Share your ideas on how the city of Tucson can fight climate change tonight!

As part of tonight's Tucson City Council meeting, they will be hearing public statements on what the city can do to combat climate change.

Tuesday, Aug. 8th at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Tucson City Hall
255 W Alameda St # 2, Tucson, Arizona 85701

Agenda here. 

The Tucson City Council will be having a public hearing on climate change as a part of their meeting. If you're able to attend and briefly speak about what should be done to protect our air, water, and lands that would be great.

What you should know: When you arrive fill out and turn in the short form to be put on the list to speak. Public comments on climate change are number 11 on the agenda. Public comments are limited to 3 minutes.

Ask your members of Congress to oppose Sam Clovis, an openly racist and anti-science nominee to serve as chief scientist for the Department of Agriculture

A series of just leaked emails shows officials at Trump’s Department of Agriculture telling staff to avoid the words “climate change” and “reduce greenhouse gases” in their work. This is part of the Trump administration’s larger efforts to brush the reality of climate pollution under the rug.

Now Trump has appointed Sam Clovis, an openly racist and anti-science nominee to serve as chief scientist for the Department of Agriculture. Thank you for signing our petition to all Senators demanding they oppose his confirmation.

Please, call your Senators. Here’s a sample script:

Hi, my name is _________, and I am your constituent calling from _______. (Give address too) I am calling to ask Senator _______ to strongly oppose the confirmation of Sam Clovis to be U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics. Sam Clovis’ track record of climate denial and his history of deeply offensive racist writings make him unqualified for the post. Please, confirm that Senator ______ opposes his confirmation.

Sen. Flake's Tucson Office:
520-575-8633
Fax: 520-797-3232
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

Sen. McCain's Tucson Office:Main:

(520) 670-6334
Fax: (855) 952-8702
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form


References:

US federal department is censoring use of term 'climate change', emails reveal, The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/07/usda-climate-change-language-censorship-emails

Trump nominee Sam Clovis blasted progressives as 'race traders' and 'race traitors' in old blog posts, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/02/politics/kfile-sam-clovis-blog-posts/index.html

Climate Hawks Vote: Stop Sam Clovis
http://act.climatehawksvote.com/stopclovis?referrer_id=1886723

Leave a public comment protecting the "Waters of the United States" from Pruitt's recodification of pre-existing rules

Yet again the Trump administration is demonstrating that they value profit over life. By "Recodification of pre-existing rules" they mean to change the definition of what is considered the "Waters of the United States" - so corporations can dump their toxic waste there. 

Public comments are now open. Please, leave a comment educating Scott Pruitt on the importance of keeping our waterways clean. The streams, where they want to dump their poison waste, are the head waters that flow into the rivers that supply our drinking water. They are the streams where our children play after a nature walk. They are the streams where wildlife drink.  

1) The EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, along with Mr. Douglas Lamont, senior official performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, signed the following proposed rule on June 27, 2017. The proposed rule published in the Federal Register (FR) on July 27, 2017, and will be open for public comment until August 28, 2017. The public is invited to submit comments identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203, at http://www.regulations.gov.

Their proposal here. 

Follow Tribe's example: Divest from Wells Fargo

In this time of profit without responsibility, the only way to reach bank CEOs is through their pocket books - or bank books - as the case may be. Divest! 

City Council Candidates Forum on “Building Our Sustainable Future – Together".

Preparing for the counsel member candidates by nailing down our sustainable principles

Sustainable Tucson is hosting a City Council Candidates Forum on “Building Our Sustainable Future – Together".

6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Changemaker High School
1300 S Belvedere Ave, Tucson, AZ

Candidates from the three City wards with elections have been invited. Six candidates are confirmed:

Ward 3
Felicia Chew (D)
Paul Durham (D)
Tom Tronsdale (D)
Gary Watson (I)

Ward 6
Mike Cease (G)
Steve Kozachik (D)

What things are likely to affect Tucson's options in the future? CAP shortages? Federal funding cutbacks? Local climate change impacts?

At the August 9 Forum, the candidates will discuss their views on the City’s role in four areas:

-Assuring renewable water that serves Tucson’s priorities
-Climate-ready and affordable transportation
-Relocalization and economic redevelopment
-Making sustainability our way of life.

Candidates will be asked to discuss how they see the challenges that the City faces in these areas, and what role the City government has in helping to prepare Tucson for them.

Current co-sponsors are: Local First Arizona, Pima County Food Alliance, Progressive Democrats of Arizona, Community Water Coalition, and Changemaker High School.

Sign the petition telling the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to oppose lease sales for new offshore oil drilling

Last night I watched "Years of Living Dangerously." They were investigating how CO2 is making the oceans acidic. This has caused over 40% of the corral reefs to dissolve into sand. If we keep going the way we are, by 2050 all of the reefs will be gone. Imagine how that will affect our delicate, interconnected ocean habitat. People all over the world rely on the oceans for their food and even the air we breath.

In the Philippines, they witnessed how the corral reefs being damaged by a storm affected the island people who relied on the sea for their food. They were running out of fish. A fisherman was down to one meal a day for his family. His son was studying so he could leave the island - because the island could no longer support them. These people are suffering because of our choices - like burning fossil fuels.

This is an emergency. President Obama understood the gravity of the situation and approved the largest marine sanctuary to protect some of the reefs. The Trump administration wants to remove that protection and allow oil drilling in that marine sanctuary and many of the shore line national parks.

Please, tell the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to oppose lease sales for new offshore oil drilling.

Add your name by August 17th: Stop new offshore drilling, protect our coast

Protect our oceans from new offshore drilling Tell BOEM: Oppose the expansion of new offshore drilling in our oceans >> You have the chance to protect our oceans, marine life and coastal communities for years to come. Right now, the Trump administration is considering offering lease sales for new offshore drilling in the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. If these lease sales move forward, our oceans and coastal communities will be exposed to an unprecedented threat of deadly oil spills. If we don’t speak up for our oceans now, there may be no turning back. Your voice could be what it takes for the government to say NO to new dirty and dangerous offshore drilling. That’s why we need 30,000 Wavemakers to speak up before the August 17 deadline. Tell the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to stop the expansion of offshore drilling in U.S. oceans and protect important marine areas from oil spills  We’ve already seen firsthand the devastating impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf — human lives lost, dolphin populations suffering from long-term illness and reproductive problems, once-pristine habitats covered in oil, and coastal economies reeling from losses. We can’t sit back and watch that happen again. The Trump administration wants to put virtually everything on the table for oil companies to exploit at our oceans’ expense. Even marine sanctuaries – some of the few protected places marine life still have – are being reconsidered for drilling. Make your voice heard loud and clear and tell BOEM: No new offshore drilling – protect our oceans, marine life and jobs. Last year, tens of thousands of Wavemakers like you spoke up, influencing President Obama to remove both the Atlantic and Arctic oceans from the offshore drilling plan. Now our oceans need you to speak up once more. There’s even more at risk this time around, but I know that together we can protect our oceans and marine life. Oceana is working on the ground from Florida to California to make sure coastal communities are heard. But you need to act now. BOEM to oppose new offshore drilling in our waters

- Nancy Pyne Oceana