350 Updates

01/08/12, 8:47am
Kevin Buckland
Kevin Buckland

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Global Solidarity Action for Families Displaced by COP17

Councilor Lucky Mdlalose's of KwaMashu's phone was ringing non-stop on Friday as activists from all over the world phoned in as part of a Global Day of Action to support a community from KwaMashu, South Africa that had been evicted because of the COP17 Climate Conference in November. This Global Action, with people calling in from the United States, India, Belgium, the UK and others, also included a protest in London at the South African Embassy.

“I called because no one should have their home stolen from them, especially not by their own Government” reported Anna Collins of the UK. 134

Activists from “Occupy COP17”, who came to Durban for the COP17 conference, had developed a close relationship with the community. “In our General Assembly, someone told us of how a community had been illegally evicted because of the COP17, so we called them.” said Kevin Buckland of 350.org, “two days later, some of us from Occupy COP17 went to meet with them. As soon as we arrived we were moved to tears by hearing about the injustice that had occurred. They told us their story on the very place where there houses had stood just weeks before. Now all that was left were piles of broken roofing and scattered objects."

 

On the last day of the COP17 Climate Change Conference, community members attended a “Vigil For Climate Justice” just outside the ICC Center where the Climate Negotiations were being held. At the vigil, they shared their story and young members from the community performed a play reenacting the illegal eviction. Many of the people who witnessed the performance were among those to call-in on Friday.  Community member Jabulilie Mdlalose said “They destroyed our houses. They destroy our lives. They took our food. They took out clothes. They took everything from us. And they said we are messing up the place because of the COP17. Today we don't have a shelter. ”

 

“Now that we have met them and heard their story,” said Buckland “we cannot let them suffer alone, and we will not abandon. Councillor Lucky Mdlalose: people all over the world will be watching how you act on this. We will stand by our friends from KwaMashu until justice is served.”

 
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01/05/12, 11:43am
Duncan Meisel
Duncan Meisel

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Direct threats from Big Oil over Keystone XL

Here's the email that Bill McKibben just sent to US 350.org supporters who have been working on Keystone XL:

Just in case you thought there was anything subtle about the Keystone battle, you need to hear what the president of the American Petroleum Institute -- the oil industry's #1 front group -- said yesterday: if the President doesn’t approve the project there will “huge political consequences.”

That’s as direct a threat as you’re ever going to hear in DC, and it shows just how mad you made the oil industry last year by exposing Keystone for the climate-killing danger it is.  And the oil industry can obviously make good on their threats -- they’ve got all the money on earth, and thanks to Citizens United they can use it without restriction in our elections. They’re not used to ever losing.

So far the Obama administration is standing firm in the face of Big Oil's bullying -- the White House made it completely clear last month that if the oil industry and its harem in Congress forced a speeded-up review, it would lead to an outright rejection of the permit for the pipeline. We expect they’ll keep their word.
 
Here's what I think we need to do.

1- Let the president know you’ve got his back when he rejects the pipeline. Tell him that addressing climate change is the key to our future, and that you’re glad he’s not bending.

2- Take the offensive against the oil industry. If they’re going to try and ram Keystone down our throats we’re going to try and take away something they hold dear, the handouts that Congress gives them each and every year. They’re the richest industry on earth, they’re doing great damage to the planet -- and they expect us to pay for it with our tax dollars. 

Can you send a quick note to President Obama covering those two key points?

Click here to send a message to the President: www.350.org/stand-strong

Here's the note I'm sending:

President Obama: Thank you for opposing the rushed Keystone XL pipeline permit. Responding to climate change is critical to preserving our collective future, and I hope this is a first step towards the dramatic changes we need to avoid catastrophe. PS: Please take handouts for the fossil fuel industry out of next year’s budget. There are people in America who need that money more.

There’s lots more to be done, of course. In the slightly longer run, we’ve got to take on the greatest subsidy of all: the special privilege that Congress gives the fossil fuel industry to use the atmosphere as an open sewer into which to dump its carbon for free.

But today -- right now, in the face of this kind of straight-up bullying -- it’s time to punch back. We’re nonviolent, but we’re not wimps.

Bill

 
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01/05/12, 8:08am
Jamie Henn
Jamie Henn

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Oil Industry Executives Vote (oh, and buy your elections)

Big Oil is trying to buy the US Presidential election -- and they're getting started early. This week, the American Petroleum Institute announced a new "campaign" that called Vote4Energy. It's not a campaign in the sense we normally use the word -- aka, real people organizing to create change -- but a massive ad-buy to mislead voters into voting for the interests of big polluters.

Lucky for us, PolluterWatch has come to the rescue with a great spoof video and website of the original ad. Check it out and please share with your friends: 

In the United States, 350.org is going to be focusing our work this year on trying to break the stranglehold that fossil fuel companies have over our political process. Stopping the Keystone XL pipeline last fall showed us that when citizens stand up against industry, we can win. But it's going to take a lot more hard work in the months to come. And hopefully -- as this video shows -- a bit of fun as well! 

p.s. Thanks to Adam Seigel for doing a great post on this yesterday and alerting us all to the campaign! 

 
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01/04/12, 1:21pm
Kevin Buckland
Kevin Buckland

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Occupy the Phonelines for Climate Justice

Three weeks ago, governments from around the world met in Durban, South Africa for the 17th UN Climate Change Conference, COP17. Just days before the international summit began, a community from nearby KwaMashu had their houses destroyed and all their possessions and food stolen from them by their government. They were told they were "dirtying" the image of Durban for the COP17 conference by city officials ashamed of their own inhabitants. The next night, as members of this community crouched in the rain under plastic bags in the spaces where their houses used to stand, Mwempi Caka caught a chill and died soon after. To this day, this community of grandmothers, mothers, babies and sons sleep each night on the floors of the kind neighbors that surround the empty land where their own houses once stood.

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the COP17 Conference ended—leaving the world without any international treaty to address climate change. Many critics have said that “this conference didn’t change anything”. The 31 families, who lost their homes and all their possessions because of COP17, know this is not true. What the conference clearly delivered is a prime example of the manner that governments are reacting to climate change: with blatant disregard for basic human rights. This grave injustice to the community from KwaMashu and the death of Mwempi Caka reminds us that while the climate crisis and its impact cannot be underestimated, they cannot serve as an excuse to continue a legacy of injustice.

 
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01/03/12, 9:39am
Jamie Henn
Jamie Henn

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You Can't Eat Tar Sands

A startling new study from the Center for Global Development shows that full development of the Canadian Tar Sands would have a devastating effect on global food production, especially in climate vulnerable continents such as Africa. 

A loss in agricultural productivity due to climate change will affect more than 3 billion people around the world. Because of the massive carbon emissions from the Canadian Tar Sands, full exploitation of the resource would lead to a 5.6 percent loss in productivity, with 25 countries experiencing losses of 7.1 percent. Countries with especially damaging impacts include the already drought stricken Ethiopia, Sudan, and other Horn of Africa nations, as well as major population centers like India. 

This is incredibly unjust. As the report says, "There is striking asymmetry in regional impacts. Full exploitation of the oil sands deposit by Canada, a high-income country, would have the most severe impacts on regions where the poorest countries are concentrated." 

 
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