350 Updates

The Climate Referees Go National: First stop, Boston!

Jamie Henn
Posted by Jamie Henn - 02/09/12, 12:54pm

We just sent out this press release about another great referee action in Boston organized by the 350.org Action Fund, our amazing 350.org volunteers in Boston, a whole host of local environmental groups, and the Occupy Boston movement. Check out some of the photos and the news below -- the referees are spreading! 

Today: 60 Keystone XL Referees Protest Scott Brown; Opposition Moves into Districts 

BOSTON -- Over 60 people dressed in referee outfits protested outside Sen. Scott Brown’s district office in Boston this afternoon to “blow the whistle” on the unseemly reality that Sen. Brown has taken over $1.9 million from fossil fuel interests since being elected and now supports moves in Congress to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, expand offshore drilling, gut the Clean Air Act, and to put taxpayer money towards subsidizing the fossil fuel industry.

The action is part of an evolving strategy on the part of pipeline protesters, who are looking at new ways to take the pipeline fight off of Capitol Hill and back into districts across the country. 

 
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Solidarity for a friend in trouble.

Bill McKibben
Posted by Bill McKibben - 02/09/12, 11:33am

We've spent the last 36 hours talking with all kinds of our 350.org friends in the Maldives. The situation changes frequently, but its basic outlines are clear: our ally President Nasheed was forced at gunpoint to resign in what seems to be a coup carried out by police forces. Several of his aides and associates have been hospitalized after beatings, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Nasheed -- with one official for the new government promising that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

At a moment like this, we need to show the kind of solidarity we'd all hope for from our friends and allies. Please spread this action to get more people to sign onto our statement of support. You can share it on Facebook here, spread it on Twitter here, or just pass along this link: www.350.org/nasheed

We're communicating urgently the US State Department and other key diplomats in the UK, EU and India to press for a peaceful and democratic resolution of the struggles in the Maldives.The surge of Democracy that swept the Arab world last year really began a few years before in the Maldives, an entirely muslim nation -- and Nasheed's op-ed in the New York Times explains just how difficult this kind of transition can be. The video below offers a real insight into the history of this threatened, fragile nation -- and the political struggles that will shape its future:

We also received this touching note from Ayesha, a friend of ours from Maldives:

"To the 350 family: thank you for your support and for insisting on the safety of President Nasheed and all Maldivians…I plea for my friends who fight for climate justice to help us bring peace to our nation. By helping us bring peace and justice to this nation, you will help strengthen our resilience to climate change which is crucial for our very existence."

When people are free to speak there minds, crucial issues like climate change rise to the fore. We need to make sure that people in the Maldives and elsewhere can be a full part of the global debate on the most important issues the world has ever faced.

 
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Solutions: Transition Towns in Sonoma Valley!

May Boeve
Posted by May Boeve - 02/09/12, 8:18am

155 Last week, one of my heroes was profiled in his local paper for helping spearhead a new Transition Town in Sonoma, California. I couldn't be prouder, since that hero is my dad, Tim Boeve, and Sonoma is the town where I grew up. Sonoma is new to the Transition Town fold, which got its start in the UK and emphasizes resilient community solutions to climate change.  

We became enamored of the Transition model in the early days of 350, because we are making coming cause in helping knit together millions of activists around the world who are creating change at the local level. This week, we're kicking off a new platform for local groups to share what they're doing. It's easy to find: local.350.org and we hope you'll register your efforts today!

My favorite part of the article sounds a whole lot like something I've read somewhere else: "Boeve points out that local communities have inherent power when they come together at the grass roots level." One of my earliest memories is walking door to door with my dad, asking our neighbors to support a school bond measure. I still have the button I wore that day, pink with a giant blue "A" on it. He was my first teacher about community organizing, and now our efforts are coming together again.

Thank you to Dad/Tim, Ed, and Melinda, and all the Transition leaders out there who are providing great ideas and inspiration!

 
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Is Arch Coal About to Mine Historic Blair Mountain?

Jamie Henn
Posted by Jamie Henn - 02/08/12, 2:54pm

In 2011, we saw the power everyday people can have when we work together to stop a devastating project like the Keystone XL pipeline. But Keystone XL isn't the only major fossil fuel project that the industry is pushing. From building a major new coal plant in Kosovo to fracking in the north-eastern United States, the fossil fuel industry is going to any length to keep this dirty energy economy going.

One of the biggest fights here in the US is over mountaintop removal -- the dangerous form of coal mining that involves literally blowing off the top of mountains to get at the coal underneath. Blair Mountain in West Virginia has become ground zero for the struggle to end mountaintop removal -- a Keystone XL style symbol of an industry run amok. 

We just got the press release below from our allies at Friends of Blair Mountain, the Sierra Club, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and others who are working to save this important national treasure. According to some reports on the ground, it seems like Blair might be under threat once again (for a detailed look at all the different news coming out, check out this article by Ken Ward). Please take a minute to read about the latest threat to the mountain and share it with your friends to help spread the word: 

Is Arch Coal About to Mine Historic Blair Mountain?
Local and National Groups Rally to Townspeople’s Defense
 
Logan, WV - Residents of Blair, West Virginia have noticed increased activity from mining company Arch Coal around the historic Blair Mountain Battlefield site. Members of the town have become more and more concerned about Arch’s activities and fear they are moving forward with plans to mine the Blair Battlefield site. There have been reports of proposed buy outs of resident’s property, increasing industrial activity in the area and other preparations indicative of a move towards mining operations on the battlefield itself. Blair Mountain is the site of the largest civil insurrection in American history since the Civil War. In 1921 more than 10,000 coal miners fought forces backed by mining interests in an attempt to organize unions in Logan and Mingo County.
 
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350 Friend and Ally Removed from Office in a Coup

Alex Bea
Posted by Alex Bea - 02/07/12, 4:03pm

UPDATE: (Feb 9, 2012, 08:00 UTC): President Nasheed in his own words in a New York Times Op-ed (with video too): click here.

UPDATE (Feb 8, 2012 ,13:50 UTC): President Nasheed and his supporters held protests against the coup today, and we've just received reports that he has been arrested (and possibly released again but injured). We continue to be immensely concerned for his safety and the safety of his staff and supporters. Please continue to share this news and call for diplomatic pressure to avoid further violence and restore democracy: click here.

Also, Al Jazeera has the first online video we've seen of President Nasheed since before the coup. Here it is:
 

The Maldives Democratic Party today issued the following information about the overthrow of the Maldives’ first democratically elected President, Mohamed Nasheed.

The overthrow occured after small numbers of police and army personal, in response to a call from leading opposition figures, Abdulla Yameen (former President Gayoom’s half brother) and Umar Naseer (former security officer in the regime of President Gayoom), joined with a group of protesters in the centre of Male, protesting against the arrest and detention of a judge accused of corruption.
 
These police and army personel, especially those from the notorious Star Force established by former President Gayoom then, ignoring the chain of command, moved around the capital in full riot gear, attacking MDP headquarters and the houses of MDP MPs and government officials. Many MDP members and government officials were badly hurt. Some are unaccounted for. MDP-associated property continues to be attacked.
 
In this climate of chaos and fear, the rogue elements of the police and army helped to take over the main national TV channel, MNBC, replacing it with President Gayoom’s old TV Maldives, and also moved to take control of key installations.
 
During this time, ex President Gayoom’s allies moved to retake control of the army and police.
 
The opposition, supported by the army and police, then offered an ultimatum to President Nasheed: step down or be faced with a bloodbath in the capital.
 
President Nasheed thus resigned in order to protect the public from further violence. His resignation was involuntary in that he had no choice.
 
ENDS

TAKE ACTION TO HELP OUR FRIEND HERE

President Nasheed at the Copenhagen climate talks calling for 350 ppm for his people's survival:

 
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