#ForwardOnClimate Photos Streaming In!
It's just a little bit mindblowing to watch the photos from #ForwardOnClimate stream in from DC. Below is a slideshow of a Flickr set with some of the best:
And some great photos from the @350 Twitter Feed.
Tweets by @350Amazing! 35,000+ March at Forward on Climate Rally in DC
Here's a press release from today's absolutely incredible rally in Washington, DC:
Washington, D.C., February 17, 2013 – Today, during President’s Day weekend, more than 35,000 people are marching to the President's doorstep to support immediate action to contain climate change. People from more than 30 states across the country whose land, homes and health is being threatened by the climate crisis, as well as students, scientists, indigenous community members and many others are participating in this largest climate rally in U.S. history.
“For 25 years our government has basically ignored the climate crisis: now people in large numbers are finally demanding they get to work. We shouldn't have to be here--science should have decided our course long ago. But it takes a movement to stand up to all that money,” said 350.org founder Bill McKibben.
Rally participants are calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and put limits on dangerous carbon pollution from the nation's dirtiest power plants. Much of President Obama's legacy will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in fighting the climate crisis. Rally participants are looking for him move forward on his recent State of the Union address declaration when he said, “For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change.”
“Twenty years from now on President’s Day, people will want to know what the president did in the face of rising sea levels, record droughts and furious storms brought on by climate disruption,” said Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “President Obama holds in his hand a pen and the power to deliver on his promise of hope for our children. Today, we are asking him to use that pen to to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and ensure that this dirty, dangerous, export pipeline will never be built.”
The Keystone XL tar sands project would pipe some of the dirtiest oil on the planet through the breadbasket of America to be shipped overseas through the Gulf of Mexico. It would be a disaster for our climate, producing tar sands crude that kicks out two or three times as much carbon pollution as producing conventional crude oil.
“The Yinka Dene Alliance of British Columbia is seeing the harm from climate change to our peoples and our waters,” said Chief Jacqueline Thomas, immediate past Chief of the Saik’uz First Nation in British Columbia and co-founder Yinka Dene Alliance (“People of the Earth”). “We see the threat of taking tar sands out of the Earth and bringing it through our territories and over our rivers. The harm being done to people in the tar sands region can no longer be Canada’s dirty secret. We don’t have the billions of dollars that industry has. But we do have our faith that people will do the right thing to protect Mother Earth. The Forward on Climate Rally shows that we are not alone in the fight to stop tar sands expansion and tackle climate change.”
The Big Day is Here! Watch the live stream and send a message to DC!
The big day is here in DC -- for hours now, people have been streaming into Washington to prepare for what looks to be the largest climate rally in US history.
If you want to follow along, there will be a livestream of all the action in DC that starts at Noon Eastern (9 AM Pacific) -- just go to 350.org/ForwardOnClimateLivestream when the time comes, and press play to watch the action as it unfolds.
Also, here in DC we'll have a big screen down on the Mall today, and any photos you send with messages of support to [email protected] during the action will be shown up on the big screen. We'll also be showing Tweets, Instagram photos or Pintrest pins tagged with #ForwardOnClimate.
I'm sure Bill McKibben will send along a full report when the rally is over, but for now just enjoy seeing this big movement move -- and follow the up-to-the minute updates by following @350 on Twitter or just look at the tweets below!
Tweets about "#forwardonclimate"Europe says NO to tar sands, NO to KXL
This post has been developed in collaboration with our friends and allies at the UK Tar Sands Network, People & Planet, Campaign against Climate Change, and Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth.
The US says no to tar sands
Today in Washington DC, tens of thousands of people are taking part in the biggest climate rally in US history. They are asking President Obama to move #ForwardOnClimate and, specifically, to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The President’s imminent decision will have momentous consequences. The KXL pipeline is ‘a fuse to the largest carbon bomb on the planet.’ If the tar sands industry is allowed to expand as it plans to, it will be ‘game over’ for the climate – and the ramifications will affect people across the world. If the pipeline is rejected it will be a huge leap towards reining in the world's most destructive industry.
First Nations say no to tar sands
First Nations in Canada are on the frontline of the highly polluting tar sands development, and have suffered for decades as their lands, food and water sources are slowly poisoned. Many communities have been actively speaking out, and taking legal action, against the government and industry. In recent months there has been an explosion of grassroots Indigenous-led activism, with the #IdleNoMore movement, a response to the Canadian government's infamous Bill C-45 – a bundle of laws that further strips away First Nations’ abilities to assert their treaty rights, protect their waterways, and say 'no' to polluting projects on their land. From Europe we do our best to support First Nations communities who are struggling to protect the air they breathe and water they drink. Their struggle to protect Mother Earth is our struggle to protect the climate.
KXL - bringing tar sands oil to Europe?
President Obama’s decision over whether to approve KXL affects us in Europe too. In order to justify its catastrophic expansion plans, the tar sands industry needs to find new markets to export its dirty oil to. The aim of building the KXL pipeline is to bring tar sands oil down to Texas so it can be exported. Europe is being eyed up as a key future market. In fact, a US company called Valero is currently drawing up plans to bring KXL oil into the UK via Wales. The local community in Pembrokeshire have vowed to resist this.
How can we stop this?
We can, of course, send our solidarity and support to our friends in the US and Canada who are working so hard to stop KXL and other tar sands infrastructure ever being built. But there is something crucial for us in Europe to do too. A key piece of climate legislation is currently going through the EU. Known as the ‘Fuel Quality Directive’ (FQD), it would acknowledge that tar sands oil is far more polluting than conventional oil, and strongly discourage its use in Europe. If passed, it will effectively stop tar sands becoming commercially viable in Europe, making it extremely difficult for Valero to continue with their plans for Pembroke, and send a strong message to Canada and the rest of the world that tar sands is dirty oil and we do not want it.
The FQD under threat
For the last two years, a powerful coalition of oil companies and the Canadian government has been aggressively lobbying the EU and its member states to prevent inclusion of the tar sands in the FQD. This unprecedented lobbying effort has succeeded in stalling the process and persuading key member states - in particular the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands - to block the decision. Another vote is coming up later this year. Now is the time for the citizens of Europe to come together and demand our leaders do the right thing and keep tar sands out of Europe!
Europe says no to tar sands
On this momentous day of climate action we are joining the struggles of communities resisting extreme energy worldwide, from KXL protesters in Washington, to First Nations in Alberta, to the community of Pembrokeshire in Wales trying to keep tar sands fuel away from their shores.
Please sign this petition to support the community of Pembrokeshire in advocating for the FQD, and show the world that Europe says NO to tar sands.
350 Pacific: We are not drowning. We are fighting.
These photos are just in from the 350 Fiji team - a powerful demonstration of warrior energy. They're putting that fierce and powerful energy in behind everyone showing up in Washington, DC this weekend for the Forward on Climate rally, and in the push for President Obama to deny the Keystone XL pipeline.
This was also the launch of a Pacific-wide Warrior Day of Action, with the message "We are not drowning. We are fighting." On March 2nd, Pacific Islanders across 15 Pacific Island nations and territories will be mobilising at prominent locations to perform their unique war challenges, songs, and dances. There's a common perception that the Pacific Islands are drowning from sea-level rise. While it's true that in the coming decades, sea-level rise will challenge the existence of the low-lying atoll nations and coastal areas of any island, it's not yet time to give up on the Islands. Over the last few years I've had the privilege of working with 350.org organisers across the Pacific Islands. I'm always inspired by how dedicated they are to not giving up or being victimised - and how committed they are to creating a bright and exciting future for their islands. So it's time to change the global narrative of the Pacific Islands - from drowning and victimisation, to building the power to fight the fossil fuel industry, and climate change. And as the global climate movement, it's our job to never give up on them, and to fight every step of the way with them.
The Warrior Day of Action is the start of a wider campaign where 350 organisers across the Pacific Islands will be doing all they can to pressure and shift the power away from the fossil fuel industry and politicians. Help us SHARE the voices of our Pacific Island brothers and sisters, by sharing this blog around on email and on social media - and stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.
You can find out more about the Warrior Day of Action here, and if you're reading this from the Pacific, sign the 350 Pacific vision and pledge here.
A massive shout out to our key partners, UNICEF Pacific and the Pacific Voyagers Foundation.
Join a #ForwardOnClimate Solidarity Rally, 2/17
Tomorrow is a big day in Washington DC -- but we know that many Americans can't make the trek to DC, and so there are actions happening around the country to put pressure on the President to lead on climate and reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline:
California
Los Angeles
When: Sunday, February 17, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Start at the South-West Side of Paseo De La Plaza in Olvera St. (Between North Los Angeles St. & Main St.)
Destination: South side steps of City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA
What: City Hall events include Prayer for the Earth, songs, dance, speakers, and closing ceremony
Sponsored by: Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, Tar Sands Action Southern California, Food and Water Watch, and other organizations
To RSVP or for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/545359235484063/
Monterey
When: Sunday, February 17, 12-2 p.m.
Where: Window on the Bay Park, Del Monte Avenue at El Estero, Monterey CA 93940
What: Forward on Climate Solidarity Rally. Signs provided; participants are welcome to bring their own. Blankets and picnic items for sharing are encouraged. Let's strive to make it a zero waste event!
Sponsored by: Unitarian Universalist Church Social Justice - Faith in Action/Legislative Ministry, Progressive Democrats of America Monterey County, and Sierra Club Ventana Chapter
To RSVP or for more details, including a map and contact info: https://www.facebook.com/events/200787623399106
San Diego
When: Sunday, February 17, 1-3 p.m.
Where: Mission Bay Park Visitors Center, 2688 East Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 921095 and I-5 overpass
What: Rally with speakers, giant banners, singing telegram for President Obama, and more.
Sponsored by: SanDiego350.org, Citizens Climate Lobby, Sierra Club San Diego, and other organizations
To RSVP or for more information: https://sandiego350.org/ai1ec_event/keystone-pipeline-protest/
San Francisco
When: Sunday, February 17, 1-3 p.m.
Where: One Market Plaza, 1 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94105
Sponsored by: Local Bay Area 350 organizations, chapters of The Sierra Club, NRDC, and dozens of other Bay Area organizations
To RSVP or for more information: https://www.350bayarea.org/forward_on_climate_bay_area_rally
Read more to see other rallies around the country:
48 Environmental, civil rights, and community leaders engage in historic act of civil disobedience to stop Keystone XL pipeline
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/sets/72157632761399084/
February 13, 2013
Contacts:
Eddie Scher, Sierra Club, 415-815-7027
Maggie Kao, Sierra Club, 202-675-2384
Daniel Kessler, 350.org, 510-501-1779
JULIAN BOND, BILL MCKIBBEN, MICHAEL BRUNE, AND OTHERS ARRESTED IN FRONT OF WHITE HOUSE IN CALL FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning, 48 environmental, civil rights, and community leaders from across the country joined together for a historic display of civil disobedience at the White House where they demanded that President Obama deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and address the climate crisis.
Among the notable leaders involved in the civil disobedience were Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club; Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org; Julian Bond, former president of the NAACP; Danny Kennedy, CEO of Sungevity; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Connor Kennedy, and Daryl Hannah, American actress.
After blocking a main thoroughfare in front of the White House, and refusing to move when asked by police, the activists were arrested and transported to Anacostia for processing by the US Park Police Department.
“The threat to our planet’s climate is both grave and urgent,” said civil rights activist Julian Bond. “Although President Obama has declared his own determination to act, much that is within his power to accomplish remains undone, and the decision to allow the construction of a pipeline to carry millions of barrels of the most-polluting oil on Earth from Canada’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast of the U.S. is in his hands. I am proud today to stand before my fellow citizens and declare, ‘I am willing to go to jail to stop this wrong.’ The environmental crisis we face today demands nothing less.”
Your photo on the big screen.
We just sent out this email to our friends around the US who haven't yet RSVP'd to the big rally in DC. RSVP to join in DC here, and if you're not getting our emails click here!
Hi friends,
This weekend, tens of thousands of people will converge in DC to tell President Obama to move forward on climate. We’ll have signs and banners, chants and bullhorns, and we’ll be making a lot of noise to make sure the President gets our message.
But we know not everyone who cares about solving climate change and stopping Keystone XL can make it to DC. As a movement, we’re much bigger than even the tens of thousands who will be on the National Mall, and we need to make sure the President gets that message too.
Here are three ways that you can be a part of the action even if you can’t make it to DC:
We’re using a new online tool to amplify our voices on Twitter and Facebook. It’s called Thunderclap -- because together, that’s how loud we can be. We’re hoping to get 10,000 people on board -- click here to join: 350.org/thunderclap
When you sign up, Thunderclap will schedule a message to go out from you with a link to the Livestream during the rally -- but only if we can get 10,000 people to join as well. Together we can (literally) reach millions of people with a message during the rally.
2) Submit Your Photos
There will be a giant screen at the rally, showing photos and messages of support from across the country -- to get your message on the screen, take a photo showing your support for the action, or of a part of your community that you want protected from climate change, then email it to [email protected], with your location in the subject line. (Or, you can post your photo to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #ForwardOnClimate).
We’ll pick out the best ones to put on the screen for tens of thousands of people to see, just outside the White House.
Finally, the web team put together this nifty sharable sign-maker that you can use to make a custom sign declaring your support for the action. They're beautiful, and easy to share on your social networks. Check it out: sign.350.org
Living through this moment in history might sometimes seem like a stroke of bad luck. Every era wrestles with injustice, government inaction, and some degree of existential threat -- but the scale and urgency of the climate crisis is truly unparallelled. On the other hand, we live in world where so many new things are possible: we have communications tools that can bring us together in new ways, making our movement stronger, bigger, and more democratic.
At 350.org, we know that mass offline action -- marching in the streets, writing letters to elected officials en masse, and gathering in our communities -- is absolutely essential. Combined with the power of our new communication tools and a distributed network of activists, we can create a surround-sound campaign that will be impossible to ignore.
Let’s get loud,
Duncan
P.S. Speaking of writing letters to your elected representatives: this morning I met with our allies who helped share the open letter and survivors of Superstorm Sandy to deliver the letter to the White House. The final count was almost 250,000 signatures calling on President Obama to take action. Thank you for signing on -- your voice is going to make a difference. Here's a photo from this morning:
Ripple Effects
Friends,
I think you know the basics of the Forward on Climate action already: after the hottest year in American history, tens of thousands of Americans are converging on DC on February 17th for the largest climate rally ever held in the US. Our message is clear: we're insisting that President Obama reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and demonstrate real leadership on climate change.
That's all critically important. But it's not the whole story. Here's how we got to this point.
I live in New York City, and this October I watched as Superstorm Sandy gave us a tragic sneak preview of climate change. I know I wasn't alone: over the past year, we've all seen the impact of climate change on our coastlines, forests and homes.
But our political leadership hasn't kept pace with the crisis. In fact, for a while, climate dropped off the political radar entirely. But after a year and a half of unprecedented civil disobedience, historic mass mobilizations, innovative divestment campaigns and dogged local organizing -- as well as dramatic extreme weather events -- climate is back front and center, and the President is talking like a real leader again.
That's why it's so important that we make this the biggest action we've ever had: as a movement, we have the opportunity to move the President from words to action on the greatest challenge of our time, starting with the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
350.org exists because mass action can transform even the most hardened parts of our political life. That's exactly what happened with Keystone: when we started this fight, all the experts said it was a done deal. But after we sat-in, surrounded the White House, petitioned and called, the deal still isn't done, and we have a shot to stop the pipeline for good.
February 17th is our chance to continue the work we started to hold the President to his words, and stop this pipeline. I hope you’ll be there with me -- and tens of thousands of our friends.
RSVP for the action here: act.350.org/signup/presidentsday/
Every time our movement comes together in a major mobilization we see the ripple effects for months, and even years to come. That’s because they are so powerful: these are moments to show the collective strength of our movement.
All of this is to say: we certainly have a lot of work to do, but we know how it needs to be done, and we're not backing down. I know that it feels rough to fight something over and over again, like we have with Keystone XL. But I also know that this is a critically important step on the journey, and I hope you'll be there to walk it with me.
Onwards,
May
Want to fly to the moon? No need.. they’re bringing it to you.
A landscape scarred with craters as big as Berlin, Manchester, Paris and Washington. Vast troughs and grey black ridges higher than tower blocks, stretching as far as the eye can see. The continuous mechanical grind as huge metal teeth chew through the earth with devastating effectiveness. At first sight the scene has a startling resemblance to Canada's tar sand moonscape. This is not Canada however. This is the Lausitz,
in Germany, an area bordering with Poland, less than one hour south east of Berlin.
From the air the devastation of Germany's renewed and growing enthusiasm in coal is disturbingly impressive. On the ground, however, the reality and impact of such a landscape becomes clear. In the Lausitz coal goes back a long way. Not quite as long as the Atterwasch church, built in 1294, one of the historic buildings that stands to be flattened, but long enough to have a particular significance to the community. Over the last 100 years, 135 villages have been razed to the ground and 27,000 people, against there will, displaced. Why? To feed the corporate hunger for the regions abundant brown coal (lignite) that lies just beneath the grass and trees.
If plans for three new open cast mines by Swedish owned utility company Vattenfall go through, a further 3500 people will be displaced, while locking Brandenburg (federal state) into a future of dirty, climate changing energy. In addition to displacement issues those that are left in the neighbouring communities, will be increasingly subject to poor air quality and the growing prospect of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The power plants next to the German-Czech-Polish boarders are listed among the top 20 industrial air polluters in Europe, with the quality of the air in the region now so bad that the state of Brandenburg has appealed to the European Commission to request exemption from air quality standards.
Despite these challenges, resistance is growing. Local communities, MP's and environmentalist are coming together, ready to defend their land and the climate. For the 6th year running residents of Kerkwitz, Atterwasch and Grabko, the three villages next in line for destruction, marched together to voice their opposition to the plans. Joined by MPs, councillors, green groups, and locals from across the border in Poland (where the coal situation is worse still) 800 people gathered to talk about the issues, share plans of resistance and show Vattenfall and Brandenburg that new mines and future reliance on coal in the region does not have their support.
The locals are backed up by both science and economics. A recent study by the German Institute for Economic research (DIW) states that coal power plants are economically unprofitable. In addition the report also finds that the open cast mines already approved contain more than enough coal to supply existing power plants for the duration of their lifetimes. These figures are in line with Greenpeace's work 'The Plan', which also shows that to meet Germany's emissions targets coal can't have any future in the energy mix beyond 2030. The only way that coal would be economically profitable, would be if the stations would remain operational way in to the 2050's.
Many people however are starting to see things in a very different way. The Berlin Energy Table (Berliner Energietisch), a coalition of over 50 organisations, is bidding to buy back the energy grid and create a municipal utility with renewable energy at it's heart. With a just transition to renewables and community owned energy, employees in the coal industry also have reason to be optimistic. Initial estimates suggest that the switch to renewable energy in Brandenburg could create up to 19,200 green jobs, compared to the 6,000 jobs currently supported by coal.
While the PR machine of Vattenfall will be hard at work in the city trying to undermine this process, greenwashing it's image through sponsorship deals with the cities museums and galleries, and sporting events such as the Berlin Half marathon, the referendum by the Berlin Energy Table is preparing to start collecting signatures. With a target of 200 000 supporters needed between February and June, and with over 1000 people committed to help collect the signatures, plans for the new mines and continued burning of coal past 2030 are edging closer to the scrap heap. Will Berlin and Brandenburg become, once again, an international leader in the energy revolution. If the people I have so far met have any to do with it. Yes.