Jeanne,
Winter’s end in Ukraine has been heartbreaking, and spring looks grim too… a new IPCC report centering loss and damages is going largely unremarked… And as lawmakers wrap up in Olympia, we find…
not beautiful forests, sadly (they’re cutting those down), but rather…
TRANSPORTATION AT THE CROSSROADS
After a year of advocating for reductions in highway spending, the Just Transition in Transportation campaign has an opening in the final days of the legislative session. A funding crisis is creating pressure for cuts to the transportation package, and we know what should be on the chopping block!
Here’s the context: $2 billion in highway funding from a fuel export tax was scuttled in the House. To replace that money lawmakers are looking for funding in all the wrong places. They’re considering cutting road and bridge maintenance, robbing from funding that will be used to build needed sidewalks and bike lanes, and stealing from toxics clean-up (or affordable housing, education, and healthcare) in order to expand highways.
Here is a letter to personalize—tell your lawmakers: don’t cut transit, active transportation, electrification, and culverts. Don’t cut maintenance and preservation. Don’t rob the General Fund or the Model Toxics Control Act funds to replace lost revenue—balance the budget by reducing highway expansion!
For more info, see coverage in The Urbanist and the Seattle Times.
WA CAN’T WAIT
With Puget Sound counties preparing to start their next cycle of comprehensive planning, now is the time to pass legislation to update the Growth Management Act with climate provisions so it can address the negative impacts that climate change is already having in our communities and environment. House Bill 1099 would add a climate change goal to the GMA and provide funding for local implementation.
Unfortunately, a last-minute amendment from the business-as-usual crowd in the Senate Ways and Means Committee scrubbed the climate and transportation measures from the bill.
Well, there’s still time for House and Senate leadership to repair the bill as they negotiate which chamber’s version to pass into law. Personalize a message to your legislators here! This is our last and best chance to restore critical Vehicle Miles Traveled and greenhouse gas reduction requirements to the bill.
SALMON RECOVERY AND FORESTRY
Come get plugged in to some powerful grassroots organizing happening around two major climate issues here in our region—salmon recovery and forestry.
We’re excited to welcome two fabulous special guests on the 350 PNW regional call this month:
Doug Howell from Save Our Wild Salmon will share with us about the historic efforts underway in 2022 to remove the lower four Snake River Dams, and how we can build regional grassroots pressure to help stop salmon extinction, save the orca, support Tribal justice, expand recreation, and create the largest wildlife restoration and climate adaptation area in the country .
Brenna Bell from the 350 PDX Forest Defense Team will share about the new Let Trees Grow campaign—a national push at the federal level to influence the Biden administration to protect mature and old-growth trees and forests from logging across America’s public lands as a cornerstone of U.S. climate policy. There’s a lot of strong forestry organizing emerging in our region, and this is a great opportunity for us to connect and network with each other around this growing topic. We also have a new FAQ on forestry and climate—check it out!
350 PNW Community Call
Monday, March 14, 6:00–7:30pm
Online, register here.
These regional calls are a place to join in conversation around our local and regional efforts to grow the movement for climate justice. Come to share ideas, companionship, and resources to help build local resilience.
STOP THE MONEY PIPELINE
In late April and May, Wall Street banks and insurance companies will host their annual shareholder meetings. At these meetings, shareholders of JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and others will cast an essential vote on one key shareholder resolution: whether or not to continue financially supporting fossil fuel expansion.
That’s why 350 Seattle will join with dozens of other organizations in the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition in launching a new campaign―Wall Street’s Moment of Truth: People or Fossil Fuels.
We have one simple demand for Wall Street: stop providing financial services to any corporation that is expanding its fossil fuel operations.
You can sign up here to get all the latest updates from the campaign. And, in the meantime, here are three quick actions you can take:
- Do you bank at Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, or Bank of America? Sign on to the Customers for Climate Justice Open Letters. Nearly 12,000 customers have already joined the campaign―and we’ll be delivering these letters to Wall Street CEOs on April 4th.
- Send JPMorgan Chase a message demanding that it break ties with Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company that is helping to both fund atrocities in Ukraine and cook the planet.
- Join us for the Defund Climate Chaos Week of Arts Actions, April 2-10. Stop the Money Pipeline and partners are organizing a massive, coordinated week of street art actions. You can sign up to take part and receive art here!
We’re also happy to report that there was some good news last week. The massive insurance company AIG committed to stop insuring new coal, tar sands and Arctic drilling projects. The policy doesn’t go far enough, but it’s a significant step in the right direction.
FEDERAL POLICY TEAM
Inspired by Bill McKibben’s recent bold proposal that the President address the dual crises of Ukraine and climate by invoking the Defense Production Act to produce and ship massive numbers of electric heat pumps to Europe, thereby diminishing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, the Federal Policy Team is adding this proposal to our demand that the President to declare a climate emergency. For those who’d like to join us in contacting the White House about both of these issues, check out Action 4 in Build Back Fossil Free’s handy lobbying tool. Their sample letter doesn’t include the heat pump idea yet, but feel free to add that into yours. Pressed for time? Personalize this message.
Recognizing that the world cannot meaningfully address the climate crisis if recurring Covid variants continue to hinder climate action, we urge you to sign the End the Pandemic Now petition, which asks the President to immediately take action to make vaccines available around the globe.
And if you want to do more than sign a petition, consider joining this in-person event:
Mass Die-In to End Covid Monopolies
Friday, March 11, 1:00pm
University of Washington, 4063 Spokane Lane, Seattle 98105
In person! RSVP here.
It’s worth noting that according to Public Citizen, because the Moderna vaccine was created through NIH funding, the President has the ability to make its information available to other countries.
To join the Federal Policy Team, sign up here!
YOUTH CLIMATE STRIKE
Climate Strikes showcase the power, voice, and moral authority of youth!
As the first generations to feel the impact of climate change, we’re also the last generations that can change the course of the climate emergency.
Inaction on climate is a profound intergenerational injustice. Children born in 2020 will face 7x more extreme heat waves and 172 million children in the global south will experience 50x more climate disaster heat waves in their lifetimes.
We need all generations backing up the youth voice. Join Fridays for Future, Climate Action Families, and youth taking action this March 25th locally and globally:
Youth Global Climate Strike
Friday, March 25
Sign up here for final times and location.
With the stakes so high, we can’t wait on the sidelines, instead, we’re heading to the frontlines to demand climate action now!
THE PEOPLE’S POWER
As Puget Sound Energy’s disappointing Clean Energy Implementation Plan provokes strong responses from regional leaders, the East King County Public Utility District campaign is gathering strength.
The campaign is delighted to announce a meeting last week with a Snoqualmie Tribe working group convened in support of the campaign! The campaign is grateful for the Tribe’s involvement and looks forward to working together to secure a better energy future for East King County.
The King County Democrats also recently passed a Resolution of Support; the campaign is working through all the other local legislative districts to make sure the campaign earns their support as well.
Anyone interested in getting involved with the campaign can sign up to volunteer here. They have both remote and in-person opportunities, including signature-gathering, post carding, and social media action .
Fundraising is underway to bring on a paid field organizer to take the campaign to the next level, so donations would be greatly appreciated.
STORY CIRCLE
Maybe you’ve heard? We’re making a zine—and we still want your art, poem, essay, story, song, or recipe! We’ve extended our submissions deadline until mid-March, but will soon switch to the layout phase; email us ASAP if you plan to submit so we can save you space.
The theme of our 2022 zine are the elements: earth, air, fire, water. Join us in exploring the elements through balance and imbalance.
You can also join us at an upcoming zine build:
In Person Storyboarding & Layout Party
Wednesday, March 23rd, 6:00–8:00pm
University District Area
In Person Assembly Party
Saturday, April 9, 1:00–4:30pm
Location TBD
To register for either event, email storycircle@350seattle.org.
CLIMATE CHANGE ENABLER
What do fossil fuels have to do with war? How does the US military intensify climate change and environmental destruction? How does militarism perpetuate systems of dominance and oppression? (Here’s a hint.)
350 Seattle is a member of two antiwar coalitions, the Seattle Antiwar Coalition (SAWC) and Washington Against Nuclear Weapons (WANW). WANW is convened by Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, and 350 Seattle is one of 51 organizations who are part of WANW statewide.
This is an opportunity for us to contribute to understandings of how the development of nuclear weapons have sickened and displaced people, especially Indigenous and working-class people. Questions of the safety and timeliness of nuclear power also are relevant. Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors; this is the first that time war has been waged in a country with so many vulnerable facilities.
Seattle Antiwar Coalition includes Earth Care Not Warfare, Veterans for Peace Outpost 92, South Seattle Climate Action, Ground Zero, ANSWER, and Seattle Revolutionary Socialists; membership is growing. Starting in April, SAWC will resume its monthly in-person presence every first Tuesday:
Seattle Antiwar Coalition In-Person Bannering
Tuesday April 5, 11am–12:30pm
Federal Building, 915 2nd Ave, Seattle 98104
Please come help hold the 350 Seattle banner if you can be downtown at that time—not possible for everyone, we realize! If you have ideas about the intersection of war, militarism, climate, and environmental destruction, please contact Mary. Join us on first Tuesdays if you can—or be in touch with your ideas.
A PLANET TO WIN BOOK GROUP
A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal is an excellent short read for understanding what a green new deal could look like, and more importantly, what it is going to take to win one. We plan to have in-person discussion meetings of the whole book, starting next month:
A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal
Sunday, April 3, 4:00–7:00pm
Thursday, May 12, 6:00–8:30pm
Location TBD, learn more and sign up here!
No time for a whole book right now? There is also a podcast option that’s enough to get you started and able to join the discussion.
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.
CLIMATE GRIEF AND EMPOWERMENT
The news can be dreadful these days—irreversible climate impacts, threat of agricultural collapse, on top of the ongoing crises happening around the world. When the scale of these issues feels beyond our control, it might be tempting to numb our feelings.
Climate Grief and Empowerment
Saturday, March 12, 10:00–11:45am
Online, register here.
But what if we can hold space with each other to process our climate grief instead? What if we can empower each other to channel those feelings into action? You are invited to be a part of our community at Climate Grief and Empowerment where we meet monthly to do just that.
THE PEOPLE’S ECHO
Every month The People’s Echo hosts both an online and in-person song circle. You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter here.
We’re excited to host an online song circle dedicated to Nigunim. This circle will be facilitated by alinahh ever (eh-vair) and Madelyn Ilana.
Nigunim Song Circle
Thursday, March 24, 6:00–7:30pm
Online, details here.
Nigunim are wordless Jewish melodies which are easy to sing and help us to connect deeply with our hearts and with Source. Since they transcend language, they allow us to move out of our rational minds and into deep feeling places. There are many old nigunim and plenty of new ones coming through songwriters today.
In Person Song Circle
Sunday, March 27, 1:00–3:00pm
Seward Park, 5900 Lake Washington Blvd S, Seattle 98118
Shareable event page with details, here.
Join us to share songs with each other that feel relevant to the times we are living in. Please bring a song that is easy and teachable, that we can all sing together. Preferably 4-6 lines. This is for community singing. We don’t believe in good/bad binaries—there are no good or bad singers. We lift up all voices and find our power is in singing together.
On the map, we will be meeting at the yellow Shelter #3 in case it rains. Please bring whatever you need to stay warm… and a chair if you need one. There are benches there also.
INTUITIVE MOVEMENT WORKSHOPS
These will be a fun and rejuvenating way to nourish our bodies for self-care and community connection, with our earth, and each other. These workshops are places for us to restore our bodies and spirits with movement that is both relaxing and fun. The workshops begin with a gentle warm-up, then a short, guided meditation, a movement session, and sharing time. Facilitated by Rhia Gowen, a Person-Centered Expressive Arts counselor and teacher with over 25 years’ experience.
When and where: Outside, masked in-person in a park, and/or online—dates to be worked out with those who sign up here!
ARTFUL ACTIVISM
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 creating a banner for solidarity with the striking Teamsters and more—NO skills needed! Bring your mask, smiling eyes, clothes for painting, snacks, and water!
In Person Art Build
Saturday, March 12, Noon–4:00pm
Gasworks Park Play Barn, 2101 N Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98103
To find us, pass the bathrooms and the building with the red machinery in front of it, then walk through the Play Barn building to the southeast end—we’ll be there! RSVP to Lisa pleaseso we can let you know about any date change, etc.
Covid safety: Wearing masks is still our default. Please, if you have even mild symptoms or possible exposures, just sit this one out! If you have needs or concerns, please email 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 short list of people who get contacted for smaller art builds, 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!
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, March 21, 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!
Take heart, good people—these are trying times!
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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