When our friends at New Energy Economy ask for our support, we provide it and they are raising the alarm. And on another environmental front, the Sierra Club and our friends at Global Warming Express are launching a local after school program to educate kids about climate change and counter alt science education being foisted on our kids.
Before our report on national and local climate change actions, these opportunities to share:
Saturday, 11am on KSFR, 101.1 FM Retake Our Democracy has an interesting show. My two guests this week had to cancel yesterday and so I had to go solo. I don’t want to tell you too much, but let’s just say I covered Bobby Kennedy, a 14-year old boy, a passage from Naomi Klein’s new book, No Is Not Enough, scuba tanks and fins, constructive criticism of the Democratic Party and a plan for encouraging DPNM toorganize around a set of clear policy priorities.
Journey with Tomas Rivera, Chainbreaker Collective, and Paul Gibson, Retake Our Democracy. Sunday July 9, 11am-Noon at Collected Works, 202 Galisteo. Join us for a thorough discussion of social, economic and racial injustice in Santa Fe and what you can do about it. Presentation, followed by Q&A. Did you know that:
- Nearly 1/3 of Santa Feans spend HALF of their income on housing.
- Almost 2/3 of people who work in Santa Fe can’t afford to live here.
- Transportation costs consume up to 1/3 of a working family’s income.
- A public transit commute from Southside to downtown, where many southside residents work, can take as much as 3 hours round trip.
Do the math. If you are spending half your income on housing and 1/3 on transportation, that leaves 17% for everything else, including food, health insurance, utilities, and clothing and if you are earning a small salary, that 17% won’t buy much. Come hear more and find out what you can do.
GOP Assault on the Environment
In an attempt to distract America from the health care debacle of their own creation and create some image that the Senate can “get things done,” in a surprise move this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell capped off Trump’s “Energy Week” by announcing that a new energy bill would be brought to the floor when the Senate gets back from their July 4 vacation. This 891 page bill which just dropped Monday, is being brought to the floor without going through committee and bypassing normal procedures– a process that suddenly seems to be the norm. What ever happened to civic debate?
After killing off the mis-named Energy Modernization Act in the last Congress, this new reincarnation of that bill – the Trump-McConnell Dirty Energy Bill – will be a disaster for our planet. The bill includes, once again, a section that would speed approval of exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The bill will give the Federal Energy and Regulatory Energy Commission even more authority over decisions about pipelines for natural gas. The bill will also authorize millions of dollars for research into recovering methane hydrates, a dangerous new source of methane trapped under the ocean floor.
This bill will lock us into a fossil fuel future for decades to come. What’s even more astounding is that the bill’s “Renewables” section ignores solar and wind entirely. They aren’t even mentioned! We have to show the Senate that we will oppose this Trump-McConnell Dirty Energy Bill. Please help defeat this really terrible bill! There are a few things you can do to help:
- If you are doing communications / actions / organizing around health care over the holiday weekend, please include a couple of messaging points against this bill too.
- Click here to access an online petition to raise your voice.
It looks like McConnell wants to move this the week after July 4 to distract from the health care debacle. Let’s not let him do it. We need to hold Democrats accountable for opposing this nefarious plan. Click here for more information on this bill. I don’t usually promote petitions, but in this case, New Energy Economy came a calling and the bill is terrible, a sad pattern these days.
Global Warming Express and Sierra Club Team Up
The Heartland Institute is mailing climate-denying teaching materials to 200,000 teachers, so they can “teach the debate” regarding climate change. Scott Pruitt is starting a formal initiative to challenge mainstream climate science and Big Oil is publishing “text books” being read in our classrooms. Our kids are facing unimaginable challenges, but many are concerned and fighting back. What is truly sad, is children in homes where climate change is not discussed and where climate change is understood to be man made will grow up thinking there is a question as to whether it is even a problem and will not understand that it is caused by human activity.
Some of you may know that about 5 years ago The Global Warming Express (GWE) was founded, a “by kids, for kids” climate awareness and activist organization for 8 to 12 year olds. It has won the Sustainable Santa Fe award and they have published a book on climate change written and illustrated by GWE kids. Read on.
The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club and GWE are joining forces to bring our award-winning after-school program to more kids across New Mexico. New donations are urgently needed to expand the program to all the schools on our wait list. That’s why I’m inviting you to this special fundraising event to help grow our proven program, which is supporting kids to continue to make history with their actions and voices.
Categories: Actions, Climate Justice
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the nice plug for GWE’s efforts. Hope all is well with you guys.
Heather