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California Members Meet to Advance WILPF's Work
November "Cluster" Highlights March 2020 Action Tour
California, with over 900 WILPF members, benefits from the highest concentration of membership in the country. The annual "Cluster Meeting" takes advantage of this fact, enjoying the excitement and inspiration generated when like-minded activists get together. Members converged on Santa Cruz for a day of lively exchanges on many topics. A special feature was the opportunity to learn about and organize for WILPF's spring project in California, The Pentagon: Exposing the Hidden Polluter of Water. We hope you will help us spread the word about this action tour and project!
California also has the highest number of current and former military bases in the country, and
those bases -- whether still open or closed down -- have left a deadly legacy of toxic contamination. The action tour in March focuses on just one family of toxic chemical compounds, called PFAS, used currently on military bases. WILPF is urging you to join us in supporting this project.
Do you live near a current or former base? Are you aware of the health risks that may present? Ranging from radiation in the soil at the former Navy base on Treasure Island, to chromium in the groundwater at the former McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, to trichloroethylene in the soil and groundwater at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Orange County, to asbestos and many other toxic substances at the Camp Pendleton Base in San Diego County; military bases are sites of contamination, even when the military has packed up and departed. In California, where water is a perennial state-wide issue, the WILPF tour is focusing attention on The Pentagon: Exposing the Hidden Polluter of Water.
At the November Cluster, Nancy Price, Chair of WILPF US's Earth Democracy Committee, talked about the military's responsibility for water contamination from all the chemicals used for the maintenance of equipment on military bases. Most specifically, the Cluster heard about the use of a specially formulated foam for fighting intensely hot jet fuel and oil and gas fires. That foam contains PFAS, and the tour -- from March 7 to March 20 -- will inform Californians of the ongoing threat to our water supply from it. Nancy's collaborator, Pat Elder, has created the informative project website. On that site, you can learn more about the deadly substances used by the military and the resulting effects.
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In spreading the word about this project and PFAS, we particularly want to reach out to climate and youth climate groups, making the connection that the military has the largest carbon footprint. Potential catastrophic flooding and sea level rises will flood bases, washing toxic contamination into surrounding communities and water sources.
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Those of us at the Cluster got excited about the tour, along with all the other branch and WILPF news reflected in these notes. Volunteers from every WILPF branch present put forward their names as local contacts. Already, one branch is looking into a media interview with Pat Elder, when he arrives in their community. We want to share our excitement with others -- and this information!
You can you help in many ways!
- Go see the feature film, Dark Waters, to learn more about PFAS and corporate recklessness with it.
- Read our update on the tour. Can you help us connect with various communities in your area?
- I hope you'll contact Nancy Price for more information.
Thanks,
Darien De Lu
President (and proud Californian)
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Your support helps us reach farther and have more impact. Consider a donation to WILPF today to demonstrate your solidarity with our work.
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Women's International League for Peace and Freedom/US Section
Friends House | PO Box 13075 | Des Moines, IA 50310 | 617-266-0999 |
www.wilpfus.org
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