Press Release 9/16

September 16, 2014 Austin, Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Community organizations and Shield the People lead day of action for climate justice
An alliance of social and environmental community organizations will be leading a day of action for global climate justice this Sunday, September 21, 2014 at the Texas State Capitol. These actions are in solidarity with the worldwide People’s Climate March that will take place the same day in New York City to encourage action to protect all communities from the devastating effects of climate change. People all over the world will be joining together to communicate our demands for climate justice on the occasion of the UN meetings on the topic that will take place on September 23. Alma de Mujer Center for Social Change, Austin Climate Action Network (ACAN), Avaaz, BOLD Nebraska, Equilibrio, Sierra Club, Texas Drought Project, 350.org, and Unify.org stand with Shield the People, a Lakota Sioux organization that has set up a spiritual camp of teepees to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline in its path through smart analysis and peaceful resistance to the destruction of our environments and our communities. From 11:00 am to 1:30 pm representatives of these organizations will be available on the south lawn of the Capitol to discuss climate justice issues and how to take action. We will begin a march through downtown at 1:30 pm.

Climate justice is social justice.

Global climate change linked to industrial pollution is already causing widespread environmental shifts including drastic changes in weather patterns and ecosystems, species extinction, droughts, flooding, and threats to food security. These changes affect poor and marginalized communities disproportionately and leave them with little to no recourse to protect themselves and their livelihoods. Recent research by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (http://www.citylab.com/tech/2014/09/a-major-accounting- firm-just-ran-the-numbers-on-climate-change/379994/) indicates that global warming is happening at a much faster rate than previously anticipated, and that many of the most developed countries have increased their carbon consumption in recent years rather than decreased it as needed, and as previously promised. Urgent action is required in order to reduce carbon emissions to the levels needed to curb their devastating effects. It is necessary that we take action in our local communities in order to protect ourselves and our larger world. We can only resist climate change when we have the power to ground local economies in the production of culture and land that is equitable and sustainable. This means stopping destructive resource extraction practices, putting a halt to the mass detention and incarceration of poor and marginalized peoples, and establishing more just ways of living.

Please join with us to discuss these issues and march in solidarity with The People’s Climate March on Sunday, September 21.

For more information please contact:
Austin Climate Action Network: atxclimateaction@gmail.com
Equilibrio: equilibrionorte@gmail.com
Shield the People: Jaclyn Strong at jaclynstrong@gmail.com or (323) 804-7558 Sierra Club: David Cortez at david.cortez@sierraclub.org or (512) 736-7600 Texas Drought Project: Jere Locke at jerelocke@yahoo.com or (512) 416-7170