May 5 Newsletter: Activism from Home

In recent months, Fossil Free California’s work, like many others, has gone remote. At the beginning of stay-at-home orders, we made it our goal to bring people together while we are apart.

As we all adjust with sheltering in place, it’s important to remember that we’re keeping others safe by staying home. The collective action we’re taking now has given me a lot of hope for the future of the climate movement. It’s possible to get people to change their behavior to reach a common goal. Once this is over, I’m optimistic about climate solutions our communities will come up with.

For now, the activists at Fossil Free California and our allies are busy from home. My favorite part about working from home is being able to spend more time with my dog, Travolta (pictured here).

Read this to learn more about the work we’re doing in the age of COVID-19 and keep scrolling for an extra dog picture!

In Safety and Solidarity,

Casey for Fossil Free California


Action @CalSTRS This Thursday

In the ten years leading up to the COVID -19 crisis, CalSTRS lost over $5.5 billion on investments in fossil fuel stocks. In the past year alone, it has lost over $1B of teachers’ retirement savings from investments in tar sands and fracking.

Join us in telling CalSTRS: your disastrous investment policy needs to change. Stop investing our savings in planet-killing, worthless fossil fuels, and invest instead in a just, green recovery.
CalSTRS investment committee is meeting on Thursday, May 7. Please plan to call or email the board in preparation for this meeting. Click here for instructions on how to email or call in.


Green Recovery, Climate Health Now, and Climate Safe Pensions

Last Tuesday, Fossil Free California presented our second monthly webinar on climate finance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. First we celebrated our Earth Week launch of the new North American public pension divestment network, the “Climate-Safe Pensions Coalition”, with a brief conversation with network leader Clara Vondrich. Then, we learned more about the Green Recovery from the healthcare providers’ perspective, with Dr. Ashley McClure, a leader in the Climate Health Now alliance of healthcare providers.

To access a recording of this webinar and a webinar from Climate Health Now called “Our Children’s Health is Worth a Green Recovery: Saving Public Health, Equity & Climate” click here!


Earth Day Live and the Climate-Safe Pensions Network

Amidst a global pandemic, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day with a ton of great online content, including:

This short video, showcasing the amazing art over 60 of you created with us at our Virtual Art Party.

Youth + Elders Unite for Climate Safe Pensions, a 16-minute video to highlight the launch of an exciting new network, linking us with pension divestment campaigns ranging from Alaska to Maine and Canada.

Your Pension, Our Future, a panel featuring divestment experts from IEEFA and the Center for Intl. Environmental Law, CA State Sen. Ben Allen, and grassroots activists from across North America (including Rio from our very own Earth Guardians Bay Area Crew), AND an amazing sock puppet show by FFCA member Wendy Ring (look for it about 16 minutes in)! This panel is essential viewing for anyone looking for an easy-to-digest, comprehensive overview of the pension divestment movement.


#GivingTuesdayNow is Today!

#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity — taking place today! — as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. The day is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.

The CARES Act has also expanded tax deductions for charitable giving, to encourage non-itemizers to donate more in this time of need. Learn more here.

We hope you will support FFCA’s efforts to steer California’s financial investments toward a just, green recovery. In addition, we encourage you to support these organizations that are directly serving affected communities throughout California.

  • Amazon warehouse workers have filed grievances with LA County and OSHA over lack of safe working conditions during the Covid19 pandemic. Sign their petition here.

  • The 805 UnDocuFund serves immigrant families in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties who are being impacted by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).

  • Kern County Emergency Resiliency Fund provides immediate support for impacted workers and residents and lays the foundation for a more sustainable and resilient economy. Supported by our friends at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, in partnership with local labor leaders.

  • Know of another organization helping California frontline communities that we should lift up? Please let us know!


Allied Activities

On May 7th, join the Sustainable Enterprise Web Conference presented by the Sonoma State University Center for Environmental Inquiry. The topic is “Regional Resilience: Thriving in a Changing World.” Learn more and register to attend here.

Apply before May 8th to join the BIPOC Climate Leadership Program piloted by 350.org. This training and leadership program was created by Black organizers and is dedicated to climate and racial justice. The BIPOC Climate Leadership Program was conceived to equip organizers with the toolkit needed to tackle systems of environmental oppression in 2020 and beyond. Learn more and sign up here.

From our friends at Greenpeace: Please support the Essential Workers Bill of Rights! Essential workers are on the frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic, and many are working in high-risk conditions without appropriate equipment, safety standards, or job protections. Demand that Congress include protections for essential workers in all future relief efforts.


Invest Your Time in the Divestment Movement!

In the past year, Fossil Free California has grown exponentially! We now have two full-time staffers, multiple full-time campaign volunteers, and we’ve held educational events for over 300 people. We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without fundraising.
Our fundraising team is growing to support the movement, so if you’re interested in helping with those efforts or any of our other activities, please send an email to casey@fossilfreeca.org.


Appalled at Michael Moore’s Latest Movie? So Are We.

“Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs’s new film is so full of weak analysis, misinformation, and misplaced invective that I worry it will cause more harm than good.”

Cynthia Kaufman from our DivestCalSTRS team wrote this excellent review of Planet of the Humans, joining dozens of other climate leaders in panning the latest documentary blockbuster.


Congratulations! You’ve made it through this ultra-packed newsletter! Here’s that promised picture!

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