Category Archives: Actions

Actions you can take to address the climate crisis

$170K grant will facilitate climate planning on the NOP

Once again, partnerships pay off: The Puget Sound Partnership, along with its local stakeholders’ group known as the Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network, have awarded $170,000 to the North Olympic Development Council (a local coalition of governments, businesses, NGOs, and citizens) to develop multi-benefit local climate action plans that integrate with local governmental comprehensive and shoreline master plans, as well as other local recovery plans. This project builds upon a previous grant project that developed the Climate Change Preparedness Plan for the North Olympic Peninsula. Olympic Climate Action assisted with the application and will assist in the implementation as well, just as we did with the Climate Preparedness Plan.

Help the 350.org WA — Civic Action Team

Hello Climate Action Team!


1615: Climate calls made to legislators!
932: Climate comments left on bills!
2570: Climate emails sent to legislators!
5117: total legislator contacts made by the Civic Action Team in 2020!

9: Days left in the legislative session!

We’re now in the home stretch with a big cut-off looming on Friday at 5pm when bills must be voted off the floor. Ready to do some heavy lifting? Great!

House bills ready for a Senate floor vote

Here are two climate-related House bills ready for a floor vote in the Senate. Suction Dredge Mining protects salmon by regulating the awful practice of suction dredge mining, and Aircraft Noise Abatement provides mitigations for airport noise.

Please call these Senate Majority leaders and ask that these bills receive a floor vote:

Majority Leader, Sen. Andy Billig (D-03) — (360) 786-7604  — Andy.Billig@leg.wa.gov
Majority Floor Leader, Sen. Marko Liias (D-21) — (360) 786-7640 — Marko.Liias@leg.wa.gov

Script : “Hello, I’m calling Senator [Name] because of his role in Senate leadership and I have two bills that I would like to see receive a floor vote. May I give you the bill numbers?”

Next let’s make sure that four bills in the Senate Rules Committee get moved to the floor…

House bills that need to be “pulled” to the Senate floor

Several House bills that you’ve promoted during these last weeks need your attention one more time! Natural Gas Transmission incentivizes utilities to fix methane leaks (duh!), GHG Emission Limits aligns our state’s reduction targets with current science, Commercial Property Clean Energy encourages energy efficiency retrofits of existing commercial buildings, and Urban and Community Forestry benefits impacted communities.

Please call and write these members of the Senate Rules Committee and request that these bills be pulled for a floor vote:

Vice Chair, Sen. Karen Keiser (D-33) — (360) 786-7664 — Karen.Keiser@leg.wa.gov
Sen. John McCoy (D-38) — (360) 786-7674 — John.McCoy@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-48) — (360) 786-7694 — Patty.Kuderer@leg.wa.gov
Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-43) — (360) 786-7628 — Jamie.Pedersen@leg.wa.gov

Script : “Hello, I’m calling Senator [Name] because they sit on the Rules Committee. There are several bills that haven’t been pulled to the House floor for a vote yet and it’s very important that they pass this session. May I give you the bill numbers?”

  • HB 2518, Natural Gas Transmission 
  • HB 2311, Greenhouse Gas Emission Limits
  • HB 2405, Commercial Property Clean Energy (C-PACER)
  • HB 2768, Urban and Community Forestry

Now, let your Senator know these bills need to pass before Friday’s cut-off. Click on each bill link below, verify your address (which can take two clicks on some devices), and ask your Senator to Please support this bill with your vote on the Senate floor . (Asking for a response gets a bit more attention.)

Suction Dredge Mining, HB 1261
Aircraft Noise Abatement, HB 1847 
Natural Gas Transmission, HB 2518
Greenhouse Gas Emission Limits, HB 2311
Commercial Property Clean Energy (C-PACER), HB 2405
Urban and Community Forestry, HB 2768

There, doesn’t that feel great? Now let’s do the bills in the other chamber…

Senate bills ready for a House floor vote

Here are three significant Senate bills that are ready for a vote on the House floor: Clean Car Standards makes more electric cars available, Sustainable Farms and Fields establishes a grant program for farmers sequestering carbon, and Accessory Dwelling Units increases affordable housing options.

Please call and write these House Majority leaders to ask that these three bills receive a floor vote:

Majority Leader, Rep. Pat Sullivan (D-47) — (360) 786-7858 — Pat.Sullivan@leg.wa.gov
Majority Floor Leader, Rep. Monica Jurado Stonier (D-49) — (360) 786-7872 — Monica.Stonier@leg.wa.gov

Script : “Hello, I’m calling Representative [Name] because of his/her role in House leadership and I have three bills that I would like to see receive a floor vote. May I give you the bill numbers?”

  • SB 5811, Clean Car Standards (Zero Emission Vehicles)
  • SB 5947, Sustainable Farms and Fields
  • SB 6617, Accessory Dwelling Units

Next, let’s make sure these two bills get moved to the floor…

Bills that need to be “pulled” to the House floor

Here are two bills ready to be pulled to the House floor calendar, one banning offshore drilling and a new version of the Clean Air Rule Authority bill, arguably the most impactful climate bill of the session. 

Please call and write these members of the House Rules Committee and request that these bills be pulled for a floor vote:

Rep. Noel Frame (D-36) — (360) 786-7814 — Noel.Frame@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tina Orwall (D-33) — (360) 786-7834 — Tina.Orwall@leg.wa.gov

Script : “Hello, I’m calling Rep. [Name] because they sit on the Rules Committee. There are two bills that haven’t been pulled to the House floor for a vote yet, and it’s very important that they move forward. May I give you the bill numbers?”

  • SB 6432, Off-Shore Oil Extraction
  • HB 2957, Indirect Greenhouse Gases (Clean Air Authority)

Now let’s tell our Reps these five bills need to pass before Friday’s cut-off.

Click on the bill numbers below, verify your address, and ask both of your Representatives to Please support this bill with your vote on the House floor . (Asking for a response gets a bit more attention.)

Clean Car Standard (Zero Emission Vehicles), SB 5811
Sustainable Farms and Fields, SB 5947
Accessory Dwelling Units, SB 6617
Off-Shore Oil Extraction, SB 6432
Indirect Greenhouse Gases (Clean Air Authority), HB 2957

Last but not least, SB 5323 , Banning Single Use Plastic Bags , needs a final push. Click here , verify your address and ask both of your Representatives, Please support this bill and contact House Finance Chair Gael Tarleton to move the bill to the floor. (Asking for a response gets a bit more attention.)

Thanks for your hard work for these last weeks! And as always, please let us know what you did!

— Selden, David, and Katherine for the 350 WA Civic Action Team.

PS. So are we done?? Not quite! We expect some late-breaking opportunities next week to support bills exempt from this week’s cut-off. So don’t collapse from exhaustion just yet!

THE CHEHALIS AT A CROSSROADS

THE CHEHALIS AT A CROSSROADS:  PLANS FOR A FLOOD CONTROL DAM THREATEN THE HEADWATERS

If a dam is built, the populations of spring and fall Chinook that spawn above the dam site may go extinct

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Twin Harbors Waterkeeper

Chehalis dam would not address all major storms,
nor regular, shallow flooding
State Environmental Review Process
SEPA Draft Environmental Impact Statement

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CHEHALIS: A WATERSHED MOMENT OFFICIAL PREVIEW

Washington Department of Ecology – NEWS

Feb. 27, 2020 | Contact  Curt Hart, communications, 360-407-6944, @ecologyWA

Environmental evaluation for proposed Chehalis River flood reduction project ready for reviewPublic can review, comment on draft environmental study through April 27 

Continue reading →

OCA has Endorsed the National Fracking Ban Act

Now, here’s what we can do about getting it passed . . .

Hello everyone, thank you so much for endorsing the Fracking Ban Act introduced by Senator Sanders and Representative Ocasio-Cortez! My name is Thomas, I’m the National Climate Organizing Manager at Food & Water Action and I’ll be sharing update on the bill via this list.

This morning, we publicly released the letter with over 570 organizations signed on in support of the bill. The letter will remain open throughout the year, but is an incredible show of strength just two weeks after the bill was first introduced. Here are a few materials to share and promote:

Continue reading →

LSRD Breach Now! Rally — January 23rd

Facebook Event at Orca Oracle Bus Carpool — https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/a3uj90

Join advocates for salmon,
orcas,
tribal rights and
fiscal responsibility

to rally on the Washington Capitol steps,
Jan. 23, 2020 at 11 am

in support of breaching
the 4 Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs) now. 

Gov Inslee is taking written comments on his “LSRD Stakeholder Study” through Jan. 24, but has no public meetings set around the Salish Sea, nor is he allowing any public comments at his 3 “Stakeholder Meetings” [set in Clarkston, Tri-Cities and Vancouver].

Speakers, signs and songs will let Gov. Inslee know that the time has come to breach these dams now based on science, economics and treaty rights!

No public comment is taken at the Stakeholder Meetings. 
The Stakeholder Rally welcomes open public comment. Come be heard and seen as
We the People advocate for saving salmon, orca, and taxpayer money.

More info and carpooling link will be available at the Facebook event

You may print and display the Stakeholder Rally Poster.

flyer-handout-1-2Download

FridaysForFuture demonstrations in PA

Every Friday at noon at the downtown fountain

#FridaysForFuture is a movement that began in August 2018, after 15-year-old Greta Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks, to protest the lack of action on the climate crisis. She posted what she was doing on Instagram and Twitter and it soon went viral.

Greta decided to continue striking every Friday until Swedish policies provided a safe pathway to well below 2 degrees C, in line with the Paris agreement. Millions of people around the globe have joined Greta, committing to strike every Friday until real action is taken to halt our carbon output. 

In Port Angeles, in solidarity with this movement, we will be striking from noon-1 every Friday in front of the downtown fountain (First and Laurel Streets). We invite all to come join this international movement and add a presence and voice to our town and to the global consciousness around climate change. 

Things to consider from the FridaysForFuture.org website

FridaysForFuture: ActivismRiskZone

  1. Fridaysforfuture want you to only strike in a way, that you feel safe with.
  2. Many Fridaysforfuture strikers have a police approval for their strike.
  3. It is common for these approvals to only allow a quiet, sitting protest.
  4. A. ARZ: ActivismRiskZone is a working group aiming to support activism in risk zones. Use #ARZ_helps if a minor Human Rights violation occurs and you would like to lift awareness
    B. Fridaysforfuture are unlikely to be able to provide legal support if there are problems, so FFF advises strikers to liaise with local Non Government Organisations and email Arz@fridaysforfuture.org. These NGOs, for example, Amnesty, Greenpeace, 350, WWF, usually know local lawyers, who are well versed in protest situations.
    C. Recommended reading for ActivismRiskZone
  5. We are a peaceful and quiet striking organisation, but unfortunately we have already seen examples in some countries, where some individuals or organisations try to join a strike for the purpose of causing trouble. Please take care and prioritise your own safety.
  6. Fridaysforfuture recommends that all strikers at risk use anonymous style emails if you would like to be contactable from the map, e.g. FFF_happystriker@gmail.com

What is Fridays For Future?

#FridaysforFuture is a peoples movement following the call from @GretaThunberg to school strike.

Why are kids striking?

School children are required to attend school. But with the worsening Climate Destruction this goal of going to school begins to be pointless.
– Why study for a future, which may not be there?
– Why spend a lot of effort to become educated, when our governments are not listening to the educated?

The basics on how/when/where to strike

Greta requests that people strike infront of their closest town hall, every friday. With a sign, take a picture and post it with the hashtags
#Fridaysforfuture
#Climatestrike

How supporters can support

Many people do not think they can strike, i.e. they are worried about their school grades. The Belgium schools all used clocks which then ‘struck’ and then took a picture and this was there method to strike on November 30. Other groups have other ways to find a way to strike, even churches have their bells strike! Some empathy strike. All support is welcome.

If you post your work with the hashtag #FridaysForFuture and #ClimateStrike we will be able to find and share your excellent work.

OCA Joins 450 Organizations Calling for Action

Top 10 Climate Actions for the Next President’s First 10 Days in Office  
How Presidential Action Must Address the Climate Emergency

In a letter from Ben Goloff:

About the Plan: The Plan unpacks the top 10 executive actions—that do not require action by Congress—that the next President must take to tackle the climate emergency in her/his first 10 days in office. Uniting our voices now in demanding the next President take these necessary steps is essential to achieving climate leadership that meets demands of science and justice. While the plan is focused on what the President can do, it is designed to work with Congressional action, such as the Green New Deal, as well as action at the community, local and state levels. We’re reaching out to Olympic Climate Action because you have joined us on past petitions that form the basis of this plan, such as ending fossil fuel leasing on public lands.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The plan is designed as a c(3) activity. All organizations including 501c(3)s are able to sign on.

Original signatories include: Center for Biological Diversity, Climate Justice Alliance, Labor Network for Sustainability, 350.org, Greenpeace USA, Oil Change U.S., ActionAid USA, Center for Climate Integrity, Corporate Accountability, Earthworks, EcoEquity, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth U.S., The Democracy Collaborative, NC WARN, Inc, and Rainforest Action Network.

We are grateful if Olympic Climate Action can join us so that we can urge for this bold Executive Climate Action Plan together. Please sign on by Dec. 5.

Ben Goloff
Climate Campaigner, Climate Law Institute
CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY