YOU VOTED. WE TOOK THE HOUSE. WHAT NEXT?

You voted. We took the House. What next?
 
1.     We keep up the pressure on our politicians.
2.     We start dealing with climate recovery.
 
What’s Climate Recovery?
The recent UN report shows we have 12 years to clean up our act;
if not, climate change becomes irreversible.
And in 22 years we will really be feeling the effects.
 
The good news?
The technology already exists to create a cleaner world.
All we humans have to do is convince ourselves to implement it.
Many countries are now taking effective action; the US is not.

What can we do here in Seville? 
Each week, this newsletter will talk about actions we can take
to reduce our carbon footprint and support climate recovery.

What can we do about the USA?
We'll keep demanding better of our politicians and communities.
You'll be hearing a lot more about that, too.

Questions?
See our website's new Climate Recovery page.
Contact us at [email protected].

The Armistice was the end of a war, and the start of a long period of repair and recovery — as well as the seeds of World War II. 

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

Ending the war
Ceremonies in Paris this past weekend marked the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I. Much of the news in the States centered on Trump's behavior to his French hosts and other world leaders, and the fact that he seems to have bagged a visit to the American cemetery at Belleau Wood, a site of immense importance to the US military, because it was raining. In spite of US decisions to pull out of important international agreements on climate and arms control, today's European leaders vowed a future of cooperation and unity.
In my reading this week I was startled by this factoid: less time passed between Napolean's last defeat and the start of World War I, than between World War I and today. For background and better understanding of the war, (and of parallel circumstances today that we should be wary of) I recommend part one of Blueprint for Armageddon from historian Dan Carlin. It is less a podcast than a history course, and this long four-part series on World War I was both absorbing and frightening.
Armistice Day. That’s all I really wanted to say (in the words of Paul Simon).
—Kathy Sherretts

Notes:
Politico: How House Democrats will tackle climate oversight by Kelsey Tamborrino 
Nancy Pelosi said before the midterms that she planned to resurrect a committee dedicated to addressing climate change, after Republicans shut it down 11 years ago.

Article:
Reveal: As wildfires rage, Trump administration plans to slash fire science funding by Randy Lee Loftis 
The president blames the horrifying California wildfires on bad forest management. This report from August details Trump administration plans to slash federal funding for wildfire science, at a time when forest and brush fires are getting bigger, happening year-round and becoming increasingly erratic.

Podcast:
Slate/Amicus: “Taking a Wrecking Ball to Our Constitution” (57 min)
At 27:10, on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and how he added a citizenship question to the next census. Dale Ho of the ACLU talks about why litigation over the 2020 census is so crucial, and concerning.

Article:
Bloomberg Businessweek: The War Inside 7-Eleven by Lauren Etter and Michael Smith
7-Eleven is using ICE to get rid of underperforming or troublemaking franchisees.
​

Virtual Climate March, April 27, 2017, Seville
​

Want to do more?
 
Indivisible has announced its about to send out the Indivisible Guide 2.0. “We’re now in the second half of the fight,” say their leaders, “and we need all hands on deck. Are you in?” Sign up to get the new Guide as soon as it’s released.
 
Progressive Action, Global Exchange (PAGE) mobilizes US Americans abroad to take action against the rise of hate, exclusion, bigotry, and inequality, and build solidarity and community in their countries of residence. Sign up to get their weekly action plan.

Sign up to get the weekly Americans of Conscience Checklist started by Jennifer Hofmann. On it you will find a weekly list of well-researched actions in support of things we can all agree on, thank-you notes to people advocating for these issues on both sides of the aisle, and encouraging good news about the values we share.
 
Want to take action now to support climate recovery? Find out about organizations working to mitigate climate change. And consider joining the new ClimateRecovery.org that’s getting started here in Seville, organized by members of American Resistance Sevilla and other community activists. To contact the group directly: [email protected].