XR US February Newsletter: Community Amid the Chaos
We are living through so much right now. Before we dive into updates, we invite you to take a brief pause.
Where is your center? Where are you rooted? This is the contemplation facilitator, writer, and activist Naomi Ortiz invites us into. It is “the question to answer for our survival.”
From your center, consider taking in this news round-up from the last month:
The Trump reign of error has started. From deportations, federal firings, data grabs (here, here, and here, for example) and the shut down of entire federal agencies (CFPB, USAID), we see all too clearly how the law increasingly responds with most alacrity to protect those in power.
The climate coup is happening too. Trump lost no time in declaring a national energy emergency. Mass firings are taking place at the EPA, which has been given one week to decide if it can abandon regulating climate pollution. The Army Corps of Engineers is reported to be creating a new class of emergency permits that could fast-track dangerous energy projects such as the Line 5 tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, which would allow a dramatic increase in the flow of tar sands oil from the Athabasca tar sands region to eastern Canada, all while threatening one of the largest sources of fresh water on Earth.
And where are the Democrats? Clearly not coming to save us. We know they wouldn’t. The system is broken. The power lies in us to create something new — and to resist.
Resistance is happening. Schools are refusing to comply with Trump’s executive orders discriminating against trans people; people are disseminating Know Your Rights cards and trainings; and people are taking steps to hit billionaires where it hurts.
In these times, we need strategies for managing overwhelm. We must keep returning to each other, again and again, and we must support each other in XR and beyond. Climate justice means we stand for the freedom of all oppressed people; there is no regenerative world where oppression still exists. So we keep going, together.
Chapter Updates
XR Portland
Photo by XR Portland
Extinction Rebellion Portland joined thousands of Portlanders in the national protests against Musk and Trump on Presidents’ Day. Streets were clogged with marchers who later stretched as far as the eye could see, eventually giving up one lane to provide a buffer from road rage.
XR PDX is currently working to create affinity groups for rapid response, community resilience, and building a well-being economy.
XR Philly
Photo by Ray Bailey
XR Philadelphia is continuing to track, expose, and resist the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub (MACH2) — in collaboration with Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and many other orgs — as politicians and energy executives develop their plans behind closed doors.
MACH2 relies on highly-polluting fracked gas and would endanger communities across Pennsylvania as truckloads of highly-flammable hydrogen would come barreling along highways, through Philadelphia and into Chester City, each day.
Rebels in Philly have been a regular presence outside of closed-door meetings, have shouted down politicians at public events, and recently created a website dedicated to the campaign. Their efforts have been featured in Philadelphia Magazine and Environmental Health News.
XR Chicago
XR is working with 350 Chicago to explore ways to collaborate and build coalition with more organizations in their local climate justice ecosystem. XR Chicago organizers are looking forward to the Social Change Theater Festival taking place in Chicago this coming weekend!
XR Seattle
Dancing in the street of Seattle’s Tech Hub. No credit requested.
XR Seattle brought the noise to Seattle's Tech Hub on Presidents’ Day. A song leader helped raise our voices as we passed Google and stopped at a Tesla showroom. When we reached Amazon, we turned up the volume and busted our moves. A joyful afternoon in Seattle!
XR DC
Photo by Will Dickson (@stills.will)
Rebels in the D.C. chapter are keeping up the pressure on the District’s “Public” Service Commission, which regulates our monopoly utility companies. The PSC is poised to decide on a major scheme by Washington Gas to entrench the presence of dirty methane in our energy portfolio while passing the bill onto gas customers.
This past Wednesday, we greeted staff coming into work, telling the Public Service Commission that the public says “reject methane!” We delivered the postcards we’ve been collecting—full of art, rage, and passion—and submitted them to the official docket. As we get closer to a decision, we’ll keep bringing the fight to stop methane in DC to the PSC!
Outside the US
Photo credit: XR Photographers
Just Stop Oil activists are facing swift and harsh punishment under the UK’s draconian new conspiracy laws, with 16 activists actively appealing the decisions from actions in 2022.
XR UK activists also recently targeted the US consulting megafirm McKinsey, demanding it cut all ties to the fossil fuel industry.
To get these updates in your inbox, along with event announcements and opportunities to get involved, sign up for our newsletter.
