Hi, all, and happy Monday.
Nothing like waking up to more catastrophic climate news to start the week. Sigh. This seems like a good time to post a quote from Rebecca Solnit:
"Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal...to hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable."
What she said.
Let’s get to work.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m sure the Senator has heard about the IPCC’s latest report. We are in real trouble. Dramatic climate action is needed immediately. For one, we have to invest in clean energy in a big way, and now. This will not only address the climate emergency, but create millions of good quality, high-paying jobs. We also need to stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies. And cancel fossil fuel pipeline projects like Line 3.
[If Democrat add: If Republicans won’t cooperate then do it through the budget bill and/or encourage the President to act through Executive Order.]
Second, the deadline to stop partisan gerrymandering is fast approaching. Passing a voting rights bill like the For the People Act needs to be the Senator’s other top priority. Our democracy is under attack. [If Dem add] Abolish the filibuster and get this done!
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m sure the Congressmember has heard about the IPCC’s latest report. We are in real trouble. Dramatic climate action is needed immediately. For one, we have to invest in clean energy in a big way, and now. This will not only address the climate emergency, but create millions of good quality, high-paying jobs. We also need to stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies. And cancel fossil fuel pipeline projects like Line 3.
[If Democrat add: If Republicans won’t cooperate then do it through the budget bill and/or encourage the President to act through Executive Order.]
[If Dem add:] Second, I want Democrats to include the debt limit increase in the budget bill, AND increase it by such a margin that there is zero chance that Biden will have to confront the issue again in his first term. The Republicans are planning to use the debt ceiling to hurt the economy and improve their chances in 2022. Don’t let them get away with it. [H/T]
Extra Credit
Please email the below to Deb Haaland at feedback@ios.doi.gov (but please personalize slightly so it doesn’t get stopped by a bot-blocker!)
Dear Interior Secretary Haaland,
Plastic pollution is an ever-growing problem for our environment and open spaces -- and it's one we just shouldn't tolerate when so much of the plastic waste piling up around us is from single-use items we don't even need.
A national park is the last place we'd want to have to contend with single-use plastic waste. And yet, a 2013 review of Yellowstone National Park found that plastic water bottles represent half of the park's entire solid waste load.
Instead of creating unnecessary waste pollution in our national parks, let's move beyond plastic. I urge you to direct the National Park Service to eliminate the sale and distribution of single-use plastics in our national parks.
Thanks!
[name]
[city, state]
Get on the Phones! ☎️
Today from 5:30-8PM PDT there is a phonebank to stop the recall. There is excellent training and support. And ballots have already started going out—even earlier than expected! This is a 5-alarm fire!
Sign up here (can’t do today? I will be running tomorrow’s from 3-5 PDT! Sign up on the same page!)
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to your Senators] [H/T]
The new IPCC report has me deeply worried. We need a mass mobilization to head off the worst ravages of climate change.
I want the Senator to support a big, bold climate bill NOW—one that invests at the scale of the crisis, including the following 4 things:
A Clean Electricity Standard that cuts pollution and modernizes our grid.
Directing 40% of funding to frontline communities.
No more subsidies for fossil fuel corporations.
A Civilian Climate Corps that puts people to work.
There are many more climate investments we need now. They must be big to meet the climate crisis head on.
Also, please ask President Biden to put a stop to the Line 3 pipeline. The time to allow new infrastructure for fossil fuels is over. Our planet is in extreme peril. He needs to act. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess