GRANDMOTHERS TO GRANDMOTHERS
Welcome to 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
Newsletter #9, June 2022
(Sections are color coded to match this list's colors, so you can focus on what's most interesting to you):
ACTION ALERTS
1000 GRANDMOTHERS KEEP ON SHOWING UP
"HAVE YOU HEARD" - Climate News Highlights
GRANDMA SAYS
OUR ORGANIZATIONAL WORK - inside story
Note: You can also refer to our newsletters on our website (http://www.1000grandmothers.com)
ANNOUNCEMENT:
ACTION ALERTS
1) Call/write your state legislators
The 1000 Grandmothers Legislative Working Group has identified a few key actions we can all take right now: Ask your Assemblymember to support these two key climate bills. Both recently passed the Senate
SB 1314 prohibits the injection of carbon dioxide from “Carbon Capture and Sequestration” projects from being used to power enhanced oil recovery.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtmlbill_id=202120220SB1314
SB 1173 requires California public retirement systems (CalSTRS and CalPERS) to divest from fossil fuels. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1173
3) And ask your senator to support this bill, which has passed the Assembly
AB 2649 sets targets for naturally removing past climate pollution from the atmosphere through soil and vegetation on natural, urban, and working lands. It calls for technical assistance, workforce development, and additional support for farmers, ranchers, and other natural resource managers, with 50 percent of funds directed to low-income and disadvantaged communities. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2649
4) Support requiring climate literacy education in schools – locally and statewide. Because of a community-wide effort that involved students, staff, families and community members, the Berkeley Board of Education recently voted unanimously to approve and fund the Climate Literacy Resolution. The resolution requires that graduating students be well versed in climate change science, issues, and solutions, understand environmental and climate justice as a civil rights issue, and engage, center and elevate voices and existing work of the most vulnerable communities to climate change – Black, Brown, Indigenous and low income communities. Grandmothers can:
Support efforts to pass similar measures in your community
Tell your legislators to support a bill that would make this requirement statewide: AB 1939. The bill has passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate. https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB1939/2021.
5) Biden: No New Fossil Fuel Leases on Federal Lands and Waters
Take action now to tell President Biden to ban new fossil fuel leases on our federal lands and waters! Your petition signatures will be submitted to the federal government at various future moments when the Biden Administration is soliciting public comment regarding the federal fossil fuel leasing program. Sign & share the leasing petition sponsored by People vs. Fossil Fuels: https://tinyurl.com/nonewleasing
6) Tell California Air Resources Board: We Need Stronger Action for a Future Beyond Fossil Fuels, Now – June 23
Join climate justice activists all over California in telling the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that its draft climate plan for the state is nowhere near good enough. CARB is now in the process of creating their 2022 Scoping Plan, which is supposed to be a comprehensive plan for reducing our greenhouse gas pollution. But the plan
calls for building new gas-powered electricity generation plants
doesn’t phase out sales of gasoline cars until 2045
relies on false solutions like “dairy methane” and carbon capture and sequestration rather than requiring rapid phase-out of fossil fuels.
More information on this appalling plan – and on the movement for a strong plan to stop fossil fuels and ensure environmental justice -- here
7) Walmart - Cool It on HFCs
Leaky Coolant Is Not Cool: According to Green America, HFCs or Hydrofluorocarbons, produce greenhouse gases “with up to thousands of times the warming potential of CO2,” thereby contributing to climate chaos. You can find out how supermarkets violate HFC standards and what various alternatives exist. Learn more about it at https://greenamerica.org/coolit-solutions. GA gives you an opportunity to hold Walmart accountable here
8) Virtual climate activist gallery – Artist applications due June 19
Artists: Submit your work to The Climate Gallery, a new virtual reality gallery that:
Supports Artists: Commissions climate-engaged artists for their work
Enables Action: Disperses micro-grants to climate organizations
Engages Communities: Creates accessible, global platform to engage in meaningful climate conversations
Four artists’ work will be selected. The artists will receive a $1,000 stipend. There are ways for non-artists to help. Info and links to the application form here
___________________________________________________________
Want more frequent action alerts?
Our newsletter comes out once a month, but sometimes actions come up in between. If you’re interested in receiving alerts about those – or if you have an action item to suggest for an update -- please contact Kat Broomall, [email protected].
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRANDMOTHERS KEEP SHOWING UP
Anti-Chevron Day, May 21
Grandmothers stood with Bayview Hunters Point Mothers and Fathers Committee, Marie Harrison Foundation, and Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, at a June 5 rally demanding implementation of the grand jury report calling for a full cleanup of the toxic waste at the Hunters Point Shipyard Superfund Site.
1000 Grandmothers Election groups
Recently one of our Grandmothers election groups, which usually meets on Zoom, came together in person, and shared creativity before writing letters and postcards. Hali shared songs, Doris, standup comedy, and Carolyn, storytelling.
If you would like to start your own group or join another group of grandmothers doing election work, contact Carol H. [email protected] or Robin [email protected]
HAVE YOU HEARD?
Climate News Highlights
Federal court upholds ban on California offshore fracking! June 3
“A federal appeals court barred the government Friday from approving oil drilling off the California coast that relies on fracking, the injection of high-pressure water and chemicals into the earth to release oil deposits, until U.S. officials study potential dangers to the environment and marine life and consider alternatives.” The Center for Biological Diversity says, “This is an amazing victory!”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Court-upholds-ban-on-offshore-fracking-17218820.php
Supreme Court rejects red states' plea to block Biden climate metric 5-26-22
The Supreme Court ruled without explanation that the Biden administration can include the social cost of greenhouse gases to calculate the climate metric. This enables the federal government to pursue more stringent rule making and to assess the impacts of major projects. A coalition of Republican controlled states led by Louisiana had argued that the metric is “a power grab designed to manipulate America’s entire federal regulatory apparatus."
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/26/supreme-court-red-states-biden-climate-00035479
Hawaiian state judge allows lawsuit against oil and gas companies for their climate disinformation to move forward
This watershed ruling sets a precedent that could support dozens of similar suits now pending in the US that also seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for their intentional disinformation campaigns. It is especially significant because it will allow a “discovery” phase in which the companies will have to disclose internal documents.
https://blog.ucsusa.org/delta-merner/court-case-in-hawaii-against-fossil-fuel-companies-passes-major-milestone
Shame on you, Gov. Newsom, for advocating for an extension of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant's planned 2025 closure.... Governor Newsom outrageously raised the possibility that Diablo Canyon be kept running beyond the deadline, even suggesting that PG&E could seek federal funding meant to rescue nuclear plants at risk of closing. Diablo Canyon
generates 100s of tons of highly radioactive waste with no permanent storage sites
is located only 650 yards from an earthquake fault, on a bluff near the ocean
operates a cooling system that sucks up ocean water and has been blamed for killing fish & other marine life.
https://apnews.com/article/environment-california-los-angeles-government-and-politics-48a24113d3160f60f7c95e8446093dfb
Proxy votes in major oil companies reject climate solutions
On May 25, nearly two-thirds of investors in ExxonMobil and Chevron rejected proposals for the oil giants to align their climate strategies with the Paris agreement. Following shareholder meetings earlier in May (BP, Conoco and Equinor) this proxy voting season has fared worse than last year. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/26/investors-reject-climate-proposals-targeting-exxonmobil-chevron/
New Resource: Fracking Projects Already Planned Would Unleash a “Carbon Bomb” The Guardian 5/11/22
A soon-to-be-released report from the Energy Policy Journal found that already planned drilling projects across US land and waters will release 140bn metric tons of planet-heating gases, constituting a "carbon bomb" 4 times larger than all current planet-heating gases expelled globally each year. This includes conventional drilling and fracking from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the foothills of Colorado, to the Permian basin under west Texas & New Mexico. In the Permian basin Exxon intends to boost production by 100,000 barrels daily, while Chevron is upping output by 60,000; the explosion in drilling has already triggered a spate of earthquakes in Texas.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2022/may/11/fossil-fuel-carbon-bombs-climate-breakdown-oil-gas
Spurt of methane leaks from Bakersfield neighborhood oil wells. Desert Sun, 6/2/22
“A total of 21 oil wells have been found to be leaking methane in or near two Bakersfield neighborhoods, and more than two dozen are being tested by state and regional air regulators. ”Kern County residents have long suffered serious health damage from oil drilling in their community, but even for Kern, this is a new level of disaster. Supposedly some are being fixed and plugged, but VISION (Voices in Solidarity Against Drilling in Neighborhoods), which represents frontline communities, says the response by the California Geologic Energy Management agency has been inadequate.
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2022/06/02/number-oil-wells-leaking-methane-near-california-homes-climbs-21/7484046001/ >>>Sign this petition supporting AB 345, which would establish a 2,500-ft. buffer zone between oil and gas drilling and “sensitive areas” like homes, schools, and hospitals.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/support-ab-345-californias-2500-health-safety-buffer-zone/
GRANDMA SAYS
Dear Grandma,
I believe in the power of books and would like to share some about climate change and environmental justice with the young people in my life. Do you have any suggestions?
Book Buff
Dear Book Buff,
Here are some titles for preschoolers through teenagers suggested by a children’s librarian. The first three are good for reading aloud and starting a discussion. Give the fourth book to adolescents and teenagers looking for information, inspiration, and ideas of how to become activists. Ask your local children’s librarian for more suggestions as well.
1) Sometimes People March by Tessa Allen. 2020. While not solely about climate change, this picture book introduces some basic tools of activism. Appealing pictures and a few sentences per page show people protesting injustice with signs, meetings, sit-ins, singing, publications, and standing with linked arms. The message is “People are more powerful together.” For preschoolers and early elementary schoolers.
2) We Are Water Protectors. By Carole Lindstrom. Illus. by Michaela Goade. 2020. In this poetic call for action around environmental justice, an Anishinaabe girl shows her role in protesting an oil pipeline and encourages readers to become stewards of the earth like her and her community. Glorious illustrations won the Caldecott Medal. For elementary school age.
3) Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm. 2014. Large vibrant pictures and an effective narrative lay out the role of carbon and fossil fuels in climate change. It concludes by asking whether humans will, “keep burning more and more fossil fuels every year and risk the changes this will bring?” Or will we work together to slow the changes? With six pages of detailed notes at the end. For elementary school age.
4) How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other by Naomi Klein & Rebecca Stefoff. 2021. 320pp. A well-organized, crisply written guide about climate change and the urgent need for activism. The authors summarize the science and history, and highlight a variety of approaches by of young activists around the world. Informational and inspiring. For adolescents and teenagers.
Hope to hear from you about how things go,
Grandma
1000 GRANDMOTHERS: OUR WORK
Coordinating Committee
The Transitional Coordinating Committee has now officially become the Coordinating Committee. We have continued to provide coordination of organization-wide activities, and overview for the Communications and Engagement Teams. We have been working to help NVDA with a new structure that is more clear and understandable to people who are not as familiar with the NVDA activities. Looking forward, we are still working on being able to have enough clarity on some of our strategic questions, that they can be written down for all the Grandmothers now, and in the future. We are also planning on a wonderful social gathering where there will be song and food and fun, that will take place on Friday, July 15.
INVITATION:TO ALL NEW AND LONG-TIME GRANDMOTHERS IN 1000 GRANDMOTHERS network - lets get together with each other (outside) and just have some fun!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Communications Team:
Altho we have a new member who has stepped up and is helping immensely, the Communications Team is still looking for one or two more Grandmothers to help with our mailing list, and our website (Mailchimp and Weebly respectively). If you are interested in helping us with these pieces of our work (they're all fun), please contact Becca at: [email protected]. On another note, people connected up with the NVDA part of our organization often get information from our Signal communications. If you want to get information about demonstrations/actions that the 1000 Grandmothers are involved with, via email, please send your contact information to Kat: [email protected] . Please note that we will only be sending information out via email for actions where email does not trigger security concerns.
Engagement Work Group
First Information Session Scheduled June 20
1000 Grandmothers Engagement Group will now be offering Information Sessions. These are for women interested in 1000 Grandmothers and for members – new or old– who want to learn more about 1,000 Grandmothers. Each session will outline the organization’s history, principles, structure, etc., and offer various paths to involvement in 1000 Grandmothers using slides, videos and song. Sessions will be presented monthly on zoom, until conditions change.
Our launch will be June 20 from 7pm to 8:15 pm.
Please email Nikki Sachs at "[email protected] if you would like to attend either the June session or one in the future.
Engagement Work Group Welcomes New Members
The ENGAGEMENT WORK GROUP engages newly interested potential Grandmothers in the organization. We welcome new members to our work group, and WE’D BE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US! Currently we’ve been developing an Information Session as described above to be presented monthly (on zoom), which offers various paths to involvement in 1000 Grandmothers. To join the Engagement Work Group, please contact Nikki Sachs [email protected].
Legislative Working Group
Calling All Grandmothers: We Need You! Sometimes the votes of particular legislators are key to passing an important bill – or stopping a bad one. Sometimes pressure on these legislators is urgent. PLEASE send the Legislative Working Group your ADDRESS, names of your California legislators if you know them, and PHONE NUMBER, so we can let you know when it’s important for you to contact your legislators. Send to [email protected].
To our federal legislators: Break the legislative paralysis on the climate crisis The 1000 Grandmothers Legislative Working Group and the 350 Bay Area Federal Action Team will be sending a letter to all the Congressional Representatives in the areas where our members live, along with California’s two Senators, asking them to form a team to demand unified action. The letter will ask them to support specific bills to:
tax windfall profits
finance renewable energy
oppose all new fossil fuel infrastructure
phase out all fossil fuel production within 15 years.
We want the team of our elected federal officials to hold a press conference to announce this unity, so the world will know that Northern California is serious about immediate, effective mitigation of the climate crisis.
This letter will go out to your US Congressional Reps within the next two weeks. Our next Newsletter will include a link and ways you can help pressure these Reps to get it done!
The 1000 Grandmothers Legislative Working Group works closely with the legislative committee of 350 Bay Area Action, which identifies important climate bills and tracks them in the legislature. Meetings are a treasure trove of information. You’re welcome to join. Please contact Susan Penner [email protected]
Nonviolent Direct Action Grandmothers
The NVDA group will meet on Tuesday, June 28, 5:30-6:45PM, on Zoom. We have a terrific proposal for organizing ourselves for future actions. It will help us define our roles during actions, plan art participation, and establish safety and training guidelines. We already have some members willing to take leadership in these areas.
So come give your input – your opinion is vital!
The meeting is open to all Grandmothers, but geared for NVDA participants.
There will be time for sharing, learning about new actions and old, and of course, singing.
Check out the zoom invitation below and it will be resent to you a week prior to the meeting. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6568273796
If you want to be added to the NVDA mailing list, email [email protected]
Grandmothers Book Group
So far the 1000 Grandmothers Book Group has been hitting 100% with its readings. We are building an understanding of different cultures and learning from each other. Next month we will read Life in the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Mueller.
"Clayton Thomas-Meller - Cree poet and environmental warrior dedicated to decolonization has crafted an awesome, lyrical memoir that captures the experiences of urban indigenous youth facing poverty, drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, and juvenile detention. This beautifully written book is required reading for everyone who cares about justice for the survivors of genocide who continue to survive in colonized conditions”, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.
We meet from 2 to 3:30 pm Pacific Time on the first Thursday of each month. All Grandmothers are invited. Please contact Grace to get on our list. [email protected]
East Bay Circle
We're excited to announce that a new circle -- the East Bay Circle -- was formed following the large GMs convening in early April. It's a dynamic group, and we're enjoying the initial process of getting to know one another, making decisions about how we want to function, etc. At this point, we still have room for a few more people. If interested, contact Pam White -- [email protected].
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
Reports from your group or circle: If your 1000 Grandmothers group has anything you want to share in the next newsletter, please send it in by July 1.
Book suggestions: Have you recently read a book you would recommend to other Grandmothers? Send us the title, author, and a short description of the book and why you recommend it. We’ll pick out one suggestion to include in the next newsletter.
Pictures of 1000 Grandmothers in action: If you attend any demonstrations with other Grandmothers, please take pictures and email them to us to include in the newsletter and website.
Questions for Grandma (for Grandma Says)
Feedback on this newsletter: We appreciate your expressions of appreciation but we would love to get any more specific feedback you have – what you like, what you could live without, changes you would like to see.
Send reports, book suggestions, feedback, and pictures, and anything else related to the newsletter to [email protected]
Welcome to 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
Newsletter #9, June 2022
(Sections are color coded to match this list's colors, so you can focus on what's most interesting to you):
ACTION ALERTS
1000 GRANDMOTHERS KEEP ON SHOWING UP
"HAVE YOU HEARD" - Climate News Highlights
GRANDMA SAYS
OUR ORGANIZATIONAL WORK - inside story
Note: You can also refer to our newsletters on our website (http://www.1000grandmothers.com)
ANNOUNCEMENT:
ACTION ALERTS
1) Call/write your state legislators
The 1000 Grandmothers Legislative Working Group has identified a few key actions we can all take right now: Ask your Assemblymember to support these two key climate bills. Both recently passed the Senate
SB 1314 prohibits the injection of carbon dioxide from “Carbon Capture and Sequestration” projects from being used to power enhanced oil recovery.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtmlbill_id=202120220SB1314
SB 1173 requires California public retirement systems (CalSTRS and CalPERS) to divest from fossil fuels. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1173
3) And ask your senator to support this bill, which has passed the Assembly
AB 2649 sets targets for naturally removing past climate pollution from the atmosphere through soil and vegetation on natural, urban, and working lands. It calls for technical assistance, workforce development, and additional support for farmers, ranchers, and other natural resource managers, with 50 percent of funds directed to low-income and disadvantaged communities. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2649
4) Support requiring climate literacy education in schools – locally and statewide. Because of a community-wide effort that involved students, staff, families and community members, the Berkeley Board of Education recently voted unanimously to approve and fund the Climate Literacy Resolution. The resolution requires that graduating students be well versed in climate change science, issues, and solutions, understand environmental and climate justice as a civil rights issue, and engage, center and elevate voices and existing work of the most vulnerable communities to climate change – Black, Brown, Indigenous and low income communities. Grandmothers can:
Support efforts to pass similar measures in your community
Tell your legislators to support a bill that would make this requirement statewide: AB 1939. The bill has passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate. https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB1939/2021.
5) Biden: No New Fossil Fuel Leases on Federal Lands and Waters
Take action now to tell President Biden to ban new fossil fuel leases on our federal lands and waters! Your petition signatures will be submitted to the federal government at various future moments when the Biden Administration is soliciting public comment regarding the federal fossil fuel leasing program. Sign & share the leasing petition sponsored by People vs. Fossil Fuels: https://tinyurl.com/nonewleasing
6) Tell California Air Resources Board: We Need Stronger Action for a Future Beyond Fossil Fuels, Now – June 23
Join climate justice activists all over California in telling the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that its draft climate plan for the state is nowhere near good enough. CARB is now in the process of creating their 2022 Scoping Plan, which is supposed to be a comprehensive plan for reducing our greenhouse gas pollution. But the plan
calls for building new gas-powered electricity generation plants
doesn’t phase out sales of gasoline cars until 2045
relies on false solutions like “dairy methane” and carbon capture and sequestration rather than requiring rapid phase-out of fossil fuels.
More information on this appalling plan – and on the movement for a strong plan to stop fossil fuels and ensure environmental justice -- here
7) Walmart - Cool It on HFCs
Leaky Coolant Is Not Cool: According to Green America, HFCs or Hydrofluorocarbons, produce greenhouse gases “with up to thousands of times the warming potential of CO2,” thereby contributing to climate chaos. You can find out how supermarkets violate HFC standards and what various alternatives exist. Learn more about it at https://greenamerica.org/coolit-solutions. GA gives you an opportunity to hold Walmart accountable here
8) Virtual climate activist gallery – Artist applications due June 19
Artists: Submit your work to The Climate Gallery, a new virtual reality gallery that:
Supports Artists: Commissions climate-engaged artists for their work
Enables Action: Disperses micro-grants to climate organizations
Engages Communities: Creates accessible, global platform to engage in meaningful climate conversations
Four artists’ work will be selected. The artists will receive a $1,000 stipend. There are ways for non-artists to help. Info and links to the application form here
___________________________________________________________
Want more frequent action alerts?
Our newsletter comes out once a month, but sometimes actions come up in between. If you’re interested in receiving alerts about those – or if you have an action item to suggest for an update -- please contact Kat Broomall, [email protected].
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRANDMOTHERS KEEP SHOWING UP
Anti-Chevron Day, May 21
Grandmothers stood with Bayview Hunters Point Mothers and Fathers Committee, Marie Harrison Foundation, and Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, at a June 5 rally demanding implementation of the grand jury report calling for a full cleanup of the toxic waste at the Hunters Point Shipyard Superfund Site.
1000 Grandmothers Election groups
Recently one of our Grandmothers election groups, which usually meets on Zoom, came together in person, and shared creativity before writing letters and postcards. Hali shared songs, Doris, standup comedy, and Carolyn, storytelling.
If you would like to start your own group or join another group of grandmothers doing election work, contact Carol H. [email protected] or Robin [email protected]
HAVE YOU HEARD?
Climate News Highlights
Federal court upholds ban on California offshore fracking! June 3
“A federal appeals court barred the government Friday from approving oil drilling off the California coast that relies on fracking, the injection of high-pressure water and chemicals into the earth to release oil deposits, until U.S. officials study potential dangers to the environment and marine life and consider alternatives.” The Center for Biological Diversity says, “This is an amazing victory!”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Court-upholds-ban-on-offshore-fracking-17218820.php
Supreme Court rejects red states' plea to block Biden climate metric 5-26-22
The Supreme Court ruled without explanation that the Biden administration can include the social cost of greenhouse gases to calculate the climate metric. This enables the federal government to pursue more stringent rule making and to assess the impacts of major projects. A coalition of Republican controlled states led by Louisiana had argued that the metric is “a power grab designed to manipulate America’s entire federal regulatory apparatus."
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/26/supreme-court-red-states-biden-climate-00035479
Hawaiian state judge allows lawsuit against oil and gas companies for their climate disinformation to move forward
This watershed ruling sets a precedent that could support dozens of similar suits now pending in the US that also seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for their intentional disinformation campaigns. It is especially significant because it will allow a “discovery” phase in which the companies will have to disclose internal documents.
https://blog.ucsusa.org/delta-merner/court-case-in-hawaii-against-fossil-fuel-companies-passes-major-milestone
Shame on you, Gov. Newsom, for advocating for an extension of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant's planned 2025 closure.... Governor Newsom outrageously raised the possibility that Diablo Canyon be kept running beyond the deadline, even suggesting that PG&E could seek federal funding meant to rescue nuclear plants at risk of closing. Diablo Canyon
generates 100s of tons of highly radioactive waste with no permanent storage sites
is located only 650 yards from an earthquake fault, on a bluff near the ocean
operates a cooling system that sucks up ocean water and has been blamed for killing fish & other marine life.
https://apnews.com/article/environment-california-los-angeles-government-and-politics-48a24113d3160f60f7c95e8446093dfb
Proxy votes in major oil companies reject climate solutions
On May 25, nearly two-thirds of investors in ExxonMobil and Chevron rejected proposals for the oil giants to align their climate strategies with the Paris agreement. Following shareholder meetings earlier in May (BP, Conoco and Equinor) this proxy voting season has fared worse than last year. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/26/investors-reject-climate-proposals-targeting-exxonmobil-chevron/
New Resource: Fracking Projects Already Planned Would Unleash a “Carbon Bomb” The Guardian 5/11/22
A soon-to-be-released report from the Energy Policy Journal found that already planned drilling projects across US land and waters will release 140bn metric tons of planet-heating gases, constituting a "carbon bomb" 4 times larger than all current planet-heating gases expelled globally each year. This includes conventional drilling and fracking from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the foothills of Colorado, to the Permian basin under west Texas & New Mexico. In the Permian basin Exxon intends to boost production by 100,000 barrels daily, while Chevron is upping output by 60,000; the explosion in drilling has already triggered a spate of earthquakes in Texas.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2022/may/11/fossil-fuel-carbon-bombs-climate-breakdown-oil-gas
Spurt of methane leaks from Bakersfield neighborhood oil wells. Desert Sun, 6/2/22
“A total of 21 oil wells have been found to be leaking methane in or near two Bakersfield neighborhoods, and more than two dozen are being tested by state and regional air regulators. ”Kern County residents have long suffered serious health damage from oil drilling in their community, but even for Kern, this is a new level of disaster. Supposedly some are being fixed and plugged, but VISION (Voices in Solidarity Against Drilling in Neighborhoods), which represents frontline communities, says the response by the California Geologic Energy Management agency has been inadequate.
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2022/06/02/number-oil-wells-leaking-methane-near-california-homes-climbs-21/7484046001/ >>>Sign this petition supporting AB 345, which would establish a 2,500-ft. buffer zone between oil and gas drilling and “sensitive areas” like homes, schools, and hospitals.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/support-ab-345-californias-2500-health-safety-buffer-zone/
GRANDMA SAYS
Dear Grandma,
I believe in the power of books and would like to share some about climate change and environmental justice with the young people in my life. Do you have any suggestions?
Book Buff
Dear Book Buff,
Here are some titles for preschoolers through teenagers suggested by a children’s librarian. The first three are good for reading aloud and starting a discussion. Give the fourth book to adolescents and teenagers looking for information, inspiration, and ideas of how to become activists. Ask your local children’s librarian for more suggestions as well.
1) Sometimes People March by Tessa Allen. 2020. While not solely about climate change, this picture book introduces some basic tools of activism. Appealing pictures and a few sentences per page show people protesting injustice with signs, meetings, sit-ins, singing, publications, and standing with linked arms. The message is “People are more powerful together.” For preschoolers and early elementary schoolers.
2) We Are Water Protectors. By Carole Lindstrom. Illus. by Michaela Goade. 2020. In this poetic call for action around environmental justice, an Anishinaabe girl shows her role in protesting an oil pipeline and encourages readers to become stewards of the earth like her and her community. Glorious illustrations won the Caldecott Medal. For elementary school age.
3) Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm. 2014. Large vibrant pictures and an effective narrative lay out the role of carbon and fossil fuels in climate change. It concludes by asking whether humans will, “keep burning more and more fossil fuels every year and risk the changes this will bring?” Or will we work together to slow the changes? With six pages of detailed notes at the end. For elementary school age.
4) How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other by Naomi Klein & Rebecca Stefoff. 2021. 320pp. A well-organized, crisply written guide about climate change and the urgent need for activism. The authors summarize the science and history, and highlight a variety of approaches by of young activists around the world. Informational and inspiring. For adolescents and teenagers.
Hope to hear from you about how things go,
Grandma
1000 GRANDMOTHERS: OUR WORK
Coordinating Committee
The Transitional Coordinating Committee has now officially become the Coordinating Committee. We have continued to provide coordination of organization-wide activities, and overview for the Communications and Engagement Teams. We have been working to help NVDA with a new structure that is more clear and understandable to people who are not as familiar with the NVDA activities. Looking forward, we are still working on being able to have enough clarity on some of our strategic questions, that they can be written down for all the Grandmothers now, and in the future. We are also planning on a wonderful social gathering where there will be song and food and fun, that will take place on Friday, July 15.
INVITATION:TO ALL NEW AND LONG-TIME GRANDMOTHERS IN 1000 GRANDMOTHERS network - lets get together with each other (outside) and just have some fun!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Communications Team:
Altho we have a new member who has stepped up and is helping immensely, the Communications Team is still looking for one or two more Grandmothers to help with our mailing list, and our website (Mailchimp and Weebly respectively). If you are interested in helping us with these pieces of our work (they're all fun), please contact Becca at: [email protected]. On another note, people connected up with the NVDA part of our organization often get information from our Signal communications. If you want to get information about demonstrations/actions that the 1000 Grandmothers are involved with, via email, please send your contact information to Kat: [email protected] . Please note that we will only be sending information out via email for actions where email does not trigger security concerns.
Engagement Work Group
First Information Session Scheduled June 20
1000 Grandmothers Engagement Group will now be offering Information Sessions. These are for women interested in 1000 Grandmothers and for members – new or old– who want to learn more about 1,000 Grandmothers. Each session will outline the organization’s history, principles, structure, etc., and offer various paths to involvement in 1000 Grandmothers using slides, videos and song. Sessions will be presented monthly on zoom, until conditions change.
Our launch will be June 20 from 7pm to 8:15 pm.
Please email Nikki Sachs at "[email protected] if you would like to attend either the June session or one in the future.
Engagement Work Group Welcomes New Members
The ENGAGEMENT WORK GROUP engages newly interested potential Grandmothers in the organization. We welcome new members to our work group, and WE’D BE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US! Currently we’ve been developing an Information Session as described above to be presented monthly (on zoom), which offers various paths to involvement in 1000 Grandmothers. To join the Engagement Work Group, please contact Nikki Sachs [email protected].
Legislative Working Group
Calling All Grandmothers: We Need You! Sometimes the votes of particular legislators are key to passing an important bill – or stopping a bad one. Sometimes pressure on these legislators is urgent. PLEASE send the Legislative Working Group your ADDRESS, names of your California legislators if you know them, and PHONE NUMBER, so we can let you know when it’s important for you to contact your legislators. Send to [email protected].
To our federal legislators: Break the legislative paralysis on the climate crisis The 1000 Grandmothers Legislative Working Group and the 350 Bay Area Federal Action Team will be sending a letter to all the Congressional Representatives in the areas where our members live, along with California’s two Senators, asking them to form a team to demand unified action. The letter will ask them to support specific bills to:
tax windfall profits
finance renewable energy
oppose all new fossil fuel infrastructure
phase out all fossil fuel production within 15 years.
We want the team of our elected federal officials to hold a press conference to announce this unity, so the world will know that Northern California is serious about immediate, effective mitigation of the climate crisis.
This letter will go out to your US Congressional Reps within the next two weeks. Our next Newsletter will include a link and ways you can help pressure these Reps to get it done!
The 1000 Grandmothers Legislative Working Group works closely with the legislative committee of 350 Bay Area Action, which identifies important climate bills and tracks them in the legislature. Meetings are a treasure trove of information. You’re welcome to join. Please contact Susan Penner [email protected]
Nonviolent Direct Action Grandmothers
The NVDA group will meet on Tuesday, June 28, 5:30-6:45PM, on Zoom. We have a terrific proposal for organizing ourselves for future actions. It will help us define our roles during actions, plan art participation, and establish safety and training guidelines. We already have some members willing to take leadership in these areas.
So come give your input – your opinion is vital!
The meeting is open to all Grandmothers, but geared for NVDA participants.
There will be time for sharing, learning about new actions and old, and of course, singing.
Check out the zoom invitation below and it will be resent to you a week prior to the meeting. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6568273796
If you want to be added to the NVDA mailing list, email [email protected]
Grandmothers Book Group
So far the 1000 Grandmothers Book Group has been hitting 100% with its readings. We are building an understanding of different cultures and learning from each other. Next month we will read Life in the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Mueller.
"Clayton Thomas-Meller - Cree poet and environmental warrior dedicated to decolonization has crafted an awesome, lyrical memoir that captures the experiences of urban indigenous youth facing poverty, drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, and juvenile detention. This beautifully written book is required reading for everyone who cares about justice for the survivors of genocide who continue to survive in colonized conditions”, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.
We meet from 2 to 3:30 pm Pacific Time on the first Thursday of each month. All Grandmothers are invited. Please contact Grace to get on our list. [email protected]
East Bay Circle
We're excited to announce that a new circle -- the East Bay Circle -- was formed following the large GMs convening in early April. It's a dynamic group, and we're enjoying the initial process of getting to know one another, making decisions about how we want to function, etc. At this point, we still have room for a few more people. If interested, contact Pam White -- [email protected].
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
Reports from your group or circle: If your 1000 Grandmothers group has anything you want to share in the next newsletter, please send it in by July 1.
Book suggestions: Have you recently read a book you would recommend to other Grandmothers? Send us the title, author, and a short description of the book and why you recommend it. We’ll pick out one suggestion to include in the next newsletter.
Pictures of 1000 Grandmothers in action: If you attend any demonstrations with other Grandmothers, please take pictures and email them to us to include in the newsletter and website.
Questions for Grandma (for Grandma Says)
Feedback on this newsletter: We appreciate your expressions of appreciation but we would love to get any more specific feedback you have – what you like, what you could live without, changes you would like to see.
Send reports, book suggestions, feedback, and pictures, and anything else related to the newsletter to [email protected]