Big event planned in San Francisco Sep 8. We’ll be organizing rides/art/etc. at our Aug 23rd Grange meeting. Here’s the event website. Much more details coming soon.
Blog
Climate Emergency
We are responding to The Climate Mobilization call to work for a city Climate Emergency Resolution similar to those being passed in many other cities. Here’s our new page
Huge loss of Antarctic Ice
Great visualization of something so huge and scary it’s very hard to grasp
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10217298211275589&id=1481776635&_rdr
Berkeley Unanimously Declares Climate Emergency!
Here’s an example of REAL Climate Action – we need to demand this in Santa Cruz
On Tuesday night, Bay Area mobilizers made history.
As a result of local organizers’ tireless work, the Berkeley City Council faced the truth of the climate and ecological crises and committed to protecting its residents and all life on Earth by unanimously declaring a climate emergency and endorsing a just citywide climate mobilization effort to end greenhouse gas emissions emissions as quickly as possible! The resolution called for Berkeley to become a carbon sink by 2030, which the energy commission will study. It also called on all other governments to address the crisis at the speed and scale required, setting in motion a nine-county Bay Area climate emergency town hall this summer aimed at catalyzing local, regional, state, national and global mass mobilizations to restore a safe climate and a collaborative regional mobilization effort. You can read the full text of the resolution here.
In the same hearing, the council took a critical first step in realizing the mobilization by voting to refer a Fossil Free Fast resolution to the city’s energy commission. Under this resolution, Berkeley would actively oppose new fossil fuel infrastructure, making it the first municipality in California and the second in the nation to move forward such a sweeping block. You can read the full text of the resolution here.
These momentous wins would not have been possible without the heroic work of on-the-ground organizers from across the Bay. They were incredible — sticking it out five long hours for the vote, many of them delivering powerful remarks! We also applaud the council for their courageous leadership, in particular Council Members Cheryl Davila and Kate Harrison for their sponsorship of these measures. The council’s action is being hailed as historic, and rightly so.
Crisis in Gaza
Light and Hope
A Santa Cruz Community Project to Brighten the Future of Gaza’s Children
750,000 Children in Gaza live in darkness because electricity is out 20 hours a day. Let’s light up their nights!
The sole power plant in Gaza has shut down. Electricity is out 20 hours a day, making the simplest of tasks difficult. Become part of Light and Hope, a Santa Cruz alliance dedicated to sending Little Suns solar-powered lights to the children in Gaza, so they can study and play safely when the power is out.
Community groups, businesses and individuals are invited to join in a Santa Cruz campaign to purchase these solar lights to light up Palestinian homes and let them know we care. You can participate in this effort by purchasing four solar lights for $40 to send to Gaza. Or for $50, you’ll send three lights to Gaza and receive one in solidarity. In addition, a generous 2-for-1 matching grant doubles the number of lights sent! Our goal is to send 1000 lights—500 Little Suns solar lights sponsored by our Santa Cruz community, which will be doubled to 1000!Go to : http://commitchange.com/ca/burlingame-94010/rebuilding-alliance/campaigns/light-and-hope to join in the campaign.
The Santa Cruz Light and Hope project is offered through Rebuilding Alliance, a Bay Area non-profit dedicated to bringing the world together to rebuild war-torn communities. In partnership with Palestinian NGOs, Rebuilding Alliance distributes ingenious inflatable solar lanterns directly to families in need. Working with them, we can empower Gaza’s next generation, open the blockade, and bring hope to all.
Rebuilding Alliance also invites participants to join Palestinian families by shining a solar light on Wednesday evenings and sharing your light images on social media using #ItsTimeForLight. In addition, we invite Santa Cruz community groups to shine their solar light at meetings as a gesture toward a sustainable peace!
About Gaza
At about 5000 years old, the Gaza strip, often referred to as Gaza City, is one of the oldest cities in the world. During that time, it has been both a thriving port and—as it is often referred to today—the world’s largest outdoor prison: Palestinians, Israelis and foreign staff of human rights organizations are not permitted to enter or leave Gaza except on very rare occasion.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Currently, about 1.8 million people call Gaza home, living in an area that is about 25 miles long and three to seven miles wide. Of the 1.8 million inhabitants of the Gaza strip, 1.1 million are refugees, with 75% of population under 25, and more than 40% of adults unemployed.
Daily life in Gaza is defined by deficit and desperation: Residents make do with four hours of electricity a day. Most people don’t have access to clean water because the supply system is contaminated with sewage. Breakfast for some school children is a cup of hot water flavored with a dash of salt, hospitals lack supplies and services, life expectancy is 10 years less than in Israel, and access to fishing is extremely restricted. The UN has declared that Gaza may be uninhabitable by 2020 if conditions do not improve.
As you know, the crisis in Gaza is desperate. Please email Congress now to urge your Senators and Representative to intervene on your behalf as their constituent, to prevent what will soon become starvation.
Santa Cruz Climate Action Network 