Category: Environmental Justice

We Are All Frontline

2025 is coming in like 2024 went out. Earthquake in Tibet, fires around Los Angeles and Acra, are just a few of the calamities we’re facing. We, the human family. We, the ones who can learn from the past and develop strategies of coexistence on this miraculous planet – or we, the ones who succumb to division and greed. Who will we be?

A few years ago, the term “frontline communities” emerged. It referred to those who lived in proximity to dangerous environmental pollutant. Now, the term “sacrifice zone” is used to express a region that is offered up to the powers of corporate greed in the name of sustainability. But what is being sustained? The capitalist model of usury is the only thing I see that we’re sustaining. Clearly not the communities. Clearly not human beings.

We are willingly selling out our children’s future on earth – but wait – I heard today there might have been life on Mars. And the spin continued: previous life on Mars could indicate that a human family could possibly be sustained there. In the future. Your future? Hardly. Your grandchildren’s? Doubtful. But we are placing bets on these hypothetical futures while ignoring our present conditions.

We are rapidly going down the “unlikely to return” scenario, but not enough of us are noticing. 

Oh, Jimmy Carter got it way back in the 70’s when he told us we would need to use less energy. I watched my friends ignore the warning and instead backed the slick talking money man Reagan. I shook my head then. I’m still shaking my head now. 

We are all frontline people. The upheaval of the earth and the insidious and murderous violence perpetrated by human beings have made this so.

Some of us are just waiting our turn for our world to be upended. Some of us are preparing for the worst. But the wisest among us are working to restore the balance we have squandered – with one another and the earth. Who will we be?

May we rise to help one another. May we restore the dignity that is surely within us.

Our Resistance is Growing

I was grateful to participate in the recent Army Corps of Engineers’ hearing on the proposed re-route to Line 5. The opportunity to be with people who hold the land and water sacred is an honor and reaffirms all that is good in us. The Bad River and Red Cliff Tribal members, their allies and community came with great words of defiance and resilience as they try to stop Enbridge’s Line 5. I am proud to stand with them. NEW IN: THE HEARING HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO AUGUST 4. READ DETAILS BELOW.

Here is a portion of my testimony: There comes a time when clear thinking people must admit that the course of exploitation and usury is no longer viable. And when those people come to that conclusion, it’s vital they ensure a change of course that is just, equitable and sound. 

Both the current Line 5 and the proposed Line 5 expansion pose potential threats to drinking water and ecosystems. Both violate tribal rights. Line 5 is operating nearly 20 years past its lifespan. And we know, the Great Lakes hold 95 percent of the surface freshwater in the United States.  A pipeline breach will be catastrophic. 

These facts alone should be enough to end the existence of Line 5 and it’s re-route. But too many of us still believe the propaganda of the oil industry and are frightened about a change of course. 

The Army Corp has an enormous responsibility to provide stop gap measures and allow clear thinking to prevail. By ordering a Federal Environmental Impact Statement you can expose the true risks of the pipeline.

By reviewing Enbridge’s record of misrepresentation, violating permits, spilling oil, and covering up environmental damage you can end past injustices.

In shutting down Line 5 we can justly transition to safer, more sustainable energy. 

Our resistance is growing and will continue to grow. 

Learn more on Line 5: Communities United by Water. or 350 Wisconsin.org and be sure to see the Bad River Film

*****!!!!!! Due to an overwhelming amount of requests, the U.S. Army Corps has extended the public comment period on Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 reroute project for an additional 30 days 📆

💥 The new deadline is August 4th 💥 Feeling stuck? Check out this toolkit ➡https://tinyurl.com/LINE5GUIDE⬅ to help you during the process

Thanks to 350Wisconsin.org

📝

From the River to the Sea

“From the River to the Sea” has become the latest casualty in the war of indoctrination. Congress has enacted a resolution calling the words “from the river to the sea” anti-Semitic, while adding millions to Israel’s defense and robbing United States citizens of proper care. But more significantly it comes as Congress supports the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and repression of pro-Palestinian voices grows. 

Lazy thinking. That’s how we’ve arrived here. 

Post WWII western countries wished to be rid of the Jewish refugees. The refugees were relocated to Israel and a Jewish state was recognized by the UN in 1948.

What could have possibly gone wrong with that decision?

Already a hotbed of division, Israel expanded its territory with violence and displacement of the indigenous Palestinian people. May 15 is known as Nakba, the day of observance of Palestinian “ethnic cleansing” and land theft that occurred then and continues now.

True to their imperialistic nature, the US, Great Britain and others, supported Israel to engage in resource grabbing. This included oil and soon will be for the natural gas off the coast of Palestine – that they have just acquired through removal, and killing of Palestinians and destruction of Gaza.

“Keeping the peace” meant condemning the Palestinians to brutal occupation, because Israel is a nationalistic state, not a democracy. Palestinians who live in Israel do not share the same freedoms as Israelis. Checkpoints, water rationing and illegal Israeli settlers’ ongoing violence to Palestinians and their land have only escalated over the past 16 years. Like the apartheid state of South Africa – that the US was reluctant to see abolished – we have continued to pour billions yearly into the defense of Israel and have been willing to witness the eradication of Palestinian lands and lives.

The brutal attack by Hamas on October 7 was anexcuse for more land theft and genocide. These are not empty words. Look at the reality, not the smear campaign of corporate media, not the profiteering war mongers and their congressional lackies.  I have never condoned the violence of October 7, and I will never accept the genocide that has been perpetrated by Israel since that day. 

“From the River to the Sea” is used by both sides. Israel has been able to dominate the narrative – both there and here in the US. It is time to turn the narrative around. It is time to pursue peace and stop listening to the voices of hate.

We have some unlearning to do…

And for some levity in the chaos.

End War Save the Planet

When we think of war it’s often through the heroic lens of a movie screen. Good guys versus bad guys and we’re always the good ones. This archaic notion is finally getting the scrutiny it deserves. Putin’s destruction of Ukraine and the reckless takeover of a nuclear power plant reveals the ignorance power carries. Now a case of ecocide is pending against Russia for breaching the Nova Kakahova Dam. 

Ecocide. The term is relatively new and characterizes mass damage and destruction of ecosystems. Widespread harm to nature is getting its day in court as countries create laws to govern and punish ecocide.

As we begin to understand the finite nature of earth’s resources, we can also begin to reckon with the diabolical aspect of war. War’s environmental disruptions have grown exponentially as chemicals and nuclear scorched earth policies are used.

Today the most glaring destruction of earth, water and air are found in the retaliatory war that Israel is using to remove the people of Gaza from their homeland. Numerous international health agencies report high levels of airborne toxins from debris, ash and dust. Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to add to climate vulnerability world-wide. But the most sinister and inhuman damage is the contamination of water.

It’s speculated that 97% of water in Gaza is contaminated. Even before this latest war, it was the leading cause of death in children. The Israeli blockade that has imprisoned Palestinians since 2007 added to the crumbling infrastructure. The water restrictions imposed on the people of Gaza created immense hardship.  Forced removals, continued bombing and total community destruction by Israel are war crimes with ecocide being among them.

The United States funds the war against Palestinian people and their environment.

We will be held accountable.

A Conversation with Rachel Ida Buff on anti-Semitism vs. anti-Zionism

A Cry for Moral Reckoning

The world watches as the death toll of civilian Palestinians surpasses 18,000. At the UN, 153 countries voted for ceasefire, 23 abstained and eight countries – a few of them tiny islands – voted with the United States and Israel to maintain the ongoing genocide. 

The vote demonstrates the isolation that is beginning to encompass the United States and Israel. 

Christian Palestinians who have suffered in this reign of terror have an open letter to Christians worldwide. They decry the willful tolerance to violence that too many people of faith have adopted over the past three months. They debunk the lies that allow for the United States and western media’s collusion with Israel. And they cry out for moral reckoning. 

Cop28 has ended along with the dream that the world would unify to end the use of fossil fuels. Instead we are urged to “transition” to natural gas. Indigenous leaders and climate activists from around the world also drafted an open letter regarding the genocide of Palestinians. They remind us that colonizing has always been the excuse for genocide and the stealing of land. 

It was in their letter that I learned of Israel’s twelve permits recently granted for natural gas drilling. They were extended to Great Britain’s BP and Italy’s ENI among others. The lies about the need to remove Hamas and the forced removal of Palestinian civilians for their “safety” made sense in this context. Israel wants to cash in on the “transition” away from fossil fuels. When power and greed lead, human beings are dispensable.

What we are seeing is this: people of peace, people of faith, people who are demanding an end to land theft and to genocide are not being silent. May we all eliminate the beliefs that allow for the slaughter of human beings for greed and power. 

That is our first challenge and then united we will stand.

Viva humanity.

Please take time to listen to my WDRT Conversation with Janan Najeeb, Executive Director of Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition regarding Palestine today, the historical context and the urgency for all of us to return to our humanity.

Rights of Nature

Some say we’re on a learning curve. When it comes to the environment, I’d call it an unlearning curve. 

Led by unscrupulous ambition for money and an insatiable devouring of energy, we – the people of the world – are finding ourselves reeling from natural disasters.

Voices of marginalized and front line people are going unnoticed as profiteers of oil and other extractions continue to tear up the earth and reduce ecosystems to wastelands. Waterways are polluted at an alarming rate. Crop failures are leading countless people into hunger and starvation. And all the while leadership turns a blind eye to the ignorance that has brought us to this moment.

There are beliefs that underpin our ignorance. Beliefs like dominion over the earth, beliefs that tout the wealthiest as god’s chosen and relegate the vast majority of the world to do their bidding. Beliefs that say the earth and all her resources are here for the taking with no recognition of those who will come after. We don’t worry about those coming after, because we have tidy beliefs that say it’s all going to end anyway. 

In the meantime we’re allowing this most beautiful creation to be destroyed. And make no mistake, we are allowing it. 

But there are drops of sanity emerging throughout the earth, beautiful jewels of wisdom and action.  I offer tremendous gratitude to the indigenous among us who have not forsaken their traditional ways and have held fast to their recognition of our interconnectedness with the earth and one another.  And I offer encouragement to those trying hard to unlearn the ignorance we were born into and are creating new ways of being and co-creation. Let the unlearning begin!

Please sign this petition from Rights of Nature Wisconsin, Wisdom, and Menikanaehkem:

Wisconsin Elected Officials: Adopt Rights of Nature Laws Today

Today, we face global environmental crises – including soaring extinction rates and accelerating climate change. This has happened despite thousands of environmental laws. What those laws have in common is that they regulate the exploitation of nature – treating nature as existing for human use. It’s time for that to change – for our laws to recognize nature — the waters, plants, animals and ecosystems we live among — as a living being with legal rights.

We call upon our elected representatives at the state and local level to adopt rights of nature laws – as communities across the U.S. have, as countries including Ecuador and Panama have, and as many indigenous nations have done – to secure the right of nature to exist, flourish, and be restored.

Sign here https://secure.everyaction.com/DQmEhEf3pE2eFAMwsuwQIw2

for more Center for Environmental Rights

Entrapment

A friend calls it psyhological entrapment. What amounts to a total disregard of process and environmental concerns, Minnesota Power recently signed a labor agreement with the Northern Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council to build a $700 million gas-fired power plant in Superior next spring.

The Nemadji Trail Energy Center was proposed in 2017 and has failed to secure the permits necessary to begin construction. Environmental groups have issued warnings and legal challenges, but apparently lobbyists for fossil fuels operate in a vacuum.

The generating cooperative, Dairyland Power, boasts that this plant will help us towards a “clean energy future”. They’re certain most people will accept the words “clean energy” and call it a day. They’re hoping ratepayers will ignore the price tag as well as the increased amount of energy required to run the plant. They’re hoping the calls for protecting the water; the people and their ancestral homeland by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will fall on deaf ears. They have not yet understood environmental justice or human rights.

The fossil fuel industry distorts facts regarding renewables and battery storage as insufficient. They dismiss the science that tells us there’s no more time to waste as we continue to extract resources from the earth. They ignore the health risks associated with methane emissions and burst pipelines. And they’re tying our children’s children to unsustainable systems. 

What could possibly go wrong building a natural gas plant along a wetland corridor of the Nemadji River?

Had enough of entrapment? Contact your local cooperative (Vernon Electric Cooperative) or utility or contact Dairyland directly at 608-788-4000. Let them know where you stand on this ill-fated energy center.

The following is a fact sheet from Sierra Club