EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS - August 23, 2024 - Big Changes Coming Soon

[OSC]

EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS  

This will be the last newsletter from the OSC Earth Action listserv.  The newsletter and the entire listserv will be moved to the Sonoma County Climate Activist Network (SOCoCAN!) listserv.  You don't have to do anything.  Your membership to this listserv will be automatically transferred.
There will be one more separate announcement about this change, and then your listserv membership will be moved to the SoCoCAN! listserv.  Watch for the coming announcement message if you wish to make changes to your membership preferences.

BREAKTHROUGH!

Over 300 E-Bikes Coming To SMART Stations This Fall

https://www.ksro.com/2024/08/16/over-300-e-bikes-coming-to-smart-stations-this-fall/

California Energy Commission seeks to accelerate development of wave, tidal energy
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/california-wave-tidal-energy/
"The feasibility report on wave and tidal energy is part of an effort to accelerate development of emissions-free marine energy in California."

The Te Awa Tupua Act: An Inspiration for Communities to Take Responsibility for Their Ecosystems
https://therevelator.org/te-awa-tupua-act/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
"The historic act, which recognized a river as a legal entity, deliberately moves away from litigation and places community decision-making at its center."

From lower speed limits to improved crosswalks, Santa Rosa looks to bolster road safety
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-road-safety-improvements/
"Between 2012 and 2022, 74 deaths and 535 serious injuries occurred in 440 crashes on Santa Rosa streets, costing nearly $1.3 billion in emergency services, insurance, legal fees and property damage."

Lower speed limits proposed on dozens of Santa Rosa streets
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-speed-limits-safety/
"Santa Rosa Transportation and Public Works officials propose reducing speed limits across a network of streets identified as high risk for serious vehicle collisions to improve safety."

Vine Trail’s St. Helena–Calistoga segment opens Saturday
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/north-bay/vine-trail-construction/
"Two long-awaited segments of the Napa Valley Vine Trail are set to open this week and next month as planners have an eye on the finish line after 17 years."

Glen Ellen Park Offers New Reason to Get Outside in Sonoma County This Fall
https://www.sonomamag.com/glen-ellen-park-offers-new-reason-to-get-outside-in-sonoma-county-this-fall/
"Glen Ellen's Jack London State Historic Park will host a hiking series challenge this fall to explore the area's history and natural beauty."

Students Ride Back-to-School Free with CityBus!
https://www.srcity.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1938

Petaluma startup Jump Aero to launch 1st electric-powered rescue aircraft

https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/article/jump-aero-petaluma-ems-rural-medicine/

LOCAL REPORTS

Radio interview with Maya Khosla for SoCoCAN! - Sunday, August 11, 2024 (Audio)

https://archive.org/details/radioresistance20240811

Radio Resistance on KBBF, Rebel Fagin interview with Maya Khosla from SoCoCAN! on climate change with an emphasis on the trees. Lots to learn. Local band: KVHW.
To hear any of the other episodes of Radio Resistance go here: https://archive.org/search?query=radioresistance22

Santa Rosa Transit Mall temporarily closing for renovations
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-transit-mall-upgrades/
"Transit service will relocate across the street while construction workers replace the aging roadbed and make other upgrades to improve rider and pedestrian safety."

Sonoma County commuters can earn gift cards by commuting more sustainably
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/commute-rewards-sonoma-county/
"Sonoma County “commute rewards” program allows those who take public transit, walk, bike or ride share to earn points toward gift cards."

Pressure grows to close controversial Napa Valley landfill
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/08/pressure-grows-to-close-controversial-napa-valley-landfill/

Sonoma County airport on trajectory to fly about 700,000 passengers this year
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/industrynews/sonoma-county-airport-passengers-growth/

What are ‘speed tables,’ and are they coming to Sonoma County-controlled roads?
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/speed-tables-sonoma-county/
"The lesser-known traffic calming device is becoming a hotter topic in Sonoma County after surfacing in a county traffic study focused on slowing traffic in crash-prone parts of Penngrove."

Russian River council tackles river access issues
https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/russian-river-mac-tackles-river-access-issues/

GMOs, GLYPHOSATE & TOXINS

Should You Worry About PFAS in Sparkling Water? A Food Scientist and PFAS Expert Weigh In
https://www.wellandgood.com/pfas-in-sparkling-water/

Scientists Sound the Alarm Over Outdoor Gene Editing Pesticides

https://responsibletechnology.org/scientists-sound-the-alarm-over-outdoor-gene-editing-pesticides/

Should You Worry About PFAS in Sparkling Water? A Food Scientist and PFAS Expert Weigh In
https://www.wellandgood.com/pfas-in-sparkling-water/

FOSSIL FUELS
Chubb Drops Rio Grande LNG Insurance
https://us.insure-our-future.com/chubb-drops-rio-grande-lng-insurance/

PLASTIC & POLLUTION
Tracking Tire Plastics—and Chemicals—From Road to Plate
https://civileats.com/2024/07/16/tracking-tire-plastics-and-chemicals-from-road-to-plate/
"Auto tires shed dangerous microplastics and harmful chemicals. New research suggests that both can make their way into crops."

11 Ways to Eat Less Plastic—Because, Yes, It’s in Your Food and More
https://www.wellandgood.com/how-to-eat-less-plastic/

WAKE UP CALL
Are Industrial Wood Pellets Renewable, Green Energy? Don’t Believe It for a Second.

https://earthjustice.org/experts/kristen-boyles/are-industrial-wood-pellets-renewable-green-energy-dont-believe-it-for-a-second
"Did you know that burning industrial wood pellets releases more greenhouse gases than burning coal? Burning forests for electricity is not renewable, green energy. Read the top 10 reasons why this industry is a false climate solution."

How the most powerful environmental groups help greenwash Big Meat’s climate impact
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/362224/environment-groups-meat-industry-lies-global-warming-climate-change-wwf
"Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund are laundering the meat industry’s propaganda. At what cost?"

Colonialism and Capitalism: From Earth to Space (video)

https://www.projectcensored.org/colonialism-capitalism-earth-space/
Project Censored podcast by Eleanor Goldfield

Great Barrier Reef endangered by hottest oceans in 400 years, study finds
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/7/great-barrier-reef-endangered-by-hottest-oceans-in-400-years-study-finds
"Researchers say the world is losing ‘one of our icons’ as human activity fuels temperature increases."

Earth Engine App
https://wildlandmaps.users.earthengine.app/view/fires24
A global map that shows where there are major fires.

THINK TANK & STRATEGY
What if trees were people too?
https://imagine5.com/articles/what-if-trees-were-people-too/

"In India, Ecuador and Spain, forests, rivers and lakes are being given legal rights, in the hope of protecting them against pollution, destruction and exploitation. But what does it mean for a tree or a waterway to have ‘rights’? And can our legal systems really empower the natural environment to defend itself?"

By land, sea and sky, Māori are using Indigenous knowledge to combat climate change

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/10/climate/climate-change-maori-new-zealand/index.html

New study reaffirms Indigenous lands key to mitigating climate change in Brazil
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/new-study-reaffirms-indigenous-lands-key-to-mitigating-climate-change-in-brazil/

Science Improves When People Realize They Were Wrong
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-improves-when-people-realize-they-were-wrong/
"Science means being able to change your mind in light of new evidence."

DIRECT ACTIONS
Movement to limit CAFO pollution seen strengthened by Michigan court ruling
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/08/in-water-wars-michigan-ruling-could-spill-over-to-other-states-seeking-to-crack-down-on-cafos/

Climate Disaster Survivors Call For Criminal Investigation Into Fossil Fuel Industry

https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-disaster-survivors-lawsuit-fossil-fuel-companies.html

SUSTAINABLE LIVING
The 4,000-mile migration of native hummingbirds is about to begin – here's how you can help these winged wonders
https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/hummingbird-migration
"From Alaska to Mexico, many hummingbirds travel astonishing distances during late summer."

19 Edible Perennials To Grow For Self-Sufficiency
https://thepeasantsdaughter.net/edible-perennials/

Permaculture found to be a sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture
https://phys.org/news/2024-07-permaculture-sustainable-alternative-conventional-agriculture.html

Ørsted scraps flagship European green fuels project
https://www.ft.com/content/abdd1c41-b6bd-4d15-9aa4-502c9ad70cb3
Biofuel for aviation is more greenwashing and not green fuel.

ENDING ON A POSITIVE
Local Couple Gets Closer to Nature in Newly Built Alexander Valley Dream Home
https://www.sonomamag.com/local-couple-gets-closer-to-nature-in-newly-built-alexander-valley-dream-home/
"A new build on a fire-damaged lot in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley brings a couple and their grown children closer to nature."

How I Boost Harvests by Succession Planting My Small Vegetable Garden
https://www.bhg.com/succession-planting-8636578
"Grow way more veggies with these simple succession planting tips."

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.