Dear Friends,
With human survival on the line, we all need to be as fully engaged as possible. There’s just no way to sugar-coat it: Earth’s climate news is not good, especially up North:
In Greenland, sled dogs walk through water where there would normally be ice. (Photo/Steffen M. Olsen and the Danish Meteorological Institute)
Wildfires burned across the Arctic last month.
Anchorage recorded a record-high temperature of 90 degrees.
Greenland is seeing unprecedented ice melt.
It’s easy to feel despair, but we can’t give up. The stakes are too high. Now more than ever, we need climate action at both the personal and political levels.
Through our efforts with the presidential candidates, Bold Iowa’s Climate Bird Dogs have helped change the national conversation. Recently, we’ve ramped up the intensity of our engagement through creative actions that capture the attention of the candidates, the media, and the general public.
Tory Church and Parker Creech hold signs with three Bold Climate Penguins (Sam Kuhn, Kathy Byrnes, and Marty Monroe) at an Elizabeth Warren event in Newton.
At upcoming presidential candidate events on Saturday at 11:00 in Ankeny, Sunday at 11:00 in Cedar Rapids, and Monday at 1:00 in Des Moines, Bold Iowa will further escalate the urgency of climate action.
We need YOU to participate! Respond to this message if you’re willing to join us at any or all of these events. To keep abreast of other candidate events and updates to existing events, click here.
Sam Kuhn asks Amy Klobuchar if she will participate in a Climate Debate. See this C-SPAN footage.
CLIMATE DEBATE. After Bold Iowa announced we would hold a climate debate next fall (and three candidates — Inslee, Delaney, and Klobuchar — immediately agreed to participate), the DNC scheduled a vote at its August meeting on whether to hold its own climate debate. This is great news. Between that and the growing number of national organizations clamoring for a climate debate, we’ve put our proposed debate on hold.
DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE. Thank you to the many people who sent comments to the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) opposing Dakota Access’ expansion plans! We’re now waiting on the IUB’s response. Here’s what Linda Sorenson of Lee County wrote: “For the past 40 years we have funded China’s boom with our land and water. Now the fracked oil is China’s wild card in the hole. Inevitably, they will spring this trap. Iowa has cannibalized itself for a few greedy, short-sighted, business people.”
INLAND OCEAN COALITION. Shaun Ahern is starting an Iowa chapter of the Inland Ocean Coalition (IOC). The IOC was established to create an inland movement centered on coastal environmental stewardship. We need to consider the impacts of our choices on coastal communities and marine ecosystems, such as the Gulf of Mexico. If you’re interested in getting involved, contact Shaun at [email protected].
Thank you for your commitment to our future. I hope to see you soon.
Ed Fallon