#1. From the Center for Biological Diversity 7/8/22—President Biden just released a plan for offshore oil and gas leasing in US oceans for the next five years. The plan would open the Gulf of Mexico and Alaskan waters to more drilling. To make matters worse, the administration released this plan for the oceans after moving forward with huge lease sales of public lands for oil and gas drilling. This would unleash massive carbon emissions, locking us into decades of climate chaos. Tell President Biden to scrap this disastrous plan and immediately commit to ending fossil fuel extraction on all public lands and waters.

#2. From the Sierra Club 7/8/22—The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has released a plan for addressing regional haze pollution in our national parks and wilderness areas. ADEQ is holding a virtual public comment session on Thursday, July 14 at 9:30a1. You will be able to phone in your comments. Please sign up here and we will send you talking points. Or you can send ADEQ a comment here.  Coal plants and other facilities are also harming communities and disproportionately affecting communities of color. Please add a personal comment on why clean air is important to you.  

#3. From Arizona interfaith Power & Light 7/1/22—The Supreme Court’s decision in W. Virginia vs. the EPA takes the ability to regulate greenhouse gases out of the hands of the EPA (a regulatory agency) and puts it back in the hands of Congress (which is not a good place for it to be). There is a Climate Reconciliation Bill  which is part of the larger Budget Reconciliation Bill in the Senate. It would direct billions of dollars to help with Climate Change. So please call or write Senator Kelly and Senator Sinema soon and ask them to support and to vote yes on this bill.

Here is more information on the bill and the Senators’ phone #’s and contact information: Call Arizona Senators about the Climate Reconciliation Bill.

#4. From Aly Tharp of UUMFE and Green Faith 7/1/22—Last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, undermining efforts to reduce pollution from fossil fuel power plants. The very next day, the Biden-Harris Administration proposed a 5 year plan for selling oil and gas offshore drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico and Cook Inlet, Alaska.

These governmental failures to address the climate crisis cause us all deep grief and moral outrage. As people of faith and conscience, our communities and traditions can help us to lament and galvanize our pain into action.

There is no time to waste—we need to pressure President Biden to use his executive authority to act on the People vs Fossil Fuels coalition demands to declare a climate emergency and stop approving new fossil fuel projects.

Here’s how you can help pressure President Biden today:

  1. Sign and share this petition to President Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to call for no new leasing of public lands and waters. (Organizations can also sign on here.)
  2. Join the weekly People vs Fossil Fuels general meetings, Mondays at 12pm Alaska / 1pm Pacific / 2pm Mountain / 3pm Central / 4pm Eastern – RSVP.

Get ready to mobilize your community:

The 90-day public comment period for this 5-year offshore drilling rights plan will open on July 8th and close on Thursday, October 6, 2022. We will be able to publicly voice our concerns and demands for the Federal government to see, and try to stop this years long sale. We’ll follow up with more resources soon after the comment period opens! 

For more information, contact earthjustice@phoenixuu.org.

Earth Justice