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Local Level Actions
Call/Write re: County Council Appointment
Source: Riveters Collective
Description: The Whatcom County Council is preparing to appoint a seventh member. You can impact their choice by researching the applicants and contacting the county council BEFORE THEIR MEETING ON JANUARY 9th.
Background: Our Riveters + Represent! committee reviewed applicants and we are recommending three who we think align with our platform and have the experience and vision to be valuable leaders. Scroll down for links to responses from all applicants for the position.
Timothy Ballew II
- Demonstrated track record of coalition building and visionary leadership
- Extensive and relevant experience working with stakeholders on water quality and treaty rights.
- Working knowledge of water quantity,water rights and property rights issues
- Tribal representation on our county council
- Life-long Whatcom County resident, now raising his own family in the Lummi Nation community.
- Future focused with familiarity on key issues facing Whatcom county at this time and into the future
For a more detailed outline of Timothy Ballew’s perspective you can read his full questionnaire response here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwW1mFP30AoAcFNxQjFaa0JCS1QyQnZZMUxMX2twazRzeWJB/view?usp=sharing
Carol Frazey
- Understands the value of open space and parks as economic drivers; she even owns a recreation business
- Offered detailed ideas for farm stewardship, informed by her background on a family farm
- Commitment to protecting clean drinking water.
- Recognizes the importance of cross-sector collaboration to solve complex problems
- Future focused with familiarity on key issues facing Whatcom county at this time and into the future
For a more detailed outline of Carol Frazey’s perspective you can read her full questionnaire response here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwW1mFP30AoAT21nWGl5bV83VGI4TTQ3VXU1b1h3QWRrMmFn/view?usp=sharing
Alicia Rule
- In-depth understanding of issues related to our jail and incarceration
- Values the sovereignty of local Treaty Tribes and is interested in centering their leadership
- Future focused with familiarity on key issues facing Whatcom county at this time and into the future
- Understands the economic value that preserved recreation lands can bring to Whatcom County
- Recognizes the importance of cross-sector collaboration to solve complex problems
Contact information:
Use council@co.whatcom.wa.us to reach all councilmembers. Or, reach out individually:
- Barbara Brenner: bbrenner@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-384-2762
- Rud Browne: rbrowne@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-820-9494
- Barry Buchanan: bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-224-4330
- Satpal Sidhu: ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-305-4948
- Todd Donovan: tdonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-483-8474
- Tyler Byrd: tbyrd@co.whatcom.wa.us
Suggested Script:
Subject: Council appointment recommendation
Hello, my name is {your name} and I am a constituent residing in {location}. With twenty-nine applicants for the open council seat, I appreciate the challenge in evaluating and choosing among people with diverse qualifications. I think {applicant name} is the strongest choice for this appointment. {Applicant name} {reasons why they will be great}.
Sincerely,
{your name}
For a more detailed outline of Alicia Rule’s perspective you can read her full questionnaire response here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13IhqZkbrA-t13VDrA3MftPUTfCiKI6Tx/view?usp=sharing
Additional Information:
RC Questionnaire responses from all applicants who responded.
Applicant responses to Carl Weimer’s questionnaire
Get Tickets to Let's Talk: Stretching our Edges on Race and Privilege
Source: Riveters Collective, Co3 Consulting, Bellingham Community Food Co-op and Cascadia Deaf Nation.
Description: February 11th, 2 – 4:30, Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Social Hall. Reserve tickets through Eventbrite. If you’re on Facebook, join the event for updates.
Background: Engaging in frank discussions of race and race-based issues is often a delicate task, requiring participants to recognize their status and privileges (or lack thereof) concerning another in a differently situated group. Many people remain ill-equipped with the skills necessary to navigate these encounters constructively. Discussions about race and racism need to be carefully crafted to resonate with people’s own experiences. Race, white supremacy, sexuality, and other aspects of an intersectional analysis may be perceived as too abstract if they are not presented in a manner to which participants can relate and connect.
Let’s Talk is about obtaining the foundational skills to explore better ways to connect with each other by engaging in deep listening and transformative dialogue about issues that divide us. Participants will learn to “see,” talk about, and be self-reflexive about race and racism, power and privilege, which can be both jarring and liberating. Often, however, this transformation takes time.
Nothing bridges the divide between race and culture like informed dialogue that’s grounded in shared understanding. In the first hour, Gerry Ebalaroza Tunnell and Ashanti Monts-Tréviska will share their stories about race and racism, and power and privilege. Participants will then reflect on their own comfort level when talking about race and distinguish between intent and impact and reflect on what it means to enjoy or have a lack of privilege.
In the second hour, participants we will gather in a talking circle to debrief about what was learned and the takeaways to engage in transformative dialogue. In the last half hour, participants will be introduced to “Is Everyone Really Equal?” book club designed to continue the dialogue on race and privilege, and perpetuate cohesive communities. Participants will be asked to form book club groups to continue the conversation.
SIGN UP TODAY!
ASL interpretation will be provided. Please email us at riveterscollective@gmail.com if you need other accommodations.
Contact Information: riveterscollective@gmail.com
Donate/Attend/Promote: Womxn's March Anniversary Event: People's Movement Assembly on Jan 21
Source: Community to Community Development, Redline Salish Sea, Whatcom Civil Rights Project, Womxn’s March on Bellingham, NWDC Resistance/Resistencia al NWDC, and Riveters Collective
Description: The RC is proud to support this Womxn’s March anniversary event. Our fundraising goal is $1500, and the RC is collecting funds through our website.
We Marched, Now We Act!
Whatcom/Skagit County – People’s Movement Assembly
Please hold the date. 9AM-5PM (LOCATION TBA).
On Sunday January 21, 2018, we will once again convene the community in a anti-inauguration People’s Movement Assembly (PMA) under the current Trump administration. We invite community members in Whatcom and Skagit Counties to join us in a participative analysis of actions and commitments from our PMA held in January of 2017. It is critical that we come together to fight harder than ever because the survival of immigrant community members, indigenous community members, our freedoms, human rights, democracy, the health of women and children, and Mother Earth are at stake. This is part of a process to intersect issues that are affecting our communities and are being led by the people on the frontlines of struggles.
The PMA is a space we together create to grow power in and for the people. It is a process in collective problem-solving by all involved. It is an act of coming together to share, work and move toward a collective vision. Issues are focused on frontline communities where the most influential movements are taking place. This is part of a process to intersect issues that are affecting our communities and are being led by the people on the frontlines of struggles. The PMA is a social movement of the people most affected by historical and current injustices to demand justice with a coordinated and sustained collective force.
This year, we will grow our resistance against the current Trump administration and impending fascist forces of capitalism, racism, white supremacy and settler colonialism. Together we will envision the road towards a Just Transition and a better way that leaves nobody behind!
For more information about PMA’s please see:
http://
OTHER INFORMATION:
1. There will be gender neutral restrooms.
2. Please come scent free.
3. Interpretation: Spanish interpretation is available. ASL interpretation has not been confirmed.
4. Lunch/Food will be a potluck, so please feel free to bring food and drinks. C2C will provide partial catering for lunch.
DRAFT AGENDA:
9:00 am-9:30 am Sign ins
9:40 am-Mistica Begins for all groups, organizations and contingencies
Welcoming
PMA-Part 1
Lunch
PMA-Part 2
5:00 pm-End
Contact Information:
Additional Information:
Apply for Whatcom County Climate Impacts Advisory Committee by January 9
Source: RC
Description: Encourage qualified WC residents to apply for this important committee by January 9th at 10am. Carl Weimer and Dan McShane say it will take about 8 hours/month, decided by the committee.
Background:
“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.”
Apply by 1/19 or Recommend: Whatcom Conservation District Board Supervisor
Source: Whatcom Conservation District
Description: The Whatcom Conservation District is seeking candidates for a seat on the Board. Encourage qualified Whatcom County residents who are registered voters to apply for this important board by January 19th at 4:00 pm. The election will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
Background: Whatcom Conservation District assists land managers with their conservation choices. The District is governed by a board or five supervisors, public officials who serve without compensation and who set policy and direction for the District. Candidates for this seat must be registered voters residing in Whatcom County and may be required to own land or operate a farm.
Contact Information: Click here for information about applying.
Civic Tithing: Set up Monthly Donations to Local Orgs
Source: Riveters Collective
Description: Set up recurring monthly donations to local organizations. Use our searchable list!
Background:
Civic tithing can stabilize funding for our local organizations in an uncertain economic future. From the Old English for “one-tenth”, tithing has traditionally meant giving part of one’s income to a church or government. In civic tithing, we take the routine giving concept and apply it to civic and community organizations in Whatcom County. Together, our group could improve and stabilize the financial outlook for organizations serving our community in 2017.
First, decide how much of your income you could part with on a monthly or yearly basis, whether 0.1% or 10%. Take the annual cost and divide by 12. Then set up monthly donations to an organization in that amount.
To help you identify organizations, a few Riveters Collective members curated this list for us. We originally published it for 2017, and updated for 2018.
Contact Governor and Legislators about Acting on Climate with 100% Clean Energy
Source: Climate Solutions
Description: Call or write state legislators and ask that they commit to supporting a transition to 100% clean energy in the 2018 legislative session. If you can, attend the 100% for climate lobby day in Olympia on January 22.
Background: Two years ago today in Paris, we made a historic commitment as a country and as nations around the world, uniting to address the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement was signed over two years that day, the need to limit global temperature rise by transitioning away from fossil fuels has only grown more urgent as climate change bears down on us in Washington state and around the world.
With the fossil fuel industry and their allies wielding powerful influence over our Congress, we need to accelerate the change and solutions here in the Northwest. We need to significantly reduce global warming pollution here at home – to take care of this collective place we hold dear, and also to show the world that a just transition from fossil fuels is possible. The Pacific Northwest and Washington can lead and have a major impact here and beyond our borders. But that fossil fuel industry influence also runs deep in our state capitol. Our elected leaders head back to Olympia soon after the holiday, and they need to hear from us that people in our state want real climate action.
The Pacific Northwest is well positioned and prepared to quickly make a just transition to 100% clean energy. We can succeed by doing three things: (1) swiftly transition to clean, efficient energy powering our lives – we’re already more than two-thirds of the way there; (2) electrify as many energy uses for the built environment, industrial processes, and transportation as possible; and (3) decrease demand for energy and decarbonize our existing energy sources.
A 100% Clean Energy Standard policy would require all new resources acquired by a utility, including power purchase agreements, to be clean—setting us on a path to zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation. The electricity sector is the second largest source of carbon pollution in the state. Initial research conducted by Climate Solutions, Audubon Society, and other partners shows this policy would cut approximately 70 percent of carbon emissions from the electricity by 2035, and full put Washington’s on a 100% clean electricity path by the 2040s. Not only would the policy cut carbon pollution, but it would also help create thousands of new jobs in the state. Washington utilities expect to comply with significant investments in storage technologies, a major international growth area that would contribute to significant investments that create thousands of jobs right here in Washington.
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Suggested Script: Washington can and should act on climate by committing to a quick transition to 100% clean energy. With a 100% Clean Energy Standard, all the new sources of power provided by our power utilities would be clean energy. Washington could achieve zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation–cutting the emissions that cause global warming, and creating thousands of new jobs in our state. In the 2018 legislative session, please support a transition to 100% clean energy.
Call/Write State Legislators - Ask for Tax Reform on Upside-Down Day, January 9th
Source: All In for Washington
Description: Send an email or call your state legislators and ask for tax reform.
Background: Six business days — that’s all the time the wealthiest households in Washington need to earn their share of state taxes for the entire year. Meanwhile, working families need more than two months to do the same.
Today is January 9 and the wealthy have accomplished this task. It’s all thanks to Washington’s upside-down tax code that gives the wealthiest a special deal at the expense of the rest of us.
Script: See All In for Washington document
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Tell Washington Legislators to Pass the Voting Rights Act
Source: ACLU
Description: Sign ACLU Petition
Background: Everyone’s vote should count and all voices need to be heard for government to be accountable, but some election systems prevent communities from being represented in local government. The Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) empowers local governments to voluntarily change their voting systems to ensure all communities have a voice. It strengthens democracy, improves accountability, and avoids the risk of expensive federal litigation under the Federal Voting Rights Act. Tell your legislator to support the Washington Voting Rights Act.
Source: Riveters Collective
Description: The Whatcom County Council is preparing to appoint a seventh member. You can impact their choice by researching the applicants and contacting the county council BEFORE THEIR MEETING ON JANUARY 9th.
Background: Our Riveters + Represent! committee reviewed applicants and we are recommending three who we think align with our platform and have the experience and vision to be valuable leaders. Scroll down for links to responses from all applicants for the position.
Timothy Ballew II
- Demonstrated track record of coalition building and visionary leadership
- Extensive and relevant experience working with stakeholders on water quality and treaty rights.
- Working knowledge of water quantity,water rights and property rights issues
- Tribal representation on our county council
- Life-long Whatcom County resident, now raising his own family in the Lummi Nation community.
- Future focused with familiarity on key issues facing Whatcom county at this time and into the future
For a more detailed outline of Timothy Ballew’s perspective you can read his full questionnaire response here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwW1mFP30AoAcFNxQjFaa0JCS1QyQnZZMUxMX2twazRzeWJB/view?usp=sharing
Carol Frazey
- Understands the value of open space and parks as economic drivers; she even owns a recreation business
- Offered detailed ideas for farm stewardship, informed by her background on a family farm
- Commitment to protecting clean drinking water.
- Recognizes the importance of cross-sector collaboration to solve complex problems
- Future focused with familiarity on key issues facing Whatcom county at this time and into the future
For a more detailed outline of Carol Frazey’s perspective you can read her full questionnaire response here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwW1mFP30AoAT21nWGl5bV83VGI4TTQ3VXU1b1h3QWRrMmFn/view?usp=sharing
Alicia Rule
- In-depth understanding of issues related to our jail and incarceration
- Values the sovereignty of local Treaty Tribes and is interested in centering their leadership
- Future focused with familiarity on key issues facing Whatcom county at this time and into the future
- Understands the economic value that preserved recreation lands can bring to Whatcom County
- Recognizes the importance of cross-sector collaboration to solve complex problems
Contact information:
Use council@co.whatcom.wa.us to reach all councilmembers. Or, reach out individually:
- Barbara Brenner: bbrenner@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-384-2762
- Rud Browne: rbrowne@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-820-9494
- Barry Buchanan: bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-224-4330
- Satpal Sidhu: ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-305-4948
- Todd Donovan: tdonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us or 360-483-8474
- Tyler Byrd: tbyrd@co.whatcom.wa.us
Suggested Script:
Subject: Council appointment recommendation
Hello, my name is {your name} and I am a constituent residing in {location}. With twenty-nine applicants for the open council seat, I appreciate the challenge in evaluating and choosing among people with diverse qualifications. I think {applicant name} is the strongest choice for this appointment. {Applicant name} {reasons why they will be great}.
Sincerely,
{your name}
For a more detailed outline of Alicia Rule’s perspective you can read her full questionnaire response here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13IhqZkbrA-t13VDrA3MftPUTfCiKI6Tx/view?usp=sharing
Additional Information:
RC Questionnaire responses from all applicants who responded.
Applicant responses to Carl Weimer’s questionnaire
Get Tickets to Let's Talk: Stretching our Edges on Race and Privilege
Source: Riveters Collective, Co3 Consulting, Bellingham Community Food Co-op and Cascadia Deaf Nation.
Description: February 11th, 2 – 4:30, Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Social Hall. Reserve tickets through Eventbrite. If you’re on Facebook, join the event for updates.
Background: Engaging in frank discussions of race and race-based issues is often a delicate task, requiring participants to recognize their status and privileges (or lack thereof) concerning another in a differently situated group. Many people remain ill-equipped with the skills necessary to navigate these encounters constructively. Discussions about race and racism need to be carefully crafted to resonate with people’s own experiences. Race, white supremacy, sexuality, and other aspects of an intersectional analysis may be perceived as too abstract if they are not presented in a manner to which participants can relate and connect.
Let’s Talk is about obtaining the foundational skills to explore better ways to connect with each other by engaging in deep listening and transformative dialogue about issues that divide us. Participants will learn to “see,” talk about, and be self-reflexive about race and racism, power and privilege, which can be both jarring and liberating. Often, however, this transformation takes time.
Nothing bridges the divide between race and culture like informed dialogue that’s grounded in shared understanding. In the first hour, Gerry Ebalaroza Tunnell and Ashanti Monts-Tréviska will share their stories about race and racism, and power and privilege. Participants will then reflect on their own comfort level when talking about race and distinguish between intent and impact and reflect on what it means to enjoy or have a lack of privilege.
In the second hour, participants we will gather in a talking circle to debrief about what was learned and the takeaways to engage in transformative dialogue. In the last half hour, participants will be introduced to “Is Everyone Really Equal?” book club designed to continue the dialogue on race and privilege, and perpetuate cohesive communities. Participants will be asked to form book club groups to continue the conversation.
SIGN UP TODAY!
ASL interpretation will be provided. Please email us at riveterscollective@gmail.com if you need other accommodations.
Contact Information: riveterscollective@gmail.com
Donate/Attend/Promote: Womxn's March Anniversary Event: People's Movement Assembly on Jan 21
Source: Community to Community Development, Redline Salish Sea, Whatcom Civil Rights Project, Womxn’s March on Bellingham, NWDC Resistance/Resistencia al NWDC, and Riveters Collective
Description: The RC is proud to support this Womxn’s March anniversary event. Our fundraising goal is $1500, and the RC is collecting funds through our website.
We Marched, Now We Act!
Whatcom/Skagit County – People’s Movement Assembly
Please hold the date. 9AM-5PM (LOCATION TBA).
On Sunday January 21, 2018, we will once again convene the community in a anti-inauguration People’s Movement Assembly (PMA) under the current Trump administration. We invite community members in Whatcom and Skagit Counties to join us in a participative analysis of actions and commitments from our PMA held in January of 2017. It is critical that we come together to fight harder than ever because the survival of immigrant community members, indigenous community members, our freedoms, human rights, democracy, the health of women and children, and Mother Earth are at stake. This is part of a process to intersect issues that are affecting our communities and are being led by the people on the frontlines of struggles.
The PMA is a space we together create to grow power in and for the people. It is a process in collective problem-solving by all involved. It is an act of coming together to share, work and move toward a collective vision. Issues are focused on frontline communities where the most influential movements are taking place. This is part of a process to intersect issues that are affecting our communities and are being led by the people on the frontlines of struggles. The PMA is a social movement of the people most affected by historical and current injustices to demand justice with a coordinated and sustained collective force.
This year, we will grow our resistance against the current Trump administration and impending fascist forces of capitalism, racism, white supremacy and settler colonialism. Together we will envision the road towards a Just Transition and a better way that leaves nobody behind!
For more information about PMA’s please see:
http://
OTHER INFORMATION:
1. There will be gender neutral restrooms.
2. Please come scent free.
3. Interpretation: Spanish interpretation is available. ASL interpretation has not been confirmed.
4. Lunch/Food will be a potluck, so please feel free to bring food and drinks. C2C will provide partial catering for lunch.
DRAFT AGENDA:
9:00 am-9:30 am Sign ins
9:40 am-Mistica Begins for all groups, organizations and contingencies
Welcoming
PMA-Part 1
Lunch
PMA-Part 2
5:00 pm-End
Contact Information:
Additional Information:
Apply for Whatcom County Climate Impacts Advisory Committee by January 9
Source: RC
Description: Encourage qualified WC residents to apply for this important committee by January 9th at 10am. Carl Weimer and Dan McShane say it will take about 8 hours/month, decided by the committee.
Background:
“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.”
Apply by 1/19 or Recommend: Whatcom Conservation District Board Supervisor
Source: Whatcom Conservation District
Description: The Whatcom Conservation District is seeking candidates for a seat on the Board. Encourage qualified Whatcom County residents who are registered voters to apply for this important board by January 19th at 4:00 pm. The election will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
Background: Whatcom Conservation District assists land managers with their conservation choices. The District is governed by a board or five supervisors, public officials who serve without compensation and who set policy and direction for the District. Candidates for this seat must be registered voters residing in Whatcom County and may be required to own land or operate a farm.
Contact Information: Click here for information about applying.
Civic Tithing: Set up Monthly Donations to Local Orgs
Source: Riveters Collective
Description: Set up recurring monthly donations to local organizations. Use our searchable list!
Background:
Civic tithing can stabilize funding for our local organizations in an uncertain economic future. From the Old English for “one-tenth”, tithing has traditionally meant giving part of one’s income to a church or government. In civic tithing, we take the routine giving concept and apply it to civic and community organizations in Whatcom County. Together, our group could improve and stabilize the financial outlook for organizations serving our community in 2017.
First, decide how much of your income you could part with on a monthly or yearly basis, whether 0.1% or 10%. Take the annual cost and divide by 12. Then set up monthly donations to an organization in that amount.
To help you identify organizations, a few Riveters Collective members curated this list for us. We originally published it for 2017, and updated for 2018.
Contact Governor and Legislators about Acting on Climate with 100% Clean Energy
Source: Climate Solutions
Description: Call or write state legislators and ask that they commit to supporting a transition to 100% clean energy in the 2018 legislative session. If you can, attend the 100% for climate lobby day in Olympia on January 22.
Background: Two years ago today in Paris, we made a historic commitment as a country and as nations around the world, uniting to address the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement was signed over two years that day, the need to limit global temperature rise by transitioning away from fossil fuels has only grown more urgent as climate change bears down on us in Washington state and around the world.
With the fossil fuel industry and their allies wielding powerful influence over our Congress, we need to accelerate the change and solutions here in the Northwest. We need to significantly reduce global warming pollution here at home – to take care of this collective place we hold dear, and also to show the world that a just transition from fossil fuels is possible. The Pacific Northwest and Washington can lead and have a major impact here and beyond our borders. But that fossil fuel industry influence also runs deep in our state capitol. Our elected leaders head back to Olympia soon after the holiday, and they need to hear from us that people in our state want real climate action.
The Pacific Northwest is well positioned and prepared to quickly make a just transition to 100% clean energy. We can succeed by doing three things: (1) swiftly transition to clean, efficient energy powering our lives – we’re already more than two-thirds of the way there; (2) electrify as many energy uses for the built environment, industrial processes, and transportation as possible; and (3) decrease demand for energy and decarbonize our existing energy sources.
A 100% Clean Energy Standard policy would require all new resources acquired by a utility, including power purchase agreements, to be clean—setting us on a path to zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation. The electricity sector is the second largest source of carbon pollution in the state. Initial research conducted by Climate Solutions, Audubon Society, and other partners shows this policy would cut approximately 70 percent of carbon emissions from the electricity by 2035, and full put Washington’s on a 100% clean electricity path by the 2040s. Not only would the policy cut carbon pollution, but it would also help create thousands of new jobs in the state. Washington utilities expect to comply with significant investments in storage technologies, a major international growth area that would contribute to significant investments that create thousands of jobs right here in Washington.
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Suggested Script: Washington can and should act on climate by committing to a quick transition to 100% clean energy. With a 100% Clean Energy Standard, all the new sources of power provided by our power utilities would be clean energy. Washington could achieve zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation–cutting the emissions that cause global warming, and creating thousands of new jobs in our state. In the 2018 legislative session, please support a transition to 100% clean energy.
Call/Write State Legislators - Ask for Tax Reform on Upside-Down Day, January 9th
Source: All In for Washington
Description: Send an email or call your state legislators and ask for tax reform.
Background: Six business days — that’s all the time the wealthiest households in Washington need to earn their share of state taxes for the entire year. Meanwhile, working families need more than two months to do the same.
Today is January 9 and the wealthy have accomplished this task. It’s all thanks to Washington’s upside-down tax code that gives the wealthiest a special deal at the expense of the rest of us.
Script: See All In for Washington document
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Tell Washington Legislators to Pass the Voting Rights Act
Source: ACLU
Description: Sign ACLU Petition
Background: Everyone’s vote should count and all voices need to be heard for government to be accountable, but some election systems prevent communities from being represented in local government. The Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) empowers local governments to voluntarily change their voting systems to ensure all communities have a voice. It strengthens democracy, improves accountability, and avoids the risk of expensive federal litigation under the Federal Voting Rights Act. Tell your legislator to support the Washington Voting Rights Act.
Source: Community to Community Development, Redline Salish Sea, Whatcom Civil Rights Project, Womxn’s March on Bellingham, NWDC Resistance/Resistencia al NWDC, and Riveters Collective
Description: The RC is proud to support this Womxn’s March anniversary event. Our fundraising goal is $1500, and the RC is collecting funds through our website.
We Marched, Now We Act!
Whatcom/Skagit County – People’s Movement Assembly
Please hold the date. 9AM-5PM (LOCATION TBA).
On Sunday January 21, 2018, we will once again convene the community in a anti-inauguration People’s Movement Assembly (PMA) under the current Trump administration. We invite community members in Whatcom and Skagit Counties to join us in a participative analysis of actions and commitments from our PMA held in January of 2017. It is critical that we come together to fight harder than ever because the survival of immigrant community members, indigenous community members, our freedoms, human rights, democracy, the health of women and children, and Mother Earth are at stake. This is part of a process to intersect issues that are affecting our communities and are being led by the people on the frontlines of struggles.
The PMA is a space we together create to grow power in and for the people. It is a process in collective problem-solving by all involved. It is an act of coming together to share, work and move toward a collective vision. Issues are focused on frontline communities where the most influential movements are taking place. This is part of a process to intersect issues that are affecting our communities and are being led by the people on the frontlines of struggles. The PMA is a social movement of the people most affected by historical and current injustices to demand justice with a coordinated and sustained collective force.
This year, we will grow our resistance against the current Trump administration and impending fascist forces of capitalism, racism, white supremacy and settler colonialism. Together we will envision the road towards a Just Transition and a better way that leaves nobody behind!
For more information about PMA’s please see:
http://
OTHER INFORMATION:
1. There will be gender neutral restrooms.
2. Please come scent free.
3. Interpretation: Spanish interpretation is available. ASL interpretation has not been confirmed.
4. Lunch/Food will be a potluck, so please feel free to bring food and drinks. C2C will provide partial catering for lunch.
DRAFT AGENDA:
9:00 am-9:30 am Sign ins
9:40 am-Mistica Begins for all groups, organizations and contingencies
Welcoming
PMA-Part 1
Lunch
PMA-Part 2
5:00 pm-End
Contact Information:
Additional Information:
Apply for Whatcom County Climate Impacts Advisory Committee by January 9
Source: RC
Description: Encourage qualified WC residents to apply for this important committee by January 9th at 10am. Carl Weimer and Dan McShane say it will take about 8 hours/month, decided by the committee.
Background:
“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.”
Apply by 1/19 or Recommend: Whatcom Conservation District Board Supervisor
Source: Whatcom Conservation District
Description: The Whatcom Conservation District is seeking candidates for a seat on the Board. Encourage qualified Whatcom County residents who are registered voters to apply for this important board by January 19th at 4:00 pm. The election will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
Background: Whatcom Conservation District assists land managers with their conservation choices. The District is governed by a board or five supervisors, public officials who serve without compensation and who set policy and direction for the District. Candidates for this seat must be registered voters residing in Whatcom County and may be required to own land or operate a farm.
Contact Information: Click here for information about applying.
Civic Tithing: Set up Monthly Donations to Local Orgs
Source: Riveters Collective
Description: Set up recurring monthly donations to local organizations. Use our searchable list!
Background:
Civic tithing can stabilize funding for our local organizations in an uncertain economic future. From the Old English for “one-tenth”, tithing has traditionally meant giving part of one’s income to a church or government. In civic tithing, we take the routine giving concept and apply it to civic and community organizations in Whatcom County. Together, our group could improve and stabilize the financial outlook for organizations serving our community in 2017.
First, decide how much of your income you could part with on a monthly or yearly basis, whether 0.1% or 10%. Take the annual cost and divide by 12. Then set up monthly donations to an organization in that amount.
To help you identify organizations, a few Riveters Collective members curated this list for us. We originally published it for 2017, and updated for 2018.
Contact Governor and Legislators about Acting on Climate with 100% Clean Energy
Source: Climate Solutions
Description: Call or write state legislators and ask that they commit to supporting a transition to 100% clean energy in the 2018 legislative session. If you can, attend the 100% for climate lobby day in Olympia on January 22.
Background: Two years ago today in Paris, we made a historic commitment as a country and as nations around the world, uniting to address the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement was signed over two years that day, the need to limit global temperature rise by transitioning away from fossil fuels has only grown more urgent as climate change bears down on us in Washington state and around the world.
With the fossil fuel industry and their allies wielding powerful influence over our Congress, we need to accelerate the change and solutions here in the Northwest. We need to significantly reduce global warming pollution here at home – to take care of this collective place we hold dear, and also to show the world that a just transition from fossil fuels is possible. The Pacific Northwest and Washington can lead and have a major impact here and beyond our borders. But that fossil fuel industry influence also runs deep in our state capitol. Our elected leaders head back to Olympia soon after the holiday, and they need to hear from us that people in our state want real climate action.
The Pacific Northwest is well positioned and prepared to quickly make a just transition to 100% clean energy. We can succeed by doing three things: (1) swiftly transition to clean, efficient energy powering our lives – we’re already more than two-thirds of the way there; (2) electrify as many energy uses for the built environment, industrial processes, and transportation as possible; and (3) decrease demand for energy and decarbonize our existing energy sources.
A 100% Clean Energy Standard policy would require all new resources acquired by a utility, including power purchase agreements, to be clean—setting us on a path to zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation. The electricity sector is the second largest source of carbon pollution in the state. Initial research conducted by Climate Solutions, Audubon Society, and other partners shows this policy would cut approximately 70 percent of carbon emissions from the electricity by 2035, and full put Washington’s on a 100% clean electricity path by the 2040s. Not only would the policy cut carbon pollution, but it would also help create thousands of new jobs in the state. Washington utilities expect to comply with significant investments in storage technologies, a major international growth area that would contribute to significant investments that create thousands of jobs right here in Washington.
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Suggested Script: Washington can and should act on climate by committing to a quick transition to 100% clean energy. With a 100% Clean Energy Standard, all the new sources of power provided by our power utilities would be clean energy. Washington could achieve zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation–cutting the emissions that cause global warming, and creating thousands of new jobs in our state. In the 2018 legislative session, please support a transition to 100% clean energy.
Call/Write State Legislators - Ask for Tax Reform on Upside-Down Day, January 9th
Source: All In for Washington
Description: Send an email or call your state legislators and ask for tax reform.
Background: Six business days — that’s all the time the wealthiest households in Washington need to earn their share of state taxes for the entire year. Meanwhile, working families need more than two months to do the same.
Today is January 9 and the wealthy have accomplished this task. It’s all thanks to Washington’s upside-down tax code that gives the wealthiest a special deal at the expense of the rest of us.
Script: See All In for Washington document
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Tell Washington Legislators to Pass the Voting Rights Act
Source: ACLU
Description: Sign ACLU Petition
Background: Everyone’s vote should count and all voices need to be heard for government to be accountable, but some election systems prevent communities from being represented in local government. The Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) empowers local governments to voluntarily change their voting systems to ensure all communities have a voice. It strengthens democracy, improves accountability, and avoids the risk of expensive federal litigation under the Federal Voting Rights Act. Tell your legislator to support the Washington Voting Rights Act.
Source: Whatcom Conservation District
Description: The Whatcom Conservation District is seeking candidates for a seat on the Board. Encourage qualified Whatcom County residents who are registered voters to apply for this important board by January 19th at 4:00 pm. The election will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
Background: Whatcom Conservation District assists land managers with their conservation choices. The District is governed by a board or five supervisors, public officials who serve without compensation and who set policy and direction for the District. Candidates for this seat must be registered voters residing in Whatcom County and may be required to own land or operate a farm.
Contact Information: Click here for information about applying.
Civic Tithing: Set up Monthly Donations to Local Orgs
Source: Riveters Collective
Description: Set up recurring monthly donations to local organizations. Use our searchable list!
Background:
Civic tithing can stabilize funding for our local organizations in an uncertain economic future. From the Old English for “one-tenth”, tithing has traditionally meant giving part of one’s income to a church or government. In civic tithing, we take the routine giving concept and apply it to civic and community organizations in Whatcom County. Together, our group could improve and stabilize the financial outlook for organizations serving our community in 2017.
First, decide how much of your income you could part with on a monthly or yearly basis, whether 0.1% or 10%. Take the annual cost and divide by 12. Then set up monthly donations to an organization in that amount.
To help you identify organizations, a few Riveters Collective members curated this list for us. We originally published it for 2017, and updated for 2018.
Contact Governor and Legislators about Acting on Climate with 100% Clean Energy
Source: Climate Solutions
Description: Call or write state legislators and ask that they commit to supporting a transition to 100% clean energy in the 2018 legislative session. If you can, attend the 100% for climate lobby day in Olympia on January 22.
Background: Two years ago today in Paris, we made a historic commitment as a country and as nations around the world, uniting to address the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement was signed over two years that day, the need to limit global temperature rise by transitioning away from fossil fuels has only grown more urgent as climate change bears down on us in Washington state and around the world.
With the fossil fuel industry and their allies wielding powerful influence over our Congress, we need to accelerate the change and solutions here in the Northwest. We need to significantly reduce global warming pollution here at home – to take care of this collective place we hold dear, and also to show the world that a just transition from fossil fuels is possible. The Pacific Northwest and Washington can lead and have a major impact here and beyond our borders. But that fossil fuel industry influence also runs deep in our state capitol. Our elected leaders head back to Olympia soon after the holiday, and they need to hear from us that people in our state want real climate action.
The Pacific Northwest is well positioned and prepared to quickly make a just transition to 100% clean energy. We can succeed by doing three things: (1) swiftly transition to clean, efficient energy powering our lives – we’re already more than two-thirds of the way there; (2) electrify as many energy uses for the built environment, industrial processes, and transportation as possible; and (3) decrease demand for energy and decarbonize our existing energy sources.
A 100% Clean Energy Standard policy would require all new resources acquired by a utility, including power purchase agreements, to be clean—setting us on a path to zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation. The electricity sector is the second largest source of carbon pollution in the state. Initial research conducted by Climate Solutions, Audubon Society, and other partners shows this policy would cut approximately 70 percent of carbon emissions from the electricity by 2035, and full put Washington’s on a 100% clean electricity path by the 2040s. Not only would the policy cut carbon pollution, but it would also help create thousands of new jobs in the state. Washington utilities expect to comply with significant investments in storage technologies, a major international growth area that would contribute to significant investments that create thousands of jobs right here in Washington.
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Suggested Script: Washington can and should act on climate by committing to a quick transition to 100% clean energy. With a 100% Clean Energy Standard, all the new sources of power provided by our power utilities would be clean energy. Washington could achieve zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation–cutting the emissions that cause global warming, and creating thousands of new jobs in our state. In the 2018 legislative session, please support a transition to 100% clean energy.
Call/Write State Legislators - Ask for Tax Reform on Upside-Down Day, January 9th
Source: All In for Washington
Description: Send an email or call your state legislators and ask for tax reform.
Background: Six business days — that’s all the time the wealthiest households in Washington need to earn their share of state taxes for the entire year. Meanwhile, working families need more than two months to do the same.
Today is January 9 and the wealthy have accomplished this task. It’s all thanks to Washington’s upside-down tax code that gives the wealthiest a special deal at the expense of the rest of us.
Script: See All In for Washington document
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Tell Washington Legislators to Pass the Voting Rights Act
Source: ACLU
Description: Sign ACLU Petition
Background: Everyone’s vote should count and all voices need to be heard for government to be accountable, but some election systems prevent communities from being represented in local government. The Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) empowers local governments to voluntarily change their voting systems to ensure all communities have a voice. It strengthens democracy, improves accountability, and avoids the risk of expensive federal litigation under the Federal Voting Rights Act. Tell your legislator to support the Washington Voting Rights Act.
Source: Climate Solutions
Description: Call or write state legislators and ask that they commit to supporting a transition to 100% clean energy in the 2018 legislative session. If you can, attend the 100% for climate lobby day in Olympia on January 22.
Background: Two years ago today in Paris, we made a historic commitment as a country and as nations around the world, uniting to address the climate crisis. Since the Paris Agreement was signed over two years that day, the need to limit global temperature rise by transitioning away from fossil fuels has only grown more urgent as climate change bears down on us in Washington state and around the world.
With the fossil fuel industry and their allies wielding powerful influence over our Congress, we need to accelerate the change and solutions here in the Northwest. We need to significantly reduce global warming pollution here at home – to take care of this collective place we hold dear, and also to show the world that a just transition from fossil fuels is possible. The Pacific Northwest and Washington can lead and have a major impact here and beyond our borders. But that fossil fuel industry influence also runs deep in our state capitol. Our elected leaders head back to Olympia soon after the holiday, and they need to hear from us that people in our state want real climate action.
The Pacific Northwest is well positioned and prepared to quickly make a just transition to 100% clean energy. We can succeed by doing three things: (1) swiftly transition to clean, efficient energy powering our lives – we’re already more than two-thirds of the way there; (2) electrify as many energy uses for the built environment, industrial processes, and transportation as possible; and (3) decrease demand for energy and decarbonize our existing energy sources.
A 100% Clean Energy Standard policy would require all new resources acquired by a utility, including power purchase agreements, to be clean—setting us on a path to zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation. The electricity sector is the second largest source of carbon pollution in the state. Initial research conducted by Climate Solutions, Audubon Society, and other partners shows this policy would cut approximately 70 percent of carbon emissions from the electricity by 2035, and full put Washington’s on a 100% clean electricity path by the 2040s. Not only would the policy cut carbon pollution, but it would also help create thousands of new jobs in the state. Washington utilities expect to comply with significant investments in storage technologies, a major international growth area that would contribute to significant investments that create thousands of jobs right here in Washington.
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Suggested Script: Washington can and should act on climate by committing to a quick transition to 100% clean energy. With a 100% Clean Energy Standard, all the new sources of power provided by our power utilities would be clean energy. Washington could achieve zero-carbon electricity over the course of the next generation–cutting the emissions that cause global warming, and creating thousands of new jobs in our state. In the 2018 legislative session, please support a transition to 100% clean energy.
Call/Write State Legislators - Ask for Tax Reform on Upside-Down Day, January 9th
Source: All In for Washington
Description: Send an email or call your state legislators and ask for tax reform.
Background: Six business days — that’s all the time the wealthiest households in Washington need to earn their share of state taxes for the entire year. Meanwhile, working families need more than two months to do the same.
Today is January 9 and the wealthy have accomplished this task. It’s all thanks to Washington’s upside-down tax code that gives the wealthiest a special deal at the expense of the rest of us.
Script: See All In for Washington document
Contact Information:
Governor Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message
42nd District
Senator Doug Ericksen
(360) 786 – 7682
Doug.Ericksen@leg.wa.gov
Representative Luanne Van Werven
(360) 786 – 7980
Luanne.VanWerven@leg.wa.gov
Representative Vincent Buys
(360) 786 – 7854
Vincent.Buys@leg.wa.gov
40th District
Senator Kevin Ranker
(360) 786 – 7678
Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov
Representative Kristine Lytton
(360) 786 – 7800
Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov
Representative Jeff R. Morris
(360) 786 – 7970
Jeff.Morris@leg.wa.gov
Tell Washington Legislators to Pass the Voting Rights Act
Source: ACLU
Description: Sign ACLU Petition
Background: Everyone’s vote should count and all voices need to be heard for government to be accountable, but some election systems prevent communities from being represented in local government. The Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) empowers local governments to voluntarily change their voting systems to ensure all communities have a voice. It strengthens democracy, improves accountability, and avoids the risk of expensive federal litigation under the Federal Voting Rights Act. Tell your legislator to support the Washington Voting Rights Act.
Source: ACLU
Description: Sign ACLU Petition
Background: Everyone’s vote should count and all voices need to be heard for government to be accountable, but some election systems prevent communities from being represented in local government. The Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) empowers local governments to voluntarily change their voting systems to ensure all communities have a voice. It strengthens democracy, improves accountability, and avoids the risk of expensive federal litigation under the Federal Voting Rights Act. Tell your legislator to support the Washington Voting Rights Act.
National Level Actions / Other
Comment: Defend the Clean Power Plan
Source: Save EPA
Description: The Trump administration is proposing to withdraw the Clean Power Plan. Submit comments to oppose the repeal by January 16, 8:59 PM PST.
Background: The CPP repeal proposal is a key action stemming from the President’s March 28 executive order, which calls review and potential suspension or repeal of CPP and multiple other Obama administration climate rules and policies. The Trump Administration contends that EPA lacked the legal authority to issue the rule, claiming that only changes made at the fossil fuel plants themselves (inside the fence line) are consistent with the language of the Clean Air Act. The Trump Administration also created a questionable analytic redo of the CPP economic analysis, making several changes that increase the estimated costs of CPP and reduce the estimated benefits in an apparent effort to show that repealing the CPP would not harm our country’s welfare.
Contact Information: Click here to submit comment online.
- Suggested Script (personalize if you can, especially if you can describe how you or somone you are close to was impacted by a recent extreme weather or climate disaster): From heat waves and record high temperatures to increased drought and flooding and intense storm events, climate change poses an existential threat to our communities, economy, security, food systems, and ecosystems. I am strongly opposed to the proposed repeal of the CPP.
The CPP is an appropriate way to cut climate pollution under the Clean Air Act because it recognizes that electricity system is interconnected and reflects the way the power industry really works. It is based on regulatory tools used to regulate power plant pollution for decades (e.g., trading mechanisms that allow for the greatest reduction at the lowest cost). The repeal proposal single-plant approach reflects an archaic view of power generation before there was a grid. The CPP is fair, flexible and designed to strengthen the advancement of America’s power grid toward cleaner fuels and newer technologies while keeping the supply of electric power affordable and reliable. The CPP gives states flexibility to design pollution reduction plans that enable the power sector to maintain reliable and affordable electricity while cutting emissions.
The CPP is also cost-effective. Repeal would allow more pollution that harms the health and welfare of the American people. EPA’s 2015 analysis estimates that the CPP’s benefits ($31 to $54 billion under various assumptions) would far exceed the costs ($5.1 to 8.4 billion) upon full implementation in 2030. Reducing climate pollution will also reduce pollutants that form particle pollution (soot) and ozone smog. EPA’s 2015 analysis shows that implementation of the CPP in 2030 would avoid 1,500 to 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks in children, up to 1,700 heart attacks, 1,700 hospital admissions, and 300,000 missed workdays and missed school days. From the soot and smog reductions alone, for every dollar invested through the Clean Power Plan, American families would see up to $4 in health benefits. Repeal means that these health benefits would be lost. The Trump administration’s economic analysis for the repeal proposal appears designed to produce new numbers that provide arguments for repeal by emphasizing cost-benefit comparisons that only count a portion of the benefits or make assumptions not consistent with the best scientific and economic information. Specific concerns with the economic analysis include: (1) analysis only counts the climate-related benefits that the Clean Power Plan would produce within the U.S., and ignores the large portion of benefits that would occur beyond U.S. borders; (2) analysis discounts the lives, health and welfare of future generations more severely than other recent federal analyses of environmental rules; (3) analysis contains some cost-benefit comparisons that ignore or only partially count the benefits of other air pollution reductions that occur due to CO2 reduction strategies.
Additional Information:
- EPA Docket: Repeal of Carbon Dioxide Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units.
- NY Times: What is the Clean Power Plan, and How Can Trump Repeal It?
- Save EPA: Defending the Clean Power Plan
Source: Save EPA
Description: The Trump administration is proposing to withdraw the Clean Power Plan. Submit comments to oppose the repeal by January 16, 8:59 PM PST.
Background: The CPP repeal proposal is a key action stemming from the President’s March 28 executive order, which calls review and potential suspension or repeal of CPP and multiple other Obama administration climate rules and policies. The Trump Administration contends that EPA lacked the legal authority to issue the rule, claiming that only changes made at the fossil fuel plants themselves (inside the fence line) are consistent with the language of the Clean Air Act. The Trump Administration also created a questionable analytic redo of the CPP economic analysis, making several changes that increase the estimated costs of CPP and reduce the estimated benefits in an apparent effort to show that repealing the CPP would not harm our country’s welfare.
Contact Information: Click here to submit comment online.
- Suggested Script (personalize if you can, especially if you can describe how you or somone you are close to was impacted by a recent extreme weather or climate disaster): From heat waves and record high temperatures to increased drought and flooding and intense storm events, climate change poses an existential threat to our communities, economy, security, food systems, and ecosystems. I am strongly opposed to the proposed repeal of the CPP.
The CPP is an appropriate way to cut climate pollution under the Clean Air Act because it recognizes that electricity system is interconnected and reflects the way the power industry really works. It is based on regulatory tools used to regulate power plant pollution for decades (e.g., trading mechanisms that allow for the greatest reduction at the lowest cost). The repeal proposal single-plant approach reflects an archaic view of power generation before there was a grid. The CPP is fair, flexible and designed to strengthen the advancement of America’s power grid toward cleaner fuels and newer technologies while keeping the supply of electric power affordable and reliable. The CPP gives states flexibility to design pollution reduction plans that enable the power sector to maintain reliable and affordable electricity while cutting emissions.
The CPP is also cost-effective. Repeal would allow more pollution that harms the health and welfare of the American people. EPA’s 2015 analysis estimates that the CPP’s benefits ($31 to $54 billion under various assumptions) would far exceed the costs ($5.1 to 8.4 billion) upon full implementation in 2030. Reducing climate pollution will also reduce pollutants that form particle pollution (soot) and ozone smog. EPA’s 2015 analysis shows that implementation of the CPP in 2030 would avoid 1,500 to 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks in children, up to 1,700 heart attacks, 1,700 hospital admissions, and 300,000 missed workdays and missed school days. From the soot and smog reductions alone, for every dollar invested through the Clean Power Plan, American families would see up to $4 in health benefits. Repeal means that these health benefits would be lost. The Trump administration’s economic analysis for the repeal proposal appears designed to produce new numbers that provide arguments for repeal by emphasizing cost-benefit comparisons that only count a portion of the benefits or make assumptions not consistent with the best scientific and economic information. Specific concerns with the economic analysis include: (1) analysis only counts the climate-related benefits that the Clean Power Plan would produce within the U.S., and ignores the large portion of benefits that would occur beyond U.S. borders; (2) analysis discounts the lives, health and welfare of future generations more severely than other recent federal analyses of environmental rules; (3) analysis contains some cost-benefit comparisons that ignore or only partially count the benefits of other air pollution reductions that occur due to CO2 reduction strategies.
Additional Information:
- EPA Docket: Repeal of Carbon Dioxide Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units.
- NY Times: What is the Clean Power Plan, and How Can Trump Repeal It?
- Save EPA: Defending the Clean Power Plan
From the Calendar
Link to the Riveters Collective Calendar
Every Monday: Attend a vigil hosted by Racial Justice Coalition and Keep Bellingham Families Working. A vigil will be held from 11:30a.m.-1:30p.m. in front of the Whatcom County Courthouse . Support undocumented and immigrant families to live in safety and dignity in our community. Bring your friends and co-workers!