Jeanne,

Picture of the totem pole from the Totem Pole Journey

There’s a beautiful totem pole passing through Seattle that we want to tell you about, but first let’s start with…

STOP THE MONEY PIPELINE

Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citibank held their annual shareholder meetings—and the good people of the climate movement made their voices heard at each of them.

In San Francisco, people locked down to Wells Fargo’s famous stagecoach inside the bank’s Global HQ. In New York, 19 people were arrested for shutting down Citi’s HQ and an activist’s bird dog of Chase and Citi sustainability managers was viewed hundreds of thousands of times online. Meanwhile, the Jewish climate action group Dayenu organized protests at 21 Chase branches, Rainforest Action Network organizers visited the homes of three Bank of America executives, and Stop the Money Pipeline sent #DefundClimateChaos art to 600+ activists around the country who used it in a variety of creative ways, including in Seattle.

Next week, it’s JPMorgan Chase’s turn again. The world’s largest funder of fossil fuels has its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, May 17th. Two days earlier, we’re going to paint street murals outside four downtown Chase branches with a #DefundClimateChaos message.

Chase Street Mural Actions
Sunday, May 15th 10:00am–1:00pm
Meet outside Capitol Hill Light Rail Station, at Broadway and John, at 10am

This is a family-friendly event—we’ll be painting on the sidewalks, using non-toxic tempera paint. It is also a weather-dependent event; if it’s raining, we will have to postpone!

If you’d like to join us for the mural action or have any other questions please email Alice.

And we had an article about how banks are funding the climate crisis in Real Change last month. We hope you picked up your copy from your local vendor!

SPIRIT OF THE WATERS TOTEM POLE JOURNEY

Be a part of an Indigenous-led movement to remove the Snake River dams and restore the salmon runs to health! Join Indigenous speakers from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho as well as documentarian Gian Lawrence for this event.

Spirit of the Waters Totem Pole Journey
Thursday, May 19, 6:00–8:00pm
University of Washington Longhouse, 4249 Whitman Ct NE, Seattle, 98105
Please RSVP here.

At each stop of the Journey, art and culture will spark understanding of the region’s natural heritage. In-person events will include ceremonial moments and avenues for cross-cultural collaboration and engagement on solutions.

Even 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben recommends you attend the Spirit of the Waters Totem Pole Journey! Learn more and take action here.

FEDERAL POLICY TEAM

The Federal Policy Team continues to plow forward even though the momentum for strong climate policy in Congress appears to have waned. One area of hope involves the 2023 Farm Bill, which appears to have a chance at including strong policies in favor of agro-ecological and regenerative agricultural principles. Our ag team has been studying up on this important area of climate action and educating Congressional offices about key climate principles for agriculture.

Two ways you can help push for stronger federal climate policy:

Ask Maria Cantwell to sponsor the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. This month we will be meeting with Senator Cantwell’s office to find out why she has not co-sponsored the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. Please help in this effort by calling Senator Cantwell’s office at 206-220-6400 and asking her to co-sponsor the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act (Senate Bill 984). For background read this Seattle Times Op-ed co-authored by our Federal team.

Send your comments to the Feds regarding employee retirement plans and fossil fuel investments. For background information and the comment link, visit this document.

RAMPING UP OUR GREEN NEW DEAL

What we’ve accomplished
The JumpStart tax was one of our first big Green New Deal priorities—with Washington tax policy being judged the most regressive in the nation, it’s especially important that we tax big businesses to pay for the needs created in large part by their actions. Read our interview with Teresa Mosqueda, who was central to the passage of JumpStart, and learn about what it will do to fund Green New Deal efforts.

The big picture
“A Planet to Win: Why We Need A Green New Deal” is an excellent road map for what a Green New Deal could look like and how we can get there. Join 350 Seattle’s Green New Deal team for an evening of food, community, and discussion.

Planet to Win Podcast & Book Group Meeting
Thursday, May 12, 6:00 – 8:30pm
At 350 Seattle’s new office! 5033 University Ave NE, Seattle, 98105
In person event, RSVP here.

This great 2 hour interview with the authors will set you up well to join the event. Most of our time together will be spent in subject-based small group discussions. This is our second time doing this event and the last one was a blast! We hope you can make it!

Sneak peek
Excited to learn more about our new Green New Deal campaign before the kickoff? Join our team to find out how you can plug in early to this fight to make our community centers fossil fuel-free resiliency centers!

Green New Deal Campaign Preview Event
Thursday, May 19, 6:00–7:00pm
Online, register here.

Kickoff picnic!
Then join us to kick off our newest Green New Deal campaign—fighting to win investments that can move our community centers off fossil fuels and set them up to be resiliency centers for heat and smoke events! We’re excited to use this campaign to accelerate work to move buildings off fossil fuels, build meaningful resilience for extreme weather events, skill up volunteers like yourself, and strengthen ties with the labor movement and environmental justice groups that can set us all up for bigger wins going forward!

Green New Deal Campaign Kickoff Picnic
Sunday, June 5, 3:00–6:00pm
Jefferson Park, 3801 Beacon Ave S, Seattle 98108
In person event, RSVP here.

This family-friendly community picnic includes a program with community partners, unveiling the campaign and how folks can get involved!

MAY IS BIKE MONTH & CLIMATE MONTH!

Pledge to replace car trips with bike trips
Celebrate “Bike Month is Climate Month” with our friends at Cascade Bike Club by taking the Pledge to Pedal: pledge to replace one car trip a week with a bike trip in May. It’s a great way to gradually build a habit of using climate-friendly transportation. However much time you spend on your bike, you can join the #PledgeToPedal community today! Sign up here.

Land use matters!
Join leaders from Futurewise, Share the Cities, and the Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition discussing the intersections of housing, climate justice, transportation, and land use to build more resilient communities.

Sustainable Transportation and Resilient Climate: Is Land Use the Crux?
Thursday, May 12, 12:30pm
Online, register here.

Ride Transit Month is coming!
Keep up your low-carbon transportation commitment in June with Ride Transit Month: The Future Takes Transit. Transportation Choices Coalition will promote and celebrate public transit all month long, with virtual and in-person events for all transit lovers to join. More info. coming soon!

OUR STATE KILLS TREES FOR SCHOOLS?

The Pacific Northwest’s forests have the potential to store enormous amounts of carbon…if we don’t cut them down.

One legacy of Washington’s extractive past is that state-managed forest lands are harvested to fund state schools. But those harvests provide only 2% of K-12 school funding, while leaving the trees standing could sequester carbon and provide ecological habitat for another century. Meanwhile, rural school districts need more predictable and robust funding. The WA State Lands group of the PNW Forest Climate Alliance is mobilizing to work on this issue. Want to get involved? Contact David.

And here’s a trailer for the upcoming feature documentary, We Speak for The Trees. This local struggle against the effects of clear-cut logging is a story that resonates across borders and continents.

Got questions about how we use our forests? Start with our Forestry FAQ.

NEXT STEPS FOR THE PEOPLE’S POWER

The East King County Public Utility District campaign has some exciting news!

The Tribal Council of the Snoqualmie Tribe, after considerable time and effort on their part to thoroughly consider the campaign, has decided to join the Yes to EKC PUD campaign as committed allies! The campaign is deeply grateful for the commitment of solidarity in working towards our mutual goals.

We knew in January that getting enough signatures by June for the November 2022 ballot was an ambitious timeline. We went for it anyway. The push to meet the 2022 deadline galvanized the campaign and garnered individual and organizational support from many sectors. We have spoken to and added numerous volunteers, businesses, organizations, artists, faith communities, elected officials, and legislative districts to the ranks of citizens and organizations who want real change for a carbon-free, community-directed energy future. However, after a deep analysis of the political and logistical situation, the Tribal Council of the Snoqualmie Tribe and the leadership of the EKC PUD campaign believe success will more likely be achieved by pivoting to the 2023 or 2024 campaign cycle.

This new timeline allows us to work with the Snoqualmie Tribe to achieve the removal of the dam at Snoqualmie Falls and to work with all our supporters to build the most robust campaign needed to fight PSE and win.

The EKC PUD campaign is now stronger than ever because of YOU and your support—all the signatures you collected, the emails you shared, the special events you organized, the canvassing you did, the presentations you initiated, the postcards you sent, the doors you knocked, and your belief in the promise of a better energy future. Hold onto that energy and stay tuned.

We will be sharing more information about our new timeline and strategy over the coming weeks, we anticipate lots of volunteer opportunities over the summer and into the fall. In the meantime, please share out this exciting news.

If you haven’t already, please send any signatures you’ve collected to 6541 126th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98006. Our newsletter is a great way to stay up to date with the latest campaign activity: sign up here.

COMMUNITY STORY SHARE

Join us for a big 350 PNW Community Story Share, a chance to connect deeply with our fellow 350 comrades across the Pacific Northwest and share our personal stories and the lessons and wisdom we’ve gained over the years.

350 PNW Regional Gathering
Monday, May 9, 6:00–7:30pm
Online, register here.

For this year’s 350 PNW calls we are working on building a wonderful monthly gathering space for members of 350 groups across the entire Pacific Northwest. We are building relationships, learning together, getting inspired and informed by special guests, and growing the kind of resilient community power that we all need right now.

STORY CIRCLE

Story Circle is celebrating our one-year anniversary and the publication of a community zine! We gathered to assemble 300 physical copies, which are now ready for distribution throughout Seattle!

In our next gathering, we want to hear your feedback about what Story Circle meant to you in its first year and how we can grow and continue to build community in year two.

Story Circle
Friday, May 27, 6:00–7:30pm
Online, the final Friday of every month; register here.

Questions? Email storycircle@350seattle.org. All are welcome!

CLIMATE GRIEF AND EMPOWERMENT

Does thinking about climate change mitigation leave you feeling dreadful? Feelings of climate grief can be overwhelming, especially in the face of compounding stressors, but we can move through these feelings together.

Climate Grief and Empowerment
Saturday, May 14, 10:00–11:45am
Online, register here.

Spring is the perfect time to empower each other and strive towards collective action! Join others who feel connected to the climate movement and dream of a more hopeful future at Climate Grief and Empowerment.

TAKE HEART BOOK LAUNCH

In the launch of “Take Heart: Encouragement for Earth’s Weary Lovers,” we’ll think together about how we might collect our thoughts, confront our dismay, obliterate our obstacles, gather our courage, summon our communities, and reclaim our laughter and joy for the work ahead.

Take Heart Book Launch with Kathleen Dean Moore
Wednesday, June 1, 6:00pm
Online, learn more and register on Spring Creek Project’s website.

The event features an interview-style conversation between author Kathleen Dean Moore and the book’s illustrator, Bob Haverluck, as well as music and book giveaways.

COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

You don’t have to be an organizer, protest-goer, phone-banker, or someone who’s ready for civil disobedience to get involved in climate justice. The climate movement requires many skills and talents, which rarely reside in one person alone. The broader our skill sets and resources are, the stronger our chances are of success.

We need you: teachers, carpenters, gardeners, artists, personal trainers, mechanics, therapists, accountants, photographers, web designers, lawyers, nutritionists, hairdressers, herbalists, storytellers, knitters, comedians, acupuncturists, musicians, midwives, bakers, chefs, child and pet care providers, caregivers, doctors, dentists, massage therapists, dancers, healers, nutritionists, farmers, graphic designers, and MORE!

Do you have a skill or service you would like to offer to the 350 Seattle activist community?

Please fill out this form or contact Hillary for more information.

THE PEOPLE’S ECHO

The People’s Echo was formed in 2019 around a vision to catch fresh new songs for our climate justice movements, bring them to the streets, and use community singing to foster a culture of nourishment and joy in activist spaces. This vision, sparked by the incredible Ahlay Blakely and tended by a collective of song-catchers, has given life to many powerful actions and deep nourishment in many places where we gather in the name of justice for people and planet.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, The People’s Echo has focused on holding regular song circles, both virtual and in person, as a community resource for all of us who deeply needed spaces to reconnect to our bodies and each other during this time. For the next six months, we are slowing down our public programming to tend to our roots. In this time, we are redirecting our energy to growing our internal capacity and building intentional relationships so that where we go and what we grow from here is rooted in our deepening vision of a more connected and diverse group of song-catchers.

We are grateful to be able to take this time to tend to our roots, and hope to emerge with more strength, purpose, and integrity in our vision. You can stay in touch with us by listening to our songs on SoundCloud, following us on Facebook, signing up for our listserv, or sending us an email about visions you hold for our song community at thepeoplesecho@gmail.com. We look forward to singing with you again soon!

In love and song, from Bex, Jess, and Lux, Co-Organizers of The People’s Echo.

ARTFUL ACTIVISM

Artful Activism makes our gorgeous banners, powerful and fun props, engaging music, theater, dance, creative graphics, impactful videos, beautiful photos, and more at community outdoor art builds and at-home projects for 350 Seattle campaigns and in collaboration and solidarity with other groups.

We brainstorm creative ways to use art to its fullest potential, make inspiring visuals, projects, performances, and song. Art makes our movement inviting, makes messaging clear and accessible, and gives people of all ages and backgrounds a way to participate in important issues. No skills needed. Please join us! Sign up here!

Building art together
Join us for a masked, outdoor, covered art build and social creative time—drop ins welcome, bring family and friends! We’ll be block printing beautiful earth hearts on green hands to create gifts for event participants—no skills needed! Bring your mask, smiling eyes, clothes for painting, snacks, and water!

In-Person Art Build
Saturday, May 21, Noon–4:00pm
RSVP to Lisa for the location (either outside the Powerhouse or at Gas Works Park under the huge shelter). Part time or drop-ins welcome!

Covid safety: wearing masks is still our default. Please, if you have even mild symptoms or possible exposures, definitely sit this one out! If you have needs or concerns, note that in your RSVP to Lisa. We will prioritize the concerns of the most vulnerable.

Skilled art from home
If you already have some art or sewing skills and you want to get on our call list for when things come up, please contact Lisa.

Not skilled? No worries, join us! No skills tasks like tracing, cutting, twisting ties, painting in between the lines, etc. are always needing people in a supportive, learning, fun and connecting atmosphere with other people who care enough to show up like you are. Sign up here.

With skills? We’re looking for people with skills in performance arts, visual arts like graphic design, painting, drawing, screen printing, building props. Or are you organized, like data and want to help with the imagery or photo library behind the scenes? Or people with creative strategic humor and energy who like to brainstorm! Contact Lisa.

Deployment Team! Learn how to set up, position, and animate art at events, and how to recruit and guide other volunteers. Please sign up here!

PHOTOS WANTED

Did you take photos at a recent 350 Seattle event, art build, or action? Are you willing to share what you captured with our community? We invite you to submit your best images to our photo library, where they’ll be saved for future use in our organization’s storytelling, including our outreach, communications, and fundraising efforts. Here are our guidelines for submitting photos to our library editors.

Thank you for helping us tell (and show) our story!

VIDEOS

Check out the 350 Seattle YouTube page for awesome and growing content including DIY Art how-to videos, recordings of past general meetings, webinars, and trainings.

Get to know us! 350 Seattle staff were in the spotlight at our May general meeting—here’s the video and the presentation slides.

GET INVOLVED!

Do you care about climate justice? Are you looking for a way to volunteer, and hang out with some awesome folks in the process? Come join our 350 Seattle New Volunteer Orientation Training!

New Volunteer Orientation Training
Monday, May 16th, 6:00–7:00pm
Online, register here.

Want more general information about 350 Seattle? Then check out this handy new volunteer welcome guide.

Here are some really great ways to start on that path of engagement! Check out our updated Volunteer Opportunities List. Opportunities range from low commitment to high, introductory to skilled. All you have to do is find something you’re excited about and reach out! Unless otherwise noted, all opportunities can be done from home.

Unsure what you want to do? Still have questions about who we are and what we do? Schedule a time to chat with Shemona either by phone or video chat.

No time? Well, never fear—you can support the work we do at 350 Seattle by becoming a monthly donor! Sign up here!

Stay strong, friends!

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350 Seattle is an independent local affiliate of the global 350.org. We are not legally or financially connected to 350.org. We’re funded by supporters like you! Click here to make a donation today.
350 Seattle
5031 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
United States

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