TWO STEPS FORWARD, OR…?: 2021 IN A NUTSHELL
Taking stock of 2021 progress on the climate emergency, we are left with a very mixed bag at best.
The Biden Administration has been undoing some of the worst damage of the previous administration. It puts the possibility of significant climate action back on the agenda. Reengagement with the Paris Accords reoriented the U.S. toward coordinated global action. The fate of Biden’s Build Back Better Act remains unknown. But at least there is one…
A summer of exceptional climate-related events brought the reality of the climate crisis home for millions of people, eroding the grip of climate science denial.
Still, so far nothing being discussed at conferences like COP26 and in the halls of Congress mounts a real response to the “code red” alert that the global scientific community sounded this summer. While there has been incremental progress on some fronts , given the enormity of the needed response we’d still have to put 2021 in the column “Lack of Action.”
But currents are flowing in the climate movement’s direction. The science is more sophisticated and clear. More serious attention is being paid to the inequities of the impact of climate change. There is growing recognition that we already have the technology needed to make a serious difference in emissions, spawning robust campaigns to deploy those technologies today. The fossil fuel industry and its money pipelines are being dragged into the light…some.
As members of ECA, let’s strengthen our movement in 2022 and build on these and other currents in our favor. The task at hand is hardly started and we need action.
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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. |
Looking for another way to give? 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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Thank YOU for your generous support on Giving Tuesday!
With your help ECA raised more than $8200 on Giving Tuesday! We are on our way to our $25,000 end of the year goal. Your support allows us to continue to provide quality information, programming, and actions, and builds the movement of elders taking action to end the climate crisis.
Thank you!
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PRESIDENT BIDEN – MORE OIL AND GAS LEASING? YOU KNOW BETTER!
At COP26, President Biden called climate change an existential threat to human existence, saying “that's why my administration is working overtime to show that our climate commitment is action, not words.” Less than three weeks later, this was his idea of action: holding one of the largest oil and gas lease sales in American history, covering an area twice the size of Florida. The government estimates that those leases could produce more than a billion barrels of oil and 4.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over decades into the future. Additional lease auctions are scheduled for early 2022 illustrating how completely the fossil fuel industry is embedded in our political and economic system.
The administration argued that its hands were tied after a federal judge in September enjoined the administration's temporary pause on new oil and gas leasing. As the administration appeals the injunction, it has proposed changes to the program like increasing fees and limiting access to sensitive wildlife and cultural zones. But environmental groups slammed the proposals as trivial and meaningless. ECA joins the call for a thorough compliance review of the original invitation to bid, and better protections of the public interest through the strongest possible rules, prohibitively higher fees, banning drilling in recreation, wildlife habitat, conservation, and historical and cultural areas, and a substantial increase in the minimum royalty rate. And we call for an end to all fossil fuels subsidies.
The President has broken a major campaign promise. While we recognize that federal law requires the leasing program to continue until Congress ends it, we demand immediate action on rules that will make the costs to the drillers reflect the terrible costs to humanity that come from failing to LEAVE IT IN THE GROUND.
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Greenwashing Undermines Our Efforts to Prevent Climate Catastrophe - How to Spot It
When companies brand a product or service to make it look eco-friendly, sustainable, or green, it’s called greenwashing. Fossil fuel companies are masters of greenwashing, using it to persuade governments, corporations and the public that there are effective ways to “offset” carbon emissions while continuing to extract and burn the fuels that cause them. False solutions offered by the industry include carbon offsets and carbon capture technology (see the definition of Net Zero below). Watch this video from Greenpeace.org about the pretense of offsetting by planting trees (click video on right).
And consumers can be misled into thinking a company is helping the environment when in fact, it may be hiding its actual practices. When you shop, Look out for companies that:
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- Make false claims, or use vague language
- Employ buzzwords like “good for the planet” or “eco-friendly”
- Promote carbon offsetting practices that conceal their continued fossil fuel emissions
- Market environmentally beneficial or sustainable products while omitting information about the impact of their other products
Recent exceptional examples of greenwashing have included ads by Ryanair, Europe’s “lowest emissions airline,” and IKEA, found to have been using illegally sourced wood from Ukraine’s Carpathian region, home to several endangered species
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ONLY 10 TICKETS LEFT! MONDAY MOVIE NIGHT & ECA WINTER CELEBRATION, DECEMBER 13, 6-8PM ET
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Join us for a screening of the film 2040 and follow up interactive discussion.
A young woman turns to the camera and says to us here in 2021: "what were you thinking?" Motivated by concerns about the planet his 4-year-old daughter would inherit, the narrator, Damon embarked on a global journey to meet scientists, innovators and ordinary citizen changemakers to identify the best renewable energy solutions, available to us now. He discovered that people all over the world are making game-changing decentralized progress. ‘2040’ is a story of hope, exploring the very real possibility that humanity could reverse global warming and, in the process, improve the lives of every living thing.
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Watch the trailer click the image above.
Tickets are limited. And please Pay What You Can; we suggest a donation of $25 to cover screening costs and to support ECA in continuing its important work.
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JOIN THE FINAL BETTER TOGETHER SESSION, DEC 9.
Calling all elders, you are needed! Register to join the final session of the Better Together Sessions, ECA's monthly disusssions equity and justice in our climate work. This month we will be joined by Special Guest Kathy Egland from NAACP. Kathy will discuss how to Turn Understanding Into Action. Please be part of this important conversation.
Watch the previous sessions and explore the resources on the ECA website, click here.
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FINAL SESSION DEC. 9
6 PM (ET) | 3 PM (PT)
The series is free and open to all with a suggested donation of $25
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MEMBER ACTION HIGHLIGHTS
Coleen C. in Bellingham, WA
While I want to do so much more, the climate actions I am most proud of are working with my husband to electrify our household. We installed solar a few years ago. We replaced our gas furnace with a heat pump. Now we are transitioning our gas stovetop to an induction cooktop by covering the gas burners and plugging in a portable induction unit. And we will replace our old Subaru with a new model EV. We also purchase a CSA from some wonderful farmers; they use our porch for weekly box distribution. We try to be positive role models in our community and talk about the benefits of making these changes and the opportunities for creating a cleaner, healthier and more equitable future for our children. Thank you for being an inspiring community and helping light the path ahead!
The Mog's, Virginia
Nadine Y. in Philadelphia, PA
In late October, I joined a Fossil Free Future action at Vanguard's headquarters near Philadelphia. We were greeted by Vanguard’s security, local police and...a drone!!! Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investors in FF companies and we aim to persuade them to stop. We had maybe 70 protesters, and the best part: about 1/2 of us were elders!
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ELDERS PROMOTE THE VOTE -- WE'RE PROUD OF THESE RESULTS!
ECA and EAN elders have been busy phone-banking to bring out voters. Here are the results from shifts on Oct. 29, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
- 93 volunteer caller shifts
- 60,305 dials made
- 925 actual conversations with voters and members of their households
- 31 conversations with voters who were still unsure if and how they would vote
- 4,755 collective minutes of calls made
Shannon, Partnerships Coordinator at Environmental Voter Project celebrated this accomplishment stating, “Woohoo! I'd say this is a huge impact! Thank you so much for your hard work that helped these events be so successful.”
ECA and EVP will be hosting Elders Promote the Vote phone banks weekly beginning in January. Join Elders Promote the Vote and we’ll keep you informed of upcoming voter outreach events.
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BE ALL IN, ALL THE TIME!!
IT’S EASY TO TAKE AT LEAST 5 ACTIONS EVERY DAY WITH THE NEW CLIMATE ACTON NOW APP
Developed by Climate Action Now, ECA’s newest partner. With this app, you can take actions in multiple spheres, tweeting, calling, and sending customized messages to your elected officials, corporations, the finance industry and more. Today, please download the Climate Action Now app from your App Store and use the ECA invite code 56 to plug into our actions. And you will earn points to plant trees for the actions you take!
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OUR NEW RESOURCE LIBRARY AT 10001 WAYS
ECA is now partnering with 10001 Ways, a vast resource library of climate and environmental news. With over 2000 articles, a blog, artwork and more, 10001 Ways offers info worth knowing and actions worth taking, even articles on feelings about our environment. We’ve added a link on our website and you can check them out right now!
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NET ZERO: An idea that now governs many national, corporate, and even fossil fuel industry emissions goals and plans, “net zero” sounds good, but would allow continued production and use of fossil fuels indefinitely. Meant to identify a point at which continuing climate-warming emissions are zeroed out by their removal through natural sinks (like forests), carbon offsets, and not-yet-developed technologies like carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), “net zero” has been rejected by most climate organizations.
They have two main objections: This is a tactic to delay the real emissions cuts we need immediately, and it would depend on a revolution in CCS technology when we already have the technologies we need to reach true zero. Removal of emissions — whether through afforestation, agricultural practice, or even CCS — will be necessary to undo the damage we’ve done once we stop, but net zero is not good enough. TRUE ZERO EMISSIONS must be our goal.
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Call and Email Your Senators Now about Build Back Better -- You can never send too many messages to congress about the climate crisis!
This is a critical moment that will shape our grandchildren's future. The outcome of the Build Back Better Act will reverberate across the globe, and determine whether the US gets on a path to zero emissions. Your Senators need to hear that you're informed and watching! Hold the Line!! No Climate, No Deal!
TELL PRESIDENT BIDEN - Ban Oil & Gas Leases! Fresh from COP26 and big promises of climate action, the Biden administration launched a bidding bonanza on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf region, covering an area of 80 million acres (twice the size of Florida). Take action with Climate Hawks Vote. Tell President Biden: Ban offshore drilling now!
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The Better Together Sessions
Final Session, THURSDAY, Dec. 9
6 PM (ET) | 3 PM (PT)
Making space for exploring equity and justice in our climate work
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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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We are so proud to roll out ECA's new T-Shirt designs for 2021, We Breathe Easier When the World is Greener & Our Actions = Their Future. 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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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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