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Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice

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On September 8th, we’re joining partners from around the world in the streets for the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice actions. Our goal is to show our local elected leaders that we demand action on climate change. Will you join us? When Trump pulled the U.S. out of Paris Climate Agreement, he committed our whole country to a stupid, backwards course of action. We’re now the last country on earth that isn’t signed onto the Paris agreement, and the only country on earth without a plan to fight global warming. Trump didn’t stop at stupid, either: He and his corrupt cabinet of swamp monsters have proposed dozens of rollbacks and reversals on environmental policy, and proposed opening millions of miles of land and our coasts to new fossil fuel drilling. It’s disgusting and shameful and corrupt. And we can ignore all of it (well, don’t ignore it) if our mayors, Governors and local elected leaders take action. With the 2018 midterm elections fast approaching, now is the time to engage and mobilize our communities to rise for for climate, jobs, and …

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About to go live in Raleigh for #RiseTogether day 2

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I’m about to start another live stream at the Raleigh #RiseTogether rally, so I’ll get right to the point: Can you donate to support these solidarity actions in North Carolina and our ability to help organize them? Yesterday, I got up super early and drove to Charlotte for the first North Carolina #RiseTogether Action. I’m not a morning person, but it was totally worth it. We marched through downtown Charlotte, a city literally owned by the big fossil fuel banks with a 50 foot inflatable pipeline. We sang and chanted and passed out hundreds of fliers on the doorstep of Bank or America, Wells Fargo, and Duke Energy. And we tussled (verbally, non-violently) with security at Duke’s headquarters when they forbade us to stand on “their” side of the sidewalk, or even to allow people on “their” side to to take our picture.  But for all the fun and power of this action, it was an entirely volunteer production. So, I have to ask, can you check out the video from day one, and then chip in a few dollars to support our participation in the action …

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North Carolina #RiseTogether to stop all pipelines!

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North Carolina is ready to #RiseTogether in solidarity with our allies in the Gulf. Things are getting dangerous for our brothers and sisters fighting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. Earlier this week Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company behind the Bayou Bridge (BBP) and Dakota Access Pipelines (DAPL), leap frogged ahead of their scheduled pipeline construction to begin cutting trees near a group of water protector tree sits. Read more about it here. Here in North Carolina we’re showing our solidarity to fight the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines, which threaten dozens of our communities, our clean water, and our climate future. A diverse coalition of activists are organizing two major actions – On July 30 in Charlotte, and July 31 in Raleigh. Our Demands are: #Divest from fossil fuels – especially Bank of America and Wells Fargo – who are the two largest investors in these pipelines. No Pipelines – especially the ACP and MVP, which Governor Roy Cooper has the power stop. We support the Call to suspend construction on the ACP in particular along with allies in the faith and …

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Update from Louisiana: Rise together to stop the pipelines

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Things are getting dangerous for our brothers and sisters in Louisiana fighting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. Earlier this week Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company behind the Bayou Bridge (BBP) and Dakota Access Pipelines (DAPL), leap frogged ahead of their scheduled pipeline construction to begin cutting trees near a group of water protector tree sits. Along with an armed police export, they’ve continued to cut all the remaining trees around the tree-sits. It’s unnecessary and illegal, but more importantly it puts the safety of these brave water protectors at risk – because even a tree cut near their fragile, elevated encampments can come down wrong and smash guide wires and other safety equipment. As L’eau Est La Vie Camp said on their facebook page: We are heart broken by this reckless destruction of the basin, but we continue to occupy the tree sits and will continue to resist. L’eau Est La Vie and leaders on the ground are calling for aid, and there are two specific actions you can take to help us #RiseTogether this week: Keep your eyes on Louisiana …

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Rise together – Divest, no new pipelines, clean energy now.

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All week we’ve been glued to the news – not the news from Helsinki (well, ok, that too) but the news from Louisiana where our friends fighting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline are entering a critical phase of the campaign. In case you need a refresher, the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP) is the tail end of the black snake we call Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). If completed, BBP is the final link that connects dirty oil from the American tar sands in North Dakota to refineries and export terminals in Louisiana. Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the same company that siced dogs on water protectors at Standing Rock, has been ignoring court orders and human rights in a frantic rush to complete the pipeline. But our friends at the L’eau Est la Vie Camp have stood strong. For months they’ve continuously interrupted, delayed and stopped work. But last week, a judge overruled an earlier decision, and basically gave ETP a green light to finish construction by this fall. This is especially dangerous for the residents of  a town called St. James right in the heart …

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Been a minute

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Hey friends, been a minute since my last post. Just want to assure that 1) we’re not done fighting; 2) we’ve been busy, even if we haven’t posted; and 3) There’s more coming soon. Lightening round recap: We blocked the doors to the EPA to demand climate justice with the poor people’s campaign on June  18 I stalked the halls of Congress to demand Republican members #FirePruitt – and then they did! Two weeks later Pruitt Resigned What the what!?! I locked myself to a 20 foot tall bamboo tower for 7 hours to #CrackFERCopen and demand reforms at the Federal Energy regulatory Commission (thanks to the more than 10,000 of you who signed in support!) Later that same week, one of the Republican Commissioners Robert Powelson, announced he is resigning in August – setting up a deadlocked FERC over climate and gas pipelines, exactly what we were trying to accomplish with our action. There’s been a ton of other news, most of it bad: Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court,Brett Kavanaugh, is a radical, anti- woman, anti-LGBTQ, racist and  …

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Get on a Bus to the Poor People’s Campaign

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Earlier this week, I sat down and blocked the door to the EPA in solidarity with the Poor People’s Campaign. Sitting with me and just outside, was a crowd of hundreds – multi-racial, interfaith, and intergenerational – together we rallied, sang and demanded change . The action was electric. And you know Scott Pruitt – Trump’s racist, corrupt EPA administrator – heard about it. Check out the photos and videos of the action: But shutting down the EPA for a few hours will not fire Scott Pruitt. And even firing Pruitt will not undo all the damage this Administration has done to our health and the health of our planet. These 40 days of moral action, which 198 methods has been proud to endorse and support, are the start of a massive campaign to address environmental, racial and economic injustice. This Saturday, June 23, there’s a big rally here in DC to cap the 40 days of action, and launch the next phase of the Poor People’s Campaign. Will you join us? Click here to RSVP! There are busses and …

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Cracks between the FERC commissioners

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I’ve been fighting with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for years now. Most of the time, they seem pretty monolithic: in all the years they’ve existed, they’ve only said no to two (2) pipeline applications. And they’ve always steadfastly refused to acknowledge the damage that fracked gas does to our climate. That’s why, for the last four years or so, I’ve been working with Beyond Extreme Energy to resist FERC, tell the Senate not to confirm their commissioners, and generally shut down this rubber stamping agency. But now, for the first time I can remember, we are beginning to see cracks develop between the FERC commissioners: Just a few days ago, the two (minority) Democratic commissioners, Richard Glick and Cheryl LaFleur, voted to void the  FERC permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. There have also been news reports that the two Democrats are demanding a more thorough review of climate impacts – including one time LaFleur took it upon herself to just “do the math” without her Republican colleagues’ permission. Without question the unrelenting pressure of our movement has …

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Show Governor Cooper why his father loved the land between the two creeks

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When Governor Roy Cooper gave the green light to the Atlantic Coast pipeline he put his father’s home-town in the path of destruction. Gov. Cooper’s father, Roy A. Cooper, Jr., wrote of Nash County’s Elm Grove Community, “I thank God that I have been privileged to live between the creeks with family, close friends, and with nature at its finest.” So this weekend, I’ll be joining our friends from NC APPPL again in North Carolina for a “Walk Between the Creeks”. Together, we’ll walk the distance between these two creeks that the Governor’s father loved, and we’ll hold a short ceremony at the mid point with prayer, a water ceremony, and testimony from Nash County residents directly impacted by the pipeline. Click here to RSVP and join us in North Carolina Or click here to watch along with us online tomorrow at 11am eastern We’ve invited Governor Cooper,  his Secretary of Environmental Quality, and other officials  to join us. We hope that the visit and these simple, moral actions will remind the Governor what makes his family home and its …

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Show up with the Poor People’s Campaign: Because everybody’s got a right to breathe

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Since mid-May, thousands of people have been rallying for policies to dismantle systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and environmental degradation. It’s called the Poor People’s Campaign, A national call for moral revival, and the vision was laid down by Dr. Martin luther King 50 years ago. The call is for all of us to join 40 days of nonviolent moral action, and on June 3, the campaign will focus a week of action on “The Right to Health and a Healthy Planet.” Already, actions have been happening weekly outside of 35 state capitals and Washington, D.C. Thousands have shown up already, and hundreds have been arrested, Including me – Last month, I was arrested in an act of civil disobedience with the Poor People’s Campaign alongside more than a dozen neighbors, clergy, and friends in my home state of South Carolina. This Monday, I’m asking you to show up and do the same. Will you join a local Poor People’s Campaign action focussed on our health and the health of the planet this Monday? You don’t need to risk …

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