2020 Action

Stop Trump's Dangerous Proposal to Gut the National Environmental Protection Act

February - An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been required for every major federally funded project since the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the "Magna Carta" of environmental protection laws, was signed into law in 1970 by President Nixon. EISs have become our most important defense against proposals which would harm the environment, public health, and the climate.

Now, President Trump wants to substantially undermine this law. Since taking office, he has proposed over 90 rollbacks of environmental laws; this one is the most significant yet. According to his Interior Secretary, “The proposal affects virtually every significant decision by the federal government that affects the environment.” His critics agree. This proposal would remove a key obstacle to heavily polluting projects and to unfettered fossil fuel development.

NEPA requires that major projects with significant impacts be studied to understand the potential consequences before projects are approved. It gives the public a voice in projects that would impact their environment, and requires that alternatives be sought that would minimize harm. The proposed new rules would 1) narrow the types of projects that would require an EIS; 2) restrict the time and the number of pages allowed for the studies; 3) eliminate the need to consider indirect or cumulative impacts, including the climate change impacts of increased greenhouse gas emissions; 4) limit public input: groups that fail to weigh in during the public comment period would forfeit any right to raise objections later in litigation. These proposals would open the way for continuing fossil fuel development and building highways in areas subject to flooding from rising seas, and would give administrations free rein to hide the impacts of dangerous projects. They would bring us closer to climate catastrophe. 

TAKE ACTION: Public comment period ends March 10. Be sure to submit your comment to our government in time. Oppose this dangerous and damaging proposal from this president.

CONTACT: Go to:  https://www.regulations.gov. Enter the docket number CEQ-2019-0003 in the search bar and click. Then look to right for ‘Comment Now’, click, and enter your comment.

Or Fax your comment to: 202-456-6546. Include the docket # and agency (Council for Environmental Quality) in your fax.

Multiply this Message: Write a letter to the editor about this important & timely issue. This is a powerful way to educate and mobilize others.

2018 2020 Action Report & Request

Dear member and friend of 2020 Action,

You and I live in volatile and dangerous times.

Nuclear weapons and climate change remain the biggest threats to our country and the world—
and these fundamental issues will remain the focus of 2020 Action.

I am so grateful that you have been a part of 2020. Your actions, combined with those of other members, have led to 32 years of having a positive influence on hundreds of important policies. Our 2018 Action Report shows some of the many achievements you have helped to bring about.

Together we strengthen each other by amplifying our voices. We are redoubling our efforts, being creative, strategic, and finding the places where we can affect positive change.

Everything we love about life, our country, our democracy, and our environment is in danger right now. And to ‘disengage’ in frustration would be tragic.

I need your help now so that 2020 Action can engage even more people in effective action. More than ever, our democracy depends on well-informed engaged citizens. Donate now at 2020Action.org.

This is the time of year when many people make their most significant donations to organizations they trust, in support of causes they believe in deeply. I hope 2020, with its 32 years of persistence and success, is on your list and that you’ll send a special donation.

We need your help now so that working together we can flex the muscle of citizen participation that is vital to our democracy. With your help we will inform more Americans and engage them in taking effective action on these critical issues. Much is at stake, so I hope you will be generous. Click to here to donate on our website: 2020Action.org, or send a donation to 2020 Action, PO Box 63, Amherst, MA 01004.

With gratitude for your caring and generosity, and best wishes for the New Year,

Lois Barber,

Founder and Executive Director

 

P.S.  Jo Comerford, a long-time 2020 member, was recently elected to the Massachusetts State Senate!  Jo writes, “2020 was a first step for me into my life of social engagement — waking up to the world — and I will be forever grateful.” Read more of Jo’s story below. Your donation today will help us reach out and engage more young people like Jo. Donate now at 2020Action.org

“2020 was a first step for me…”
A Story from Jo Comerford, State Senator Elect, Massachusetts

“My dad was a high school history teacher. He and my mom were very active -- from marches on Washington to participation on school committees, to work in the environmental movement, and as advocates for public education funding. I watched, but wasn’t really involved.

When I graduated from college, dad bought me a membership in 2020 Vision (now 2020 Action). And I remember him saying that it would be the doorway for me to find my own activism, my own purpose, my own sense of agency.

When the first postcard came in the mail, I remember reading the background piece and thinking to myself that I needed to know more. I remember how excited I was when I wrote my first letter based on the action postcard and put it in the mail. Later that week, I picked up and read The New York Times much more in-depth than I had done before. Later that year, I began volunteering at a shelter for women who were without homes. 2020 was a first step for me into my own life of social engagement -- into my own waking up to the world -- and I will be forever grateful.”

In November 2018, Jo was elected to be State Senator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She will be sworn in in January.

Please make a generous donation to 2020 Action today so that we can reach out and engage more young people and help them take a “First Step in their own life of social engagement and waking up to the world.”

 

And congratulations to EarthAction, 2020’s sister organization, whose Spotlight Project won the “2018 Best Climate Solutions” international award for “Communicating Climate Change Threats and Opportunities.” I'm very proud and very grateful for your help to make this possible. This is one more example of what we're doing together for democracy, peace, and the environment.

 

Please send your donation today to the address below, or click here to donate online.

How to Elect Peace & Environment Candidates Nov. 6

October 2018 - Nuclear weapons and climate change remain the greatest threats to the well-being and survival of our families, our country and the world. On Tuesday, November 6^th, you can help elect your federal Representative and Senator who will work to increase our security. Here are a few suggestions of what to do:

Be informed. Find out the positions of your Congressional candidates on:

1. Reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons
2. National spending on nuclear weapons
3. Federal policies on greenhouse gas emissions
4. National policies on clean renewable energy

When you have chosen your candidates, SUPPORT THEM! Donate if you can and volunteer to work in their campaigns: door-to-door outreach, phone calling, hold a house-party, reach out to friends and colleagues, put up a sign, wear a button, get-out-the-vote . . .THIS IS IMPORTANT!

ACTION: Work for, build support for, and on Tuesday, November 6^th, vote for candidates running for Congress in your Congressional district and state who support policies that will reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and develop renewable energy. If you have time, you can also volunteer and support candidates in other states.

CONTACT: Research candidate’s positions on climate change and nuclear weapons at these websites:

• League of Conservation Voters:
  http://scorecard.lcv.org/sites/scorecard.lcv.org/files/LCV_Scorecard-2017-Full.pdf
• Council for a Livable World: https://livableworld.org/

You can also visit candidates’ websites and contact their campaign offices to determine their positions on these issues, and/or, to volunteer in their campaigns. Thank you.

Multiply this Message: Use this information to write a letter to the editor about this important & timely issue. This is a powerful way to educate and mobilize others—our job now & in the coming years!

Stop the Bailout of Coal and Nuclear

July 2018 - The President has instructed Rick Perry, the Secretary of Energy, to bail out obsolete coal and nuclear power plants by raising electricity rates. A draft Energy Department plan exploits the Cold War-era Defense Production Act and Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to force grid operators across the country to buy electricity from failing coal and nuclear plants. The Defense Production Act is an obscure wartime law that allows the president to secure scarce resources for national defense. There is, however, no case that failing coal and nuclear plants are essential to military defense. The Federal Power Act, Section 202(c) allows the Energy Secretary to issue an “emergency run order” where potential shortages of energy are imminent. Grid operators, industry experts, and utilities, however, have repeatedly and forcefully stated that there is no energy shortage and no evidence of an emergency.

ACTION: Contact your Senators and Representative. Urge them to oppose this initiative, which would require American families to bail out obsolete coal and nuclear power plants. Such initiatives would prop up polluting, dangerous, and expensive sources of power while disadvantaging efforts to provide clean, cheap, renewable alternatives.

Contact Your Representative and Senators:

• Web: Find their names and links to their websites at senate.gov, www.house.gov; send an email or leave a message via ‘Contact’ on his/her website
• Tel: 202 224-3121 (Capitol switchboard-ask for his/her office & leave a message)
• Mail: Senator or Representative (first & last name) S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510
  or U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515

Multiply this Message: Use this information to write a letter to the editor about this important & timely issue. This is a powerful way to educate and mobilize others—our job now & in the coming years!

The Astonishingly Good News on Renewable Energy

March 2018 - XCel Energy, a Colorado utility, recently explored alternatives to running its dirty coal-fired electricity plants and requested bids, including for wind and solar produced energy with battery storage (for when there's no sun and no wind). They received hundreds of bids at amazingly low prices. For example, wind plus battery storage came in at a median of 2.1 cents per kWh, and solar plus storage at 3.6 cents per kWh. By way of contrast, the current overall residential US average is 12 cents per kWh. 

The price of renewables will vary depending on the local wind and solar energy resource, but overall, renewables look to be cheaper than fossil fuel systems. Lazard Ltd., a global energy financial analyst, recently issued its 2017 report stating that in many regions of North America, the full life-cycle cost of building and operating renewables-plus-battery systems is cheaper than merely continuing to operate the already existing coal and nuclear plants! In developing countries, the advantages of renewables are assessed to be even greater.

ACTION:  Contact the Governor of your State. Urge him or her to look into renewables-plus-storage options because this could well result in lower electricity prices, cleaner air, much lower greenhouse gas emissions, less danger of nuclear disasters, and a huge increase in well-paying local jobs. All this at no cost to the government! Sounds like a winner all around.

CONTACT: The Governor of your state

Web: usa.gov/state-governor and then follow directions for mail, email, or telephone

Mail: Your Governor’s name, Capitol Building, name of your capitol city, State, zip code

Multiply this Message: Use this information to write a letter to the editor about this important & timely issue. This is a powerful way to educate and mobilize others—our job in the coming years!

Save the Clean Power Plan

December 2017 - The Trump administration is now working to end Obama's signature climate change program, the Clean Power Plan. This is in spite of the recent report from 13 federal agencies confirming the seriousness of climate change, the fact that humans are the predominant cause, and that major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are imperative. The Clean Power Plan would cover, for the first time, emissions from existing power plants which account for 35% of U.S. carbon emissions, the largest single source. It would reduce these emissions by 32% by 2030 relative to 2005. States may use a number of options to meet their established targets including investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency, natural gas, and nuclear power, and shifting away from coal-fired power.

Because power plants also release sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, the plan will also prevent thousands of early deaths, asthma attacks in children, heart attacks, and hospitalizations. 

On October 10, 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a notice of proposed rule-making to repeal the Clean Power Plan. This started the clock on the public comment period, which ends January 16. 

ACTION: Submit your comment to the EPA before the January 16, 2018 deadline

Submit a comment to EPA opposing repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Weather catastrophes including floods, heat waves, hurricanes, and large wildfires have already cost the U.S. $1.1 trillion since 1980 and will continue to increase in frequency and intensity without major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The standards in the Plan are what we need to avert catastrophe.

Include ID# EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355 and submit comments in any of the following ways:

Online: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355  Click on ‘Comment Now!’ and type or paste in your comment. Follow the prompts.

Email: Comments may be sent to a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov   
Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355 in the subject line of the message.

Fax: Fax your comments to: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355.

Mail: EPA, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Mail Code 28221T, Attention Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460

Multiply this Message: Use this information to write a letter to the editor about this important & timely issue. This is a powerful way to educate and mobilize others.

End the Mandate for Corn Ethanol in Gasoline

May 2015 - In 2005 and 2007, the EPA required that corn ethanol and other bio-fuels be added to all gasoline in increasing amounts. Since then, corn ethanol added to gasoline has failed on many fronts. It doesn’t result in reducing CO2 emissions because of the use of fossil fuels in its production. It costs more at the pump because it gives fewer miles per gallon than the equivalent amount of petroleum-based fuel. It disrupts the global food economy by removing 40% of U.S. corn from the food supply.   

Two bills, Senate-S.577 and House-H.R.704, aim to correct this problem. The Senate bill will end the mandate for corn-based ethanol, but not the overall mandate for bio-fuels in gasoline. The House bill will limit the amount of all bio-fuels that can be included in gasoline to 10%. Both will be a step in the right direction as we move toward a less fossil fuel dependent future.

 

 

Ask your Senators and Representative to rethink the earlier optimism about corn and all ethanol mandates for gasoline and to sign on and support bills that will eliminate or limit current mandates: Senate Bill—S.577—The Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015, and House Bill—H.R.704—The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act of 2015.

 

CONTACT:

 
Web: www.senate.gov, www.house.gov
Telephone: (202) 224-3121 (Capital switchboard)
Mail: Senator or Representative (first & last name)
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515

 

Photo:  Indian Corn, Bill Carbone

Support Obama's Executive Action on the Environment

January 2015 - Frustrated by congressional inaction, President Obama is considering a number of impactful executive actions to protect the environment. Meanwhile, his inbox and the airwaves are filling up with accusations of overreach and urges to stop. The President needs to hear from those who back his efforts to work aggressively within the law to counter global warming and protect the natural environment. He is considering actions that would:

• Halt the Keystone XL Pipeline to slow the production of fuel from the Canadian tar sands, a process 17% more polluting than drilling for oil.
• Restrict pollution from existing coal-fired power plants, responsible for 40% of current heat trapping gas emissions, and set improved emission standards for future power plants. 
• Improve regulation of the environmental impact of fracking and keep fracking out of our national forests and away from our drinking water. One loophole that needs to be closed exempts billions of gallons of toxic fracking waste from our nation's hazardous waste law. 
• Increase protection of public lands and marine resources from destructive mining and drilling. Development currently proposed on our public lands by coal, oil, and gas companies would release more than 100 billion tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere.
• Improve fuel efficiency and emissions standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles.

Contact the President with a simple message: you support executive actions that will help stabilize our climate and protect the environment.  If you wish, note one or more of the possible initiatives that are important to you. Encourage him to speak out on these issues in his 2015 State of the Union Address set for January 20th, and to reflect their importance in the nation’s budget that he will present. 

CONTACT:

 

PRESIDENT OBAMA
Web: www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Tel: 202 456-1111 (9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
Fax: 202 456-2461
Mail:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Photo: Sea Nettle, Moss Landing, CA, Ron Wolf

America’s Energy Future Needs You

May 2014 - Several pieces of legislation key to America’s energy future are currently up for grabs. Bipartisan groups supporting positive action have begun to form, but opposing forces are mobilizing as well.  Legislation needing your support includes: 

1.      Renewable Energy Tax Credits

Green-energy investment and production tax credits ran out at the end of last year. These credits have been instrumental in enabling wind power to provide 35% of all new US energy capacity over the last four years. They must be reinstated so that wind and solar power can guarantee the long-term stability of electricity prices, provide ‘home grown’ secure energy without increasing global warming, and create American jobs in a dynamic new economic sector. 

2.      Tax extender legislation for commercial building energy improvements

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a federal tax deduction for commercial building energy efficiency improvements (Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code). Those deductions were allowed to lapse on December 31st even though they were creating jobs, saving businesses billions of dollars on utility bills, and leveraging private sector funds to fuel a sluggish economic recovery. 

3.      Federal energy efficiency initiatives

Bills in both the Senate and House that promote energy efficiency research and action are gathering support.  The House version of this bill (HR 2126, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act) emphasizes residential finance. It has already passed in the House. The Senate version (S 2074, The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act) focuses on federal research and action. 

Urge both your Senators and Representative to support tax-extender legislation for 179D tax credits and for renewable energy production and investment. In addition, urge your Senators to support S 2074, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act.

CONTACT:

www.senate.gov, www.house.gov

(202) 224-3121 (Capital switchboard)

Senator or Representative (first & last name)

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515  

Photo credit: Apple tree and lilacs, Lois Barber

Level the Playing Field for Renewables

January 2014 - Since 1980, Congress has allowed coal, oil, and natural gas producers to form Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) to avoid paying corporate taxes on certain parts of their operations. The rationale is that these parts of the MLPs are partnerships of individual investors, and hence can "pass through" their income without paying the usual corporate taxes, and pay only the income taxes that they owe as individuals. 

Meanwhile, renewable energy producers have been denied access to these same opportunities. 

A bill with bipartisan support would, for the first time, allow producers of many types of renewable energy, including wind and solar power, to take advantage of MLPs to compete more equally for investors and low-cost financing. The Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act will help remove a key barrier that's currently inhibiting the development of renewable energy. 

Congress should level the playing field and give all sources of domestic energy— renewable and non-renewable alike—a fair and equal shot at success in the marketplace. 

Hundreds of groups have given their support to the MLP Parity Act which supports fairness, job creation, energy independence, and gives renewable energy companies a fair shot at giving the world clean energy that won't heat up our planet. This support comes from all across the board including manufacturers, utilities, financial institutions, environmental organizations, trade associations, and organized labor. 

Contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to co-sponsor the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act (HR 1696 in the House, and S. 795 in the Senate). Tell them that we need to support fairness in our energy policies, jobs in the renewable energy industry, energy independence, and a means to curb the threats of climate change.

CONTACT:
YOUR SENATORS & REPRESENTATIVE
Web: www.senate.gov & www.house.gov
Tel: 202 224-3121 (Capitol switchboard)
Mail: Senator or Representative
(first & last name)
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515 

Photo credit: NYC sunset from the Williamsburg bridge, 2013, Su Barber