Hi, all.
A couple of items on today’s docket–
First and foremost, of course, is Hurricane Ida (now “downgraded” to a tropical storm, though still very dangerous), which struck New Orleans on the 16th anniversary of Katrina and is continuing on a course of destruction through the South. We send love, solidarity, and strength to all those affected. Hurricane Ida was most likely made worse by climate change due to warmer than average water in the Gulf, though, a full attribution study (the field of study relating climate change to extreme weather events) will be needed to say anything more definitive.
If you want to help out with the immediate crisis here is a great primer, and Twitter has some ideas for how you can take action as well:
We @HipHopCaucus are getting internally organized around our rapid response to #Ida
— rev yearwood ✊🏾 (@RevYearwood) August 28, 2021
Our work in disaster relief and recovery is supporting direct relief to people and bolstering grassroots advocacy for just recovery. If interested in helping please email:
media@hiphopcaucus.org pic.twitter.com/PT7XTDA1XM
Here is our Hurricane Ida volunteer sign up form (for both remote and on the ground support). Sending gratitude and love to everybody who is in this movement alongside us. https://t.co/sW1myya2Ql
— Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (@MutualAidRelief) August 29, 2021
Another Gulf Is Possible's #JustIdaRecovery Frontline Resource page is up @ https://t.co/Q8lZEzaAal with mutual aid, orgs to donate to, resources and other kinds of #HurricaneIda prep/recovery information. Please share and keep your prayers up! pic.twitter.com/Vmyw1TeLuS
— Another Gulf Is Possible (@AnotherGulf_) August 28, 2021
✊🏿✊🏾 ✊🏽Stand with Gulf South. Amplify the voices of the South. Fight for a just transition. Donate to a community-controlled fund led by those who are on the frontline recovery from decades of disaster #WeRemember #GulfSouth4GND #RBGND https://t.co/UcZsQnALE1 pic.twitter.com/Jih19K77Cu
— Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy (GCCLP) (@GCCLP) August 29, 2021
However, the real threat behind Ida and other ongoing natural disasters (i.e. the Caldor fire in CA) is anthropogenic climate change and specifically, our continued use of fossil fuels. This week, you can take action by signing a petition to tell the New York Times to stop publishing ads promoting fossil fuel companies:
As #Ida barrels down on our Gulf Coast, it's as important as ever to try to get fossil-fuel money out of climate journalism.
— Dr. Genevieve Guenther (@DoctorVive) August 29, 2021
💥PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION💥
👉https://t.co/28lqeqQnhl
And please ✨RETWEET✨ the petition, too!
Thank you for fighting the good fight 💚 https://t.co/vxcjEJXkgx
Next, a reminder that we started a fundraising campaign to make the launch of our Climate Action Explorer as successful as possible. We see an incredible opportunity to grow the climate movement with our platform, but we need your help to make it happen. We had a great first week and are almost a third of the way to our goal! Get the details here.
And keep an eye out for ~exciting~ updates regarding our Virtual Launch Party happening Sept 24th!
Last but not least, join us by subscribing to our newsletter, sending it to friends and family, following us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).