Jeanne,
Have you noticed? It’s almost spring! So of course we’re happily looking forward to…
(Photo by Austin Smith, indicating the very clear need for….)
NEW RULES FOR FOSSIL FUELS
For the past 10 years we’ve been fighting off one project after another as the fossil-fuel industry tried to turn our region into an export hub for coal, oil, and fracked gas. Now the Department of Ecology is writing new rules for how to evaluate these kinds of projects and we have a huge opportunity to get ahead of industry and slam the door shut on new fossil fuel projects once and for all!
The controversial permitting process of Puget Sound Energy’s Tacoma Liquefied Natural Gas facility is a prime example of why we need stricter standards on the data submitted by industry and the need for Washington’s rules to include an environmental justice lens that brings community health, treaty rights, and accountability into the process.
Join us for a series of webinars this month and learn how to add your voice to demand that the Department of Ecology create strong rules that protect our climate and safeguard the health of our communities.
Climate Justice is Protecting Community Health
Tuesday, March 9, 6:30–8:00pm
Shareable event page
Centering Frontline Communities
Tuesday, March 23, 6:30–8:00pm
Shareable event page
Register for one or both webinars here. You can also personalize a written comment here. Then plan to join us in May for public hearings!
PSE HAS A SAFETY PROBLEM, TOO
A recent gas fire in the Central District which caused the asphalt sidewalk to catch on fire and prompted a neighborhood evacuation has brought PSE’s bad safety track record, profit motive, and lack of accountability into the public eye, with Seattle Council Member Kshama Sawant calling for a thorough investigation of all PSE’s gas lines in the region. (Amplify her press release tweeted here!)
Specifically, CM Sawant is calling on the Utilities and Transportation Commission to urgently investigate:
- The age and status of PSE’s entire gas piping and infrastructure system, and the risks of future leaks, fires, and explosions.
- Whether PSE has at any point neglected maintenance, monitoring, and safety programs, exposing the public to risk.
- Whether PSE has short-staffed maintenance, monitoring, and safety programs, making it difficult or impossible for workers to do their jobs safely and properly.
- The economic, safety, and environmental risk to the region of continued reliance on PSE gas instead of converting to clean renewable energies.
Safety concerns and maintenance neglect are just a few of the issues our region faces with WA’s largest (and most expensive) energy utility. In partnership with other organizations, we recently hosted the series Taking Our Power Back: Puget Sound Energy, fossil fuels, and creating a clean and healthy energy future. It explored PSE’s role in (deep breath!): holding back the transition to renewable energy, meddling in state and local politics, impacts on Indigenous sovereignty, profit-driven financial flaws, deception and misinformation aimed at both the public and governmental agencies, and, best of all, ways we can take action to take our power back. Check out this Resources Doc to watch recordings, find links to learn more and take action!
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN OLYMPIA
We’re at the half-way point in the virtual legislative session, with some bills already moving from House to Senate and vice versa. Here’s a set of important social and economic justice bills that are still in play. Keep them moving forward by urging your legislators to support them!
Ask your Senator to support:
HB 1310 Sets the clear expectation that de-escalation should be an officer’s first instinct and that deadly force should only be a truly necessary last resort. Support HB 1310 here.
HB 1054 Bans choke holds, neck restraints, no-knock warrants, tear gas, military equipment, the covering of identifying information. Also limits police dogs, vehicular pursuits and shooting at moving vehicles. Support HB 1054 here.
HB 1267 Creates the Office of Independent Investigations within the Office of the Governor for the purpose of investigating incidents relating to peace officer use of deadly force. Support HB 1267 here.
SB 5172 Protects farm workers’ interests and creates certainty for employers. Support 5172 here.
Ask your Representatives to support:
HB 1203 Requires local law enforcement agencies to implement a community oversight board by 2025. Support 1203 here.
HB 1092 Collects data on police uses of force so that we can study this issue and propel change. Support 1092 here.
HB 1202 Provides a cause of action for a person injured by a peace officer. Authorizes the Attorney General to investigate employers and peace officers and to bring a civil action to restrain and prevent certain patterns or practices of conduct. Support 1202 here.
SB 5051 Expands the grounds on which an officer can be decertified and reforms the process to make it more effective and quicker. Support 5051 here.
ADVOCATE FOR A CLIMATE-SAFE FUTURE
Next year, the Central Puget Sound counties—King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap—kick off their next comprehensive planning updates, which lock in plans for the next 8 years. State bill HB 1099 changes the Growth Management Act to require cities and counties to plan new development so it has less climate pollution(for example, by being transit oriented) and to plan for protecting frontline communities from climate change impacts. If HB 1099 doesn’t pass this year, we will lose another decade to plan for a climate-resilient future. Tell your state Senator to support HB 1099.
And is state legislative action something you can make time for? Connect to more of it here.
ARE YOU A UNION MEMBER?
350 Seattle is working to build broad public support for making the Green New Deal our core governing agenda and framework of our local government. A key part of that work is connecting with rank and file union members and building support for a Green New Deal within local unions. Are you a member of a union in King County? Many people working in education, health care, academia, government, and trades are!
If so, we’d love to connect and share more about this project! Let us know by filling out this short questionnaire.
FEDERAL POLICY TEAM
Our new Federal Policy team is thriving! Since last month, we’ve met with staffers for Senator Patty Murray and Representative Marilyn Strickland. Later in March we’ll meet with Representative Derek Kilmer, and we hope to meet soon with Suzan DelBene.
We’re focused on a set of climate bills from last session (in particular, some that address climate and agriculture), a set of newer bills from the current session, the THRIVE agenda, and the push by Progressives for a clean electrical grid in the infrastructure bill expected this summer or fall. This Washington Post articlediscusses the politics of a clean energy proposal, and explains that the path forward is dicey if the President wants a bi-partisan bill. It’s possible that to get the bold changes we need, the President will need to declare a climate emergency. To help make that happen, check out this petition.
Federal Policy Team Meeting
Monday, March 8, 5:00pm
Online, for details, email Selden.
Can’t make it on such short notice? You can sign up for our Federal Policy listserv here!
STOP THE MONEY PIPELINE
Stop and defund Line 3
Resistance to Line 3 is heating up. More than 130 people have now been arrested blockading construction of this illegal, toxic pipeline.
Here in Seattle, we’re doing all we can to stand in solidarity with those on frontlines. Last week, we teamed up with Mazaska Talks to host an online teach-in and fundraiser to support the powerful resistance rising up to #StopLine3. Taysha Martineau, the founder of Line 3 resistance camp, Camp Migizi, 350.org founder Bill McKibben, and Line 3 youth intervenor, Akilah Sanders-Reed joined us to provide an overview of what’s happening right now on the frontlines and how you can get involved.
Did you miss it? Watch the recording here. We raised more than $6,000 on the call, but we’re keeping our fundraiser for Indigenous-led resistance camps Giniw Collective and Camp Migizi open for the next week. Donate here, and help us hit our goal of $10,000 for the frontlines!
Since the #DefundLine3 campaign launched a month ago, bank CEOs and executives have received more than 650,000 emails, 1,500 phone calls and 1,000 calendar invites, demanding that they defund Line 3. You can join the action by clicking here to email, call and send a calendar invite to CEOs yourself! There have also now been actions at bank branches in Seattle, Minneapolis, New York, LA, Chicago, and more.
Want to stay in touch with the campaign? Sign up for all the latest updates here.
Stop insuring Trans Mountain
Last month, Trans Mountain filed a desperate request with the Canadian Energy Regulator to keep the identity of its insurers a secret. Why? Because the pressure from our movement has made it difficult to find insurers that are still willing to back this toxic project! A project which can only be insured secretly has clearly lost its social license to operate—the Canadian government must shut it down and cancel the expansion project.
In the meantime, we’ve still got work to do on the insurance front. Last summer, we teamed up with Indigenous land defenders and climate activists north of the border and successfully pressured three European insurers to cut ties with the toxic project. A handful of U.S. companies, including Liberty Mutual and AIG, remain key supporters, so stay tuned for ways to pressure them in the coming months.
And like always, you can stay up-to-date with everything happening with Stop the Money Pipeline by signing up here.
TACOMA LNG RESISTANCE
Legal appeals are set to begin on April 12th, with arguments by the Puyallup Tribe and Earthjustice heard over a two week period by the Pollution Control Hearings Board, and a decision anticipated in summer.
While we wait, please continue to show that you #StandWithPuyallup by making posts on social media, writing letters to the editor of your local papers, and sharing this petition by Water Warriors and Redefine Tacoma.
Get involved with the Tacoma LNG Resistance Team!
We have all kinds of ways to plug in—help us plan upcoming artful actions like street murals and bannering, or be part of education and outreach efforts planning online events, letter writing, and social media amplification.
Tacoma LNG Resistance Team Meeting
Thursday March 18, 12:00pm
Online, register here.
Can’t make it to the meeting but want to get involved? Fill out this form or email Anna! You can also stay up to date on calls to action by subscribing to our Resistance listserv.
As fossil fuel companies and other polluting industries continue to target Tacoma and the ancestral Tideflats of the Puyallup Tribe, we need our local and state governments to step up and start prioritizing the health and safety of communities, something currently lacking in our permit processes, which don’t even bother to analyze how a proposed project will impact residents.
SOLIDARITY TEAM
Using a node model organized into topics of interest and deepening our anti-oppression work through education, action, and reflection, our Solidarity Team is currently centered around immigration justice and Indigenous sovereignty and solidarity. Nodes meet bi-weekly, in addition to a larger monthly meeting for all the nodes.
Monthly All Nodes Meeting
Sunday, March 21, 5:00pm
Everyone is welcome. Contact Anna or Meg for a Zoom link or to set you up for a one-on-one conversation about joining a node. Hope to see you there!
SOLIDARITY OPPORTUNITIES
Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
Mark your calendars for a May 5 action so you can show up in solidarity! More information in next month’s newsletter. To help out with holding banners and signs, transport, and other needs, please email Anna.
Federal recognition for the Duwamish Tribe
Federal recognition does not create tribes, but rather recognizes social-political entities that pre-date the United States. The federal government’s failure to re-recognize the Duwamish perpetuates unfair policies directed towards the Duwamish Tribe of Indians since the 1850’s.
The Duwamish People have done their part for 10,000 years—please do yours by signing this petition. With your support, federal re-recognition of the Duwamish Tribe can be reinstated legislatively, administratively, or judicially in 2021.
MARITIME TEAM
Consider the orcas!
Plans to dredge Seattle Harbor to accommodate larger container ships are being met with a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity. The suit alleges that the US Army Corps and National Marine Fisheries Service failed to consider the harms this harbor expansion project would bring to our critically endangered resident orca population, including an increase in stressful marine noise and dredging up toxic pollutants. (Amplify the Center’s press release tweeted here!)
The Seattle Harbor Navigation Improvement Project is being done on behalf of the Port of Seattle and the Northwest Seaport Alliance. Per the Port’s webpage on the project: “The Port of Seattle is dedicated to environmental stewardship and will ensure any deepening plan supports our commitment to protecting water quality and wildlife in Puget Sound.” The Maritime Solutions teams plans to keep this lawsuit in the public eye to help hold the Port accountable to its commitment.
The absence of cruise ships
Locals are urging the Port of Seattle to use the cancelation of the cruise season to consider alternative forms of tourism and revenue. “This hiatus offers a unique opportunity for Northwest ports to reduce dependency on cruises and find other sources of income,” says Peggy Printz in a letter to the editor in the Seattle Times, citing climate impacts, harm to our endangered orcas and overstated economic benefits.
Another letter to the Times by Grace Norman points out, “Seattle merchants must declare independence from these polluting, unhealthy ships and find cleaner and more responsible ways to make money. Tourism should celebrate a destination, not harm it.” Only time will tell if Port Commissioners decide to “build resiliency, instead of clinging to an unsustainable past.”
Want to join the Maritime Solutions Team? Drop in to our next meeting!
Team Planning Session
Tuesday, March 16, 7:00pm
Register here!
Can’t make the meeting but want to get plugged in? Email Stacy.
To learn more, check out the recording of our recent informational meeting where we dug into the impacts of the maritime industry’s current practices and energy sources on our water, air, marine life and community health at both a local and global level. Follow Seattle Cruise Control on Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date on the latest cruise news.
TRANSPORTATION TEAM
Good news! The Washington State legislature is finally taking transportation—and its climate impacts—seriously and considering a $26 billion state transportation budget that could transform our transportation system with new revenue sources and significant investments in transit, as well as infrastructure for folks biking, walking and rolling. Look for opportunities to support features of the House package coming to your in-box throughout the spring.
For now, please sign this letter of support for a Clean & Just Transportation system which invests in structural equity, reduces vehicle miles traveled, transitions to clean transportation, and focuses on the safety and maintenance of our existing system.
Extra Credit: amplify the Clean & Just principles with this social media toolkit!
Equity in fare enforcement
Too many folks end up in court because they cannot afford a transit ticket. The state legislature is considering bill HB 1301 that would allow Sound Transit to reform its punitive fare enforcement program. Write your legislators today to encourage them to vote to pass this out of the House before the March 9th cutoff!
Join the Transpo 2021 Legislative Session Campaign Team
This is an exciting time for transportation in Washington State with the opportunity for historic investment in carbon-reduction measures and multimodal transit options. To join our efforts advocating for transformative state transportation policy this spring, contact Ingrid.
NEIGHBORHOOD MUTUAL AID PODS
Connecting with neighbors builds resilience and safety; it’s also satisfying (and fun!) to care for one another in community. We’ve got a network of dozens of pods around the Seattle area, and pod captains connect across the city so that those pods with more resources can support those with fewer. We run collection drives for bikes and warm necessities for distribution across Seattle, and share information about opportunities to support and donate to folks experiencing the worst impacts of our systemic oppression, coupled right now with the pandemic.
Does this sound like something you want to be a part of? Sign up to be a pod captain and lead your neighborhood organizing efforts here. We’ve got lots of tools and support to help you get it going and figure things out along the way. You can also join a neighborhood pod here. If you have questions or are interested in volunteering in another way, contact Sulakshana.
EDUCATE YOURSELF
Racial justice is climate justice
Here are recordings and resources for the four part series Abolition, Defund the Police, Affordable Housing, and Environmental Justice.
Engage
Decolonizing Science is a local podcast on the history of racism in the medical and research fields, environmental racism, health disparities/inequity and more. Guests range from doctors and scientists to black activists in the local area. The latest episode covers Indigenous Health Equity with Myra Parker.
Global Just Recovery Gathering, April 9-11
Now is the time for the climate movement to reconnect! This three-day online event features interactive workshops, cultural sessions, and hands-on trainings. Build your skills, strengthen relationships, and hear from a powerful line-up of climate leaders, artists, and musicians in every corner of the world. Join us in designing a new path towards a better future for all. More details on the website, or register here.
CLIMATE GRIEF AND EMPOWERMENT
So many of us long to take effective action on social injustice and the climate crisis but become paralyzed with fear and grief due to the size and weight of the issues. You’re invited to join community members in moving through grief to empowerment.
Climate Grief and Empowerment Group – March Meeting
Saturday, March 13, 10:00–11:45am
Online, register here.
Learn more about the Climate Grief and Empowerment group. This group meets monthly on the second Saturday.
ARTFUL ACTIVISM
Join us in brainstorming creative ways to use art to its fullest potential, or join an inspiring project or powerful song circle already under way. Projects from home to join together! No skills needed, just heart!
Vision Quilt—do you have visions, dreams, or ideas that you wish to see in our future world?
350 Seattle is using the power of art and sewing to create a VISION QUILT, visualizing our dreams into art together despite the necessity of social distancing. In the spirit of action and change, inspired in part by the Green New Deal (or the direction it’s moving in), our quilt seeks to showcase our dreams of a just, vibrant, healthy world.
Every dream counts and contributes to the collective vision. Individuals or groups will be given materials and prompts for creating their own vision square and/or text inspired by one of the elements: earth, water, air, fire. All submissions will be joined into a beautiful quilted tapestry.
By quilting our visions, we can begin to mend broken seams and create a new tapestry for the future we wish to see—a future that, like a quilt, can warm our hearts and spirits for generations to come. To participate, contact Kat.
Street Mural Actions with the LNG Artful Resistance team!
Wrap up March with a day of painting in Tacoma and another in Seattle. This will be a low-risk action with washable paint on public property. Text Bee at 509-570-4571 to be added to the signal thread for more details, coordinating, and COVID safety conversations!
Relay art builds from home
Would you like to participate from home in a skilled team doing a relay on one or more of the following and pass it along? Interested in helping? Contact Lisa.
- Banner making. Skilled with design, projection, painting, or sewing? Ongoing for various events of ours and for other groups we work with, including Stop Line 3, La Resistencia, Green New Deal, and more.
- Prop, video, and street art. Skilled with a boxcutter and/or a paint brush? Join us to build props for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, a TikTok Sea Shanty with theater and other art for New Rules for Fossil Fuels, Stop Line 3 stenciling, and more.
Join the Artful Workgroup and get on our email list
Sign up here. When artful projects come up we either set up a build over zoom or divy up different aspects of the work for folks to do at home. We welcome all skill levels in any art form. Not skilled? No worries, join us!
Check out our videos
Looking for a recording of the last general meeting, DIY how-to videos, webinars, and trainings? Check out the 350 Seattle YouTube page for awesome content like Stencils for Street Messaging and How to Edit a Video on Your Phone!
THE PEOPLE’S ECHO
A song can be a seed; once planted, it takes root and grows stronger in the heart, mind, and body with the regular watering of practice and the sunshine of sharing. When we tend to our garden of songs, our souls begin to bloom.
The People’s Echo Song Teach-In
With special guest song leader, the incredible Lyndsey Scott!
Wednesday, March 24, 6:00–7:30 pm
Online, details and RSVP here.
Have questions about TPE and our events? Email Bex.
We also invite you to sign up for our listserv to get the latest updates from The People’s Echo!
CLIMATE CONCERT
This winter, Roosevelt High School Choir Students wrote songs about issues that matter deeply to them and the issue they chose to focus on was climate change. They are sharing seven original songs in a pre-recorded video album as a public concert.
Project Planet
Tuesday, March 30, 7:00pm
Online, link here.
ENVIRONMENTAL SLAM!
A competition for young people to raise their voices and educate the community about actionable solutions to environmental issues. Live online judged event!
2021 Environmental Slam
Thursday, April 22, 6:30-8:30pm
Winners announced live online
Register here!
The Environmental Slam is open to young people in grades 5-12 in the state of Washington. Individuals and teams can register. If you are part of a team, only one person needs to register for the whole team. Teachers, parents, or adult leaders may also register their participants.
Prize money will be donated to a non-profit of the winner’s choice.
SKILL UP FOR CLIMATE ACTION
Hey y’all! It’s time to skill up for bolder and more strategic climate action!
Join friends from 350 groups across the US for a series of free online trainings on:
- Climate justice
- Strategic messaging
- Organizing & movement building
- Policy advocacy
- Strategic campaigning
Sign up for one or all! Dates, times and more information is available here. Can’t make a training? That flyer will be updated with links to recordings. #SkillingUpforClimateAction
GET INVOLVED!
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!
STAFFING UPDATES
Changes afoot among the staff at 350 Seattle!
Shemona Moreno is now our Equity and Volunteer Engagement Director. She’s expanding her job to focus on ways that 350 Seattle can be more welcoming to everyone, especially to people of color.
Alec Connon’s staff role has shifted to full-time as the national Stop the Money Pipeline Coordinator. Seattle continues to play a major role in holding the financiers of the fossil fuel industry accountable!
That’s it for this month, friends. Stay safe out there!
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350 Seattle
5031 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
United States