What you can do:Call your member of Congress and ask him or her to ensure Superfund enforcement is funded.Submit written comments to FERC asking the agency to reject the Department of Energy's proposed rule.DOE proposes additional compensation for coal, nuclear Plants. The Department of Energy (DOE) sent a proposed rule to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the independent agency charged with oversight of the nation's wholesale electricity markets. DOE's proposal and an accompanying letter from Energy Secretary Rick Perry cite the many recent retirements of coal and nuclear plants as a problem for the resiliency of the nation's electric grid. To prevent further retirements, DOE asked FERC to require that wholesale electricity markets provide additional compensation to coal and nuclear plants to compensate them for "reliability, resiliency, and on-site fuel assurance." DOE's proposal drew swift criticism from industry participants for favoring one fuel source over anoth...
Read More
Introduction The August recess for Congress is here, making it a critical time for you to engage with your elected officials. Representatives began their break on July 28, and the Senate a few days later on August 3. Congress will be back in session after the Labor Day weekend on September 5.This document will arm you with the information you need to ask challenging, hard-hitting questions of your representatives at town halls, meetings or other events. The RISE Stronger Policy Working Group Program has prepared for you overviews of key topics on the national agenda across a range of areas, including the economy and jobs; education; energy and the environment; ethics and open government; foreign policy and national security; healthcare; infrastructure and urban policy; justice and civil liberties; science and technology; and trade and development. These key issues are summarized with background information and relevant questions for you to ask, as well as additional resources for yo...
Read More
The United States of Resistance is a weekly industry newsletter sharing the top news from across the resistance. Please share with others! Sign up | Archived Newsletters
Resistance Spotlight: It Starts Today Last fall, the Republicans won 241 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Democrats won 194. You might think that this means that the Democratic party fought and won in 194 districts and fought and lost in 241. But y...
Read More
Defense of Paris. Since Trump decided to withdraw without honor from the Paris Climate Agreement, over 1,400 governors, mayors, businesses, attorneys general, investors, and colleges and universities joined an open letter to the international community, declaring their support for the agreement. In a tandem effort, Michael Bloomberg submitted a letter to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) saying he will "work with U.S. subnational and non-state actors over the coming months" to quantify these aggregate actions, which constitute "America's Pledge" to the world in fulfilling our responsibility to lead the world in reducing emissions. In addition, a bipartisan group of 12 states and Puerto Rico have joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, which is committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement within their borders by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 — the original U.S. commitment.Fact from fiction. U.S. Enviro...
Read More
What is the Paris Agreement?The Paris Climate Agreement is a landmark agreement signed in 2015 by 195 countries to combat global climate change. Its central aim is to strengthen the global response to climate change by keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under the Agreement, countries voluntarily put forward their self-defined emission reduction goals through "nationally determined contributions" and to regularly report their emissions and implementation efforts. The United States pledged to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 and was already halfway towards its goal, having cut emissions by 14 percent. The United States joined Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not participating in the Agreement. Nicaragua did not sign because it did not think the Agreement did enough to combat climate change; Syria was in the midst of a civil war.President Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the ...
Read More
All Eyes on ParisWith Trump considering withdrawal from the Paris climate accord this week, pressure has been mounting for the United States to stay in the agreement. During their first meeting, Pope Francis gave President Trump a copy of his 2015 encyclical that calls for action on climate change, and the Vatican's secretary of state urged Trump and his advisors to remain in the Paris agreement. G7 leaders also lobbied Trump to remain during their meeting in Sicily. Following meetings with European leaders, White House officials indicated Trump's views on climate change are "evolving," and he now has a better sense of the importance of the U.S. showing leadership by staying in the universal agreement. After the U.S. failed to join other G7 countries in reaffirming the Paris Agreement, however, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "the whole discussion about climate was very difficult, not to say unsatisfactory." The G7 leaders communique was seen as a key indicator of the current ...
Read More
Make your voice heard by May 26th and Save Bears Ears National Monument!The U.S. Department of the Interior is conducting a review of certain National Monuments designated or expanded since 1996 under the Antiquities Act of 1906 in order to implement Executive Order 13792 of April 26, 2017. To ensure consideration, written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted before May 26, 2017. Written comments relating to all other National Monuments must be submitted before July 10, 2017. Rise Stronger will put out another Call to Action before the July deadline covering other monuments.How to Submit a Comment Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&dct=PS&D=DOI-2017-0002 Click "Comment now"Personalize or edit the statement below and copy and paste it into the boxSubmit!What to SayDear Secretary Zinke, [insert personal narrative about a national park, or Bears Ears if applicable]Our national monument...
Read More
The United States of Resistance is a weekly industry newsletter sharing the top news from across the resistance. Please share with others! Sign up | Archived Newsletters
Ladies & Gents, We have a special counsel! And that's the way the cookie crumbled...seems to be an appropriate way to kick off this week's United States of Resistance digest. Your demands worked. We now have a s...
Read More
Whiplash on Paris. Trump officials were scheduled to meet this past Tuesday to discuss the Paris Agreement but rescheduled their meeting again for a yet to be announced date. As the Trump administration works its way to a decision on the Agreement, the business and financial communities are voicing their support for staying in the Agreement. A number of companies and CEOs have signed public letters and taken full-page ads in newspapers that Trump reads. Even Trump's favorite jeweler and namesake of his youngest daughter, Tiffany & Co., posted on Instagram urging the president to support the agreement. In addition, foreign leaders, such as France's president-elect Emmanuel Macron, have called Trump urging him to stay in the agreement. Reportedly, Trump will not decide whether to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change until after the May 26–27 G7 summit in Italy.
Arctic declaration. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joined seven other foreign ministers at the Arctic C...
Read More
Midnight for Paris II. Trump administration officials delayed a meeting to discuss whether the United States should remain in the Paris Agreement that had been planned for May 9th. The decision may hinge on Article 4.11 of the agreement which states that a nation "may at any time adjust its existing [emission reduce pledge] with a view to enhancing its level of ambition." Critics of the agreement have argued that the United States cannot reduce its "level of ambition" and that pro-climate advocates would use remaining in the Paris Agreement as an argument in court when fighting the administration's efforts to undo climate regulations. Almost all experts agree that the Paris Agreement imposes few legal obligations on the United States. However, a new leaked internal memo from the State Department's legal office outlines legal justification for the United States to exit the Agreement. Reports of the White House seesawing on the Paris Agreement has increased outreach efforts by pro-Par...