save the earth – League of Women Voters of the Umpqua Valley

Roseburg Climate Strike Update

Roseburg Climate Strike!

NOON to 1PM
On Garden Valley Blvd in Roseburg in front of Fred Meyer
SEPT20-lighteninghand2-1-25%

Members of the League of Women Voters of Umpqua Valley, the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition, and Umpqua Watersheds will join together to demand climate action. All are welcome to join in!

At 12:20PM, Jenny Carloni, President of the League of Women Voters of Umpqua Valley will read a statement by Senator Merkley.

We will be part of a world-wide effort both here in the United States and across the globe demanding immediate action on the climate. Students in the United States and abroad will be walking out of their classrooms in solidarity as they raise their voices on the most critical issue of our time.

With the Amazon in flames, unprecedented hurricanes, rising sea levels and wildfires at home, the planet we call home is sending us a powerful message. And we must answer that call.

On Sept 20, from NOON to 1PM:

Bring your smiles,
Bring your signs,
Bring your cameras,
Post your photos!

See You There!

ACTION ALERT! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Help Clean Energy Jobs (CEJ) Climate Change Legislation over the finish line in 2018.

The legislation would establish a program which will cap climate pollution, price all qualified greenhouse gas emissions under the cap, and invest the proceeds in clean energy, while addressing the needs of vulnerable communities and investing in training workers for new, growing opportunities in a clean energy economy.

The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) joined the Renew Oregon Campaign Coalition in 2015 to support legislation to price emissions. At the LWVUS Convention 2014, the following resolution was adopted by a large margin:

“The LWVUS should support a price on carbon emissions that will increase in stages, as part of an overall program to improve energy efficiency and to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, fast enough to avoid serious damage to the climate system.” LWVOR has supported legislation each session to reduce greenhouse gases. A CEJ bill is being worked on for the 2018 legislative session based on SB 1070 from the 2017 session. CEJ Legislative Work Groups have been meeting to improve that bill.

ACTION NEEDED: Hold a house party or attend a local rally on November 4th. Renew Oregon is planning a statewide DAY OF ACTION November 4. League members and/or local Leagues can support this Day of Action in a number of ways. Please consider hosting or co-hosting a house party (materials and statewide Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RenewOregon/) livestream are provided by Renew Oregon) and/or a Community Clean Energy Jobs campaign party.

We need your Support! Here are a few ways you can support the Clean Energy Jobs (CEJ) statewide campaign:

* First and foremost, Renew and LWVOR would like to encourage you to hold a house party. You can direct any questions or plans about house parties to Sonny Mehta with Renew, sonny@reneworegon.org. We hope to have a party in every county. Some groups are using larger spaces in their communities (churches, schools, libraries, etc.)

* Second, you can post on social media on November 4 (or any other day!) about Clean Energy Jobs using the attached social media toolkit.

* Third, you can attend the rally in Portland on November 4, 12 noon to 2 pm at the PCC Cascades campus student union building, 2nd floor. More rallies are being planned for Salem and Eugene as well as other communities.

* Fourth, please sign up for Renew Oregon emails to get the latest information.
The League of Women Voters believes that climate change is real and we all need to do our part to reduce greenhouse gases. We have joined Our Children’s Trust to require government to address this serious threat to our world. Here is one small way you can help. Host a CEJ house party on November 4th!

If you have any questions please contact LWVOR at lwvor@lwvor.org.

The Latest on Our Children’s Trust Lawsuit

We, the League of Women Voters of Umpqua Valley, are proud that our state League (LWVOR) signed on to an amicus brief in support of Our Children’s Trust with our national League (LWVUS).

As Eleanor Revelle, Chair of the national League’s Climate Change Task Force, said on 8/12/17:

As I reported last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a temporary stay in the proceedings of the Juliana et al v. United States climate lawsuit while it considers a petition from the Trump administration that it review the November 2016 decision by District Court Judge Ann Aiken to allow the lawsuit to go to trial. The attorneys for the 21 youth plaintiffs have been ordered to file an answer to the Trump administration’s petition. And Our Children’s Trust (OCT) has requested that the Leagues (LWVUS and LWVOR) submit an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ response.

As you will recall, the LWVUS and LWVOR filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs when the case was before Judge Aiken in the District Court in fall 2016. Courtney Johnson with the Crag Law Center will be drafting a new brief for us now. The basic premise for the Leagues’ brief is our organization’s interest is in protecting the rights of everyone in the democratic process.

When the political process fails, as here, to protect the rights of children, then the courts must step in to secure those rights. The government has been debating climate change for so long, we’ve now reached a tipping point, and this case must move forward on the merits and not get bogged down in procedural issues. These children’s rights are at stake, and time is of the essence.

As before, with the 2016 amicus brief, the League of Women Voters of Oregon has agreed to collect contributions towards the costs associated with drafting and submitting the brief, about $3,000. I invite you to join me in making a contribution towards this effort.