Tag: Trump

Lion statue in front of Congress in a mask

Stop Trump’s next Dirty Deal

May 25, 2020

Earlier this month, we warned you that Trump and team were bailing out fossil fuel companies with money stolen from Congressionally-appropriated funds to help families, workers and small businesses survive COVID-19. And we’ve been fighting ever since to make sure Congress’ next COVID-19 bailout bill protects people, not polluters.

On May 15, the House passed another the $3 trillion relief package, called the HEROES act. There’s some excellent stuff in the bill –including many parts of the Essential Workers Bill of Rights (EWBOR), which we support.

But in their haste to protect essential workers, House Leadership left out all the stuff that would have stopped Trump from stealing the money, again, and using it to Bailout fossil fuels– including the ReWIND act.

Congress is on a recess for Memorial Day, but when they come back, negotiation over this bill is expected to be their first priority. Will you email your Representative now and tell them to get it right this time – and make sure Congressional bailouts help people and essential workers, not polluters?

The ReWIND Act would prevent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds from being diverted to fossil fuel companies, making more money available for essential workers and communities. And it’s not as if House leadership doesn’t know about the problem: numerous reports have documented that Trump and his dirty associates are already diverting billions of taxpayer dollars to fossil fuel companies.

With more than 40 House and Senate cosponsors already, it’s a popular idea with a real chance of being included in the next Congressional relief bill. But Senator McConnell and the Republican-led Senate have indicated they will not consider the HEROES Act, ReWIND, or any form of additional COVID response bill, saying they have “not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately”.  And then he adjourned the entire Senate for two weeks so they could go home and have a vacation.  

We have a lot more work to do. Can you email your Member of Congress and tell them:

  1. Get back to work NOW – take up the HEROEs act negotiation with the Senate ;
  2. Fight to pass, and keep key provisions of the Essential Workers Bill of Rights in the next COVID response bill;, And
  3. Cosponsor the ReWIND Act to stop another fossil fuel industry bailout at the expense of public health crisis and frontline workers, and add it to HEROES during negotiation!

header image by  Tim Aubry / Greenpeace

Tell the Senate to get serious about Essential Workers

May 23, 2020

Essential workers are on the frontlines of this pandemic, and many are working in high-risk conditions without appropriate equipment, safety standards, or job protections. But Mitch McConnell and his Republican Senate say they have “not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately. And to prove the point, they just went home for a two-week vacation.

Essential workers are home care workers, grocery and drug store employees, domestic workers, food service workers, government employees, janitorial staff, farm workers, delivery drivers, warehouse workers, transit workers, and child care workers. Anyone who has to remain on the job without the ability to telework during this emergency.

These workers put their health on the line when they go to work every day, often without adequate worker protections and benefits. But instead of helping Essential workers, Donald Trump and Senator McConnell have conspired to give hundreds of millions of dollars (and counting) to the fossil fuel companies profiting off climate change. That’s money stolen from Congressionally-approved funds designated to help families, workers and small businesses survive COVID-19.

If you agree that essential workers deserve labor and health care protections, pick up the phone and call your Senators right now at 1-833-933-0204. Tell them to get back to work by taking up the House-passed HEROES act, improving it by keeping the Essential Workers Protections, and adding in key pieces of the ReWIND act as well.

Here’s what’s been happening: Last week, the House passed another the $3 trillion relief package, called the HEROES act. There’s some excellent stuff in the bill –including many parts of the Essential Workers Bill of Rights (EWBOR), which we support. If you haven’t heard of it yet, the parts of the Essential Workers Bill of Rights included in the HEROES act would provide $200 billion for hazard pay, paid sick and family leave, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers, and improved collective bargaining. HEROES is also also inclusive of immigrants, which is something that got left out of the initial Congressional response, and broadens the definition of ‘essential’ workers to include people who work in sanitation, grocery stores or as domestic aides.

But in their haste to pass HEROES, House Leadership left out a bunch of other good ideas we support from the bill, – including the ReWIND act that we emailed you about last week. Remember, the ReWIND Act would prevent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds from being diverted to fossil fuel companies, making more money available for essential workers and communities. And it’s not as if House leadership doesn’t know about the problem:  numerous reports in the last week have documented that Trump and his dirty associates are already diverting billions of taxpayer dollars to fossil fuel companies.

Most frustrating is that Senator McConnell and the Republican-led Senate have indicated they will not consider the HEROES Act, or any form of additional COVID response bill, anytime soon. And then he adjourned the entire Senate for two weeks so they could go home and have a vacation.  We have a lot more work to do.

HEROES has passed the House, so the first step is to get the Senate back to work, and back at the negotiating table. Some Republicans are beginning to realize they can’t just deny, lie, and dismiss the pandemic like Trump does. So if we we can get them back, and get them talking, we have room to negotiate. And right now the items we want on the table are HEROEs, the Essential Workers Bill of Rights, and ReWIND.

Call your Senators now at 833-933-0204 and tell them to get back to work by taking up the House-passed HEROES act, fight to keep the Essential Workers Protections, and improve it by adding in key pieces of the ReWIND act.

Reject Trump's Dirty Deal, ReWIND Act now!

No Dirty Deals, pass the ReWIND Act instead!

May 12, 2020

Congress is already negotiating on the next COVID-19 stimulus package, and Trump and his allies are pushing hard for another big bailout for fossil fuels. Alarmingly, some elected leaders are considering a dirty deal where they’d trade another fossil fuel bailout  for good-but-inadequate tools like tax credits for renewable energy and electric cars. 

Fortunately, not everyone is tempted by this devils bargain:  Dozens of Democrats in the House and Senate have signed on to support a new bill called the ReWIND act that would ban fossil fuel bailouts, and give us more control over the +$2 trillion Congress has already appropriated.  

So far, we’ve got more than 30 members of Congress on our side, but we need more than 200 to stop the dirty deal and pass the ReWIND act as part of the next Congressional stimulus bill. Can you write to your member of Congress now?

Now is the time to speak out: Amid a historic shock to energy and fossil fuel markets, the corrupt Trump Administration and their allies are scrambling for any way to use our tax dollars to prop up the fossil fuel industry. They’ve already tried offering special loans to fossil fuel companies, stopping enforcement of key environmental laws, waiving payments and taxes the oil and gas companies are supposed to pay, and more. Last week the Federal Reserve relaxed allowed more risky and un-profitable fossil fuel companies to get federal bailout dollars, and Republicans in Congress promptly demanded the fossil banks give them a loan.

Trump and his cronies can only get away with all this because Democrats in Congress failed to negotiate tough oversight and restrictions in their last relief bill, called the CARES act. A new bill called the ReWIND Act seeks to fix that and stop future fossil fuel bailouts. The ReWIND Act would block the Trump Administration from using COVID-19 stimulus funds to bail out big polluters, stop many of the schemes Trump has taken or may attempt to benefit the fossil fuel industry, and ensure that the public has a say to protect our health and wellbeing.

With nearly 40 cosponsors already, it’s a popular idea with a real chance of being included in the next Congressional relief bill. But some Corporate Democrats would rather negotiate a dirty deal than stand up to Trump and his corrupt cronies. An internal Morgan Stanley report leaked to the media showed that big banks are working with the fossil fuel industry to trade a fossil fuel bailout for renewable energy tax credits. 

​We can’t let that happen. We need to tell Congress NOW that there’s no time for a dirty deal as part of the next stimulus package​, and that passing the ReWIND Act would stop another fossil fuel industry bailout at the expense of public health crisis and frontline workers. Click here to tell your member of Congress: No Dirty Deals, cosponsor the ReWIND Act and push for its inclusion in the next stimulus bill!

People not polluters by Aaron Hughes

Big Oil Got Bailed out. We got sold out. #PeoplesBailout NOW.

May 1, 2020

All over the country and around the world, people need help. They need a bailout to afford medical care, feed their kids, stay safe, and eventually get back to work.

But instead, what did Donald Trump and his corrupt, fossil-fascist cronies do? They gave big oil a bailout. You heard that right, after weeks of us warning this would happen, and just days after the fossil fuel industry lobbied them to do so, Trump & Co announced today that they’re sending big oil and gas companies billions of dollars from the coronavirus lending programs that are supposed to help small business.

We can’t accept this. And tomorrow, millions of us are speaking out, going on strike, and demanding action as part of the #PeoplesBailout day of action. Can you join us?

Tomorrow, May 1, 2020, Amazon workers are going on strike for safer working conditions. Renters and homeowners are calling on landlords and banks to cancel rent and mortgage payments. Families are demanding utility corporations put an end to water and utility shutoffs. Small business owners are fighting to get relief funds so they can pay their employees, instead of bailing out Big Oil. Community members are calling for the release of people trapped in unsafe jails and detention centers. Nurses and grocery workers are calling for better safety protections and pay.

More than ever, it is clear: Our fights are connected. We need a people’s bailout that includes us all.

On May Day we’re coming together to make some noise and tell our stories in solidarity with one another. To unite our individual fights into a shared struggle.

May Day is an international day of action historically led by immigrants and workers to demonstrate strength and solidarity. This year as the pandemic forces us to keep our distance physically, it’s especially important that we come together in solidarity with those who are hit first and worst by climate change and the Pandemic: frontline workers, immigrants, black, indigenous, and communities of color. All those at the edges of our society at this moment.

All week long, we’ve been supporting digital actions with the amazing crew at #ShutDownDC. Tomorrow, they’re hosting a safe, physically distanced, car and bike parade connected to a live webinar on the #PeoplesBailout website. Together, we’ll tell those in power – from Congress to the White House, law enforcement, corporations, landlords, and Wall Street – that we need a #PeoplesBailout – relief that is informed by the people and supports the people directly.

Click here to join us in action online tomorrow.

strike divest vote

Earth Day Live 2020

April 22, 2020

This week, millions will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. It should have been a day of rallies and protests, concerts and action in the streets. But, as we’ve explained, this year, however, is anything but normal.

Instead of mass protests, from April 22 to 24 we’re joining a massive online action for Earth Day Live. That plan is for a three-day live stream focused on climate action, with each day hosting a different theme: Strike. Divest. Vote.

Each day will include training sessions, performances, and appearances to keep people engaged, informed, and inspired. There will be panel discussions, call in days, art builds, divestment, and lots and lots of social media with celebrities, politicians, scientists, and youth activists.

Click here to join us live online at EarthDayLive2020.org.

The coronavirus has laid bare the brutality and injustice of our current system. Millions of people have lost their jobs, are no longer able to pay their rent, student loans, credit card bills, utilities, or healthcare costs. That’s why we’re coming together for online action at a scale the climate movement has never done before.

Here’s an overview of what’s happening each day:

Wednesday, April 22, is a day to demonstrate our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Originally a day of mass mobilization, we are leaning into healing and togetherness to provide comfort and inspiration during this time of unknown and are centering the voices of frontline, Indigenous, and POC leaders. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.

Thursday, April 23, we will target financial institutions across the country. Led by the Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition, this day of action will bring urgent public attention to the fact that banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are complicit in funding, insuring, and investing in the climate crisis. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.

Friday, April 24, we will focus on political change with a nationwide voter registration day. We need leaders who will address this existential threat, and for this to happen, we need people to show up at the polls this year. We will be holding a digital, relational voter registration challenge to see which region of the country can register the most voters, and call on elected officials to support our demands. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.As the 24th is the first day of Ramadan, organizers will be working with the Muslim community to make sure events are accessible for those who are observing and use it as an opportunity to educate people on the holiday.

Click here to find out more about Earth Day Live and take part in one of the biggest days of digital action the climate movement has ever seen.

Online or offline, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day is a day to demonstrate our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean collective disengagement.

See you online at Earth Day live 2020

Tell Congress to bailout #PeoplenotPolluters

Use the power of art and social media to bail out #PeopleNotPolluters

April 16, 2020

For the last few weeks, thousands of us have been sending letters to Congress telling them to bail out #PeopleNotPolluters. But the pandemic has disrupted daily life for our elected leaders as well, and we’re hearing that most congressional offices are flooded in emails, and don’t have good systems for answering the phones while all their staff are quarantined at home.

Enter the magic of social media, art, and visual storytelling! If you’ve got an account with facebook, a twitter, or instagram (or any other social media platform) use it now to make sure they see and respond to our messages.

Here’s how:

The goal is to use your social media channels to send personal messages to your representatives in Congress:

  1. POST a video of yourself on twitter or facebook with a personalized message to Congress about why congress should put people first and not bail out the Fossil Fuel Industry – make sure to use the hashtag #PeopleNotPolluters so we can find you.
    1. Click here to find your member of Congress’ accounts on Facebook and Twitter
  2. TWEET at Congresspeople using the sample tweets in this toolkit (or come up with your own!)
  3. SHARE: Share these designs from the #PeopleNotPolluters & Stop The Money Pipeline Art Kit on social media. make sure to credit the amazing artists and illustrators who made them!

That’s it!

Want more easy, one-click actions? Share the letter campaign with your family and friends online:

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Or, just forward this post to your friends!
Tell Congress to bailout #PeoplenotPolluters

Tell Congress to bailout #PeopleNotPolluters

April 15, 2020

A few weeks ago, thousands of us took action to tell congress to prioritize people, not polluters in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law on March 27. Now, a new version is under debate in Congress, and the fossil fuel industry is working overtime to make sure they profit during this moment of crisis and pandemic. 

They’ve lobbied the EPA to drop all pollution controls. Pushed forward pipelines like Keystone XL. The coal industry event tried to get out of providing healthcare for sick workers. Now, fossil fuel companies are lobbying to get a huge chunk of the bailout funds that are meant to go to small businesses across the United States. 

Can you write to your member of Congress right now at tell them to protect #PeopleNotPolluters in the next round of Coronavirus response bills?

So far we’ve signed on to Five Principles for Just Covid-19 Relief and Stimulus, and backed the big, multi-movement call for a “people’s bailout.” Now, we’re adding 4 clear demands to our action, to make sure Congress hears us:

  1. Put Health Care Workers and All People on the Frontlines of COVID-19 First in the Emergency Response.
  2. Federal Assistance Must Support People, Not The Fossil Fuel Industry.
  3. Recovery Funds Should Provide a Just Transition for Fossil Fuel Workers and Communities Economically Dependent on Declining Fossil Fuel Production.
  4. Congress Must Conduct Exhaustive Oversight of the Trump Administration and Financial Sector.

But Trump and his dirty friends in the fossil fuel industry are hard at it as well. They’re lobbying to open up the $500 billion Trump Slush Fund to fossil fuels and use billions in taxpayer money to purchase oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, even though we’re already facing an oversupply. 

Trump and co aren’t trying to help workers in the fossil fuel industry, or keep people save during the pandemic. If they were, they’d be supporting universal healthcare, direct relief to working families, and personal protective equipment for all workers. No, this is all about using the cover of the crisis to make a buck, and push through dirty projects that we’d never allow in normal times.

Luckily, there are some climate champions in the House and Senate who are fighting back against these polluter handouts. We’ve told you previously about Senator Sanders, Warren, and others who are putting forward real solutions that protect people and communities.

Add to those leaders, great House Representatives like Rep. Omar who has been fighting to keep post offices open and expand access to basic banking services, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez who introduced a ban on fracking with Sen. Sanders just before the pandemic and continues to push for Green New Deal, and Rep Raskin who drafted a letter calling for a halt to pipeline construction during the pandemic.

And add to the urgency of our work that new research from Harvard university shows that an increase of only one microgram per cubic meter of fine particulate pollution leads to a 15% rise in deaths from COVID-19.

With more than 16 million people out of work, and pollution making people more sick, and more likely to get sick, this is no time to give a bailout to the fossil fuel industry. If we speak together now, and generate a big public outcry, we can make sure that big polluters aren’t allowed to profit off this pandemic. 

Together, we can ensure that we have a just and sustainable recovery to COVID-19. Sign now to demand Congress adopt our 4 demands for a just recovery that helps strengthen our communities and protect our climate.

2 weeks until Earth Day Live

Earth Day 2020- Live and online

April 8, 2020

April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and we’d planned to make it a BIG one. Hundreds of organizations representing millions of people worldwide were planning a massive global strike.

The plan was awesome, and audacious: with the first day (April 22) focussed on protest and climate history; the second day (April 23) focussed on Stopping the Money Pipeline of investors, banks and insurers profiting off climate chaos; And the third day (April 24) as the biggest one day strike from school or work in global history.

Then, of course, came the pandemic. And we needed to keep each other safe by moving our action online and physical distancing. Which is why From April 22 to 24, young people and adults are coming together for a three-day live stream event focused on climate action.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that we don’t get to hold the biggest all-out, in-the-streets day(s) of climate action in history. But it is still possible to take lots of action and make a lot of impact online. And as we’ve seen, fossil fuel profiteers, dirty politicians, and climate criminals have wasted no time in using the pandemic to push their agenda. So from April 22-24, it’s essential that we push back.

Can you join us? There’s 2 ways to participate:

  1. Click here if you’re a photographer, videographer, artist, musician, or have an existing affinity group or local action-team – sign up here to submit something (a song, a poem, a live-streamed one-person action etc) to be part of the 72 hour live stream at earthdaylive2020.org
  2. Everyone else, click here to sign up host your own earth day live event with friends. The Earth Day live team (including 198 methods) will be in touch to help you plan an event online, invite everyone to participate, and feature a couple of these local events each day as part of the 72 hours

Earth Day Live is a 72-hour live stream and online mobilization that aims to engage people across the country and the world in collective action to protect our climate and communities. Each day has a theme, and the live stream will include speakers, performances, and training sessions to keep you engaged, informed, and inspired. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.

Wednesday, April 22, is a day to demonstrate our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Originally a day of mass mobilization, we are leaning into healing and togetherness to provide comfort and inspiration during this time of unknown and are centering the voices of frontline, Indigenous, and POC leaders. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.

Thursday, April 23, we will target financial institutions across the country. Led by the Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition, this day of action will bring urgent public attention to the fact that banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are complicit in funding, insuring, and investing in the climate crisis. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.

Friday, April 24, we will focus on political change with a nationwide voter registration day. We need leaders who will address this existential threat, and for this to happen, we need people to show up at the polls this year. We will be holding a digital, relational voter registration challenge to see which region of the country can register the most voters, and call on elected officials to support our demands. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.As the 24th is the first day of Ramadan, organizers will be working with the Muslim community to make sure events are accessible for those who are observing and use it as an opportunity to educate people on the holiday.

Earth Day Live includes more than 350 partners, including 198 methods, who are working to amplify and mobilize around the strikes. While the strikes remain youth-led, we’re a part of a broader network that is truly collaborative, intergenerational, and intersectional.

As I said last September during the first global climate strike: this is the moment 198 methods was made for. The pandemic may have forced us to focus on the digital, as opposed to direct-action, parts of our mission; But nothing will stop us from taking action together to stop the climate crisis and building a more just, safe and equitable world for all.

Learn more and join us at earthdaylive2020.org

Stop Jordan Cove - sign now

Bad news about FERC & Jordan Cove

March 20, 2020

As we feared, and warned only yesterday, in the midst of the global pandemic the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) conditionally approved the Jordan Cove fracked gas export terminal and Pacific Connector pipeline today.

The approval is conditioned on Pembina, the Canadian fossil fuel corporation behind the project, qualifying for critical permits from the state of Oregon, three of which have already been denied or withdrawn. But it’s still an incredibly disappointing decision from a rogue, rubber stamp agency.

It was only last Thursday that Senate Republicans rammed through a vote on James Danly to be a new commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Danly is the first totally partisan nominee – traditionally one Democrat and one Republican are nominated together. While a handful of Senators commented on the unusual decision to stack a supposedly bi-partisan commission with three Republicans and one Democrat.

And more than 14,000 of us wrote demanding changes at FERC, and we delivered all your signatures to each Senator before the vote. But Danly is a fossil fuel industry darling, and Senators Murkowski, Manchin, and McConnell were eager for him to secure their majority on FERC, which oversees all inter-state pipelines and fossil fuel export facilities. Hours after Danly was confirmed FERC fast-tracked the application to build the Jordan Cove gas export terminal proposed in Oregon, which was denied a permit by one vote in February.

I’m not sure which is more frustrating: The fact that Senate Republicans stacked the commission so they could ram through a fossil fuel project, or that the Republican FERC majority took the time to meet during a pandemic to approve a project that the Oregon communities, their elected officials, and local environmental agencies already oppose.

For now, the good news is that Jordan Cove and the Pacific Connector Pipeline can’t be built unless and until local permits are issued — and three of them have been rejected in the last few months. As for what’s next, I’ll re-iterate our request to keep your eyes on the frontlines. You can do that by staying in touch with our friends at Beyond Extreme Energy about next steps on FERC, and you can sign on petition in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en.

You can also call on the Senate not to repeat their mistake this week by telling them to focus Corona virus response on people and communities, and not corporations and polluters. The Senate is starting debate tonight on a potential trillion dollar relief package for the corona virus. Initial bad ideas included direct bailouts of the fracking and fossil fuel industries. The more recent bad ideas have included a big bailout of the airline industry (who needs help to support workers, but doesn’t deserve a bailout without strings and scrutiny). Click here to tell your Senators to make sure any economic recovery bill helps workers and communities – not corporations and polluters.

Tell the Senate: People not pollution

Climate action in the age of Corona virus

March 18, 2020

It’s happened. A global pandemic crisis, which climate advocates have been warning was an ever-greater risk as permafrost and arctic ice melts, has arrived and nothing is the same in the wake of the virus. If you’re sick or caring for those who are – keep going. If you’ve got a little spare time, I’ve got 3 simple actions you can take (and a PS) right now to keep fighting climate change in the time of viral pandemic.

*UPDATE* Senators McConnell and Schumer are negotiating a corona virus response bill this evening (March 20, 2020). And, even more exciting, 16 Senators (Merkley, Booker, Sanders, Warren, Schatz, Hirono, Gillibrand, Wyden, Durbin, Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Harris, Carper, Van Hollen, Duckworth, Markey) have issued the letter pressing on Senators Schumer and McConnell to include a national moratorium on all electricity, water, telecom and other shut-offs in the coronavirus stimulus package.

Click here or use the links below to send a letter to your Senators, now updated with this info and demand!

  1. Tell the Senate to focus on economic relief for people and communities, not the biggest polluting corporations on earth.
  2. Keep your eyes on the frontlines. We’ve already seen attempts to arrest protestors, expedite fossil fuel projects, and other climate crimes during the pandemic. Start by signing our solidarity petition with the Wet’suwet’en in Canada and #ShutDownKKR.
  3. Learn about mutual aid efforts to build an emergency Green New Deal right now in our own communities. Get involved how you can with your neighbors – as our friends at ShutDownDC said: solidarity is the best medicine.

More details, updates and news are below.

And my PS is simply that this project was created to provide digital support for direct action movements fighting climate change. The direct action work is having a moment of crisis and opportunity, but the digital part is more important than ever. Stay tuned for more emails, posts, actions and asks from us in the next few weeks as we try and skill up the movement and retool out tactics to adapt to our quickly changing times.

Tell the Senate to invest in people, not polluters

As I type, the US Senate is considering a potential trillion dollar ($1,000,000,000,000) economic relief package. Initial bad ideas included direct bailouts of the fracking and fossil fuel industries. The more recent bad ideas have included a big bailout of the airline industry (who needs help to support workers, but doesn’t deserve a bailout without strings and scrutiny).

Senate champions like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders (and others) are pushing back on those bad ideas, and raising questions about how to condition economic assistance on plans to pay workers, invest in communities, and more. Sanders, Warren and 14 others (Merkley, Booker, Schatz, Hirono, Gillibrand, Wyden, Durbin, Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Harris, Carper, Van Hollen, Duckworth, Markey) have issued a letter pressing on Senators Schumer and McConnell to include a national moratorium on all electricity, water, telecom and other shut-offs in the coronavirus stimulus package.

This is the urgent thing you can do now: Click here to tell your Senators to make sure any economic recovery bill helps workers and communities – not corporations and polluters.

Keep your eyes on the Frontlines

Over the last few weeks as this crisis has developed, we’ve seen authoritarians in the Trump administration and elsewhere use the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on public debate and push through fossil fuel projects. As our dear-friends at Rising Tide said earlier: We need all eyes on the frontlines.

A few examples from the last few days of authoritarianism and fossil-fueled despots acting up:

  1. Last Thursday, Senate Republicans rammed through a vote on James Danly to be a new commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Danly is the first totally partisan nominee – traditionally one Democrat and one Republican are nominated together. And more than 14,000 of us wrote demadning changes at FERC (all your signatures were delivered to each Senator before the vote) But Danly is a fossil fuel industry darling, and Senators Murkowski, Manchin and McConnell were eager for him to secure their majority on FERC, which oversees all inter-state pipelines and fossil fuel export facilities. And now we know why: Hours after Danly was confirmed FERC fast-tracked the application to build the Jordan Cove gas export terminal proposed in Oregon, which was denied a permit by one vote in February. *Update* Sad to report that less than a week after ramming through a partisan nominee, FERC did vote to approve the Jordan Cove terminal in Oregon. Read more here.
  2. The comment period on Trump’s radical plan to gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) closed last week, three days before Trump declared a National Emergency on corona virus. And the Trump team continues to push forward with efforts to ban science, public input, and community opposition to fossil fuel projects.
  3. The same company that wants to build the KeystoneXL pipeline, TCEnergy (formerly TransCanada), is about to start building a multibillion fracked gas pipeline in Canada. It’s set to cut right through Wet’suwet’en lands without the consent of their hereditary chiefs. In the last month, police have raided Wet’suwet’en protest camps with assault rifles, dogs, sound cannons, and helicopters.

Now, all eyes are on Wet’suwet’en — and their hereditary chiefs are urgently calling out for massive global support. KKR is in the process of buying 65% of Coastal GasLink. If we can stop the sale, we can help stop the pipeline from being built. Take a moment to sign our #ShutDownKKR petition and tell all your friends to do the same!

If you’ve already signed (more than 125,000 of us have already) check out the #ShutDownKKR: Get Your Hands Off Wet’suwet’en Lands! Toolkit for more information on how you can take action.

Solidarity is the best medicine.

In response to the coronavirus, community-based mutual aid groups are forming to support each other by sharing resources, running errands, providing financial support, and emotional care to each other. Dozens of groups have formed or been re-formed in the last few days.

Here are a few idea ideas on how you can take action for a just response to the coronavirus, from our friends at Rising Tide North America:

PS – What’s next

This is the dawning of a new age of organizing. As you’ve heard, this spring’s climate strikes, which were going to be the biggest climate mobilization in global history, are advising us to not plan in-person events and rallies.

Other networks we’re a part of, like the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition and ShutDownDC are similarly adapting their plans for big, rebellious spring actions.

When I started this project after Trump’s election, I thought we could be of service by offering digital support to direct action campaigns on climate change. Over the last few years, we’ve done a lot of that – some of it very recently as you can see from the #2 section above.

Now, as public events, gatherings and protests are canceled, there’s even more need for what we do. We’ve already started talking to our old friends at Beyond Extreme Energy about a series of webinars or live-streams that share skills for campaigning online in an era of social-distancing. We’ve got decades of experience, and dozens of examples of using facebook live, websites, call and text tools, and more to drive change and back up actions in the streets. And we intend to share what we know, learn more about what you and other groups are doing, and build a bigger, more courageous and more digitally-empowered movement for radical climate action in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned for updates later this week, and more ways you can be learn, teach and engage online.

And we intend to share what we know, learn more about what you and other groups are doing, and build a bigger, more courageous and more digitally-empowered movement for radical climate action in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned for updates later this week, and more ways you can be learn, teach and engage online.