Monday, June 27, 2022

Honor the Earth tickets on sale

 

Tickets are now on sale for the Honor the Earth Festival which will be in Duluth on Sunday, September 4. 

Honor the Earth is one of the many groups and initiatives (co-)founded by Ojibwe activist and economist, Winona La Duke

"Our mission is to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native communities. Honor the Earth develops these resources by using music, the arts, the media, and Indigenous wisdom to ask people to recognize our joint dependency on the Earth and be a voice for those not heard.

"As a unique national Native initiative, Honor the Earth works to a) raise public awareness and b) raise and direct funds to grassroots Native environmental groups. We are the only Native organization that provides both financial support and organizing support to Native environmental initiatives. This model is based on strategic analysis of what is needed to forge change in Indian country, and it is based deep in our communities, histories, and long-term struggles to protect the earth."

Over the past 29 years, HtE has re-granted more than $2,000,000 to more than 200 Native communities. The annual Honor the Earth festival serves to celebrate accomplishments, plan for coming actions, network, motivate, and raise energy, funds, and resources.

The event will be held at Duluth's Bayfront Festival Park. It will be general admission standing room only. The park is ADA compliant/wheelchair accessible.





Sunday, June 26, 2022

Get ready: Plastic Free July

 


Plastic Free July is a global education, awareness, and action initiative to help wake us up to the extraordinary amount of plastic in our lives and environment. 

From plastic single-use water bottles to plastic utensils, shopping bags, food wrappers, and more, it's hard to go a day without using or having to deal with plastic.

But, we are burying the planet in plastic and it is having health, safety, financial, conservation, environmental, and climate consequences. Plastic is toxic across its lifecycle.

Only a small amount of plastic has ever been recycled. Even the recycling process has problems. The small pellets, nurdles, shipped for making recycled goods can  escape into the environment or the oceans. Most plastic  ends up in landfills or incinerators, or loose in the environment, with much, eventually, finding its way to our oceans. Plastic in oceans kills millions of marine animals annually, pollutes habitats, and disrupts food systems. Plastic never goes away, it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of (micro)plastic which are eaten and breathed in by everything. Plastic particles have been found in human blood and placentas of newborn babies.

We can push back. Kudos to the community leaders who produced this year's Juneteenth celebration. They noted the connection between plastic use and the environmental racism that is part of every aspect of the plastics industry, as outlined in this Surfrider article and ongoing plastic problems and effects on the future health and happiness of Black children. The Juneteenth committee worked to reduce or eliminate single use plastic bottles, foodware, and utensils and provided educational materials about it; they worked with the city, food vendors, and the waste management company to explain why and find other solutions; andthey included a speaker specifically focused on environmental racism. 

We all can work toward plastic free in our everyday lives and our community events. It starts with awareness and works through a commitment to change and help others understand what's happening.

We have to pay attention and push back. The plastics industry is part of the petroleum industry. The climate crisis need to stop burning fossil fuels for transportation and heating means the industry must find or create new markets; predictions are that plastic production will ramp up exponentially over the next several decades.

During the month of July we will highlight ways you can change your and our communities' plastic habits. The first step is awareness. Read and share some of these articles. Document how often you encounter or are forced to use single-use plastic and what alternatives you have. Think about the restaurants and events you visit and how you can encourage changes. Gather your resources and prepare to take action. 

Acting on plastic is part of the effort to make a more just, more compassionate and cooperative, more sustainable, and more healthy world. And reducing plastic use is key to the fight to lower carbon emissions and rein in global heating.

Friday, June 24, 2022

Part 2

 When the button is not connected to the signal.

Another rally is planned for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Riverside Park near the La Crosse Center, site of the Democratie Party of Wisconsin convention.

ASK:
* Why haven't Democrats impeached the criminal Clarence Thomas and the lying-under-oath criminal justices Roberts, Coney Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch?
* Why haven't Democrats expanded the court?
Why did Democrats fight so hard to defeat a pro-woman candidate in Texas and support an incumbent anti-woman Democrat?

This is not a "campaign issue," to get more people to "vote blue." People have voted blue and here we are.

±+++++++


Preview the next level of hell here:


"Lecaque got a look at the National Right to Life Coalition’s plans for a legal regime once Roe v. Wade is overturned, and he noted, correctly, that the program reads like the Fugitive Slave Act redrawn by the East German Stasi."
"

Down the Tubes, part 1


 Welcome to Gilead.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Sierra Club June 29

From the Coulee Region Sierra Club: 

 

EVERYONE WELCOME!
BRING THE KIDS!
DON'T NEED TO BE A MEMBER TO ATTEND!
 
The park is also accessible by bike from the La Crosse River Trail.
 
  Bring some food to share AND, if you can, your own dishes and utensils.
The club will supply beverages and horseshoes for kids and adults.
We will be by the river, so bring bug repellent if you need it.
 
Please consider signing up at groupcarpool.com/t/qi75cg to drive or ride with others
or call 608-315-2693 and leave a message if you need a ride.

Thursday, June 09, 2022

Saturday! Pride Family Picnic

 


Pride Family Picnic takes place every June. It is a time for family and friends to gather and show support for one another, while sharing food, games and socializing! This event is suitable for all ages and open to the public.

Free food, beverages and loads of fun!

Tuesday, June 07, 2022

Wednesday at 10 a.m. WELCOME THE E-BUS!

Please join the MTU and the City of La Crosse for an open house to roll out the new electric buses at 10 a.m. at the La Crosse Center!

Moving our public transit system to electric fuel will have a significant impact on our community's carbon emissions. And, as upgrades are completed at the city's wastewater treatment plant, soon, the fuel for these buses will be generated by gases released during the treatment process. 

Transportation emissions are the top of all sectors, with everyday travel by fossil-fueled cars and light trucks making up the majority of sector emissions. Moving your travel to any bus, but especially to an electric bus can help our city reach its zero carbon goals.

Come on down to the La Crosse Center to see and learn about the new electric buses.

Monday, June 06, 2022

June 8: 3rd CD Candidate Forum

 Who will replace Ron Kind in Congress? There are several candidates running in the Democratic Party primary. The primary election is in August and always has a terrible turnout. But, the November election is one of the most important in the country.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin is hosting a forum:


This November, Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District will be one of the most contested races in the country. As we say farewell to Rep. Ron Kind, the people of this district, our state, and the country are counting on us to elect a candidate that believes in the sanctity of our elections, not a January 6th insurrectionist.

 

We have an opportunity to decide which Democratic candidate will have the greatest shot at beating Derrik Van Ordin and which candidate will serve the people of the 3rd Congressional District with the bold progressive values found in the Citizen Action of Wisconsin Platform.

 

Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin for a candidate forum to hear from the 4 Democratic candidates who will be vying for the Democratic Nomination in the August 9th Primary Election. Learn about the candidates and give your feedback to help inform the Citizen Action Board of Directors in making a decision on an endorsement in the Primary Election. 

 

Zoom link emailed after registration. YOU MUST RSVP IN ORDER TO ATTEND!

Saturday, June 04, 2022

June 12 - Climate Emergency

 From DeclareEmergency.org:



“We’ve got 6-8 years before the climate is so chaotic, we live in a permanent state of biblical catastrophe. And still we’re walking around like it’s 1997 and we’re at a third Eye Blind concert. I’ll never ever get used to how frickin crazy it is to be alive right now.” Adam McKay, Director of Don’t Look Up.

“We have to act quickly. What we do, I believe, in the next three to four years will determine the future of humanity” Sir David King, former chief scientific advisory to the British Government, 2021.

In other words, the next 2-3 years are pivotal to save the planet and prevent the deaths of hundreds of millions of people from extreme heat, drought, floods, disease and poverty.

Film Director, Adam McKay, like so many of us, is terrified. We are staring catastrophe in the face and ignoring it for short-term political gain and corporate profit. Adam directed the film Don’t Look Up, the biggest film on the climate crisis in a decade. In its first 11 days, it became Netflix’s third most-viewed film ever, and 250,000 people on IMDB gave it a strong average rating of 7.3. What more can we say?

Declare Emergency is delighted to host Adam McKay speaking about the climate crisis and the best way to force our government to take rapid action to fight it.

When: Sunday June 12 at 4:00 p.m. Central

After Adam speaks, environmental activist and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, Roger Hallam, will speak about civil disobedience campaigns currently mobilizing across the globe. Details about how to support and join in service to this amazing campaign will follow. We will then go into breakout rooms to discuss what we have heard on the call.

>> Register in advance for this meeting <<

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The most recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report issued a warning that we have a brief and closing window to avoid catastrophic consequences, stating it is “now or never” to take drastic action. Our government's lack of response to this emergency is genocide. We all must act now. We believe you feel the same and are eager to learn about what you can do to that is proven successful in the face of adversity.



Thursday, June 02, 2022

Repeat: YOU need to act on climate!

 

(The Tribune paywalls everything. Sorry if clicking this pic doesn't take you to the article. Try clearing cookies and using a private or incognito browsing window.)

First, it is not too late for YOU to email cityclerk@cityoflacrosse.org and zzcouncilmembers@cityoflacrosse.org referencing #22-0427, "Resolution declaring a climate emergency, committing to policies opposing fossil fuel expansion and accelerating the clean energy transition, and endorsing the call for a global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty," and indicating your strong support for such a measure.

The resolution will be on the agenda for the Common Council's June 9 6 p.m. meeting in the Council Chambers. (You can attend but there are no longer automatic public hearings at full council meetings). Only three people submitted comments to the Judiciary &Advisory committee before its May 31 meeting! COME ON!! Do it today.

A simple resolution reaffirming the city's commitment to transition from fossil fuels as it seeks to reduce its carbon emissions has run into the reality of people who think that means nothing has to change. If passed, the resolution declaring a climate emergency and pledging to begin taking concrete steps to stop burning fossil fuels would put La Crosse in a universe of more than 2,000 communities in dozens of countries. 

But, apparently, this is a gas station too far for some on the city Judiciary & Advisory committee who considered it on Tuesday night. "But what about Kwik Trip!?"

If Kwik Trip, and some council members, haven't heard, WE HAVE TO STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. NOW. IMMEDIATELY.

This doesn't mean that Kwik Trip must cease to exist. It means Kwik Trip will need to adapt to new realities. They are supposedly business geniuses. Let them figure it out.

Please CALL your own council rep and email all to support this next step in working globally to reduce our use of fossil fuels.