May Actions

                We can work together to create a CLEAN & HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT! 

In a big win for public health and the health of the planet, the Biden administration has announced it will end coal leasing in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming. This is the largest coal-producing region in the United States and this monumental decision will keep billions of tons of highly polluting coal in the ground. The Biden administration’s decision is a direct result of Earthjustice litigation that resulted in a federal judge forcing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to redo its environmental analysis for coal leasing in Powder River Basin. While Earthjustice litigates in court, Earthjustice supporters like you have urged our government to take action. In addition to ending federal coal-leasing, you have also advocated for critical safeguards like restoring the National Environmental Policy Act, enacting significant reforms that will enable new transmission and connect clean energy projects to the grid, and closing a loophole that left half of toxic coal ash pits exempt from federal oversight. Finalizing these actions is the culmination of years of advocacy from Earthjustice, our clients, and advocates like you who spoke up time and time again as these issues were up for public comment or when momentum was needed to push the needle in a positive direction. Without you, such progress wouldn’t be possible. Despite these victories there are still legal challenges on the horizon and vital environmental protections to pursue. We are in a crucial moment of progress, and we need your help to get some key initiatives across the finish line. Supporters like you speak up during every comment period and opportunity — and it makes a difference. Click here to take all the actions below on one page.       Urge the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect consumers from the dangers of gas stoves The risks associated with burning gas indoors have been known for decades but new research links childhood asthma to gas stoves. It’s time for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt standards to reduce the dangers that gas stoves create for consumers. TAKE ACTION       Tell the EPA to ban acephate The EPA proposed a ban on almost all uses of acephate, an organophosphate pesticide, due to poisoning risks from drinking water contamination. Join us in thanking the EPA for the proposed ban and calling on the EPA to ban all organophosphates. TAKE ACTION       Urge the EPA to ban the practice of open burning and open detonation of hazardous wastes For decades, military bases and private facilities have used “open burn / open detonation” to destroy unserviceable and obsolete military munitions. This practice harms the environment and human health as it results in the uncontrolled release of toxic constituents into the air, soil, and water. Urge the EPA to protect frontline communities. TAKE ACTION       Build a clean and equitable electricity grid As we move towards a 100% clean energy future, we need to build more power lines to move clean energy across the country. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently enacted reforms to enable new transmission. Now FERC must continue to accelerate transmission infrastructure in an equitable way. TAKE ACTION     Your activism is creating change — click here to engage at every step by taking all of the actions above on one page. . Sincerely, Swetha Pottam Digital Advocacy Associate

DONATE NOW   Earthjustice, 50 California Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94111 About Us  This email was delivered to you by Earthjustice. Photo Credits: North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. (EcoFlight) © 2024

 

Top News: "As Surgeons, We Have Never Seen Cruelty Like Israel's Genocide in Gaza"

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Thursday, April 11, 2024 ■ Today's Top News  2 Maine Republicans Say Lewiston Mass Shooting Was God's Retribution for Abortion Rights "Viewing mass shooters as instruments of God seems like it's the perfect next step for Republicans," said one critic. "It combines everything that drives the modern Republican Party." By Julia Conley 'History Will Judge': Sanders Says US Must Stand With Gaza Children, Not Netanyahu "Our new position must be simple and straightforward: Not another nickel for the Netanyahu government if its present policies continue," wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders. By Jake Johnson 'Worst I Have Seen': 75% of Great Barrier Reef Suffers Coral Bleaching "We are really running out of time. We need to reduce our emissions immediately," one expert warned. "We cannot expect to save the Great Barrier Reef and be opening new fossil fuel developments." By Brett Wilkins 'Voters Will Remember': Arizona GOP Thwarts Efforts to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban "This is who the Arizona Senate Republicans are—they are so 'pro-life' they will let women die to appeal to their radical base," said Democratic lawmakers." By Julia Conley 'Progress Almost Invisible': World Set to Produce 220 Million Tonnes of Plastic Waste "The question for every government now is this—will you negotiate a treaty to protect the health of your people; or will you negotiate a treaty to protect the profits of the fossil fuel industry?" By Jake Johnson USAID Chief Admits Famine Is Underway in Gaza as US Keeps Arming Israel "In northern Gaza, the rate of malnutrition prior to October 7th was almost zero, and it is now one in three—one in three kids," said Samantha Power. By Jake Johnson

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■ More News Sierra Club Urges Dem Senators to Uphold Biden Clean Vehicle Standards Youth Coalition Presses Biden to Declare Climate Emergency Ahead of Earth Day Advocates 'Elated' as Biden DOJ Closes Gun Show Loophole Salvadoran Court Decried for Letting Case Against 'Santa Marta 5' Continue

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■ Opinion Here's How Much You Gave Last Year to The Pentagon (Hint: It Was a Lot) Your tax dollars enriched Pentagon contractors at the expense of better healthcare, education, clean air and water, disaster management, and more. By Lindsay Koshgarian Big Gas Has Followed the Tobacco Playbook for Spreading Lies and Indoor Air Pollution The industry has been gaslighting us by promoting the idea that “cooking with gas” is a good thing, despite knowing as far back as 1970 that gas stoves pose a threat to public health and the environment. By Elliott Negin 5 Things to Know About the Global Land Rush and How to Stop It A recent gathering in Colombia, organized by the Land Deal Politics Initiative, was an important moment to assess the current state of play and ready strategies to face the current and impending onslaught of land grabs. By Salena Tramel As Surgeons, We Have Never Seen Cruelty Like Israel’s Genocide in Gaza We urge anyone who reads this to publicly oppose sending weapons to Israel as long as this onslaught continues. By Feroze Sidhwa,Mark Perlmutter

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At last, a budget

 

I just walked off the House floor and I’m hitting send on this email that I (mostly) wrote last night. I couldn’t send it this morning because I wasn’t sure if the budget would actually pass - but it did. It’s been a wild ride. For those keeping track, the budget is six months late. We’ve come to the brink of a government shutdown five separate times, including today - and it may still happen. A big chunk of the government will shut down tonight at midnight unless the Senate acts with light speed to pass the bill that we just passed in the House. That said, if a shutdown happens, don’t fall for the flashy headlines - it will be extremely brief. The budget is a lock to pass the Senate very soon. As a freshman member of Congress, sometimes it’s hard for me to figure out why a certain bill gets delayed or denied. There are legislative trapdoors all over the place and plenty of folks can bump a bill onto one of them and then swooop and we never hear from it again. This was not one of those times. In this case, the scene was full of perpetrators raising their hands and gleefully confessing. In short, the right-flank in the House withheld their support. They demanded major budget cuts in many areas (health care, education, etc.), provisions dealing with abortion, and some other culture war issues. And they got basically none of that. There are a few programs that got some small cuts, a few others that got small boosts, but for the most part this is a non-radical budget - which is generally what you’d expect from divided government, as we currently have. The Speaker did throw his right-flank a small bone by including a provision that clarifies that the use of gas stoves shall not be prohibited. I’m not sure anyone in Congress was ever opposed to that, but it became a media flashpoint for a few days last year, so now that’s settled. Having received practically none of their demands, the right-flank is furious. They’re doing interviews blasting the Speaker, and I imagine they’ll continue that for the next couple of weeks. My expectation is that the Speaker is going to respond by being polite and non-confrontational. He’s going to try and placate them to the extent possible. But if he were being completely candid with them, here’s what I think he would say: “You could have had so much more. This could have been a much more conservative budget. You made a bunch of demands that you knew I couldn’t meet because it would have tanked this in the Senate. So instead of trying to get as much as we could, you withheld your support, which forced me to go to the other party in the House to get the votes I needed to pass this. That meant that I had to compromise with the other party three times - once in the House, again in the Senate, and again with the White House. Which meant you got your gas stoves and that was about it.” And remember at the top of this email how I said I wrote most of this last night? Well, here’s an update from just a few moments ago: As expected, the right-flank is extremely upset. But one member just took it a step further and filed a motion to fire the Speaker. Except this time, they haven’t decided to force a vote on it. A member can choose to make the motion to fire the Speaker “privileged” and then House has to vote on it within two legislative days. The motion that was just filed isn’t privileged, so it’s just going to hang out there in the wind - unless they decide to force it. So why file the motion to fire the Speaker but not force a vote? To torment the guy. To remind him of your leverage. And - most importantly - to grab a bunch of media attention, as this move surely will. (And sure enough, I just checked and it’s already made national headlines. Before I could even finish typing this!) All that said, it’s still my sense that - in private - most of the right-flank is basically fine with getting nothing from their budget battle. Most of these folks have a media agenda more than a legislative agenda, so losing legislative battles works just as well as winning them. Complaining about the Speaker will get them more attention than celebrating him, so they don’t really mind that much. Even if they try to fire him, the point wouldn’t be to actually fire him. The point is to get attention for the attempt. Last thing, and I’ve said this before: The new Speaker is basically acting the same way the old Speaker did. The two of them might use a different political vocabulary, but on the big, strategic stuff, there’s no real difference that I can see. I’ve talked about this with other members of Congress from both parties and that seems to be the consensus. Even though he was formerly a member of the right-flank, ascension to leadership seems to have had somewhat of a moderating effect. Campaign update - energy and joy Now that we’ve cast our last vote for the week, I’m jumping on a plane and flying home. I’ll say hi to Marisa and our kids, go for a long family walk, eat a meal together, then get in the car and start campaigning. Sometimes I meet people at events who say something like, “I know this is a lot of work” or “You must be very busy.” And that’s true, we are. But, to be honest, I love campaigning. I love meeting people and trying to give them a more positive vision of what politics can be. There are days when it’s just plain fun. The time away from family is rough, but we know it has a fixed end-date: November 5th. We can make it, and until then we’re going to campaign with energy and joy. Now that we’re past the primary, I’d love to start the next phase with a strong dose of support from all of you. Those are always great days for our team. You can do that here (ActBlue) or here (non-ActBlue). Both fund our campaign directly. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: CHIP IN $10 NOW   CHIP IN $15 NOW CHIP IN $25 NOW   CHIP IN $50 NOW CHIP IN $100 NOW   ANOTHER AMOUNT All the Best, Jeff

PAID FOR BY JEFF JACKSON FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL Jeff Jackson for Attorney General P.O. Box 470882 Charlotte, NC 28226 United States WWW.JEFFJACKSONNC.COM | INFO@JEFFJACKSONNC.COM