Jeanne,
Joe Manchin? Never heard of him… But we are here to keep you…
HEALTHY THROUGH HEAT AND SMOKE
Last week thirty-seven people gave public comment in support of the Healthy Through Heat and Smoke Campaign at the city council’s hearing on the upcoming Parks Levy. People shared moving testimony of dealing with asthma and health impacts during smoke events, challenges in caring for elders and youth during the heat wave, the feelings that come with these events, and the ways community came together to care for each other and the solutions that we know are possible. Our own executive director Nicole Grant submitted this written testimony.
It was a powerful and cathartic event and made clear that we all have stories of how we are living through the climate crisis and these stories can be powerful drivers of change.
Can you share YOUR story? Tell us a little bit about your own story here! We want to hear it, and we want to support you to share it with your community and policy makers.
We’re also setting up community delegations to meet with council members and share our stories directly and urge them to support our campaign demands.
Interested in meeting with your council member or learning more? Fill out this form!
PULL THE PERMIT, AMAZON!
The Seattle community group Black Action Coalition is planning a community rally to demand Amazon pull its permit for a new warehouse development in North Rainier Valley (a historically Black and Asian neighborhood), next to the Mt. Baker light rail station.
Keep Amazon Out of Mt. Baker
Saturday, July 23, 12:00–2:00pm
Old Franklin H.S. Starbucks, 2921 MLK Jr. Way, Seattle 98144
For the past year, residents in Mt. Baker have been campaigning to protect their community from the consequences of Amazon’s relentless expansion. Join them to Say No to a Mt. Baker Amazon warehouse.
TRYING TO GET AROUND?
Artist and transit enthusiast Reed Olsen explains why he hates cars, and makes connections between transportation, gentrification, and racism: Welcome to the Seattle squeeze.
Speaking of which, if you want to ditch your car in pursuit of climate-friendly transportation but need a better bike, pedestrian or transit network in Seattle, fill out this SDOT survey that will guide the next 20 years of local transportation investments.
And watch for upcoming items on the city’s new Comprehensive Plan, which will tie together all things transportation and zoning. We will be advocating for Green New Deal priorities to make Seattle a denser, better-connected city that is more affordable and accessible for all!
WE’RE COMING FOR YOU, TRANS MOUNTAIN INSURERS
Grassroots pressure is racking up the wins! 18 insurers have ruled out the Trans Mountain pipeline, and this summer we’re pushing for even more.
Stop Insuring Trans Mountain
Thursdays, 10:00am
Online, sign up here.
Join this weekly call space where we do simple digital tactics and can support action planning.
Need some context? Check out Sightline’s explainer on this awful project.
STOP THE WILLOW CLIMATE BOMB
Here’s another terrible idea: ConocoPhillips’ massive oil development project in the western Arctic. It’s so aggressive and expansive, all by itself it could prevent us from meeting our national climate goals.
A comment period has just opened that gives us a chance to stop this project. Raise your voice and submit a comment today.
GREEN ENERGY SHOULDN’T DESTROY NATIVE RESOURCES
Pumped hydro? Cool idea, sounds green. Okay, how about this Goldendale project, which is opposed by the Yakama Nation because it would destroy tribal cultural and religious resources? Absolutely not! Send a message here.
And learn more with Columbia Riverkeeper’s webinar with Kah-miltpa Band Members, here.
TIME FOR SOME PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY
Yes, we’ve made some progress on plastic waste, but seriously, it’s past time to make companies and manufacturers financially responsible for the pollution caused by the products and packaging they create.
Tackling Plastic: What’s Next for Washington?
Thursday, July 21, 2:00pm
Online, register here.
Come hear from lawmakers and advocates about how producer responsibility can address the plastic waste crisis in Washington.
OH, THAT JOE MANCHIN
Congressional climate policy? Looks like we’ve lost in a knockout.
So, what next? Well, for starters, a coal baron in the pocket of Big Oil should not control our national climate policy. Tell Chuck, enough with the rope-a-dope! Pull Joe out of his chairman’s seat, for starters!
PSST, WE HAVE A PRIMARY
Maybe voting for public officials doesn’t align with your personal theory of change…Yeah, we get that.
Nevertheless, you’ve got an excellent chance to practice with the state primary election:
Washington State Primary Elections
Mail-in ballots due Tuesday, August 2, 8pm
No stamp needed, or find a drop box near you.
If you are registered to vote in King County, then your ballot should already be in the mail on its way to you. If it hasn’t arrived by Monday, July 18, call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683) to see what’s up. If you’re not registered to vote for some reason, then register here. If you don’t know if you’re registered, check your status on VoteWA.
Don’t have street address? Regional voting centers are available through August 2.
Think you can’t vote? Maybe you can, even if you were recently incarcerated; more details here.
THREE REASONS WHY WE’RE ANTI WAR
The Antiwar Workgroup has recently been joined by Diane Shisk, who has this story to tell about why she’s getting involved:
I recently joined the 350 Seattle anti-war group. The Ukraine war was a wake-up call for me about the interconnection between war and climate change. I was an anti-war activist many years ago and am aware of the huge humanitarian cost of war, the damage to survivors, and the environmental destruction. Climate change has been my activism for the last decade plus… but now I see I need to be an anti-war activist again, because:
1. War and militarism contribute huge amounts of CO2 emissions: in fuel for military transport, oil depots as primary targets, the burning of vegetation and buildings, forced switching to more emission intense fuel sources, and concrete-intense reconstruction when the war ends.
2. War impacts global fossil fuel supplies, which leads to supply shortages, and then higher prices and larger profits for the oil companies, which is then used as an excuse for increasing production of fossil fuels, and, thanks to the higher prices, the oil companies now have the social license, more funds, to invest in extraction.
3. Increased spending on war and the military drains funds that should be used to address the climate emergency. Military budgets should be tapped to be a source of climate crisis funding; that would avoid burdening the population of a country with higher taxes.
The speakers at the Seattle Anti-War Coalition (SAWC) protests at the Federal Building in downtown Seattle address these and other issues.
Seattle Anti-War Coalition (SAWC)
First Tuesdays, 11:00am–1:00pm
Federal Building, 915 2nd Ave, Seattle 98174
And… It is especially important for Washingtonians to become outspoken about the massive buildup of nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear war. If Washington state were a country, it would be third after Russia and the U.S. for the presence of nuclear weapons. The building of the Hanford nuclear facility during World War II displaced many Indigenous tribes, and the waste it generated has already made the Columbia River the most radioactive river in the world. Continued leaks threaten more contamination.
First Annual Anti-Nuclear War March
Saturday, September 24
Seattle, details coming soon
So, save the date! Coming out to march in September is a step in the right direction!
For more info on the 350 Seattle Anti-War Workgroup, contact Mary.
CLIMATE GRIEF AND EMPOWERMENT
Speaking of compounding existential crises… How have you been feeling about climate change lately? It can be discouraging when progress seems slow or even regressive sometimes. Processing how you are feeling with others could help transform climate grief into inspiration.
Climate Grief and Empowerment
Saturday, August 13, 10:00–11:45am
Online, register here.
You’re invited! We hope you’ll join us at the next Climate Grief and Empowerment meeting, where we move through our feelings in community.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
The climate movement requires many skills and talents. 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. We need you: teachers, carpenters, gardeners, personal trainers, mechanics, therapists, accountants, lawyers, nutritionists, hairdressers, herbalists, storytellers, knitters, comedians, acupuncturists, midwives, bakers, chefs, child and pet care providers, caregivers, doctors, dentists, massage therapists, healers, farmers, 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.
STORY CIRCLE
Huzzah! We are holding our next Story Circle IN PERSON. We’ll sit around a fire and read/discuss stories together! It will be fantabulous! We will have some light snacks; feel free (but not pressured!) to bring something!
In-Person Story Circle
Friday, July 29, 6:30pm
A home in Ballard (near Goodwill on 8th Avenue NW)
Email storycircle@350seattle.org for the address.
If you have a favorite story or poem that has caught your attention recently, please bring it! And if you don’t have a poem or story to share, that’s okay. This is about community first and foremost. All are welcome!
THE PEOPLE’S ECHO
Beloved songbirds, as we stand in the wake of a major violation of our rights to bodily autonomy in this country, we return to song as medicine, to hold us in feeling what is real.
Here are some songs that have been holding us recently:
Free in my Body – Shireen Amini
We will not be controlled – The Bengsons
We Won’t Go Back – MILCK x BIIANCO x Autumn Rowe (ft. Ani DiFranco)
We also invite you to join a special in-person song and storytelling event hosted by Ahlay Blakely, one of our dear TPE songcatchers.
Song Circle & Storytelling
Monday, July 18, 7:30–9:30pm
Madrona Beach, north of the restrooms, 853 Lake Washington Blvd, Seattle 98122
In person, details and RSVP here.
Join Aliko and Ahlay to sing and listen to stories around a fire. Come sing songs for transformation, for asking questions, and for seeking to lead lives that might make us ancestors worth honoring.
Masks optional, bring firewood if you are able to.
ARTFUL ACTIVISM
Did you see us in the Solstice Parade? We had a great time!
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. Come see how we do it at the…
Art Build for the Green New Deal and Amazon Employees for Climate Justice!
Friday, July 22, 5:30–9:00pm or done!! (Part time or drop-ins welcome.)
Look for us outside, just west of the Green Lake Aqua Theater, West Green Lake Way N, Seattle 98103
Please, RSVP to Lisa in case of changes!
We’ll be creating a banner and signs for Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, painting beautiful Green New Deal screen prints for “Healthy Through Heat and Smoke” climate ready community centers campaign, and more.
NO skills needed! Just bring your mask, smiling eyes, clothes for painting, snacks, and water!
Covid Safety: Wearing masks is the default. Please, if you have even mild symptoms or possible exposures, definitely sit this one out!!
RSVP so we can update you with any changes! Look for us in one of the parking lots across the path from the south end bathrooms, hopefully right across from the dock with the giant G if we can find space there. (That’s just west from the giant cement stairs “aqua theater” and the crew boathouse at the end of the lake nearest to Woodland Park at the south end of the lake).
Not on the Artful Workgroup email list? Sign up here!
PHOTOS WANTED!
Did you take photos at a recent 350 Seattle event, art build, or action? We’d love to be able to use them! Here are our guidelines for submitting photos to our library editors.
VIDEOS
Check out the 350 Seattle YouTube page for recordings of past general meetings, webinars, and trainings.
GET INVOLVED!
Do you care about climate justice? 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 (she’s on vacation this week, so you won’t hear back right away). No time? Well, never fear—you can support the work we do at 350 Seattle by becoming a monthly donor! Sign up here!
We’ll be back before you know it, with some dog days action for ya!
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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