Friends,

Thank you to all who came out last week for our August general meeting, and thanks especially to Wendy Gao and Mitra Kashani, our very special guests with their fingers on the pulse of the youth climate movement.

Wendy, the DC organizer for Earth Uprising, gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the planning for the September 20 Climate Strike—sure to be the largest mass mobilization for climate action in human history. Here are the final details for the DC strike, which were released yesterday:

What: DC Climate Strike

When: September 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: Start at the front gates of the White House on Pennsylvania Ave NW, then march to the Capitol Building

Why: To demand immediate action from our elected representatives in Washington, DC, to stymie the climate crisis and advocate for our shared human right to clean air, clean water, and a survivable future.

Mark your calendars for September 20! Our power is in our numbers, and we need everyone who can get to DC on the 20th in DC! 350 Fairfax is looking at a few transportation options, including a chartered bus from northern Fairfax County and Metro meetups at various locations. We will send out details as they are finalized.

***We’ve also formed a committee to plan a local Fairfax action during the week of September 21–27. Details coming as soon as we have them.***

Next, a quick pipeline update: This July we learned from Food & Water Watch about two new dirty, fracked gas pipeline projects proposed for Virginia: the 8-mile Transco Southeastern Trail Expansion in the Manassas area and the 73-mile MVP Southgate project across the VA/NC border. Here are two actions you can take to stop them:

Call your state delegate and senator and ask them to publicly oppose these projects. Then ask two of your friends to do the same.
Contact Jolene Mafnas to help collect pipeline petition signatures for Food & Water Watch.

Find a call script and more ideas for action in the Food & Water Watch toolkit. And if you missed it, watch the video of the FWW pipeline presentation from last month here.

Finally, our next 350 Fairfax general meeting is on September 5. We’ll have final updates for the September Climate Strike, but our focus will return to single-use plastics, our Earth Friendly restaurant campaign, and the 2019 Plastic Free Challenge. Find meeting details and RSVP here or on Facebook.

Enjoy these last days of summer!

Julie