Rising Up with Appalachia!

If you read the article, Climate of Opportunity, you have an idea of the large events building the movement over the next months and how we got here, who the players are, et cetera. Of course, we just had a discussion and will be having another one again very soon, to encourage 10-10-10 and to discuss how to structure it into the larger movement for a Just Sustainability Economy. 10-10-10 is something that needs a lot of planning and preparation ahead of time so we should be focusing on it now, however, 16 days before October 10th GLobal Work Party is Appalachia Rising, and we should be registering for it now.

Most of our energy comes from Coal and a lot of that comes from Mountain Top Removal, "devastating communities throughout Appalachia, polluting drinking water and destroying rivers" in the words of iLoveMountains.org Everyone cares about the Gulf, but why do so few know and care about this?



We will discuss some practicalities about getting there at the next Amp Up discussion which will be announced soon, in addition to 10-10-10 and the movement for a Just Sustainable Economy.

Dates

Sept 25-27: Appalachia Rising
October 10: Global Work Party
October 12: Day of Action for Climate Justice
Dec 4: Day of Action for Climate Justice (During UN Talks in Cancun)
Feb: Power Shift

Image: Beehive Collective, an art activist group that fights for Mountain Justice

Frack Hearing and Amp Up Meet-Up

On Tuesday there was a Frack hearing at BMCC and today is an Amp Up Meet-Up at 6PM at La Pregunta Cafe.

First, why you should come. It is really an informal thing. You don't have to order food. It's basically a bar, revolutionary cafe. There will likely be another one of these soon but we don't know when and where yet. It will be a conversation, to brainstorm ideas about 10/10/10, and to elaborate on the how we can Amp Up the Environmental and Food Movement right now, as well as any other student political interest, such as Strike Oct 11th. Two upcoming things, for example, are Appachia Rising in DC in September and the International Day of Action for Climate Justice on October 12th. This was written for a complete overview of the upcoming semester as background information.


Wild Hearing.
See my article, NYC Advocates Overshadow Pro-Frackers. One thing that I didn't mention is that Claire Sandberg and I, both from Frack Action testified as well, although I wasn't able to videotape Claire at the very end of a four hour hearing. Almost everyone was against Fracking, minus a few landowners. Surprisingly, a number of these environmentalists booed Rey Olsen, a landowner and made wild raucous. A number of environmentalists also supported biofuels and made other surprising suggestions other than Renewable Energy. Nevertheless, it was rather monotonous having almost every testifier condemn Fracking, although there were many very interesting moments. David Brahn of United For Action said he wanted to discuss "the prositution of Mother Nature and the money being made of it." A young woman said she went to a high school for environmental sciences and back then she loved the EPA. But at the hearing she told the EPA to their faces that she has lost trust in them, and that she considers EPA to stand for "Enforcing a Political Agenda." A woman who was running for a Democratic seat in the US Senate asked the landowners if it were worth glowing in the dark.

To Explain the video below, someone said that the EPA had allowed criminal behavior to continue, so Gennero of the NYC Council defended the EPA, saying that fracking is legal right now. So the woman in stripes started by saying "Slavery was once legal too."
The footage in this Amp Update is not included in my in-depth article and video but includes my own testimony and a few favorite moments.



More footage:

Action, Organizing and Concert Close August

There are 3 events that will close out the Amp Up! Summer 2010:

1. Frack Hearing at BMCC this Tuesday at 6. Every individual presence makes a huge difference.

2. Fall Semester Environmental Organizing Dinner, Thursday at 6 at La Pregunta Cafe. Coming or not, be sure to read this Fall Semester Organizing article, Climate of Opportunity: Fall 2010, (quintessential if your are planning a club agenda for the semester).

3. HBO's Gasland Music Benefit Concert with Vanessa Bley at Mercury Lounge on Houston.

You Can't Frack City Hall

First, the EPA hearing on Fracking has been cancelled, (first moved to Syracuse and then cancelled).

Yesterday, the senate held a press conference on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan to discuss the moratorium on Fracking that passed in the state budget. Mark Ruffalo, the Actor from The Kids Are All Right spoke substantially at the hearing alongside Senator Addabbo and Senator Malcom Smith. Julia Walsh of Frack Action spoke, concluding the conference, "On behalf of [her] generation." Susan Zimet, the Ulster County legislator that spoke at the Albany conference with Ruffalo and Pete Seeger told the story of Julia's hard work over the past three months, ("Her heart broke") and how Senator Sampson sat on the bill for a long time and then finally voted for it. (Photo, DNAinfo.com)

Senator Malcom Smith said, "We believe the economic development opportunities are there for us. We are looking forward to them after we assure ourselves," (that Fracking is safe). Kate Sinding of NRDC said, "Before a single drill enters the ground, let's make sure we know what the risks are. That's all that this bill does."

There were activists from Sierra Club, Food and Water Watch, and United for Action, as well as independent parties, including, Stephanie Lowe.

Mark Ruffalo said, "There seems to be a lot of Upstate/Downstate thing going on. You hear it a lot from politicians. They use it to keep us apart, to polarize us.... New York City needs Upstate New York. Upstate New York needs New York City. There's no difference between us. So when politicians come in with this load of bunk, that Downstate New York is trying to tell Up

state New York what to do, I say screw!" He then explained that New York's moratorium inspired Australia to pass a nationwide moratorium. Julie and Craig Sautner of Dimock PA, who's family has suffered from Fracking contamination came to their 2nd Frack Action action, but not their 2nd Frack action, brought their brown water and testified. Ruffalo referred to them as, "America," and "Us." A man who lives five miles from them and rode from Pennsylvania with them, wore a hardhat and a red Haliburton-construction suit and held a sign that said, "LET THEM DRINK GAS," with a crown on each side.

Walsh said, "Right now, as we stand here, in the midst of this disaster in the Gulf, in the midst of Hydrofracking contaminations, distasters and deaths happening across this country,

we recognize that this is time for a change. And it's a time for a change where we as every day citizens, as in all of social movement history in this country have done before, need to

stand up together, and to say to the government, 'You work for us. You represent us, and not this industry.' It was a momentous occasion that the New York State senate stood up for the People and not on behalf of the corporate, special interest that are controlling the country right now... If there is any entity across this state that could unite us, Upstate and Downstate, it is our water. So now in the face of an industry that says, 'We're coming in. We can create jobs. We can get this Natural Gas from under the ground and it's safe.' We know it's not safe. There is no regulatory body on the federal level, who is standing up, to look at what's happening across this country right now and taking action. The closest thing we have is hearings that the EPA is doing about groundwater contamination. That is not enough! We need a national moratorium across New York State, across this country, and lead the way." (Photo, DNAinfo.com)

The man in the Haliburton suit passed out flyers for Gas Stock: Free Concert Rally on August 21st at Luzurne County Fair Grounds(2). He said to me, "Bradford Coun

ty (PA) is being hit really bad, is being drilled heavier... I think the issue is people think if their water is people think... if their water is play, they think they're

all done. Takes a while for things to happen.

"In my opinion," he continued, "they think it will last forever," (the facilities). "Things rust..." He alluded to pipes breaking down and Fracking Fluid entering the aquifers. "Fifty years from now, if this doesn't stop, you won't want to live in Pennsylvania."

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc3hbk45qYU&feature=player_embedded#!

2. http://www.gasstockconcert.com/

Press:

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/daily-politics-video-mark-ruff.html

http://dnainfo.com/20100810/downtown/mark-ruffalo-joins-pols-at-city-hall-say-no-fracking

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2010/08/09/ruffalo-senate-democrats-urge-assembly-to-take-up-drillling-delay/

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2010/August/11/frack_debate-11Aug10.html

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/40800/
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/mark_ruffalo_looking_good_while_qFsq5boBn2MQOyHEAvmL9J

(On hearing postponement)

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100811/BIZ/8110336/-1/SITEMAP

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20100809/NEWS01/8090387/Fracking+meeting++Change+of+venue+sends+rally+organizers+scrambling

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/8000-people-e-p-a-defers-hearing-on-fracking/?src=mv
http://www.frackaction.com/content/aug-12th-hearings-and-rally-canceled

Not Too Late for Real Food Summer

http://realfoodchallenge.org/retreats2010:

This summer, choose from four amazing Real Food Challenge trainings around the country. At each, 25 students and veteran Real Food organizers will converge for a powerful weekend of trainings, cooking, skill-shares, storytelling, strategizing and all-around fun. These retreats are geared toward students who want to take on (or strengthen an existing) real food campaign on their campus.

Each event will feature a unique series of workshops ranging from storytelling as an organizing tool and "power, privilege and oppression in the food system," to ones on campaign planning and how to shift campus food systems. All participating teams will leave with a full action plan for the school year.

These trainings are much more than workshops: we'll cook and eat delicious meals together, visit and work with local food justice organizations, do all sorts of outdoor activities and (of course) have dance parties! Everyone walks away with new friends, allies, concrete skills, and the real tools tools needed to revolutionize our food system!

As one student put it:

"Informative. Empowering. This training has taught me so much: That it can be done; How to use the tools to get it done; And that I am not alone in this struggle. Everyone was awesome and supportive, which inspires hope that the world can change for the better."

http://realfoodchallenge.org/retreats2010

*Photo: Real Food Training, The Food Project farm, Lincoln Mass, August, 2009

Rally with Ruffalo and Bus to Binghamton

Although a Climate Bill did not pass through federal legislation at all, a 9 month moratorium on Hydraulic Fracturing did pass in New York State, because of environmental concerns. However, there is no temporary ban on business deals between the Natural Gas companies and landowners, so therefore, the industry, which has leased up much of Western New York, can still buy leases from landowners, including struggling farmers. The moratorium passed 48 to 9, and the senate is holding a press conference outside of City Hall. Frack Action and other environmental groups will be there, as well as Mark Ruffalo, actor in The Kids are All Right and Shutter Island. Ruffalo owns a house in the Hudson Valley upstate and has been speaking out against Hydrofracking, including at a Frack Action press conference in Albany. Anybody can come to this press conference, and all are welcome to bring signs and turn this into a huge rally. This will be one of two major demonstrations that Frack Action will be participating in this week.

When Frack Action first flyered in Union Square and Washington Square Park in the beginning of the summer, almost none of the recipients of the flyers were familiar with the issue. Yesterday, when I flyered and got letters signed with United For Action in Union Square, perhaps half of the people that we were able to stop and engage in dialogue with knew the issue through and through and most of those people had scene at least a clip of the film, Gasland.

On Thursday a bus organized by Sierra Club Atlantic is leaving from the Union Square at Barnes and Nobles at 8AM and will return at 11PM for the EPA hearing on Fracking in Binghamton. This is an opportunity to make a sign, to join a rally, to sport visuals that show which side you are on at the hearing, and even to testify or speak on behalf of Water or Gas. There is no required fee for the bus trip, although there is a recommended donation of at least $25. You can register for the trip here, http://www.frackaction.com/content/sign-here-nyc-buses-volunteering-housing.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146358225391390&ref=mf
http://www.propublica.org/article/new-york-senate-passes-temporary-ban-on-hydraulic-fracturing


PS: New location for the hearings: ON Center (Onondaga Events Center) in Syracuse, NY.
Voices From Gasland rally will happen outside the ON Center starting at 12 noon
-We'll see how this affects buses

NY State Budget Excludes Tuition Trap

As it was intended to be mentioned in the previous article, the State Budget also concluded that SUNY and CUNY will not have autonomy to set its own tuition. The Public (or SUNY and CUNY) Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act proposed by Paterson, according to Daniel Brito, City College journalist for the Campus Paper (1), "would give the Board of Trustees of both CUNY and SUNY [the power] to raise tuition up to but not more than 2.5 times the five-year rolling average of the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI.)"

This was just one rallying cry of the March 4th Movement in New York, because it was generally accepted amongst the Movement that if the board of trustees had autonomy of tuition, they would inevitably raise it even more than the legislature.

(1) http://media.www.ccnycampus.com/media/storage/paper832/news/2010/02/02/News/Budget.Cuts.Hit.Cuny-3871015.shtml#2

Fracking Waits, Climate Movement Enters New Phase

Two things happened yesterday. The State Budget, after 125 days of delay, passed and a meeting was held in Manhattan to discuss where the Environmental Movement goes from here.

Fracking Banned Until May 15th

A photo-text blast of a rainbow at the beach went out yesterday as an omen that the Thompson Moratorium on Fracking would pass, and surely it did, 48 to 9. This means that Fracking is Banned until May 15th, 2011. Activism may not feel as urgently necessary at this moment -folks shall breathe- but there are 9 months to raise awareness and accelerate the debate. To keep momentum on the subject, the August 12th EPA hearing on Fracking to be held in Binghamton is an opportunity to keep the guard up. Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and Frack Action invite all people to come on a bus from Barnes and Nobles-Union Square at 8AM, Wednesday the 12th, to return around 11PM. It is free but there is a suggested $25 or less or more donation. It is a hearing, which means that for five hours people for and against Fracking will awkwardly sit amongst each other in a room and debate the issue, in this case with the EPA. Before the hearing starts you can expect a spirited rally with signs, chanting and speeches outside of the building.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Upper layer of The Irish Rogue, 44th Street, Manhattan, Tuesday evening, August 3rd. A NYPIRG, (New York Public Interest Research Group, a partner of 1SKY) representative hosted a meeting with Greater New York City for Change and representatives from Move On that have now become United for Action (a Fracking Opposition group), Climate SOS., the Coffee Party, Amp Up and Frack Action (just me), as well as independent parties and an organizer for the Houston Street BP Action last May.

The Climate Bill has just died, and as the NYPIRG rep narrated, it first surpassed superior bills, and then it imploded, and then it withered, and then it withered even more, and then it lay in the corner pathetically, and then it breathed its last breath. This was the context of the meeting, where do we go from here, but many variables were missing from the meeting in order for it to illuminate a clear path of where to go. Half of the people there were involved in Greater NYC for Change, and needed to be almost fully updated on the Environmental Movement. The representative of Climate SOS wanted to talk about the Radical Environmental Movement's side of the story. One woman wanted to argue whether or not Anger was a worthy element of activism. Lastly, most of the environmentalists there wanted to talk about Fracking and one incredibly vocal blogger wanted to dispute whether or not we should even oppose Fracking.

The representative of Climate SOS. passed out a Rising Tide pamphlet called False Solutions to Climate Change, 2nd Edition before the meeting began and they sat, stacked on the table in the middle of the room, while the NYPIRG rep addressed ACES as originally a "decent" bill. After the SOS rep called her out on giving a one sided "rendition" of the story, I added that mostly Environmental Justice groups did not sign onto the ACES bill because it did not address their Social Justice issues (Extraction and CC Inequality), but that Copenhagen was a good thing because it brought the concept of Climate Justice to the forefront and we've been seeing more Social Justice groups becoming involved in the movement. The Gulf and Fracking have accelerated the Social Justice aspect of Climate by "a million percent." Maybe I was cut off by the second moderator because I said, "million percent," but I was about to conclude that in this moment now we have the opportunity to march forward, united, with more people involved, and with more light on the social aspect of Climate Change.

The NYPIRG rep said that when the bill died, she got, "Really Angry and pissed off" but then she remembered that big energy industries, "have a grip on our political system." She said, "I will not allow them to control the discourse. We have to keep fighting even though we have lost. Every social movement that has won... has won with stumbles... This is not the time to be sad. This is the time to Mobilize and start a Revolution."

Talk of a march on Washington came up and one person, who was brought along but isn't usually involved in politics, said that the March on Washington is an iconic image but that we should do something new and different. Carmen Barnes, of Greater NYC for Change disagreed. She is a woman that has marched on the Capital many times and holds it as a quintessential action for our nation's major social movements.

One person pointed out that if you don't have a banner to rally behind, "-You've got nothing," Schuster finished, agreeing. This might have been in reference to the concept of Cap and Trade, which was so controversial within the Environmental Movement itself, as a carbon trading, capitalist method. The banner that Chris Williams, of ISO (International Socialist Organization) wants the march on Washington to rally behind is "System Change, Not Climate Change," an actual banner slogan used in Copenhagen.

The new solution that NYPIRG and 1SKY advocate for now is the Clear Act. The Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal Act has been introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. It would establish a monthly auction system where polluters would buy "carbon shares" or permits. This would create the incentive for polluters to transition to a different form of production and 75% of the revenue would be sent out to the American public in the form of checks. According to supportclearact.com(1), "a household family of four would receive a rebate from the government totaling $1,100 per year." That revenue would be distributed progressively based on income, "to offset costs... passed onto the consumers." The remaining 25% would go into "clean energy" programs. (There is no distinction made about Nuclear). It would "address regional disparities in the transition to a clean energy economy."

(1) http://www.supportclearact.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i10hDOGeCvw&feature=channel (Explaining CLEAR Act)

-1st Image: BP Protest on Houston Street, Gothamist.com

*For Bus Info: http://www.frackaction.com/content/sign-here-nyc-buses-volunteering-housing

TONIGHT: DISCUSSION ON WHAT'S NEXT

As sent to me from Greater NYC for Change:

Tuesday, August 3, 7 - 9 PM US Climate and Energy Policy: What Happens Next? Angry about the oil spill? What happened to a climate and energy bill in the Senate? What role will the midterm elections play in the possibility of climate and energy legislation in congress?

What can people be doing at the grassroots level to create change that supports clean energy and a sustainable future?

Join Greater NYC for Change for an information session and discussion with Lauren Schuster, Esq., Staff Attorney for New York Public Interest Research Group and 1sky.org.

NEW LOCATION:

Irish Rogue (bar and restaurant)
356 West 44th St (Btwn 8th and 9th), Manhattan

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146722818673958&ref=mf

Binghamton on August 12th: Final Fracking Showdown with Legislature

SHOWDOWN IN BINGHAMTON: SIGN UP FOR THE BUS

http://www.frackaction.com/content/sign-here-nyc-buses-volunteering-housing

Next Thursday, August 12th,

International Youth Day, there is a bus going from New York City to Binghamton to a hearing on Fracking, and we need YOUTH. The hearing will be from noon to five and the bus leaves Barnes and Nobles-Union Square at 8AM and is estimated to return at 11PM. This could be the final showdown for Fracking and the New York Legislature. Anyone could come, make their own sign, sign up to speak at the hearing, and get ready to make some noise in and outside the building.

Other ways to stop Fracking

now is to call Sampson, ((518) 455-2800) and tell him to vote in favor of our Water. Please do this ASAP or during working hours, to really speak with a representative.

This is the link to register for the bus, p://www.frackaction.com/content/sign-here-nyc-buses-volunteering-housing. Please tell everyone you know to try to get on the bus even if they don't know what Fracking is. Just tell them what it is and to watch Gasland on HBO. Share this with all your friends on Face Book, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140718302614368&index=1

Questions? Contact ShannonAyala@RocketMail.com Subject line: Bus Trip Inquiry

About the Hearing:

http://shaleshock.org/2010/07/epa-hearing-aug-12-lets-get-ready/ & http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells_hydroout.html#meetings

Democracy Now!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbIyR-hw7Eo&feature=related

OIL

Although many environmental groups in the Northeast are working against Fracking, and so are groups elsewhere, the environmental movement is also using the Gulf as a rallying point right now. It seems that one strategy is targeting politicians that receive contributions from oil companies. Check out this pretty funny video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVdv0777fx8&feature=player_embedded

EAC Blog:

http://energyactioncoalition.org/content/people-or-polluters-senator-mccaskill-whose-side-are-you

Other cool Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4v2Zb7FdGw&feature=channel

WHITE ROOFS

This is a presentation going on tomorrow:

Making Your Roof Cool: NYC's White Roof Painting Program Tues., August 3, 6:30 - 8 PM

Sierra Club Office,1350 Broadway, Suite 201, New York, NY 10018.

Refreshments from Sarivole Organic Bakery. Seats are limited, so please try to arrive early to avoid disappointment

Zombies

Stay tuned for the info on our

10/10/10 Brainstorming Forum.

In 350 news, it turns out that 10/10/10 is also World Zombie Day. http://www.350.org/zombie

September Field Trip!

Don't forget to look into the Appalachia Rising trip now.

http://appalachiarising.org/

By: Shannon Ayala