Author: Denise

Stop scrolling. Start meeting real people.

Stop scrolling. Start meeting real people.

Can you remember the moment you decided to really fight for climate action? It probably wasn’t a Facebook post or a cynical tweet. More likely you had startling conversation, formed a new relationship, or discovered a new community and a way to get involved.

Real social change requires face-to-face interactions. That’s why we need you to help us reach out to our communities this summer and build a powerful base to support our campaign to put a price on carbon pollution once and for all.

In her new book, “Twitter and Tear Gas,” writer and social scientist Zeynep Tufekci reminds us of life before social media. Mobilizations like the March on Washington once grew out of years of painstaking recruiting, training, and coordination. Paradoxically, it was the very difficulty of face-to-face organizing that forged leaders and decision-making structures strong enough to weather storms of the opposition.  

Today we are faced with the intense challenge of transitioning to a clean and efficient energy economy before we fry ourselves alive. The speed of online communication suits the urgency of climate change. However, the strength of the fossil fuel empire demands an unprecedented depth of commitment and relationships among us. That means smiles, high-fives, and conversations with – gasp! – eye contact. (Which is what we all really want, right?)

To win a solution so powerfully scalable as a carbon fee and rebate in Washington, D.C., our movement must be made of a living web of trusting relationships that can flex, focus, and keep growing through the ups and downs of this ambitious campaign. That’s why the 30+ organizations in our coalition have spent the past two years getting to know one another. Now we want to know every neighborhood in our city.

Mark your calendars for a community outreach event in YOUR neighborhood. Read on for the schedule and details!

Find the community outreach event in your neighborhood:

Why be part of the action? Allow me to testify: there’s nothing quite so fulfilling to offer other concerned people a chance to really DO something about the climate crisis. It’s weighing on all of our hearts and minds, and by getting out there to recruit new people to the campaign, you’re doing them a favor of empowerment.

So let’s hit the streets this summer!

 

PS: Sierra Club will be hosting a volunteer training on Monday, July 10. You’ll get all your questions answered, and receive top-notch training on how to win the support of DC council members, ANCs, Civic and Citizen Associations, businesses, and your neighbors at the farmers market. We want to be sure you’re fully trained and ready for these opportunities to build an unstoppable power base for climate action in DC. Click HERE to RSVP!

 

Schedule of Community Events

Schedule of Community Events

Join us this summer as an ambassador for climate action in D.C.! Sign up for a community outreach event in YOUR neighborhood. There will be tons of opportunities for community outreach — read on for the schedule and details!

Find the community outreach event in your neighborhood:

 

Summer Kickoff Happy Hour

Summer Kickoff Happy Hour

Weds, June 7, 2017
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

 

Join on Wednesday, June 7 as we kick off the summer with a happy hour!

We’ll have much to celebrate, and much to do. This summer will be key for our campaign to put a price on carbon pollution in DC.

During happy hour, we’ll map out the road ahead and form teams to shape and conquer ward-by-ward lobby plans. We’ll also coordinate rockstar writers and social media gurus to help bring our campaign to the next level.

Whether you’ve already volunteered with us, are looking for a way to take your support for local climate action to the next level, or simply want to celebrate our successful campaign launch, come on by!

See you there!

What: Summer Kickoff Happy Hour
Where: Alba Osteria, 425 I (eye) Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
When: Wednesday, June 7, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Who: You and your friends! Invite a few.
Why: Let’s celebrate our launch, and gear up for a carbon rebate summer
Event Contacts: Jeremiah Lowery, jeremiah@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-475-4009; Camila Thorndike, camila@chesapeakeclimate.org, 541-951-2619

Can’t make it on June 7th but still want to help out? We’ve got remote jobs for you — just RSVP and we’ll be in touch.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook
RSVP
We marched. Now, we act!

We marched. Now, we act!

The past few weeks have been HUGE for D.C.’s number one climate campaign. First, we marched with a couple hundred thousand of our closest friends. Then, we unveiled the details of our policy at our campaign launch with a huge show of support!

Now, it’s time to ramp up our efforts. We need to encourage D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh to introduce a bill for a carbon fee and rebate, and to pass it this year. To do that, we need your help! The bill we are proposing would make fossil fuel polluters pay for the real and damaging costs of their emissions with a steadily-rising fee on carbon. The majority of the money raised would be returned—through a quarterly “rebate”—to every D.C. resident, with additional support to low-income District residents. This “fee-and-rebate” approach would also include critical investments to help small businesses, transit and more. Read the details here.

D.C. families would benefit both economically and environmentally from cleaner air and water, new jobs created in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and more money in their bank accounts.

Councilmember Cheh has spearheaded the quick passage of sustainability policies in the past, such as the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Expansion Amendment Act of 2016, which sets a goal of increasing D.C.’s clean energy use to 50 percent by 2032.

However, we are not on track to meet the city’s overall greenhouse gas goals. That’s why we need a strong, economy-wide policy like a carbon fee and rebate.

Now it’s time for us to ensure Councilmember Cheh continues to be a progressive champion on our issues, while helping D.C. meet ambitious sustainability goals! Councilmember Cheh wants to hear from her constituents, so the best thing you can do is contact her directly.

Send a message to Councilmember Cheh thanking her for her leadership and asking her to support our carbon fee and rebate policy.

We marched. We rallied. Now we organize. Our moment is now.

Voices from the Peoples Climate March: Why We Need A Carbon Price

Voices from the Peoples Climate March: Why We Need A Carbon Price

Guest post from DC resident Roger LeBlanc, Jr.

Culminating a year of of people-powered resistance, more than 200,000 people marched in DC and around the world on April 29 to wake up our society to the climate crisis. People across many generations, backgrounds, faiths and communities stood up to say that enough is enough with polluters threatening the health of our humanity

I spoke with two protesters and DC Ward 5 residents about why they were motivated to march. Continue reading →

In The Wilson Building, Leaders Unveil “Carbon Fee & Rebate” Plan For The Nation’s Capital

In The Wilson Building, Leaders Unveil “Carbon Fee & Rebate” Plan For The Nation’s Capital

Local Groups Propose Plan to Penalize Carbon Pollution, Rebate Millions of Dollars to City Residents, Invest in the Green Economy, and Create Tax Credits for Businesses

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Local faith leaders, economic justice advocates, labor organizers, environmentalists, and others gathered on the front steps of D.C.’s city hall on Thursday to unveil a dynamic “carbon fee and rebate” plan to reduce global warming pollution in the city of Washington, D.C. The plan would charge polluters for their carbon emissions and rebate the overwhelming majority of the revenue back to every resident of the District.

The groundbreaking plan, released in the wake of April’s massive Peoples Climate March in D.C., outlines how the District of Columbia can reduce carbon pollution in the city while increasing employment. The plan will also boost incomes in the District through a universal “carbon rebate” paid to every resident on a quarterly basis, including an enhanced rebate to low-income District residents. The plan would also make investments in green infrastructure throughout the city. Finally, the plan proposes using a small share of the carbon revenue to create a tax credit for local businesses.

“After months at the table, community leaders representing the vast majority of D.C. residents have put together a remarkably fair and effective policy to address climate pollution,” said Jeremiah Lowery, a Ward 4 resident and organizer for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “This policy would significantly reduce carbon pollution in the city, create a badly needed new source of income for residents, and grow the D.C. economy at the same time.” Continue reading →

“Put A Price On It D.C.” Campaign Launch & Rally!

“Put A Price On It D.C.” Campaign Launch & Rally!

Thurs, May 11, 2017
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

 

Join us at the “Put A Price On It, D.C.” Campaign Launch and help us grow our campaign to put a price on carbon in D.C.!

On Thursday, May 11, we will urge our City Council to support and pass a strong, equitable price on carbon pollution. We need you to join us on the steps of City Hall for a strong showing of support!

Together, we’ll take our city back from polluters by hitting them where it hurts the most: the unjust profits of their bulging pocketbooks. We’ll then send carbon pricing proceeds right back to our families, neighbors, and communities.

Join us, and be sure to invite your friends, colleagues, neighbors–anyone who wants the real D.C. to lead on the defining issue of our time.

See you next Thursday.

What: Launch for the D.C. Carbon Fee & Rebate campaign
When: Thursday, May 11, 12:00pm – 1:00pm.
Where: Steps of the Wilson Building (City Hall), 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington D.C.
Event Contacts: Jeremiah Lowery, jeremiah@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-475-4009; Camila Thorndike, camila@chesapeakeclimate.org, 541-951-2619

Can’t make it on the 11th but still want to help out? We’ve got remote jobs for you — just RSVP and we’ll be in touch.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook
RSVP
D.C. Residents to Take Action at City Hall During Peoples Climate March to Advance Local Climate Justice Campaigns

D.C. Residents to Take Action at City Hall During Peoples Climate March to Advance Local Climate Justice Campaigns

Tens of Thousands Will Call on D.C. City Council to Cut Ties with Wells Fargo and Put a Price on Carbon, as They Pass John A. Wilson Building During March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice

WASHINGTON — On April 29 during the Peoples Climate March, two D.C.-based climate justice campaigns will engage tens of thousands marching down Pennsylvania Ave. past the John A. Wilson Building to call on D.C. City Councilmembers to support two related campaigns for climate justice. One campaign, led by 24 local organizations in the “Put A Price On It D.C.” Coalition, aims to place a fee on carbon emissions and equitably rebate the revenue back to D.C. residents. The other, led by the D.C. ReInvest Coalition, is advocating for D.C. to divest city funds from Wells Fargo over its investments in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Volunteers will display banners on the steps of City Hall, lead chants and speeches, and distribute flyers giving marchers instructions to take action.

The action will take place during the highly-anticipated March for Climate, Jobs and Justice, where tens of thousands of climate justice activists will march against Donald Trump and his climate science-denying cabinet. D.C. ReInvest Coalition and the Put a Price on It D.C. Coalition are joining forces to ensure that this national mobilization remains rooted in local campaigns for climate justice and propels its host city forward. Continue reading →