activism

Climate Movement Monday: Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate. Today, I’m reverting to the original format in which I share information on a frontline community being adversely affected by climate change/fossil fuels and then offer a quick action you can take on behalf of that community. Note: this comment deadline is December 13, two days from now.

Today, we’re focusing on the Dakota Access Pipeline. The following info is the result of collaboration between People vs Fossil Fuels, NDN Collective, and the Sierra Club. (Full document HERE) First off, what is DAPL and why is the Army Corps of Engineers accepting public comment? (click on image to enlarge).

Some of my courageous friends were there, resisting the project as they fought to protect the water. Unfortunately, the pipeline was built. But we have the opportunity to support the Cheyenne River Tribe’s legal efforts by submitting comments. And what is the Cheyenne River Tribe’s recommendation for our comments?

The Army Corps needs to hear that the Draft EIS is not adequate and that the best alternatives are the ones that shut DAPL down. [Specifically, Alternative 2]

What options (“alternatives”) is the Army Corps considering?
1. Deny an easement under Lake Oahe and require restoration of federal lands to pre-pipeline conditions, including removal of the pipeline
2. Deny an easement under Lake Oahe and abandon the pipeline in place
3. Grant an easement under Lake Oahe as it was previously granted when DAPL was built
4. Grant an easement under Lake Oahe but with more conditions
5. Deny an easement under Lake Oahe, with the pipeline rebuilt in a different location TBD, such as further north and near Bismarck, and the existing pipeline abandoned

What should you write in your email? Here are five basic tips for writing testimony:
• Any length is OK – a few sentences are fine, or longer if you like. There is no length limit.
• Keep it unique – link to a personal story, talk about a topic that matters to you in your own words – the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may consider very similar comments as duplicates and not weigh them as heavily. Do not just read talking points.
• Specifically address the adequacy of the Draft EIS – it is not adequate
• Specifically address the proposed alternatives – the Army Corps should select No Action Alternative 2
• Specifically address the risks of the section of pipe that runs under Lake Oahe

EMAIL ADDRESS for your public comments: NWO-DAPL-EIS@usace.army.mil
SUBJECT LINE: Comments on the DAPL DEIS

I was on a letter-writing call last week in which we heard from two young Standing Rock Sioux leaders, Maya and Memphis. They’ve been in the DAPL struggle since they were in their teens and are so grateful for the support of our letters. They emphasized the importance of not getting tripped up with worries about what our letters say, but to focus on the personal connection you have with this issue and to make our letters UNIQUE so they stand out. After Maya explained that even a pinhole leak in the pipeline would result in 11,000 barrels of oil spillage per day, I wrote about my gratitude for a clean water supply and how I couldn’t imagine living with the daily traumatic threat of an oil spill in my drinking water. Because it’s not a matter of if there’s a spill, it’s only a question of when the pipeline will break. The pipeline runs under the water, so once it ruptures, it’s already too late. In my letter, I also pointed out DAPL flies in the face of Biden’s climate reduction goals and that scientists have made it very clear we must keep fossils fuels in the ground if we are to have a livable planet.

The most important thing is to write a letter today and submit it by the December 13 deadline. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT PERFECTION! Again, here is the full document with further information.

Thank you in advance for standing with the people for clean water and against the polluting Dakota Access Pipeline. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Just say NO to more military aid to Israel

/ Tracy Abell

I just personalized a quick letter to my two Senators and one Representative using the  CODEPINK template, demanding they NOT approve $14.5 BILLION in military aid to Israel. (scroll to bottom of page for the letter). Here’s the summary info CODEPINK sent me after I submitted my letter, info they want me to share with friends:

The United States House of Representatives has passed a Republican plan providing $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel. The package includes $4 Billion to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome and military equipment transferred from US stocks. Our Congress is blatantly prioritizing the genocide of Palestinians over providing Gazans with the aid they need desperately. This bill will likely pass on top of the already massive $886 billion war budget. It will fund Israel’s genocide in Gaza despite protests across the country in support of Palestine. Tell Congress to vote NO to arming genocide in Palestine!

We need to act now.

In my letter, I pointed out how people in the U.S. are struggling to afford rent, food, healthcare, etc. and that it’s disgusting for them to send BILLIONS of dollars to enable a nuclear power to commit genocide and mass displacement. PLEASE join me in writing a quick letter. Click HERE to write your letter.

Thank you in advance for acting upon our shared humanity. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Please remain in the struggle

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

I’m writing this post for myself as much as anyone else. These are incredibly dark days on the planet and on some mornings, the grief of all we’re facing weighs so heavily it’s hard to get out of bed. But once I’m up, I always feel, if not better, then at least a shift in my emotions. And despite the fact that Biden and my three so-called representatives in the federal government refuse to heed our call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and, instead, continue to unconditionally support sending more money and bombs to Israel, I do feel a tiny bit better after calling their offices to voice my horror at the blood on their hands because my call equals me adding my voice to the chorus. How much worse would I feel if I remained silent and complicit as my tax dollars enable genocide and the displacement of millions?

So, from where I sit, it’s well worth it to make phone calls. Even better? Attending a rally in which I always, always learn something from the speakers (and always, always weep, which is also cathartic). Zippy and I did this yesterday. It was cold and the wind was biting, but we bundled up to join a whole lot of folks at the capitol for a rally before marching to the convention center in protest of the Jewish National Fund Conference. Here’s a good article explaining JNF and the protest.

It feels good to stand in solidarity with others. It feels good to remember there are MANY people working so very hard on behalf of the Palestinians. It feels good to be in company with people who recognize the connection between struggles, here and around the world. It feels good to share space with people who acknowledge the heartbreak of other ongoing genocides in Congo, Sudan, India, Armenia. All of that feels good, even in the biting cold.

Basically, it feels better to take action on behalf of the oppressed than to remain in bed, curled up in the fetal position. Again, I’m writing this reminder as much for myself as anyone else. And in case your energies and attention are flagging, PLEASE remain in the struggle. Please keep calling and sending emails. Go to ceasefiretoday.com for ALL help in taking action, whether it’s making calls and writing emails, learning how to arrange a visit to your rep’s office, or finding a rally or action where you live.

The powerful elites are counting on us getting tired, distracted, or overcome by despair. (But as Mariame Kaba says: “Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair.”) They want us to look away from the ugly truth. PLEASE do not avert your gaze. If you haven’t yet taken action on behalf of the Palestinian people, please know it’s never too late to add your voice to the chorus. Hello and welcome to the struggle!

Okay, this is me publicly vowing to remain in  the struggle. I hope you’ll do the same. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Climate Movement Mondays: support on Giving Tuesday

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate. Many of these weekly posts have focused on frontline communities experiencing the worst effects of climate change and today I’d like to offer a list of organizations working to protect their specific communities as well as the environment in general. Tomorrow is “Giving Tuesday,” which began in 2012, and “reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity.” Every donation is appreciated!

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Below, in no particular order, are six groups fighting for people and planet. I thank you in advance for checking them out and donating as you can. Remember, no donation is too small! Also, if you have a group you’d like me to include, please let me know in the comments! Thank you and solidarity! ✊🏽

NDN Collective
The NDN Collective Climate Justice Campaign builds power throughout Indigenous communities in order to tackle the climate crisis. Our team runs and supports campaigns aimed at ending extraction, contamination, and violence in our territories. We advance policy changes, coalition building, and advocacy, while supporting the solutions-based work happening across our nations that utilizes traditional ecological knowledge in order to develop climate adaptive solutions that reflect our values of living with respect for all sources of life.
Donate HERE

Healthy Gulf
Healthy Gulf’s purpose is to collaborate with and serve communities who love the Gulf of Mexico by providing the research, communications, and coalition-building tools needed to reverse the long pattern of over exploitation of the Gulf’s natural resources. (They have a blog that offers a snapshot of what they’re facing in their communities.) I’ve written about them here and here.
Donate HERE 

Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR)
Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) is an interstate coalition representing individuals and groups from Virginia and West Virginia dedicated to protecting water, land, and communities from harms caused by the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). (They also have a blog.) NOTE: I’ve written about MVP here and here and here.
Donate HERE

Appalachian Legal Defense Fund
Support the Appalachian Legal Defense Fund for community members being targeted for protecting their communities and land.  All funds will be used for the costs of bail, legal defense and defendant support. NOTE: I wrote about the increased criminalization against those fighting to protect people, land, and water here.
Donate HERE

Climate Defiance
This group takes direct, non-violent action, targeting those in power.
Donate HERE

Third Act
We are building a community of experienced Americans over the age of sixty determined to change the world for the better. Together, we use our life experience, skills and resources to build better tomorrow. NOTE: They’ve established a “No Time To Waste” Fund, with the goal of raising $500,000 by December 31. The No Time to Waste Fund will help ramp up our organizing work to support 60,000+ Third Actors plus allies coast to coast—from staffing and training, to events and digital support.
Donate HERE

Why I continue to mask

/ Tracy Abell / 10 Comments

I do not mask because I’m afraid or paranoid. I continue to mask to protect myself, my household, and my community from a mass disabling event. I mask in solidarity with the most vulnerable, the disabled and immunocompromised, the very young and very old, the millions who already have Long Covid. My mask is a raised middle finger to the capitalist system that happily grinds people down to nothing because it sees each person as replaceable. My mask is a signal to the powerful elites that I’m not buying what they’re selling, which is “it’s okay to keep getting infected with Covid-19.”

Guess what? It’s NOT okay to keep getting infected.  “… findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection damages the CD8+ T cell response, an effect akin to that observed in earlier studies showing long-term damage to the immune system after infection with viruses such as hepatitis C or HIV.”

In the early 90s, I helplessly watched as my childhood friend’s body was destroyed by HIV that became full-blown AIDS. Scott was able to officiate over my wedding ceremony, but died four months later, less than two weeks before his 30th birthday. No one should have to experience that agony.

So, how is our government able to peddle the message that it’s okay to keep getting infected? For one, they’ve stopped collecting data. This makes it easier to gaslight us into thinking everything is “back to normal.” Fortunately, a group called the People’s CDC, “a coalition of public health practitioners, scientists, healthcare workers, educators, advocates and people from all walks of life, is working to reduce the harmful impacts of COVID-19.” You can access lots of information and resources HERE.

We need the People’s CDC because the CDC does not prioritize public health and safety. When it became clear that Covid-19 is an airborne virus (picture how smoke lingers in the air after a smoker’s exhale), the logical outcome would’ve been for our government to quickly invest in air filtration systems, right? Instead, people were told their children needed to return to classrooms where there’d been no upgrades of HVAC systems. It wasn’t until the day after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ended the federal Covid-19 health emergency on May 11, 2023, that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) upgraded their site to include information on the importance of air filtration. 

You can access the full page HERE.

They did not include the above info on the site when the emergency order was in place because the government would’ve been expected to invest in filtration systems. Instead, they waited until after the emergency order was ended to include the information. Why? To release them from liability.

So, why am I writing about this today? Because on Friday, three of the four households Zippy and I delivered food to were sick (households that have all experienced previous Covid infections). And because this past weekend my elderly mother died while Covid-positive. She had suffered health issues over the last several months and was in a rehab facility to receive therapy. On Thursday, she was admitted to a hospital with pneumonia and on Friday was diagnosed with Covid-19. She died early Saturday morning. Because of the “let ‘er rip” attitude, I don’t even know where she became infected. The rehab facility? The hospital? To be clear, I’m not saying Covid killed her. What I am saying is that it’s appalling we’ve given up on masking and testing in hospitals (!) and facilities filled with elderly people who are incredibly vulnerable to illness. It’s equally appalling that we haven’t made provisions for the young people in schools who are now being infected over and over again, doing damage to their immune systems in ways that may not show up until years later.

In the meanwhile,  the U.S. is one of the wealthiest nations in the world and yet our health system ranks last among eleven high-income nations. They refuse to give us universal healthcare. Our so-called representatives have access to the best medical support and treatments while the rest of us are forced to spend hours on the phone arguing with our health insurance companies that charge us high premiums only to constantly deny us care. Do you really believe this system would take care of you if you develop Long Covid? Remember, the U.S. can’t afford universal healthcare, but we can afford to spend billions of dollars to kill people in other countries!

Again, I do not mask out of fear.

Climate Movement Monday: Connecting the dots

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

Welcome back to another Movement Monday in which we discuss all things climate. Typically, I focus on a frontline community most directly affected by the ravages of climate change and then offer an action we can take on their behalf. But today this post will be dedicated to offering information that helps connect the dots between climate activism, police response, and anti-protest legislation.

I’ve written in the past about the Weelaunee Forest and the Atlanta citizens’ efforts to stop the $90 million militarized police training center (known as Cop City) from being built there. THIS post will get you up to speed and THIS post provided an update on the Georgia Attorney General filing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) and “domestic terrorism” charges against 61 people involved in the efforts to Stop Cop City. Reminder: RICO was implemented in the 70s to go after organized crime.

Okay, so why am I writing about Cop City today? Because after the people of Atlanta testified over and over again in opposition to Cop City but were ignored by the mayor and city council, they took the “civic” route and gathered 116,000 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot so that people could vote YES or NO to Cop City. Well, the powers-that-be threw up legal challenges and successfully kept the referendum off the ballot last week. There’s a chance it’ll be on the March 2024 ballot, but in the meanwhile, people gathered this morning at Weelaunee Forest today to defend the forest. And who was there to greet them? Heavily militarized police with armored vehicles, riot gear, projectiles, and tear gas.

Yes, that dog is wearing goggles. Why? Because . . . tear gas.

Note: images from X/Twitter

So, here are some dots in need of connecting:

DOT: We’ve got local citizens who followed the process and showed up by the hundreds to testify against a militarized police training center, only to be ignored. Those citizens then went the referendum route, gathering 116,000 signatures in a very short time, only to be sabotaged in those efforts. Now, they show up in person to defend the largest green space in the city from being clear-cut, and they’re gassed by the police.

DOT: Those same police want the training center built so that they can learn from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Yes, the very same IDF currently maiming and killing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank (with a dose of harassment/imprisonment for any Jewish person who dares to speak out against them). As stated by the American Friends Service Committee: Cop City will allow police not just from Atlanta, but globally, to learn repressive tactics, so that protests and rebellions can be easily crushed. According to the original proposal, 43% of the training at Cop City will be for officers outside of Atlanta, including military training with the infamous Israeli Defense Forces.  

DOT: All around the globe, we’re watching our climate in collapse. Wildfires, floods, polluted air and water, droughts, hurricanes, etc. While we’re facing an existential threat, those in power are busy squeezing out the last dollars they can get from fossil fuel extraction despite climate scientists saying NO NEW FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS.

DOT: As the climate worsens and our very survival is threatened, more and more people will take to the streets in order to force action from the powerful elite. After the murder of George Floyd, MANY people protested and marched, which gave the elites a glimpse of what’s to come. So how are they reacting? Putting more and more money into police budgets. Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” (also known as the “Covid-19 Stimulus Package”) put $10 billion into police departments.

DOT: There’s a growing push to criminalize protest here in the U.S. and around the world. Fossil fuel companies in the U.S. have contributed more than $5 million to state anti-protest bill sponsors (Dollars vs Democracy 2023, p 5). For example: “North Carolina’s enacted law (S 58) is particularly extreme. It carries felony penalties with up to 19 years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines for attempting to “obstruct, impede, or impair the services of transmissions of an energy facility.” Under the new law, trespassing on energy facilities is also classified as a felony with up to two years in prison. The bill was primarily sponsored by Sen. Paul Newton, who worked at Duke Energy for 25 years and was the company’s state president.” (Dollars vs Democracy 2023, p 54)

Fossil fuel companies also use strategic lawsuits against public participation (otherwise known as SLAPP) to intimidate and prevent protest (Dollars vs Democracy 2023, p 6). “As a result of criminalization and judicial harassment (such as SLAPPs), individuals can be saddled with legal fees, prevented from earning a stable living, socially stigmatized, and displaced. Organizations can be bankrupted, ruptured, or forcibly dissolved. Criminalization and judicial harassment also threaten to chill free speech and dissent.” (Dollars vs Democracy, p 55)

There are more dots to connect (notably white supremacy and imperialism), but I hope this basic overview helps point out what we’re facing. The powerful are systematically trying to separate we-the-people from the issues in desperate need of sustainable solutions, and the police will play a huge role in the ensuing struggle. Which is why after my run today, I put on my STOP COP CITY shirt in solidarity with the Atlanta Forest Defenders and wrote this post.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you very much and welcome any and all thoughts on this. In the meanwhile, even though I said I wouldn’t ask for an action, I do want to include the Stop Cop City Solidarity site that includes actions we can take plus links to where we can donate to the legal fund for those facing RICO and terrorism charges AND a fund for the family of Tortuguita (who was murdered by police while they defended the forest).

Please take good care of yourself in these hard, hard days. Solidarity! ✊🏽

Climate Movement Mondays: just say NO to more LNG terminals

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate, often with a focus on a frontline community enduring the worst effects of the climate crisis. Today’s post focuses on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and a looming decision by the Department of Energy that will most directly affect those living in the Gulf region, but will have ramifications for everyone on the planet.

Environmental justice champion Roishetta Ozane with the Westlake Chemical plant behind her home. They’re already enduring so much and do not want LNG terminals!

This information about the possibility of 20 new LNG terminals in the Gulf comes via Third Act and rather than try to reinvent the wheel, I’m going to copy the full email I received from Third Act founder, Bill McKibben. Spoiler alert: you’ll be asked to handwrite a short letter and I’ve included mine as a sample.

Dear Friends,

As this hottest year in human history winds towards its close, I’m writing to ask for your help with what may be the single biggest climate fight left on planet Earth. And it’s right here at home.

The US is planning to quadruple the export of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the Gulf of Mexico over the next few years—there are plans for 20 huge export terminals to add to the seven that already exist. If they are built, the emissions associated with them will be as large as all the emissions from every home, factory, and car in the EU. The emissions associated with them will wipe out every bit of progress the U.S. has made on reducing carbon and methane since 2005.

And along the way it will hurt not only the people who have to live and breathe near these monstrosities, but also all American consumers—because exporting gas abroad drives up the price at home.

If you want a short primer, here is something I wrote this week, and another piece I wrote for the New Yorker.

Happily, we have a realistic chance at stopping this. Which is why I hope you’ll break out your stationery box and roll of stamps. The final decision will be made by the Department of Energy, which can grant or deny export licenses to these companies depending on whether they’re in the public interest.

Please please please write a letter this week to:

The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave. SW
Washington DC 20585

Here are some key points you can include in your letter:

  1. These plants are carbon and methane bombs. In the hottest year of human history it’s obscene to be putting up more of them.
  2. We’re already the biggest gas exporter on earth, and have more than enough capacity to meet the needs of the Europeans in the wake of the Ukrainian war.
  3. When we export all this gas, we drive up the price for those Americans who still rely on it for cooking and heating. Rejecting this project will fight inflation, which will help get the president re-elected.
  4. It’s an environmental justice travesty—as usual, these projects are set for poor communities of color.
  5. They’re planned for smack in the middle of the worst hurricane belt in the hemisphere.
  6. So rewrite the criteria (they’re currently using a Trump-era formula) for figuring out if such plans are in the national interest.

If you thought you were getting off without one high-tech task, though, you’re wrong. Could you also take a picture of the letter on your smartphone and email it to takingaction@thirdact.org, so we can keep track of what’s happening.

Remember, the penmanship you learned long ago is a secret weapon. Bureaucrats are used to getting email petitions; they’re not used to getting old-school letters. They know it takes effort, and they pay attention.

I think we can win this fight, and if we do it will be the biggest win on the climate front since we sunk the Keystone pipeline. But we can only do it if we act right now.

Thank you,

Bill McKibben
Founder, Third Act

P.S. As I was writing this, the first snow of the season started to fall in Vermont. That’s got to be a good sign!

In case you’re feeling stuck or intimidated about writing a letter, please check out my letter. What matters most is writing from your experience and including your concerns. My letter is probably longer than necessary, so please feel free to only write one short paragraph. As Bill says, just the fact that we’re taking the time to handwrite and mail a letter shows a big commitment that’s much harder to ignore.

Please holler if you have any questions. Also, I’d love to hear the focus of your letter so feel free to share in the comments. As always, thank you for reading this far.

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Denver in solidarity with Palestine

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

Today, Zippy and I attended the Denver rally and march in solidarity with Palestine. We masked up and rode the light rail and then a bus to the capitol building at Colfax and Broadway. Here’s the sign I hung around my neck via a shoelace to keep my hands free and to reduce the neck and shoulder pain I suffer when holding up a sign for hours.

The speakers were varied but all shared their appreciation for the millions and millions of people around the globe who understand what is happening in apartheid Israel and who stand in solidarity with the occupied Palestinian people. I wept as I listened, feeling an incredible connection to both the oppressed and those fighting for them. And then it was time to line up for the march. I stood to one side as people came down off the capitol lawn to the street, and offered N95 masks. I started with a bag of fifty and came home with only three, which was very gratifying (as was the sight of the many who were already masked).

I haven’t seen any official estimates of attendance, but there were thousands of people there. I took this photo upon arrival and by the time the march began, lots more people had joined us. I’d say this crowd at least doubled, if not tripled in size.

I usually take a camera to rallies and marches, but today only had my phone. But I was still able to capture some signs I especially appreciated.

   

 

 

 

 

 

This one resonated because of the number of imprisoned Palestinians. From Aljazeera: Since 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it has arrested an estimated one million Palestinians, the United Nations reported last summer. One in every five Palestinians has been arrested and charged under the 1,600 military orders that control every aspect of the lives of Palestinians living under the Israeli military occupation. That incarceration rate doubles for Palestinian men — two in every five have been arrested.

I was unable to get photos of two other signs I appreciated, but here are the words:

IT IS NOT A WAR IF ONLY ONE SIDE HAS AN ARMY

IT IS NOT A CONFLICT IF ONE SIDE HAS THE GUNS & THE OTHER SIDE IS PRAYING

And finally, this sign:

Again, there’s a handy-dandy one-stop site with info on contacting your congressional representatives to demand a ceasefire AND to find a protest near you because it’s never too late to speak up: ceasefiretoday.com

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Thankful Thursday: moral courage

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

Today I am thankful for the many, many people lending their voices to the chorus for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Protesters raise their painted hands as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the national security supplemental request, in Washington October 31, 2023 © SAUL LOEB / AFP

  • Several days ago, a top UN official who’d worked on human rights issues for 30+ years resigned in protest of the ongoing genocide and the UN & West’s complicity in Israel’s abuses. You can read Craig Mokhiber’s full letter HERE, including this excerpt: ” . . . western corporate media, increasingly captured and state-adjacent, are in open breach of Article 20 of the ICCPR, continuously dehumanizing Palestinians to facilitate the genocide, and broadcasting propaganda for war and advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence. US-based social media companies are suppressing the voices of human rights defenders while amplifying pro-Israel propaganda. Israel lobby online-trolls and GONGOS are harassing and smearing human rights defenders, and western universities and employers are collaborating with them to punish those who dare to speak out against the atrocities.”
  • Incredibly brave American Jews and allies are protesting and demonstrating in various parts of the U.S. as I write this. In Durham, North Carolina, they’re blocking the highway to demand a CeasefireNOW. They’ve taken over the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. In Boston, dozens of faith leaders are protesting in the JFK Building.
  • Ultra-Orthodox Jews are speaking out in solidarity with Palestinians and disavowing Zionism, putting themselves in harm’s way. I don’t want to link to those upsetting videos, but invite you to see video from a New York protest HERE.
  • African American writer Ta-Nehisi Coates went on Democracy Now! to speak about his visit to Palestine and the connections he saw between Jim Crow/ segregation and the apartheid in Israel. You can watch that interview and/or read the transcript HERE

Demonstrations and marches continue around the world. Go HERE for the list that’s updated daily. Ceasefiretoday.com includes that link plus ALL the tools needed to make our voices heard.

Nothing but gratitude for those refusing to remain silent!

Climate Movement Monday: carbon capture & storage

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Welcome back to Climate Movement Mondays in which we discuss all things climate. Today I want to share info regarding carbon capture and storage which is touted as a viable “solution” to climate catastrophe. But before I get into that, I want to state that Israel’s current “collective punishment” bombing campaign against the Palestinian people is not only an act of genocide, but also an attack on a frontline community already enduring massive drought as a result the climate crisis. Per Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network Coordinator, Abeer Butmeh: “We will see these effects on soil, water, marine habitat, air and, most importantly, on human health. Currently, Israel has cut off the water resources in Gaza and Gaza has run out of drinkable water. Palestinians live under two threats: Israeli occupation and climate change.”

PLEASE continue to call and email Biden plus your two Senators and one Representative, demanding a CeasefireNOW if you object to your tax dollars funding a genocide.

This post is about educating ourselves on carbon capture and storage (CCS) which I don’t know much about but keeps showing up for me lately. For instance, I just learned there was a proposed $3.5 billion, 1,300-mile CO2 pipeline to transport[ing] CO2 from ethanol and fertilizer plants to be sequestered underground in Illinois.” The project was named Heartland Greenway and would span “parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Grassroots opposition to these projects has been intense, with farmers, landowners and environmentalists raising questions about their feasibility and safety.”  Last week, Navigator CO2 Ventures announced it was cancelling the project due to regulatory processes in South Dakota and Iowa. I’d venture a guess that opposition from those groups made it more difficult to continue. Here’s a press release from Food & Water Watch regarding the cancellation: “While the federal government keeps trying to waste billions of dollars to promote these massive carbon pipelines, grassroots organizing is winning the fight to stop these egregious handouts to corporate polluters. These carbon pipelines will not reduce emissions – they are dangerous, wasteful schemes to prolong and expand polluting industries. Instead of throwing away money supporting polluters, the government should invest in proven clean energy solutions, not carbon capture pipe dreams.”

I also learned there’s an organization called PipelineFighters.org and they have a map showing proposed pipelines around the country. Go HERE for an interactive map.

If you’re interested in learning about CCS, Yale Climate Connections published an article by Cameron Oglesby earlier this month: “What’s the deal with carbon capture and storage?” It’s lengthy, but well worth the read. The one issue that jumps out at me is that CCS requires a lot of water, so it seems incredibly unwise to pin hopes on a process that will further deplete our already scarce groundwater.

Thank you for reading this far. I know there’s lot of info out there on CCS so if you come across other articles and perspectives, please share in the comments. Also, if you take a look at that Pipeline Fighters map and see a proposed project in your state, I’d love to hear your thoughts on that. In the meanwhile, take care. Solidarity! ✊🏽

I refuse to be desensitized

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

It’s another Monday which, in the past, meant a Climate Movement Monday post about a frontline community suffering the worst effects of climate change plus a suggested action or two to take on their behalf. I’ve got nothing to offer.

Confession: I can’t stop thinking about Palestinian people and have spent much of today in tears. Over 5,000 Palestinians dead since October 7, including 2,000 children. That equals 128 dead children per day. This is genocide and the U.S. government is sponsoring it. The military industrial complex is getting richer off the slaughter of Palestinians and my two Senators and one Representative can’t be swayed to step down from their “I stand with Israel ” stances. Nonetheless, I continue to call them daily to demand a ceasefire and today felt a slight shift in the tones of the two staffers who took my calls (I left a voicemail for the other). One said that all calls received at that office were demanding a ceasefire. The other was someone I’ve spoken with multiple times, someone who has exhibited clear disdain for my position, but who today listened to me speak through my tears and then sincerely thanked me for calling. It’s not much, but I’m clinging to those shifts in tone.

PLEASE call your representatives to demand a #CeaseFireNOW.
U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Millions of people around the globe have taken to the streets demanding a #CeasefireNOW!

Boston march for Palestine this past weekend. (found on Twitter along with this video of the march)

This is reminiscent of the millions of us taking to the streets in 2003 to demand the U.S. not invade Iraq. We were ignored then and know how that turned out. And same as twenty years ago, Islamophobia is now on the rise due to those fanning the flames. In case you missed it, a six year-old Palestinian-American boy (Wadea Al-Fayoume) in Chicago was fatally stabbed 26 times by his landlord who also stabbed the boy’s mother a dozen times. She survived and was released from the hospital today.

What is the point of me sharing all this? I cannot remain silent during an ongoing genocide because silence normalizes the policy. Just as I refuse to “return to normal” during the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic, I refuse to look the other way while an occupied people are being bombed out of existence. One of the most important acts of resistance is the refusal to be desensitized to the suffering of others.

It would make me very happy to engage with people here on what’s happening, so please let me know how you’re doing and whether you’ve made headway with your representatives or attended a march. Basically, any and all comments are welcome!

In the meanwhile . . . solidarity! ✊🏽

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! ✊🏽

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! ✊🏽

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! ✊🏽

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!  ✊🏽

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! ✊🏽

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.

————————————————————————————————————

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. 😉

————————————————————————————————————

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! ✊🏽

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!
——————————-

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! ✊🏽

Climate Movement Monday: hope + determination

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays! Last week I was out in nature, refilling my well as we camped in Pike National Forest. We hiked the West Jefferson Trail through many lodgepole pines, marveling at the way the trees worked in community to support each other. Massive trees leaning on smaller trees that continue to grow as they support the weight of others. Witnessing that felt sacred and brought tears to my eyes.

July 25, 2023

Our trip was a much-needed respite from the realities of our quickly changing climate and today I’d like to offer some thoughts and hope from the frontlines of the fight for a stable climate and just transition off fossil fuels to renewable energies. The good news is that we have the answers and technology, and only lack the political will. Also? Many, many people are speaking up and more are joining the fight each day. But we need people to understand that we do, indeed, have the power to avert the worst of the climate crisis. As Rebecca Solnit tweeted: We spent a lot of time trying to convince people climate is real and urgent; that has mostly been accomplished. Now we have to convince people that we can do something about it, that we have the solutions, that most people already take climate seriously and support action, that doing what the climate demands could produce an era of abundance, not austerity, that the main obstacles are political, that civil society has overthrown regimes and status quo and changed the world before and can again.

The status quo is not permanent! However, the powers-that-be want to normalize this extreme weather and are feeding us headlines like this:

We must not buy into this narrative that wants us to accept an unlivable planet and future. Instead, let’s center this sentiment:
And this:
There are more of us than them and at the forefront are young people who are literally fighting for a livable future. Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen Z for Change, interrupted Biden’s press secretary at the Voters of Tomorrow’s summit last week to confront the Biden administration over its climate policy. Newsweek wrote about it and you can watch the video here. (See how brave, young Elise takes a steadying breath before she begins speaking.)
                                                                                                                                                                                                   On a final note, I think it’s helpful to remember that we’re raised in this country to pride ourselves on our individualism. We’re told to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps rather than accept “handouts.” But humans are social beings and we need each other–socially, emotionally, and physically. We are better and stronger together, and our survival depends on each other. So, I invite you to step into this moment and join the fight. Make your voice heard! I’d love to connect with you and hear what’s happening in your corner of the world, so please leave a comment. (And don’t think your comment has to be in agreement with what’s here–my intent is to start a conversation and find some common ground. Any and all thoughts are welcome!) Let’s be like lodgepole pines and lean on each other!
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Solidarity! ✊🏽

Climate Movement Monday: Declare a Climate Emergency + flood relief

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Hello, again! Before going any farther, I want to ask you to PLEASE keep up the pressure on Biden to declare a Climate Emergency under the National Emergencies Act (which unlocks all sorts of executive powers–scroll down for specifics). Personally, I cannot get a call through to the White House Comment Line (202 456 1111) so I email Biden and now have a daily plan to call my two Senators and one Representative to implore that they use ALL their power to pressure Biden to declare a climate emergency. If you don’t know your Senators, look here. To find your Representative, look here. Personalize your communication by letting them know what climate-induced extreme weather you’re experiencing. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! 

Okay, so it’s another Movement Monday post in which I typically highlight a frontline community enduring the immediate effects of the climate crisis then offer ways to support that community. Today my focus is on helping those impacted by flooding, specifically in the northeastern U.S. (However, horrific flooding is also happening all around the globe while deadly heat waves affect other regions. For instance, a region in northwest China just hit a record-breaking 126 degrees.)

The GOOD NEWS is that China is leading the world in taking aggressive climate action to implement renewable energy. The link to Kyle’s twitter thread with its many articles on what China is accomplishing can be found here. Read it and expand your vision of what is possible! There’s plenty of reason for hope!

 

Related to that good news, while Texas endures weeks of deadly temperatures that strain its power grid, solar power and battery storage played a huge roll in preventing blackouts. (See what’s possible?) You can read about that here.

Okay, now here are some organizations helping out those in the northeast.

NEW YORK & VERMONT:

  • Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and humanitarian crises. They’re on the ground in New York and Vermont, and are accepting donations for their annual fundraising goal of $120,000. Donate here.

VERMONT:

  • Vermont Public is partnering with the Vermont Community Foundation to collect donations for the Vermont Flood Response & Recovery Fund 2023 today (7.17.23) through midnight on Sunday, July 23rd
    Donate here OR donate directly to Vermont Community Foundation here.

There was also flooding in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts (and possibly other places I’m missing?), but I’ve been unable to find organizations accepting donations. PLEASE let me know if you come across any reputable places to donate and I will update this post.

Thank you for reading and caring for others in their time of need. We’re all in this together and collective action is what will save us! 

Solidarity! ✊🏽

Climate Movement Monday: resources

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays! Today’s post isn’t focused on a specific frontline community, but is instead a collection of resources you might be interested in perusing. The intensifying climate-related weather around the world made me feel a bit wobbly about my role on the planet this morning, so I’ve been reading the excellent LET THIS RADICALIZE YOU: ORGANIZING AND THE REVOLUTION OF RECIPROCAL CARE by Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba.

The title comes from something Mariame Kaba has said over the years, “Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair,” a sentiment that resonates deeply with me. The book is about building community and organizing for the collective good. Here’s one snippet that made me feel a whole lot less wobbly this morning:

That quote is a good reminder that the smallest action can be revolutionary. The example that came to mind as I read was masking. Every time I wear a mask I’m saying “Our govt may not care about us, but I refuse to abandon you or you or you.” 

I admire both authors immensely, not only for their ongoing efforts on behalf of people and planet, but for their graciousness in welcoming others into the fight. Let This Radicalize You isn’t only for aspiring organizers, but also for anyone wanting stronger connections in their communities, along with those who might need a little pep talk to get them out of bed in the morning.  🙂  Haymarket Books is offering the book for 40% off right now (only $10.77 for the paperback!) and you can get that here.

My second resource recommendation is also new to me and I wanted to share while it’s on my radar. INHERITED is a storytelling podcast about young climate activists from around the world. They’ve produced two seasons of episodes and Season 3 will drop later this month.  You can access episodes here.

Third, an op-ed from Christiana Figueres who is a Costa Rican diplomat who served as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2010-2016. The title of her piece: I thought fossil fuel firms could change. I was wrong. The piece opens with this:

“More than most members of the climate community, I have for years held space for the oil and gas industry to finally wake up and stand up to its critical responsibility in history.

I have done so because I was convinced the global economy could not be decarbonised without their constructive participation and I was therefore willing to support the transformation of their business model.

But what the industry is doing with its unprecedented profits over the past 12 months has changed my mind.

Let’s remember what the industry could and should be doing with those trillions of dollars: stepping away from any new oil and gas exploration, investing heavily into renewable energies and accelerating carbon capture and storage technologies to clean up existing fossil fuel use. Also, cutting methane emissions from the entire production line, abating emissions along their value chain and facilitating access to renewable energy for those still without electricity who number in their millions.

Instead, what we see is international oil companies cutting back, slowing down or, at best, painfully maintaining their decarbonisation commitments, paying higher dividends to shareholders, buying back more shares and – in some countries – lobbying governments to reverse clean energy policies while paying lip service to change.

On top of that, the industry as a whole is making plans to explore new sources of polluting fossil fuels and, in the United States, intimidating stakeholders who have been moving towards environmental, social and governance responsibility.”

You can read the piece in its entirety here. I wasn’t aware of Christiana Figueres or her willingness to give fossil fuel corporations the benefit of the doubt, but I’m glad she’s seen the light and is now using her substantial platform to voice her opinion. Good news!

As always, I’d love to hear what’s happening in your part of the world + any good news/bad news + book/article/podcast recommendations you might have. Basically, I want to feel more connected with YOU.

Solidarity! ✊🏽

 

Climate Movement Mondays: deadly heat & the incarcerated

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

Welcome back to Movement Mondays in which I typically highlight a frontline community enduring the worst effects of climate change and then offer an action you can take on their behalf. However, today’s post is mainly intended to raise awareness about a deadly issue. Before going further, I need to say that I am a PIC abolitionist. Per criticalresistance.org: prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition is “a political vision with the goal of eliminating imprisonment, policing, and surveillance and creating lasting alternatives to punishment and imprisonment.”

Image by Fifaliana Joy from Pixabay

Okay, one of the aspects of climate change is how it affects people and planet in ways we might not have considered. I include myself in that statement. Because even though I’m active in the climate community and have done tons of reading on abolition and social justice, I hadn’t truly made the connection between climate and incarceration. But then an incarcerated friend wrote to me, mentioning how he was worried not only about the unhealthy air due to the Canada wildfires but also about the coming oppressive heat in the prison that doesn’t have air conditioning. My friend is not being whiny. Climate change poses a unique threat to the incarcerated and the insanely high temperatures around the country are literally killing people in prisons. (By the way, climate-induced flooding is another deadly threat to the incarcerated.)

The New Republic reported that in the last several weeks, at least nine people died heat-related deaths in Texas prisons (although the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not acknowledged the deaths as such). “But only last month, Texas senators killed a bill that would have established a prison temperature standard of 65 to 85 degrees, as well as funding of $545 million for the first two parts of a four-phase air-conditioning installation plan. Despite a $32.7 billion budget surplus this year, the legislature allocated no funds specifically for prison air conditioning.” 

Then there’s Louisiana. Taproot Earth created a May 2023 policy report on climate and incarceration, and in that introduction states: “The rate of incarceration in Louisiana is higher than anywhere else in the world. Black people are 33% of the state’s population, but make up 52% of people in jail and 67% of people in prison.” (Note: The state relies on pretrial incarceration which means that people who can’t afford bail are incarcerated until trial.) The introduction also says this: “Louisiana is also particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis, due to its geographic location on the Gulf South and its production of the fossil fuels that drive the climate crisis and poison nearby communities. Louisiana is at high risk for sea level rise, coastal loss and flooding, increased heat waves, and storms that are increasing in frequency and intensity.”

So what can be done? The report makes many recommendations (including that Biden must Declare a Climate Emergency) and from page 19 of the report: “As the climate crisis worsens disasters and increases their frequency, these carceral facilities and the beds within them will become only more cruel and dangerous, leading to premature death of incarcerated people. To release people from the disaster within the disaster, all environmentally vulnerable carceral facilities must be closed–and when a disaster strikes them, they must not be rebuilt or reopened. This requires a state-wide study of carceral infrastructure and its vulnerability, especially in the context of climate-exacerbated disasters.” No more new prisons!

The good news is that people are organizing around this issue and there’s an increased urgency to that work as climate-induced extreme weather continues to hit every part of the globe. Texas Prisons Community Advocates (TPCA) is rallying at the state capitol on July 18th and they will gratefully accept a donation.

If you’ve read this far, thank you thank you thank you. Please keep your eyes and ears open to what’s happening in your own states. Maybe there’s a group organizing around climate and incarceration or maybe proposed legislation that would help keep the incarcerated alive. Or maybe you’ve seen a story or two in the news about prisons. No matter what it is, I’d love to converse with you about it because climate and abolition are two issues close to my heart.

Solidarity! ✊🏽