Category: Activism

Revive the Peace Movement

Stan Heller, Administrator, Promoting Enduring Peace

Several Connecticut groups are in the forefront of a new network, RPM, Revive the Peace Movement Network. Promoting Enduring Peace and the Middle East Crisis Committee joined with CODEPINK and a number of other groups and individuals to form the group to serve as a pole of opinion and a network for discussion and suggestions. Its website is http://www.RPM.world and it is eager for groups to join it and for individuals to get on its mailing list. Its common “Statement” is as follows:

For a Renewed Anti-War Movement

At a time when wars engulf whole regions of the world we must revive the anti-war movement. The peace movement must put greater pressure on politicians and parties to end U.S. wars and to redirect military spending to meeting social needs at home and abroad.

Our primary tools are education and non-violent direct action, such as mass demonstrations, protest, civil disobedience, boycotts and divestment.

We resolutely oppose the wars of the U.S., its allies and clients, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and U.S. support for repressive regimes such as Honduras and Bahrain.

We call for an end to U.S. support for Israel and for justice for Palestinians, in all of historic Palestine and in their places of refuge.

We also recognize that there are other oppressors in the world, from ISIS to Russia, from Iran to China, from North Korea to the Assad regime. We won’t hesitate to oppose their wars, interventions and cruelties.

War and preparation for war are major contributors to catastrophic climate change. Climate change causes declining living conditions that also significantly contribute to war. We need to break this vicious cycle and work for a sustain-able economy based on social and environmental justice, full employment and one hundred percent non-nuclear renewable energy.

War and climate disruption tragically uproot millions from their home countries. We need to open the borders to refugees and meet their needs for health, safety and human dignity.

We challenge the racism and Islamophobia used to justify wars and occupations and the denial of human rights to refugees.

Seven decades after Hiroshima, the human race is still at risk of nuclear annihilation. Nuclear war is an ever present danger. We demand the abolition of all nuclear weaponry.

The militarism and authoritarianism that the U.S. promotes abroad is reflected in the militarism and attacks on civil liberties in our communities at home.

We stand in solidarity with those such as Black Lives Matter who are advocating the demilitarization of police forces.

We stand in solidarity with those who seek liberation, social and economic justice, and democracy in all countries, including the United States.

Another world is possible, free of militarism and war.

Demand for Union Recognition at Zane’s Cycles

(edited from press release – ed.)

On May 21 workers and community members gathered at Zane’s Cycles (330 East Main St., Branford) to protest what they claim to be owner Chris Zane’s exploitative practices.

zanes-storeIn September 2015, workers at Zane’s Cycles facility voted overwhelmingly under federal labor law to bargain collectively for a workplace contract. The workers elected UFCW Local 919 to represent them in contract negotiations. Since then, Chris Zane has agreed to meet eight times to negotiate a contract with the workers. That’s eight negotiating sessions in 8 months.

Among the issues workers want to address, which Zane has refused to reasonably discuss, are:

  • Having a clean, sanitary break room (currently workers eat their lunch in the dirty, greasy work area where they assemble thousands of bikes for Zane)
  • Adequately heated and cooled working area (workers tell us it is often too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer… many have to wear coats while they work in the winter)
  • Paid sick days (workers lose money when they or a family member is sick)
  • Paid vacation days (after building thousands of bikes for Zane, workers can’t even count on a paid vacation after so much hard work)
  • Paid time off to mourn the death of a family member (Zane won’t even agree to pay a worker who has to go to a funeral for a family member!!)

Workers say they feel exploited. Because of the owner’s behavior, Zane’s Cycles has been charged with violating federal labor law. The charges are currently before the National Labor Relations Board. Workers and community members gathered to protest Chris Zane’s bad faith bargaining and his unfair labor practices.

zane-protester

Press Contact: Jorge Cabrera (203) 499-8694.

News from CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs

by John Humphries, Organizer, CT Roundtable

We had a successful first round of Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) stakeholder events and we are now preparing for our spring Roundtable gathering.

GC3 Stakeholder Events – Round 1

On May 5, more than 175 people participated in simultaneous stakeholder events organized by the Governor’s Council on Climate Change at seven locations across the state. You can access the handouts, presentation slides, a video of the event, and some great photos on our website, http://www.ctclimateandjobs.org.

The second round will happen in late July and will provide an opportunity to evaluate some preliminary scenarios for achieving the state’s climate goals.  More details coming soon!

June 7 – Roundtable Gathering

Join us for our statewide gathering on June 7 when we will explore the intersection between the GC3 climate action planning and the state’s Comprehensive Energy Strategy  (being updated this year). We seek to develop points of agreement and shared strategies for influencing these two state processes to ensure an aggressive approach to climate protection that creates local jobs and addresses the needs for climate justice.

A Just Climate Strategy for CT: Creating Jobs and Increasing Equity – Tuesday, June 7, 7 p.m.
North Haven Congregational Church, 28 Church St., North Haven. (food available at 6:30 p.m.) Information: http://www.ctclimateandjobs.org.

Get on the Bus to March for a Clean Energy Revolution Sunday, July 24, in Philly

by 350CT.org

  • Ban Fracking Now!
  • Stop Dirty Energy!
  • Justly Transition to 100% Renewable Energy!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1567763956854719

New Haven Departure: 8:15 a.m. – 6 p.m. Ikea Parking Lot, 450 Sargent Dr.
Hartford Departure:  7:30 a.m – 6 p.m. 1 Union Place, Hartford.
Contacts: Chris (860) 967-9836, [email protected] or
Diane (203) 922-2151, [email protected].

Clean-energy-revolution-CERLogo_FINAL-resizedThe nation’s spotlight will shine on Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention in July 2016. We have a valuable opportunity to use that spotlight to open a broader discussion on fracking and climate change. Over the past decade, Pennsylvania and many states including Connecticut have suffered negative impacts from fracking, pipelines, and power plants. Many residents especially those in the poorest and most oppressed communities have been sickened; water, air and land have been polluted and poisoned.

Climate change presents the United States and the world with an unprecedented challenge and poses a threat to future of life on this planet. Get on the bus with 350CT and other climate activists as we head to Philadelphia to demand a just transition to 100% renewable energy.

We need your participation and voice in the movement for climate justice. Can you help build the July 24 march in Connecticut? Contact us today!

To learn more about 350 CT email [email protected], or call (203) 350-3508.

We continue to work toward our 4 demands:

  • 100% Renewable Energy,
  • Stop Fracked Gas Expansion,
  • Green Jobs for Fossil Fuel Workers,
  • An End to Environmental Racism.

If you can help us out with outreach supply costs, please DONATE.

350 Connecticut is a community of people working to move Connecticut beyond fossil fuels through grassroots organizing. Our meetings are open to the public, and we operate using consensus-based decision-making.  We do our work in working groups, and meet all together once a month in a public meeting. We are an organization committed to anti-oppression in all our work and relationships.

International Workers’ Day: Fighting for Our Future, May 1

by Joelle Fishman, CT People’s World

The People’s World in Connecticut is hosting its annual celebration of International Workers’ Day on Sunday, May 1 at 4 p.m. at the King-Davis Labor Center, 77 Huyshope Ave., Hartford. The lives of workers and the 99% are on the line here and around the world and people are in motion. On May Day 2016 we are “Fighting for Our Future.”

We are honored to welcome keynote speaker John Wojcik, editor of People’s World and vice president of the International Labor Communications Association who lives in Chicago.

A panel including representatives of state workers and immigrants and those struggling for jobs in Connecticut will highlight key demands of the moment.

The program includes a presentation of May Day Around the World, music and home made buffet. Donation is $5 or what you can afford. A fund appeal for the annual People’s World will be made. For more information, call (203) 624-4254.

New Haven Stood Up for Planned Parenthood

WORD (Women Organized to Resist & Defend) New Haven

New Haven stood strong with Planned Parenthood April 23 in a beautiful action of support and defense against hate! Over 80 people came out to stand up for healthcare and equality. We vastly outnumbered and drove away the anti-choice bigots who were threatening mass action against Planned Parenthood.

WORD and the people of CT say: we will not stand by while reproductive rights are under attack! As long as patients and workers are being attacked in the streets and legislature, we will be in the streets standing up to the bigotry.

planned-parenthood-protest

Seymour’s Public Comment Policy Discriminates Against Disabled Citizens

This article is written by Joseph A. Luciano, Disability Rights Action Group of CT about himself.

Seymour Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and elder rights advocate Joe Luciano, says his hometown treats public comments provided by citizens with disabilities differently than those given by citizens without disabilities. He has filed an ADA discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice against the Town of Seymour and its first selectman, Kurt Miller.

“Citizens who appear in person to speak their comments have an unfair advantage,” says Luciano. “Their comments are entered into meeting minutes in detail. Mine, however, are entered merely as ‘Correspondence received,’” Luciano says. “All state municipalities, including Seymour, must accommodate persons with disabilities,” he says.

Luciano is unable to travel to evening town meetings because there is no wheelchair transport when meetings begin and end. So he sends his public comment by email and snail mail. Paratransport services are not provided at night in Seymour. “While I use my wheelchair in daylight to ride to downtown places, I do so at risk of life and limb riding in streets and gutters. Absent crosswalks, an impassable sidewalk on DeForest, absent curbcuts—and unremoved snow—are mobility barriers blocking access to sidewalks. At night I cannot safely travel the block and a half to town hall to speak my public comment,” says Luciano.

According to Luciano, the pitfalls and shortcomings of the snow-removal ordinance addressed in his emailed public comment were not entered into the minutes, which show comments in detail spoken by other citizens who presented theirs. “The minutes omitted essential points of my comment. That is, the same property owners year after year flout the snow removal ordinance. They do so with impunity because town safety authorities do not monitor and enforce compliance of ordinance even though enforcement with fines of up to $100 a day is mandated. Sidewalks with unremoved snow are mobility barriers,” explains Luciano.

According to Luciano, barriers to public accommodations and public services have inflicted staggering economic and social costs on American society and have undermined our well-intentioned efforts to educate, rehabilitate, and employ individuals with disabilities. Municipalities that refuse to accommodate persons with disabilities equally in public meetings prevent society from benefiting from the knowledge, skills and of PWDs. “The ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.” [email protected] (203) 463-8323.

History Lessons: U.S. Government Targeting of Activists. Al Marder to speak at New Haven Museum April 14

by Henry Lowendorf, U.S. Peace Council

Following World War I the government went after leftists and anarchists with the Palmer raids.
In the 1940s and 50s, following World War II, the government passed the Smith Act to attack Communists, trade unionists, filmmakers and other progressives.

In the 1960s the government created CoIntelPro to go after the Black Panther Party and anti-war activists.

In each case assassinations, arrests and expensive trials were used to protect the establishment from dangerous ideas spreading among the people. That the government violated the Constitution it was sworn to uphold? No matter. The press shouted approval.

A leader of the peace and civil rights movement today, Al Marder, the last remaining target of the Smith Act in CT, is interviewed by historian Mary Donohue in the spring edition of Connecticut Explored. Al will also be interviewed by Judge Andrew Roraback at the New Haven Museum on April 14 at 5:30 p.m. Marder is the President of the US Peace Council, President of the Amistad Committee, Chair of the CT Freedom Trail, former Chair of the City of New Haven Peace Commission, among others.

There are recognizable lessons for today.

For more information, contact Henry Lowendorf at (203) 389-9547, [email protected].

Thurgood Marshall Award Acceptance Speech by Lula White transcribed

Lula White Receives Thurgood Marshall Award

As reported in the last newsletter, Lula White of New Haven, a former Freedom Rider during the Civil Rights Movement [and a long-time member of PAR], received the Quinnipiac University Black Law Students Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award on Feb. 25. We are grateful that LouAnn Heller recorded the speech and transcribed it for our readers. Congratulations, Lula! You are an inspiration.

 

We give all the credit to all the leaders. But where would all the leaders be without the followers? And I was one of these followers.

I’d like to recognize some people who should be recognized. First of all, since we are in a law school, I’d like to recognize all the lawyers, black and white, who worked pro bono in the civil rights movement.
I want to also recognize a lot of the Southern black students who were part of the civil rights movement because they had more to lose than northern students had. Some were kicked out of the universities they attended, even the black universities that they attended. Some of them who planned to become teachers never got jobs, at least down South because they were blackballed.

I want to thank women Freedom Riders who were mothers. I was very young, but I don’t think I could have left my children even if I had a good husband to take care of them. I want to thank those women who stayed away from their children for two months so they could stand with us and march. And I want to thank their husbands too.

I also want to thank the Southerners who provided homes for civil rights workers at great risk to themselves. They could have lost their jobs, their homes could have been blown up. Yet they got no credit.

And last but not least I’d like to thank the clergy for being so supportive of the movement. I especially remember one clergyman who was a rabbi. He drove up to Parchman where we were incarcerated and spoke to each of us. He took each one of our names, our parents’ names and addresses and wrote to them. He said “I have seen your daughter today and she’s well and in good spirits”. That took a lot of courage because Jews were not liked in the South. In fact his synagogue was bombed.

And let’s not forget the children who took part in the movement. People said they were used, that they were pushed by unscrupulous adults.  They were not being used. Even a child knows what freedom is and they missed their laws too.

Tax Day Leafleting April 15 City Hall, Brewery Street P.O.

Nancy Eberg, Greater New Haven Peace Council

Join us on Tax Day! On Friday, April 15, we will have two opportunities to attempt to educate and connect with the tax-paying public. Efforts will be made to emphasize where our tax dollars are going. For example, that $350 billion is allocated for brand new, state-of-the-art nuclear weapons in this federal budget.

From 12-1 p.m. we will meet in front of New Haven City Hall, 165 Church St., and from 5-6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Brewery Street Post Office. Sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council. Any questions, call Henry at (203) 389-9547, or e-mail [email protected]. Hope to see you there!

Open Conversations about Racism and Privilege

Please join us for our “Chicago Dinners”: Open Conversations about Racism and Privilege on Thursday, April 28, 12-2 p.m. at the Fair Haven Library, 182 Grand Avenue. This will be a bilingual conversation with translation. A light meal will be provided. This event is sponsored by the Multicultural Advisory Council of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the New Haven Free Public Library, the Connecticut Mental Health Center Committee on Diversity and Health Equity, and the Connecticut Mental Health Center Citizens Collaborative. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Elizabeth Flanagan, (203) 764-7592 or [email protected]. Please indicate if you will need a sign language interpreter.

May Day Celebration on the Green 2016!

by Jeff Spalter, May Day Celebration Committee

Come celebrate May Day, International Workers’ Day, from noon until 5 p.m. Sunday, May 1, on the New Haven Green. (Raindate: Sunday May 8.)

maypole-smallThis is the 30th consecutive year of May Day on the Green. May Day is a multi-cultural festival featuring live music, poetry, dance, children’s activities, speak-out time, a May Pole Dance, free vegetarian food and displays and information tables from local labor, peace, social service and social justice groups. May Day is a participatory event that is free and everyone is invited.

At a time when labor unions are being harassed around the country, we celebrate labor unions as being a workers’ best hope. At a time when immigrants are still struggling for their rights, we celebrate our immigrant heritage and culture. At a time when violence threatens our communities, we say tax the rich and give us jobs. At a time when US forces and drones are still deployed around the world, we say no more war.

Our featured performers on the Green include Coalition Hip Hop, N-Finity Muzik and Not Here.
For more information visit us at http://www.facebook.com/newhavenmayday or call Jeff Spalter (203) 843-3069, [email protected].

May Day mission statement: to organize a multi-cultural festival that honors and celebrates our labor history and the labor, peace, social service and social justice groups that today continue the struggle for peace and human rights.

PAR coordinator Mary Johnson receives well wishes

Last month, PAR-New Haven wished a speedy recovery to our coordinator, Mary Johnson. She is doing much better and we thank everyone who called, visited or wrote cards to her.

In February, PAR received a very generous donation. The person said “This is in appreciation of Mary Johnson and all of her work to help New Haven and her inspiration to build a world based on peace and justice.”

Many dedicated activists have learned from Mary through the years. The PAR Planning Committee is grateful for her leadership as the PAR coordinator. She helped our newsletter to constantly improve. However, we could not succeed without all our readers who play their part in the struggle for peace and justice, and share their successes and aspirations in this newsletter.

Our deepest thanks to all of you.

Lula White Receives Thurgood Marshall Award

Lula White of New Haven holds the mug shot from her 1961 arrest.

Lula White of New Haven holds the mug shot from her 1961 arrest.

Lula White of New Haven, a former Freedom Rider during the Civil Rights Movement [and a long-time member of PAR], received the Quinnipiac U. Black Law Students Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award on Feb. 25.

The Marshall Award is given in honor of the first African-American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall epitomized individual commitment to civil rights.

White was born in Eufaula, Alabama, to parents who were farm workers. When she was young, her family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, and then to New Haven, where she attended Hillhouse High School.

In 1954 she became a civil rights activist after reading an article about the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which ended legal segregation in public schools. To read more about Lula White’s receipt of the award, visit The New Haven Register or Quinnipiac U News and Events. or WTNH.com.

‘Fracked Gas is Environmental Racism’: Balloon Banner Released at Bridgeport City Hall

by Dan Fischer, Capitalism vs. the Climate

On February 1, Bridgeport residents flooded a public hearing with opposition to PSEG’s proposed fracked gas power plant, which would replace its coal plant in 2021. As 10 year-old Jaysa Mellers urged, “No coal, no gas, go green!”, a Bridgeport-based member of Capitalism vs. the Climate released a banner tied to a bundle of balloons. The banner floated to the high ceiling, and city councillors and residents read its message: “Fracked gas is environmental racism! No coal, no gas!”

gracked-gas-enviro-racism-300x283“Environmental racism is when an unfair share of pollution is placed on communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. That’s what is happening in Bridgeport. PSEG is making it worse by trying to open a new gas plant, which would continue to release pollution in the air for decades,” said Gabriela Rodriguez, a nineteen year-old Bridgeport resident and a member of Capitalism vs. the Climate.

PSEG reports that its new gas plant would release into the air nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, lead, and other pollutants, causing emphysema, bronchitis, learning deficits, heart disease, cancer, and asthma triggers. Moreover, fracked gas is highly flammable and known to frequently leak. The result can be deadly. From 1995 to 2014, there were 371 deaths and 1,395 injuries due to reported pipeline incidents.

PSEG wants to put the gas plant where the coal plant currently stands, locking in decades of fossil fuel infra-structure in an area where 30 percent of residents are black and 30 percent are Latino. To add insult to injury, PSEG’s proposed gas plant, like its existing coal plant, would stand adjacent to the Mary and Eliza Freeman houses, the oldest houses in Connecticut built and owned by African Americans. From 1821 until the Civil War, the neighbor-hood had been a prosperous community of free people of color including African Americans and indigenous Paugussets. Historians say it may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.

“By putting a gas plant here, PSEG is basically saying that black lives do not matter to them,” declared Tiffany Mellers, a Bridgeport resident, mother of Jaysa. Visit http://capitalismvsclimate.org for more information.

Want to Be on a Delegation to Nicaragua?

Chris Schweitzer, Director, NHLSCP

New Haven/León Sister City Project has sent over 1,200 area residents to Nicaragua since 1984 to learn about development efforts there and support social justice. We are now organizing two new trips including an Educators Delegation, which will focus on education challenges in rural Nicaragua; strategies for improving quality; teacher training and curriculum support; and a cooperative project with the community, set for July 2016. Contact Chris at  [email protected], (203) 259-5760.

Also there will be a Women Rights Delegation in 2016. The focus will be on domestic violence; legal responses; community based advocacy; self help groups and building individual and collective power; sexual and reproductive rights; national realities, challenges and movements in Nicaragua; and will include a cooperative project with the community.  We will set the dates  (7 to 9 days) based on your availability. Contact Megan at [email protected] or (203) 562-1607.

Green Party Fund Raising to Get on 2016 Ballot

by Barbara Barry, Secretary, Green Party of Connecticut

The next State Central Committee (SCC) meeting of the CT Green Party is Wednesday, Feb. 3. Social time is from 6 to 6:30 p.m. The SCC meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Portland Waverly Center, 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, Conn.

Jill Stein of Massachusetts has agreed to come to the GPCT event to raise funds for whomever is selected to be the GPUS presidential candidate at the 2016 GPUS Nominating Convention (likely to be in June or July). The purpose of the GPCT fundraiser is to acquire sufficient funds to successfully petition, i.e. acquire the CT ballot line for a GPUS presidential candidate.

Another fundraiser will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Portland Waverly Center. Potluck food and beverages. Bring items for fundraising: books, etc.

William “Bill” Kreml of South Carolina is willing to be a speaker at a GPCT March 2016 fundraiser. He is one of five vetted persons seeking the nomination to be the 2016 GPUS presidential candidate. The other persons are Darryl Cherney, Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza Curry, Kent Mesplay and Jill Stein. A specific date, time and place of this fundraiser are yet to be determined. All GPCT members are invited to the above events…and bring a friend!

Amistad Awards Rally Calls for Justice for All

by Joelle Fishman, CT People’s World

From Ariel Johnson’s beautiful rendition of Change is Gonna Come to the closing performance by Ice the Beef Stop the Violence Start the Peace, the 2015 People’s World Amistad Awards inspired young and old alike with its message of unity and struggle.

Themed “Justice for All – In Solidarity with Black and Latino Youth – Stop the Right-wing Attacks,” the event greeted actions by youth to end racism and achieve a future with hope and dignity.

“The 2016 elections are the battleground for every democratic right we’ve ever won,” declared Joelle Fishman in the Call to Action. “We can stop….candidates who want to bring us back 175 years. We will not go back! We must go forward!”

Awardees included Jill Marks, a leader of New Haven Rising and Alder-elect in Ward 28; Ciro Gutierrez, member-leader of SEIU 32 BJ building cleaners union in Hartford, and Cindy Harrity, Communication Workers of America Local 1298 organizer, retired.

Marks said she was moved to become a grassroots leader after knocking on thousands of doors and hearing the problems of ordinary families. She urged those present to join the fight for good jobs and attend a New Haven Rising rally Dec. 12.

Gutierrez, born in Peru, described how he became involved in the social movement during the right-wing coup in his country. When his family came to U.S. after losing their public sector jobs to privatization, he continued his commitment to workers’ rights through his union.

Harrity, unable to project her voice due to illness, prepared comments read by husband John Harrity. Cindy, well known for her successes as a union organizer, urged those present to “be unreasonable” when confronted with exploitation, unfairness or any injustice.

The awards were held on the 96th anniversary of the Communist Party USA. Edie Fishman, who joined the YCL at 14, now in her 80th year in the working-class movement, received flowers from the youth. She recounted experiences which won social security, unemployment compensation, health and safety on the job, and ending Jim Crow racial segregation. “When we stick together and fight together we can win,” she said.

Performances also included Capoeira by Raca em Moviemento Dance Studio and poetry by Gaylord Slaters and Aaron Jafferis.

We’ll Always Have Paris: Reflections from COP21

By Sarah Ganong, a New Haven-based climate activist

sarah-ganongBy the time you’re reading this, I’ll have been home from the COP21 climate talks in Paris for about six weeks. I attended the conference as an NGO observer, spending long days in the former-airport-turned-conference space running between meetings, negotiation sessions, press conferences, and approved “actions.” The 40,000+ attendees from nation-states, non-profits, universities, and, yes, the fossil fuel industry, came together for two intense weeks with the same goal—to leave with a global agreement to fight climate change, helped along by the four tons of free trade chocolate one environmental group distributed throughout the venue.

But Paris produced what 20 previous conferences did not—a global agreement which seems set up for success. The major takeaway from COP21 is the coalescing around 1.5 degrees C of warming, rather than 2 degrees, providing climate finance to vulnerable countries, and a process to evaluate and ratchet up emissions reduction pledges.

The theme of ending the reign of fossil fuels was central, from divestment actions to the planning for a global shutdown of fossil fuel infrastructure in May 2016. Keeping 80% of current fossil fuel reserves in the ground is essential if we’re going to come anywhere near meeting COP21 targets. In Connecticut, the battle is over the build-out of natural gas infrastructure, which will lock us into a fossil-dependent future for years to come. And on the national scale, ending fossil fuel subsidies must be a major priority—coal, in particular, wouldn’t be a viable choice without taxpayer dollars propping it up.

So we leave Paris with a lot of work left to do, but with knowledge of what lies before us. For me, the biggest victory from COP21 are the relationships I formed with activists from Brazil to Switzerland. President Obama called the Paris Agreement the “best chance we have” to save the planet. I disagree. The international process has been happening nearly as long as I’ve been alive, and in that time we’ve seen global emissions rise by 60%. We can’t wait on our governments anymore. The true hope lies with the people. We’re ready.

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