News Feeds

The post NEW REPORT: LOCAL FOOD GROWTH PLAN – A COLLABORATIVE PLAN FOR ACTION appeared first on Landworkers Alliance.

Seattle area bannering returned once again with a few messages to commuters. 

Massive Cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

‘It’s a bloodbath’: Massive wave of job cuts underway at US health agencies – By Nick Valencia, Brenda Goodman, Meg Tirrell, Tami Luhby and Sean Lyngaas, CNN – Wed April 2, 2025  – Also terminated was the entire staff of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. The program provides about $4 billion to help millions of Americans with their heating and cooling bills. “It will definitely hamper program operations,” Wolfe said, noting that he doesn’t see how the agency can “allocate the remaining $387 million in funds for this year without federal staff.”

Home energy assistance program gutted in HHS mass firings – By Lisa Martine Jenkins – April 1, 2025 – Latitude Media – LIHEAP is among the latest victims of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal government. The Trump administration has gutted the federal home energy assistance program as a part of the mass firing of 10,000 Department of Health and Human Services workers. The staff in charge of administering the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, were let go earlier today, according to a statement shared via email by the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition. Going forward, the status of the program, which provides roughly $4 billion per year to help low-income families with heating and cooling costs, is unclear. Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, told CNN that the firings could cause the program to “grind to a halt” with $387 million left to distribute.

PA Public Utility Commission’s Phase V Tentative Implementation Order  

PA CPC Comment document is linked here. Comments on all aspects of the Public Utility Commission’s Phase V Tentative Implementation Order and potential impacts on Act 129 Phase V Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programs. Sign on letter deadline is: Monday, April 7, by 4 PM, so please fill out the below form by Monday April 7, 2025 at noon!

SIGN ON HERE: https://forms.office.com/r/PJ5PdJPuD0

Please contact John Kolesnik (jkolesnik@keealliance.org)  or Madi Keaton (mkeaton@pautilitylawproject.org) with any questions!

Hearing on PA HB 109 – Environmental Justice/Cumulative Impacts 

April 7, 2025  [Agenda]  House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee will meet to consider House Bill 109 (Vitali-D-Delaware) establishing an environmental justice permit review program in DEP to consider cumulative impacts of pollutants on communities – Environmental & Natural Resource Protection will Meet at 11:00 AM on April 7, 2025 in Room 205, Ryan Office Building.

Rep. Vitali Introduces Bill To Establish DEP Environmental Justice Permit Review Program In Law, Analyze Cumulative Impacts Of Pollution From Facilities, Supported By DEP – On January 14, Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) introduced House Bill 109 that would establish DEP’s Environmental Justice Permit Review Program in law and require an analysis of the cumulative impacts of pollution from certain facilities before a permit could be issued. The legislation is supported by PA DEP.  Read more here.

See Supporting Report from Assessing Strengths, Stressors and Environmental Justice in SoutheaStern (ASSESS) Pennsylvania Community and Environmental Health Study

The ASSESS study is a collaboration of Marcus Hook Area Neighbors for Public Health, Clean Air Council, Johns Hopkins University, and community co-investigators. The study utilized a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model in which residents were full partners in the design, implementation, evaluation, and publication of the study results. View presentation slides. View handouts/fliers here and here.

Thursday, March 27, 2025 – by David Hess – DEP: US Interior Dept. Withdraws Orphan Oil & Gas Well Regulatory Improvement Grant Program To Help Prevent Future Well Abandonments. – On March 20, PA DEP told the Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board the US Department of the Interior has “withdrawn” the Orphan Oil and Gas Well Regulatory Improvement Act Grant Program designed to help states strengthen their programs, in particular to prevent future oil and gas well abandonments.https://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2025/03/dep-interior-dept-withdraws-orphan-oil.html

Trump halts historic orphaned well-plugging program –  By Nick Bowlin – March 27, 2025 – High Country News – The billions of dollars approved by Congress to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells have been frozen as part of Pres. Trump’s sweeping cuts to government. ORPHANED WELLS represent the final stage in what ProPublica recently described as the oil industry’s “playbook”: When oil wells are no longer productive, large companies sell them off to smaller companies and thereby shed their obligation to plug those wells. The increasingly marginal wells change hands, eventually landing with operators who lack the financial means to plug them. And when these companies go bankrupt, the wells become orphaned, meaning that the plugging costs then fall on American taxpayers.

Copy of March 19, 2025 – Letter to Honorable Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior is Here. – On March 20, more than 30 House Democrats sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, asking him to clear up the lingering confusion surrounding orphaned well funding and restart the grant program.

Federal money to plug Pa.’s dangerous wells is unfrozen, but Trump admin uncertainty plagues contractors – by Kate Huangpu and Katie Meyer of Spotlight PA | March 20, 2025 — HARRISBURG — As Pennsylvania celebrates plugging 300 abandoned oil and gas wells since 2023, ongoing lawsuits against the Trump administration over hundreds of millions of federal dollars are creating uncertainty for those doing the work on the ground.

Federal judge questions whether EPA move to rapidly cancel ‘green bank’ grants was legal – by  MICHAEL PHILLIS, Associated Press – April 2, 2025 – A federal judge pressed an attorney for the EPA about whether the agency broke the law when it swiftly terminated $20 billion worth of grants awarded to nonprofits for a green bank by allegedly bulldozing past proper rules and raising flimsy accusations of waste and fraud. In a nearly three-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the government had provided no substantial new evidence of wrongdoing by the nonprofits and considered technical arguments that could decide whether she is even the right person to hear the case.

E.P.A. Hunt for Shady Deals and ‘Gold Bars’ Comes Up Empty by Lisa Friedman and Claire Brown – New York Times – April 2, 2025 – The agency head said a $20 billion Biden climate program was marred by fraud and abuse. Documents filed for a court hearing this week don’t support that. Over the last few months, Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator has made explosive accusations against the Biden administration, accusing it of “insane” malfeasance in its handling of $20 billion in climate grants. Now, as a legal battle ensues, many of Mr. Zeldin’s claims remain unsupported, and some are flat-out false.

How We Got a Green Bank, How Trump Is Trying to Kill It and Who Gets Hurt By Marianne Lavelle, Dan Gearino – Inside Climate News – April 1, 2025: A faith-based Indiana group and heating contractors in Maine are among hundreds of businesses and organizations stymied by EPA’s attempt to claw back $20 billion of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

EPA asked us 35 questions. We want everyone to have our responses. Statement by Climate United – March 28, 2025 – Earlier this month, the EPA posed 35 questions to Climate United and other awardees as part of an oversight request. In alignment with our deep commitment to transparency, Climate United is pleased to share our formal responses to their questions. Our responses are built on nearly 12 months of working with the EPA to shape our goals, policies, & investment strategy while ensuring strong oversight and controls. EPA has had access to hundreds of documents, transaction-level visibility into our bank accounts, and robust budget and compliance requirements.

Republicans seek documents from climate grant recipients – March 27, 2025 Press Release – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is requesting documents from environmental groups that received EPA grants — including some that are now suing the Trump administration. All eight groups received grants from the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) established through the 2022 IRA.

Republicans seek documents from climate grant recipients – By Andres Picon | 03/27/2025 E&E News  – The House Oversight probe comes as some of the environmental groups are suing to maintain their grant contracts.

EPA insists it has the right to cancel climate grants – GreenWire – 3/27/25 EPA continued to argue that it is under no legal obligation to honor $20 billion in climate grants because the awards conflict with Trump administration policy. EPA’s legal brief states it has the right to terminate contracts “for consideration of its priorities.”

The Trump admin accuses EPA of squirreling away $20 billion in ‘gold bars.’ Here’s what’s really going on. – By Ella Nilsen, CNN Mar 27, 2025

E.P.A. Offers a Way to Avoid Clean-Air Rules: Send an Email – By Hiroko Tabuchi – March 27, 2025 – New York Times – Referring to a little-known provision, it said power plants and others could write to seek exemptions to mercury and other restrictions and that “the president will make a decision.” The Biden administration required coal- and oil-burning power plants to greatly reduce emissions of toxic chemicals including mercury, which can harm babies’ brains and cause heart disease in adults. Now, the Trump administration is offering companies an extraordinary out: Send an email, and they might be given permission by President Trump to bypass the new restrictions, as well as other major clean-air rules. The Environmental Protection Agency this week said an obscure section of the Clean Air Act enables the president to temporarily exempt industrial facilities from new rules if the technology required to meet those rules isn’t available, and if it’s in the interest of national security.

How Lee Zeldin Went From Environmental Moderate to Dismantling the E.P.A. By Lisa Friedman – New York Times – March 29, 2025 – He once talked about the need to fight climate change. Now, he embraces Elon Musk, lavishes praise on the president and strives to stand out in a MAGA world. Over the past nine weeks, Mr. Zeldin has withheld billions of dollars in climate funds approved by Congress, tried to fire hundreds of employees, recommended the elimination of thousands more E.P.A. scientists, and started trying to repeal dozens of environmental regulations that limit toxic pollution. He has filled the leadership ranks at the agency with lobbyists and lawyers from industries that have fought environmental regulations.

EPA knew it wrongfully canceled dozens of environmental grants, documents show –  By Amudalat Ajasa – Washington Post – March 25, 2025 – According to an internal email, EPA officials knew they had no contractual right to cancel dozens of grants. They did it anyway. Trump officials knew their legal justification for terminating dozens of Environmental Protection Agency grants was flawed, according to documents and internal emails reviewed by The Washington Post.

Whitehouse, Blunt Rochester Lead EPW Democrats in Demanding EPA Reverse Unlawful Termination of Grants for Clean Air and Water – March 25, 2025 — New documents reveal 400 grantees are being illegally targeted for termination and expose EPA’s willful violation of congressional appropriations law, contractual agreements, and multiple court orders. The EPW press release from yesterday also included the list of 400 grants EPA plans to terminate (far right column indicates if IRA funding, and there’s a column by state) and internal emails that show how EPA violated its own contracts and court orders. PA cuts are listed here; See Full Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bfq08WBcX1i8W2vCBUw46UiIpDwZSZXqR4PA2aUT4ts/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0

Trump moves goalposts for farmers counting on clean energy grants – By Mario Alejandro Ariza, Ames Alexander, Joe Engleman – Canary Media – March 31, 2025: The USDA is demanding grant rewrites favoring fossil fuels over renewables, leaving some rural recipients doubtful they’ll ever see the money they were promised. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on March 25th that it would release previously authorized grant funds to farmers and small rural business owners to build renewable energy projects — but only if they rewrite applications to comply with President Donald Trump’s energy priorities. A lawsuit filed earlier this month challenges the legality of the freeze on IRA funding for REAP projects. Earthjustice lawyer Hana Vizcarra, one of the attorneys who filed the suit, called the latest USDA announcement a ​“disingenuous stunt.”

Secret Energy Department “hit list” targets renewable energy industry – by Emily Atkin – Heated – Mar 27, 2025 – Among many other proposed cuts, the “hit list” includes six long-duration energy storage projects that have already had $156 million in federal funding obligated under the bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The grants for those projects were awarded in 2023, and “seen as vital for turning variable wind and solar production into a reliable, round-the-clock power source,” Canary Media reported at the time.

The post BIL/IRA Implementation Digest — April 3, 2025 appeared first on Ohio River Valley Institute.

Grazing in open-air landfills is a common practice in various parts of the world, especially for goats. Yet, this practice can have devastating consequences for both the health of the animals and the humans who consume their products. Driven by curiosity, I wanted to explore how this dynamic worked in intersection with environmental colonialism within the socio-ecological context where I found myself: at the edge of the Sahara Desert.

It’s the final stretch of our annual winter escape – the trip my boyfriend and I try to take every year to break free from the monotony of the coldest, most stressful season. Our rental car is carrying us north along the highway that slices through the country, winding through the pre-desert landscapes surrounding the city of Gafsa.

Suddenly, a flock of goats grazing among the dunes catches our attention – not because of the animals themselves, but because we slowly realize the sand of the dunes has been replaced by piles of waste. To make things worse, a sharp, nauseating smell begins creeping into the car, growing stronger by the minute. Driven by curiosity, we decide to pull over and walk towards the flock, determined to figure out what kind of bizarre place we’ve stumbled upon.

Columns of smoke rising from burning waste in Gafsa’s open-air landfill. Credits: Alexandra D’Angelo

«Don’t you have them in your country?» the shepherd asks, pointing to his goats, trying to grasp the reason behind our interest in his grazing.

«Yes, we have them in Italy too – he works with goats», I reply, pointing to my boyfriend. Only then does the shepherd seem to make sense of our unusual behaviour: “this white guy must be a shepherd too”, he probably thought. Whether it’s true or not doesn’t really make a difference. What seems important is that, between the two of them, they’ve found a common ground of knowledge and interest, making it easier to carry on a conversation full of brief words and plenty of gestures.

We are on the outskirts of Gasfa, a Tunisian city with 120,000 inhabitants and the capital of the eponymous governorate. Here, to greet anyone arriving from the southwestern regions of the country, there are around 35 hectares of waste, the equivalent of 50 football fields.

Columns of smoke rise from burning waste here and there, while herds of goats and sheep graze, hopping among plastic and metal debris between one dune and another.

«They find cellulose in the paper» the shepherd informs us. Cellulose, typically found in plants, is an essential element for the survival of goats and sheep. However, when vegetation is scarce, as in desert ecosystems, the animals are forced to seek it elsewhere. This is how cardboard packaging, canned goods, or piles of unused paper documents end up in the diet of Tunisian ruminants, not without repercussions on their health and, consequently, on the health of humans who consume their milk and meat.

A group of sheep chewing sheets of paper to ingest the cellulose essential for their diet. Credits: Alexandra D’Angelo

A High-Risk Diet

Paper may seem like an innocuous source of nutrition, but it rarely is. This is largely due to the industrial process used in its production, which involves numerous chemicals. Among them, chlorine and other bleaching agents are commonly used to achieve a white, uniform appearance, but their use can leave behind traces of toxic residues.

Additionally, paper discarded in landfills is often contaminated by a variety of potentially dangerous substances, including inks, glues, heavy metals, and other chemicals used during processing and printing. These can accumulate in the tissues of organisms that ingest them. Dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals, in fact, are not eliminated from the body but instead progressively accumulate in fatty tissues, causing harmful effects both on animals and on those who consume their products.

In fact, the ingestion of waste can have devastating effects on animal health, extending well beyond immediate damage, as it can compromise the reproductive system, reducing fertility and hindering their ability to produce healthy offspring. In the long term, such alterations undermine the stability of populations, making it more difficult to maintain balanced and sustainable ecosystems.

A shepherd crouching on piles of waste while his flock grazes. Credits: Giovanni Bailo.

Moreover, one of the main and most dangerous characteristics of dioxins is their persistence in the environment and their high ability to bioaccumulate along the food chain. This means that people who consume meat or dairy products from goats and sheep grazing in landfills may also accumulate these substances in their bodies. Dioxins are linked to a wide range of negative health effects, including hormonal disorders, immune system damage, reproductive problems, and an increased risk of cancer.

In addition to dioxins, landfills often contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, found in common items like batteries, electronic devices, paints, and pesticides. In this case too, these substances can accumulate in internal organs, bones, and tissues. Heavy metals are known for their toxic effects, including neurological damage, kidney problems, cardiovascular disorders, and, in some cases, teratogenic effects (i.e., harm to the foetus during pregnancy).

Among the potentially most dangerous contaminants are microplastic residues, which accumulate in landfills in significant quantities. These tiny fragments, once ingested, can cause severe inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, impairing digestive function. Furthermore, microplastics act as carriers for other toxic substances, amplifying the health risks for exposed organisms, especially for the most vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly. For instance, in the case of pregnant women, exposure to dioxins and heavy metals through the diet can have negative effects on fetal development, causing growth delays, cognitive issues, and other congenital malformations.

Waste and Phosphates: The two sides of Tunisian Environmental Colonialism

The issue of illegal landfills and, more broadly, the hazardous management of waste, is a pressing topic in Tunisia’s recent history, often sparking protests and mobilization led by the country’s environmental movements.

First and foremost, Tunisia has never implemented any recycling system.

Indeed, it has recently come to light that there has been an illicit trade between Tunisia and Italy surrounding the illegal disposal of waste. In 2020, a judicial investigation discovered the export of approximately 7,892 tons of unsorted municipal waste packed in 70 containers traveling from the southern-Italian region of Campania to the port of Soux, on the western Tunisian coast. These waste materials, falsely declared as recyclable, were destined for a company called Soreplast, which lacked the proper facilities for treatment.

As a result, the waste was either burned along roadsides or buried in the outskirts of cities—practices that are unfortunately common when waste disposal is controlled by organized crime, and which have severe consequences for the ecosystem and the health of local communities. On one hand, burning waste releases highly toxic substances into the air, including dioxins, furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). On the other hand, burying waste in areas lacking adequate soil sealing systems can lead to soil and groundwater contamination through the liquids produced by waste piles (known as “leachate”).

The open-air landfill near Gasfa is just one of the countless examples scattered across the country.

However, the uniqueness of the region that stretches from the Gasfa mountains to the border with Algeria lies in its phosphate rocks, which have been targeted by mining companies for over a century to produce phosphate fertilizers, which are essential for global industrial agriculture.

The ingestion of waste can have devastating effects on animal health. Credits: Giovanni Bailo

In fact, Gasfa’s phosphate leads the global market in terms of quality and purity. Since 2022, the Tunisian market has become even more competitive after phosphate prices skyrocketed with the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, as both countries, along with Belarus, are among the world’s largest phosphate exporters.

Tunisia is now aiming to significantly increase its production and, consequently, its export to Western countries. This represents a potential massive economic gain for the country, but with minimal impact on the local economy of Gasfa, the region with the highest poverty rate in Tunisia – an imbalance that has been at the root of protests and mobilization in this mining basin since 2008.

Indeed, phosphate extraction does not create jobs but causes significant environmental damage and risks to human health. The mining process releases heavy metals like cadmium and arsenic, which contaminate the soil and groundwater, posing a serious threat to the health of ecosystems and nearby communities.

Waste and phosphates represent two sides of the same coin of relentless environmental colonialism – where external powers exploit and deplete local ecosystems for profit, while exporting wealth, importing disease, and perpetuating poverty.

The post Wasted dunes: open-air landfills feeding Tunisian ruminants appeared first on Undisciplined Environments.

Members of our Yesler bannering crew recently took their last banner on tour to a Tesla Takedown protest. 

Our bannering friends in Fife continue to have success and growing numbers week after week. 

Our Thursday morning Seattle area bannering teams were back on the overpasses!

On March 3, 2025, 25% tariffs were set to be enacted on US imports from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada. These tariffs were subsequently delayed by President Trump and are expected to be implemented on April 2, 2025. A 10% tariff was enacted on imports from China and planned for Canadian energy imports. Additionally, the administration has planned “reciprocal tariffs” on other US trading partners, meaning that all industries would be subject to new tariffs equivalent to the tariff rate those countries impose on US exports. If fully implemented across all sectors, this bundle of tariffs has the potential to disrupt long-integrated global supply chains for key industries in the Ohio River Valley region and, in the short run, will likely lead to higher consumer prices and reduced US employment.

This report analyzes US Trade import data, maintained by the US Census Bureau, to study how imports subject to the new Canada, Mexico, and China tariffs could affect the economies of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Notably, this report attempts to minimize assumptions and therefore does not attempt to estimate the impacts of any retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada, Mexico, or China nor does it attempt to assess reciprocal tariffs which have been much more in flux and may have sectoral carve-outs (Gavin, Dawsey, & McGraw, 2025). There is virtually no precedent or existing research that studies what a sudden and universal implementation of tariffs will do to economies in the context of modern globalization.

▶ China, Canada, and Mexico are the three largest trading partners of the Ohio River Valley states. Collectively, these three countries represented over $100 billion in imports in 2024 which is just under one-third (33%) of total imports to the region.

▶ Total imports from Canada, Mexico, and China represent a sizable share of each state’s overall economy, ranging from approximately 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in West Virginia and over 8% of Kentucky’s GDP. Tariffs, therefore, have the potential to be highly disruptive for businesses in our region’s states.

▶ If the proposed 2025 Trump Administration Tariffs had been in effect for 2024, they
would have represented a new import tax of over $21 billion on businesses across the four Ohio River Valley states. This dollar amount would be the equivalent of the federal government suddenly raising taxes by $2,307 on every Kentucky household, by $1,753 on every Ohio household, by $1,609 on every Pennsylvania household, and by $797 on every West Virginia household.

▶ Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China will likely be passed by the importing US businesses onto consumers by US companies, resulting in higher prices. Nationally focused studies have estimated that these price hikes would cost the typical US household over $1,200 annually (Clausing & Lovely, 2025).

▶ Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China will likely reduce state GDP growth, domestic employment, and consumption in the short term. Businesses effectively have three responses to choose from when responding to new, sudden tariffs: use fewer of the imported inputs, find new, more expensive alternative suppliers for the inputs where possible, or pay the tariff outright. The first option would come with a scale-back in US production and potentially idling capacity would mean laying off workers and cutting costs. This would reduce GDP growth. The latter two options would both mean more expensive inputs, raising producer costs. Most peer-reviewed, empirical evidence from recent tariff data suggests that these higher costs will be passed through consumers (Fajgelbaum et. al., 2019). This would raise consumer prices and accelerate inflation as well as reduce consumption, further lowering GDP growth in the short- and medium-run.

▶ There may be opportunities in the long run for positive economic impacts if tariffs are strategically implemented and in place long enough, with enough certainty, to spur significant domestic capital investment. If producers believe the tariffs are not temporary, they may choose to “re-shore,” or relocate, parts of their supply chain to the region. This could create new jobs and raise wages, so long as new trade agreements do not result in the subsequent elimination of the tariffs. Otherwise, producers may choose to “wait out” the tariffs rather than invest billions in manufacturing facilities. At this stage, haphazard and uncertain implementation signals indicate that tariffs may be intended to create leverage in renegotiating free trade agreements. In such a use-case, they would be unlikely to generate significant re-shoring of American production.

▶ Positive economic impacts in the Ohio River Valley could be either partially or totally negated by either retaliatory tariffs or sustained price increases for consumers in industries that cannot easily re-shore their supply chains. These effects could mean that even with new job creation and the reshoring of some industries, the net economic impact of the tariffs on the economy could be negative.

The post Tariffs and Appalachia appeared first on Ohio River Valley Institute.

VANCOUVER — A third of Canadians live in apartment or condo buildings. In most major cities, that proportion is even higher. But charging an EV can be more challenging for apartment dwellers, posing a barrier to adoption for some. As Canada embarks on a generational housing buildout, the time is now to support EV charging in condos, argues a new Clean Energy Canada report, Electrifying the Lot.

Installing EV charging in new builds is three to four times cheaper than upgrading an existing building. But there are currently no federal regulations requiring EV readiness in new construction despite a new housing plan promising four million new homes over the next decade.

Younger Canadians are particularly affected, being generally more likely to live in an apartment and also more inclined to go electric. Thankfully, there is plenty that can be done. Many municipalities, particularly in B.C., and Quebec, have introduced “EV ready” bylaws that require new buildings to includeEV charging, while some provinces also support the installation of EV chargers in pre-existing buildings.

But a piecemeal approach led by municipalities isn’t the best option for anyone—residents, charging station providers, developers, or our climate. And varied and sometimes contradictory regulations add complexity and bureaucratic red tape, delaying installations. 

Governments at all levels should up their game and introduce stronger policies and programs to ensure everyone can access the huge cost-savings of driving an EV, regardless of their living situation. To that end, the report highlights a number of best practices that should be introduced at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

After all, driving an EV is one of the best ways for Canadian families to save money on gas. Now is the time to make sure all Canadians can reap the rewards of going electric.

• Three out of five (60%) people aged 20 to 44 live in apartment buildings in Metro Vancouver compared to half of people aged over 44. And yet, younger people are generally more interested in EVs: 77% of those aged 18 to 44 are inclined to go electric, according to a Clean Energy Canada and Abacus Data study to be released later this spring, compared to around 62% for those aged 45 or older.
• Quebec is currently the only province with EV readiness requirements for new homes in its building code and is in the process of extending the requirement to all apartment buildings before the end of 2025, with new draft regulations just released this month.
• Apartment buildings are found in the majority of communities in Canada (34% of total), though they are particularly prevalent in cities. They make up 40% of all households in Toronto and 52% in Vancouver proper.

The post Canada’s housing buildout a critical moment to ensure new condos include EV charging: report appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

“Earth Day to May Day” Marcha Campesina, Skagit County, WA.  Photo credit: David Bacon

Happy Earth Day!

Started in 1970, the original Earth Day is often credited to Wisconsin Governor/Senator Gaylord Nelson, but there is actually a lot more grassroots action behind this story.  Spurred by the warnings of Silent Spring and 1969 catastrophes such as the Santa Barbara offshore oil spill and the Cuyahoga River catching fire, the young environmental movement organized a national day of campus teach-ins, mass demonstrations, and public school activities such as tree planting and beach cleanup.  An estimated 20 million people participated.  Given the tenor of the counterculture and anti-war movement at that time, a protest that focused on affirmative, solution-oriented actions was widely embraced by all – a little known fact is that the United Auto Workers (UAW) were the single largest financial supporter of the first Earth Day.

Earth Day actions led to the creation of the EPA, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.  Over 50 years the idea has spread to nearly every country in the world.  But now, it has mostly lost the fierce and urgent edge that it once had.  If you attended Earth Day events over the weekend, you likely saw a pavilion with Exxon plastered on it or a stage sponsored by Chevron.  Every channel shows ads implying that “BP” stands for “Beyond Petroleum” (to that we say: “BS”).  Corporate co-optation and disinformation have neutered and ruined Earth Day, to the point where many in the environmental justice movement ignore it.

But EJ needs to reclaim Earth Day, to make it once again a day of protest, to exceed its inoffensive image by engaging in direct action and demanding the necessary policy changes and redistribution of resources to the grassroots communities and local economies that are fighting to protect their lived environments while also building real solutions from the bottom up.

Next week we will celebrate another holiday that is very important to our movements.  May Day has a much longer history, and over the centuries it has become complex and multi-faceted.  Originally a fertility ritual rooted in pre-Christian European cultures, May Day was a signal of the beginning of the planting season, and therefore it is inherently “green.”  In the 1880’s it gained its “red” aspect after May 1st was declared an international day of demonstration for all workers to demand respect and dignity, and it became firmly entrenched in the early labor movement as a commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs.  Ironically, International Workers’ Day has been pretty effectively suppressed in the United States where it originated, but it is a cherished reprieve from work and a vibrant day of action in many other countries.  Beginning in 2006, May Day became also “brown” after immigrant workers, mostly Latino and many undocumented, organized marches all over the US declaring that they were unafraid and demanding the human rights they deserved. To this day, our comrades at Familias Unidas por la Justicia organize an annual Marcha Campesina to call attention to farmworkers’ rights.

This “green/red/brown” vision of May Day is so important to us at the Just Transition Alliance.  It vibes perfectly with our history and our perspective.  We seek to bring together Labor and EJ movements, to center the voices of those on the frontlines and fencelines of production, and to build grassroots power as we restore health to the workers and families who keep our economies running, repair relationships with our neighbors and comrades in struggle, and regenerate thriving ecosystems in the places we call home.

Let’s make “Earth Day to May Day” a continuous ten-day festival.  A festival of action and organizing to make a better world possible.  A festival of resistance where we raise our voices, not allowing anyone to go on complacently accepting business as usual, where we demonstrate our visions by celebrating our grassroots solutions, and where we recognize our strength by joining together from many perspectives to become unified in our shared need to transcend beyond colonization, extractivism, and oppression.

Content Earth Day to May Day 2024 appears first in Just Transition Alliance.

JTA’s José Bravo with trainers Edgar Franks of Familias Unidas por la Justicia and Elizabeth Martinez of Comunidades Aliadas Tomando Acción.  Photo credit: José Bravo

We are so pleased to celebrate our first two trainings of 2024, using our newly updated and expanded program Tools for Systemic Change Toward a People’s Economy.  Our talented new cadre of popular education trainers are working together fabulously and raising the bar for engaging participant-driven education.

In February, Familias Unidas por la Justicia hosted a training in Mt. Vernon, WA.  And just last week Inland Communities for Immigrant Justice held one in San Bernadino, CA.  We have lots more trainings planned throughout the year, so stay tuned for updates!

Scenes from the training with Familias Unidas por la Justicia.  Photo credits: José Bravo

Scenes from the training with Inland Communities for Immigrant Justice.  Photo credits: José Bravo and Elizabeth Martinez

Content Successful Trainings with JTA Partners appears first in Just Transition Alliance.

Reconciliation is dead. But how and why did it start in Canada? Kahnawake Mohawk scholar Audra Simpson argues reconciliation between settlers and Indigenous was meant only to heal the settler and to forever suspend the question of Indigenous revolution.

Listen to The Red Nation Podcast on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. Listen and download for free on Libsyn. 

The Red Nation Podcast is produced by Red Media and is sustained by comrades and supporters like you, power our work here: www.patreon.com/redmediapr

The post The Red Nation Podcast #Throwback appeared first on The Red Nation.

Recently closed Covanta incinerator in Long Beach, CA.  Photo credit: East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

These are historic times. As the world wakes up to the intersectional nature of environmental racism, climate chaos, genocide and war, thousands of frontline communities continue to engage in pitched battle against those who are destroying people and planet. And while stepping up efforts to stop colonial genocide, we also need to take the time to acknowledge some of our hard-fought movement victories against common foes.

This year marks a couple of historic victories for environmental justice (EJ) communities in the US. After over three decades of struggle, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) and Valley Improvement Projects (VIP), in collaboration with numerous allies, have forced the closure of California’s two remaining waste incinerators. This marks a turning point in an age-old battle with an industry that still operates scores of garbage burning facilities that dump high levels of dioxins, heavy metals, acid gasses and particulate matter in Black, Brown, migrant and poor communities around the US.

Since the 1980s, EJ communities have been hugely successful in thwarting the waste incinerator industry, stopping hundreds of proposals to build these dioxin factories. Still, over a 100 were built in the late 80s and early 90s, predominantly in racialized and poor communities. Despite the severe lack of philanthropic support for EJ groups over the years, our struggles persisted. Between 2000 and 2023, our movement has been able to shut down a number of these incinerators, leveraging a growing public awareness that zero waste alternatives creates far more jobs for a fraction of the cost of building and running a billion dollar incinerator.

Detroit EJ groups and Michigan Teamsters protest the Detroit Incinerator, which was shut down in 2019.  Photo credit: Brooke Anderson

In the early 2000s, in a desperate bid to survive such losses, the incinerator industry launched a clever campaign – rebranding their trash burners as “Waste to Energy” (WtE) facilities. This greenwashing ploy allowed the industry to access public subsidies by duping lawmakers into believing they produced renewable energy (RE). Despite the fact that these WtE incinerators are some of the most toxic, carbon intensive and costly energy facilities in the world, the industry has been able to keep over 66 incinerators burning, buoyed by RE subsidies from the federal government and a number of states.

Fifteen years ago, when I worked with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), I facilitated a workshop for EYCEJ who (at the time) were a relatively young collective of community organizers committed to EJ principles and serving their communities in East Los Angeles and the City of Commerce, CA. At this workshop we discussed the state and federal subsidies that had propped up the incinerator industry, and how Covanta, the largest incinerator company in the US, had been accessing energy and waste policy subsidies by targeting gullible lawmakers and even big green NGOs. East Yard organizers had long been inspired by campaigns led by veteran EJ groups, such as the Mothers of East Los Angeles, who had successfully stopped a number of incinerator proposals back in the day. Some East Yard organizer’s mothers and grandmothers had led these campaigns, so they were inspired to carry on the struggle against polluting corporations like Covanta. A similar story was playing out in Stanislaus County, where a decades-long fight against a Covanta waste incinerator had been taken up in recent years by a young EJ formation – VIP.

The intergenerational leadership of our EJ movement: Juana Beatriz Gutiérrez of the Mothers of East Los Angeles and grandson mark! Lopez, organizing to protect their communities for over 4 decades.  Photo credit: mark! Lopez

In 2018, EYCEJ, GAIA and other allies were able to stop the State of California from providing RE credits to incinerators, which forced the closure of the Commerce incinerator. Then, in 2022, EYCEJ, VIP, EarthJustice and other allies, successfully passed a state bill (AB 1857) that removed waste diversion credits from the last two incinerators in Long Beach and Stanislaus County. This removal of state subsidies has forced Covanta to announce the closure of these final two facilities this year. This is a huge win for EJ communities everywhere, and a highly instructive victory, especially since 26 of the 42 state Renewable Portfolio Standards continue to incentivize waste burning.

If EJ groups and their allies in these states were to go after those perverse subsidies, we could see this dinosaur fleet of toxic smoke stacks finally toppled in the coming years! And along with reducing these pollution burdens, this direction could see communities working with local governments and waste and recycling workers to build reuse, recycling and composting infrastructure that could provide millions of well-paying jobs through local, regenerative, zero waste economies. EYCEJ and VIP and other EJ communities are presently leading the way, by working with allies to develop zero waste plans to move away from burning precious resources and move towards long-term community solutions. Now, elected officials and government agencies need to stop giving public dollars to such polluting corporations, and start following the lead of communities and workers on the frontlines of such transformative change!

Content From Burning to Building Our Future appears first in Just Transition Alliance.

In 2022, JTA joined a toxic tour of the Adelanto immigrant detention facility organized by the Shut Down Adelanto (SDA) coalition where we learned about the use of a toxic pesticide called HDQ neutral inside the facility and the myriad chronic health conditions afflicting those exposed. According to SDA’s quarterly report from May 2022, “Advocates, the California Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General have documented the long list of human rights abuses at Adelanto, including inadequate health care, sexual assault, use of solitary confinement, and mistreatment.”

As of January 17th, 2024, ICE decided to extend their decision on the Adelanto facility contract to June 19th, 2024. At that point, they can either decide to close the facility or file for another extension through the end of this year. The move to extend the decision comes as a result of a court injunction (Roman v. Wolf) against GEO Group (which operates the Adelanto ICE facility) led by Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) and others: GEO hopes to buy more time for the court to potentially lift this court order. The injunction has prevented GEO from transferring people in or out of Adelanto and facilitated the release of 60,000 people around the country. Because of the injunction, the number of immigrants detained at the Adelanto ICE facility has dwindled to six according to Eddie Torres, Policy Coordinator for ICIJ.

Following the article we published last year detailing their work to close the Adelanto ICE facility, ICIJ and other members of SDA have seized upon the opportunity that the injunction presents. SDA found an ally in congresswoman Judy Chu, who is leading a sign on letter which 24 congressional members have endorsed. In June of 2023, the Dignity Not Detention (DND) coalition (which includes ICIJ) passed HEAL, a California budget initiative which “dedicates 5 million dollars to incentivize California localities to divest from immigration detention by providing them funding to invest in new industries and jobs.” What started as a bright idea in a San Diego retreat space blossomed into a just transition incentivization program to support the local workforce through the facility’s closure. In addition, ICIJ continues to advance its Participatory Action Research project, led by Movement Strategy Associate Esmeralda Santos, to document the community’s vision for a just transition. The community group also intends to strengthen collaborations with local officials aimed around backing alternative solutions to the private prison economy.

We can achieve a just transition for Adelanto by pushing for the closure of its ICE facility and supporting SDA’s efforts to cultivate a vibrant, regenerative local economy. If you’d like to support, ICIJ will host virtual Power Hours in March, April, and May to provide education on this issue and walk through 4 actions:

1) Call Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas at 202-456-1111

2) Email Secretary Mayorkas at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

3) Call representatives who haven’t signed on to Judy Chu’s letter. Find your local representative here.

4) Post about the issue on social media. Stay up to date by following @shutdownadelanto on Instagram.

Join Faith Power Hour–a collaboration between ICIJ and Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity–to advocate for closure and halt the incarceration of those seeking protection and the right to remain with their families.

Event Details:

• Date: March 22, 2024
• Time: 12 Noon – Pacific Time (US and Canada)
• Platform: Zoom Meeting
• REGISTER HERE

Please join us in calling on President Biden to release the last six men inside the center and the Secretary of Homeland Security and California Congressmembers to shut down the center. ACT TODAY and stay involved with ICIJ to learn more about how you can help.

Power Hour at 12pm, March 22 on Zoom; Register at bit.ly/PowerHourRSVP

Content Exciting Developments in Building a Just Transition for Adelanto appears first in Just Transition Alliance.

Episode 349 of The Red Nation Podcast

The return of our miniseries YOTED! Jen and Justine discuss the New Age settler spiritualism to alt-right pipeline. The documentaries mentioned are Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023) and You Can’t Kill Meme (2021).

Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel

Listen on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. Listen and download for free on Libsyn!

Episode 349 of The Red Nation Podcast YOTED: The settler spirituality to alt-right pipeline The return of our miniseries YOTED! Jen and Justine discuss the New Age settler spiritualism to alt-right pipeline. The documentaries mentioned are Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023) and You Can’t Kill Meme (2021). Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel! Listen on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. Listen and download for free on Libsyn! The Red Nation Podcast is produced by Red Media and is sustained by comrades and supporters like you. Power our work here: www.patreon.com/redmediapr https://therednation.org/the-red-nation-podcast-yoted-the-settler-spirituality-to-alt-right-pipeline/ Links in bio!

The Red Nation Podcast: YOTED: The settler spirituality to alt-right pipeline Jen and Justine explain the meaning of YOTED and why it’s the title of our miniseries. Listen to The Red Nation Podcast on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. Listen and download for free on Libsyn. https://therednation.org/the-red-nation-podcast-yoted-the-settler-spirituality-to-alt-right-pipeline/ The Red Nation Podcast is sustained by comrades and supporters like you. Power our work here: https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr Links in bio!

The Red Nation Podcast is produced by Red Media and is sustained by comrades and supporters like you. Power our work here: www.patreon.com/redmediapr

The post The Red Nation Podcast – YOTED: The settler spirituality to alt-right pipeline appeared first on The Red Nation.

Our comrade Jacqui Patterson, of the Chisholm Legacy Project, was recently recognized by Time Magazine for her role as an outstanding Environmental Justice and Climate Justice champion. Jacqui has certainly been one of the most tireless and dedicated changemakers I have witnessed serving our movements over the years

It’s worth noting that Time Magazine recognized the “revolutionary” nature of her intersectional practice, an approach our EJ movement has always espoused as essential to serving communities on the frontlines of multiple and intertwined forms of harm. Honoring the quiet, selfless way that Jacqui has served impacted communities over the years, I thought I’d share some pivotal moments when she helped lift up the hundreds of organizations that make up our community-rooted movement:

Nearly two decades ago, when she discovered that a climate funders group was hosting a national strategy summit on coal power without inviting any of the communities most impacted by coal mining and power plants, Jacqui convinced these funders to host their first ever panel of EJ leaders from the Navajo Nation, Chicago, New York and Appalachia, whose groups had been effectively organizing and taking direct action against these dirty energy and mining industries.

Then in 2013, Jacqui, drew the attention of environmental funders to the massive, racialized funding disparity between the $billions given to a handful of big green policy NGOs versus the pittance scattered across tens of thousands of grassroots groups working on a myriad of environmental struggles across the US. This exploration helped pave the way for the launch of Building Equity & Alignment for EJ, one of the few participatory grant-making initiatives that continues to bridge the funding gap today.

Following the People’s Climate March in NYC, when a large, new funder emerged to engage big greens in a market-based model for regulating climate pollution, Jacqui (once again) helped open doors for EJ groups to get involved and prevent another “cap and trade” debacle. Working quietly in the background, she helped us push this climate funder to support a wide array of grassroots alliances and networks to carry on our core work, while allowing us to draw some of the big greens into alignment with our fights against various climate false solutions.

Working quietly and diligently in these ways to serve the broader landscape of those first and most harmed, Jacqui has embodied the principles of environmental justice in all aspects of her practice. Thanks Jacqui – for being such an inspiration!

Content Serving Frontline Communities with Humility and Grace appears first in Just Transition Alliance.

TRN Podcast hosts Nick Estes and Jen Marley are joined by Onyesonwu Chatoyer from  Hood Communist and the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party and Austin Gonzalez from the DSA’s International Committee to discuss the Ukraine war.

Watch on Youtube:

Listen to The Red Nation Podcast on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. Listen and download for free on Libsyn. 

The Red Nation Podcast is produced by Red Media and is sustained by comrades and supporters like you, power our work here: www.patreon.com/redmediapr

The post The Red Nation Podcast #Throwback appeared first on The Red Nation.

Episode 348 of The Red Nation Podcast

TRN Podcast co-host Jen Marley speaks to filmmaker and organizer Mikey (@karaokecomputer) on the overlapping histories of military occupation between Hawai’i and Palestine.

Watch the video edition on The Red Nation Podcast YouTube channel

Listen on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Apple Podcasts. Listen and download for free on Libsyn.

The Red Nation Podcast is produced by Red Media and is sustained by comrades and supporters like you. Power our work here: www.patreon.com/redmediapr

The post The Red Nation Podcast – From Hawai’i to Palestine, occupation is a crime w/ Mikey appeared first on The Red Nation.

JTA congratulates our comrade Chris Furino on their promotion to Co-Executive Director of Central Florida Jobs with Justice (CFJWJ)!

CFJWJ coalesces the power of labor unions, community based organizations, faith based and student groups to organize for worker rights. Our work with CFJWJ began through collaborative strategies to bring the Just Transition framework to climate organizing in Florida and then through delegations around the United Nations climate conference. Since then, Chris has joined our all-star team of Just Transition trainers. Chris and their Co-Director Jonathan Alingu have huge plans in the works, and we’re excited to deepen our collaboration to support workers and communities on the frontlines and fencelines of toxic production.

Even before becoming staff with the organization in 2018, Chris had found their organizing home in CFJWJ. They flourished under the mentorship of Jonathan and Denise Diaz (CFJWJ’s founder) and grew through election work and campaigns focused on building grassroots leadership capacity, earning them the role of CFJWJ’s lead organizer. When Chris joined us in Egypt as part of the just transition delegation to COP27, this constituted a major step in the progression of their training for co-executive directorship. After gaining a variety of politicizing experience through their organizing over the years, Chris became Co-Executive Director in January of 2024.

According to Chris, CFJWJ’s trajectory for the coming years supports a massive strengthening in labor and just transition organizing in Florida. The organization started the year with a momentous win: Orange County allocated 4.5 million to CFJWJ’s medical debt forgiveness project, and CFJWJ continues to push their initial request for 8.7 million. Over the coming years, CFJWJ will prioritize coalition building across Florida, primarily in the state’s south. The organization plans to build with labor around key program areas–including climate, health care, and education–and continue to develop grassroots leaders through their campaigns. Moreover, CFJWJ recently hired a Just Transition Organizer to cultivate allied rank-and-file leadership within the building trades, and the organization also plans to build community-labor, co-led energy and utility campaigns.

Chris’ intentions for their new role inspire our radical imaginations around just transition: “I believe a lot in Florida. I don’t want to give up on it. We can shift the trajectory of our state and power and how power is wielded in it to create a world where everyone’s needs are met and people are able to thrive. This position is a way to make that vision a reality,” they shared. Their visionary thinking aligns perfectly with our conception of just transition as a body of principles and practices which supports collective thriving in safe living and working environments. Chris is excited for JTA’s new training curriculum (which they improved through revisions), and they’re gearing up to host a just transition training in Florida, possibly later this year.

Given the strong alignment between our missions, JTA and CFJWJ have many opportunities to collaboratively sharpen our assessments of the labor and environmental justice movements, share our experiences around organizing at the intersection of labor and EJ, and strategize against petrochemical production in the Florida panhandle. We congratulate our friend Chris on this invigorating new chapter in their organizing and look forward to engaging together in the work ahead.

Content Meet Chris Furino, Central Florida Jobs with Justice’s Newest Co-Executive Director! appears first in Just Transition Alliance.

The Red Nation joined the international day of action with the Southwest Coalition For Palestine in Albuquerque, NM.

Via Shutitdown4palestine.org

“On March 2, millions across the world will march for Gaza! The Israeli government is planning to have a full-scale invasion of Rafah one week later, on March 9, one day before the start of Ramadan. Today, the United States vetoed a UN resolution that insisted that Israel immediately cease its mass killing spree in Gaza.  

Now is the time to act! People around the world are going into the streets in cities and towns, including in the United States, as part of the global day of protest on Saturday, March 2.  

Gaza is facing famine, its hospitals are besieged, threats of ground invasion in Rafah loom near, and Israel continues its onslaught on the over 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

The mass movement for Palestine has led to the isolation of the US and Israel on the world stage. With growing internal divisions and heightened political pressure on Israel and the United States, it’s time to push even harder. Our mobilizations at this moment can be more decisive than ever, and we must show our full strength now to ensure a lasting ceasefire and an end to the siege on Gaza.

Act now, and mobilize in your communities and institutions, everyone must be on the streets on March 2nd! All out for Rafah! All out for Gaza! Stop the genocide!”

Hands off Rafa march for Palestine The Red Nation joined the international day of action with the Southwest Coalition For Palestine in Albuquerque, NM.

The post Shut it down for Palestine – Albuquerque, NM appeared first on The Red Nation.