20 | BALANCING THE SCALES | July 19, 2021
#ICYMI: HIGHLIGHTS FROM KFTC SOCIAL MEDIA YOU MAY HAVE MISSED! The fight for a Just Transition is heating up … literally. At the end of June we witnessed record-breaking temperatures in the Pacific Northwest – which created dangerous conditions in a region unfamiliar and ill-prepared for such a heat wave. We’re all too familiar with the harms the fossil fuel industry and others have inflicted on our land and air – no matter which part of the country we live in. The stories and experiences are alarmingly consistent. Eastern Kentuckians are still recovering from flooding that occurred in early March and Texans are still grappling with lives lost from a disastrous freeze in February. The climate crisis is here, and we know that the folks most impacted by these climate disasters are Black, low-income, unhoused, and Indigenous people. But organizations like Movement for Black Lives, Sunrise Movement, KFTC and so many others are showing up locally and nationally to ensure a Just Transition. In case you missed it, here are some conversations that have been happening online about climate and Just Transition!
Activists from the Sunrise Movement blockaded the White House on June 28 to demand that Democrats and President Joe Biden go bigger and bolder with the infrastructure bill. Over 200 organizations are demanding larger public investments in clean energy to do things like electrify public transit, improve and make permanent the Child Tax Credit, implement a national, universal paid leave program, close the Medicaid coverage gap, and more. Follow the hashtag #NoClimateNoDeal on Twitter to learn more.
The Red, Black and Green New Deal was launched on May 11 by the Movement For Black Lives. There is no climate justice without racial justice, which includes reparations and ending exploitative economies. Read more about the Red, Black, and Green New Deal on page 18 or online at redblackgreennewdeal.org.
