ISOLATION NATION

Lauren Singer, holding a mason jar containing her entire output of trash over four years.

The Home Front
Staying Eco-Friendly in Lockdown
Sheltering in place provides a good opportunity to learn, plan, and organize for climate action. Because it’s pretty clear the planet needs us now more than ever. So next time you’re ready for a break from the news, Netflix, and public service announcements about hand sanitizer, consider jumping into one of these books:

• Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken
• We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer
• The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here by Hope Jahren

For further study, you might watch Four Years of Trash. I’ll admit the video made me feel like a total slacker. Lauren Singer holds up a glass jar and explains this is ALL the waste she’s produced in the past four years, then explains why and how she does it. It’s intimidating but inspirational, and you’ll never look at your kitchen or your closet the same way again.
—Karen McCann
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In a major victory for for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota, a federal court on Wednesday struck down permits and ordered a comprehensive environmental review of plans for the Dakota Access pipeline. (Photo Earthjustice)

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN!
Isolation Nation
A few random observations from inside the house:
• People here in my in-laws’ neighborhood are way more friendly than I remember, but from a distance. Lots of porch-to-porch chats.
• All my podcasts sound funny now, because the hosts are recording them from their bedroom closets.
• I’m inventing errands upstairs, just to move around more. (I am lucky to be at the in-laws', as my home in Sevilla doesn't have an upstairs.)
No doubt you are experiencing similar effects—after all, we’re all in this together, separately.
—Kathy Sherretts

AND from a WaPo online discussion about social distancing at home:
Opportunity! Let’s all drive our representatives crazy at state and federal levels pushing for the issues we care most about. For starters, making SURE all registered voters can vote on Nov. 4th no matter what COVID19 does. Maybe we could even tackle global warming! Finally (many) citizens have time to actually call/write our leaders and fuss! Such a fine civics lesson for kids stuck at home. We could change things for the better!

Two steps forward:
Earthjustice: Standing Rock Tribe Wins in Court After Years of Perseverance by Alison Cagle
A federal judge struck down permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline, even after COVID-19 precautions led to an unconventional day in court.
How Stuff Works: Good News! Some Butterfly Populations Bounced Back in 2019 by Laurie L. Dove
In addition to favorable weather, volunteers and nonprofits' work on butterfly waystations and education has turned around long-term population decline for some species.

Bad actors:
Washington Post: Congress to bail out firms that avoided taxes, safety regulations and spent billions boosting their stock by Jonathan O'Connell
Many of the airlines, hotels, cruise lines, coal-mining companies and others strangled by coronavirus shutdowns behaved in ways before the crisis that are making a bailout tough to swallow. When signing the legislation, President Trump indicated that he could limit oversight of the corporate aid program.

...And when did they know it?
Behind the Bastards: The Bastards Who Covered Up Climate Change (Podcast, 84 min. Strong language.)
At an industry forum in 1959, Edward Teller warned the oil industry about global warming.

Head in a bag:
New York Times: In Coronavirus, Industry Sees Chance to Undo Plastic Bag Bans by Hiroko Tabuchi
Before the outbreak, an industry-funded group was already working on legislation to pre-empt bans on disposable bags, boxes, cups, and bottles in the name of protecting businesses and consumer choice. Now, hygiene!

Just for fun: A gallery of great guitar licks.

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Voting in a Pandemic Year
Read the plan to ensure that the 2020 election is free, fair, accessible, and secure, from the Brennan Center for Justice

Learn More About Candidates and Issues! 

• Progressive Action, Global Exchange (PAGE) 
• Americans of Conscience Checklist
• ClimateRecovery.org​