We at Santa Cruz Climate Action Network care deeply about the lives of victimized people and strongly support the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Frontlines Climate Justice Executive Action Platform is now public and live! It includes

  1. Environmental Justice: Protecting frontline communities from continuing harms of fossil fuel, industrial, and built environment pollution.
  2. Just Recovery: Ensuring just and equitable recovery from, and resiliency against, climate disasters.
  3. Climate Equity Accountability: Elevating equity and stakeholder decision-making in federal climate rules and programmatic investments.
  4. Energy Democracy: Remaking the monopoly fossil fuel energy system as a clean, renewably-sourced, and democratically-controlled commons.

To help use The Frontlines Climate Justice Executive Action Platform Social Media Toolkit

Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley joined Climate Reality for a conversation about environmental racism – INSPIRING! . (1 hr July 2020)

Lots of excellent legislation planned to solve environmental justice and related problems. details at this website – Frontlines Climate Justice

New York Times article highlighting the extreme discrepancies in COVID suffering between white people and people of color. See also our COVID page

Juneteenth to Allegiance event Fri June 19th.

Juneteenth event Santa Cruz

The march was well organized peaceful, energizing and well-masked. Brett Garrett shot a movie from the 3rd floor of his building and it includes 7 minutes of well-spaced marchers passing by. I think well over 1000 people – does anyone know the count?

Source: Save Our Shores image; Photographer Sammy Garcia

We have always been aware that Climate Change will have the most impact on the poorest people, and most of them are black or brown people. Upcoming problems include sea level rise, excessive heat and crop failures. Climate Change is a racial justice movement. Only the rich and privileged will be equipped to avoid the worst effects unless we make radical changes in society.

Here is a statement from 350.org our affiliate group

We cannot create a sustainable and climate-conscious world without addressing the harm and violence that comes from systematic racism and inequality towards black and minority communities.  

 A truly sustainable and carbon free world is one that is inclusive of people of all classes, races, and ethnicities. We already know that minority populations and low-income communities bear the brunt of climate change and suffer the most directly from pollution. Ultimately, the question of climate and sustainability is also one of equality and justice.

Link to Black Perspective daily posts added 6/16/20

Local Showing Up facebook group is working on Black Lives matter.

We already set up a page about Climate Change in Africa – check it out

On 6/3, the Washington Post ran an op-ed by a black marine biologist concerned about climate change. “I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet.”