TRANSPORTATION, CLIMATE CHANGE & AIR POLLUTION
Our transportation sector is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for over one-third of total emissions. It’s the obvious policy priority for achieving the President’s climate target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We must rapidly convert all U.S. vehicle fleets; and we have the technology to do it; we can replace half of all internal combustion engines with zero emissions electric vehicles by 2030.
But, as the U.S. makes some progress on zero emissions cars and light trucks, we lag behind other nations in converting heavy-duty (HD) trucks and buses, the biggest emitters on our roads. HD trucks are driven more than cars and account for nearly one-fourth of all emissions from U.S. transportation.
Setting aside for a moment the catastrophic threats of climate change, the direct health impacts of air pollution are reason enough to stop burning fossil fuels. Recent studies conclude that as many as 8.7 million deaths per year globally are attributable to outdoor air pollution from burning fossil fuels. In the U.S. that count is 350,000 lives lost, at an estimated cost to our economy of $700 billion per year. Air pollution damages every organ of the body, increasing heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory disease, premature births, infant mortality, and Alzheimer’s.
We must rapidly convert all U.S. vehicle fleets. President Biden must set a firm deadline by which all new HD trucks and buses will be emissions-free. The EPA must set strict emissions standards for HD vehicles. All new vehicles purchased for the Federal government’s fleet must be emissions-free, starting with the U.S. Postal Service.
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What Climate Actions have you been taking? Tell us in 150 words (max) what you are most proud of: we'll share it in a future newsletter!
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Support ECA with a one-time or recurring monthly gift. Your donations allow us to continue to build a movement of elders taking action on the climate crisis. |
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TAKE THESE ACTIONS TO ELECTRIFY THE POSTAL SERVICE FLEET
In February 2021, the U.S. Postal Service issued a $4 billion contract to buy 165,000 delivery vans from a company that builds only internal combustion engines. In March, our amazing members submitted 1,700 comments, along with thousands more from allied groups, to the Board of the USPS. We called on them to halt the purchase while they circled back to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and to weigh the public health and climate benefits of purchasing electric vehicles.
Now they’re back with an EIS that doesn’t comply with the National Environmental Policy Act; and may allow the USPS to start ordering new polluting vehicles after February 6 of this year. They complain that they cannot afford the extra cost of electric vehicles and the charging stations they will need. The Build Back Better Act, still being held up in the Senate, would fund those costs.
ECA and its allies are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in and declare the EIS inadequate, and the Council on Environmental Quality to require that the EIS be corrected before the USPS issues any purchase orders. We’re also asking the President to step in to stop the rush to order polluting fossil fuel vehicles before Build Back Better is passed.
WE MUST ACT NOW:
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Send our form letter asking White House National Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy, to stop the USPS from ordering any new vehicles until Congress passes BBB, covering the costs of electric vehicles. Cut and paste this message in the White House comments form.
AND THEN:
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Call Your Senators to get the d*mn BBB Act passed. (YES, AGAIN!) Click here for a call script.
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And be sure to use the Climate Action Now app to amplify the messages to Gina McCarthy and your Senators.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4 IS ROSA PARKS'S BIRTHDAY & TRANSIT EQUITY DAY
Climate Justice requires improved and expanded public transit for the communities that depend on it for access to housing, jobs and services. But transit systems are being damaged by severe weather events and are facing driver shortages.The pandemic has only made the work of our bus drivers more difficult and dangerous; they must have justice, too. Stand with the National Campaign for Transit Justice to call for fair pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions by adding your name now to this Petition for Transit Justice. Then Share an appreciation story about a good Bus Driver, and look for local Transit Equity Day events in your area.
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Feb 17 & 18
Noon - 1:30 PM (ET)
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BREATHE AGAIN - HEALTHY AIR IS HEALTH CARE TRAINING EVENT
Did you know that residents living in more than 40% of the U.S. are breathing dirty air and that in 46 states, communities of color are exposed to higher levels of dangerous air pollution than white communities? We have the power to take action! Register now and join us for this two day training event, in conjunction with our USCAN grant partners. We will begin with a “Train the Trainer” session to learn more about the issues surrounding air pollution, the climate crisis, and the public health impact. Connect with other people working on air pollution in your state and learn how to train others on these issues. Friday’s Day of Action will provide an opportunity to join together in collective action as we call our elected officials and ask them to make healthier air a reality!
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CAPITALISM IS KILLING THE PLANET -
It’s Time to Stop Buying into Our Own Destruction: A Conversation with George Monbiot
Hosted by Elders for Social Justice (ESJ) and Scholarships A-Z, a youth-led activist group based in Tucson, Arizona. Thursday, 10 February 2022 @ 10:00-11:30 am PST / 1:00-2:30 pm EST / 6:00-7:30 GMT. For more information and to REGISTER.
EAN/Elders for Social Justice and Scholarships A-Z present George Monbiot, The Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner, and author of best-selling books, including How Did We Get into This Mess? and Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis. This multigenerational and interactive dialogue will be centered around an article of the same name by George Monbiot in The Guardian (30 Oct 2021). This is an opportunity for those of us who are older to share in a dialogue with young climate and social activists and be guided by one of the most outspoken and influential social thinkers and environmental campaigners of our time. This dialogue will culminate in identifying actions that we, young and old, can take together to help reverse the crisis before it is too late.
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FOSSIL FUELS AND THEIR PARTNERS IN SPIN
Outright climate denial has weakened in the popular imagination, so the fossil fuel industry is changing tactics. Instead of denying the issue, they’re positioning themselves as key to the solution, with the help of PR firms and advertising dollars.
An analysis by The Guardian of Google search results for words associated with climate change found that fossil fuel companies and their financial backers are among the biggest spenders on ads appearing in those results.
Difficult to distinguish from genuine search results, “one in five ads seen in the study…were placed by companies with significant interest in fossil fuels.” “ExxonMobil, Shell, Aramco and financial giants McKinsey and Goldman Sachs were among the top-20” advertisers on searches for terms such as net-zero, climate hazards, and energy transition,
Conduct your own search with your favorite climate terms. Look for the (small-by-design) “Ad” tag on your top results. Watch “damaging endemic greenwashing,” as a lawyer with ClientEarth calls it, at work. You’ll see PR strategies built around the pillars of net zero and the promise of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), among other shiny and manipulable objects.
The PR strategies are, of course, developed by public relations and advertising firms and on that front, in late January more than 450 scientists issued a letter to PR and advertising firm CEOs calling for disengagement from the fossil fuel industry. The letter calls on the firms to “end work with all fossil fuel companies and trade groups that perpetuate climate deception.”
As with the fight with Big Tobacco decades ago, today’s struggle against the fossil fuel industry must remain focused on its partners on Madison Avenue.
Learn More: When ExxonMobil jumps on the “net zero” bandwagon, as it did in January with much fanfare, it’s worth taking a closer look at what this means. A new book looks at why zero emissions, not net zero, needs to be our guiding goal. Read a positive review here.
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ELDERS PROMOTE THE VOTE - YOU ARE NEEDED!
TUESDAY PHONE BANKS OR POSTCARD WRITING
ECA and EAN elders have been busy phone-banking to bring out voters and will be hosting Elders Promote the Vote phone banks, most Tuesdays at Noon (ET) beginning in January! Join Elders Promote the Vote and we’ll keep you informed of upcoming voter outreach events. Phone banking not your thing? Help send postcards to inconsistent voters! Sign up to learn more.
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TAKE ACTIONS EVERY DAY WITH THE NEW CLIMATE ACTON APP
Have you been using the easy Climate Action Now app that we recommended last month? If you haven’t tried it, download it today from your phone’s App Store (iPhone & Android), use ECA’s invite code 56, then follow the simple prompts to get started. With this app, developed by ECA’s partner Climate Action Now, you will add your voice to thousands of others, tweeting, calling, and sending customized messages to your elected officials, corporations, the finance industry and others. Earn points to plant trees for the actions you take! Climate Action Now will offer weekly app trainings on Wednesdays at 7 pm ET, starting Feb. 2. Register Now
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JOIN ARM IN ARM FOR CLIMATE’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY - FEB. 18-21 IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
“The future is coming #ByDisasterOrDesign!” ECA’s ally, Arm In Arm, is calling for climate activists to join together and take back our power. All our voices are critical to ignite the era of transformation that ends the climate crisis, centering racial and economic justice. Click here to register for the National Assembly where you can build relationships and up your escalation skills! Buses will provide transportation from cities across the country. Click here for more info and registration
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GOOD READS (and Movies too!) |
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KEEP LOOKING UP: Climate scientists on watching Don’t Look Up: A “flawed…great” movie. No matter what you think it means, the film Don't Look Up is a thrilling, funny film that pulls no punches about folks who just don’t want to know.
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SOME ACTUAL GOOD NEWS
Court Tosses Massive Oil and Gas Lease Sale for Faulty GHG Analysis. On January 27, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the Biden Administration’s Lease Sale 257, spanning more than 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. Click here for the details.
L.A. City Council Moves to End Oil and Gas Drilling Within City Limits
Maybe you didn’t realize that, all over Los Angeles today, there are oil and gas wells pumping foul materials in residential and business neighborhoods, near schools and hospitals. But that will end thanks to a vote last week to prohibit new oil and gas wells and phase out existing wells. Click here for the details.
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ECA 101 For New Members
SECOND FRIDAY MONTHLY
3 PM (ET) | NOON (PT)
Learn more about ECA's mission, actions and how you can become more
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Monthly National Call
FOURTH TUESDAY MONTHLY
7 PM (ET) | 4 (PT)
COP26—Attendee experiences and follow up actions for ECA members
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Breathe Again: Healthy Air is Health Care 2-Day Training
Thursday & Friday, February 17-18, 2022
12 - 1:30 PM (ET) | 9 - 10:30 AM (PT)
Learn skills to lead your community to act on air pollution, climate justice and public health and participate in collective action!
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Visit the ECA Bonfire Store. SHOP NOW for t-shirts, face masks, mugs, tote bags and support ECA at the same time! All proceeds support ECA programming and events.
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If you shop on Amazon please be sure to use Amazon Smile to support Elders Action Network (ECA's Parent Organization), learn more here
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From groceries and apparel to technology and travel – a percentage of almost everything you buy using the ShopRaise app goes to support our cause. Click to download and start supporting ECA with every purchase. |
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Elders Climate Action is a part of ELDERS ACTION NETWORK (EAN), a 501C3 organization whose mission is to build a movement of elders to address the social and environmental crises of our time. Visit the EAN website to learn about EAN's other action groups and offerings.
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