Call to Action- The Goverment is selling us out- To Monsanto

We all know times are hard. We eat what we can when we can. Most folks don't question what they eat, especially poor folks, like me. The family needs food. We shop at the cheapest stores. Buy what we must to survive. Meanwhile, our government conspires with big business for a profit at our ex pence. Our government officials protect the interest of Monsanto over the interest of our most vulnerable citizens. Daily, we are fed foods that have been altered by GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) and most folks have no way of determining what foods have been altered or not. The government has refused to support labeling of GMO's on our food products. There has even been an amendment to a bill introduced this year in the 2013 Farm Bill protecting Monsanto from being forced to comply with labeling.
On Saturday May 25th, about 100 supporters gathered in the Mason Square area of Springfield MA, Michaelann Bewsee of Arise for Social Justice, helped with a great organizing effort that brought folks out in the rain and cold to push back against Monsanto. This action was in solidarity of 250 other marches that happened the same day in the USA, and millions more across the globe. 

 Learn more and Join the Facebook page at:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheMarchAgainstMonsantoSpringfieldMA/

 People need to know: GMO's have not been proven safe, and in fact, a growing body of independent peer-review studies have linked these foods to allergies, immune problems, infertility and cancers.
Most folks have no idea! GMO's were quietly introduced into our food supply in the 90's, and the FDA requires no safety testing or labeling.
What is truly outrageous is the connection between the largest company in the world that creates these GMO's and our elected officials. Watch this very informed video, where Heath Bleau gives shocking facts, definitively linking some of our top government officials to the interest of Monsanto. Even the President of the United States. This is very disturbing.
 What can we do?

Declare your Right to Know!

Support Mandatory Labeling of

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's)

Public Hearings June 3rd and June 11th 2013

Let Them Know

 

June 3rd 2013

10:00am - 2:00pm

David Prouty High School

302 Main Street Spencer MA

 

June 11th 2013

10:00am

Massachusetts State House

Room A-1

Boston MA

 

Hearings are open to the public.

Sign up or submit your testimony online at

marighttoknow.org

 

If you are worried------You should be!

Take Action -- Wake Up



Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change

[This is a reflection on Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath in New York City. D.O. recently returned from delivering hurricane relief supplies to Occupy Sandy in Brooklyn]

As a born and raised New Yorker I've always identified deeply with the City. As an accidental environmental activist and broadcaster, I always fear for our planet and all her inhabitants. I feel certain most people do as well, when they actually think about it. Sometimes it takes a disaster to bring these things into our everyday lives. Twenty years ago I helped to promote The World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, a paper that told us "No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished".  Those one or a few decades have passed and it's not just humanity whose prospects are immeasurably diminished, it's most of life on Earth. Now, the streets I walked so often on the Lower Eastside of Manhattan have been under water.  A lot of water.  And this is just the beginning. Frankly, I take that personally.  I am saddened and I am outraged.

The Climate Crisis is not some abstract scientific paper. It's certainly not the alleged hoax so many far-right reactionary ideologues would have us believe. It is real, it is human-caused, and it is upon us. We can take down greedy financiers and traders on Wall Street, we can stop immoral home evictions, and we can rebuild devastated communities, but how can we push back the change in our climate? There are multiple answers to that question and it is a personal thing for each and every one of us, even for those who have never given the natural environment a second thought. Some of the answers are as simple as committing ourselves to use less: less energy, less junk from China, less resources. Other answers involve the larger community, the state and federal government. That can require getting into the streets or to seemingly endless hearings and meetings. And still other answers involve confronting Corporate America, the companies and forces that are most responsible for destroying the planet. That takes a lot of time and personal energy. Since we are legion we can address all these answers and more. We can change the way industrial civilization uses the planet we all live upon. We can do this thing, really, but we must do it now.

-Don Ogden (d.o.)

d.o. is the producer of The Enviro Show and co-producer of Occupy the Airwaves
WXOJ-LP, Valley Free Radio
Florence, Masachusetts

Photo from U.S. Coast Guard's photostream at Flickr

Climate Change Action!

I'm doing a workshop on the vulnerability of poor people to climate change and what we can do to make a difference....

What’s with the Weird Weather?

Climate Change Teach-in

  Thursday, May 17   6:30-9pm,

Unitarian Universalist Society    220 Main Street,  Northampton

 

The following  climate scientists and energy experts in the Pioneer Valley will discuss the latest science and increasing extreme weather events, and call for more urgent federal and state clean energy policies:

* Asst. Prof. Michael Rawlins, UMass Geosciences Dept.;

           Manager, UMass Climate System Research Center

* Prof. James Lowenthal, Smith College Astronomy Dept.

* Prof. Michael Klare, Hampshire College and 5-College Sustainability Program,

             author of “The Race for What’s Left: the Scramble for the World’s Last Resources”

* Prof. Jan Dizard,  Amherst College Sociology Dept. 

* Prof. Alan Werner, Mt. Holyoke College Geology Dept.

--Cash Prizes of $50, $25, and $15 to those who invite and bring along the most other

people --relatives, friends, neighbors, fellow workers or students, members of your faith

community or local organization—especially those who are not yet convinced of the

urgency to stop climate change.

--Co-sponsors:  Grow Food Northampton; GreenNorthampton; Peace and Justice Committee

of First Churches, Northampton; Traprock Center for Peace and Justice; Safe and Green Campaign;

Greenfield Community College’s Peace, Justice, and Environmental Studies Program;

--More Info:  Pioneer Valley Climate Action  413-625-6374  pioneervalleyclimateaction.org

                            and on Facebook

Occup-oetry: Deadline April 27th

OCCUP-OETRY

                            {& Prose, Song, HipHop, etc}

            for Earth Day & May Day

{and the 1^st anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster,

and 2^nd anniversary of the Gulf Oil spill}

SLAMMIN’ the STATUS QUO (the 1%)

         &

SAVIN’ the ECONOMY,  the PEOPLE, (the 99%)

                  and the PLANET 

Friday May 4             Northampton     Friends Meeting House, 43 Center St.

Wednesday May 9    Greenfield           Arts Block, Main Street 

Friday May 18          Amherst              Food for Thought Books

                                   (all from 6:30 to 9pm)

*  Poetry, prose, and song about war and peace, economic and social justice, environmental protection, racism, women’s/LGBT/human rights, and immigration.   Spoken word that speaks truth to power, and empowers and inspires us.

*  Authors welcome to submit work by Friday April 27 (maximum of 10 minutes) for consideration by a panel of local poets for the Northampton event.  Deadline is Friday May 4 for Greenfield event; Friday May 11 for Amherst event.  And please share this invite with others who might like to participate or attend.

*  2 periods when audience can respond to what they've heard.

*  Poems and lyrics will be available on paper (with poets’ permission) for audience to read along if they wish, and take home

Sponsored by:  Pioneer Valley Climate Action;  Safe and Green Campaign; GreenNorthampton; Grow Food Northampton; Peace and Justice Committee, First Churches of Northampton; Greenfield Community College’s Peace, Justice, and Environmental Studies Program; Center for Environmental Civics; 20/20 Action;

More info:  John Berkowitz, PVCA Director and Poet, 

413-625-6374  johnpberk@gmail.com                     www.pioneervalleyclimateaction.org

Image: DANIEL HASKETT FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE 

Connect the Dots-- Stop Climate Change!

Climate Impacts Action Day:  Connect the Dots-- Stop Climate Change!  

{Sign up now by replying to this email.}

** More and more weird, extreme weather here in New England--  tornado, hurricane, October blizzard followed by a nearly snowless and record-breaking warm winter.

** And around the U.S. and the world-- droughts, floods,   heat waves, forest fires, tornadoes, melting Arctic and glaciers, warming oceans, species going extinct, huge number of bees dying, etc.

Time to connect all these "Climate Dots", and act to stop climate change!

{Sign up now by replying to this email, and indicate which time slots you'd like to commit to being there.}

Every day between Monday April 30 and Saturday May 5, during rush-hour from 8 to 9am and 5 to 6pm,  groups of 10 or more people will stand on the sidewalk of the Coolidge Bridge between Hadley and Northampton.  

    We’ll hold large signs & banners calling for President Obama and Congress to stop climate change by rejecting the Keystone Tar Sands pipeline, oil drilling offshore and in the Arctic, and continued reliance on coal and nuclear energy;  and by supporting much larger investment in renewable energy sources and energy conservation and efficiency.

    To ensure safety, children under 12 along with their parents will be asked to not stand on the bridge’s narrow sidewalk with other demonstrators, but to hold signs and stand on or walk along the sidewalk off the bridge, which is still very visible to passing motorists.

   “Get up, stand up,  stand up for your rights . . .  to a safe climate and clean energy future!”

   “Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight . . .  for your kids, grandkids, and all life, we must act now!!”

Sponsored by:  Pioneer Valley Climate Action, GreenNorthampton, Grow Food Northampton, and other organizations.   

More info:  John Berkowitz, PVCA Director,  413-625-6374  johnpberk@gmail.com  ,www.pioneervalleyclimateaction.org  

and on Facebook

Photo from Lawnborghini's photostream at Flickr.

A request from Bill McKibbon

(Just a reminder: The known climate scientist James Hansen emphasizes that the extraction of tar sands would increase the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere by 50%. ‘When the development of the tar sands continues, then it means “game over for the climate,’ says Hansen.”)

Friends,
I'm writing to ask for a favor.
We've done everything we can think of in the last few months to make this Keystone XL tar sands pipeline a national issue, including sending 1253 people off to jail. I want to make their sacrifice count; and though the odds are still against us, they're improving daily.
On November 6, when we circle the White House, we can make the odds better still. But we need you to be there.
Click here to sign up to join us in DC on November 6 to encircle the White House.
Here's what momentum feels like: the Washington Post just put a big story on the front page making it very, very clear that we've got the president's attention. Hours later the Baltimore Sun came out with a powerful editorial against the pipeline. Everyone from the Dalai Lama to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (what a team!) have been pitching in during the last few days.
And yesterday a new video arrived, courtesy of our friends at NRDC, from Robert Redford, who's done as much good environmental work as anyone in the country. It sums up the case. If you get a chance, watch it.
After you watch the video, please sign up here to join in on Nov. 6, hopefully with lots of friends in tow. We don't know exactly how many people it will take to circle the White House, but we know we need you.
Thanks,
Bill McKibben
P.S. No need to worry about getting arrested this time. It's going to be legal, and lovely. All the signs will carry quotes from Obama in 2008: sentiments like,  "It's time to end the tyranny of oil." It's time to see if we can bring that old Barack Obama out of hiding!
P.P.S. We've been busy fighting the pipeline, but we're also carving out some time to join the amazing #Occupy movement -- you can get more info at www.350.org/occupy

---

INFO AND ARTICLES
"Obama allies’ interests collide over Keystone pipeline" - The Washington Post
"No to Keystone XL" - The Baltimore Sun
Senators Raise ‘Serious Concerns’ About State Department Study on Tar Sands Oil Pipeline
Nine Nobel Peace Laureates Urge Obama to Reject Keystone XL

---

350.org is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for email alerts. You can help power our work by getting involved locally and donating here.

September 24th is coming: solving the climate crisis

You probably know that people around the world are getting ready for "Moving Planet", the big, bold, beautiful day of climate action that's happening this September 24th. But chances are, there are some people in your network that don't yet know about the big day.

This video lays out an inspiring vision that can help spread the movement far and wide: take 90 seconds to watch it, and then share it with everyone you know.

On September 24th, we’ll come together in every nation on earth to show that we’re moving the planet beyond fossil fuels. The diversity of events will be remarkable: people are planning marches large and small, bike parades that deliver petitions demanding a clean energy future, and even a kite-powered protest on the beach.

Here in India where I live, hundreds of young people will get on their bikes and encircle a big coal-fired power plant -- and call for green jobs that can put our country on a path of clean development and lift millions of people out of poverty. We’re also seizing on a cool idea that has come out of our global network: making giant arrow-shaped banners to point in the direction that we want to move in (away from coal!) and display our goals for a clean energy future. We hope to see similar arrows all across the planet, pointing away from fossil fuels and towards the solutions we need to get back to 350 ppm.

I'm also making sure that we take at least one iconic photo of our event in India to upload to the Moving Planet website when our event is over. 350.org organizers in New York City will be delivering photos from the Moving Planet events directly to world leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly -- and displaying them on screens near the meeting. Together, we can show decision makers that it's time to get out of neutral and start moving quickly towards a clean energy future.

We won't just demonstrate that another world is possible -- we'll show that we're already building it from the ground up. It's a world based on bikes, not cars. It's a world based on renewable energy, not tar sands oil. Most of all, it's a world that cares more about the rights of people and the health of our planet than the profits of polluters.

To create this world, we'll need a massive movement -- and that movement will be built by people like you.

Why YOU should care about stopping the Tar Sands Pipeline

 Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline
"Essentially game over" for the climate.
That's what climate scientist James Hanson calls the proposed Keystone XL pipeline -- which would carry oil out of Canada's vast tar sands oil fields to Texas, where it will be refined, then burned across the globe, dealing a catastrophic blow to our chance of returning earth to a stable climate.
This project requires a presidential permit to start building -- and it is President Obama's decision alone to grant or deny that permit. He will make the decision as soon as September.
Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Alberta tar sands are a carbon bomb. The 3rd largest oil field in the world, the difficult extraction and transportation of the tar sands oil ultimately produces up to three times the carbon emissions of traditional oil. (And extreme environmental devastation along the way.)¹
The Keystone XL pipeline is the fuse to this bomb - a highway to swift consumption of this dirty, dangerous crude. As if that wasn't enough, it poses a massive spill risk in the six states along the pipeline route, including over the Ogallala Aquifer which provides up to 30% of our nation's agricultural water.

Twenty leading climate scientists have just sent a letter to President Obama urging him to deny the permit.
 

And from August 20th to September 3rd, there will be a massive, historic, daily sit-in outside the White House where more than 1500 people, including CREDO staff, have already signed up to risk arrest in peaceful protest. (For more about the sit in, see below.)
The administration's previous decisions on climate do not inspire confidence that they will deny the permit. Recently the administration has opened new areas to offshore drilling and coal mining, and late last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even said she was "inclined" to approve Keystone XL.
But President Obama still has the final word. He does not have to negotiate with Congress or industry. As his State Department reviews the permit, the decision -- which could have a devastating impact on the livability of our nation, and our world -- is entirely in his hands.
We've lost too many climate fights already. We need a massive, historic show of pressure to make sure we don't lose this one. Please sign the petition and read below for other ways to get involved.
Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline.  From Credo.
 

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

Global warming state by state

Measure thirty years' worth of average temperatures from 1971 to year 200.  Now do the same thirty year measurement from 1981 to 2010 and compare the difference.  The state that's seen the biggest temperature increase?  Colorado.  But all of the Rocky Mountain states have seen big increases, and there isn't a single state in the country that isn't warmer now than 30 years ago.  Summit County Citizens Voice.

While large parts of the U.S. government, including a majority in Congress, continue to deny the reality of climate change, the U.S. Forest Service is not among them.  The service gets to see the reality up close.  See here for a list of the climate change presentations available on their site.

Wildfire Today has a report on climate change and wildfires.  Read it and weep.  In thirty years, there may be no forests left in Yellowstone National Park.

Take 12 minutes to understand climate change (and why we're in big trouble)

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.
We had a great supper yesterday with the New England Climate Summer riders.  There was so much good conversation going on, I forgot to take pictures-- but we did get to see a short video on climate change.

Someone asked me the other day why Arise is working on environmental issues.  "That's not about what  poor people need, that's not what poor people care about," he said.  Well, I beg to differ, at least in part.  If we can't have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, and food free of chemicals to eat, we get sick.  And it's our job, as community organizers, to help our people to make the connections.

But we need to get the big picture stuff, too--like, we all live on just one planet, and we can't go anywhere else.  Keeping our planet safe is like not letting our house burn down.

Watch this great short video to understand how our planet works, why we're in trouble, and what we can do about it.

Join Arise and the New England Climate Summer riders Wednesday for food and conversation!

Wow!  Last week the Springfield Institute organized to community to participate in an Environmental Justice Bike Tour.  This week, the New England Climate Summer riders will be in Springfield, and tomorrow, Wednesday, will be joining us at Arise for a potluck supper and great conversation.  Join us and help build the connections between climate change and our local fights for clean air to breathe and a green city to live in.
Wednesday, 5:30 , Arise, 467 State St.

What's Climate Change Summer?  (from their website):
New England Climate Summer is a summer internship program for college students, graduate students, and recent graduates. Climate Summer riders travel exclusively by bicycle in small teams across New England, spending approximately one week in a community before biking on to the next. While in each town, riders connect with community leaders that are actively addressing society's addiction to fossil fuels by crafting local solutions that strengthen communities. Riders bring with them a movement-building perspective and ethos, empowering those they meet and helping to highlight the important work of local organizations with the local press as well as in the 2011 State of the Movement Report, which will catalogue the efforts of groups in all the communities the various teams visit.

What's their philosophy?
From southern Connecticut to northern Maine, from the Massachusetts coast to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, communities across New England are actively addressing society's addiction to fossil fuels through local solutions and building a more sustainable world. We know that these communities are leading the way, but recognize that their stories are not being shared. They are not getting the respect and attention they deserve, and their ideas are not traveling as quickly as they need to.
Over 9 summer weeks, Climate Summer bikers learn from, cross-pollinate and spotlight these initiatives by working with community leaders to connect diverse constituencies and weave a powerful movement for a better future. Riders live their values as they travel exclusively by bike and join the next generation of movement leaders.

Graphic by Carrie Watkins