Compiled by Dick Bennett.
EARTH DAY
ADAPTING INSTITUTIONS FOR THE CLIMATE
Education
Unions
Law
Debt
This Earth Day 2024, Become an Environmental Steward and Advocate of EQUAL JUSTICE in EDUCATION
NEA EdAction edaction@mail.nea.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com Thu, Apr 18
Hi there, As Earth Day approaches, we recognize that climate justice is at the heart of education justice. Not only do severe weather events interrupt instruction time and destroy school buildings, but extreme temperatures can make classrooms too hot or too cold for students to learn. These effects are felt most strongly in under-resourced communities, where schools don’t have the infrastructure to withstand these increasing pressures. We know that you care about the future of our communities and the planet they depend on. That is why we have worked with leading experts to gather the tools you need to foster climate justice.
There are many ways to combat climate change while advancing equity and environmental justice. From writing letters to your representatives to bringing the Green New Deal to your school, your voice is key to the protection of our planet.
Together we will transform our school systems to face the climate crisis and make sure all students have the right to a safe and good education—no matter their ZIP code or the color of their skin. In solidarity, The NEA EdAction Team
P.S. Want to talk to students about environmental stewardship? Check out this Earth Day Activity Guide.
UNIONS
Bus Drivers Strike With Climate Activists In 57 German Cities
By Berit Ehmke and Yanira Wolf, Labor Notes. Popular Resistance.org (4-10-24). Public transit workers across Germany have broken new ground by coordinating our contracts—nearly all of them nationwide have expired over the last four months—and shutting down bus systems with strikes in 57 cities. To add to the pressure, we’ve done something new for our union and for Germany: we’ve formed an alliance between local transport workers and climate activists, including the students who have been leading massive school walkouts. The devastating effects of climate change are already rocking Germany: major heat waves, flooding, and water shortages. -more-
LAW
Climate: ECHR Judges Side With Swiss Group In Rights Ruling
By Deutsche Welle. Popular Resistance.org (4-10-24). The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday delivered rulings in a group of landmark climate change cases aimed at making national governments meet treaty obligations to cut greenhouse emissions. In one of the three cases, it upheld a complaint by a group of elderly Swiss women that government failures to properly oversee emissions did violate their human rights. While activists have enjoyed past success in domestic proceedings, the verdict marks the first time an international court made such a ruling on climate change. -more-
FINANCIAL: REORGANIZING DEBT
Report: Debt-For-Nature Swaps Could Help Fight Climate Crisis
By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. Popular Resistance.org (4-17-24). According to a new analysis by the International Institute for Environment and Development, more than $100 billion of developing countries’ debt could be made available to spend on nature restoration, protecting ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs and climate change adaptation. The research is part of IIED’s “hidden handbrakes” campaign, designed to reveal and explain unseen obstacles to climate action. “Many of the countries most threatened by rising temperatures have huge debt burdens, and are forever paying interest to wealthier nations.” -more-