Recommended Actions for the Week of 20171218

Source: Governor Inslee’s Facebook account

Description: Join others online at 2:30 on Monday to ask Governor Inslee and Attorney General Ferguson questions about net neutrality.

Background: Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are holding an Ask Me Anything on Reddit so folks can ask them questions about net neutrality and the lawsuit WA state filed against the Trump Administration.

Additional Information: State leaders announce steps to protect net neutrality

Source: Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy

Description: Send a form letter by Tuesday 12/19 to the WA Department of Ecology supporting their plan for how to use the $113 million from an EPA settlement with Volkswagen and asking them to focus on equity.

Background: 

Washington state is eligible for $112.7 million from an EPA settlement with Volkswagen stemming from cheating software installed in diesel vehicles since 2009.

In 2015, federal regulators discovered that Volkswagen (VW) had been installing cheating software in the diesel vehicles they sold in the U.S. since 2009. The vehicles produced up to 40 times the permitted amount of nitrogen oxides!

Diesel exhaust is Washington’s most harmful toxic air pollutant, harming our respiratory and cardiovascular systems. People of color and low-income households are more vulnerable to exposure due to where they live as well as social and economic barriers they face in mitigating impacts.

The plan would prioritize projects converting public and private transportation fleets to run on all-electric engines instead of just cleaner diesel ones. Internal combustion engines are Washington biggest source of air and carbon pollution.  

The WA Department of Ecology just released their draft spending plan.

Contact Information: Click here to send.

Source: RE Sources and Our Sound, Our Salmon

Description: California, Oregon, and Alaska have all banned Atlantic salmon net pens to protect the health of their salmon and waters. Take action today and tell Governor Inslee it’s time Washington joins them and takes the first step forward by banning the expansion of Atlantic salmon net pens in Washington’s waters! 

Contact Information: Click here to sign the petition.

Suggested Script: 

Governor Jay Inslee
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Governor Inslee,

We are writing to express both our love for Puget Sound as well as our grave concerns about the proposed expansion of Atlantic salmon net pens in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We respectfully request that you stop the expansion of this destructive industry in Washington’s waters.

Puget Sound is the lifeblood of our region. It is where we take our children to play and teach them about the wonders of nature. It is where businesses and families continue Washington’s rich history of nourishing ourselves with Puget Sound’s salmon, shellfish, forage fish, rockfish, crabs, shrimp, and prawns. It is also home for many of our iconic animals such as orcas, porpoises, otters, and all five species of salmon. We cannot risk all of that to benefit an international corporation that will pollute our Sound with harmful waste, invasive species, deadly parasites, and lethal viruses that infect our wild salmon.

We know you understand the value of Puget Sound and its salmon because you have dedicated hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to support their recovery and management. Rather than supporting the expansion of an industry that will undo that great work, we encourage you to stop the expansion of Atlantic salmon net pens in Washington. We encourage you to join California, Oregon, and Alaska, which all banned Atlantic salmon net pens to protect their salmon and the health of their waters. Additionally, we encourage you to support the development of strong, legally enforceable science-based regulations for the existing Atlantic salmon net pens, not merely toothless recommendations like we have today.

Puget Sound and the fish that swim in its waters belong to the people of Washington. We care deeply about the wellbeing of the Sound and its salmon, and we want these resources protected so our children and their children can enjoy them. Our Sound, our salmon, and our future are far too important to put in the hands of an industry with a long history of negative environmental, social, and economic impacts everywhere it operates.

We urge you to continue your work protecting Puget Sound and its salmon by stopping the expansion of Atlantic salmon net pens. This decision is in your hands – please protect our Sound, our salmon, and our future.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

The undersigned supporters of Our Sound, Our Salmon

Source: RC

Description: Encourage qualified WC residents to apply for this important committee by January 9th at 10am.

Background:  

Full description

Application

“The Whatcom County Climate Impact Advisory Committee provides review and recommendations to the Whatcom County Council and Executive on issues related to the preparation and adaptation for, and the prevention and mitigation of, impacts of climate change.”

“11 Vacancies – 7 of the members will have previous work or educational experience in subjects including climate change, renewable energy development, energy conservation, energy sector, waste reduction and recycling, farming, food security, land use planning, municipal government and flood mitigation and planning. Elected officials and staff from the cities within the county are eligible and encouraged to participate as members. Council-appointed.”

Source: Indivisible Guide

Description: Sign up here to be notified if/when the rally is happening.  The Bellingham rally will be at City Hall.

Background: Donald Trump is publicly considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, the person leading the Department of Justice investigation of possible illegal actions by Donald Trump and members of his presidential campaign, and the efforts to conceal those activities.

This would be a constitutional crisis for our country. It would demand an immediate and unequivocal response to show that we will not tolerate abuse of power from Donald Trump.

Our response in the minutes and hours following a power grab will dictate what happens next, and whether Congress—the only body with the constitutional power and obligation to rein Trump in from his rampage—will do anything to stand up to him.

That’s why we’re preparing to hold emergency “Nobody is Above the Law” rallies around the country in the event they are needed.

Additional Information: Democrats see plot to fire Mueller in escalating GOP attacks

Source: Washington Environmental Women’s Alliance

Description: 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has proposed to repeal part of the recent regulations on heavy-duty vehicles. The first item on the chopping block is regulations that keep new trucks that are outfitted with old dirty engines off the road.

These trucks only make up five percent of the freight fleet, but emit one third of the pollution for long haul trucks. The toxic air pollution produced could cause at least 12,800 premature deaths. The EPA’s own analysis shows, by 2025, these vehicles would be emitting about 300,000 tons of nitrous oxides (NOx) and 8,000 tons of soot each year.

We can’t afford to go backwards in the progress we’ve made for public health and safety. Join scientists and experts in telling the EPA we need clean air, not polluting trucks.

Contact Information: Click here to submit a letter through the Union of Concerned Scientists Website.

Additional Information: Learn more about the truck pollution loophole.

Source: National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club

Description:  The Trump administration has proposed dramatic fee increases at 17 of the country’s most popular national parks during peak seasons, including Mount Rainier, Olympic, Denali, Glacier, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon and Canyonlands National Parks.  Entrance fees could jump from $25 to $70, and the plan would take effect in 2018.  This fee hike would reduce access to too many families at the same time the administration continues to work to increase access to the fossil fuel industry.  Comment by 11/23/17 to oppose the fee hike.

Background: The administration claims this fee hike will address the agency’s $11.3 billion maintenance backlog, but Interior Secretary Zinke estimates that the new fees could raise around $70 million annually.  That’s just a tiny fraction of the maintenance backlog.  Congress already has a better solution at its fingertips: the National Park Service Legacy Act (S. 751). The Act would establish a dedicated park maintenance fund to invest a more substantial amount toward the Park Service repair backlog. This investment, plus a responsible current federal budget, would make real progress toward restoring and improving parks for the future — without creating hurdles that could keep people out of their public lands.

Contact Information:  Access the comment form here and submit your personal comment or click here to sign the Sierra Club petition.

Suggested Script: 

I strongly oppose the proposal to increase fees to the 17 most popular national parks during peak season. It’s increasingly clear that time outside is not just a luxury, but central to the health and well-being of our communities. This dramatic increase will prohibit many families from accessing our most beautiful natural places. This proposal is unjust and unacceptable, and should be dropped immediately.  The fact that the Trump administration is limiting access to everyday people while opening up our public lands to corporate polluters is a blatant giveaway to fossil fuel allies and a betrayal of the American people. I stand with thousands of others in opposition to this proposed park fee increase.

It is also very concerning that congressional leadership aims to cut the Department of Interior’s budget, while it’s clear we need more investment in our parks and its infrastructure. The solution to the funding shortfall should fall to Congress, and cannot and should not be shouldered by its visitors. The National Park Service Legacy Act (S. 751) that is pending in Congress addresses the National Park Service maintenance backlog, and it deserves the Department of the Interior’s support. This bipartisan legislation would provide a more substantial — and sustainable — investment in our parks.

Thank you for considering my comments.

Additional Information:

National Park Service Proposes Targeted Fee Increases at Parks to Address Maintenance Backlog

Outside Magazine: DOI Backtracks on Addressing Inequality in Our Parks

Source: Indivisible Guide

Description: Use a slick online calling tool to call progressives in red states and urge them to call their senators today.

Background: The terrible #GOPTaxScam bill is not a done deal yet.  With controversies about special deals and personal tax breaks coming out, the votes are not locked down to pass the bill. Indivisible strongly recommends calling only your own MOC for the most effective outreach, so what’s a blue stater to do?  Well, you can call friendly progressives in red states and ask them to call their GOP senators.  Sign up and get started now: https://www.trumptaxscam.org/calls-to-kill-the-tax-scam/

Additional Information: Last-minute real estate perk in tax reform prompts blowback for Corker