offshore Drilling

Un-Trump the Climate Talks

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Did you see this? Donald Trump gave a rambling, incoherent, interview to the Washington post in which he (amongst other things) once again denies the science of climate change — including the report from his own administration released last Friday which shows that the climate crisis is already hurting and killing Americans. It’s got to stop. And you can help deliver a clear, unambiguous rebuke to Trump at next week’s climate talks – called the COP24. Here’s how: Trump’s team is planning a sideshow event that actually promotes fossil fuels at world’s biggest meeting on how to fight climate change. While everyone else is talking about the new US and UN reports on climate change and how we only have 12 years to fix the problem Trump wants to talk about how to pollute more and get rich off the resulting death and destruction. But we’re ready for him – Trump did the same thing at last year’s talks, and a brave delegation of youth, indigenous and frontline climate activists shut him down. Now, that same delegation is headed to the …

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3 graphs, a photo from space, and a mission

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Last year I wrote a great post about what’s really at stake with climate change, and why I was starting 198 methods to push the fight in the US. It’s still great, and you should go read it if you haven’t already. I sent it out as a fundraiser on GivingTuesday, and got some positive feedback. This year, I didn’t want to send a Giving Tuesday email for two basic reasons: #GivingTuesday is kind of a scam. No shade to my brothers and sisters in the non-profit world;  They need your help, so if you found time and a little extra cash to donate to them, I hope you did so. But the whole thing was invented by professional fundraisers as a corollary to BlackFriday – an orgy of overconsumption and a key example of what we’re trying to change about American politics and society. It’s also deeply connected to and dependent on Facebook’s donation platform, which is a scam to get non-profits with strapped budgets to give them billions in advertising revenue while green-washing the reputations of some of …

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Sit in to make Jerry Brown Stand up for Climate

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California Governor Jerry Brown likes to talk a good game on climate. He speaks often about climate action and science, and describes himself as a sort of “Anti-Trump” on climate action. As a centerpiece of that plan, Brown has invited governors and Mayors from around the world to California Next month for a Global Climate Action Summit. But there’s a fundamental problem with Brown’s climate talk – he’s never been willing to stand up and stop fossil fuel production in his own state. California extracts about 200 million barrels of oil per year, and Brown has frequently helps the Oil and gas industry get new permits, and allows them to drill very close (within a few hundred feet) of vulnerable communities – especially children, the elderly and communities of color. For the sake of the climate, to protect our communities, it’s time to say “Enough!” It’s time to escalate and make our message impossible to ignore. Will you join us on August 20th in Sacramento as we SIT IN to demand that Governor Brown STAND UP to big oil? Brown’s climate …

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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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Save the Endangered Species Act.

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Donald Trump and his Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have declared war on the Endangered Species Act. It’s a terrible policy motivated by greed, blood-lust and a disdain for the natural world. One part of the policy seems designed to support trophy hunters like Trump’s sons, and follows a pattern of Trump supporting the most extreme and cruel forms of sport hunting. But the real reason they’re pushing this rollback to one of the most successful environmental laws in history is to help the fossil fuel industry to a once-in-a-lifetime chance to profit off our planet at the expense of literally every living thing on earth. We have until September 24 to file comments opposing this dangerous, unethical, backwards plan. Will you help? File a comment with us and we’ll make sure it’s delivered to DOI and the Trump team before the deadline. For 45 years the ESA has kept plant and animal species in decline from going extinct. It’s credited with saving the hump back whale, the bald eagle, and dozens of other species. But in the last few years, …

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Last 48 hours to comment on Trump’s offshore drilling plan

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Apologies if you’ve already submitted a comment opposing offshore drilling in a different way or with a different group. But even if you have, it’s still really important that you submit a comment direct to BOEM using our new form – this will put your message in the fast-lane for BOEM. This offshore drilling plan is really terrible, and really close to complete. I’ve laid out a bunch of arguments about why we need to oppose it in this earlier blog post​. We’ve also staged actions and delivery events where we spoke out and disrupted BOEM’s process​. And already we’ve helped gather tens of thousands of signatures and public comments opposing the plan. All that’s missing, as we head into our final 48 hours, is YOU!​ Please click here to send in your public comment now. And if you already have, comment again!

BOEM goes the dynamite – your comments in action

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When the Bureau of Ocean Energy management (BOEM) came to my town, there was already a great plan in place with rallies, lobby days,and speak outs planned by partners. But I wanted to make sure we did more than show up and record your comments (and mine) as opposed to the Trump administration’s plan. There’s an important role for direct action in moments like these. First it’s an important way to withhold consent – a critical strategy in the Gene Sharp model of anti-authoritarian organizing we ascribe to. Second, it helps inspire people to realize they don’t have to obey unjust and destructive dictates from the Trump administration. Across the country, people have been showing up at these BOEM events to speak out and demand a full retraction of this plan. The louder, less orderly, and more disruptive we get, the more Zinke and his team withdrawal. Some in the media are already saying that it looks more like a political stunt than a serious energy plan. And finally, it helps to correct the media narrative, which tends towards “both side-ism” and …

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Stop Trump’s offshore drilling plan!

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Trump wants to repeal the Obama-era ban on offshore drilling, opening more than 90 percent of our coastline to oil and gas leasing. At the same time, Trump’s allies in Congress are trying to dismantle the worker safety and environmental protections put into place after the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 people and caused a $60 billion oil spill that destroyed coastal environments and made thousands of people sick. Nor are spills, explosions and loss of life on oil rigs the only things we’re worried about (though only a fool would not be worried about them). We need to keep at least 80% of known oil and gas reserves in the ground, or risk tipping the climate beyond the point of no return. Adding millions of new acres of oil and gas drilling is not just climate denial, it’s a death sentence for millions of people in coastal communities around the world. Fortunately, there’s still time to stop Trump’s disastrous plan. You have until March 9 to submit and official comment. Sign with us, and we’ll hand deliver the message …

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