EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS - September 14, 2021

[Emerald]

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!

California Public Banking Option Act (AB 1177) Passes the State Legislature
https://californiapba.medium.com/california-public-banking-option-act-ab-1177-passes-the-state-legislature-f86611483e73

More than 200 health journals call for urgent action on climate crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/06/more-than-200-health-journals-call-for-urgent-action-on-climate-crisis
"More than 200 health journals worldwide are publishing an editorial calling on leaders to take emergency action on climate change and to protect health.
The British Medical Journal said it is the first time so many publications have come together to make the same statement, reflecting the severity of the situation."

LOCAL REPORTS

LA approves 100% clean energy by 2035 target, a decade ahead of prior goal

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/la-approves-100-clean-energy-by-2035-target-a-decade-ahead-of-prior-goal/605980/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

Climate change projections are dire, but it’s not time for business to give up
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/industrynews/climate-change-projections-are-dire-but-its-not-time-for-business-to-give/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

2 Droughts Later, Californians Still Waiting for Those Billion-Dollar Water Storage Projects
https://www.kqed.org/science/1976639/2-droughts-later-californians-still-waiting-for-those-billion-dollar-water-storage-projects?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=Science%20Newsletter&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xsPQmUAM

California’s Sustainable Farms, Models for Agriculture in Warming World, Need Help Surviving It

https://www.kqed.org/science/1976679/californias-sustainable-farms-models-for-agriculture-in-warming-world-need-help-surviving-it?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=Science%20Newsletter&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xsPQmUAM
"Farmers have always labored at the mercy of the elements, but climate change has brought overlapping calamities of wildfires, drought, prolonged heat waves and power outages. Small-scale sustainable farmers with direct access to consumers through community-supported agriculture, or CSA, programs hold the key to boosting agricultural resilience in the face of a warming world."

Chevron, PBF Energy Sue Air District Over New Bay Area Refinery Pollution Rule
https://www.kqed.org/news/11887837/chevron-pbf-sue-air-district-over-new-bay-area-refinery-pollution-rule?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=Science%20Newsletter&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xsPQmUAM
"It's contemptible for Chevron to pay its pricey lawyers to sue rather than just install pollution-control equipment that many refineries already have in place... Given this is a matter of life and death for frontline communities, Chevron's penny-pinching is completely immoral."

Firefighters From Mexico Battle California Fires, One After the Other
https://www.kqed.org/science/1976705/firefighters-from-mexico-battle-california-fires-one-after-the-other?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=20210908_News%20Daily&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xsPQmUAM

In Prison, We Helped Fight Wildfires. Upon Release, We Were Handed Over to ICE.

https://truthout.org/articles/in-prison-we-helped-fight-wildfires-upon-release-we-were-handed-over-to-ice/

Caldor Fire Evacuees Report Tahoe Ride-Hail Price Gouging of More Than $1,500

https://www.kqed.org/news/11887558/caldor-fire-evacuees-report-tahoe-ride-hail-price-gouging-of-more-than-1500?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=20210908_News%20Daily&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xsPQmUAM

'Sharks Are Circling Again': With Wildfires Come Lawyers, and Previous Survivors Have a Warning
https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning

What the heck is that green stuff in the Russian River?
https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/what-the-heck-is-that-green-stuff-in-the-russian-river/?trk_msg=U0BEOI6JKAO4188DDPPS9SSQD8&trk_contact=LJNK18M677J4KMQ1D0BD2ADK2S&trk_sid=FSGBRE47ATARU6600DEHBIJS2O&trk_link=557U817984FKD9FCCPDR02DEU8&utm_email=643F75B3641334E024EF34A3E3&g2i_eui=YM9kHyw7MHECAwS%2fSHdS2EFOWb4uKi4WA3j%2bGtKrKAE%3d&g2i_source=newsletter&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.sonomacountygazette.com%2fsonoma-county-news%2fwhat-the-heck-is-that-green-stuff-in-the-russian-river%2f&utm_campaign=gazette_gab

GMOs, GLYPHOSATE & TOXINS

New Testing Shows High Levels of BPA in Socks Made for Babies, Kids, and Adults
https://ceh.org/bpa-socks/
"The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) sent legal notices to 42 companies today after extensive testing showed BPA in baby, children’s, and women’s socks at up to 19 times over the safe limit of the chemical, according to California law. BPA is a well-studied chemical, known to cause developmental and reproductive harm and linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, metabolic disorders, diabetes, and numerous other serious health concerns. CEH sent legal notices to 42 companies whose socks contained BPA, including brands Hanes, Champion, Tommy Hilfiger, New Balance, Fruit of the Loom, Reebok, Forever 21, and others. "

FOSSIL FUELS

Big Oil’s ‘Wokewashing’ Is the New Climate Science Denialism

https://www.ecowatch.com/big-oil-delay-tactics-new-climate-science-denial-2654954010.html
"Academic researchers say the fossil fuel industry engages in 'discourses of delay' to divert attention away from the crisis."

The NYT stopped shilling for cigarettes. Why won't it stop shilling for fossil fuels?

https://heated.world/p/the-nyt-stopped-shilling-for-cigarettes?justPublished=true&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

China announces first public state oil auction to stabilise prices

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-release-state-crude-oil-reserves-first-time-2021-09-09/

PLASTIC & POLLUTION
“Badly Damaged”: Environmental Activist in “Cancer Alley” Documents Oil Spills After Hurricane Ida (video)
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/9/8/hurricane_ida_sharon_lavigne?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=5d38efb461-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-5d38efb461-191276697

Reusing 10% will stop almost half of plastic waste from entering the ocean. Here's how
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/reusing-plastic-waste-pollution-economy-value/

WAKE UP CALL

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans experienced a weather disaster this summer

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/09/04/climate-disaster-hurricane-ida/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

Nearly Half of U.S. Coastal Marshes Are Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise, Study Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/coastal-marshes-sea-level-rise-us-2654933366.html

Top 5 Meat and Dairy Companies Match Exxon in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
https://www.ecowatch.com/world-meat-consumption-2021-2654945657.html
"The world's five biggest meat and dairy companies emit the same volume of greenhouse gases as fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil."

40 Million People Rely on the Colorado River. It’s Drying Up Fast.
https://www.propublica.org/article/40-million-people-rely-on-the-colorado-river-its-drying-up-fast?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

Climate Change Is Threatening Komodo Dragons, Earth's Largest Living Lizards
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/04/1034383212/climate-change-endangered-komodo-dragons-largest-lizards-iucn?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

Global Greenhouse Gas Levels Were Highest Ever In 2020 Despite Lockdowns

https://news.sky.com/story/climate-change-global-greenhouse-gas-levels-were-highest-ever-in-2020-despite-lockdowns-study-finds-12390205

THINK TANK & STRATEGY

Climate change is radicalizing young people — here’s what that means and how to combat despair
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/30/how-to-stop-climate-change-despair-according-to-professor.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

Indigenous Resistance Disrupts Billions of Tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Annually
https://priceofoil.org/2021/09/01/new-report-indigenous-resistance-disrupts-billions-tons-emissions/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2d475dae-7bd0-4555-b532-c8d320454b9b

“Indigenous Resistance has stopped or delayed greenhouse gas pollution equivalent to at least 25% of annual U.S. & Canadian emissions. The numbers don’t lie. Indigenous peoples have long led the fight to protect Mother Earth and the only way forward is to center Indigenous knowledge and keep fossil fuels in the ground,” said Dallas Goldtooth, Keep It In The Ground Organizer, Indigenous Environmental Network

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls for second month, remains high
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/deforestation-brazils-amazon-falls-second-month-remains-high-2021-09-10/

DIRECT ACTIONS

Greenpeace starts legal proceedings against Volkswagen for fuelling the climate crisis
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/49295/greenpeace-legal-proceedings-volkswagen-climate-crisis/

Women 'marry' trees to highlight Bristol building plans
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-58423302?at_campaign=64&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom3=%40BBCNews&at_custom4=703A9526-0E43-11EC-AB3E-3B9E4744363C&at_medium=custom7&xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D

Code red for fossil fuel fashion! Extinction Rebellion Fashion Action glue themselves to Selfridges on Oxford Street

https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2021/08/24/code-red-for-fossil-fuel-fashion-extinction-rebellion-fashion-action-glue-themselves-to-selfridges-on-oxford-street/

SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Netherlands proposes radical plans to cut livestock numbers by almost a third
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/09/netherlands-proposes-radical-plans-to-cut-livestock-numbers-by-almost-a-third
"Dutch farmers could be forced to sell land and reduce the amount of animals they keep to help lower ammonia pollution."

ENDING ON A POSITIVE
Free Power from Water - Building a water powered generator using recycled junk. Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVoeaKCEd2

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.