| Hello friends, Thank God / Goddess / poll workers that this endless election cycle is almost over. Ballots are due by 8PM on the 5th of November, here is a list of ballot drop locations. While we approach the peak of Mt. Democracy (cringe), we can imagine the vistas beyond such as our annual fundraiser and party Intertwined, or joyfully halting the expansion of SeaTac airport, and the triumphant return of the CATs. You can read about all of this and more below. |
| 3 DAYS LEFT TO DEFEAT THE FOUR BALLOT INITIATIVES OF THE APOCALYPSE Elections are next week! We’re close to wrapping up our GOTV campaign, let’s bring this thing home and defeat Brian Heywood’s dangerous initiatives. Here’s what’s coming up. Sign up to take action – it is truly time for all-hands-on-deck. Voter Outreach in the Red Square, Monday-Tuesday, 10am-4pm. We’ll be at the University of Washington campus on Monday (Nov 4th) and Tuesday (Nov 5th – election day!) with a ballot printing station and canvassing across the campus. Come join us for a canvassing shift or two, and bring a friend – if ever there was a time for all-hands-on-deck, it’s now. |
| Volunteer Appreciation Party, Nov 7th, 6:30-8:30pm 🎉 Come celebrate with us to appreciate all the work YOU all have done to help defeat multi-millionaire Brian Heywood and his deceptive initiatives. No matter the outcome, our community came together in force and stood up to defend climate action against the fossil fuel industry and right-wing attacks. And that’s worth celebrating! Dinner will be provided, yummy tamales. We’re all taking a big rest after a really good GOTV hustle. We’ll be back in January, rested, recharged and ready to support our friends at House Our Neighbors to pass funding for social housing (on the February ballot)! Keep an eye out for more information on this! |
| CUT POLLUTION, NOT FORESTS Propped up by government subsidies, industrial biomass for generating electricity is a false climate solution that puts as much pollution into the atmosphere as coal, while removing the trees that could draw carbon down. Big biomass is BAD! In the Southern US, industrial wood pellet production has destroyed more than two million acres of forests, turning frontline communities into sacrifice zones, with terrible air quality impacts. And the perpetrators are headed our way: there are plans to build wood pellet export facilities up and down the west coast, including Drax in Longview, WA and Pacific Northwest Renewable Energy in Hoquiam, WA. But here’s some good news: The first federal policy to address the impacts of biomass was recently introduced. It directs the EPA to collect data on air and noise pollution from biomass, to assess biomass emissions, and orders a study of the community health near biomass facilities. So click here to tell your senators and representative to support the Forest Biomass Emissions Act! Be sure to personalize your email by reminding your federal lawmakers about the two industrial-scale wood pellet export facilities proposed in Washington: Drax in Longview and Pacific Northwest Renewable Energy in Hoquiam. We don’t want Washington forests to become the next sacrifice zone! |
| THE RETURN OF THE CATs The 350 WA Civic Action Team is our grassroots state climate policy campaign! We take action to support sound and just climate policy passing in the Washington State Legislature. We collaborate together to make it easy and accessible to take collective legislative action! Our campaign is about to kick off for the legislative session in January and you can get involved. At the 350 WA Civic Action Team we work hard to make strong climate justice connections across many different policy areas including Housing, Building Electrification, Waste Management, Transportation, Forestry, Police Accountability and Criminal Justice Reform, Energy, and more. Come to our Peer Outreach Event on Wednesday December 4th from 6-7 PM. Register for our Zoom here. Our political power comes from the grassroots network of folks working together to have their voices heard by legislators. We will work together to strengthen our organizing skills and grow our network of action takers by signing up folks ahead of the session! And SIGN UP to receive our Action Alerts during the session! And SIGN UP for our campaign launch on January 2nd from 6:30-7:30pm! |
| THE AVIATION TEAM Please join the Aviation Team in confronting an immediate threat to the climate and our health – the expansion of SeaTac Airport. The Port of Seattle finally (5 years late) released the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of its expansion plans. These plans would result in a 27% increase in flights, with all that would mean for the climate and for the health of people under the flight paths. Despite this, their EA declared there would be no “significant adverse impacts” from the expansion. This is unjust! Join us in telling the Port and FAA that the health and climate impacts should be addressed, not ignored. Here are some good opportunities:– Sign and share our coalition’s No Added Harm letter. We want thousands of signatures!- Watch for an email later this week with to give official comments on the draft EA. If you are ready to dig in deeper, learn more about the issues and how to comment at our No SeaTac Airport Expansion Webinar – Health & Climate Call to Action , Mon. Nov 11, 6-7pm on Zoom. Register here! 👈🏼- Attend a Port open house and comment there: November 12 (Tuesday) — 6 to 8 pm — Wildwood Elementary School (Federal Way) November 13 (Wednesday) — 6 to 8 pm — Mount Rainier High School (Des Moines) November 14 (Thursday) — 6 to 8 pm — Highline High School (Burien) November 16 (Saturday) — 10 am to 12 pm — McMicken Heights Elementary (SeaTac) We will not have a monthly Team meeting this month as we will be at the Federal Way open house! Meet us there or contact Laura to get involved. |
| FEDERAL POLICY TEAM With this year’s especially consequential election, this Halloween season has felt a little extra spooky. Luckily, the Federal Policy Team will meet the day after the election. Please join us to reflect, connect, and get set for 2025. We’ll celebrate our past campaign actions, plan our advocacy against the Energy Transmission Reform Act in the lame-duck session, and look forward to the year ahead. Federal Policy Team Monthly Action Meeting Wednesday, November 6, 5-6pm How to join: sign up for our listserv. Questions or ideas, email Beth or Linnea. We monitor proposed climate legislation to demand that our elected reps vote for climate justice solutions and to prevent exacerbating the climate crisis. Join us! |
| HIKE WITH CLIMATE ACTION FAMILIES CAF’s November Monthly Meeting Friday, Nov 8th, 6-8pm RSVP HERELooking for a family-friendly place to do something about climate change? Join Climate Action Families’ monthly meeting! We serve a simple dinner. You can bring additional food, but don’t worry if you can’t—we know that families are busy. Monthly meetings are for adults and youth of all ages. We play games, make art, and share in short presentations by young activists. Meetings are held in Seattle locations that are easy to reach using public transportation. Climate Action Families Hike at Discovery Park Saturday, Nov 16th, 2 – 4pm RSVP HERE Join CAF friends for hot chocolate and a hike in Discovery Park as we seek awe, joy, and wonder in nature together! Dress for the weather and bring a friend as we share fall wonder at Seattle’s largest city park. |
| BOOK CLUB In November and December, the 350 Seattle Book Club will be reading An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Now, for the first time, acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. We will be breaking the book into three discussion. Our first discussion will focus on Chapters 1-4 and will be on November 17th from 2:30-4:30. We will cover Chapters 5-8 on December 1st and Chapters 9-end on December 15th. You can join us either in-person at the 350 office or using this Zoom link. We are just about to kickoff the process of picking our new readings and presentations for the first half of 2025, so we will announce our new reading schedule soon! If you are interested in staying connected with the Book Club, you can sign up through this form. and we will get you looped in to our emails and signal channel!If you are interested in staying connected with the Book Club, you can sign up through this form and we will get you looped in to our emails and signal channel! |
| CLIMATE GRIEF & EMPOWERMENT Times of uncertainty remind us that we need one another. Let’s find ways to come together and find our way through this. When current events and the news cycle feed our fears and anxieties, we can remember to slow down and connect with those who are working together to build a better world. In the aftermath of the election, consider joining us for the next Climate Grief and Empowerment Group, which meets monthly on every second Saturday! Together, we’ll engage in collective practices that deepen our capacity for dwelling with difficult emotions and strengthen strategies for coping in uncertain times. Our upcoming Climate Grief and Empowerment Group Monthly Gatherings are: Saturday, November 9th, and Saturday, December 14th from 10:00 am to 11:45am Register here for each session you plan to attend. We welcome adults (18+) for as many or as few meetings as you would like! The Climate Grief and Empowerment Group is co-sponsored by 350 Seattle and Climate Action Families, out of the recognition that ongoing emotional support plays a critical role in building community resilience and robust social movements. |
| ARTFUL ACTIVISM Art, performance, and music are critical parts of movements for social change. Got skills you want to share? Or just enjoy making art, singing, or drumming? Or want to do some backend non-art type of art support role? We need you! Join our Artful team! Join the Artful Team and/or the Artful Alerts list! Sign up here to get on the Artful email list for monthly info on upcoming community art opportunities and to let us know your still sets! (Scroll all the way down that web page to sign up.) Skills welcome and appreciated! AND… no art skills yet? no problem! Join us! We’ll teach you as you go! You’ll love to be part of making the art for our actions in a supportive, learning, fun, and connecting atmosphere with other people who care enough to show up, and who accept you as you are. Come have fun with us, building powerful beauty for the movement! RSVP for Upcoming Art Builds! No experience needed, just energy and smiles! Join us for camaraderie while doing meaningful, beautiful and powerful work!Next Art Build: November 9th, noon-4 in Fremont: batik, painting, projecting, tracing, cutting, sewing, measuring, labeling for Intertwined (our fun annual Gala Fundraiser – see you there I hope!), and more!Put Art into Action – Want an important job at actions and events? We’re creating a team of interested people who can show up as able to set up/take down the art, invite people to participate and see that it’s displayed well. Please sign up to learn more! Intertwined Nov. 14th, Thursday Washington Hall Set up from 1-5pm, event from 6-9:30pm, clean up from 9:00-11:00 pm at Washington Hall. THIS IS OUR WONDERFUL ANNUAL GALA FUNDRAISER!! Come be part of the Celebration! Help decorate: set up our beautiful banners and earth lanterns, support participatory mushroom themed art and photo booth stations, and/or help with art take down. Enjoy socializing, food, drink, performances, a raffle, and other fun while helping us fundraise and celebrate our wonderful community and achievements toward climate justice! You’ll get a complimentary ticket with food and drink if you need one for helping out! And if you would like to attend (but not volunteer), please get tickets for yourself, family and friends here. Want to be even more involved? We are always welcoming new people into our teams of volunteers, those who help others participate (with art leads support) and our leads team itself. Maybe you’re experienced in facilitating, or organizing, or have skills in performance arts (theater, spoken word, music, dance, and beyond), visual arts (graphic design, painting, drawing, screen printing, building props, sewing, and so much more). Or maybe you are an organized person, or you like data and want to help with the imagery or photo library behind the scenes, or people with creative strategic humor and energy who like to brainstorm. We also need people at art builds, and more with skill sets like DJs, snacks setup and cleanup, and welcomer – is that you? (See the Volunteer Opportunities Doc linked at the end of the newsletter for more details.)Whatever calls you to the Artful Team, this team is for you! Contact Lisa. |
| COMMUNITY RESILIENCE Help us create a more resilient activist community! Do you have a skill or service you would like to offer at low or no cost to the 350 Seattle activist community as a way to take part in and support the work we do? No matter your strengths and skills, there is a place for you! Maybe you’re able to offer tax prep help, or a free acupuncture session, or pet sitting. All skills are welcome! Please fill out this form with your own offerings, and we’ll reach out to confirm details. We’re excited to hear from you! Consider patronizing local Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) -owned businesses! Here is a list of some local community BIPOC businesses to support, with additional lists linked at the bottom. Can you pick one new BIPOC-owned business to support this month?? Lastly, take a minute to bookmark our Community Activist Resource List, full of helpful resources of all kinds. Feel free to share with others in our broader movement community who may be interested! |
| AND FINALLY Want a way to search all of the ways you can be involved with 350 Seattle? We compiled a (nearly) comprehensive list that is deemed the Volunteer Opportunities Doc. Our teams keep this document updated so if between newsletters you are scratching your head, this resource is for you.And a thank you to you, newsletter reader! See you next month. |
