| Welcome to the May Edition of the 350 Seattle Newsletter! We have news both good and bad, a plethora of events to build Seattle’s climate justice movement, updates from our teams and campaigns, and more. |
Marching with our Make Polluter’s Pay Contingent at May Day!  |
| A Moratorium on Data Center Construction On April 10th, we learned about a proposal to build 5 new data centers in Seattle. Our opposition campaign quickly mobilized, with a letter writing campaign that mobilized over 80,000 letters to the Mayor and City Council. After meeting with their respective staffs, this week both City Council and the Mayor announced they would introduce a moratorium on data center construction. The icing on the cake? Two data center developers withdrew their proposals as well. Now that we know we will have a moratorium, the real fight begins. A pause on data center construction gives the City time to come up with policies and guidelines for an unregulated industry. We will need to keep the pressure on to make sure Councilmembers prioritize us — not Big Tech lobbyists. Keep up the pressure. In meetings with City government insiders we heard that elected officials are motivated by the overwhelming number of messages they received. Help us get to 100K messages. Send this link to take action to FIVE friends. Do you represent an organization or business? Endorse the moratorium. Who benefits from data centers? Billionaires, not us. We need to show the diversity of our opposition. If you are a member of an organization, community group, or business that supports this moratorium, sign on here. Attend a City Council committee meeting. The next meeting of the two City Council committees most relevant to a moratorium is on May 20th. RSVP if you are interested in showing up with us. |
| No Immunity for Big Oil And now some less good news: Earlier this month, Republicans in Congress introduced sweeping legislation to give Big Oil immunity from laws and lawsuits seeking to hold them accountable for their role in the climate crisis. Read more about this in our latest blog here! No corporation should be above the law. We must fight to defend our right to hold corporations accountable when they knowingly cause harm. Here’s how you can take action right now: Write to your representatives and share the link with five friends. We’ve crafted a message for you but encourage you to personalize it. Personalized outreach has a much higher impact. Call your representative. These calls get logged and they influence how offices track priorities. |
| Indigenous Led Prayer Walk for Immigrant Justice Join 350 Seattle on Saturday, May 16 in solidarity at this Indigenous-led prayer walk for immigrant justice. Hosted by the All My Relations Coalition in Coast Salish Territory (Seattle), who write: All relatives are invited to walk with us in love, prayer, and collective protection of our families and our immigrant communities under attack. Your heart and hands are needed to assemble and animate the gorgeous monarch butterfly props; the giant eagle, condor, and quetzal puppets; and the powerful and beautiful Immigrant Justice banners! Sign up to help with art at the prayer walk here. The prayer walk begins at 12pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ballard (5710 22nd Ave NW, Seattle 98107), with stops at Commodore Park, ending at Daybreak Star. A shuttle is available to return participants to St. Luke’s.Visit the coalition website to learn more. |
| The End of Our 2026 Membership Drive May 4th and 5th are Give Big, Washington’s annual fundraising day for advocacy organizations like us. We’re thrilled to announce that a generous donor has offered to match donations up to $10,000. Think we can match that? Help us reach our goal of raising $10,000. |
| Give Big also marks the end of our 2026 Membership drive. We have an ambitious goal of 75 new members and we’re ⅔ of the way there (thank you and welcome to all our new members!). We dream of a future with clean air and clean water, with abundant renewable energy built by union jobs; where everyone is welcome, and can afford to live here. If that sounds like you, join us and become a member today. |
| Make Polluters Pay As it stands, we’re on the hook to pay to recover and rebuild when climate disasters strike. We’re paying higher home insurance rates, grocery, energy and healthcare costs too. Meanwhile, fossil fuel industry executives are raking in $30 million in profits every hour in wake of the war with Iran, while we get price gouged at the pump. Why should we keep footing the bill for a crisis caused by a handful of greedy fossil fuel corporations? We deserve to keep our money in our pockets. It’s time to make polluters pay. If you agree, sign the Washington Make Polluters Pay Petition, and join the Make Polluters Pay Campaign Welcome Call, Monday, 5/11 @ 5:30PM.  Make Polluter’s Pay Contingent at the May Day March!We’re launching a Make Polluter’s Pay Summer Canvas to gather petition signatures and build our grassroots power! Want to help build a powerful grassroots movement to Make Polluters Pay? Want to develop core organizing skills? Sign-up to become a canvas lead! Canvas Leads play a critical role in building our movement – collecting signatures, growing our volunteer base, and developing new leaders. Check out the full role description here. You don’t need any experience or expertise! We’ll provide all the support you need. |
| May Climate Community Night May Climate Community Night. May 21, 2026. RSVP HERE! Climate Community Night (CCN) is the monthly event when community members–from seasoned volunteers to climate curious folks–come together to eat, build community, and take action together. On May 21st, we’ll be fresh off Earth Day to May Day, our membership drive, and ready to dive into a powerful summer of organizing ahead. We invite you to bring not just yourself but also a creative spirit. (Even better if you bring a friend, neighbor, or delicious food to contribute to the potluck!) We are gathering at a NEW space – The Metropole (423 2nd Ave Ext S) – just around the corner from our new office and one block from the Pioneer Square light rail. From 6:30-8:30PM. New Volunteer Orientation at 6:15. Masks are encouraged. If you feel sick or have been knowingly exposed directly to COVID or other infections, please stay home and help keep us safe. Have questions or want to get better oriented to Climate Community Nights? Email our Monthly Meeting Convener, Sof.  As a thank you and welcome, New Members who sign up during our Membership drive will receive this print that we made with printmaker Jo Scully at our last CCN! |
| Artful Activism Team We need you! We’re building a singing Summer Solstice Parade ensemble for all the important actions this season. We have meaningful and fun ways to engage in community, or behind the scenes, to create, maintain, and manifest powerful, beautiful, inviting art of all kinds for our teams and the movement. No previous experience needed! Art Build RSVP: to get details and updates for our upcoming art builds – no experience needed, but all skills appreciated! We will likely add more art build in May and June in Fremont as needed, so RSVP so stay in the loop. May 31st, Sunday, 1-5PM, Cap Hill near light rail: Want to help us make an enormous collapsible puppet of benevolence for all life under the sun? Painting, waxing, sewing, cutting, tracing, tying, hot glue, and more. Art in Action RSVP – to help with art at the wonderful actions/events! We need many people to make our actions’ messaging great! Join us in this very rewarding role!! No experience needed; we’ll teach you how. More large actions in the coming months are already listed there, and other actions and events come up on short notice, so sign up with “Interest” to find out when you are needed to help with art! May 16th, Saturday, 11:00-6:00, Immigration Justice Prayer Walk. Beginning at noon in Ballard, includes a water ceremony, and ends with a meal and more at Daybreak Star. Your hearts and hands needed to be in solidarity with our Immigrant communities. More info here or above. June 20, Saturday, 11-5, Fremont Summer Solstice Parade. Join our singing ensemble with a giant puppet of benevolence for all life under the sun! Sign up here to get on the Artful email list for monthly info on upcoming community art opportunities and to let us know your skill sets! (Scroll all the way down that web page to sign up.) Skills welcome and appreciated! AND… no art experience yet? no problem! Whatever calls you to the Artful Team, this team is for you!**If you want to bring your own group project, please contact us. ** |
| Policy Action Team Please join us at our next meeting, Wednesday, May 6th at 5:00 online to find out how you can help pass and protect strong environmental justice legislation. We will share ways to support emerging campaigns related to solar access, data center regulation, and micro plastics. We will also have an update on a campaign in eastern Washington related to pollution from CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). We urge folks to join 350 Seattle’s campaign, Make Polluters Pay by organizing opposition to a proposed federal bill which would preempt state action. U.S. Rep. Hegeman and Senator Cruz just introduced legislation to grant Big Oil immunity from all climate accountability, “Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026” (HR8330 / S4340). This bill would dismiss pending climate accountability lawsuits, void all climate superfund laws and block similar future efforts, placing the industry above the law. More details above in the No Immunity for Big Oil section. Bring your updates, questions and other action proposals on Wed. May 6th at 5:00. Contact Beth or Selden for meeting information and with questions. |
| Aviation Team The Aviation Team has a new meeting time! We meet monthly on the Third Tuesday at 5pm. Our next meeting is Tuesday, May 19th from 5-6PM. PLUS we are gathering for our annual picnic on Saturday, May 30th at 12:30 in Lincoln Park. Contact Laura for location and potential carpooling. If you emailed earlier in the year and didn’t hear back, our email was down so please try again! |
| Antiwar X Climate In April the 350 Seattle Antiwar x Climate (AWxC) participated in a local collaboration to host a film screening and community discussion of “Earth’s Greatest Enemy: A documentary exposé of the world’s biggest – and most unaccountable – polluter: the US military.” We worked with Veterans For Peace Daniel Ellsberg chapter, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines and Tanod Lupa, and the UW student club Institutional Climate Action (ICA). Thank you to all of the 350 Seattle people who helped make this happen – and to 350 Seattle for splitting the cost of the film rights with Veterans For Peace! We invite you to our next gathering: We’ll be at the Northgate branch of the Library (near the Northgate light rail station) Saturday May 9th, 2:30-4:30pm. We will have a potluck with afternoon snacks! Agenda will include discussion of the role of technology in militarism and war, and how to disentangle our work group’s communication from Google. |
| Coming Back to Life Coming Back to Life: Connection, Grief, and Action for these times is a space to experience our shared humanity together. Grounded in the Work That Reconnects from root teacher Joanna Macy, this group helps communities to resource ourselves with life’s beauty, honor our pain for the world, and remember our interconnectedness with each other and the web of life so that we can keep taking action and find our way forward together. We welcome you to join us for our next in person group on Sunday, May 17th from 10AM-2:30pm in West Seattle. Please RSVP. Further instructions and location will be sent a few days before the event to those who register. |
| Where Should We Table this Summer? Marches and tool sales and community colleges, oh my! The Tabling Team was everywhere this month. We tabled at 6 community events and connected with over 100 people who were excited to learn about 350 Seattle’s local organizing for climate justice. Now, we’re building out our summer events calendar and want to hear from YOU. Do you have an idea for where we should table? Are you connected to another community group or organization that would host a 350 Seattle table? We’re especially excited about opportunities to table outdoors and at large community gatherings. It doesn’t have to be climate or environment related. Share your idea and/or make a connection by reaching out to Jess. |
| Singing Resistance Music and song make our movements irresistible. Come join Singing Resistance Seattle — community singing for social change! All voices welcome. Events, resources, songbooks, and ways to get involved can be found here. |
| How Bout Some Real Leadership on State Lands? Washington’s Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove promised to conserve “structurally complex, carbon dense” forests on state lands. But that’s a promise the Commissioner hasn’t kept. Month after month the Department of Natural Resources continues to sell off cherished legacy forests. So let’s ask Gov. Ferguson to lead where the DNR has failed. Click here to send a message encouraging Gov. Ferguson to play an active role in challenging DNR’s ongoing destruction of our irreplaceable native forests—so that these vital ecosystems can endure for generations to come. Saving Alaska’s ancient forests The “Landless Bill” introduced in Congress threatens to privatize thousands of acres of roadless old growth forests in the Tongass National Forest. Joshua Wright teams up with Wanda Culp, a fierce Tlingit matriarch, to confront the political forces driving this push to sell off one of the Earth’s last great temperate rainforests. Watch the film and take action here. |
| 350 Seattle Book Club The Book Club is excited to announce our reading list for the first part of 2026! The 350 Seattle Book Club is a collection of activists, organizers, and people who are interested in conversations about organizing, climate justice, history, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We generally meet every two weeks on Sundays from 2:30-4:30 PM in a hybrid formation via Zoom or in person at the 350S office in the Pioneer Square. In May, we will be finishing up a discussion about Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology by David Graeber. With the essay, anthropologist David Graeber attempts to outline areas of research that intellectuals might explore in creating a cohesive body of anarchist social theory. Graeber posits that anthropology is “particularly well positioned” as an academic discipline that can look at the gamut of human societies and organizations, to study, analyze and catalog alternative social and economic structures around the world, and most importantly, present these alternatives to the world. We will meet on May 17th to discuss this essay. Next Month: a discussion of Polemic for Democracy by Zane Gustafson. If you are interested in staying connected with the Book Club, you can sign up through this form and we will loop you in to our emails and signal channel! |
| Climate Action Families 📅 May 14 | 5:30-8:00pm 📍Meridian Park Playground (Picnic Shelter) ⭐ All Ages Gather with your CAF community to honor life milestones! If you have a pre-schooler, 5th, 8th, or 12th grader moving up this year, let us know so we can prepare to celebrate them and their journey ahead! All CAF members invited – graduates and those marking milestones will be honored guests. Honored guests include pre-schoolers, 5th, 8th, and 12th graders moving up, college graduates, and CAF staff and students moving on. RSVP HERE for location and more info! |
| And Finally, Want a way to search every way to 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.If you are still looking for ways to get involved with your 350 Seattle community, head to our website or just reply to this newsletter. Thanks everybody. |
