Welcome to your monthly newsletter. Getting this email out is the last thing I need to do before beginning summer vacation. AKA, our office is closed through July 1st – 5th.I’m reflecting on an excellent passage from Kate Aronoff’s book, Overheated: “Shortening work hours and allowing workers to take raises in the form of time instead of money creates opportunities for people to spend more time doing things they actually like rather then buying cheap consumer good to fill the void.”
So cheers to things like clean air, free time and sunshine! And down with the void!
Happy Summer and happy Pride!
A WIN FOR I-137
The campaign for social housing, I-137, reached a huge milestone this week — our friends at House Our Neighbors turned in all 37,819 signatures.
This is what 37,819 signature looks like! Photo Credit: Joy, with House our Neighbors
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
There are several steps to determine if I-137 is on either the November 2024 or February 2025 ballot:
1. King County Elections (KCE) will soon start counting our signatures.
2. KCE will notify the City Clerk to certify that the ballot initiative has collected at least 26,520 signatures to get on the ballot.
3. The City Clerk will notify Seattle City Council, whom will have 45 days to either:
A. Pass the initiative as is
B. Put the initiative on the ballot
C. Put the initiative on the ballot with a competing measure.
To make the November election, Council has to take action by August 6th. If not, we will be on the February 2025 ballot.
In the meantime, we are still organizing and strategizing for a Green New Deal for Housing with all sort of cool events such as the –
SEATTLE DESIGN FESTIVAL
We are doing an installation at the Seattle Design Festival Block Party! The Seattle Design Festival is a platform for bold design conversations. 350 Seattle’s installation will imagine a community of dreams, designing a Climate Resilient Future.🍃
Come co-create a climate resilient future through art! This year’s theme is “what if”, so 350 Seattle wants to inspire our community to ask:
– What if Seattle eliminates city climate pollution by 2030?
– What if we usher in a Seattle powered by clean energy, with thriving, healthy, inclusive and regenerative communities? What would a climate resilient Seattle look like and feel like? – What if in the process of reducing climate pollution, we also expanded the care economy and met our basic human needs like housing and healthcare?
– What if all this created thousands upon thousands of good, family-wage jobs in the local low-carbon economy?
Lots of help is needed for this project! Fill out this quick form if you’re interested in helping.
JUMPSTART IMPERILED – AGAIN
Once again, the Mayor is considering raiding JumpStart to fund the city’s $230 million budget deficit. In 2021, we advocated and passed Payroll Expense Tax aka Jumpstart, the only progressive tax in Seattle and every year since we’ve fought to stop the City from dipping into those funds. These funds come from a tax on companies with payrolls over $8.5 million and applied to employees that make more than $182,000, raising funds for affordable housing and climate resilience.
Last month Council tried to sneak a proviso defunding the Equitable Development Initiative and then delayed after being thoroughly shamed. 75% of the funding for Equitable Development Initiative comes from JumpStart. Our City Council is testing the waters to see what forms of austerity people are willing to accept. We are keeping both eyes on our pro-business, fiscally conservative City Council, ready to respond to what’s next.
ANTI-WAR X CLIMATE COLLECTIVE
Join the Anti-War x Climate Collective (AWxCC) and many other local organizations during this summer of protests. To receive announcements of actions and educational events, email Mary who can put you on the Action Network mailing list of the Seattle Anti-War Coalition (SAWC), of which 350 Seattle is a member.
Upcoming Events:
* July 7th: Action to Cancel RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific military exercises near Hawai’i) at Joint Base Lewis McChord, initiated by Resist US Led War Seattle, details TBD
* July 7th: 3 mile: Skate Against Genocide, 11am-1pm, Alki Beach (exact starting location to be revealed soon). Planned by many orgs, including Samidoun Seattle and Jewish Voice for Peace Seattle: “Our aim is to spread awareness to the roller skating/ skateboarding community…by being loudly and collectively against the genocides happening in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and Tigray….”
* July 30: 12noon – 350 Seattle Anti-War x Climate will participate in the Seafair Fleet Week Peace protest – please join us by kayak on the water (put in at Bell Harbor Marina) or on shore at Pier 62, where you can help us hand out flyers and talk to people about the enormous presence of the US military in Puget Sound. We hope to gather and share some food afterwards.
* August 3: 11am-2pm, demand an End to the Blue Angels military air show! 350 Seattle is a member of a coalition that has been organizing to bring an end to this blight on Seafair since last year’s protest. This year, the protest will take the shape of a picnic in Genesee Park near the gated entrance at Stan Sayres. Bring a picnic blanket, friends, family, and food and join many other orgs enjoying music, speeches, and handing out flyers and ear plugs. We’ll be done well before the ear-splitting planes tear through the sky. (We’ll continue the protest on Sunday, August, 4, 11am-2pm, likely on the sidewalk.)
Climate Community Night is the time when our community members–from long-term volunteers to newly engaged activists to climate curious folx to seasoned 350 staff–come together to eat, connect, and build community. We have recently reintroduced Climate Community Night (which has also gone by the alias of the General Meeting, or more recently, Volunteer Night) after a pandemic hiatus, and we’re excited to build community through this dedicated time together every other month.
This next month, we will also be building burritos! Bring yourself, for sure, and if you want to contribute to the potluck, an item for a burrito bar, e.g., salsa, cheese, chips, etc. Why? Because we believe that we can build a better burrito–as well as a more liveable future–together!
We’ll kick off the night with our community potluck/burrito bar build from 6:30-7:45ish, and close the evening with an opportunity to learn more about the current work of various 350 teams and upcoming possibilities for climate action from 7:45ish-8:30 pm. Feel free to pop in for as long as you are able, or come for the whole evening–in any case, we hope to see you there!
Doors open at 6:30, open & welcome to all ages.
Accessibility details are here.
Masks encouraged: and if you feel any symptoms of sickness or have been knowingly exposed directly by covid or other contagions, please stay home and help keep us safe.
THE AVIATION TEAM
The Aviation Team is active in community coalitions addressing the health impacts of SeaTac and King County International Airports, testifying at commissions and legislatures, and more. Register here for our Team meeting on July 9, 7-8 pm, or contact Laura to see how you can get involved – we’d love your participation!
THE FOREST BIOMASS EMISSIONS ACT
For years, frontline communities in the American Southeast have been subjected to air pollution, incessant noise and deforestation by offshore companies manufacturing wood pellets at an industrial scale, subsidized by UK and EU policies that falsely count biomass as carbon neutral.
Stepping up to address this, Senator Corey Booker has introduced the Forest Biomass Emissions Act (S. 4153). It would required the EPA to account for the full life cycle GHG emissions associated with the production of electricity from forest biomass, and quantify the impacts on adjacent communities.
And since the same forest-destroying industry that has been tormenting the Southeast is starting to target PNW forests — tell your senators that the Forest Biomass Emissions Act will also help Washington State communities like Longview and Hoquiam!
That is why the Federal Policy Team has decided to urge our lawmakers to support a suite of bold Green New Deal Bills recently reintroduced to Congress. For example, we ask them to sign on to the Green New Deal for Public Schools, the Green New Deal for Cities, and the Farm System Reform Act. Recently we met with Senator Maria Cantwell’s and Representative Adam Smith’s staff on these and other essential climate action bills.
We meet the first Wednesday of every month at 5pm. Our next meeting is July 3rd, then August 7th at 5PM. To get the Zoom link, sign up for our listserv or contact Beth or Linnea.
CLIMATE ACTION FAMILIES
Join our monthly potluck! Family friendly event for adults and youth of all ages. This month we’ll meet at Pratt Park to picnic and revel in the Seattle summer. You can eat, art, hang and center youth leadership.
Climate Action Families Monthly Meeting
Friday, July 19th, 6-8PM
Pratt Park More info
BOOK CLUB
Join us on July 14th from 2:30-4:00 for our discussion on Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers.
Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers’ series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
I’m interested. How do I join?
You can sign up through this form. One of us will reach out to you after you’ve completed it to get you started. We hope to see you soon!
CLIMATE GRIEF & EMPOWERMENT
Sometimes finding motivation to engage in climate action can be difficult when the weight of climate grief feels heavy. Processing those feelings in connection with others is a great way to open up space for inspiration and regain a sense of your place in the climate movement. So consider joining us for the next Climate Grief and Empowerment Group, which meets monthly on every second Saturday! Together, we’ll engage in collective practices that deepen our capacity for dwelling with difficult emotions and strengthen strategies for coping in uncertain times.
We welcome adults (18+) for as many or as few meetings as you would like! The Climate Grief and Empowerment Group is co-sponsored by 350 Seattle and Climate Action Families, out of the recognition that ongoing emotional support plays a critical role in building community resilience and robust social movements.
STREET SONG LEADER TRAINING WITH THE PEOPLE’S ECHO
Thursday, July 18 6-8:30pm @ Volunteer Park
If you’ve ever been to a protest or direct action where dozens or hundreds of people raised their voices in song, you know how powerful collective singing can be. We’re looking to skill up our community so that more of us have the capacity, confidence, and courage to lead songs of justice and liberation in the streets! We are offering this training for folks who want to be a part of song-full movements for change in our bioregion and beyond.
YOUR VOICE is needed, so join us in bringing more song to the streets!
This is for people who are:
~Aspiring or current songleaders (no prior songleading experience required)
~Interested in showing up to direct actions
~Eager to bring more collective singing in our movements for social change
Sign up here to get on the Artful email list for monthly info on upcoming community art opportunities and to let us know your still sets! (Scroll all the way down that web page to sign up.) Skills welcome and appreciated! AND… no art skills yet? no problem! Join us! We’ll teach you as you go! You’ll love to be part of making the art for our actions in a supportive, learning, fun, and connecting atmosphere with other people who care enough to show up, and who accept you as you are. Come have fun with us, building powerful beauty for the movement!
We’ll be carving block prints, projecting and painting banners for Green New Deal visioning solutions at the Lake City Fest and Seattle Design Fest, Anti-War X Climate to stop the Blue Angels, and more.
For those who want to be more involved, we are growing both our art build team and our art in action team, where teams of volunteer leads help others participate (with art leads support) to spread the love. Maybe you’re experienced in performance arts (theater, spoken word, music, dance, and beyond), visual arts (graphic design, painting, drawing, screen printing, building props, sewing, and so much more). Or maybe you are an organized person, or you 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. We also need people with other skill sets like DJs, snacks, setup and cleanup, de-escalation, and vibes watchers – is that you?
Put Art into Action – Want an important job at actions and events? We’re creating a team of interested people who can show up as able to set up/take down the art, invite people to participate and see that it’s displayed well. Please sign up to learn more!
August 3rd has two great opportunities to deploy our imagery with Anti-War X Climate advocating for alternatives to the Blue Angels at SeaFair, OR at a participatory Art Booth/Tabling for Green New Deal with an evening parade at the Lake City Summer Festival.
D-R-U-M-m-i-n-g to enliven our actions – WHAT?! We’ve got bucket drums ready to go for participatory community beats at actions, and Dakota is ready to lead us. Sign up here to drum with us!
Sound Equipment at events/actions needs operators!
(including PAs, a sound board, power stations, mics, and bluetooth) We are looking to train a bigger group of people so that someone is likely interested and available when we need sound at smaller events (some comfort with tech, no experience needed, var/hrs when you can) Contact Lisa to get involved.
Photos needed for our photo library: Are you willing to share any great shots that you captured at a 350 Seattle event, art build, or action? Please submit your best images to our Photo Library to share them with our community for use in our organization’s storytelling, including our outreach, communications, and fundraising efforts.
Videos! Check out the 350 Seattle YouTube page for events content and DIY Art how-to videos, recordings of past general meetings, webinars, and awesome trainings.Here are our guidelines and the email address for submitting photos to our library editors.
Videos! Check out the 350 Seattle YouTube page for events content and DIY Art how-to videos, recordings of past general meetings, webinars, and awesome trainings.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Help us create a more resilient activist community!
Do you have a skill or service you would like to offer at low or no cost to the 350 Seattle activist community as a way to take part in and support the work we do? No matter your strengths and skills, there is a place for you! Maybe you’re able to offer tax prep help, or a free acupuncture session, or pet sitting. All skills are welcome! Please fill out this form with your own offerings, and we’ll reach out to confirm details. We’re excited to hear from you!
Lastly, take a minute to bookmark our Community Activist Resource List, full of helpful resources of all kinds. Feel free to share with others in our broader movement community who may be interested!
SHOUTOUTS
“Art Quinones found us a fabulous opportunity to be involved at the Seattle Design Festival, and Meghan Oesterle lead creating a thoughtful and engaging proposal that let 350 make the cut for the event, and receive a booth-creation stipend from the festival’s organizers!”
– Julia
“Camille B. and Julia B. for both doing a great job making connections between abolitionist and climate justice fights! Both of these folks are doing a ton of great community work, and regularly bring the learning and action back to the broader 350S crew. As someone with limited energy & bandwidth, I can’t track everything that’s important to me – so I really appreciate these folks highlighting opportunities for solidarity and making it easy to show up.” – Jess
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