ELDERS CLIMATE ACTION NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
Bi-Weekly Update December 31, 2018
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” ― Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder
There will be a planning meeting on January 10th. We need everyone to help! RSVP to receive zoom call instructions.
CALIFORNIA ACTIONS
NorCal Member Natalie Nussbaum attended a recent meeting of 350 East Bay. Here are her notes on the Sunrise Movement discussion. “The meeting was inspiring, motivating, and uplifting. First on the agenda was a presentation by Sunrise Movement, a national movement of young people united to work on climate change, justice and jobs, and produce future climate leaders. They have already been involved in many constructive actions including an early response to Hurricane Harvey, promoting a No Fossil Fuel Pledge for political candidates, and canvassing and calling to elect candidates who are not bought by the fossil fuel industry. They focus on politicians and elections and are a growing movement, well organized, with training provided about how to be most effective. Sunrise gives a voice to young people, and builds coalitions to really expand the movement to protect our planet. Discussion centered around how we can support Sunrise–e.g. provide connections, contacts, funds.
NATIONAL ACTIONS
From 350.0rg: The UN Climate Talks (COP24) in Katowice, Poland just closed. And it doesn’t look good. Despite last minute efforts to put together the rulebook of the Paris climate Agreement, country delegates failed to deliver a strong enough set of guidelines. Will you join over 50,000 people worldwide telling world ‘leaders’: “No more carbon bombs: we must stop and ban all fossil fuel development”? HERE
From SierraRise: The Arctic is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average. Yet the Trump administration is fast-tracking the process to allow Hilcorp Energy to drill in the Beaufort Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean. Hilcorp’s “Liberty Project” would entail building a 9-acre artificial island close to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the world’s last pristine wildernesses. HERE
From the Sierra Club: Protect Our Air From Toxic Mercury. Trump and Wheeler’s proposal is open for public comment. Send them a message that we oppose any weakening of protections against mercury and other toxic pollution. HERE
The Trump Administration announced a fresh attack on America’s efforts to combat the climate crisis: They’re working to unravel an Obama-era rule — one that ensured that coal plants being newly built had to adhere to clear carbon pollution limits, reflecting the best available approaches to reducing this dangerous pollution. Take action today, and demand Americans remain protected from this dangerous pollution. Don’t roll back carbon pollution limits on new coal plants HERE
From Sierra Rise: Every minute, the equivalent of an entire garbage truck of plastic gets dumped into our oceans. In the United States, stores distribute 100 billion single-use plastic bags per year, many of which end up in our waterways. Rather than address this problem, the Plastic Industry Association is working diligently to keep us reliant on disposable plastic products, such as straws, bags, and Styrofoam containers — known as single-use plastics. Take action to demand nine major companies withdraw their support from an industry association that is actively promoting plastic bag pollution. HERE
From the Sierra Club: Ryan Zinke has resigned as Secretary of the Interior. Tell your Senators to replace him with someone who will work for the public — not the oil and gas lobby. HERE
From Friends of the Earth: Sign your name to the Clean Cruising pledge: Tell Carnival to stop polluting the Arctic! HERE
From Climate Hawks: Apparently Donald Trump has never been briefed on climate change. The acting head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that Trump has never been briefed. Nor has NOAA been asked to give a briefing. So we’re asking you to take action. Write a letter to NOAA asking the agency to brief Trump on climate change. HERE
From Friends of the Earth: Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is fighting for a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee. If she gets it, she’ll be in a perfect position to make sure progressive priorities like the Green New Deal get fair consideration, and funding. Sign Now: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Ways and Means HERE
WORLD ACTIONS From Oil Change International: Tell the European Investment Bank to stop funding the fossil fuel industry. HERE
CLIMATE VICTORIES!
From the Sierra Club: We successfully pushed the California Air Resources Board to approve a rule that public transit buses deliver cleaner air, not dirty tailpipe pollution.
The Washington DC Council voted to pass the most aggressive climate bill in the country. This is a big deal! Here are the four key things the bill does:
- 100% clean electricity by 2032 2. The strictest building energy performance standards anywhere in the country 3. Increased funding for local sustainability initiatives including the Green Bank as well as for green jobs programs 4. Curbs transportation emissions by tying fuel economy to vehicle excise tax (i.e., if you buy a Prius you pay less on your title tax than if you bought a gas guzzler)
From SumofUs: All 28 European countries, including the UK, will have to ban throwaway plastic items including plates, cutlery and foam take-away food containers and cups from 2021. Single-use plastic straws will be banned too, except for people who need them for medical reasons.
INTERESTING AND RELEVANT ARTICLES
How The Iconic 1968 Earthrise Photo Changed Our Relationship To The Planet by Bill McKibben 12/06/2018 HERE
Description of the history, content and politics of the Green New Deal being promoted by Sunrise Movement and a growing body of progressive groups in and out of government. In the words of author David Roberts, “This is a deep dive into what the GND means, its history, the role it is playing in current politics, the effort to fill it out with policy, and the many challenges it faces”. HERE
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018 was introduced in Congress by two Republicans and three Democrats. This historic bipartisan bill would enact carbon fee and dividend into law when passed. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018 incorporates the most important provisions of carbon fee and dividend: a fee on carbon emissions at the source that starts at $15 per ton and goes up $10 per year, and a full dividend allocated to households. You can get more information from Citizens Climate Lobby: CCL’s website and on CCL Community at
Beyond the glare of official Washington the story of President Trump’s retreat on the environment is unfolding in extraordinary consequential ways for the health and safety of Americans. In just two years, Trump has unleashed a regulatory rollback with little parallel in the past half-century. Read the details in this New York Times article “Retreat on the Environment Is Affecting Communities Across America” HERE
Check out Zero Carbon Home by David Green: a roadmap for how to make money by cutting the carbon footprint of your home to zero. HERE
From Flipboard. Cement is the most widely used man-made material in existence. It is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet. But, while cement – the key ingredient in concrete – has shaped much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon footprint. HERE
ECO TIPS Recycle plastic grocery bags at Safeway, Lucky, Target. All the major stores that distribute plastic bags also collect them for recycling into other products. Of course the best is to use paper or reusable bags instead, but if you have plastic bags, here’s info on recycling. You can recycle a bunch of different types of plastic bags and wrap via these boxes. Click HERE for details.
If you haven’t seen/read the Exponential Climate Action Roadmap report, it can be downloaded at https://exponentialroadmap.org/. Read the Executive Summary on pages 7 through 11. LIVE WEBINAR January 11, 2019
There is a global trend of young people who are speaking out about climate change and its catastrophic effects in the face of what they view as negligent indifference from world leaders. To see what is happening in Indiana read “’Now it’s on us to fix’: Fearing for their future, Hoosier kids are taking control” and check out their video HERE
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW FOR THIS DATE
Saturday January 12 Sunrise Movement Green New Deal training. 9:30 – 5:30pm, in Oakland, CA. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks will be provided. (This is a movement of young people – which generally means between high school and 35 ish. If you do not fall within that age group but are interested in coming, please reach out to us! People of all ages, backgrounds, and identities are welcome and supported in this space.) To register click HERE and for a video of Sunrise’s 2018 accomplishments click HERE
Update compiled and edited by ECA NorCal members Bill DeVincenzi, Shirley McGrath & Marilyn Price
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