Congratulations to the newly elected senators and representative of Connecticut as well as those that were reelected to continue to serve the citizens of CT. Most of the elected candidates have made very strong statements about fighting climate change and working to preserve our natural world. You can read statements from their campaigns on these issues here Ending Fossil Fuel Subsides.
While these statements are encouraging, it is up to us, as their constituents to let them know that these issues are important and these problems need to be addressed immediately. Please contact them regularly so that they do not lose sight of this fact.

Dear Governor Romney,

At the town hall on October 17, you restated your firm commitment to the Keystone pipeline project: “We’re going to bring that pipeline in from Canada. How in the world the President said ‘no’ to that pipeline…I will never know.”

Here are a couple of things I urge you to consider.

You can take a look at the north end of the pipeline where tar sands oil is being strip-mined. As you flip through the photos, please try to grasp the scale. I thought I had it until I got to slides 48, 49 and 50…After you take a moment to catch your breath, you can go through again and look for that tire.

http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-destructive-canada-oil-sands-2012-10?utm_source=alerts&nr_email_referer=1#

Just to be clear: These photos show only one little piece of the area that will be stripped to feed the pipeline. Remediation will never ever be possible. Please take a few minutes to hear why that should be an integral part of your decision-making.

At the town hall, you brought up the “all regulation is bad” idea. Here’s what you said: “So where’d the increase [in oil production under President Obama] come from? Well, a lot of it came from the Bakken Range in North Dakota. What was [President Obama’s] participation there? The administration brought a criminal action against the people drilling up there for oil, this massive new resource we have. And what was the cost? 20 or 25 birds were killed and brought out a migratory bird act to go after them on a criminal basis.” Do you really mean to make that your argument, your theme? Please look again at the short video about the forest. Maybe you’ll be swept up by its glorious complexity, and by how simple is the idea that Life itself depends on keeping the forest intact. It’s NOT 20 or 25 birds. It’s all the birds. And all the amphibians and all the insects and all the plants and all the fish and all the microbes and all the mammals…and and and all the organisms living in relationship on the land or in the water or flying in the air. What’s astonishing to me is that we’ve somehow constrained ourselves to the point that criminal action on behalf of 20 or 25 birds at a time is what it takes to stop us drilling there.

This can barely begin to explain why exploiting tar sands oil is a very, very, VERY bad idea, and why President Obama must make it clear that there’s no possible way he’ll approve the northern part of Keystone. I hope you will reach the same conclusion. Climate scientists are all but unanimous that anthropogenic climate disruption is real. Some of them put that into layman’s terms this way: EXPLOITATION OF ALBERTA TAR SANDS OIL IS GAME OVER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.

Yours truly,

Cindy Moeckel
Ashford, CT
350CT

350CT is working to end unnecessary and harmful  subsidies going to the oil, gas, and coal industries by asking our candidates for federal office these 4 questions:

1. Do you support policies and legislation that would encourage the creation of green jobs and transition the United States to renewable energy?

2. Promoting walking, biking and public transportation have been shown to change behaviors that result in widespread obesity, greenhouse gas emissions, and increasingly higher costs for road, highway, and bridge reconstruction. Do you support infrastructure improvements that would decrease car usage in favor of biking, walking, and public transportation?

3. Do you support ending all fossil fuel subsidies — for oil, coal, and natural gas — which will total $113 billion over the next decade?

4. Will you support Federal legislation to reduce fossil fuel consumption and increase renewable energy production to reduce our nation’s impact on the environment and curb climate change?

We are starting to receive replies and you can view them here.   If your candidates have not responded yet please let them know that you care about this issue and would like them to reply.  If they have responded and you agree please thank them.  If you don’t agree please let them know.

More information on fossil fuels subsidies and your representatives can be found here: http://endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/

http://endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/heat/

http://www.elistore.org/Data/products/d19_07.pdf

Monthly Social Event: Bike/Hike

As many of you know, we are in the midst of an exciting transition.  At our last meeting on May 29 we discussed and approved the structure for the new leadership team, as well as a process to vote for said leadership team.

Kelly Forbush was voted to be our official election coordinator.

1. Collect Nominations (by June 16)
If you want to nominate yourself for a position on the leadership team, email Kelly a brief blurb about why you want to fill that position and what skills you will bring to the position.

If you want to nominate someone for a position, email Kelly the person’s name and contact information. (I’ll contact them to check that they are interested in the position and ask them to write a blurb)

2. Publish Nominations (on June 18)
Blurbs for all the candidates will be emailed to the 350CT listserv for viewing and absentee voting

3. Vote for our Leadership Team (June 26)

Please save the date for our really important 350CT leadership team elections meeting.

Tuesday, June 26
Start time: 6:30 PM
End time: by 9pm, hopefully earlier.
Location: TBD, in New Haven

If you want to vote on the leadership team, but end up not being able to come to the meeting, you will be able to cast your vote by emailing or calling Kelly at least 24hrs before the meeting. (I need time to compile absentee votes)
To vote you must have attended at least one other 350CT meeting.

Please write “350CT Elections” in the subject of you email.

350CT Summer Kickoff
Come to a happy hour to relax and celebrate the beginning of summer.  We’ll have very short check-ins about our various campaigns, but this night is mostly social. Comfy chairs, a collection of games, couches, and neat artwork on the walls. If you are interested in buying food or drink, they have sandwiches, deserts, tea, fairtrade coffee, and wine and beer. (no need to buy something though)

Wednesday, May 23
7:00 – 9:00pm
Koffee? on Audubon
104 Audubon St
New Haven, Connecticut

Join 350CT in calling on PSEG’s CEO Ralph Izzo to give Bridgeport’s children and elderly clean air to breathe by retiring the plant and revitalizing the community.

WHEN:    Monday, May 14, 2012
6:30 P.M. (public comments to begin at 8:00 P.M. sharp)

WHERE:   Bridgeport City Hall Annex
999 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604

WHY:       Harbor Station is an outdated 44-year old coal plant that lacks the proper pollution safeguards! It is a major source of soot, smog, and climate-disrupting pollution. In fact, it’s been cited as one of the top 10 environmental justice offenders in the U.S. The power plant releases pollutants that contribute to 4 of the 5 leading causes of death in the U.S.: stroke, heart disease, respiratory diseases, and cancer. 14.9% of school-aged kids in the Bridgeport school district have asthma, higher than the national average. While the health risks are greatest within a 3-mile radius of the plant, studies show that everyone within 30 miles of the plant is at risk.
CT would be the 1^st state in the U.S. to rid itself of all its coal plants once PSEG retires it! Help us create a clean, safe, and renewable energy future for the state.

More Info