Friday, April 22, 2022

FINAL WARNING

It's beyond disappointing that today, Earth Day, the LaX Tribune chose to highlight a story about decades' old environmental issues and totally ignore the extreme crisis we face right now from a rapidly heating planet. Yes, the climate crisis is mentioned in the first sentence, but then off we go into bedtime story land when all men lived as brothers and nothing bad will ever happen.

I beg to differ. We are on the edge of an unlivable Earth.

Demand CLIMATE CRISIS COVERAGE every day. We should understand as much about how close we are to the edge (close!) as we do about how high school sports teams are doing, shouldn't we?


This means we could possibly stay at or below 1.5° of warming, but it's not likely on our current path.


This is the truth of the situation no matter how successful a previous environmental movement was.


And this is one reason stories about past victories are no longer valid.

And

This Earth Day, call out the Tribune for spreading happy news instead of telling people what is really happening and how to take action:

Elect climate champions (good luck)




Sunday, April 17, 2022

Earth Week

First, can we agree that this is not a festive time? Party's over. Time to act. Have you read the latest IPCC report? Here are a few headlines:

'It's now or never': UN climate report shows globe is on 'track toward an unlivable world'

The world is running out of options to hit climate goals, U.N. report shows - With the world on track to blaze past its climate goals, only immediate, sweeping societal transformation can stave off catastrophic warming -

Climate Report Offers Some Hope, but the Need for Action is Urgent

Is what we are doing decreasing carbon emissions and reducing the need for people to use fossil fuels, like driving around in fossil fuel vehicles, or isn't it? That is the question.

Wednesday at noon: How EVs can help save the world. In person at English Lutheran Church, 16th & King. The #2 bus stops at 16th and Cass

Friday at 11:30 a.m.: Earth Day - Protect the Future. Weigent Park.

Saturday at noon: Solar Schools Bike Tour. Start at Hamilton School, 1111 7th St. S. 

Sunday from 11 to 5: Earth Fair. Myrick Park. 

How to reduce household emissions:

  • Go car-free or car-light. Use active transportation - walk, bike, bus - whenever possible. Combine trips. Car pool. For long distance travel, use the bus or train. Don't put schools on the edge of town.
  • Eat local, mostly vegetables. Help grow gardens. Cook with electricity, not gas.
  • Insulate and tighten your house as much as possible. If you can, switch to electricity for heating. In summer, suck in cooler air at night, then close up and pull shades during hot days. 
  • Get involved in La Crosse's Climate Action Plan but taking the survey, sharing your story, hosting a public meeting about it, and supporting action steps when they are finalized. Tell others how to reduce emissions. Our whole globe needs to do this. One household can be the model. One community can make a difference.
  • Demand coverage of the climate crisis in our media. Talk to others about the urgency of this issue.



"Evil doesn’t begin to approach it". Noam Chomsky on the Climate Crisis and Resistance. A webinar on climate action. April 23 at 2 p.m. Central Time.

"I don't know what word in the language—I can’t find one—that applies to people of that kind, who are willing to sacrifice the existence of organized human life, not in the distant future, so they can put a few more dollars in highly overstuffed pockets. The word “evil” doesn’t begin to approach it."

Saturday, April 02, 2022

Social Justice Week at UWL, April 4 -7

 

 

The Institute for Social Justice at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is hosting its Fifth Annual Social Justice Week April 4 through 7. The theme is Spaces, Places, and People: The Urgency of Intersectional Environmentalism, Unified Communities and Mutual Networks.

Speakers and panels include national and local leaders in in-person and virtual presentations. Several sessions examine social justice issues in the La Crosse area.

On April 4 at 5:30 p.m., hear from organizers of the Hate Has No Home Here campaign in La Crosse in person or online

On April 5, at 5:30 p.m. the topic will be, “Names, Images, and Power: Can there be a reconciliation without truth in occupied lands?" with an examination of public history efforts at recognizing Ho Chunk people in the region.

Also on April 5, Professor Emeritus Al Gedicks will talk about Wisconsin tribes' decades of activism to protect water and natural resources from mining projects and their partnership with rural grassroots groups. "These campaigns signal a decisive shift in the balance of power between the extractive resource industry and Indigenous communities worldwide."

For a complete schedule of sessions and speakers, please visit the Social Justice Week website at https://www.uwlax.edu/diversity-inclusion/social-justice/social-justice-week/2022/