Occupy Sonoma County Climate Declaration

OCCUPY SONOMA:

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?

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.
If you wish to reduce email volume switch your membership to the digest or abridged version.
Please refrain from posting petitions or donation requests without OSC approval.  Thank you for joining us.

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BREAKTHROUGH!

Could We Pay Back The Earth For What It Provides? A New Report Offers A Roadmap

https://www.npr.org/2021/02/03/963811844/could-we-pay-back-the-earth-for-what-it-provides-a-new-report-offers-a-roadmap?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&t=1612797920800

“The Economics of Biodiversity report calls for national and corporate accounting systems to estimate the value of “natural capital” and compensate nature for what it provides through investment in environmental stewardship.”

LOCAL REPORTS

Research project to investigate potential pesticide contamination in Graton

https://townsyapp.com/news/research-project-aims-to-investigate-potential-pesticide-contamination-in-graton/

Bitter Brew: The Stirring Reality of Coffee

https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/coffee/

Food Empowerment Project makes several recommendations for brands of coffee in this excellent article.

California Utilities to Spend Billions to Cut Wildfire Risk
https://www.kqed.org/news/11859069/california-utilities-to-spend-billions-to-cut-wildfire-risk?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=20210208_News_News%20Daily_Newsletter&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xsPQmUAM

PG&E had the money to make these safety upgrades years ago. 

Bay Area Community Power Providers Team Up in Quest for Cheaper Clean Energy

https://www.kqed.org/science/1972677/hoping-to-buy-cheaper-clean-energy-bay-area-community-power-providers-team-up

PG&E outlines $6 billion in spending on wildfire safety and grid upgrades over two years

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/pge-outlines-6-billion-in-spending-on-wildfire-safety-and-grid-upgrades-o/?trk_msg=AUVGOSN465M4P5VHE841UMCV34&trk_contact=QQQLPEJ4NTMGK1AJ6O84IQKD2K&trk_module=new&trk_sid=VGU5L3INJ77RULEEQEK267FO78&g2i_eui=ltCmFhHaOJlhoc2NDLU8wbswC8RaJYm4G89Z5lDLgjE%3d&g2i_source=newsletter&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.pressdemocrat.com%2farticle%2fnews%2fpge-outlines-6-billion-in-spending-on-wildfire-safety-and-grid-upgrades-o%2f&artslide=0&sba=AAS

Let’s spend this money on microgrids to decentralize our power system.  Put solar panels on churches, businesses, rooftops, and garages to create neighborhood-based energy.  When PG&E says that they are “trimming trees” are they selectively removing branches hanging over power lines or are they collaborating with the logging industry for big profits?  Should PG&E be publicly owned?

‘This has to end peacefully’: California’s Punjabi farmers rally behind India protests

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/08/california-indian-farmers-protest-sikh-punjab-yuba-city

Sonoma County residents sending less trash to landfill

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-residents-sending-less-trash-to-landfill/?trk_msg=EQG6JELITJ9K1F3FC8RETEKHE0&trk_contact=QQQLPEJ4NTMGK1AJ6O84IQKD2K&trk_module=new&trk_sid=NG23URUILPS66LFR02PLGSBANC&g2i_eui=ltCmFhHaOJlhoc2NDLU8wbswC8RaJYm4G89Z5lDLgjE%3d&g2i_source=newsletter&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.pressdemocrat.com%2farticle%2fnews%2fsonoma-county-residents-sending-less-trash-to-landfill%2f&artslide=3&sba=AAS

Sonoma County looks to entrepreneurs to help with forest management

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/sonoma-county-looks-to-entrepreneurs-to-help-with-forest-management/?trk_msg=EQG6JELITJ9K1F3FC8RETEKHE0&trk_contact=QQQLPEJ4NTMGK1AJ6O84IQKD2K&trk_module=new&trk_sid=NG23URUILPS66LFR02PLGSBANC&g2i_eui=ltCmFhHaOJlhoc2NDLU8wbswC8RaJYm4G89Z5lDLgjE%3d&g2i_source=newsletter&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.pressdemocrat.com%2farticle%2fbusiness%2fsonoma-county-looks-to-entrepreneurs-to-help-with-forest-management%2f&artslide=1&sba=AAS

Heavy logging is what made our forests vulnerable to climate change-driven extreme wildfires in the first place.  More logging just makes this worse.  Nature-caused fires contribute to the health of the forest.  Forests regenerate quickly and are teaming with life within days after a wildfire.  Opportunistic loggers, CALFire and PG&E have dollar signs in their eyes instead of respecting the cycles of nature and our precious, beautiful trees.  A “nurse log” is not “waste”, “debris”, or “fuel”.  It is a decomposing nursery for new bugs that bring new birds that bring new animals, and new trees.  Mother Nature is amazing and powerful in recovering our forests after a fire.  Go see this for yourself. 

GMOs, GLYPHOSATE & TOXINS

New York State Bans Glyphosate Use on Public Property

https://sustainablepulse.com/2021/01/15/new-york-state-bans-glyphosate-use-on-public-property/#.YCJN5h3LeuY

Court Settlement Requires EPA to Review How Bee-Killing Pesticide Harms Endangered Species
https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2021/02/court-settlement-requires-epa-to-review-how-bee-killing-pesticide-harms-endangered-species/

Bayer announces agreement with plaintiffs’ counsel on class plan
http://www.press.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/Bayer-announces-agreement-with-plaintiffs-counsel-on-class-plan

“Bayer also announced that progress has been made with plaintiffs’ class counsel on a revised class plan to manage and resolve potential future Roundup™ claims. The details of the revised class plan will be finalized over the coming weeks and a motion for preliminary approval will be filed upon completion of the formal agreement.”

FOSSIL FUELS

Whistleblower Accuses Exxon of ‘Fraudulent’ Behavior for Overvaluing Fracking Assets For Years

https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/02/02/whistleblower-sec-complaint-alleges-exxon-fraud-overvalue-fracking-assets

Bakken Oil Trains Unsafe at any Speed due to Volatile Oil

https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/02/02/bakken-oil-trains-unsafe-volatile-oil

New Mexico Families in Oil and Gas ‘Waste Zone’ Seek Help

https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/02/03/new-mexico-families-oil-and-gas-waste-zone-seek-help

Oil Industry Inflates Job Impact From Biden’s New Pause on Drilling on Federal Lands

https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/01/27/oil-inflates-job-impact-biden-pause-drilling-federal-lands

Evidence Shows Oil Industry Flaring in Texas Being Done Without Permits

https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/01/29/oil-industry-methane-flaring-texas-done-without-permits

PIPELINES

Water Protectors Hold Their Ground in Wild Rice Country by Winona LaDuke

https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2021/02/03/water-protectors-pipeline-palisade-minnesota/

“We have been fighting this pipeline for seven years. And so far we’ve held it off in the courts and through the permitting process. The carbon output would be equivalent to opening 50 new coal plants—more carbon emissions than the entire current Minnesota economy. And all this for a dying industry.”

Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss

https://theconversation.com/living-with-natural-gas-pipelines-appalachian-landowners-describe-fear-anxiety-and-loss-152586?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton

Australia’s proposed gas pipelines would generate emissions equivalent to 33 coal-fired power plants

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/02/australias-proposed-gas-pipelines-would-generate-emissions-equivalent-to-33-coal-fired-power-plants

PLASTIC & POLLUTION

Reusable Cups Are Slowly Returning to Coffee Shops
https://www.treehugger.com/reusable-cups-returning-coffee-shops-5101523?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareurlbuttons

WAKE UP CALL

Chicago’s Bike Lane Efforts Have Fallen Short For Decades. Can Lightfoot Help The City Catch Up?

https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/02/01/chicagos-bike-lane-efforts-have-fallen-short-for-decades-can-lightfoot-help-the-city-catch-up/

Indiana Senate approves bill to deregulate wetlands

https://www.ibj.com/articles/indiana-senate-approves-bill-to-deregulate-wetlands
“The Indiana Senate has passed controversial legislation that would repeal state oversight of wetlands. The Senate approved Senate Bill 389 by a vote of 29-19 on Monday afternoon. Nine Republicans joined 10 Democrats in opposing the measure. The bill moves to the Indiana House for consideration. The bill, authored by Republican Sen. Chris Garten of Charlestown, would eliminate any state regulation of wetlands.”

Economics’ failure over destruction of nature presents ‘extreme risks’

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-failure-over-destruction-of-nature-presents-extreme-risks

“The world is being put at “extreme risk” by the failure of economics to take account of the rapid depletion of the natural world and needs to find new measures of success to avoid a catastrophic breakdown, a landmark review has concluded.”

Mark Carney: Climate crisis deaths ‘will be worse than Covid’

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55944570

“Mr Carney, who was the Bank of England governor up until last year, and the head of the Bank of Canada before that, is now the United Nations envoy for climate action and finance.”

Brazil’s BR-319: Politicians capitalize on the Manaus oxygen crisis to promote a disastrous highway

https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/brazils-br-319-politicians-capitalize-on-the-manaus-oxygen-crisis-to-promote-a-disastrous-highway-commentary/

Climate change “may have played a key role” in coronavirus pandemic, study says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-coronavirus-bats-study/

THINK TANK & STRATEGY

Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations

“Instilling an appreciation of nature through education is vital in a rapidly urbanising world, Dasgupta argues: “The discipline to draw on nature sustainably must, ultimately, be provided by us as individuals. Many people have grown distant from nature. Our education systems should introduce nature studies from the earliest stages of our lives, and revisit them in secondary and tertiary education.”

Can Geothermal Power Play a Key Role in the Energy Transition?
https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-geothermal-power-play-a-key-role-in-the-energy-transition

How to Move America to Electric Vehicles

https://rmi.org/how-to-move-america-to-electric-vehicles/?fbclid=IwAR3r-gAOY-ACcfFiBhd-anUjshHfTLNvFctMPDKdPuaCuSt0AaHTJ5qXnig

The push for standing forest protections in US climate policy

https://www.ehn.org/forest-carbon-sequestration-2649749746.html

“Researchers say “proforestation” policies are the fastest and most effective way to draw excess CO2 out of the atmosphere… while tree planting campaigns can play a role in climate change mitigation, it is the forests that are standing now that can sequester carbon most effectively in the near term. Older trees are typically more efficient carbon extractors than younger trees (in comparable environmental conditions) because, as trees get larger, they add more carbon rich mass each year than the year before… “Industry wants people to think that people who want to protect forests [are] out to stop all logging, [that] we’re against all wood products,” said Smith. “That’s not true, but we do believe that the 21st century requires us to be a lot more discerning and careful about the resources that we are consuming.” …”Not that planting trees isn’t a good idea. Of course it is. Everybody is for that. But what about the ones we’ve already got?”

DIRECT ACTIONS

India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/asia/india-internet-cut-farmers-intl-hnk/index.html

Rihanna, Greta Thunberg Lend Support to Plight of Indian Farmers

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-03/indian-farmers-win-support-from-unlikely-allies-rihanna-greta?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=business
“Pop star Rihanna and environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg have drawn global attention to Indian farmers’ fight against the government’s new agriculture laws, shining a spotlight on its suspension of internet services at protest sites around New Delhi.”

Campaigners Claim ‘Historic Win’ as France Found Guilty of Climate Inaction

https://www.desmogblog.com/2021/02/03/france-climate-landmark-case-macron

Oil Company Caves Under Pressure to Cut ‘Draconian’ Injunction
https://www.desmog.co.uk/2021/02/05/oil-gas-company-injunction-weald

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

Agroforestry may be just what Maine needs for agricultural growth

https://eu.seacoastonline.com/story/news/state/2021/02/01/agroforestry-may-just-what-maine-needs-agricultural-growth/4346637001/

“Some of the more creative agroforestry approaches involve alley cropping (interspersing annual and perennial plants), forest farming, where potentially lucrative shade crops are grown in woodland settings, and silvopasture, which incorporates trees with pasture and forage.”

‘Shift’ to plant-based diets is key to saving world’s wildlife

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/04/world/biodiversity-plant-based-intl-scli-climate/index.html

“The report, supported by the UN environment programme, focused on three solutions. First is a shift to plant-based diets because cattle, sheep and other livestock have the biggest impact on the environment. More than 80% of global farmland is used to raise animals, which provide only 18% of calories eaten. Reversing the rising trend of meat consumption removes the pressure to clear new land and further damage wildlife. It also frees up existing land for the second solution, restoring native ecosystems to increase biodiversity.”

How creating wildlife crossings can help reindeer, bears – and even crabs

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/23/how-wildlife-crossings-are-helping-reindeer-bears-and-even-crabs-aoe

ENDING ON A POSITIVE

Take a plant, leave a plant on Elphick

https://townsyapp.com/news/take-a-plant-leave-a-plant-on-elphick/

“Located west of Sebastopol at the corner of Elphick Road and Archer Way, about a block away from the Pleasant Hill Memorial cemetery. The Elphick Road Plant Stand has its own Instagram, which you can see @elphickroadplantstand.”

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?