It’ll be a breeze going to the office supply store when I need another notebook or some pens! When Zippy is missing an ingredient for whatever delicious meal he’s preparing, I’ll be able to zip down to the supermarket and back! Yay yay yay!

In case anyone’s interested, the Heybike sale is going for another day. I realize it’s still LOTS of money (I’m also very thankful for our ability to invest in this bike), but wanted to put this info out there. Customer satisfaction seems to be very high for this bike. I’ll keep you posted on our experiences. In the meanwhile, I hope you and yours are having a good week!

Climate Movement Monday/Labor Day: solidarity with UAW

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

Happy Labor Day on this Movement Monday! While the climate crisis continues to intensify, there is much to celebrate as workers organize and strike for better pay and working conditions. Here’s a great round-up on recent and upcoming union activity from Joshua P. Hill. Today I want to focus on the United Auto Workers (UAW) which is a great example of what a “just transition” should look like as we transition off fossil fuels to renewable energy. It’s important to remember the intersection between climate justice and worker justice. Today I’m asking you to make one quick phone call in solidarity with the auto workers (scroll down for details)

This is a complex issue and I’m nowhere near an expert on what’s happening, but it boils down this: Electric Vehicles (EV) are changing the UAW landscape and the workers need protections as the Big 3 automakers (Ford, Stellantis, General Motors) pivot to EV production. The following is an excerpt from An Open Letter to Big 3 Auto CEOs: The Climate Movement Stands with UAW!

Within the next few years — the span of this next contract — lies humanity’s last chance to navigate a transition away from fossil fuels, including away from combustion engines. With that shift comes an opportunity for workers in the United States to benefit from a revival of new manufacturing, including electric vehicles (EVs) and collective transportation like buses and trains, as a part of the renewable energy revolution. This transition must center workers and communities, especially those who have powered our economy through the fossil fuel era, and be a vehicle for economic and racial justice. We are putting you on notice: Corporate greed and shareholder profits must never again be put before safe, good-paying union jobs, clean air and water, and a liveable future.

I’d already decided today’s post would be an informational piece about the 150,000 UAW workers poised to strike and then was thrilled to receive an action alert from Climate Mobilization Project this morning. PLEASE take one minute to leave a message for the billionaire-CEOs of the Big 3 auto companies in support of the autoworkers. Here are the specifics:

When you call 318-300-1249, you’ll hear a brief intro about the contract negotiations from UAW. At the beep, just leave your message. That’s it!

Some points that you can bring up include:

  • The EV transition cannot be a “race to the bottom” that further exploits workers.
  • Workers deserve to benefit from the revival of new EV manufacturing. They deserve good union jobs with fair wages, job security, and dignified working conditions.
  • In recent months, workers and their communities have experienced unprecedented extreme heat, smoke pollution, flooding, and other disasters.
  • The leaders of auto companies have historically made decisions that exacerbated both of these crises over the past few decades — driving further inequality and increasing pollution.
  • Auto manufacturers can either do right by the workers who have sacrificed to keep companies profitable, or can face a united labor, environmental, and climate movement that is ready to fight side by side with UAW workers to win their demands.

The info you’ll hear before leaving your messages includes the fact that the Big 3 made a combined $21 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year . . . so a simple “Share the wealth” message is very appropriate!

Bonus: Here’s a short video clip of Shawn Fain, UAW President, on the gap between workers and billionaires. Gotta love it!

Thank you in advance for reading and taking action! These are scary times, but also exhilarating as we witness workers standing together for the collective good. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Climate Movement Monday: STOP utility shut-offs during extreme heat

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I typically highlight a frontline community enduring the worst of the climate crisis and then offer a quick action you can take on their behalf. Today’s frontline communities are the elderly and low-income households, especially people of color. I’m amplifying a message received from 198methods.org regarding utility companies shutting off people’s power despite the extreme heat still slamming much of the country.

Image by Claudia Engel from Pixabay

The following background info is from an email received from 198methods.org but if you’re pressed for time, click HERE to personalize a letter to your two Senators and one Representative, asking them to use their power to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). If we can send billions of dollars to fight a proxy war in the Ukraine, we can certainly afford to make sure people don’t die due to the combination of extreme heat and heartless utility companies shutting off their AC.

Please take two minutes to click HERE to personalize a letter to your two Senators and one Representative, asking them to use their power to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Thank you for reading and taking action! Please, if you or someone you know is  suffering extreme heat and have had the power turned off, reach out via my contact form and I will get you some help.

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Caturday revisions

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

As I revise my middle-grade manuscript today, I’ve been visited by both cats. Marcel came up on the table next to my laptop, sniffing around, wondering why I wasn’t reading on the couch where he could nap in my lap.

Still, his presence was much less of an annoyance than his brother Loki’s many visits throughout the day when he’s either cried to be fed some more or demanded I pet him (some more), and nipped at my hand when I stopped.

I haven’t been around the blogging community as much as I’d like this month because I’ve been working hard to make this manuscript shine and after hours on the computer, my eyes need a rest. I hope to catch up with everyone after sending off my revisions. In the meanwhile, I’ll have to settle for the company of my two feline friends and their tag-team visits.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. Happy #Caturday!

Renewing a weary spirit

/ Tracy Abell / 5 Comments

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts,
as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees,
that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

She’s a Lady

/ Tracy Abell / 11 Comments

My intent was to quickly post this cheery photo from my backyard of a Painted Lady butterfly on a sunflower (along with bonus insect), but then decided I should take the time to verify that this is, indeed, a Painted Lady. It is.

July 20, 2023

But in the verification process, I also learned a few facts:

  • Painted Lady butterfly is the most widespread of all butterfly species in the world (found on every continent but Antarctica and Australia).
  • Their entire lifespan (from egg to death) is 15-29 days (so, life expectancy is 2-4 weeks).
  • Females lay up to 500 eggs in that time.
  • They migrate, sometimes 100 miles/day, and can fly up to 25 mph.
  • They’re very lovely and bring smiles to the observer (okay, that’s more opinion than fact, but tell me I’m wrong).

Contemplating that 4-week lifespan makes me think of all the time and energy I waste on things that don’t matter. Time to get busy living my life to the fullest! Spoiler alert: I won’t be laying 500 eggs.

Climate Movement Monday: declaring a climate emergency + good news

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I write about  climate-related issues along with quick actions you can take on behalf of people and planet. I won’t lie, it was tempting to not post anything today so that I could avoid thinking about what’s happening all across the globe. Here in the Denver metro region, the wind’s been blowing hard across the dry land while multiple wildfires burn in the southwest portion of the state. A new report says over 300,000 Colorado homes are at risk of burning in wildfires, second only to California.  In Lahaina, Maui, 114 people are confirmed dead and another 1,000 are missing (including many unhoused people), while yesterday in southern California, residents faced torrential rain and flooding due to Tropical Storm Hilary PLUS a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. As I write this, the National Hurricane center is warning that “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” is expected over portions of the southwestern U.S., along with “record breaking” rainfall and potential flooding in states as far north as Oregon and Idaho.

That’s (some of) the bad news. The good news is that the calls for Biden to declare a climate emergency via the National Emergencies Act are growing louder. A quick online search turned up “How Bad Do Things Have to Get for Joe Biden to Declare a Climate Emergency?” and “Editorial: Biden says he’s ‘practically’ declared a climate emergency. Why won’t he do it for real?” and “Biden faces calls to declare climate emergency as he heads to Maui.” 

Associated Press-Lynn Sladky // Students cheer during a protest organized by the U.S. Youth Climate Strike outside of Miami Beach City Hall, as part of a global day of climate action, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019.

Declaring a climate emergency would unlock powers allowing Biden to implement drastic measures to address the climate crisis. July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on the planet, and we the people need to make our wishes known so that Biden uses his power for good.  Please, take two minutes to contact the White House.

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Call the WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD: 202-456-1414 and ask to be connected to the COMMENT LINE. Leave a brief message with the volunteer operator: “Please declare a climate emergency via the National Emergencies Act to unlock your powers to combat this climate crisis. No new fossil fuel projects!”
You may also send an email.
Repeat as necessary. 😉

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GOOD NEWS

“Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon, ending operations in protected area”

A landmark climate ruling in Montana: A judge last week ruled the young plaintiffs have the right to a clean environment – and experts say this changed the climate litigation landscape

The Inflation Reduction Act is fueling a factory frenzy. Here’s the latest tally.

** Remember, on September 17th, the March to End Fossil Fuels will be held in New York City from 1p – 4pm. The march will coincide with the UN Climate Action Summit and is being organized by a coalition of local and national organizations. There’s tons of info here, including links to volunteer (including making phone calls & sending texts) and/or donate in support of the march. The GET INVOLVED page has more info, including “hubs” (both by interest AND region) that you can join. This is a massive and exciting effort that has huge potential to shift climate policy.

Thank you for reading this far and I invite you to leave a comment about conditions where you live, feelings around climate change, or to share some good news. In the meanwhile,  I send wishes for moderate weather wherever you are, raising my fist in solidarity! ✊🏽

Twofer Tuesday: two anniversaries

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

Today is a bittersweet day for Zippy and me. It’s the one year anniversary of his mother’s death and also our wedding anniversary. He suggested we go for a hike to soothe our aching hearts while also celebrating us. So, we got ourselves together and headed to nearby White Ranch Park where neither of us had been before. Here are two selfies taken along the trail, one by me and the other by Zippy.

 

   

The temperature was in the upper 80s which was pretty darn warm, but portions of the trail were shaded. And, to Emma’s delight, we had to cross a stream on the way out AND the way back, so twice she was able to be belly-down in cold water.

I also had the double pleasure of seeing an American Kestrel on the way out and way back, both times in the same area. And my second sighting included two kestrels! I was a great distance away so my photos aren’t great, but here’s a twofer of those majestic birds (click to enlarge).

   

Despite them being an invasive species, I’m very fond of thistles and their many, many permutations. Here are two I especially liked.

We only saw a couple Rocky Mountain Beeplants during the hike, but this one caught my eye for being two-headed. While I didn’t examine it closely, it truly appeared to have one bloom growing out of another.

It was a good afternoon and hike, the perfect excursion for today. We’re all glad to be back inside where it’s cooler. Zippy and Emma are already cleaned up and napping, and I’m guessing our sweet little doggie is dreaming of that refreshing mountain stream.

“May I please stay here forever?”

Climate Movement Monday: Lahaina/Maui + good news

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I highlight a frontline community that’s bearing the brunt of climate change. Today I’m focusing on Maui and the town of Lahaina. The current death toll is 96, but officials believe that number will increase as the search continues for the estimated 1,000 missing persons.

Maui Fire Relief + Off-Grid Shelter Setup donations here
Maui Community Power Recover Fund donations here

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 8, 2023. // Matthew Thayer/ | The Maui News | AP

Wildfires are not a natural force in Hawaii’s islands and used to be a rare occurrence. “Hawaii’s ecosystem is not adapted to fire. It is destroyed by fire,” says Elizabeth Pickett, co-executive director of the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. “So we don’t have good fire and bad  fire. We have bad fire, period.” That quote comes from the WIRED article “The Scary Science of Maui’s Wildfires” that also includes background on the invasive grass species introduced by European settlers, grasses that have spread across the island and are intensely fire-prone.

Emily Atkin wrote in her HEATED newsletter (“Lahaina used to be a wetland: Nature didn’t turn the historic Hawaiian community into a tinderbox. People did.”) how the fire that decimated Lahaina wasn’t entirely due to climate change. Colonialism played a huge role in what happened there, specifically European colonizers who illegally diverted the water for their sugar crops, turning a former wetlands into a tinderbox susceptible to the deadly combination of fire and high winds.

Maui Fire Relief + Off-Grid Shelter Setup donations here
Maui Community Power Recover Fund donations here

There’s huge concern that disaster capitalists will use this tragedy to further enrich themselves while driving Indigenous people from their lands. Realtors and investors are already calling families that have lost their homes to the fire, offering to buy the land. Oprah Winfrey owns 2,000 acres on Maui where she lives part-time, and there are calls for her to donate that acreage back to the Indigenous community. The Landback Movement to get Indigenous lands back in Indigenous hands is gaining exposure and momentum in the wake of the fire.

The people of Maui are going to need much more than thoughts and prayers as they rebuild their communities. Thank you in advance for helping out as you can. I send wishes for a good and safe week, wherever you are! Solidarity! ✊🏽

P.S. — here’s a bit of GOOD NEWS: “Judge rules in favor of Montana youths in landmark climate decision”

Climate Movement Monday: power plant rules + March to End Fossil Fuels

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays! I hope wherever you are, the weather is moderate. I’m grateful for cooler temperatures and some rainfall yesterday in this part of Colorado, although I’d like to share that bounty with other regions not faring so well (for instance, southwest Colorado where my son who is a server keeps dropping his daytime patio shifts because the heat is too much for him). Climate change is accelerating even more rapidly than predicted, but there’s so much we can do right now to avert the worst. In that spirit, today I’m asking for you to personalize a BRIEF LETTER to the EPA and Biden regarding power plant rules. Comments are due tomorrow (August 8) and we need the people’s voices so that the utility companies don’t dominate the conversation.

Image by Peter H from Pixabay

Per 198methods.org: President Biden’s EPA has proposed new rules to limit global warming pollution from power plants, and if done right, they could eliminate up to 90% of global warming pollution from the electric sector! 

President Biden promised to cut global warming pollution 50% by 2030, and to eliminate all global warming pollution from the electricity sector by 2035. But because of a prior Supreme Court ruling, the EPA can’t tell utilities what fuel to use (like solar instead of fossil fuels) in order to provide that electricity. So, instead, the draft rules from the EPA focus on how much air pollution, including global warming pollution, that power plants can emit.

The draft rules are a big step in the right direction, requiring 90-100% reductions in emissions. But there are three big loopholes that the EPA needs to fix:

1. The new rules need to start immediately and require full compliance with the rule by 2030, not 2035.

2. The EPA must make sure the rule applies to plants that produce 85-100MW, down from 300MW, so that smaller gas plants are covered.

3. Biden needs to stop supporting false solutions like hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

Those three key points are already laid out in the comment template, so all you need to do is personalize with a line or two about the air quality or extreme weather you experience. If you want to learn more, Drew from 198methods put together a more detailed explanation & video about this EPA process (which goes back to 2015 and Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” that was one of his major goals for the Paris Climate Agreement.) Spoiler alert: the Supreme Court’s dirty hands are all over this.

Thank you in advance for taking three minutes to submit your comment to the EPA and Biden!
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One last note: I want to put September 17th on your radar. The March to End Fossil Fuels will be held in New York City from 1p – 4pm that day. The march will coincide with the UN Climate Action Summit and is being organized by a coalition of local and national organizations. There’s tons of info here, including links to volunteer (including making phone calls & sending texts) and/or donate in support of the march. The GET INVOLVED page has more info, including “hubs” (both by interest AND region) that you can join. This is a massive and exciting effort that has huge potential to shift climate policy.

Thank you for reading this far! Remember, there’s so much worth fighting for and together we can create a livable future. Solidarity! ✊🏽