Environmental Activism Opportunities

  • Rise for Climate: A Global Day of Action on September 8th via @350

    Rise-for-Climate.jpgThe Global Climate Action Summit will take place in San Francisco this September. Mayors, local government officials, businesses, and members of cvil society, will be in attendance with the goal of showcasing climate action around the world and inspiring deeper commitments from each other and national governments.

    To ensure those commitments are nothing short of building a 100% renewable energy and fossil free world, 350.org, its global partners, and individuals like you, have planned thousands of rallies and events in cities and towns around the world on September 8th, just ahead of the summit. They are demanding real, meaningful, and just climate action, and every city and local leader has been invited to make a commitment around the summit.

    2020 is a threshold for meeting global targets to tackle the climate crisis. But because nations won’t act quickly enough, Rise for Climate is demanding that local leaders to step up and do everything in their power to make a massive shift at the local level.

    To find Rise for Climate event near you, or to organize a rally or event in your community, go to RiseForClimate.org.

    We’ll get back to The Midterms Minute in the next episode, but I want to close this segment today by reinforcing the obvious point that we MUST elect candidates this November who believe in climate science and are committed to a fossil free future. Go to 350action.org to see the candidates they’ve endorsed and support those candidates through November. Additionally, the Pacific Standard came up with a list of 14 members of congress with poor records on climate in battleground districts. We encourage you to check out that article, share it, and do everything you can to make sure those seats get flipped in the Midterms.

    So, if rebuilding community while resisting disaster capitalism is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Rise for Climate: A Global Day of Action via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

     

    TAKE ACTION

    Find a Rise for Climate Event at RiseForClimate.org

    Check out 350 Action candidate endorsements

    Check out 14 climate skeptics in battleground districts

    FOR FURTHER READING/SHARING

    Why I Rise (350.org)

    A Destroyed Planet is Not Our Destiny (350.org)

    Saving Earth: Don't Fall Into Climate Change Fatalism (Huffington Post)

     

    Posted August 28, 2018; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman

    Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1205: The multi-front war on the environment ​and our health

     

  • #ProtectNEPA to #ProtectOurVoice on the Environment via @ProtectNEPA

    DJnOmyuWAAMxiL5.jpgIf you didn’t know it already, you have a legal right to know about and weigh in on federal government projects before any action is taken. Those rights are protected by the first bedrock piece of environmental legislation - a law called the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.

    NEPA has three main components:

    1) It promotes transparency by requiring that plans for federal projects be released to the public,

    2) It promotes informed decision-making through requiring detailed studies on environmental impacts and alternatives, and

    3) It gives the public a voice on these projects through public hearings and comment periods.  

    It’s all important, but that last piece is vital. Because of NEPA, citizens have the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about plans that will impact the environment and their communities, and then hold their government accountable. That period of public review also takes time and shines sunlight on consequences, whether unintended or otherwise. And that’s essential to stopping dangerous, rushed or poorly planned projects.  

    NEPA requirements don’t just force the truth to come out, they allow time for movements to be built before projects are underway. They allow time for organizing and for media to be drawn in to alert the broader public and win the public relations war against giant companies. Think of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Think of Keystone XL. NEPA made it possible for these projects to become household names and public battles instead of inevitable… and that is, of course, why NEPA is under attack.

    A NEPA repeal would be incredibly difficult and unpopular, so instead conservatives are trying to chip away at it bit by bit. In a Heritage Foundation report last year, the organization wrote about their plans to “pave the way to rescission” of NEPA by introducing legislation that narrows NEPA reviews, mandates time limits, limits alternatives, and eliminates consideration of - you guessed it - green house gases and climate change. 

    In the last two Congresses, over one hundred and fifty bills were introduced that weakened or waived NEPA. Now, in the current Congress, there are already over fifty introduced bills that would limit or eliminate public input, government accountability, and environmental review of federal projects. Several of these bills have passed or are likely to pass soon.

    We will all lose if NEPA is damaged or destroyed. But low-income communities, indigenous communities and communities of color, which face environmental injustice every day, will lose a critical tool in their fight to protect their health, economy and environment. For 40 years, NEPA has given a voice to people who would otherwise be shut out of the process, but that could change unless you get involved today with the NEPA Works campaign. 

    Go to NEPAWorks.wpengine.com. There you will find details on the history and importance of NEPA, as well as a complete list of categorized legislative threats to this critical law in the House and Senate. Your next step is to call Congress and spread the word about the ulterior motive within these bills. You can also read and share success stories from every single state where NEPA requirements have quite literally saved the day. The things companies have tried to get away with will shock you. 

    Follow the campaign on Twitter @ProtectNEPA and join other environmental action groups in using the hashtags #ProtectNEPA and #ProtectOurVoice while shining a light on this subversive Republican plan. The NEPA Works campaign is just getting off the ground and so we encourage you to get involved now and keep checking in to see what else you can do to help. 

    If only there was a NEPA to help us defend the NEPA…

    So, if fighting for your right to protect your health, family, community and environment is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Protecting NEPA via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

     

     

     

    TAKE ACTION:

    Get involved with the NEPA Works campaign to protect your voice!

    Read about pending legislation that chips away at NEPA, share it, and call Congress (try Stance) to stop it

    Read and share NEPA success stories from every state

    Follow NEPA Works on Twitter @ProtectNEPA

    Use the #ProtectNEPA and #ProtectOurVoice on social media 

    EDUCATE YOURSELF:

    We will not be silenced. Stand up for a strong NEPA! (Earth Justice)

    Trump CEQ rolls out plans for swift NEPA reviews (Governors' Wind & Solar Energy Coalition)

    US people of color still more likely to be exposed to pollution than white people (The Guardian)

    Christine Todd Whitman: How Not to Run the E.P.A. (New York Times)

    Boston Communities Unite to Democratize Their Economy (Next City)

     

    Posted September 19, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman

    Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1134: Unnatural Disasters (Hurricane & the Climate)

     

  • Bring MORE Conservatives On Board to a Carbon Fee & Dividend #ClimateChange Solution via @RepublicEn @CreationCare @citizensclimate

    board-1521348_1920.jpgWe live in polarized world where hard-lined political ideologies make it difficult for us to talk, let alone hear each other. So, when faced with the existential crisis of climate change, how can we make any progress? Turns out there is hope.

    There is one solution to climate change that has actually been embraced by both sides of the political spectrum: Carbon Fee and Dividend (aka: Cap and Dividend). Carbon Fee and Dividend is the idea of applying a fee that companies would pay for their carbon output (or imports) and sending that money directly back to the people to offset the increase in fuel costs. It puts pressure on the market to move away from fossil fuels and the dividends provide an incentive for people to move toward more affordable renewable sources so they can use the extra money for other things.

    Conservatives like it because it is a market-based solution, it isn’t a tax (because it goes back to the people), it won’t increase the size of government, and would actually make less regulations required. Progressives like it because, well, it’ll actually work. 

    So, do you have some conservatives in your life that you’ve been avoiding lately? Instead of telling them they are wrong about everything, engage them with ideas from other conservatives that just so happen to align with your goals too. 

    Here are a few things you can share with them…

    • RepublicEN, highlighted in the BOTL #1108, is a group of over 3,000 conservatives and libertarians who are educating Americans about free-enterprise solutions to climate change. Share or get involved with RepublicEN at RepublicEn.org.
    • The Evangelical Environmental Network, highlighted in BOTL #1108, is a group of 200,000 evangelical, pro-life Christians, who see themselves as “stewards of the bounty upon which all life depends.” They believe being pro-life also means protecting the environment that is essential to our quality of life. Share or get involved with EEN at CreationCare.org
    • And finally, if you can get them onboard with Carbon Fee and Dividend, introduce them to the Citizens Climate Lobby, a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. They have chapters all over the country, and the globe, and they lobbying for one thing and one thing only: Carbon Fee and Dividend legislation. 

     

    SAMPLE TWEETS/POSTS: 

    • GOP friends: Thoughts on a free-market, reduced reg #climatechange solution? This conservative org has a plan: http://www.republicen.org/ 
    • These Evangelicals want to solve #climatechange b/c they are "stewards of the bounty on which all life depends." http://www.creationcare.org/

     

    So, if making sure we actually get to even try to solve climate change is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Bringing MORE Conservatives On Board to a Carbon Fee & Dividend #ClimateChange Solution via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

      

     

    TAKE ACTION

    Let’s solve climate change! Engage with your conservative friends…

    EDUCATE YOURSELF

    AN EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT TAKES ON CLIMATE CHANGE (Newsweek, 2016) 

    Conservatives Plan for a Carbon Tax (The New York Times)

    Citizens Climate Lobby pushes for a carbon tax and dividend (The Guardian, 2013)

    7 Reasons Conservatives Should Support Climate Change Solutions (Huffington Post)

    New economic study shows carbon tax refunded to households would create jobs (Citizens Climate Lobby, 2014)

     

    Posted May 30, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

     

    Hear Best of the Left Edition #1108: A conservative solution to solving climate change

     

  • Take Part in Global Divestment Mobilization Week May 5-13 via @GoFossilFree @350


    C-LZ-IzXUAAoZ0r.jpgDuring the height of the Keystone XL fight in 2012, we sat in a theater in Washington, DC, along with hundreds of other climate activists and concerned citizens, and heard 350.org founder Bill McKibben talk about climate action via divestment. Back then, the divestment movement was just getting started and within a year, there were student-led divestment efforts happening on college campuses across the country and around the world. Since then, the divestment mobilization has become a core strategy of the climate movement.

    With the national spotlight on science and climate change, 350.org has organized a week-long, Global Divestment Mobilization week May 5-13, on the heels of the People’s Climate March. The last Global Divestment Day was two years ago, so, it’s more than time - and perhaps the perfect time - to reinvigorate a movement that has taken off and grown substantially over recent years. 

    As you’ve heard on this show and everywhere by now, renewable energy is becoming more efficient and cost effective every year, but to have a chance at that future we have to keep fossil fuels in the ground….and we don’t have time to wait for the market to fix things. We need to make change happen now and money seems to be the only thing that talks in our corrupt, capitalist society.  

    On their website, the Divestment Week organizers wrote, “Now it’s time to highlight the impacts of fossil fuels on our planet and to demand action that is rooted in the moral argument that investing in fossil fuels is not only a financial risk, but also risking the lives of human beings.”

    During Global Divestment Mobilization Week, actions will take place around the globe to demand the following moral responses from governments, universities, religious organizations, cultural institutions, individuals, and others: 

    • Immediate freeze of any new investments in fossil fuel companies.
    • Divestment from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years.
    • Cutting of sponsorship ties with fossil fuel companies

    Visit GlobalDivestmentMobilisation.org to learn more and to find actions near you. If there isn’t an action in your area, the site offers ideas and resources to organize one of your own. You can also follow the movement @GoFossilFree on Twitter and by checking out and using the official global hashtag #FossilFree.

    So, if saving the planet before it’s too late is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Taking Part in the Global Divestment Mobilization Week May 5-13 via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

     

     

    TAKE ACTION

    Join or organize Global Divestment Mobilization Actions, May 5-13,2017 

    Follow @GoFossilFree and @350 on Twitter 

    Engage with the Divestment Mobilization hashtag #FossilFree  

    EDUCATE YOURSELF

    Why Divestment is Changing the Climate Movement (The Nation, 2013)

    The rise and rise of the fossil fuel divestment movement (The Guardian, 2015)

    This is a Timed Test (Slate, Bill McKibben, 2015)


    Posted April 28, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

     

    Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1099: The science of the times

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F26RQ9PFRjk

     

  • Get in the Streets! Join #ScienceMarch on 4/22 & People's #ClimateMarch on 4/29 via @ScienceMarchDC and @Peoples_Climate

    Screen_Shot_2017-04-07_at_9.14.51_PM.pngIf you’ve been waiting for the second coming of the Women’s March, this could be it. Two major rallies, which both have had months of planning, preparation and outreach, are scheduled back to back weekends at the end of April. 

    On Earth Day, April 22nd, scientists around the world will march side-by-side with those who believe in science and want to defend it from climate deniers, religious extremists, oil and coal companies and the Trump administration - which, of course, is made up of representatives from all of those anti-science, special interest groups.  

    On the march website, the organizers wrote, “The march has generated a great deal of conversation around whether or not scientists should involve themselves in politics. In the face of an alarming trend toward discrediting scientific consensus and restricting scientific discovery, we might ask instead: can we afford not to speak out in its defense?”  

    Go to MarchforScience.com to learn more about the details of the march and, if you can’t make it to DC, find one of the 480 satellite marches near you. You can also follow the march on Twitter @ScienceMarchDC.

    After the March for Science, you have a week to rest up and then get in the streets again for the second People’s Climate March.

    In 2014, we were proud to be some of over 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New York City for the first People’s Climate March on the eve of the UN Climate Summit, demanding urgent action on the global climate crisis. We made history and our numbers and voices could not be ignored. Limited - but important - progress was made.

    This second march, taking place on the 100th day of the Trump Administration, is a fight to protect those gains, however small, and continue to push to make the climate crisis impossible to ignore politically. 

    As with every single political issue, climate is intersectional. The march aims to…

    • Advance solutions to the climate crisis [that are] rooted in racial, social and economic justice and committed to protecting front-line communities and workers.
    • Protect our right to clean air, water, land, healthy communities and a world at peace.
    • Immediately stop attacks on immigrants, communities of color, indigenous and tribal people and lands and workers.
    • Ensure public funds and investments create good paying jobs that provide a family-sustaining wage and benefits and preserve workers’ rights, including the right to unionize.
    • Fund investments in our communities, people and environment to transition to a new clean and renewable energy economy that works for all.
    • Protect our basic rights to a free press, protest and free speech.

    Go to PeoplesClimate.org to learn more about the march and, if you can’t make it to DC, find one of the sister marches happening across the country and around the world. You can also follow the march on Twitter @Peoples_Climate. 

    So, if you believe in science and saving humanity from climate change, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Getting in the streets for the March for Science and the People’s Climate March via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

    As the People’s Climate Movement has always said, “to change everything, we need everyone.” So, let’s show up for our future…and claim it. 

     

     

     

    TAKE ACTION

    April 22nd (Earth Day): March for Science Follow: @ScienceMarchDC

    April 29th (Trump’s 100th Day): People’s Climate March Follow: @Peoples_Climate

    EDUCATE YOURSELF

    Activists Announce People's Climate March (Huffington Post)

    Peoples Climate Movement Releases March Route (Common Dreams)

    Climate Justice Organizations Call for "People's Climate March" on April 29 (DemocracyNow!)

    Pussy Hats Making Way For Resistor Beanies In Science March (Huffington Post)

    This man in a space suit has a message for Earthlings (CNN)

    Congress’s one PhD-trained scientist will join march on Washington (STAT News)


    Posted April 7, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman

     

    Hear the segment in context on Best of the Left Edition #1093: The Exxon President goes to war with the planet (Climate)

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