COVID Resources
PBS News Hour
Commentary
Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
Our Amazing Clean Energy Future Has Arrived
— Foreign Policy
The case for conservation leasing
Federal rules make it illegal for environmentalists to lease oil- and gas-rich lands in order to protect them. It’s time for that to change.
— Grist
Which Financial Assets Do Americans Own?
Alright, someone had to say it: Is it time to get rid of the internet?
— Ask Umbra | Grist
Solutions
Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment
State Climate Policy Network (SCPN)
At Climate X Change, click on the states for up-to-date policies and emissions data.
This is our opportunity to get ahead of industry and to change the rules of the game
— Sierra Club
The Department of Ecology is making a new rule for how fossil fuel projects will be assessed by the end of this year.
Kick Off! Let’s Get Ahead of Industry
Tuesday February 23rd 6:30- 8pm
Climate Justice is
Protecting Community Health
Tuesday, March 9th 6:30 – 8pm
Centering Frontline Communities
Tuesday, March 23rd 6:30 – 8pm
Register here for one or all of the events!
Support the HEAL Act
Washington SB 5141
Regional Actions
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85065885731?pwd=SFROOXkycHR5MmFpVmZwcnZ4NTUwUT09
Meeting ID: 850 6588 5731
Passcode: 902181
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,85065885731#,,,,*902181# US (Tacoma)
+16699009128,,85065885731#,,,,*902181# US (San Jose)
The Washington STRONG Act has arrived!
Here are four ways you can support this transformative legislation:
- Got 3 minutes? Retweet our video and share this Facebook post to help spread the word on social media. (Pro Tip: Tag your legislators to help get their attention!)
- Got 4 minutes? Ask an organization that you work with or volunteer for to support Washington STRONG.
- Got 5 minutes? Call the Chair of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, Sen. Reuven Carlyle, to request that a committee hearing be scheduled for Washington STRONG as soon as possible: 360.786.7670
- Through February 22nd, The Carbon WA Board is matching up to $15,000 in donations to fund additional advocacy.
FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS EFFECTS
- Climate Change | You can participate in Environmental Lobby Day from Feb. 8-10.
- Energy | Advocate for clean and renewable sources.
- Natural Resources | Protect natural resources that are impacted by climate change and provide resilience.
- Transportation | A new transportation budget will be adopted this year and emphasis will be on reducing the net impact of transportation systems on climate change.
Washington Legislative Webinar Series on Video
- Get involved with the WA Bus to support their mission of increasing political access and participation for youth.
- Join 350’s twice-a-week email alerts on climate bills here and read their legislative priorities here.
- Read more about the Resilient Future Platform and the Evergreen Future Platform and sign up for updates!
- Youth who would like to learn more about climate science or climate-related career advice are encouraged to reach out to Zane Gustafson (zanegustafon@outlook.com)
Webinar 3: Fixing WA’s Upside Down Tax Code
- Register for Hunger Action Day: Appointments will be made for Feb. 12 but trainings and webinars will be provided beginning Feb. 8
- Sign up for Northwest Harvest’s advocacy updates here
- I have attached Balance Our Tax Code’s legislative priorities below
Webinar 4: Fighting for Social Justice Across WA
- Sign the Washington Can’t Wait Petition and sign up for their email list for alerts. You can also become a Washington Can’t Wait Advocate
- Donate to WA for Black Lives and ask your state legislators to support the WA for Black Lives policy priorities.
Three free upcoming events in February
featuring WELC staff:
- The Road Ahead with the Biden Administration
- A Conversation About Beavers
- The West Is Burning: A Landmark Stories Documentary
Washington: Help Save Endangered Orcas, Restore Wild Salmon, and Honor Commitments to Northwest Tribes
National Actions
Tell Your Senators: Confirm Biden’s Pro-Environment Nominees Without Delay!
350.org is excited to announce the launch of a nationwide effort to #BuildBackFossilFree
You are invited to join the launch and orientation call on
Thursday, February 11 at 4:00pm PST
Please sign our petition calling on Joe Biden to #StopLine3 immediately and invoke a climate test for all pipelines.
— act.350.org
Sign up TODAY for your
Build Back Fossil Free toolkit!
Local/Regional News
Announcing Environmental Priorities Coalition (EPC)’s 2021 Bill Tracker!
Make sense of environmental work happening this legislative session.
During a decade when Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia flouted carbon emissions goals, activists fighting fossil fuel exports made global impact.
— Grist
Clallam Public Utility District OKs membership dues after debate
CPUD recently voted 2-1 to pay a whopping $28,919 of ratepayer dollars to NWRP for its media disinformation campaign.
Only $10,000 for the Clallam County Economic Development Council.
— Peninsula Daily News
Local and Regional Newsletters
National/International News
The U.S. commits to tripling its protected lands. Here’s how it could be done.
In a new executive order, the president promised to protect 30 percent of U.S. land and 30 percent of U.S. oceans by 2030.
— National Geographic
Carbon: Getting to net zero is surprisingly feasible, and affordable
Reaching zero net emissions of carbon dioxide from energy and industry by 2050 can be accomplished by rebuilding U.S. energy infrastructure to run primarily on renewable energy, at a net cost of about $1 per person per day.
The Anthropocene Era in 5 Charts
Key Insights from the 2019 IPCC special report on climate change.
Our Impact on Climate Change and Global Land Use.
— Visual Capitalist
Watch
America Is All In Kick-Off Webinar
There’s a technical difficulty at 19 minutes in on the recording, you can skip ahead to minute 24.
These are the key climate moments in the upcoming year
Learn more about a range of topics related to how renewable energy supply helps meet demand for green power.
How global electric car sales defied Covid-19 in 2020
Electric car sales in 2020 broke all records amidst the crisis caused by the pandemic.
— International Energy Agency
Report: Advancing Clean Energy in the States
— League of Conservation Voters
National Newsletters
Biden Can’t Heal America By Himself. Here’s How to Help
A Pennsylvania Mother’s Path to Insurrection
Climate in Politics
Two mayors offer starkly different views on Biden’s climate policies
— PBS News Hour
A trio of Democratic lawmakers wants President Biden to declare a “climate emergency” as soon as possible.
— Grist
Delaying efforts to address climate change until 2030 will cost the U.S. 72 percent more than if it starts charting a course to net-zero emissions right now,
The Costs of Delay.
— Grist
Senators are still debating whether cutting fossil fuels will save the planet
Much of the hearing was taken up by Republican-led discussions that cast doubt on the fact that replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy reduces emissions.
— Grist
Biden’s treacherous path to 100% clean energy just got a little easier
American cities self-reporting their emissions under-report their greenhouse gas discharge by 18 percent on average
— The Hill
The World’s Projected Energy Mix, 2018-2040
Carbon capture and storage has been touted by Republicans as a cure-all for rising emissions. But NRG Energy, the company behind the nation’s only power plant with functioning carbon capture technology, announced last week that it plans to shutter the carbon capture unit this coming June because it’s uneconomical. The technology deployed by the coal-fired plant to scrub its emissions was so energy-intensive it actually required a whole new natural gas plant to power it.”
— Zoya Teirstein | Grist
Federal Agencies Have Lost Hundreds of Scientists Since 2017.
“Hope Matters“ — Dr Elin Kelsey
Password – Hope
Peninsula College, Port Angeles, WA
Studium Generale, January 21, 2021
A teacher asked each child in her classroom the first half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb.
The turmoil of 2020 provides a chance to reimagine the world.
— Grist
Edited by Philip Clayton, Kelli M. Archie, Jonah Sachs and Evan Steiner
Foreword by Kim Stanley Robinson
The New Possible offers twenty-eight unique visions of what can be, if instead of choosing to go back to normal, we choose to go forward to something far better.
Nan Bray is an oceanographer and climate scientist who has farmed superfine merinos near Oatlands, Tasmania since 2000
Note to Yarns from the Farm readers: This is a series of articles on climate change that I’ve written for our local monthly newsletter, the
Southern Midlands Regional News.
Cheers, Nan
