Dear friends,
For each year from 2023 to 2027, the global near-surface temperature is predicted to be between 1.1C and 1.8C above the pre-industrial average, taken from the years 1850 to 1900.
This isn’t good AND scientists believe that the imminent breach will be temporary at this point (meaning not every year).
It would be a mistake to believe that it’s too late to act. It is both meaningful and urgent. So, act we will.
On Monday, the Biden Administration’s US Forest Service approved a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. This is maddening on a few levels.
The first is that it is bad environmental policy for the Appalachian region. The second is that this is Joe Manchin’s baby. Today is definitely not the day to give the Senator from West Virginia what he wants.
Luckily, the pipeline has to clear some other regulatory hurdles.
Tell the Biden Administration to revoke permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. This quick action is from 350.org.
Private banks too often use our money to work against our interests — funding fossil fuel projects, for example — while extracting excessive fees from ordinary people.
Watch this very short video (<2.5minutes) from the New Economy Project to better understand the need for public banking.
Get on the phone to Albany to help pass the Public Banking Act! This is a quick action from the New Economy Project.
Passing the law will save energy consumers $200 million each year and enable the state to replace old gas grids with zero-emissions alternatives.
Tell NYS legislators to pass the NY HEAT Act. This quick action comes from NY Renews. You can take action from anywhere!
Sometimes, showing up in the streets is necessary. Come on out, before the pavement gets too hot!
Join the rally for Climate, Jobs, and Justice at Bryant Park next Thursday!
Call on the investors in this project to respect Indigenous rights and stop funding environmental devastation. This quick action is from 350.org.
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and man threatening to run for president, has been abusing his power.
One of DeSantis’s ongoing initiatives is to keep books out of the hands of young people. But the people are fighting back against censorship.
Democracy Forward is challenging two new Florida education rules — the Training Rule and the Elementary School Rule — on behalf of several organizations, including the the Florida Freedom To Read Project.
These rules unlawfully and illogically burden educators and create barriers to students accessing books in school — by defining terms and imposing new requirements and restrictions beyond those approved by the legislature.
Specifically, the DeSantis administration adopted an expansive definition of “library media center” to include nearly every collection of books and other materials in schools. It then used that definition to restrict teachers from selecting materials for their own classrooms and instead required a certified librarian to approve each and every book and other media accessible to students at school. The DeSantis administration also applied the novel definition to require teachers to catalog every book or piece of media in their classrooms, an onerous burden far beyond what the legislature required.
It is difficult to overstate the degree to which these rules harm students and interfere with the work of teachers and librarians. We need more light and less heat.
Support Democracy Forward in their good fight against radical censorship.
I’m going to look in on my mama at the beginning of the week, so I’m taking Monday off and the good news may not arrive in your inbox until Wednesday.
with love,
L