Austin City Hall, 301 W 2nd St, Austin, Texas 78701
Come pack the rally and council chamber to demand a carbon-free Austin by 2030! Our futures depend on it! ——-WEAR GREEN & BRING SIGNS!——-
The Austin City Council has a chance to take a big step in the right direction by committing Austin Energy — the city’s electric utility — to be 100 PERCENT CARBON-FREE BY 2030! We are fighting for climate protection and climate justice for those most impacted by climate change. We want affordable carbon-free energy!
Agenda
6:00PM – Meet before, pass out information, sign up to speak
6:30PM – Public hearing begins
Cities can fill the void caused by President Donald Trump withdrawing the U.S. from the historic Paris Climate Accord. AND AUSTIN SHOULD LEAD THE WAY!
The current proposal isn’t nearly ambitious enough, and Austin Energy wants the Council to approve it in a rush. Austin Energy has been a leader on climate in the past, but the standard for leadership now is 100 percent renewable energy.
A couple of U.S. cities already have achieved this goal, and at least 25 have committed to do so, several well before 2030. Wind and solar energy are now cost-competitive with energy from fossil fuels, and allow the utility to lock in low prices for decades. This is Austin’s chance to lead the country on climate, and we must ensure that the City Council doesn’t rapidly approve a plan that doesn’t go far enough. NOW IS THE TIME FOR BOLD ACTION. BE A PART OF THIS!
Contact: kwhite@citizen.org
Visit the Facebook event page for more information and to invite your friends.
Join 350-Austin on July 26 for a pub quiz designed to challenge your knowledge of climate change and the key fights happening now in the Texas climate justice movement! This quiz is locally focused, with rounds on the impact of climate change in the Austin area, West Texas, and our coastal regions. Between rounds we will do a short presentation on personal divestment, your best tool to defund fossil fuel projects and act locally in the global climate movement. We’ll end the night with a special bonus round that will give you the opportunity to take action in the fight to stall and reverse climate change.
Hosted by the environmentally sustainable east side brewery Hops & Grain, come grab some beers and plug yourself into the amazing climate community we’re growing right here in Austin!
Saturday, July 22, 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM at Wildflower Church, 1314 E. Oltorf St., Austin, TX 78704
Chances are you’ve heard of the proposed carbon-rich tar sands pipeline, Keystone XL.
Nebraska is the LAST state that hasn’t authorized KXL’s current route, so they are uniquely positioned to prevent its construction.
350 Austin is supporting the efforts of Bold Nebraska to stop KXL. Bold Nebraska is a non-profit coalition of farmers, Tribal Nations, ranchers, and citizens seeking to stop KXL and promote renewables.
On August 6th, marchers are gathering in Lincoln to protest KXL, and hearings about KXL are scheduled on August 7th-11th. Ultimately, a commission of 5 elected officials in Nebraska must make this huge decision by November.
We will voice our support and spread awareness about the Bold Nebraska… movement, encourage folks to use art to speak out against KXL, and ultimately help put pressure on the commission members to do the right thing and say no to the destructive pipeline.
Come join us!
** Create designs that you and your fellow activists can use in their demonstrations and over social media.
** Meet new friends and get to know local activists.
** Learn more about #NoKXL and the accompanying #SolarXL, a plan to build renewables in place of KXL.
Art supplies and light refreshments will be provided. 🙂
You don’t have to be an artist to join the conversation – we welcome all ages and abilities!
Open to the community – go to the Facebook Event page and invite your friends!
Press conference and protest to tell Chase Bank to withdraw from the Keystone XL Pipeline. Derrick Crowe of 350 Austin and all who want to stop KXL will be there with that message.
You may know Derrick Crowe as a candidate for the Democratic nomination to run against Lamar Smith (TX Dist 21), but he is also an important part of 350 Austin, having served on our Core Team. It is in his role as spokesperson for 350 Austin’s Go Fossil Free campaign (https://globaldivestmentmobilisation.org/) that Derrick will be speaking to the press.
Come lift your voices and your signs in solidarity with all who are concerned about the devastating impact of the KXL. It is a threat to all of life.
If you had to miss our big event, you can view much of the program right here. Or if you just want to relive it, here are the highlights.
The evening opened and was kept on course by one of the younger members of 350 Austin, Martha Mercado. Martha is a tireless activist on behalf of many causes, including climate change. Thank you, Martha, for your warm and welcoming presence.
Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, spoke directly to us via a pre-recorded video. His message was brief but very much the words we needed to hear as we move forward with this incredibly important work in a most inhospitable place. Watch or re-watch it and please share it.
After Bill spoke, we were very fortunate to have City Council member Leslie Pool share her experiences as a young Democrat in Austin at a time when the political landscape of Texas was far different than it is now. Ms. Pool is a strong ally to those of us laboring against climate change, and we were very thankful for her willingness to dash out of a Council meeting to introduce our key speaker, Jim Hightower.
Austin’s very own progressive and humorist, Jim Hightower was twice elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner, is a NY Times best selling author, a popular radio commentator, and author of the informative and entertaining newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown. He is kept very busy these days helping get Our Revolution off the ground. Despite his hectic schedule, Jim graciously offered to come speak to us the moment he heard that 350 Austin was launching. He kept us laughing even as he challenged us to “take on the bastards!”
We hope you find inspiration, encouragement and some much needed laughter in these words from our fellow climate change warriors.
A very special thanks to Al Braden for the photos and video from our Kick Off.
Throughout the new administration’s first 100 days in office, the People’s Climate Movement is organizing a country-wide arc of action, culminating on April 29th in Washington DC in a powerful mobilization to unite all of our movements.
350.org and 350 Austin are participating in this major event. 350 Austin is joining forces with other local groups to organize a sister event at the Capitol in Austin that will coincide with the national event in D.C. There will also be a number of people from Austin who will be gathering in D.C. to march behind the 350 Austin banner.
If you are interested in helping plan this event, please let us know by completing our Volunteer form. Check “Other” to write in “Climate Mobilization” and tell us how you want to help at the bottom of the form.
