EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS - May 5. 2024
OSC
EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS
Welcome
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New Zero Waste Year-Round Compost Hubs
Petaluma Success Story: Residents and city staff work together to bring regenerative stewardship to the land
https://www.sonomasass.org/post/petaluma-success-story-residents-and-city-staff-work-together-to-bring-regenerative-stewardship-to
Local partnership completes first project initiated by Sonoma County’s Climate Resilience Fund
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/local-partnership-completes-first-project-initiated-by-sonoma-countys-climate-resilience-fund
"A partnership between local government, conservation districts and environmental groups today announced the completion of a pilot project that removed carbon from the atmosphere by applying compost on agricultural land, the first project initiated by Sonoma County's Climate Resilience Fund."
Solar is now being installed faster than any technology in history
South Australia records nation’s biggest fall in power prices
https://glamadelaide.com.au/south-australia-records-nations-biggest-fall-in-power-prices/
"A fresh report from the Australian Energy Market Operator reveals that South Australia has registered the largest decreases in wholesale electricity and gas prices across the country."
LOCAL REPORTS
Radio interview with Jenny Blaker, Sonoma County Climate Activist Network, on biomass power (audio)
Women's Spaces Radio, KBBF, Monday, April 29, 2024.
Her interview starts at 25 minutes.
Wood Pellet Giant Drax Targets California Forests
https://www.desmog.com/2024/03/04/wood-pellet-giant-drax-targets-california-forests/
"Plans for two industrial pellet plants would increase carbon emissions and hurt the health of rural communities, campaigners warn."
"A coalition of community groups has filed suit in federal court over the failure of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before unleashing industrial logging, herbicide application and burning on 217,721 acres of the Plumas National Forest, including 133,321 acres of mature forest habitat."
The growing of the Biomass Energy Industry
PG&E’s new utility tax is unfair to renters and must be repealed
https://sfstandard.com/opinion/2024/04/25/pge-utility-tax-cpuc-newsom-renters/
"Despite paying some of the highest electricity rates in the country, millions of Californians will be forced to pay higher utility bills because of a new flat tax."
SoCo Finalizes 2 Tree Protection Ordinances
https://bohemian.com/soco-finalizes-2-tree-protection-ordinances/
Celebrate Bay Area Bike to Wherever Day 2024
The City of Santa Rosa will celebrate National Bike to Work/Wherever Day by hosting a bike energizer station from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on May 16, at Prince Greenway Trail at Santa Rosa Avenue."
California Public Banking Alliance
https://capublicbanking.com/cpba-city-regional-progress-report-april-2024/
CPBA Spring Progress Report
Event Wrap-Up – CalAccount Statewide Town Halls
https://capublicbanking.com/calaccount-2024-statewide-town-halls-event-wrap-up/
CalAccount February 2024 Town Hall Report
Upgraded Transit App Experience for Sonoma County Residents
https://www.srcity.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2572
PG&E ran a TV ad touting its undergrounding work. Now it wants customers to pay for it
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article287598875.html
Napa Green’s Roundup ban underscores controversy behind Sonoma County’s ‘certified sustainable’ vineyards
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/organic-sustainable-roundup-vineyards-napa-sonoma-county-wine/
"95% of Sonoma County’s vineyards are certified-sustainable. Here’s why that’s controversial."
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/russian-eel-river-salmon-dams/
"There are many risks involved in a continued diversion of water from the Eel River to the Russian River."
Wine Country fire threat spreads to insurance coverage
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/insurance-wine-country-fire/
"California’s largest insurer, State Farm, chose to not renew more than 2,300 home and apartment insurance policies in the North Bay."
“It’s getting worse” – US failing to stem tide of harmful farm pollutants
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/04/its-getting-worse-us-failing-to-stem-tide-of-harmful-farm-pollutants/
Healthy or high risk? New analysis warns of pesticide residues on some fruits and veggies
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/04/3239/l
Just 57 companies linked to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/04/just-57-companies-linked-to-80-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-since-2016
"Analysis reveals many big producers increased output of fossil fuels and related emissions in seven years after Paris climate deal."
https://portside.org/2024-04-16/climate-activists-new-england-can-finally-celebrate-end-coal
Ocean Cleanup 101: Everything You Need to Know
https://www.ecowatch.com/ocean-cleanup-facts-ecowatch.html
Negotiators Divided as UN Plastics Treaty Talks Begin in Ottawa
https://www.ecowatch.com/un-plastics-treaty-negotiations-ottawa.html
375,000 Native Animals Killed by Federal Program in 2023
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/375000-native-animals-killed-by-federal-program-in-2023-2024-04-03/
NOAA Confirms 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event as Climate Crisis Puts Reefs ‘Under Serious Pressure’
Australia’s long-sought stronger environmental laws just got indefinitely deferred. It’s back to business as usual
https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/04/18/tanya-plibersek-environment-laws-conservation-biodiversity-deferred/
"Labor was elected promising to fix Australia's broken environmental protection laws. But this week the government walked back its commitments."
THINK TANK & STRATEGY
More Than $100 Billion in Debt-for-Nature Swaps Could Help Fight Climate Crisis, Report Says
Fossil fuel tax could unlock $720 billion for climate crisis, new report finds
https://www.nationofchange.org/2024/05/02/fossil-fuel-tax-could-unlock-720-billion-for-climate-crisis-new-report-finds/
How self-compassion can help activists deal with stress
https://theconversation.com/how-self-compassion-can-help-activists-deal-with-stress-227304
"For activists struggling with the painful emotions that arise from their work, being self-compassionate might be a valuable source of mental and emotional support."
DIRECT ACTIONS
"The group of Swiss women — all over the age of 64 — argued that they were more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their age and gender and that their health had been put at risk by heat waves the government had not done enough to prevent."
Climate confrontation: Over 50 arrested as activists target Citigroup’s climate policies
https://www.nationofchange.org/2024/04/26/climate-confrontation-over-50-arrested-as-activists-target-citigroups-climate-policies/
Firefighting foam company reaches $750 million PFAS settlement
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/04/firefighting-foam-company-reaches-750-million-settlement-for-pfas-in-drinking-water/
Power to the People: The Story of Rural Electric Cooperatives (video)
https://youtu.be/53rEB26kLds?si=Dn-qb9n07rf2cB8C
How green is fake meat, really? (video)
https://youtu.be/w5GmDRW975g?si=kC3jAoFtO3sApRYW
"Meat alternatives are greener than meat, right? Well, let's look at the data."
Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability
https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/indigenous-leadership-for-sustainability
https://files.constantcontact.com/09396957601/8322e7fb-af68-441c-9096-a4773375c44a.pdf
"Every spring, a variety of annual and perennial wildflowers bloom in Sonoma County’s parks. This guide will help you identify some of the more common flowers. Parks known for their wildflower displays include Crane Creek, Foothill, North Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma Valley and Taylor Mountain, but you will notice certain flowers in almost every park."
How to Treat Fruit Trees Organically: When to Spray for Disease
https://melissaknorris.com/podcast/how-to-treat-fruit-trees-organically/
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