Intro: A People's Movement For Resilience
Bay Localize News (Summer 2011)
Feel like our economy is sailing headlong toward disaster? Even billionaire Warren Buffett thinks the wealthy should pay more taxes to balance our budget, yet Congress passes only punishing spending cuts. California still doesn’t tax corporations for drilling for oil or polluting our air. Meanwhile, the gap between rich and poor is the largest it's been in a century. What's up?
One bright spot is that more people are asking questions, figuring it out, and speaking up. The growing strain on our Earth is revealing real limits to economic growth. We need to do two things to steer our ship toward safer waters: create a more permanent economy based on healing the earth, and distribute its bounty to meet everyone’s basic needs. This is resilience with social justice — and building it is our mission.
We know a lot of people agree with this vision, and are working to change course at the national, state, and local levels. We need it all. We need you. A few key things we're doing to build this people's movement are:
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Organizing dozens of urban farming and community groups to strengthen our local food system. Get involved in our Grow Local campaign!
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Connecting climate activists with social justice leaders to mobilize 5,000 people around the Bay Area for 350.org's Moving Planet event on 9/24!
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Co-hosting a Bay Area Convening on Community Resilience on 11/11/11 to create a shared vision and action plan for a just and resilient region. Please save the date — more details coming soon!
Read on for further campaign updates and get inspired by the exciting work of our friends and allies!
Yours for community resilience,
— The Bay Localize team
Bay Area Convening on Resilience on 11/11/11
SAVE THE DATE! of 11/11/11 for the Bay Area Convening on Community Resilience! This is your opportunity to start shaping our region’s climate plans with a social equity focus. “Resilience” is quickly becoming a buzzword — and in danger of losing its meaning. We think true resilience integrates strong communities, healthy relationships with the earth, and social justice. Bay Area communities that have overcome struggle offer rich histories of resilience we all can learn from. This gathering will bring a peoples’ perspective to regional planners working on climate change adaptation and economic development.
Contact kirsten@baylocalize.org if your organization or community group is interested in participating or co-sponsoring this groundbreaking regional convening!
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Moving Planet Mobilization for Climate Action
This Sep. 24th, Bay Localize is partnering with 350.org and a host of allies for Moving Planet: A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels in San Francisco! Thousands of people from around the Bay Area will parade down Market Street in a showcase of clean transportation solutions, and converge at the Civic Center Plaza for music, festivities, and opportunities galore to hold local leaders accountable for strong climate action. Bay Localize is connecting social justice organizers with climate activists to promote clean transit, affordable housing, and healthy green space in the regional Plan Bay Area.
Learn more about Moving Planet Bay Area! Watch the Moving Planet video
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Localization News Around the Bay
Opportunities abound to take action for climate justice and community resilience. Here are some activities going on in your part of the bay:
Regional: Bay Area agencies are developing a long-term plan to cut automobile travel, promote transit-oriented development and housing balance among the nine counties. Key decisions are being made around where our transportation dollars will be spent, and what kinds of incentives will be given to cities to discourage sprawl, protect green space, and build affordable housing. For more, go to OneBayArea.org.
East Bay: Learn how homeowners can get up to $10,000 in rebates, grants and low-interest loans to improve their home's energy efficiency and comfort at a workshop hosted by Energy Upgrade California. Free workshops are being scheduled in your community. Simply type in your zip code on the home page for more information.
North Bay: San Rafael is updating its Housing Plan after reports of excessive greenhouse gas emissions caused by workers forced to travel long distances to and from their jobs. Contact the San Rafael City Council and urge them to support workforce and senior housing in walkable neighborhoods in the city's Housing Plan. Write a letter, send an e-mail, or call (415) 485-3074.
San Francisco: San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee introduced legislation that would require all municipal construction and major renovation projects over 5,000 square feet to meet Gold standards as set out in the green building certification system LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) starting September 1.
South Bay: The Greenbelt Alliance will host "Healthy Communities Forum #4: Resilient Economies" to discuss some of the changes local economies face in the coming decades and strategies to respond to them in environmentally and socially healthy ways. This open and free forum will be held Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 5:30 - 8:30 PM at 1700 Alum Rock Avenue in San Jose, CA 95116. RSVP here!
Advocates to Convene for Community Food Security
On September 17, Bay Localize will participate on a panel entitled “Shifting the Industrial Food Regime with Community Based Solutions” at the Justice Begins With Seeds conference. There also will be hands-on workshops on the dangers of Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs), and building strategic coalitions among diverse stakeholders in California. Keynote speakers include Vandana Shiva, Eric Holt-Gimenez, Carl Anthony, and more.
On November 5-8, we will highlight our work at the 15th Annual Community Food Security Coalition conference. This year’s theme is “Food Justice: Honoring Our Roots, Growing Our Movement” and will include inspiring presentations, workshops, networking, delectable local eats, and field trips around the Bay Area. There will be an opportunity to discuss how to shape the Farm Bill, and examine where our movement has been and where it is headed. Join us!
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Oakland Urban Ag Movement Gains Momentum
The Oakland urban ag movement is quickly gaining momentum. On July 21, over 300 people packed a Planning Commission-led meeting to weigh in on new city policies on urban farming, community gardens, animal raising, and local sales of fresh produce.
Bay Localize's Grow Local campaign is continuing to organize a growing cross-coalition of urban farmers, community-based organizations, and food justice allies to develop joint recommendations to the city (see video at upper-left). We're striving for deeper community involvement to build our vision for a more humane, ecological and neighbor-friendly urban ag sector. Want to be part of this movement? Join our campaign today!
Read our Op-Ed in the Oakland Tribune! Watch our Grow Local campaign video Learn more about our Grow Local campaign
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Local Clean Energy Alliance Meets with State Officials
The Local Clean Energy Alliance recently arranged meetings with high-level state officials about advancing energy efficiency and local clean power. Bay Localize, Sierra Club, Sight Works, and Citizens Against Pollution met with California Energy Commissioner Karen Douglas and Wade Crowfoot of Governor Brown’s Office of Planning and Resources. We found plenty of common vision to form an exciting advocacy agenda for the coming year!
JOIN US! Want the opportunity to participate in meetings with decision-makers? Join the Local Clean Energy Alliance as a voting member today!
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Support a CleanPowerSF Plan with Local Power!
The struggle over the future of Community Choice energy in San Francisco continues. A 2007 ordinance called on city officials to develop a CleanPowerSF program with 210 MW of in-city renewable power within the first three years of its launch. However, the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is proposing to roll out a program that includes no local renewable energy sources at all — no local economic development, no local clean energy jobs, and no local greenhouse gas reductions. Instead, the program would only buy renewable energy on the open market, no matter how far away it came from.
The Local Clean Energy Alliance and community advocates have been opposing the SFPUC's approach and calling instead for local clean energy investments that would benefit the community. We are asking community-based groups to sign our letter to the SFPUC before August 30. To sign on, contact Al Weinrub ASAP!