Since June, Dakota Access has been pressuring the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to allow it to double the flow of oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline. To its credit, the IUB has refused to be pushed or rushed. In September, IUB members Geri Huser and Nick Wagner voted to require Dakota Access to file an amendment to its permit.
Meanwhile in other states, Big Oil continues to push hard for legislation to punish peaceful, non-violent pipeline protesters. Last year's fight at the Iowa Statehouse recently garnered some attention in Wisconsin, where our coalition with labor has not gone unnoticed.
Big kudos are due to Bernie Sanders and Tom Steyer for talking briefly about climate, despite the lack of a single climate question from the moderators. Tiny kudos to Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and Amy Klobuchar for at least mentioning climate in their responses to other questions.
We've got a quick update for you this week on some important developments. Please read and share.
CLIMATE JUSTIFICATION TRIAL.
DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE (DAPL).
CLIMATE BIRD DOGS.
IOWA'S ANTI-PROTEST LAW.
JESSICA AND RUBY.
Dear Friends, FIRST … On Friday, September 27, at 11:00 a.m. at The Federal Plaza, 219 S. Dearborn St. in Chicago, Dakota Access Pipeline opponents will hold a rally and march to demand that Illinois Governor Jay Pritzer declare a climate emergency and halt doubling the capacity of the pipeline. Some of Iowa’s water protectors are hoping to join our friends in Illinois. SECOND … We witnessed an historic groundswell of climate-strike actions last Friday, garnering attention across Iowa and around the world. Des Moines: Here’s
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Greta Thunberg spoke at the United Nations Climate Action Summit yesterday. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood!" roared Thunberg to the world leaders gathered for the Summit. "People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"
Indeed, how dare they. The Summit, was convened to garner commitments for more aggressive action against climate change, and it did not go well. While some smaller nations stepped up to the plate with deeper, though still inadequate, commitments, the three biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- the United States, China, and India -- failed miserably.
Over 11,000 people and eighteen presidential candidates are expected to attend Saturday's Polk County Steak Fry. We plan to bird-dog every politician there on one or more aspects of the climate crisis, and to make a strong showing for climate action before local, national, and international media, too. If you're coming and would like to help, let us know ASAP.
Dear Friends, In terms of Iowa climate action, a whole lot is barreling down the pike. First up is the CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall scheduled for Wednesday, September 4 from 4:00 – 11:00 p.m. central time. Yeah, I know. Seven hours. Ouch! For those with the stomach (and backside) to persevere through the entire town hall, it should be worth the effort. This is the most in-depth exploration of ten of the Democratic presidential candidates’ positions on climate yet. While it’s not the climate debate
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Dear Friends, Earlier this summer, President Trump visited West Des Moines for a GOP fundraiser. Bold Iowa was there to expose the president’s climate denial to the donors who came to support him. Five of us — Todd Steichen, Kathy Byrnes, Miriam Kashia, Martin Monroe, and I — blocked an entrance to the facility’s parking lot. We then carried our banner toward the building and were arrested by West Des Moines police. We were charged with simple misdemeanor trespass. WE GO TO TRIAL AND NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
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Dear Friends, Over the past few weeks, unprecedented melting in Greenland and the Arctic has dominated news stories about the escalating climate crisis. This week, attention shifted to the tragedy unfolding in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. “Brazil has had more than 72,000 fire outbreaks so far this year, an 84% increase on the same period in 2018, according to the country’s National Institute for Space Research. More than half of them were in the Amazon.” “It is unclear which fires have been deliberately set by farmers
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Dear Friends, As Energy Transfer Partners pushes to double the flow of oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline, it’s important to remember not only fossil fuels’ impact on the climate crisis but the devastation pipelines and extraction projects have on “sacrifice zones” — often communities of color, and almost always in regions with little economic and political clout. I found this message and the accompanying photos from Jennifer Falcon a powerful statement about what we’re fighting for. Thanks to Regina Tsosie with Sage Sisters for
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