Dear John,
As Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine, we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and all people resisting imperialist nations. This war is another of the many reasons we must work for a future that’s not dependent on petroleum, where large corporations – whether they be state-controlled or private actors with power over governments – no longer shape global politics.
The role of the global market on petroleum is clear in this conflict. The Russian invasion is another resource war fueled by the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and the need for energy security, and by Russia’s interest in controlling more oil and gas reserves and infrastructure including transit points and storage facilities. And it impacts all of us. Russia is the fourth-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions – the third largest oil producer, the second largest natural gas producer, and the world’s leading natural gas exporter. Revenues from fossil fuels fund Russia’s military, domestic security apparatus, government, and oligarchs including those in Putin’s pockets.
On the homefront, the United States is the largest oil and gas producer in the world, and the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. We have invaded other nations or supported armed conflict abroad under the guise of protecting democracy, for the additional purpose of securing fossil fuel resources. In fact, our military emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than some countries. Our government criminalizes Indigenous water defenders, who protest the building of polluting pipelines on their lands. Meanwhile, oil and gas companies line the pockets of the same politicians that stand in our way as we work to transition to renewable energy.
To achieve global security and peace, we must leave this extractive economy behind and build a regenerative economy that centers people and our planet. We envision a day where these are no longer the conditions that exist in the world. Here at home, we can work for energy independence in our cities, states, and across the country. The solutions we create can be diverse and community-driven – here’s what some of our affiliates are doing on that front:
- CLU is leading two community-owned microgrids pilot projects in the Boston metro area, which will create a more resilient, community-owned and governed power system among a collection of public and private buildings including municipal buildings like schools and public housing.
- As a leader on Seattle’s Green New Deal Advisory Board, Puget Sounds Sage is advancing policies to move Seattle’s clean energy policy with community leadership at the forefront, including transitioning away from natural gas and fossil fuels to renewable energy sources to power critical infrastructure in the city such as homes and businesses.
- In New York, as part of the NY Renews coalition, ALIGN is mobilizing community members and grassroots activists to implement the coalition’s hard-won climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, by funding a Just Transition to renewable energy economy by making polluters pay for the damage they are doing to the climate and New York communities.
- In Pennsylvania, POWER is taking on its Public Utility Commission by creating a People’s Energy Plan that will push an equitable and community-led energy transition in one of the most fossil fuel dependent states in the country.
Building community-accountable, community-owned green energy is a critical part of the project to realize a world where all of us are free.
In solidarity,
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Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
PowerSwitch Action
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Spotlight On: ACLS Fellow Kathryn Cai!
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Jeff: PowerSwitch Action has been so fortunate to have you on board these last two years through the ACLS Fellowship, which places recent humanities PhDs with nonprofit organizations committed to promoting social justice in their communities. What drew you to the fellowship initially?
Kathryn: I was drawn right away to PowerSwitch Action as an organization and felt really excited to be chosen to be a Fellow here.
I’ve always had a strong desire to connect my research and teaching interests to the ways people are experiencing issues in their own lives. My PhD research was on care work. I looked at how contemporary narratives think about care work, and its continued evolution in connection with race and gender.
The ACLS Public Fellowship always called out to me as a way to dive deeply into the connection between scholarship and organizing.
I was thrilled about the opportunity to do concrete work contributing to a broader cultural shift we’re experiencing right now — a growing culture of recognizing the importance of care work, and actually materially valuing and protecting it.
To read the full conversation visit us on Medium!
Know a new humanities PhD committed to social, racial, and economic justice? We’re excited to host one of 20 ACLS Leading Edge Fellows as a communications and research strategist! The deadline to apply is March 28, 2022.
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Advancing a vision for an inclusive and sustainable Metro Detroit
Detroit Action has launched their Agenda for a New Economy and is now asking that the Detroit City Council sign on to their demands to invest in the community with funding for jobs, housing, healthcare, racial justice and quality of life.
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Fighting for $15 billion in climate justice funding in New York
ALIGN rallied in Albany this month with NY Renews coalition, fighting for green union jobs, clean air, and thriving communities, and demanding $15 billion in climate justice funding in the next state budget.
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Winning a stronger voice for communities of color in California
CAUSE’s redistricting advocacy has won a new majority people of color voter state assembly district, a new majority Latino county supervisor district in California’s Ventura County, and a new supermajority Latino county supervisor district in Santa Barbara County.
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Advocating at the Capitol for equity and community empowerment
This month Georgia STAND-UP took 44 women to Washington, DC to be a part of the 11th Annual Black Women’s Roundtable Power Summit. The delegation was able to meet with Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to discuss and uplift issues like affordable housing, the PRO act, infrastructure, prison reform, and student loan debt.
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Expanding tax credits for Illinois families
Peoria People’s Project, a branch of Grassroots Collaborative, hosted a town hall in Peoria with elected officials, calling for expansion of Illinois’ Earned Income Credit and the creation of a Child Tax Credit. Illinois has the 8th most regressive tax system in the country. These tax credits would reduce the amount of tax owed for families, and offer a refund of at least $600 to most no-, low- and middle-income Illinoisans.
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Organizing for affordable housing in Nashville
STAND-UP Nashville’s community engagement work is featured in this Nashville Scene cover story on the city's affordable housing crisis and activists’ efforts to address displacement and gentrification. Read the cover story here.
Congratulations to Maritza Silva-Farrell!
ALIGN Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell was recognized as one of the 2022 New York State Labor Power 100. She is being celebrated for her long history of leading progressive campaigns, including the successful #NoAmazon coalition, which she helped launch in coalition with more than 15 different community-based organizations. The campaign forced Amazon to cancel its planned second headquarters in Long Island City in 2019. View the Power 100 here.
Pushing back against tax incentives for billionaire developers
In Arizona, CASE mobilized over 300 Tempe residents to take virtual action against a $1.7 billion development that would use a portion of city sales tax revenues to pay for the project. CASE is demanding that public dollars be spent on public infrastructure, and taking a stand against tax incentives for billionaires who aren’t accountable to providing community benefits. Read the article here.
Advocating for alternatives to incarceration in California
In the Bay Area’s Alameda County this month, EBASE co-sponsored a Justice Jam – an educational session to create awareness about alternatives to incarceration, conditions at the local Santa Rita Jail, and reentry strategies for incarcerated people. Saabir Locket, the Director of Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy – an EBASE initiative – was one of the panelists this month. Watch his testimony here.
Calling for economic justice in San Diego and across the country
In this illuminating interview with KPBS out of San Diego, California, CPI senior researcher and policy analyst Dr. Derrick Robinson puts the rising cost of housing and inflation into perspective, and advocates giving workers the power that they need to be able to demand more wages and fight against corporate greed. Listen to the interview here.
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Attica (2021) - Showtime
This Academy Award nominated documentary chronicles one of the U.S.'s largest prison riots. It highlights the prison abolition movement and the power of organizing even under the worst circumstances. Watch the trailer here.
Throughline Podcast - NPR
In this interview, historian Robin D.G. Kelley unpacks how racism is a foundational part of American capitalism, and reflects on the history of Black anti-capitalist organizing. Listen here.
Harriet Tubman’s Disability and Why it Matters - Ms. Magazine
In this fascinating article, historian Dierdre Cooper Owens explores Harriet Tubman's creation of communities where Black women established true democracies and executed power collectively. Owens also asserts that "understanding Harriet Tubman as a “disabled” figure can also help us to see the powerful intersections between disability and strength." Read the article here.
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We’re Hiring!
We are seeking experienced individuals to join our team! If you know anyone who would be a great fit, please send them our way. The ideal candidates will have a deep commitment to social, racial, gender, economic and environmental justice.
And be on the lookout for the following job opportunities later this year:
- Research Director
- Housing Base Building Lead
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PowerSwitch Action
1305 Franklin St.
Suite 501
Oakland, CA 94612
United States
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