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Hi John,
REMINDER: GENERAL MEETING TOMORROW
Please join us for our next general meeting on Wednesday, August 19th at 7pm. For those who may have missed the film screening of Yəhow' last week, we will be providing an additional viewing, including a Q+A and discussion. Info on Yəhow': For nearly a year, 350 Eastside was involved in the campaign to stop the North Seattle Lateral Upgrade fracked gas pipeline expansion from being built. This short film tells the story of how we've come together to stop the project, protect our environment, and why we need to get off natural gas- now. After the film, we will be continuing our conversation from last month about Black Lives Matter, allowing folks to discuss their experiences with law enforcement.
Zoom info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81996907093?pwd=MFNCdjlzM2ljWnFOcGt0MWw2SVREZz09
Meeting ID: 819 9690 7093 Password: 475744
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DT Bellevue - For People, Not Cars Bellevue's DOT and WSDOT are currently studying a new car interchange for I-405 in south Downtown Bellevue. They claim that constructing a new interchange will reduce congestion and make it easier for people walking, biking, and riding transit to get around - but this couldn't be further from the truth. A new interchange, by BDOT's own admission, will prioritize cars above all else even though cars make up over 43% of Bellevue's annual emissions - more than any other category.
Market trends are showing that electric cars will not save us in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. And there are plenty of studies that show how building more roads and interchanges doesn't reduce congestion - because of induced demand, these projects only lead to more cars, more sprawl, and more pollution. If Bellevue is truly committed to reducing its CO2 emissions in line with its new Environmental Stewardship Initiative goals, the city needs to take concrete action now - and that starts by not building a new interchange. This money should go to marked improvements in walking, biking, and transit infrastructure instead.
Luckily, there's still time to stop this project in its tracks, and there are 2 ways you can help!
Bellevue is currently receiving feedback through Friday, August 21st on all alternatives - including a "No Build" option - through a survey on their citizen engagement website. It's important that we show strong community opposition to this new car infrastructure by filling out their survey. Only option 7, the "No Build" option, is the responsible choice for our residents' future and our climate. Feel free to use the following text as a base for your response:
The “No Build” option is the only alternative that will uphold our city’s stated climate targets. All other options will increase car capacity on Bellevue roads, and the law of induced demand tells us that this will only lead to further traffic and emissions. If Bellevue is serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, city staff must select the “No Build” alternative and refocus energy, money, and time on investments in greener mobility (bicycle, pedestrian, and transit infrastructure) instead.
Once you have submitted the survey, please also email Bellevue's councilmembers to remind them of their commitment to bold climate targets and how this interchange is antithetical to those goals. The more people that fill out the survey, the more that reach out to councilmembers, the more likely it is that we can stop this project before it even starts!
For more information about the interchange, visit downtownforpeople.org and follow @DT4People on Twitter. Thank you for your support!
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Boycott Big Meat
The #BoycottBigMeat campaign is reaching out with an exciting update!
*** Now that the campaign launch is behind us, we are rolling out a series of panel discussions highlighting many of the issues that intersect with industrial meat production and the transition to organic regenerative agriculture.
We invite you to join us for an upcoming panel discussion called “Vegans and Vegetarians for Organic Regenerative Agriculture.”
Join us Tuesday, August 25, 7 p.m. CDT for a 1-hour panel discussion about veganism, vegetarianism and the #BoycottBigMeat campaign.
Register here to join via Zoom
Or sign up here to join via Facebook (and don’t forget to share with your networks)
We’ve got a great line-up of panelists ready to talk about why, even though they’re vegans or vegetarians, they support regenerative farmers and ranchers.
Panelists include:
Next, there’s one more action we hope you’ll take.
Please add your organization’s name in support of the #BoycottBigMeat campaign
Together, we have the power to build a food system that regenerates the health of our ecosystem, revitalizes our local communities and economies, and respects everyone throughout the entire food chain.
Why are we asking for your endorsement?
Because everyone in your network eats food—which means everyone in your network has the power to have an impact on all of the issues that intersect with food production.
Can we count you in? Please endorse the campaign here!
Not sure? Please call our office at 218‑226-4164, and someone on our team will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Finally, in solidarity with the good work your organization is doing, we would like to offer you a complimentary copy of the new book “Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal.”
Written by Organic Consumers Association’s International Director Ronnie Cummins, this book is your “good news” handbook for fixing our broken food and farming system and our broken climate.
YES! Please send me a FREE copy of Grassroots Rising!
Thank you!
Regeneratively,
-The #BoycottBigMeat Team ***
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Indigenous Online Film Festival!
For the first time, Vision Maker Media will be hosting an online, five-week-long celebration of American Indian, Alaska Native and worldwide Indigenous films from August 31 - October 5, 2020. Sign up for updates on films, Q&A's, prizes and more! #OnlineVMFF https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GDFD8R8
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Sponsored by the Meaningful Movies Project.
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You Can Do Better, Dept of Commerce!
Large commercial buildings are major contributors of greenhouse gases. And last year the legislature passed the Clean Building Act to reduce GHG emissions in large commercial building sector. It was a strong bill requiring these buildings to meet energy use targets by 2026. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details! Our state's Department of Commerce is developing the rules for this process, including the targets for energy use reduction, but they’re proposing only a 15% reduction from the current average energy use in these buildings. Meanwhile their own experts say these buildings can achieve 25-35% reductions, and other experts say a 50% reduction in energy use can be achieved. Send a message to the state Department of Commerce—tell them to get their act together and set standards that accomplish what we need: significant energy use reductions!
Climate Assembly
Now here’s some welcome breaking news: the Washington State Climate Assembly is on schedule to take place this fall. Five legislative committee chairs have invited one hundred demographically representative Washington residents to come together in a series of facilitated meetings to learn, reflect, and deliberate on how Washington State can contribute to climate-change mitigation. Assembly members will then formulate policy recommendations to be incorporated into legislation for the 2021 session. The support of a broad spectrum of residents represents an approach that could break through our past political legislative logjams. Assemblies such as this have been effective in climate victories in France and England. Learn more and join in supporting this effort via the website Climate Assembly US.
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Black Lives Matter
There is no climate justice without racial justice and deep systemic change to end state repression. Black Lives Matter. We are still in the middle of a massive nationwide uprising for Black lives, which is being met by increasing state repression. We stand in solidarity in the fight against anti-Black racism and the police state, following the lead of Black organizers. History shows that sustained and disruptive protest is one of the only ways to bring about the deep systemic change we need. Thank you for all the ways you are participating on and off the streets. Opportunities Seattle: Black Lives Matter Solidarity: curated list of Seattle protests, petitions, and donations, updated periodically. Calendar of all BLM events in Seattle in all neighborhoods, by many groups. Important protest guides and safety info. Keeping Yourself Healthy & Safe at a Protest–350 Seattle webinar recording. The Seattle-King County Black Lives Matter Protest Guide. A guide put together by local Seattle street medics, with graphics. 350 Seattle Racial Justice Learning Series Join us for a series of conversations on the deep connections between racial justice and climate justice. Throughout the month of September, 350 Seattle teams will host guest speakers to help us draw the connections between climate campaigns and movements for racial justice. Sign up here to be sure you don't miss the registration links! There is no climate justice without racial justice! Have questions? Contact Shemona.
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Stop the Money Pipeline
Trans Mountain and Insurance The campaign to peel insurers away from the destructive Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline got a big win last month! Zurich, which has been Trans Mountain's lead insurer for years, is dropping the pipeline, following years of Indigenous-led engagement and campaigning. Now is a crucial time to ramp up the pressure on Liberty Mutual, which has not yet said if it will keep insuring the pipeline when its policy expires on August 31. Send Liberty Mutual executives in Canada a message, and then give them a call at (857) 224-6655 to demand that they cut ties with Trans Mountain. Wall Street and Police Tackling the climate crisis and environmental racism goes hand in hand with defunding the police. Last week, a report revealed that fossil fuel companies and their financial backers are some of the largest donors to police foundations, which buy weapons, equipment, and surveillance technology for police departments with little public oversight. It's no surprise that the same companies polluting Black and brown communities are bankrolling police departments that brutalize and criminalize those very communities—but it does make it even more clear that we cannot address the climate crisis without undoing the racist and extractive systems at its root. Sign this petition from Color of Change to demand that Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and other corporations stop supporting police departments. Learn more about the campaign HERE. Webinars Over the last three months, Stop the Money Pipeline has organized webinars covering topics on the links between White Supremacy and Wall Street; BlackRock’s role in fueling climate migration and deportations; and how Wall Street drives the climate crisis. You can check out recordings of all eight webinars, and sign up to stay informed of everything that Stop the Money Pipeline is doing, here.
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COVID - NEIGHBORHOOD PODS As COVID-19 rates climb higher still, due to reopenings state- and nationwide, we ask you to consider helping those in your local community more heavily impacted by the virus. We now have 40 neighborhood pods and growing in a city-wide network of Mutual Aid to cultivate community resilience. We invite you to take leadership to help grow community within your own neighborhood so that people can help each other where there is need. We’re connected with COVID-19 Mutual Aid, so our pods respond to the needs requested through that site. We’ve shared requests for mask-making, supplies for striking farmworkers fighting for social distancing conditions, and other opportunities to address the huge impacts the pandemic is having on the most vulnerable communities. If this resonates with you, contact Lin Hagedorn ([email protected]) or Neal Anderson ([email protected]). You can Join a neighborhood pod here, or better yet, sign up to be a pod captain and lead your neighborhood organizing efforts! We are in plenty of need for more community captains on the Eastside.
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************ In solidarity, 350 Eastside Steering Lin, Sara, Marilyn, Phil, Lynn and Emily
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