Strikes and Storms: August 28th-Sept. 18th 2019

Hey Teen Resisters!
Welcome back; we hope you all had lovely and restful summers. With the (school!) year back in full swing, we're ready to get back on our regular biweekly schedule!! Can't wait to share this fight with you all :)

Before we begin....TR 2020 Announcements!!
    If for some reason you need a reminder besides the endless media circus, the 2020 elections are upon us! It’s currently primary season, filled with lots of debates and confusion, especially because of the sheer number of Democratic candidates there are.
    We’ll leave it up to you to decide which one is right for you, so we won’t be endorsing anyone until primaries are over, but we really encourage you to start paying attention to the candidates and potentially getting involved early on. This could range from just watching the debates to donating to or canvassing for a candidate.
    Outside the presidential sphere, we have a real shot of taking back Congress from the GOP in 2020, and local elections are more important than ever (for more info on this, look back to our Midterm Election coverage from 2018). 
    During this election season, we’ll be making a big push for you all to get involved with your favorite candidates and issues. One of the biggest mistakes made in 2016 was taking a Democratic win for granted, and we won’t make the same mistake again. Once there is a nominee, we’ll be announcing a 2020 Involvement initiative! This will include lots of 2020 coverage, calling parties & workshops, maybe a canvassing trip, and much more. We’re so excited to fight alongside you. Stay tuned!

(& learn about the candidates’ policies on issues you care about! Now!! In no particular order, a place to do that for each of the candidates polling above 5 percent:
https://elizabethwarren.com/plans
https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/
https://berniesanders.com/issues/
https://kamalaharris.org/issues/
https://peteforamerica.com/issues/)

And, without further ado...happy reading! Happy activisting!
xx,
TR

what went (Is Going) down

Climate Action Update: Global 9/20 Strike
Since Trump’s presidency began, America has regressed significantly in federal climate change policy. The Trump administration has used the concept of prioritizing the success of businesses to justify their dangerous and extensive attack on policies that protect the environment: in the words of his Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, “[t]he heads of agencies shall review all existing regulations… that potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources, with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources.” It’s important to understand this front he’s putting up so that we can effectively call out his BS—environmental regulations often actually help the economy, in addition to more than making up for themselves in improving health and saving lives (especially for disproportionately affected minority communities).

Trump has attacked at least 80 existing environmental regulations over the course of his presidency, and he’s succeeding in overturning many, including in the areas of air pollution and emissions, drilling and extraction, infrastructure and planning, animals, toxic substances and safety, and water pollution. 

However, that doesn’t mean that hope is entirely lost, especially at more local levels. In fact, just this past June, New York’s State Senate passed a bill, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, that plans to generate 70 percent of New York’s electricity from renewable resources and reduce 85 percent of the state’s greenhouses by 2050. And UN Secretary General António Guterres led a meeting on September 23 in New York to introduce the concept of trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent over the next decade, and even to net zero emissions by 2050. This includes the government on the federal and state level, international organizations, local authority, and us, the citizens. Thus, the question is: how do we help create impact? Spreading information—via social media, for example—in order to help our peers become aware is valuable, as is implementing environmentally friendly routines into our daily lives, like reducing plastic use. But is there something we can do beyond that? The answer is yes.

On Friday, millions of Americans are planning to peacefully protest against the use of fossil fuels and other environmentally damaging resources. These protesters are demanding environmental reform, including a ban on fossil fuels, increased statutes and limitations on polluters and fossil fuel companies, and a smooth transition plan to green energy that will prioritize the well-being of our Earth while avoiding major economic regression. This movement isn’t just national—in fact, there are currently over 2,500 strikes planned globally, in addition to the 500 domestically (the largest coordinated climate event yet!!!). And it won’t stop there. Starting next Monday, on September 23rd, constituents all over are planning a week of actions. For example, Washington, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Wisconsin, Vermont, California, and more are all coming together to create local legislation and action. The time to act and speak is now. Join the strikes!

What you can do:

• Get involved in the 2020 presidential elections! Look at the candidates that value climate change and are emphasizing policy change in their campaigns.
• Walk with the strikers on 9/20 (this Friday)!! This spreads not only all over the country, but all over the world! Talk with your school and see if they’re offering excused absences or can treat it as an extenuating circumstance. For NYC people, here’s the information: 
  • March—Foley Square (led by Greta Thunberg!), 12pm; Rally—Battery Park, 3pm
  • For everyone else, find an event near you here.
• Join your local community to take action following the strike. Starting on Monday, people all over America will be coming together to act on decreasing climate change, from selling metal straws to sending legislation to their local governor’s office. Learn more and if you can get involved here!

Hurricane Dorian
Last week, Hurricane Dorian blew through the Bahamas for over 48 hours, decimating people’s property and leaving over 70,000 people homeless. At its peak, Dorian was listed as a Category 5 hurricane, sustaining winds of 185 mph, some of the highest winds of an Atlantic hurricane ever recorded at landfall. In the aftermath, residents of the islands of the Bahamas — especially smaller, peripheral ones — have reported everything from picnic tables to furniture to pieces of houses washing ashore. At least 50 deaths have been officially recorded in the Bahamas, with thousands more missing across the Bahamas (in addition to Puerto Rico, Florida, and South Carolina); news sources on site suggest the actual death toll may be in the thousands.

Although the storm is now at sea, tens of thousands of people are still in catastrophe, left without homes, power, resources, or family. Here are some urgent measures that you can take to offer support to those affected today:

• Right now, money is what is most needed. Donate what you can to the organizations below, which are providing emergency support to those impacted. If you can’t donate personal funds, set up a bake-sale or a fundraiser in your community to raise what you can.
  • Direct Relief is an organization that responds to climate emergencies with urgent medical aid. Take next steps at directrelief.org
  • World Central Kitchen is an  organization working to provide food and shelter to displaced families. Check them out at wck.org
  • GlobalGiving has established a general Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund with the goal of providing recovery in the form of emergency supplies (food, water, medicine) and longer-term rebuilding of decimated infrastructure. As of September 16th, they were almost ¾ of the way to their $2,000,000 goal. Help them get the rest of the way at this link: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-dorian-relief-fund/
• Organize a drive for emergency supplies in your school/community. You can collect non-perishable food supplies, over-the-counter medication, batteries, blankets

Supreme Court Upholds Restrictive Asylum Policy
On September 11th, the Supreme Court gave President Trump the green light to proceed with a new policy barring asylum for migrants who pass through another country on their way to the U.S. Although the decision was technically just an interim one, it’s not likely that the Supreme Court will hear arguments on it this term, meaning that it may well be effective through next year.  A major immigration policy victory for the Trump administration, the decision builds off of one earlier this year that allowed the administration carry out plans to use emergency funding to create a $2.5 billion wall along the border with Mexico to help further an overpoweringly America-first agenda, one fueled by manifestations of nationalism and xenophobia both in the White House and throughout the country.

As with the border wall case, Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg wrote a strong dissent to the court’s decision, and, in the words of American Civil Liberties Union attorney Omar Jadwat, ““The human toll of today’s asylum ban stay will be horrific.” The order will fundamentally change the way that migrants are processed, and it will alter the number and nature of those who come. For example, migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador cannot seek asylum in the U.S. if they didn't first ask for it in Mexico. For many migrants, denied asylum is effectively, if not directly, a death sentence; violence, persecution—especially against women—and poverty characterize conditions in Central America especially.

What can you do?

• Since this was a court's ruling, rather than a legislative decision, there is not much that we can do to directly impact it. However, there are a multitude of other ways we can fight back against Trump's inhumane immigration policy. For a full range, check out the Immigration section of our Index by Issue.
• Right now, we want to highlight a little-known but (we believe) vital piece of legislation: the Global Fragility Act, a bipartisan conflict prevention bill that passed the House and is currently under review in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Essentially, it would require the U.S. government to launch a Global Fragility Initiative that would select five to six pilot countries or regions to employ a 10-year strategy aimed at preventing conflict in fragile states. The idea would encourage America to "move away from making decisions in a vacuum, treat implementing partners as equal partners by establishing a forum for government-civil society collaboration, and recognize that humanitarian actors can play an instrumental role" (read more here) in terms of its approach to conflicts in other countries, many of which are causing the border crisis that is occurring right now. It advocates for accountability, and lays the groundwork necessary for a legitimately sustainable solution to that crisis--one based on prevention rather than solutions to an already-exacerbated. 
  • ​Call your Senators at 202-224-3121 and the Chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Sen. James Risch, R-ID) at 202-224-2752.
    

PUPPY VID :))