June 2019 Newsletter

We have the chance to put environmental justice and the Green New Deal in front of 100,000 people in one afternoon! Can you help? It will be hella fun!

SUMMER SOLSTICE PARADE ENSEMBLE

Join us for our Green New Deal ensemble in the Solstice Parade on Saturday June 22nd from 11 am to 5 pm! All are welcome. Can’t be there for the parade itself? No worries, there is tons to create and there are easy, fun roles to fill! Join us at art builds to make giant scales and giant green hand props, costumes and detailed murals. Come learn a new song and dance, and participate in our crowd-pleasing batik workshops. To get involved, contact Shemona.

Art build dates
Wednesday, June 12th, 6 pm to 10 pm, Prop Build at Lucca Statuary
Thursday June 13th, 5 to 8 pm, Batik workshop at the Powerhouse
Friday June 14th, 11 am to 5 pm, Mural painting & Batik at the Powerhouse
Friday June 14th, 6 to 9 pm, Batik workshop at the Powerhouse
Saturday June 15th, 11 am to 9 pm, Painting and Prop build at Lucca Statuary and/or Powerhouse
Sunday June 16th, 11 am to 9 pm, Painting and Prop build at Lucca Statuary and/or Powerhouse

As indicated above, this year’s solstice float building is split between two places:
Powerhouse, 3940 Fremont Ave N., Seattle 98103
Lucca Statuary, 3623 Leary Way, Seattle 98107

Be in the parade, or, if that’s not your thing, be a signature gatherer for the Seattle’s Green New Deal sign-on letter in the crowd! Or do both by collecting signatures before and after the parade!

Wait a minute, signature gathering for what?

SEATTLE’S GREEN NEW DEAL

It’s no secret that climate change threatens everything we know and love. And yet, Seattle’s climate pollution has been quietly rising in recent years, despite our City’s commitments to climate action and environmental justice. It’s time for Seattle to come together and rise to the climate challenge.

That’s why we’re launching a new campaign in partnership with Got Green—calling for a transformative Green New Deal for Seattle that will eliminate our city’s climate pollution by 2030, address historical and current injustices, and create thousands of good, green, well-paying union jobs.

Help us build overwhelming public support for Seattle’s Green New Deal by canvassing at the Solstice and Pride parades! Sign up here to learn more about canvassing and plug in, and/or sign up here to be on the general email list for the campaign.

Then join us in July for a day-long set of trainings to sharpen your campaign and organizing skills!

Skill-Up for Seattle’s Green New Deal
Saturday, July 6, 10:30am–5:30pm
2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave S, Seattle 98144
Register here, and for more info contact Meg.

HONOR INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY

Last month, Puyallup Water Warriors held an Exit Ceremony for Puget Sound Energy; following tradition, if guests disrespect the land, water or people—those guests are sent out of the territory and not invited to return. Please share this video of the ceremony and help urge Governor Inslee to make sure Washington state honors the Medicine Creek Treaty by stopping the illegal, unpermitted construction of the proposed LNG fracked gas project.

Call the Governor at (360) 902-4111. Tell him to stand with the Puyallup and honor indigenous sovereignty.

You can also send the Governor a copy of our No Consent, No Construction Letter.

Ancestral Waters
This documentary by Native Daily Network, recently released on YouTube, tells the story of the Puyallup fight over the last several years to protect their lands, waters, peoples, treaty and culture from the destructive Tacoma LNG project. People are encouraged to plan watch parties! Contact Stacy for additional watch party tools.

Thank you Native Daily Network for your dedication to frontline journalism and for making Ancestral Waters available for all to see!

POWER PAST FRACKED GAS

Following Governor Inslee’s announcement that he “cannot in good conscience support continued construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in Tacoma or a methanol production facility in Kalama,” the Power Past Fracked Gas Coalition released a letter, signed by over 80 environmental and social justice organizations urging the governor to put actions behind his words and make sure the proposed Kalama Methanol Refinery and Tacoma LNG fracked gas projects receive legitimate environmental impact studies through the Department of Ecology. Thank you to everyone who has called, emailed and shared social media—let’s keep the pressure going until health, safety, treaty rights, and a livable planet are prioritized before profit!

MORE OIL TRAINS IN TACOMA? NO WAY!

SeaPort Sound Terminal (formerly Targa) in Tacoma has been receiving oil trains since 2014. Now they want to nearly double their transfer capacity to 75,000 barrels a day in the name of “overall operational efficiency.”

That’s an additional 15,288 metric tons of CO2 a day, for a total of 8.4 million metric tons in a working year passing through Tacoma! How can our state’s carbon budget allow that? Read up on the project here, and get your butt down to this public comment opportunity:

SeaPort Sound Terminal Public Meeting
Thursday June 13, 5:30pm
City Council Chambers, 747 Market Street, Tacoma 98402

Written comments go to Shirley Schultz: shirley.schultz@cityoftacoma.org.

IT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE LISTENING…

Last month Puget Sound Energy held a listening session on their 20-year electric plan and how they’re reacting to the 100% Clean law passed by the legislature. Thanks to all the truth-tellers who showed up in red and your strong words about fracked gas, the climate crisis, and inappropriate infrastructure projects like Tacoma LNG and Energize Eastside. All sixty-seven comments are summarized here. Your support helps members of the Technical Advisory Group hold PSE accountable!

STRONGER TOGETHER

Frontline Allies welcomes your participation in everything from organizing trainings on undoing racism and other oppressive systems, to supporting our allies in climate-related justice work. To join contact Lisa. More information and links are available here, including upcoming support and education opportunities. Our monthly meeting is a great place to learn about our work and current projects. Please join us Monday, June 17, at 7 pm to hear more about ways we can deepen our understanding of systemic oppression and be in solidarity with climate justice organizations. If this is your first meeting, please plan to arrive at 6:40 for an orientation. RSVP to Lisa for the address of a home in the Wallingford neighborhood.

350 Seattle Book Club
This fall we’re starting a new study session of What It Means To Be White. Understanding the systemic nature of racism, how it shapes our society, and how we can disempower it is an important tool in the fight for a sustainable and just future. Meetings will be held at the 350 Seattle office for a couple of hours every two weeks for a total of six meetings. Day and time will be determined later. To learn more and be part of the fall study group, email Barbara.

Join La Resistencia for a Father’s Day rally outside the Northwest Detention Center to tell ICE and GEO that Father’s Day should be spent at home with family and community—NOT in prison! More details to be announced, please check this event page for updates.
Sunday, June 16, 2:00–4:00pm
Northwest Detention Center, 1623 E J St, Tacoma 98421

TOTEM POLE JOURNEY

The Lummi Nation invites your participation in a gathering dedicated to the vision of Qwe lhol mechen, the Lummi word for killer whale which translates to “our people that live under the sea”. It is part of our Xa Xalh Xechnging (“sacred obligation”) to bring home from Miami Seaquarium the captive killer whale Tokitae and return her to her family.

We Will Rise Again: Tacoma (hosted by Puyallup tribe)
Wednesday, June 12, 5:30–7:30pm
4224 Marine View Dr., Tacoma 98422
More details here

We Will Rise Again: Seattle
Saturday, June 15, 1:00–3:00pm
Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave, Seattle 98121
More details here

JUNE IS ORCA ACTION MONTH

There are lots of ways to help, and here’s a great place to start:

Contact your congressional delegation urging them to support federal appropriation dollars for critical salmon habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest. Southern Resident orcas’ primary source of food is the threatened Chinook salmon. Without adequate food, orcas will starve. Click here to sign a petition asking for fully funded programs to support the recovery of Southern Resident orcas.

CHASING CORAL

Come to watch the unseen story of coral dying as ocean temperatures rise, reported first-hand from divers and researchers. Stay for a community discussion, led by members of 350 Seattle’s outreach team, on climate change, the extinction crises, and ways to take action in this extraordinary moment in time. This is a great opportunity to bring someone who is just tuning in to the seriousness of the moment and connect them to opportunities for action.

Chasing Coral
Saturday, June 15, 7:00–9:30pm
University Heights Center, 5031 University Way NE, Seattle 98105
Shareable event page

This event is pay-what-you-can; let us know you’re coming here.

SUNRISE

In a matter of months, the climate movement has put the Green New Deal on the national agenda, but if we don’t keep up the pressure, there’s a risk that the media will do what they’ve always done, and ignore the climate crisis in the presidential debates. That’s why the youth-led Sunrise Movement is organizing the largest mobilization for the Green New Deal so far at the second Democratic primary debate in late July, to make sure the Green New Deal is at the top of the public discussion and the next administration’s agenda.

Sunrise is already hard at work organizing transportation and housing. Sign up here for updates on how you and your friends can plug in. Or help Sunrise rent a bus from Seattle by donating to @Sunrise-Seattle on Venmo. And if you’re a young person, please email sunrisemovementseattle@gmail.com to join the bus.

FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE

Only two more Friday For Future strikes before school’s out! Show the youth some support, people!

Fridays For Future
June 14, 1:00pm
June 21, 1:00pm
Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave, Seattle 98104

Over the summer F4F will collaborate with Extinction Rebellion and Zero Hour. To stay in the loop, follow @Fri4FutureSea on Twitter, or get involved by emailing fridaysforfuturesea@gmail.com. Youth who want to take action on climate should also check out Climate Action Families.

CLIMATE WALKOUT

On September 20, people all over the globe will take part in what we hope will be the biggest walkout of any kind, ever—workers, students, neighbors, church groups—to send an unmistakable signal to world leaders that we will not stand for business as usual, because “disrupting our normal lives is the only way to secure our future.”

Please stand with youth worldwide. And if you can, organize your coworkers, a team, a faith group, or neighbors!

HEY AMAZON

The climate crisis isn’t going away, and neither are we!

At the May 22nd shareholder meeting, tech workers with Amazon Employees for Climate Justice filled a section of the room and presented their resolution asking for a climate plan. Here’s the NowThis video of the speech and inside action. The resolution got 31% of the vote! (41% when excluding Bezos’ own shares!) We knew it was near impossible to pass with the Board’s published opposition, so it’s significant that the vote was so high—the highest of any environmental resolution at Amazon so far.

And even more importantly, this movement of tech workers speaking out for climate justice is already shifting the entire narrative with workers putting Bezos on the spot and centering the climate stories of tech workers. They’re pledging to file the resolution again next year.

SKITTISH ABOUT NAFTA

While Trump continues to alienate Mexico, using tariffs to extort concessions, there is still the chance of a vote on his new NAFTA in Congress. To keep up the anti-NAFTA 2.0 opposition, we’re working up a NAFTA skit to be videoed and circulated on social media. The trade group is also continuing to collect anti-NAFTA cards to be delivered to Congressional offices. To help with either effort, contact Selden.

LETS DO ADUs!

Starting Tuesday evening, the final Accessory Dwelling Unit battle begins. By the end of next month, with luck and a little more work, we’ll have much more flexible rules on ADUs, and a path to more climate-friendly and affordable housing. Send a letter of support now and then join us for these two…

Public hearings on ADU legislation
Council Chambers, City Hall, 610 5th Ave, Seattle 98104
Tuesday, June 11, 5:30pm – First public hearing
Tuesday, June 18, 2:00pm – Second hearing and likely committee vote

Curious to know what Seattle might look like with more ADU’s? Here’s a chance to explore built projects and talk to the architects:

ADU Tour by the AIA
Saturday, June 15, 11:00am–4:00pm
Multiple locations, more details here.

COME OUT FOR TRANSPORTATION

If you want bikes, feet, and wheelchairs to be able to get where they are going safely in Seattle, June is the month to come out and say so! We need the city council to stop funding cars at the expense of climate-friendly transport.

First, the Ride for Safe Streets will be a family-friendly demonstration for streets that let people of all ages, languages, ethnicities, genders, races, and abilities get around safely.

Ride for Safe Streets
Sunday, June 16, 1:00–3:00pm
Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave. to Westlake Park
Event page here

Then SDOT will report back on what we’ve told them, that cutting the Bike Master Plan by half is unacceptable. SDOT will continue to prioritize big auto projects over bikes unless enough of us show up for the Ride on Sunday and then public testimony, sign-holding, and the full Bike Master Plan on Tuesday. The Council can still do the right thing because when we fight, we win.

Bike Master Plan in the Sustainability and Transportation Committee
Tuesday, June 18, 2:00pm
Council Chambers, City Hall, 610 5th Ave, Seattle 98104
Meet for strategizing at City Grind Espresso in the 5th Ave Lobby of City Hall at 1:30pm.

Interested in joining our work for equitable carbon-free transportation in Seattle?

Transportation Team Meeting
Monday, June 10, 4:15–5:45pm
Room 330, Vance building, 1402 3rd Ave., Seattle 98101

SMOKE ON THE HORIZON

Remember when we called it summer, and looked forward to it all year? Remember the deep blue skies and fresh breezes? Those days are gone, stolen by Big Oil. But at least the City of Seattle is doing everything it can to bring them back, by radically reducing emissions, building green affordable housing, transforming transit in the city, installing bike lanes everywhere… um… oh, right. Well, it will do these things and more, if we make it impossible not to, by underlining smoke events with a big red pen pointing at our climate plan failures. More info coming soon and be ready: we’ll need you to come out on short notice.

Art Build for Smoke events
Wednesday, June 26, 11:00am–5:00pm
Powerhouse, 3940 Fremont Ave N., Seattle 98103

When our house is on fire… we gotta act like it. Email Ariadne to get involved.

ARTFUL ACTIVISM

We welcome all skill levels in any art form, and have lots going on to jump into, from occasional participation to leadership opportunities. Join online here or come to art builds whenever you can! They are fun, no-skills-needed community gatherings with food and good connections.

Art builds at the Powerhouse: See the Solstice Ensemble and Smoke entries above!

Mural wall needed
We need a high visibility wall for a beautiful mural that will stay up and raise awareness. Know of one? If you do or want to help us find one, contact Doug.

Join the Deployment Team!
Ever wish you had a role during actions and events? Come learn crucial skills with us! We need you! Contact Shemona.

If you’re a skilled artist (visual, theater, dance, music…) and want to apply your skill or show others how, please let us know! Contact Lisa.

Join our Photo/Imagery Library Team!
We’re organizing our photos and imagery data and are looking for folks who want to join a team to do photo sorting and labeling for our events and our imagery library. Launching the team this month! Also looking for an imagery co-librarian! Contact Lisa.

OTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Looking for an easy way to help out at 350 Seattle? Curious about other ways to get involved? Join us on the third Wednesday of every month to meet others and help with all the small things that keep 350 going!

Volunteer Drop-in Hours
Wednesday, June 19, anytime between 3:00 and 7:00pm
350 Seattle, 1127 10th Ave E., Seattle, 98102
Tasks range from phone calls to data entry to arts and crafts.
More details here. Questions? Contact Shemona.

How do we build our power to win the transformative change we need? By organizing! Join us for a day-long set of trainings to sharpen your campaign and organizing skills and plug in with some of our newest campaigns.