Surfing the New Wave of Climate-Related Legislation in California

Following legislation in California always requires good coalition-building and constant vigilance, but this year a new wave of climate-related legislation is testing our surfing skills.  By the February 2019 deadline, over 2700 bills had been introduced in the California State Legislature. After another season of floods and fires, many bills address climate mitigation and adaptation, reflecting the growing…

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How to Get Your Local On!

The thought of getting involved in politics is intimidating to a lot of people, but — especially at the local level — t’s easier than you might think. This post offers advice about how to take those first steps.

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Ireland Moves Close to Total Divestment

Last week the Irish parliament voted to divest from fossil fuels. This legislation will make Ireland the first nation to ban investment of public money in the fossil fuel industry. The bill now goes to committee, and it is all but certain to become law. It represents Ireland’s commitment to the Paris climate accords — and a strong rebuke to Trump and other climate deniers.

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Rex Tillerson must not be confirmed — #ExxonKnew

Rex Tillerson is an ExxonMobil oilman. For years, he has questioned the reality of climate change. Now, as Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, he refuses to admit his complicity in the corporation’s disinformation campaign. Call your senators today to stop his confirmation.

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Don't let Congress lift the oil export ban

As oil prices “tank” (ahem) due to oversupply (thanks fracking!), the divestment movement chugs along, inflating the carbon bubble. This is all bad news for Big Oil. Feeling the pinch, the oil companies have come up with a brilliant idea for restoring lost revenue: Get the Congress (which it happens to own) to repeal the crude…

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Senate committee bans coal investment

by Janet Cox On April 13, the California State Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee approved SB 185, the Public Divestiture of Thermal Coal Companies Act, 3–2 on a party line vote. The bill, sponsored by Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, requires the state’s two largest public pension funds to divest from companies…

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Should we campaign for reinvestment?

Wind Farm

Divestment from fossil fuels sends a clear message: if we support coal, oil, and gas companies in any way, we are contributing to the destruction of the habitable environment. When our money — or the money of our institutions, like CalPERS or the University of California — is invested in those companies, our contribution to climate chaos…

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