Spring is here and in its spirit of ‘new,’ we are going to try a different format for our weekly newsletters. We’ve been covering each week of activism in some depth and as the resistance grows, so is the length of our newsletters! We are returning to a briefer recap of the week for the newsletters and will continue to publish in-depth reviews each week in Alternet with reposts on PopularResistance.org. We hope you like the change.
Climate resistance intensifying
The evidence of a worsening climate crisis continues to mount. A new study by NASA warns that industrial civilization is headed for ‘irreversible collapse’ and points to converging crises in population, the climate, water, food production, resource extraction and economic inequality. And a new report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is described as an “unusual intervention in policy debates” by this prestigious group of scientists, also warns of an impending collapse. They write that just like the 2008 financial collapse, “things seem stable, until suddenly they are not.” If you are looking for an explanation of how civilizations collapse, we recommend reading Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.”
Of course, access to accurate information is important if we are going to prevent collapse, which is still possible. Another new study finds that the EPA is underestimating the release of methane gas, an extremely potent greenhouse gas, in the US by up to 50%. Methane is the main component of what the industry calls “natural gas.” The EPA has been relying on the industry to report its emissions, while the new study uses actual air samples. Fracking for oil and gas releases methane gas into the atmosphere, which is one more reason to actively oppose fracking, as this EarthFirst! group did this week, as well as the President’s claims that methane is a ‘bridge fuel.’
Resistance to extreme extraction for energy is growing. Here are three new opportunities to get involved:
- Join the Lakota and their allies in stopping TransCanada from building a huge power station on their land needed to heat the pipeline that will transport tar sands sludge.
- Join the Global Climate Fast in solidarity with Yeb Sano of the Philippines for the ten days of action during the Global Climate Convergence.
- And sign up for the new Clean Up the Mines! national campaign, in which PopularResistance.org is a partner, to finally clean up the thousands of abandoned uranium mines throughout the West that are being ignored although they are causing cancer, birth defects and other types of damage.
In addition to resistance, we must create alternative systems to address the crises in sustainable ways. Food production is vital to mitigating the collapse. After 6 years, UN Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter submitted a new report that calls for the complete overhaul of our food system. As you can guess, the solution lies in local, organic and sustainable agriculture. Many communities and individuals are working on this. You can join local efforts or start one if it doesn’t exist.
Workers are taking a stand
This week, workers at McDonalds across the country held rallies to oppose wage theft. And workers rallied at Insomnia Cookies in Boston in support of Tasia Edmonds who was fired for union organizing. This occurred even though the company had just reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board in which it agreed not to retaliate when workers organized or went on strike. Union-busting is a common practice and often happens in subtle ways. This new guide helps workers to recognize it.
Labor is in crisis in the US, as Steve Early chronicles in his newest book, “Save Our Unions: Dispatches from a movement in distress.” Part of the problem is that labor clings to the Democratic Party even though the party doesn’t actively support labor. The Labor Fight Back Network, which was launched to save the labor movement, has broken with the Democrats and has a broader vision of worker rights. This week they released a plan to win immigrant rights which includes stopping deportations. In the face of failed reform and ongoing abuses, the immigrant rights movement has escalated their tactics to include sustained hunger strikes outside of detention centers.
The race to the bottom in worker rights and wages is closely tied to the current system that puts power and wealth in the hands of a few. The antidote is economic democracy based on worker-owned enterprises and public finance. Vermont is struggling to pass a bill that would put state funds into a state bank. We’ll interview Gwendolyn Hallsmith and Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute on Clearing the FOG Radio this Monday. Similarly, the Fed Up! Movement is taking action to create a transparent and public system of money creation.
Fighting for the right to a future
In the current neoliberal economy, all things public are being exploited for profit. But students, teachers and their communities are fighting back. The effort to end testing as a means to close public schools, which began in earnest in Seattle, is growing and this summer hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Washington, DC.
This week, a rally was held in Newark, NJ to oppose school closings. And students in San Francisco who rallied to save their community college were met with police violence.
Another student protest is ongoing in Taiwan where hundreds of activists have taken over the legislature for three days to stop a trade agreement with China that is being rushed forward without adequate deliberation. This agreement reminds us of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and some readers have asked if we can do the same here in Congress when Fast Track is revived. If you’d like to support students organizing to “Topple the TPP,” visit United Students for Fair Trade. They are hoping to raise money for summer fellows. You can also sign this petition calling on the media to end its blackout on the TPP.
Resistance is springing up!
There is a lot going on this spring. We can’t cover it all in this newsletter. To stay informed, we recommend signing up for the Daily Digest. Each morning you’ll receive an email with summaries of each article posted on Popular Resistance the day before.
We want to mention one more action that is coming up: the World Wide Wave of Action. In New York, they intend to Reoccupy Zuccotti Park starting April 4 and will challenge the new mayor to live up to his image as the “Occupy Mayor.”
Spring is a time of life and renewal. It is a time to make the big dreams hatched in the darkness of winter into a reality. It’s a time for action. Together we will stop the machine and create a new world!
