EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS - May 14, 2024

[OSC]

EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS  

Welcome to the people who have joined recently.  This is a simple weekly newsletter.  Your participation is encouraged.  Please share information and actions about climate change, climate justice, GMOs, toxic chemicals, and Earth-related topics.
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BREAKTHROUGH!
Santa Rosa launches Rose-E, a new electric trolley service

https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/santa-rosa-electric-trolley/

"Santa Rosa is launching a new electric trolley service connecting key downtown areas, set to debut on May 15. This service, called Rose-E, ispart of a pilot program. Rose-E aims to improve downtown mobility between Old Courthouse Square and Railroad Square."

Record number of Sonoma County students bike to school
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/students-bike-school-climate-activism/
"Sonoma County commemorated National Bike to School Day with hundreds of local students and parents riding the “bike train” to school."

Santa Rosa Receives EECBG Funding for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan

https://www.srcity.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2583

Drought or Deluge? This Petaluman is ready!
https://www.coolpetaluma.org/stories/drought-or-deluge-this-petaluman-is-ready

"With a lot of imagination, enthusiasm, and follow through, as well as help from free, local resources, she’s transformed her dying grass into an exquisite, drought-tolerant garden for the future."

EPA announces $7 billion to make solar more accessible
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/04/epa-announces-7-billion-to-make-solar-more-accessible/
"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Monday that it will provide $7 billion to create or expand low-income residential solar programs across the country, a move the agency said will lower energy costs for roughly 900,000 households in communities that might otherwise struggle to access the alternative energy source.

The grants will be awarded to 60 recipients made up of the state agencies, Tribes and nonprofits selected through a grant competition funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The program includes services to help communities overcome barriers to switching to solar, including assistance with siting and permitting solar projects and connecting to the grid."

Renewable Electricity Generation Outpaces Fossil Fuels for Record Time Span in UK
https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-electricity-generation-uk-wind-fossil-fuels.html

Biden to Announce $7 Billion in Rooftop Solar Grants to Power Nearly 1 Million Households
https://www.ecowatch.com/ev-sales-global-forecast-2024.html

Cash in on the election year!

More Than 1 in 5 Cars Sold Globally This Year Will Be Electric: IEA Report
https://www.ecowatch.com/ev-sales-global-forecast-2024.html

LOCAL REPORTS
Plumas group sues Forest Service over wildfire protection project
https://www.chicoer.com/2024/05/07/plumas-group-sues-forest-service-over-wildfire-protection-project/

Join Their Action Camp May 23-29
https://lostsierraforest.wordpress.com/
Save the Rainforest: Stop the US Forest Service Community Destruction Plan (video)
https://featherriveraction.org/save-the-rainforest-stop-the-us-forest-service-community-destruction-plan/

SCTA Board Allocates Over $80 Million to Transit and Local Transportation Projects
https://scta.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Press-Release-2024-Coordinated-Claim-and-Funding-Program.pdf

Sonoma County Active Transportation Plan

https://fp.mysocialpinpoint.com/sonoma-county-atp

Acting US Labor secretary lays out new farmworker protection rules at Santa Rosa vineyard
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/industrynews/farmworkers-balletto-federal-labor-standards/

Eco-Friendly Garden Tour
https://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/eco-friendly-garden-tour/
"The Eco-Friendly Garden Tour is a public outreach and education program that promotes sustainable landscaping practices by showcasing inspiring gardens throughout Sonoma and Marin counties. The Tour highlights Russian River-Friendly and Bay-Friendly landscaping best practices, and supports Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper certified professionals by featuring their personal or client’s gardens.
The 2024 Eco-Friendly Garden Tour will take place on Saturday, May 18th from 10am-4pm. The tour is self-guided and free to attend. Registration is required."

Federal judge: Russian River dam releases are violating Endangered Species Act
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/russian-river-protected-salmon-dam-releases/
"A federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is disturbing salmon populations through its flood-control releases out of Coyote Valley Dam."

Activist attends hearing in Petaluma poultry farm incursion
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/poultry-petaluma-courts-activists-crime/
"Zoe Rosenberg and Raven Deerbrook are each charged with four counts of conspiracy. This relates to a June 13 incursion at Petaluma Poultry."

Postcard from California: State emits more of an obscure climate-heating gas than the entire rest of the US

https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/04/postcard-from-california-state-emits-more-of-an-obscure-climate-heating-gas-than-the-entire-rest-of-the-us/
"There are non-chemical ways to treat houses for termites, such as heating the infested area to 120 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit for less than an hour.  This leaves no chemical residue, and occupants can return home in eight hours. It’s true that heat and other treatments are more expensive – but as Jonathan Evans of CBD told The Guardian, they are “certainly less costly than climate change.”

Black bears sighted in Guerneville and Napa Monday morning
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/black-bears-sonoma-napa-backyard-wildlife/
"Local black bear sightings are rare, but occurring more frequently."

Cameras reveal surprising behaviors in Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor
https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/wildlife-corridor-conservation/

Welcome to WaterSmart Yard!

https://www.srcity.org/3446/Watering-Recommendations

‘This is a Hail Mary pass’: Owner of Sebastopol’s legendary Hidden Forest hopes for a save
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/sebastopol-hidden-forest-nursery-rhododendrons-garden
"Buyer with a love of gardens sought for magical nursery of rare plants."

GMOs, GLYPHOSATE & TOXINS
Florida’s DeSantis Bans Lab-Grown Meat

https://www.ecowatch.com/florida-desantis-lab-grown-meat-ban.html

Lab-grown meats, Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger... these fake foods are genetically modified (GMO) and very bad for your health! Look for healthy choices such as tempeh burgers, black bean burgers, and other meat alternatives that are safe.

High Levels of PFAA (Subgroup of PFAS) Found in Sea Spray
https://www.ecowatch.com/sea-spray-pfaa-emissions.html

PLASTIC & POLLUTION
Microplastic Levels in Seabed Creatures Depend on Feeding Patterns and Location, Study Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/microplastics-pollution-seabed-creatures.html

WAKE UP CALL
The Truth about Biofuels
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ujD2ZJA3tx52QYzkocEpOZQtEUMKKzNCqimHx9I8xP0/edit#heading=h.lk6aatvi8n6v
"Are fuels derived from crops, wood, and waste good climate solutions? The short answer: No. Here’s why…"

Net zero has become unhelpful slogan, says outgoing head of UK climate watchdog
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/22/net-zero-has-become-unhelpful-slogan-says-outgoing-head-of-uk-climate-watchdog
"Chris Stark says populist response and culture war around the term is inhibiting environmental progress."

From East Palestine to Palestine, People Need Help (audio)

https://www.projectcensored.org/east-palestine-palestine-people-need-help/

"Eleanor sits down with East Palestine, OH residents Zsuzsa Gyenes and Chris Albright to discuss the ongoing fallout from the catastrophic train derailment in February of last year. Zsuzsa and Chris talk about a purgatory of waiting without help, without answers, without accountability, displaced and dealing with a range of illnesses while local, state, and federal authorities bow to corporate greed over public health and justice. Next up, retired army colonel Ann Wright joins the show to talk about the Freedom Flotilla: multiple vessels set to sail in mid April carrying tons of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. Ann talks about the history of these actions, the need for citizens to take action, even dangerous actions such as this, in order to do what their governments refuse to do: help the Palestinian people."

Tyson Foods Dumped Hundreds of Millions of Pounds of Slaughterhouse Pollutants Into U.S. Waterways, Report Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/tyson-foods-pollutants-dumping-waterways.html

Press Freedom and the Assange Appeal; Green Colonialism, Tribal Consent, and the Climate Crisis (audio)

https://www.projectcensored.org/assange-green-colonialism-tribal-consent/

"Britain’s High Court of Justice has ruled whether Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order that would send him to the U.S. Independent journalist Kevin Gozstola, author or Guilty of Journalism, explains to Mickey the implications of the order, and whether the US might file new charges against the Wikileaks publisher if it finally gets its hands on him. They also discuss the significant consequences for press freedom should the case move forward. Then, Eleanor spoke with independent journalist Hilary Beaumont about her recent reporting on solar geoengineering and tribal consent. Hilary outlines how this technology represents yet another example of green colonialism, the negative and positive potential and effects of such methods, and the paltry attention corporate media give to issues such as Indigenous rights and the climate crisis."

Endangered Species 101: Everything You Need to Know
https://www.ecowatch.com/endangered-species-facts-ecowatch.html

THINK TANK & STRATEGY

The Ethics of Wildlife Conservation: Part 2
https://rewilding.org/the-ethics-of-wildlife-conservation-part-2/
"This second essay in a planned series (read part one here) addresses three topics as they pertain to the ethics of wildlife conservation and preservation: The is-ought fallacy, Intrinsic value, & Utilitarianism."

Biden’s Bureau of Land Management Will Offer Leasing of Public Lands for Conservation
https://www.ecowatch.com/biden-blm-public-lands-leasing-conservation.html

DIRECT ACTIONS
Greta Thunberg: Activist arrested at Hague climate protest

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68749936

Morehead student launches scholarship competition centered around veganism
https://fox56news.com/news/kentucky/morehead-student-launches-scholarship-competition-centered-around-veganism/

SUSTAINABLE LIVING
The old-growth expert and the forests he vowed to protect
https://youtu.be/OeMPBXGikwU?si=7NV7AxeCK3ESXDap
"When Jerry Franklin was just a boy, he vowed to protect the forests and trees he saw as his friends. During his career as a forest ecologist, his research into the unique attributes of old growth Douglas fir forests led to the protection of millions of acres of ancient forests in the Pacific Northwest."

Letting Your Grass Grow Wild Boosts Butterfly Numbers, UK Study Says
https://www.ecowatch.com/grass-growing-wild-benefits-butterflies.html

Tasty superfoods: health benefits of activated almonds
https://nexusnewsfeed.com/article/food-cooking/tasty-superfoods-health-benefits-of-activated-almonds/
"Almonds contain plenty of nutrients, such as healthy fats, fiber and protein. By taking one extra step, you can make almonds even healthier by “activating” them."

ENDING ON A POSITIVE
Cliff swallows return to Sebastopol for breeding season

https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/cliff-swallow-sebastopol-migration/

How to Make Natural Botanical Dyes for Cotton
https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/how-to-make-natural-botanical-dyes-for-cotton

Call To Action! 
We urge all groups including schools, neighborhood associations, organizations, clubs and groups of any kind to adopt a Climate Declaration.  Adopt ours or write your own.  Share your Climate Declaration with local governments, the media, write articles, and share information. 
Occupy Sonoma County Climate Declaration

Occupy Sonoma County, along with concerned, forward thinking people all over the world, declares that climate change has reached catastrophic proportions as evidenced by the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere, the melting of polar ice caps, and the continual rising of global temperatures.  This is a global emergency, and we must act immediately.  We invite all forces of life to join together for our survival.  We stand up for life.

We recognize that the root of climate change is a capitalist system run by money greedy corporations and the governments that they control.  We actively oppose greenhouse gas producers, nuclear power investors, and fossil fuel companies by boycotting their products, developing alternatives, divesting from corporations that endorse them and insisting that governments at all levels take action.  We call on all governments and corporations to adopt life-sustaining practices immediately.

The people must act now to stop this destruction from continuing and reverse the damage this has caused.  The future is in our hands.  We are the 99%!

What Earth Actions are you taking?

https://OccupySonomaCounty.org
https://OccupySonomaCounty.org/es (en español)
http://facebook.com/OccupySonomaCounty
https://twitter.com/OcSoCo
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJoCP-ePUTPWNgHZwtBelg

Occupy Sonoma County embraces the egalitarian, deep democracy principles of the Occupy Movement with a regional strategy for effectively organizing countywide social justice campaigns that are globally relevant.