Dear friends,
I’m imposing a little discipline on myself, because I’ve been having trouble delivering my Tuesday good-news posts. Sometimes, the news seems ridiculously grim. But we need something we can count on, and so I am reaffirming my determination to bring the goods on Tuesday.
New US Department of Transportation rules were recently announced to require airlines to clearly post fees for baggage and for seating and ticket changes and to ensure that automatic refunds are provided when airlines cancel flights or make “significant schedule changes.”
This is defined as a departure time moved up, or arrival time pushed back by 3 or 6 hours for domestic and international flights, respectively. The automatic refund applies unless the passenger chooses an alternative flight.
The rule also addresses situations involving public health emergencies and passengers with serious illnesses. In these cases, passengers will be entitled to a transferable travel voucher valid for at least five years.
It’s a great rule, so the airlines went right to work to reverse it. This week, Congress must pass the Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill, and there’s a nefarious amendment that would eliminate the automatic refund and allow airlines to issue credits instead.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (why are we not surprised?), joined by Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri, has sponsored a floor amendment that would restore Buttigieg’s original rule.
Tell your Senators to support automatic refunds and to restore the original regulation for airlines as written.
By the time the issue comes up for renewal [in 2027], the MTA will have cameras on 2,023 buses on 65 routes — speeding up service for 950,000 riders across the city.
A 5 percent increase in bus speed may not sound like much, however the existence of bus lanes itself bumps up speeds by 20-25 percent. Making public transit more efficient is the best way to make it a viable alternative.
Yesterday, there was a Critical Mass Bike Ride for Palestinian Liberation in Burlington that ended at the UVM Palestine Solidarity Encampment. When 70 riders turned up to support the student protesters, there was palpable excitement.
photograph by Dan Batten
The Critical Mass Ride above was co-sponsored by environmental groups. Increasingly, the connections among justice movements — intersectionality — has come to characterize demonstrations and discussions within organizing spaces.
Prison abolition, climate justice, voting rights, and anti-racist work are all connected. And exciting things are happening.
This story about incarcerated people foraging, cooking, and eating together is a peephole into a better world, in which punishment is neither dehumanizing nor endless.
In Storstrøm men’s prison, in Denmark, the incarcerated kitchen workers are enrolled in a 4-year diploma program for culinary arts. Almost two-thirds of the men prepare all their meals in teams of six or seven. They plan, budget, and purchase ingredients from the in-house grocery store.
They dine together, often with the on-duty prison officers. The less confident cooks in the housing unit quickly learn vital kitchen skills from their peers. One prisoner told me he had been able to “live healthily and eat clean” here. “I eat well, cook for myself, work out and spend time outside. I can keep in touch with my family and I’m able to bake my kids cakes for when they visit. I feel as though I’m in the best possible position I could be to come back out.”
We are all trying to position ourselves better for the future.
Check out the Youth Civics Hub, created by young New Yorkers who are educating themselves and others to build a better future.
Yesterday, I participated in a lobby visit to my state senator, Zellnor Myrie.
Ten of us met with Senator Myrie’s staffers to talk about our sense of urgency about passing climate legislation in New York. The initial focus was on a trifecta of bills: The NY HEAT ACT, The Climate Change Superfund Act and The Just Energy Transition Act.
We appreciated the determination of Justin Perkins, the senator’s legislative director. Senator Myrie recently introduced the Climate Liability Act, which aligns with our constitutional right to “clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Perkins said that this new bill is a priority.
The legislation would create legal liability for corporations that have caused dangers to health and safety by certain fossil fuel-related activity.
Tell your state representatives about your concerns for the future and urge them to co-sponsor the Climate Liability Act.
Since 2020, California has installed more giant batteries than anywhere in the world apart from China. They can soak up excess solar power during the day and store it for use when it gets dark.
Those batteries play a pivotal role in California’s electric grid, partially replacing fossil fuels in the evening. Between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on April 30, for example, batteries supplied more than one-fifth of California’s electricity and, for a few minutes, pumped out 7,046 megawatts of electricity, akin to the output from seven large nuclear reactors.
Across the country, power companies are increasingly using giant batteries the size of shipping containers.
Charge up your battery every Tuesday to store energy for the days and nights ahead. Keep on moving forward!
with love,
L